The first battle between faith and human reason took place in the garden of Eden. Spurred on by the lies of the serpent, Eve began to look at her situation from a purely logical perspective and decided she was being cheated by God out of something good. Her faith faltered as "reasonable" thoughts of self-interest filled her mind.
To wash feet may be servile, but to wash His feet is royal work. To untie sandals is poor employment, but to unloose the Master's shoe is a princely privilege. The shop, the barn, the kitchen, and the workbench become temples when men and women do all to the glory of God! Then divine service does not take place for a few hours and in a few places, but all life becomes holiness to the Lord, and every place and thing as consecrated as the tabernacle and its contents.
Teach me, my God and King, in all things Thee to see;
And what I do in anything to do it as to Thee.
All may of Thee partake, nothing can be so mean,
Which with this tincture, for Thy sake, will not grow bright and clean.
A servant with this clause makes drudgery divine;
Who sweeps a room, as for Thy laws, makes that and the action fine.
Alistair Begg
No man is living at his best
who is not living at his best spiritually.
~W. Marshall Craig~
God had the solution before you ever had the problem.
And as we let our own light shine, we unconsciously give other people permission to do the same
~ Nelson Mandela
"You don't have time to think up there. If you think, you're dead."
TOP GUN
Real faith is not only getting beyond our past: it’s recognizing that faith is an ongoing process. None of us “have arrived.” At best, we can say we’re “on the way.”
While I’m not everything I want to be, I’m not all the things I once was.
Stress and tension, properly balanced, actually give us strength.
Faith involves having something in the distance to motivate us and keep us moving, as the apostle Paul admonished in his Epistle to the Philippians. We should “press on toward the goal.”
Faith gives us a focus for our future, helps us move in the direction of our destiny, and gives us the capacity to continue working toward a worthy legacy.
The man who kneels to God can stand up to anything.
~Louis H. Evans~
It should be a great comfort for you to know that when you put your faith in Jesus Christ, you don't have to be afraid--of the wild beasts of the world, of temptation, or of the devil.
I’d rather watch a winner, than hear one any day;
So please, my loving parents let your lives show me the way.
I’m only a reflection of what you taught today
I may misunderstand you and the high advice you give;
But there’s no misunderstanding how you act and how you live.
So teach me by example, don’t preach about what’s right;
And show me by your actions every day and night.
I know that you’re not perfect, in the things you do and say;
And the lectures you deliver are to help me find my way;
But I’d rather watch a winner, than hear one any day
Miserable people focus on what they hate about their life. Happy people focus on what they love about their life.
OLD PEOPLE FOCUS ON WHAT THEY USE TO DO IN LIFE. Miserable people focus on what they hate about their life. Happy people focus on what they love about their life.
Your mindset matters. If you don't have the mindset of a wealthy person ("How can I afford it?") versus a poor person ("I can't afford it."), you will never achieve wealth.
God, who needs no one, has in sovereign condescension stooped to work by and in His obedient children.
~A. W. Tozer~
For there is nothing hidden which will not be revealed, nor has anything been kept secret but that it should come to light.
Mark 4:22
Honesty is always the best policy with God. So I wonder why we seem to try to cover up our sins. Do we really think if we disguise or ignore them that God won't see them? Jesus is telling us here that everything in our lives is revealed to the Father; He knows everything about you and knows everything you're trying to cover up. You may be hiding secrets from your spouse or keeping a "deep, dark family secret," but your Father knows, and someday He will reveal everything about you. Jesus isn't saying this to scare anybody. He loves you so much and simply wants a relationship with you that encompasses honesty and integrity.
Mike Macintosh
When a believing person prays—great things happen! You might say, I worry so much about how I should pray—I don’t get around to actually praying! Exactly!
