As we submit our thoughts to the Lord, He blesses us with peace, love, joy, and the fruits of the Spirit. When we allow the enemy to use this tool, this device of our minds, he gains the deadliest foothold of all into our lives: fear, anxiety, confusion, and unbelief. Ray Bentley
How does a believer in Jesus Christ access the ongoing, sanctifying grace of God for daily godliness? It is accessed the same way that the initial, justifying grace of God was acquired-by humility and faith. We were justified, declared righteous in God's sight, when we humbly trusted in the Lord Jesus. We humbly agreed with the Lord's account of our guilty condition. "For all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God…For the wages of sin is death" (Romans 3:23; 6:23a). We also put our trust in Christ concerning His offer of life (based upon His death and resurrection on our behalf). "But the gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord" (Romans 6:23b). Thereby we partook of the justifying grace of God through humility and faith. This is how the Lord wants us to continue to relate to Him for sanctifying grace.
Pride leads the list of things that God despises. "These six things the LORD hates, yes, seven are an abomination to Him: A proud look, a lying tongue" (Proverbs 6:16-17). God wants our lives to be edified; pride is destructive. "Pride goes before destruction, and a haughty spirit before a fall" (Proverbs 16:18). The Lord desires that people be established in truth; pride is deceptive. "The pride of your heart has deceived you" (Obadiah v. 3). It is God's will that we grow in things that are honorable; pride brings disgrace. "When pride comes, then comes shame" (Proverbs 11:2). Our Lord does not want His name dishonored or our lives destroyed by pride.
"Rumour is like a snowball that gathers as it goes." -John Trapp.
OSWALD CHAMBERS
We are apt to think that everything that happens to us is to be turned into useful teaching; it is to be turned into something better than teaching, viz. into character. We shall find that the spheres God brings us into are not meant to teach us something but to make us something.
OSWALD CHAMBERS
The truth is we have nothing to fear and nothing to overcome because He is all in all and we are more than conquerors through Him. The recognition of this truth is not flattering to the worker’s sense of heroics, but it is amazingly glorifying to the work of Christ
As we submit our thoughts to the Lord, He blesses us with peace, love, joy, and the fruits of the Spirit. When we allow the enemy to use this tool, this device of our minds, he gains the deadliest foothold of all into our lives: fear, anxiety, confusion, and unbelief.
When all of earth turns against you, all of Heaven turns toward you.
Profound betrayal. Jesus understands the heart-stabbing pain of betrayal from the most intimate of friends. Maybe you do, too? What hurt the most? There is no way around the pain. How does keeping your eyes on Jesus change how you respond to your betrayers?
Decrease is holy only when its destination is love.
If you’ve fasted during Lent in the past, has it seemed like a project to you? This year, let’s approach Lent as a spiritual experience with Jesus Himself. Let’s set aside something and use that time or that thing to remember Jesus and honor Him.
Many times we don’t take hold of the resources that God has given us so that we might effectively resist temptation, be bolder witnesses for Christ, or be better husbands or better wives. We’re trying to do it in our own strength. And we’re falling short.
Which way are you living right now? Are you trying to do things in your own strength? Or, are you doing things through Christ who strengthens you? That is the key.
We can move forward in our own strength, try to make things happen, and fail. For instance, we can try to break free from an addiction or put a marriage back together or undertake a ministry with our own wisdom and resources. And we can fail.
God won’t step over the boundary of our free will and make us do what He wants us to do. If He did, then we would be nothing more than robots. But because He wants us to act out of our own free will, He initiates. At the same time, we must respond to what He is doing.
God has given us the strength to be the people He is calling us to be, but we must appropriate it, apply it, and utilize it.
There are some things that only God can do and some things that only we can do. For example, only God can enable, but only we can yield. Only God can guide, but only we can follow. And only God can convict us of our sin, but only we can repent of it.
The Bible doesn’t say that Christians should do everything for themselves. Nor does it say that God will do everything for Christians. Rather, the Bible shows us that God will do certain things, and we must then respond to those things. It shows us that the power and resources are there, but we must appropriate them.
