Many of us have bought into the lie that who we are is based on what we do or don't do. We fill every waking moment with something or someone in order to prove our worth. After all, we must be worthy if we are doing worthy things, right? Busyness does not always equal productivity. When we admit our need to rest, we are acknowledging the fact that we are imperfect and that our human power is limited. We need to rest in Him. Ps. 23:1-The LORD is my shepherd;
I shall not want.
2 He makes me to lie down in green pastures;
He leads me beside the still waters.
3 He restores my soul;
He leads me in the paths of righteousness
For His name's sake.
We must never attempt to treat the Christian life as something we can manufacture or earn. Sinful, earthly fathers were created with a desire to give beneficial gifts to their children. Even more so, our holy, heavenly Father has a heart to give all that is needed to those who are willing to ask and receive.
Our True Identity~ Ephesians 1:3-8
When I hear a believer announce, “I’m just a sinner,” I feel like saying, “That’s what you used to be.” A lot of folks cling to a view of themselves as a patched-up, slightly-better-than-before version of their old self. The Bible contradicts that opinion: “If anyone is in Christ, he is a new creature; the old things passed away, behold, new things have come” (2 Cor. 5:17). In fact, according to Scripture, we’re dramatically different once we are complete in Christ.
Change and personal improvement are bywords of our day. Laws and rules are methods some try to produce transformation. But in Jesus Christ, change is guaranteed to occur. It’s the difference between a rowboat and a sailboat. A person can row until the last trumpet sounds, and not get to Heaven. But all the sailboat has to do is ride the wind. The wind, spiritually, is the Spirit of God, given by Jesus Christ. Let His wind fill your sails, and when the last trumpet sounds it will herald not only His coming but your homecoming.
The Christ-Child
The Christ-child lay on Mary's lap,
His hair was like a light.
(O weary, weary is the world,
But here is all a'right.)
The Christ-child lay on Mary's breast,
His hair was like a star.
(O stern and cunning are the kings,
But here the true hearts are.)
The Christ-child lay on Mary's heart,
His hair was like a fire.
(O weary, weary is the world,
But here's the world's desire.)
The Christ-child stood at Mary's knee,
His hair was like a crown.
And all the flowers looked up at Him,
And all the stars looked down.
-- G. K. Chesterton (from The Wild Knight)
In this vital matter of relating rightly to the Lord, one common mistake is attempting to develop our Christian walk in a different manner than we began it. Our present verses point us to the proper outlook. We are to build our life with the Lord upon the very same terms that we began that life. "As you have therefore received Christ Jesus the Lord, so walk in Him." We are to walk with Jesus the way we received Him.
Make Thee a Bed
Ah, dearest Jesus, holy Child,
Make thee a bed, soft, undefiled,
Within my heart, that it may be
A quiet chamber kept for Thee.
My heart for very joy doth leap,
My lips no more can silence keep,
I too must sing, with joyful tongue,
That sweetest ancient cradle song,
Glory to God in highest heaven,
Who unto man His Son hath given
While angels sing with pious mirth.
A glad new year to all the earth.
-- Martin Luther
Look past it to Jesus who bore the burdens and sin of you and I to Himself.
You don't need patience to do what you love. You need passion. - Michael Barata
When obstacles arise, you change your direction to reach your goal, you do not change your decision to get there."- Zig Ziglar
They say it takes a minute to find a special person. An hour to appreciate them. A day to love them. And an entire life to forget them.
"The Bible says, ‘If you wish to find, you must search.’ I believe that is true, rarely does a good idea interrupt you." -- Jim Rohn
"The greatest day in your life and mine is when we take total responsibility for our attitudes. That's the day we truly grow up." -- John C. Maxwell
Ten Steps To Success In Network Marketing:
1. Talk to people
2. Learn from it
3. Get better
4. Talk to people
5. Learn from it
6. Get better
7. Talk to people
8. Learn from it
9. Get better
10. Repeat
The devil’s way of extinguishing goodness
is God’s way of advancing it.