If you want to deepen your prayer life—pray! Don’t prepare to pray. Just pray. Don’t read about prayer. Just pray. Don’t attend a lecture on prayer or engage in discussion about prayer. Just pray! James 5:13 says anyone who’s having troubles should pray. Anyone who’s happy should sing praises! Posture, tone, and place–these are personal matters. Do what works for you. Just don’t over-think it!
Always try the suggestions or impressions that you may at any time feel by the unerring rule of God’s most holy Word.
~Jonathan Edwards~
We have to realize, God has a plan for each one of us, and He does not need our assistance. He blesses us by allowing us to be a part of His great work. Stay humble and allow God to guide and direct your life.
When I am at rest, I am in danger of making my own plans and forgetting to present them before the Lord for His approval. Some temptations come to the industrious, but all temptations attack the idle.
~C.H. Spurgeon~
No matter what happens in life, remember this: You have a Savior. As a Christian, you have been saved from death. You have been saved from eternal punishment and hell. You have the hope that when you die, you will go straight to heaven. That is the most important thing about the Christian life. There is a Heaven waiting for you. You have a Savior.
"God’s perfect will was for the natural to be changed into the spiritual through obedience."—Oswald Chambers,
“If you want a religion to make you feel really comfortable, I certainly don’t recommend Christianity.” - C.S. Lewis
It's a blessing we have Jesus, a willing heart, and the love of the body of Christ.
We have to make a plan and rest—on purpose.
DON'T PRAY FOR IT IF YOU ARE NOT WILLING TO COUNT THE COST!
Practice = Sacrifice
Service
Surrender !
You may get many gifts for Christmas but if you don't know Jesus you lack the best gift ever...
Christian leaders often tell the story of tightrope walker Charles Blondin to illustrate the difference between faith and belief. Blondin crossed Niagara Falls on a tightrope and asked the crowd if they believed he could do it. They answered, “Yes.” But when it came to actually climbing in a wheelbarrow to go across with him, no one would. However, in 1859, Blondin carried his manager Harry Colcord across on piggyback, and the next year he repeated the stunt with his assistant Romain Mouton.
Colcord and Mouton must have felt safe with Blondin because they knew him well. The more you know Jesus, the easier it is to trust Him.
Forgiveness is the key that unlocks the heavy door, opens the prison, and empowers us to walk away from bitterness and anger.
Forgiveness is the gift of freedom.
This Christmas, accept Jesus Christ as your Savior and Lord. Give Him the gift that He wants––your heart, your soul, your life.
~Billy Graham~
The intricate history of God’s initial promise realized so fully at Jesus’ first coming increases confidence that the rest of God’s promises will be fulfilled at Jesus’ second coming and after that, into eternity.
Worldliness is whatever makes sin look normal and righteousness look strange. Kevin DeYoung
There is no saint without a past, no sinner without a future. Augustine
If the Lord Jesus Christ can put up with you, you ought to be able to put up with anybody. Charles Spurgeon
You should not believe your conscience and your feelings more than the Word. Martin Luther
Each passing year increases my conviction that all I have is Jesus. Paul Washer
There is no erratic power, or action, or motion in creatures, but that they are governed by God’s secret plan in such a way that nothing happens except what is knowingly and willingly decreed by Him. John Calvin
God’s providence is His constant care for and His absolute rule over all His creation for His own glory and the good of His people. Jerry Bridges
Trust the past to God’s mercy, the present to God’s love and the future to God’s providence. Augustine
Divine sovereignty and human responsibility are integral and inseparable realities of salvation — though exactly how they operate together only the infinite mind of God knows. John MacArthur
Every Christian is God’s beloved child because the Lord Jesus Christ has become our Redeemer. John MacArthur
If Christ could grow weary of me, He would have been tired of me long before now. Charles Spurgeon
Man's haste is often folly, but God's apparent delays are ever wise. Charles Spurgeon
When Christ gives you a gift, it will be a blessing to you; but the gift isn’t primarily for you. It is to enable you to express your love for Him by serving others. Sinclair Ferguson
The providence of God is like a Hebrew word – it can only be read backwards. John Flavel
The providence of God is the way in which He governs everything wisely, first for the glory of His own Name, and second for the ultimate blessing of His children. Sinclair Ferguson
to the university of election & predestination." -John Bradford.
