“There is, therefore, something in humility which, strangely enough, exalts the heart.”—St. Augustine
That’s a big step down, from the highest height to the lowest, most humiliating death known to the world at that time, death upon the cross.
RAY BENTLY
Stepping down is hard. It’s a challenge to give up something you’ve worked hard to attain or to let go of a position you know isn’t right for you. It’s equally hard to volunteer for a job that seems beneath your level of education or competence. But if you sense the Holy Spirit nudging you to let it go—to humble yourself and let go of the ego or the need to be in charge so you can step down and serve others— remember what Jesus did for us. And through obedience, you will also know great joy.
OSWALD CHAMBERS
Christianity is not consistency to conscience or to convictions; Christianity is being true to Jesus Christ.
What if expressing grief is actually “coming together” rather than “falling apart”.
Have your learned from others not to express your grief? How would your relationship with God, your relationship with others, and your emotional health change if instead of stuffing the pain you let it flow? God never meant for us to be relentlessly stoic. Jesus wept. So should we.
Many times we don’t know what to do until we take a step of faith. Then, when we take it, we will realize what the next step is.
When God tells us to do something, we need to do it. God’s way becomes plain when we start walking in it. Obedience to revealed truth guarantees guidance in matters unrevealed.
There may be times in our lives when the Lord clearly directs us to do certain things. But there may be many other situations in which we must simply take biblical principles and, to the best of our ability, live them. Sometimes we will need to prayerfully take steps of faith.
It is so easy to become bitter with life. Keep your eyes on the Lord, and you can become a man or woman of great character, holding onto great hope.
We must accept finite disappointment
but never lose infinite hope.
~Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.~
Leaders share the blame
Loosers runaway and pass the buck. Own up, Share the responsibility, Have hope in Jesus Christ not man, and Look to change in self, the problem, and life.
Leaders do, dreamers don't! Count the coast, the greatest ability is availability...
Dennis Davenport
Developing a vibrant faith requires time and energy plus a commitment to obey God. Regularly studying the Bible will strengthen your beliefs and give you courage to speak. Caring about the spiritual welfare of others will move you into action. Do you have a passion to serve Jesus wherever He leads?
from Dr. Charles Stanley
Ingratitude laced with grumbling, complaining, and murmuring is an easy trap to fall into. And it is so contagious. Someone grumbles and the next thing you know, you fall right in line and start grumbling too.
Gratitude and giving thanks in all things opens our eyes to see God’s glory in even the smallest things. On the other hand, ingratitude blinds our eyes to God’s presence, and we miss His advances all around. It’s a choice, not an emotion.
There is a great deal of unmapped country within us.
~George Eliot~
There are a variety of gifts and administrations, but God wants us to be blessed with what He has given us. Do not look at the gifts of other people and covet them. Search yourself and recognize what gifts you have, develop them, and use them by faith.
A day without laughter is a day wasted.
Satan laughs at our set backs, mocks what we know, but trembles when we pray.
Prayer for healing shouldn't just happen on Sunday mornings or Wednesday nights. Jesus has appointed us, and that simple fact should affect real situations, every single day of our lives.
When you feel the urge to ask if someone wants prayer to be healed, follow the Holy Spirit's leading and go for it. Don't allow the enemy to break you down by discouraging you to talk to them, or by causing you to feel like you shouldn't ask them if they want prayer.
The standard of the law of God is infinitely high and lofty: "be holy, be loving, be perfect." This is because the law reflects the very character of God. In light of this, we may wonder if there is any way that the law can be fulfilled. How could the righteous demands of the law ever be met in our lives? The answer to this vital question is contained in the truth that Jesus came "to fulfill" the law.
“Vision is the art of seeing the invisible.”
—Jonathan Swift
“It’s not what you look at that matters, it’s what you see...”
— Henry David Thoreau
“Our vision is more obstructed by what we think we know than by our lack of knowledge.”
— Kristen Stendahl
Complaining about your current position in life is worthless. Have a spine and do something about it instead.