~George Barlow~
Today, maybe Jesus is calling you to go somewhere to do His work, but you've been unwilling to listen to His voice. Maybe, if you listen closely enough, He's asking you to get up out of your office chair and talk to your boss or your co-worker about the amazing things God has done in your life. Or maybe God is asking you to start a Bible study in your home, or to get more involved in the things of the Lord in your church. Or just maybe He's calling you to move to a place where you can preach the Gospel to the lost in a foreign country. Whatever the Lord is calling you to do, do it! Whatever the specifics, God has called each of us to go -- to reach out to people with what God has done for us, and share the message of Hope with them.
My prayer for us today is that our hearts would be soft towards Jesus Christ and His voice, and that we would all simply ask Him, "What can I do to further what You have done for me?"
God will always reveal His will to one who is willing to do it.
~Hilys Jasper~
When we open our hearts to God, He will reveal His heart to us and we can enter into fellowship with Him through prayer.
The way to be a happy person will be found in what you do and don't do. Psalm 1:1 says, "Oh, the joys of those who do not follow the advice of the wicked, or stand around with sinners, or join in with mockers."
Greg Laurie
He will never leave us or forsake us. Remember, being a Christian is not the easy way; it is the right way. The grand design of God is all the afflictions that befalls His people is to bring them nearer and closer to Himself.
~Thomas Brooks~
God put on flesh, came to this earth, and died in our place. He took the initiative and pursued you. When you realize the extravagance of his love it begins to change our hearts. We love him because he first loved us.
We may be reaping something we have sown, but, be sure, God has allowed us to experience the trial to refine and strengthen us. He could take us out of our trials, but we will be less effective without them. We have got more from Paul’s prison house than from his visit to the third heaven.
~Andrew Bonar~
What an amazing gift He has given us.
The aim of the church is to reach the rest of the world.
~Donald English~
I believe God has given us many tremendous tools to share His message of love, grace, mercy and plan of salvation with an unsaved world. And I think we should use every one of those available whenever it is appropriate. Unfortunately, there can sometimes be an over-reliance on a worldly approach. We must not forget the war we wage cannot be won nor fought as the world does. Ours is a spiritual battle.
Satan knows that attacking the Word of God is ultimately pointless. Why? Because people are drawn to the truth. However, it does not stop him from attacking the people who preach, teach, serve, and lead. It's how Satan operates -- he disgraces the person in some way -- and thereby discredits God. The body divides, is fractured, and finally disbands. It was happening to Paul and the church in Corinth; it's occurring right now in our churches today; and it can be the personal experience of any of us who choose to become involved in ministry. I am always asked why did you leave. My answer is I didn't. just changed buildings. As my friend Rudy would say.
Taking up your cross is never easy. But Jesus who hung on it and laid down his own life after He washed all the disciple's feet, was obedient even unto death. In the garden, they slept while He prayed but he knowing what was ahead still went. He went knowing they would flee. He went because the end was just the beginning. He went to prepare a place for us. He left the Comforter to lead us and guide us. teaching us even from the mouths of babies. With God all things are possible. Be faithful pick up your cross and follow the Lord to victory.
If you don't read your bible, pray, or fellowship with other believers, how can YOU listen to God?
A Hope-Filled Heart
If you follow the example of Christ, you will learn to see tough times differently. He wants you to have a hope-filled heart…just like Jesus. Wouldn’t you want that? Jesus saw his Father’s presence in the problem. Sure, Max, but Jesus was God. I can’t see the way he saw. Not yet, maybe. But don’t underestimate God’s power. He can change the way you look at life.
God loves you, and you must know it. I mean it is imperative that you understand that God loves you. Not just the obedient you, or the version of you that has the ability to hold everything together. But he indeed also loves the flawed, vulnerable, indecisive you. The walk of the Christian is often filled with moments from faith to faith. The prize for completing one crazy God-assigned task is another daunting expedition with greater risks and more to lose.
Disobedience often occurs because we are unsure whether God’s instructions will lead us to a positive end. We walk in fear uncertain of God’s motives behind his instructions to us. We are always waiting for the other shoe to drop, and for the failure that we are so sure we will encounter. This fear can be paralyzing but is a sure sign that we are unsure whether God indeed loves us to the extent he says he does.
If God loves me, then his intent for me must be good and lead to life. Therefore, IF God loves me, he would never give me an instruction without providing for its successful fulfillment in advance.