"The more we learn the Bible, the more we realize how little we know." -Steven Lawson.
"Our narrow thoughts can no more comprehend the Trinity in Unity than a nutshell will hold all the water in the sea." -Thomas Watson.
"What I do with my free time reveals the kind of man I am." -A.W.Tozer.
"None can leap from Delilah's lap into Abraham's bosom." -Ephraim Pagitt.
“Spiritual delight in God arises chiefly from his beauty and perfection, not from the blessings he gives us.” — Jonathan Edwards
"Expository preachers start with a Scripture text with the authority of God‘s word, and proclaim not their opinions or philosophies but God's Word." - Sunghyun Pae
"Eternity hangs in the balance as the preacher proclaims the Word." - Richard Baxter
"My constant prayer to God is that he would help me to preach, not great sermons, but helpful sermons—sermons that will appeal, not mainly to the intellect, but to the heart." -Francis Grimke
The expositor should not communicate his own central idea, nor his own outline. He is, rather, to teach the central idea, outline, and theme of the author. Failure to reflect the author’s theme, outline, and central idea is a departure from true exposition. - Donald McDougall
"If you feel quite weak and ordinary – if you feel like a mess but have the Spirit – you have the right credentials. You are one of the ordinary people God uses to help others." - Ed Welch
"Preaching is the proclamation of Christ in such a way that the people are both captivated and transformed." - Brian Chappell
"The most important part of sermon preparation is God preparing the heart of His servant." -Jim Cymbala
"An expository sermon as that which requires that it expound Scripture by deriving from a specific text main points and subpoints that disclose the thought of the author, cover the scope of the passage, and are applied to the lives of the listeners." -Bryan Chapell
"The Holy Spirit can cast out the spirit of fear. He can make the coward brave." — Charles Spurgeon
"Do not say that you believe the Bible, when you act as though it were not true." — Charles Spurgeon
"Know God, and you will grow to be like him." — Charles Spurgeon
"I shake, but my rock moves not." — Charles Spurgeon
"Nothing can happen but what God ordains; and, therefore, why should we fear?" — Charles Spurgeon
"The more money you have, the more troubles you will have." — Charles Spurgeon
"To enter into debate is never as profitable as to enter into devotion." — Charles Spurgeon
"By his death, Jesus has destroyed death, and by his resurrection he has torn away the gates of the grave." — Charles Spurgeon
"Let no one go to hell unwarned and unprayed for." — Charles Spurgeon
"It is never good to lose the friendship of God in order to keep on good terms with men." — Charles Spurgeon
"Weak may be our feet, but almighty is God's right hand." — Charles Spurgeon
"As soon as your children can understand anything, let them know about Christ." — Charles Spurgeon
"Go to your rest rejoicing, for you are not a desolate wanderer, but a beloved child." — Charles Spurgeon
"Men nearest to the church are often furthest from God." — Charles Spurgeon
"Doubt is a great joy-killer." — Charles Spurgeon
"Infinite power shall stoop that you may lean upon its shoulder." — Charles Spurgeon
"There is nothing more real in all the world than our Lord Jesus Christ." — Charles Spurgeon
"The devil himself cannot invent a temptation which is not met in the pages of Scripture." — Charles Spurgeon
"It is better to obey God than to work miracles." — Charles Spurgeon
"If your faith does not make you pray, have nothing to do with it." — Charles Spurgeon
"I cannot be ashamed of him who died for me." — Charles Spurgeon
"God, we pray, grant that these disastrous times may drive your children nearer to you." — Charles Spurgeon
"Great hearts can only be made great by troubles." — Charles Spurgeon
"Let not the prospect of death ever cause us any fear." — Charles Spurgeon
"If your faith and hope are in God, then you have a security that none can destroy." — Charles Spurgeon
"It is better to preach five words of God's Word than five million words of man's wisdom." — Charles Spurgeon
"Understanding the love of Jesus lifts the mind above all fear." — Charles Spurgeon
"Get this deep into your soul, 'Christ died for me,' and you will soon be ready to die for him." — Charles Spurgeon
"Never could it be possible for any man to estimate what he owes to a godly mother." — Charles Spurgeon