Envy is a settled, crooked malice.
~Thomas Manton~
Don't let the enemy destroy your life, your marriage, or your relationship with your family. Don't allow these things to defile you, all the while thinking that you're "a good person" because you don't smoke or drink or eat unhealthy foods. Don't get me wrong; it's important to take care of yourself and to be a good steward of the body that God has given you. But don't let that be your sole focus. Have a heart that seeks after the things of the Lord.
As Christians, we don’t need “Good Luck.” We need the help of a loving God who is in control of our lives.
Sowing in the morning, sowing seeds of kindness, sowing in the noontide and the dewy eye, waiting for the harvest and the time of reaping, we shall come rejoicing bringing in the sheaves.
~Knowles Shaw ~
As believers, we can put our past in the rearview mirror. We can put it behind us. Romans 6:14 says, "Sin is no longer your master, for you no longer live under the requirements of the law. Instead, you live under the freedom of God's grace." We are free by God's grace.
Corrie ten Boom said about her sins: "They are now cast into the deepest sea and a sign is put up that says NO FISHING ALLOWED."
Satan can disturb us, but he cannot defeat us. The head of the serpent is crushed!
Too many are willing to sit at God’s table, but not work in His fields.
~Vance Havner~
Just as there is a spiritual solution to the problems in our country, there is a spiritual solution for the problems in our lives too.
Greg Laurie
There is such beauty in the mutual and reckless pursuit of each other in marriage.
When both spouses have an attitude that says "I am always committed to you and nothing will change that", there's no difficulty you won't overcome.
Choose your actions and words wisely.
Condemnation is a curse. It is a poison on the planet that leads to despair, discouragement and even the kind of religious fanaticism that cultivates terrorism and racism. Condemnation is a spiritual life gone wrong.
As ludicrous as it may seem, many people choose to give up Christ, their freedom from sin and their eternal life over such sins as: an adulterous affair, greed for money or the material things this world can offer. Satan, can use these things to entangle and enslave us once again into sin.
A lot of people say they believe in Jesus, label themselves as Christians, and even use the Bible as the foundation for their beliefs. However, calling yourself a Christian doesn't make you one. The dividing line between what we believe, and what most of the cults say, has to do with the identity and deity of Christ.
Walking in a way that honors the Lord is a daily commitment. Pray for wisdom to know which steps to take.
Marriage is more than finding the right person;
it is being the right person.
Spiritually —and emotionally—healthy people are humble because they allow themselves to be real, to be broken, vulnerable, and to let go because Jesus did.
Ray Bently
The only sin God cannot forgive is the sin of rejecting Christ––turn to Him in repentance and faith––and He will forgive.
~Billy Graham~
Leaders will always be evaluated on what they achieve and what they help their teams achieve.
Godly leaders must fight the tendency to focus on surface and appearance. We need to ask what’s under the hood.
When our hearts are wrong, the actions we take as leaders will always be compromised.
Christians are encouraged to look for “the blessed hope - the glorious appearing of our great God and Savior, Jesus Christ” (Titus 2:13). We are encouraged to look ahead to tomorrow, living with the awareness Jesus could come today.
Numbers 6:24-26
“The Lord bless you and keep you;
The Lord make His face shine upon you,
And be gracious to you;
The Lord lift up His countenance upon you,
And give you peace.” ’
The standard of the law of God is infinitely high and lofty: "be holy, be loving, be perfect." This is because the law reflects the very character of God. In light of this, we may wonder if there is any way that the law can be fulfilled. How could the righteous demands of the law ever be met in our lives? The answer to this vital question is contained in the truth that Jesus came "to fulfill" the law.
O God,… we thank Thee for Thy Church, founded upon Thy Word, that challenges us to do more than sing and pray, but goes out and work as though the very answer to our prayers depended on us and not upon Thee… Help us to realize that man was created to shine like the stars and live on through all eternity. Keep us, we pray, in perfect peace, help us to walk together, pray together, sing together, and live together until that day when all God’s children, Black, White, Red, and Yellow, will rejoice in one common band of humanity in the kingdom of our Lord and of our God, we pray. Amen.