The power of sin is strong, but the power of the Savior is stronger.
The plain and simple truth. Humans are humans, and angels are angels. This remains so even in eternity Here is our ultimate hope: when a loved one dies knowing Jesus as Lord and Savior, God does not gain another angel. Rather, God calls another worshipper to come home.
Let the promises of the Scriptures mend your broken heart knowing that your loved one, if they knew Jesus, is more alive today than you are—not as an angel, but rather, as a fully glorified human being with a perfect heart that is no longer susceptible to sin, a mind that is no longer susceptible to depression, or a body that is no longer susceptible to disease or death!
Christian brothers and sisters, take heart, if you’re a believer and follower of Jesus, then one day you’ll see you’re Christian loved one again. You’ll see them perfectly human through your perfectly human eyes, and together you’ll see the perfect Jesus who loved humans so much that He laid His life down for them!
Too many people want a God that will change their eternity, but not change their everyday life.
We can be worldly of ourselves, but we cannot be holy and heavenly of ourselves. —Thomas Manton, Works 6:370
The work of a Christian lies not in 𝘥𝘦𝘱𝘵𝘩 𝘰𝘧 𝘴𝘱𝘦𝘤𝘶𝘭𝘢𝘵𝘪𝘰𝘯, but in the 𝘩𝘦𝘪𝘨𝘩𝘵 𝘰𝘧 𝘱𝘳𝘢𝘤𝘵𝘪𝘤𝘦. —Thomas Manton, Works 6:361
The church is like a river. If it gets wider instead of deeper it will lose its power. —Puritan Thomas Manton
Continually occupy yourself with prayer, thanksgiving, waiting, reading, and singing—even if you do so without feeling and cannot get your heart involved in it. The Lord will be pleased with your efforts and will grant you a blessing. —Wilhelmus à Brakel, CRS 4:19
As long as we are still struggling [against sin], sin has not yet gained a complete victory. —Wilhelmus á Brakel (1635-1711), The Christian’s Reasonable Service, 4:227
The Jews corrupted the true purpose for which both the moral and ceremonial laws had been given. They considered it to be a covenant of works and sought for their righteousness in this covenant—as many who are Christians only in name still do. —Wilhelmus à Brakel, CRS 3:45
It is true these things (pleasures of the body, meats, drinks, wealth, honour) are good in themselves, and that self-love which carrieth us out to them is naturally good but it proves morally evil when the love of these things destroys the love of God. —Thomas Manton, 6:373
“If God had granted all the silly prayers I’ve made in my life, where should I be now?” - C.S. Lewis
“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
"God's law does not teach us about our ability, but about our obligation. It does not say, 'You can,' but, 'You should.'.. Though unconverted sinners cannot obey the law, it still serves to show them their sin (Rom. 3:20)." - Beeke & Smalley. Reformed Systematic Theology, 2:411.
“But in God, His attributes are His very essence. They are Him; therefore, they can no more be separated from Him than He can be separated from Himself.” — George Swinnock
Speaking to natural law exemplified throughout the book of Proverbs: “Proverbs helps us see that sin does more than break a rule. Sin fights against the nature of things. It is disordered, destructive, and stupid.” —VanDrunen
“There are no Monday sermons.” — John MacArthur
“Man has no being, no life, no activity without God. As long, therefore, as man continues in exis-tence, he is bound to have no being but for God and no activity but such as is according to His will.” — John Colquhoun, The Law and the Gospel, 14.