"The gospel is all about Christ from beginning to end." – Charles Spurgeon
"There is no fact which has been more fully demonstrated than this: God hears prayer." — Charles Spurgeon
“There are only two kinds of people: those who say to God, ‘Thy will be done,’ and those to whom God says, ‘All right, then, have it your way.’” - C.S. Lewis
“The Son of God became a man to enable men to become sons of God.” - C.S. Lewis
God "is a subject so vast, that all our thoughts are lost in its immensity; so deep, that our pride is drowned in its infinity." — Charles Spurgeon
Q.32. But why are you called a Christian? A. Because by faith I am a member of Christ and so I share in his anointing. — Heidelberg Catechism
The incarnation “surpass[es] all miracles and all measure of intelligence.” — Francis Turretin, Institutes of Elenctic Theology, vol. 2, 271.
“By day teach me to remember my weakness, and by night tell me where lies my strength. By day point me down into Gethsemane, and by night lead me up into the mount of transfigured glory.” — George Matheson
“Once men have been taught Christ then they must also be taught to walk worthy of Christ… The foundation and graces for these duties must be in Christ; and the reasons and motives of a Christian's lifestyle must be from Christ.” — Richard Sibbes
“It is God alone that makes heaven to be heaven.” -Thomas Brooks. An Ark for All God’s Noahs, Works 2:25.
“… equal to the Father as regards divinity, less than the Father as regards humanity.” — Athanasian Creed
“In Christ two natures met to be your cure.” — George Herbert
“A great many people are careful about breaking large commandments and committing heinous sins—while they commit 'little sins' continually and without scruple.” — J.R. Smith
“The ordinance of preaching is still necessary for building up and knitting together the members of Christ.” — Richard Sibbes
“Lord, you know what distracted hearts we have, O give us self-recollection; you know what hard, dead hearts we have, O touch and awaken us!” — Gerhard Tersteegen
“The word of God preached is not just to teach us, but the Spirit going with it, to work the grace necessary to ‘strengthen us in the inward man' (2 Cor. 4:16).” — Richard Sibbes
"To be a surety [for sinners], one must have the following four qualities: He must 1) be very man, having proceeded from man; 2) be a holy man; 3) be very God, and 4) be God and man united in one person." - Wilhelmus a Brakel. The Christian's Reasonable Service, 1:480
"Let this truth sink into our souls, that it was God himself who came from heaven to save us from destruction. It was no inferior being.. but it was 'very God of very God' who loved us with an everlasting and infinite affection." - C.H. Spurgeon. Good Tidings, 46.
“But let me tell you, the whole world is not a theatre large enough to shew the glory of Christ upon, or unfold the one half of the unsearchable riches that lie hid in Him.” — John Flavel
“Preaching must be of Christ.” — Richard Sibbes
“For we do not sever the man from the Godhead, but we lay down as a dogma the unity and identity of person…” — Gregory of Nazianzus
Will your heart always be heavy-laden? Would you not rejoice for once? And if your heart would rejoice, what could be more motivating than the incarnation of Christ? —Wilhelmus à Brakel, The Christian’s Reasonable Service, 1:515
“May you, therefore, have mercy upon us, most gentle and merciful God and Father, in the name of your Son Jesus Christ our Lord. And as you blot out our vices and blemishes, extend and increase the graces of your Holy Spirit to us day by day…” — John Calvin
“Predestination is a practical doctrine, aimed at producing piety. God revealed this truth to serve as a powerful tool to shape the lives of his people in faith and holiness.” — Beeke, Reformed Systematic Theology, 1:105
It is not just a handful of texts that teach the perseverance of the saints: the entire gospel sustains and confirms it. —Herman Bavinck Reformed Dogmatics 4.269
“Let us turn and seek you…when we confess to you… after all our rugged ways; and you gently wipe away our tears, and we weep the more for joy; because you, Lord not man of flesh and blood — but you, Lord, who made us, remake and comfort us.” — Augustine
"I am persuaded that no man has an adequate idea how wonderful a stoop it was for God thus to dwell in human flesh, and to be 'God with us.'" - C.H. Spurgeon. Good Tidings of Great Joy, 48.