— Martin Luther King Jr.
When we lay aside our personal desires and ambitions, God will reveal the desires and plans that He has for us.
The best way to counsel someone is with an open Bible.
When God is about to do a new thing, He always sets his people praying.
— Jonathan Edwards
The more grace we have, the less we shall think of ourselves, for grace, like light, reveals our impurity.
"God is always ready to speak with you when you are prepared to hear."
— Charles Spurgeon
We must return to the high calling of identifying, rejecting, and fleeing from sin.
Dale Partridge
Many modern Christians have been so desensitized to sin that the standard of personal holiness seen in the Scriptures seems to them “hateful” and “legalistic.
All of History is Christ’s. He is both its central figure and its sovereign governor. History will end at His glorious return.
He is the LORD of history.
When you renew your mind through the Word of God by spending time with Him daily, God will satisfy every desire of your heart so that you will not be overcome by the flesh.
When we understand that God owes us nothing except for His wrath, we will never cease to praise Him for His mercy.
If you know “someone” that…
- is far from God
- doesn’t give a rip about church
- is really, really good at sinning
Don’t give up on them. Pray for them. Point them to a Savior. No one is too far gone. I was once “someone” just like that, but thankfully Jesus saves!
Even though divine mysteries exist, this is not a sufficient plea to be ignorant of God’s ways and will.
William Bridge
Nothing sets a Christian so much out of the devil's reach than humility.
—Jonathan Edwards
"Jesus is not a mere memory. He is a living and present friend."
— Charles Spurgeon
FAITH IT YILL YOU MAKE IT!
The size of the act doesn't matter. If we perform it as an act of service, it becomes a sacramental expression.
The church isn't a country club created to fulfill your preferences. The church is a people saved by Jesus and empowered by the Spirit to take the gospel to the ends of the earth.
Real Christianity is not worshiping dead saints, but a living Savior.
SOMETIMES THE PERSON YOU FALL FOR, ISN'T EQUIPPED TO CATCH YOU!
YOUR CURRENT SITUATION IS NOT YOUR FINAL DESTINATION! YOU WILL GET THROUGH THIS! NEVER SIT IN A VALLEY YOU WERE ONLY SUPPOSED TO WALK THROUGH!
A CHURCH THAT DOESN'T DISCIPLE, WILL DISSOLVE!
Ephesians 4:5 KJV One Lord, one faith, one baptism, the Word speaks of 1. Baptism of Moses (1 Cor 10:2) 2. Baptism of John (Mat 3:6) 3. Baptism of Christ unto death (May 20:22- 3) 4. Baptism of Holy Ghost (Mark 1:8-9) 5. Baptism in name of Jesus (Acts 2:38, 8:16) 6. Baptism
Becoming Christ like is a daily walk of you allowing the Lord to love you, sharpen you, correct you, and Father you to become more like Him daily.
A dungeon with Christ is a throne, and a throne without Christ is a hell. Martin Luther
Prayer is not getting God to do what I want Him to do. Prayer is where God wants me to discover His will and seek to align myself with it. Prayer is not bending God my way. It is bending me His way.