As leaders, we must learn to become fully acquainted with the love of God. Understanding God’s love to the fullest extent evicts fear and perfects us. When we remain in insecurity, it opens us up for fear and paralyzes us from exhibiting the type of faith required of justified people. Furthermore, as leaders, we must ensure that we encourage those who follow us to become rooted and grounded in God’s love for them. When trials, circumstances, and even the enemy attempt to plant fear in our hearts, we must endeavor to remain deeply rooted and grounded in the reality of God’s endless love and intended well being for our lives. Just in case you forgot, God loves you.
Knowing that you are loved by God, that He has a plan for your life, that you can trust Him fully, is the greatest possible stress reducer. Pray to be reminded of that truth when you begin to falter.
Behind every ministry, countless faithful givers say no to certain earthly treasures to say yes to reaching the physically and spiritually needy all over the world.
Randy Alcorn
I have read and studied a lot about the "age of maturity". How old does one need to be before they are mature enough to make a decision for Christ? The conclusion I've come to is this -- God can lay claim to anyone's life at any age He chooses. Whether young or old, sick and dying or healthy and vibrant, youthful innocence or caught up in the most heinous sin imaginable. Who am I to question God's authority?
We received the Lord and His great salvation as gifts of grace. "Thanks be to God for His indescribable gift!…For by grace you have been saved through faith, and that not of yourselves; it is the gift of God" (2 Corinthians 9:15 and Ephesians 2:8). We must, therefore, walk in Him with a "grace-receiving" mentality.
To the region where he goes, the man enters newly born. We forget that it is a birth and call it death. And as the childbed is watched on earth with anxious expectancy, so the couch of the dying, as we call it, maybe surrounded by the birth-watchers of the other world, waiting like anxious servants to open the door to which this world is but the windblown porch.”
George McDonald, Robert Falconer,1868.
When C.S. Lewis mourned the death of his wife, he wrote, “It is hard to have patience with people who say ‘There is no death.’ There is death. And whatever is matters…I look up into the night sky. Is there anything more certain than that in all those vast times and spaces…I should nowhere find her face, her voice, her touch? She died. She is dead. Is the word so difficult to learn?”
C.S. Lewis, A Grief Observed
(Harper One, 2001, originally 1961) p. 15
“Death, be not proud, though some have called thee
Mighty and dreadful, for thou art not so…
One short sleep past, we wake eternally,
And death shall be no more; Death, thou shalt die.”
—John Donne, poet,1572-1631
The believer is appointed to be a lighthouse to others, a cheering lamp, and a guiding star.
~C.H. Spurgeon~
Followers of God have a long rich history of memorizing Scripture. From the time that the first books of the Bible were written, people have been memorizing Scripture in order to help them live faithfully. It is clear that Jesus memorized Scripture from the fact that he so often quoted Scripture when he was talking to others. Both the Old and New Testament authors consistently quote Scripture. Do you know someone who consistently memorizes Scripture? Ask what it has meant to his or her spiritual growth. Chances are high that you’ll get a glowing testimony!
For the Spirit to use the Bible to transform us, we need to know what’s in it.
Remember, when you memorize Scripture, you’ll be tempted to use it to impress others. Fight that temptation. You’re not memorizing the Bible as a parlor trick to impress other Christians, you’re doing it so that Scripture can transform you from the inside out.
Diversity is good, but unity is vital. Our local congregation has unique gifts and callings that can enrich other parts of the Body of Christ, just as others have gifts we need.
Looking to Jesus brings me joy and peace, but it is God’s looking to Jesus which secures my salvation.
~C.H. Spurgeon~
Look to the Cross, and hate your sin, for sin nailed your
Well Beloved to the tree. ~C.H. Spurgeon~
The believer is appointed to be a lighthouse to others, a cheering lamp, and a guiding star.
~C.H. Spurgeon~
If we are going to live by grace, we must relate rightly to the God of all grace: namely, by walking in humble dependence. Continual, Spirit-led prayer is the basic way to express humility and faith in the Lord.
We are to build our life with the Lord upon the very same terms that we began that life. "As you have therefore received Christ Jesus the Lord, so walk in Him." We are to walk with Jesus the way we received Him.
Goodness is the very opposite of harshness, cruelty, gruffness, severity, and mercilessness — all of which are 𝘧𝘢𝘳 𝘳𝘦𝘮𝘰𝘷𝘦𝘥 from God.