"Sin fights against the nature of things. It is disordered, destructive, and stupid" (VanDrunen).
“All the works and ways of God have something in them mysterious, above the comprehension of any finite understanding… there is no reason to expect it should be otherwise in the astonishing method of the redemption of the world by Jesus Christ.” — John Witherspoon
Whatever is done in preaching to humble men, it is to raise them up again in Christ. When men are dejected by the law, we must raise them up again in Christ. Whatever we preach, it must lead to Christ.” — Richard Sibbes
when a student ministry or college ministry is run like a “church within a church”, it sets a young person up for future failure. When a student graduates out of one of those ministries, it feels like they’re having to go join a whole new church that they know very little about. It meets at the same building, but now they feel like strangers. That’s why many leave. Student and college ministries are at their best when they see themselves as a part of the whole life of the church. Not always and only separate from the rest of the church, but they are also intentionally serving, living, and worshipping with the whole church as well. It’s one church. Multiple generations with one mission.
Sometimes, God will wreck your plans, so that you can experience His plan.
It’s not the minister’s job, the church’s job, the school teacher’s job, the coach’s job, social media’s job, or a celebrity’s job to be the primary influence in your child’s life. As a parent, it’s primarily your God-given job. Don’t give away that job to anyone else.
At Christmas, God gave us His very best - Himself! God with us.
15 yr olds create their own brands on social media 16 yr olds are operating motor vehicles 17 yr olds have jobs 18 yr olds serve in the military College students are starting businesses & non-profits If they can handle those things, they can handle serving the church.
YOU'LL REACH WHAT'S BEFORE YOU AS SOON AS YOU RELEASE WHAT'S BEHIND YOU!
"STOP LOOKING AT THE PROCESS AND FOCUS ON THE PROMISE!"
SOMETIMES THE BEST CHARACTER IS FOUND IN THE STAGE HAND WORKING BEHIND THE SCENES...NOT THE PERSON IN THE STARRING ROLE IN THE SPOTLIGHT.
Meditate on the goodness of God. Think about His love for you, His abounding mercy, and His willingness to not only forgive you but to change your life and help you conquer those destructive desires. Receive the forgiveness that cleanses. Chuck Smith
WHEN we wish to know the love of God we should go to Calvary. Can we look upon that scene, and say God did not love us? That cross speaks of the love of God. Moody
Forgiveness is the key that unlocks the heavy door, opens the prison, and empowers us to walk away from bitterness and anger. Ray Bentley
The most hopeful way of avoiding humbling affliction is to humble yourself. Be humble, that you may not be humbled. Put yourself into a humble attitude and draw near to God in a lowly spirit, and He will cease chiding. Spurgeon
Frequently, our heavenly Father’s plan in sending trials is to make and keep His children humble. Remember this and learn a lesson of wisdom. Spurgeon
If a philosophy of life cannot help me to die, then in a sense it cannot help me to live. - Martyn Lloyd-Jones
He is the all-sufficient good. He alone is able to satisfy the vast capacity he has given us - John Newton
I am sure you can never serve a better master than Jesus Christ, or be engaged in a higher employ than in calling home souls to him. - George Whitefield
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