“Save me entirely from sin. I know I am righteous through the righteousness of another, but I pant and pine for likeness to thyself.” — The Valley of Vision
“In the beginning it pleased God… for the manifestation of the glory of His eternal power, wisdom, and goodness, to create or make the world, and all things therein, whether visible or invisible, in the space of six days, and all very good.” — Baptist Confession 4.1
“Failure is being successful at the things that don’t matter.” — Rico Tice
"It should be the husband’s pleasure to please his wife." — Charles Spurgeon
The more spiritual one is, the more carnal he sees himself to be. — William McEwen (1735–1762)
Since Christ makes His elect righteous, He of necessity must subject Himself to the law on their behalf, fulfilling it in obedience. — Wilhelmus à Brakel
Those who think themselves secure are more exposed to danger than any others. The armour-bearer of Sin is Self-confidence." –– Charles Spurgeon
"Jesus, the Redeemer, is altogether ours and ours forever." — Charles Spurgeon
"Every individual believer is precious in the sight of the Lord." — Charles Spurgeon
"Heaven is warmest when earth is coldest. God is dearest when goods are fewest." — Charles Spurgeon
"Warm-hearted saints keep each other warm, but cold is also contagious." — Charles Spurgeon
"To the graceless, the yoke of Christ is intolerable, but to the saved sinner it is easy and light." — Charles Spurgeon
"Others may change and cast out your name as vile, but God will love you still." — Charles Spurgeon
"In the New Testament we find Jesus Christ the one constant theme of every page." — Charles Spurgeon
"He that cannot be safely imitated ought not to be tolerated in a pulpit." — Charles Spurgeon
" I do not see how I am to be delivered; but this is no business of mine. He who makes the promise will find out ways and means of keeping it." — Charles Spurgeon
"For God's infinite goodness there should be measureless thanks." — Charles Spurgeon
"He whose life's object is to accumulate money is not a Christian." — Charles Spurgeon
"No thoughtful person will be without food as so as the epistles of Paul exist, for he feeds the soul with sacred manna." — Charles Spurgeon
"The gospel is all about Christ from beginning to end." – Charles Spurgeon
The Lord will not abandon us to a grave of despair or failure, nor will He allow our lives to be decayed by sin. He died for us, that we might live in victory, in the abundant life He longs for us to live. Ray Bentley
Faith obeys, regardless of personal understanding. Chuck Smith
In the greatest difficulties, in the heaviest trials, in the deepest poverty and necessities, He has never failed me; but because I was enabled by His grace to trust Him He has always appeared for my help. I delight in speaking well of His name. George Mueller
You must not excuse yourself from the battle because you are weak, for the Lord strengthens the feeble. Spurgeon
Keep on adding keep on walking keep on progressing Augustine
The Old (Testament) is in the New (Testament) revealed, the New is in the Old concealed. Augustine
No one can begin a new life, unless he repent of the old. Augustine
Two works of mercy set a person free: Forgive and you will be forgiven, and give and you will receive. Augustine
The only real worth which we bring to God is to offer him our unworthiness and vileness, so that in his mercy, he may make us worthy, and to be cast down within ourselves, so that we may be comforted by him, to be humbled within so that we may be exalted in him John Calvin
Do you wish to rise? Begin by descending. Augustine
Our heart is restless until it rests in You. Augustine
Moral character is assessed not by what a man knows but by what he loves. Augustine
Every morning you put on your clothes to cover your nakedness and protect your body from inclement weather. Why don't you also clothe your soul with the garment of faith? Remember each morning the truths of your creed, and look at yourself in the mirror of your faith. Augustine
Do not follow any road, but that which Christ trod. This road seems hard, but it is safe. Augustine
Habit, if not resisted, soon becomes necessity. Augustine
If you are without love, then the church bell is as good a Christian as you. John Duncan
The truth of the matter is rather as Christ says, 'He who is not with me is against me.' He does not say, 'He who is not with me is not against me either, but merely neutral.’ Martin Luther
Pride is more than the first of the seven deadly sins; it is itself the essence of all sin. John Stott
Truth without love is too hard; love without truth is too soft. John Stott
The first thing I plan to do on resurrected legs is to drop on grateful, glorified knees. I will quietly kneel at the feet of Jesus. Joni Eareckson Tada
“If I find in myself a desire which no experience in this world can satisfy, the most probable explanation is that I was made for another world.” - C.S. Lewis
Without being constantly reformed by the Word the church becomes something very different. We must always keep the church under the Word. —Martyn Lloyd-Jones
“So, then, preach Christ. Preach Him plainly and gratefully, and you will not be tempted to preach about man and his pretended powers and dignity." - Jay E. Adams
Teaching man to rely on himself can be no more than sweet seduction, because everyone who is deluded by it will be ruined. -John Calvin -
It isn't those who are governed by self-will, but as many as are led by the Spirit of God, they are the sons of God. -A.W. Pink -
Disciples of Christ read their Bibles, not dirty books! – Todd Friel
How often do you think of your salvation in this way? 'The glory of God'! - Martyn Lloyd-Jones
"Satan does not fill us with hatred of God, but with forgetfulness of God." -Dietrich Bonhoeffer.