How unbecoming it is to have such thoughts of God! Such sinful emotions are found in man.
—Wilhelmus à Brakel, Reasonable Service, 1:122
"We cannot see an hour before us, but the Lord Jesus will lead us even to our journey's end."
— Charles Spurgeon
7 things you learn every day:
1. God is still sovereign.
2. Christ is still reigning.
3. The Spirit is still interceding.
4. The church is still essential.
5. Satan is still deceiving.
6. The gospel is still saving.
7. Glory is still coming!
"Sin within will ruin even if it be not seen in the act."
— Charles Spurgeon
Agreeing or disagreeing with the Bible does not affect its truth.
Continue to practice your devotions habitually ... Do not neglect this and do it to the best of your ability. Read the Word, even if you neither have the least desire to do so.
—Wilhelmus à Brakel (1635-1711
"Study the Bible with diligence. Never be satisfied with a secondhand version of it."
— Charles Spurgeon
Poor knowledge of Scripture results in poor use of Scripture.
Counseling that offers no word from God will parch, starve, mislead, and ultimately kill the very people it tries hard to help. – David Powlison
If we read the Word and do not pray, we may become puffed up with knowledge, without the love that buildeth up. If we pray without reading the Word, we shall be ignorant of the mind and will of God, and become mystical and fanatical and blown about by every wind of doctrine.
D.L. Moody
What one generation tolerates, the next generation will embrace.
John Wesley
Come as you are, sinful, tired, worried, anxious, depressed, sick, scared - it doesn't matter. Come to Jesus! He will never reject you! He's calling your name, He knows where you are today! Let the Spirit of God minister to your soul and draw you closer to HIM! "that He might sanctify and cleanse her with the washing of water by the word" Psalm 37:7
10 things to do in 2024: 1-Go all in on following Jesus 2-Make memories w/ family 3-Spend time in the Bible 4-Have an active prayer life 5-Be a good friend 6-Plug into a local church 7-Serve others 8-Exercise 9-Have a hobby 10-Laugh
Don’t mistake Jesus hanging out with sinners as tolerance and affirmation of their sin. He spent time with them, so that they’d believe in Him as the Savior who saves sinners and changes lives.
IF YOU HAVE TO FORCE IT OPEN, IT'S NOT YOUR DOOR!
EFFECTIVE LEADERSHIP CARES MORE ABOUT GETTING RESULTS THAN RECEIVING CREDIT.
SOME PEOPLE'S ONLY PURPOSE IN LIFE IS TO DISTRACT YOU FROM YOURS. STAY FOCUSED!
“It is safe to tell the pure in heart that they shall see God, for only the pure in heart want to.” - C.S. Lewis
“God has infinite attention to spare for each one of us. You are as much alone with him as if you were the only being he had ever created.” - C.S. Lewis
The surest method of getting rid of present tears is communion and fellowship with God. When I can creep under the wing of my dear God let the world say what it will, let the devil roar as he pleases. I am safe, content, happy, peaceful, and rejoicing. Spurgeon
The dearest to the heart of God have felt the heaviest blows of the chastening rod. Spurgeon
Oh that earth would take up the echo, and join with heaven in singing, “Worthy to receive power, and riches, and wisdom, and strength, and honor, and glory, and blessing!” DL Moody
As you close the old year, ask Jesus to defeat the darkness in your life. A Jewish proverb says, “A little bit of light pushes away a lot of darkness.” Ray Bentley
What happens when a sinner comes to Jesus? Moved with compassion, Jesus reaches out and touches that life. Chuck Smith
I find that life and health often come to the saints through briny tears or through the bruising of the flesh and the oppression of the spirit. I bear willing witness that sickness has brought me health and that loss has conferred gain. Spurgeon
When you have found the Messiah, call one another to him. —
Puritan Thomas Manton, Works 6:264
None can speak with such confidence as those that have felt what they speak. —Puritan Thomas Manton, Works 6:264
From a sermon preached on Aug. 21, 1936: “What America needs is an old-fashioned message on the awfulness of sin, the lost condition of men without Christ & the necessity of the New Birth.” —Standing Against Tyranny, The Life & Legacy of Arthur Perkins, Pg. 16
Make me to understand the way of thy precepts: so shall I talk of thy wondrous works. — Psalm 119:27 KJV “Observe, he that is sensible of the wondrous things that are in God’s word 𝘸𝘪𝘭𝘭 be talking of them.“ —Puritan Thomas Manton, Works 6:263
The bucket, if we would have it filled with the ocean, must first be empty. God strengthens those that are weak in their own feeling and sense of their own nothingness. —Puritan Thomas Manton, Works 6:274
Holiness is not the way to Christ; Christ is the way to holiness. Charles Spurgeon
So long as Jesus Christ is there, in heaven before God for us, our salvation will last. Sinclair Ferguson
When God is silent, He is not still.
Tony Evans
"Hold everything earthly with a loose hand; but grasp eternal things with a death-like grip." — Charles Spurgeon
Faithful Christian, seek the truth, listen to the truth, learn the truth, love the truth, tell the truth, learn the truth, defend the truth even to death. Jan Hus
"Having an advanced degree in biblical exegesis does not mean one has to say things in the most difficult way. The goal is to display biblical truth, not a diploma." — Bryan Chapell
“Those who preach only out of duty produce listeners who listen only out of duty, a miserable exchange of boredom.” - Darius Salter
"Ten minutes' praying is better than a year's murmuring." — Charles Spurgeon
"To me, the Bible is not God, but it is God's voice, and I do not hear it without awe." — Charles Spurgeon
A Christian should neither be humbled to the degree of dejection, nor confident [in himself] to the degree of security; and therefore, he is to have a double eye, upon God and upon himself, upon his own necessities and upon God’s all-sufficiency. —Thomas Manton, Works 6:265
"God gave His best, His Son, to me; and I give back my best, my all, to Him." -John Paton.
"Whether Calvinists, or Arminians, or anything else, dear friends, be first and chiefly Christians." — Charles Spurgeon
The doorstep to the temple of wisdom is the knowledge of our own ignorance. Charles Spurgeon
Christ is a joyful and cheerful advocate. He hath not a sour kind of earnestness, as is common among men; but an earnestness with a joy, as being the delight of His heart. —Puritan Stephen Charnock, Works 5:108
"The gospel is as free as the air you breathe." — Charles Spurgeon
When self-appointed prophets seek to repackage the Gospel to make it more relevant or appealing to culture, we must not follow them. Paul Washer
It is not, therefore, the greatness of, but the continuance in, sins that indeed damneth the sinner. -John Bunyan -
We are never nearer #Christ than when we find ourselves lost in a #holy amazement at His unspeakable #love. -John Owen -
"You will not find one Godly man who came out of affliction worse than when he went into it. Though for a little while he was shaken yet at last he was better for an affliction. But a great many Godly men have been worse for their prosperity." Jeremiah Burroughs
"If you do not love the Bible, you certainly do not love the God who gave it to us." — Charles Spurgeon
He who cannot obey is not fit to rule: he who has never learned to submit will make a tyrant when he obtains the power. Charles Spurgeon
You will never glory in God till first of all God has killed your glorying in yourself. Charles Spurgeon
"The Christian is not only delivered from punishment, he is positively absolved from guilt." — Charles Spurgeon
"So long as you are willing to be used by God, you need not fear." — Charles Spurgeon
True theology always moves the heart. - Martyn Lloyd-Jones
"While your hands are labouring, let your heart be employed, as much as possible, in divine thoughts." -David Brainerd.
"If you feel incapable, throw yourself upon the infinite capacity of God" — Charles Spurgeon
If we feel none of its sacred heat in our hearts, it will profit nothing, though we be burnt to ashes for the truth. —Matthew Henry, Commentary on 1 Corinthians 13:3
"If God has given you an anxiety for the souls of others, with faith get to work in all your feebleness." — Charles Spurgeon
He leads none to #heaven but whom He sanctifies on the earth. -John Owen -
By this #Spirit we come to see the beauty of Christ, without a sight of which we should never desire him -John Bunyan -
"When the soul cleaves to the earth, who but God can lift it up?" — Charles Spurgeon
When you go through a trial, the sovereignty of God is the pillow upon which you lay your head. Charles Spurgeon
"We praise the electing, unchangeable, eternal, conquering love of the Lord." — Charles Spurgeon
"Any teaching in holiness which is divorced from the life of the church is already in error." -Martyn Lloyd-Jones.