At those times when I have read the Scriptures most, I have been most lively and in the best frame. -Jonathan Edwards -
The least of mercies are not deserved by the best of sinners. -John Bunyan
Question: If man is a totally depraved being, can he possibly take the first step in the matter of his return to God? A.W. Pink Biblical Answer: NOPE!
The best Bible teaching is not that which dazzles people with the profound intellect of their teacher, but that which puts its truth squarely in their hands. Chuck Smith
There is, therefore, something in humility which, strangely enough, exalts the heart. Augustine
If you want to find your purpose, don’t go looking for your purpose. Look for the Purpose-giver. Tony Evans
While God has set us among the routines of life, He wants us to look beyond the things of earth for something greater. Tony Evans
God has put within each one of us a sense of the eternal, a yearning for the things that are beyond space and time, things like our ultimate purpose and meaning. Tony Evans
“God’s cause is committed to men; God commits himself to men. Praying men are the vice-regents of God: they do His work and carry out His plans” - E. M. Bounds
"I risk my soul's eternal fate upon the truth of the gospel, and I know that there is no risk in it." — Charles Spurgeon
Sirs, allow me to tell you, that, if you be obeying the Law for life, righteousness, justification, or acceptance before God, you are doing the devil’s work; for you are making a Christ of your obedience, ye are shoving Christ out of His room. —Ebenezer Erskine, Works 2:192
"Men, you ought to have a list of your wives' needs, spoken and unspoken, that you passionately hold up to God out of love for them. Praying is the marital work of a Christian husband!" -R. Kent Hughes
"God has been pleased to give us this grand old Book, the Bible." — Charles Spurgeon
The truth is the sanctifier, and if we do not hear or read the truth, we shall not grow in sanctification. -C.H. Spurgeon -
The Christian isn't in competition with other Christians. Our enemy is the world, the flesh and the devil. -A.W. Tozer -
"Sin is a disease and God has provided a costly remedy." — Charles Spurgeon
Two works of mercy set a person free: Forgive and you will be forgiven, and give and you will receive. Augustine
The only real worth which we bring to God is to offer him our unworthiness and vileness, so that in his mercy, he may make us worthy, and to be cast down within ourselves, so that we may be comforted by him, to be humbled within so that we may be exalted in him John Calvin
"The gospel to me is truth. I am content to perish if it be not true." — Charles Spurgeon
"The Bible is the window through which we may look and see our Lord." — Charles Spurgeon
Holiness is the visible side of salvation. - Charles Spurgeon
“This fiction (a literal 1,000 year reign of Christ) is too puerile* to need or to deserve refutation.” —John Calvin, Institutes 3.25.5
"Unbelief brings misery, but a childlike trust brings happiness." — Charles Spurgeon
"I have thumbed my Bible many a year; I have never yet thumbed a broken promise." — Charles Spurgeon
The custom of sinning takes away the sense of it, the course of the world takes away the shame of it. -John Owen -
The Gospel was not meant merely to reside in our intellect, memories, and tongues, but to be seen in our lives. -J.C. Ryle -
Do you wish to rise? Begin by descending. Augustine
No punishment is to be laid upon us [who have received Christ]; God will 𝘯𝘰𝘵 exact the debt twice, of us and Christ too. It would be a poor pardon if God should retain the punishment. —Puritan Thomas Manton, Works 3:484
The number of believers is not as large as the number of professors: ‘All men have not faith’ 2 These. iii. 2. —Thomas Manton, Works 3:203
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