"Because God is infinitely happy, he delights in the happiness of his creatures." — Charles Spurgeon
It is not great knowledge that God sets a value upon, but true and hearty devotion and love. —Matthew Henry, Commentary on 1 Corinthians 13:2
"We ought to work as if all depended upon us, and then we are to trust God knowing that all depends on him." — Charles Spurgeon
“Preaching is essentially a merging of the gifts of teaching and exhortation, prophecy has the primary elements of prediction and revelation.” -F. David Farnell
We will never know how great God's love is until we know how great our sin is. Steven Lawson
"He that cannot be safely imitated ought not to be tolerated in a pulpit." — Charles Spurgeon
#Christ gives peace to the most sinful and miserable that come to Him. -Jonathan Edwards -
The devil is a better theologian than any of us and is a devil still. -A.W.Tozer
Everything is so little to God, that if He does not care for the little, He cares for nothing. Charles Spurgeon
God has given you one simple responsibility: to believe in His promise. You can enjoy the blessing of a relationship with God even though you may not pray enough, or give enough, or sacrifice enough because of your faith in what God has already done for you. -Chuck Smith
The doctrines commonly called “Calvinistic” are the only doctrines that can shut the mouths of devils and fill the mouths of saints in the day of famine and in the time of extremity. Charles Spurgeon
“Family worship is beyond measure important both for the present and succeeding generations.” — Charles Spurgeon
No child of God sins to that degree as to make himself incapable of forgiveness. John Bunyan
"Never call the Holy Spirit 'it.' Worship him, love him, and trust him with confidence." — Charles Spurgeon
"Jesus backed up his claims by doing things only God can do, like opening the eyes of the blind, healing the lame, with a word, raising the dead back to life." - Charlie Campbell
"We would not care for a God who did not hate sin." — Charles Spurgeon
Within the one Being that is God, there exists eternally three coequal and coeternal persons, namely, the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit. - James White
Why do some Reformed Baptists take an "eat the meat and spit out the bones" approach with Aquinas but demand that we mark and avoid brothers like James White?
The way to do a great deal is to keep on doing a little. The way to do nothing at all is to be continually resolving that you will do everything. - Charles Spurgeon, 28 December 1884
"Preach the whole counsel of God, from predestination to glorification." -Christmas Evans.
"He who died on the cross was none other than he that made the world." — Charles Spurgeon
“Ministry flows from intimacy. Mission comes from relationship. Whatever Christ calls you to forsake will also be relational in its implications.” ― Britt Merrick
"I would hardly give a penny for any salvation that I could lose." — Charles Spurgeon
"A stuttered gospel is no less powerful than an eloquent gospel, for the power lies not with the manner but with the message." - Jared C. Wilson
The greatest need of the #church today is to be filled with the #Holy #Spirit, to work in Him and have Him work through us. -A.W. Tozer -
Time ought to be esteemed by us as very precious because we are uncertain of its continuance. -Jonathan Edwards -
In this vital matter of relating rightly to the Lord, one common mistake is attempting to develop our Christian walk in a different manner than we began it. Our present verses point us to the proper outlook. We are to build our life with the Lord upon the very same terms that we began that life. "As you have therefore received Christ Jesus the Lord, so walk in Him." We are to walk with Jesus the way we received Him.
Remembering you are not God helps you live in freedom.
Take comfort today in the fact that God is God and we are not! His ways are higher than our ways and His thoughts are higher than our thoughts (Isaiah 55:8-9). We don’t have to grasp for control or overthink every little thing because He is in control!
It isn’t enough to start well in the race of life; we need to finish well. It isn’t enough to run fast; we need to run fast and long. This is a long-distance run, and the goal is to make it across the finish line.
We’re running this race not for applause, not for notoriety, but for the Lord. We run this race so that we can hear Jesus say to us on that final day, “Well done, good and faithful servant.”
Looking to Jesus keeps us going, because we can get discouraged. People can let us down. They can disappoint us. That’s why we must keep our eyes on Jesus Christ.
If you’ve been slowing down, it’s time to speed up. It’s time to move forward, because you are leaving a legacy.
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