“Those who do not know the difference between the law and the gospel are prone to mix bondage with freedom of spirit, fear with hope, and sorrow with joy, Colquhoun says.” — Joel Beeke and Paul Smalley
The conscience is immediately and unconditionally subject only to God as its Lord. —Herman Bavinck Reformed Ethics 1.198
I saw, moreover, that it was not my good frame of heart that made my righteousness better, nor my bad frame that made my righteousness worse; for my righteousness was Jesus Christ himself, the same yesterday and today and forever. John Bunyan
Realize that God loves you supremely and is working out His eternal plan in your life. His plan may bring temporary discomfort, but it will also bring eternal good. And then thirdly, commit. “Have Your way, Lord. Use my life to bring glory to Your name.” Chuck Smith
Prayer is a sincere, sensible, affectionate pouring out of the soul to God, through Christ, in the strength and assistance of the Spirit, for such things as God has promised. John Bunyan
"To risk all with Jesus is to end all risk." — Charles Spurgeon
In certain aspects of life, it's valuable to adopt a "so what" mindset. Road rage – if someone cuts us off, so what? A rude cashier – so what? (Maybe they're having a bad day; pray for them instead). Not everything is worth our energy and offense. Let. It. Go!
"There is no worship of God that is better than the hearing of a sermon." — Charles Spurgeon
The request of even one person can constitute a call from God. Let us never succumb to the scourge of statistics, where we analyze what we will do and where we will go according to numbers. Jon Courson
The steady will and stayed heart are ours. The keeping is the Lord’s. So let us labor to enter and abide in His rest. AB Simpson
"When a man admires himself, he never adores God." — Charles Spurgeon
"No man who merely skims the book of God can profit from it. We must dig and mine until we obtain hidden treasure." — Charles Spurgeon
"Backsliding begins with dusty Bibles." — Charles Spurgeon
Steven Lawson
Too many want church to be for the entertainment of their flesh rather than for the edification of their soul.
The best prayers have often more groans than words. John Bunyan
The higher a man is in grace, the lower he will be in his own esteem. -C.H. Spurgeon -
Prayer will become effective when we stop using it as a substitute for obedience. -A.W. Tozer -
O my soul, this is not the time to despair in. As long as mine eyes can find a promise in the Bible, as long as there is a moment left me of breath or life in this world, so long will I wait or look for mercy, so long will I fight against unbelief and despair. John Bunyan
"Forget a frowning world and serve a smiling God." — Charles Spurgeon
If you dislike certain portions of the Bible, rest assured that your taste is corrupt. Charles Spurgeon
"Christ in the heart is better than corn in the barn." — Charles Spurgeon
“There are no Monday sermons.” — John MacArthur
Whatever we have is received and derived unto us from the fulness of Christ, which is an inexhaustible fountain thereof, by reason of his personal union. - John Owen
“Man has no being, no life, no activity without God. As long, therefore, as man continues in exis-tence, he is bound to have no being but for God and no activity but such as is according to His will.” — John Colquhoun, The Law and the Gospel, 14.
Do not glory in your own faith, your own feelings, your own knowledge, or your own diligence. Glory in nothing but Christ. J.C. Ryle
"He who is running down the hill can sooner pull with him one that is ascending, than he who is going up can cause him to ascend that is running down." -George Downame, on the danger of evil company.
"If you have lived to bring one sinner to Christ, you have not lived in vain." — Charles Spurgeon
Christian, your whole life is to be one continuous following of the Lord. -Horatius Bonar -
Until we are brought into the depths of poverty, we shall never know nor value Christ's riches. -J.C. Philpot -
We love those we are evangelizing by sharing and applying God’s law: “The most formidable barrier to effective evangelism in any generation, and particularly prominent in ours, is self-sufficiency and self-righteousness.” —Professor John Murray, Collected Writings, 1:129
It is possible to learn all about the mysteries of the Bible and never be affected by it in one's soul. Great knowledge is not enough. John Bunyan
“But in God, His attributes are His very essence. They are Him; therefore, they can no more be separated from Him than He can be separated from Himself.” — George Swinnock
"Trying to earn salvation is insufferable pride. What does Jesus need of us?" — Charles Spurgeon
It is pathetic to see people preparing for ministry who don’t know how to give. That is like an athlete entering a race, yet he doesn’t know how to run. If we haven’t learned to give money, we haven’t learned anything. Ministry is a life of giving. Marty Boller
The fear of God is the beginning of wisdom, and they that lack the beginning have neither middle nor end. John Bunyan
Remember this, even in His humiliation Jesus was Lord of all things, including the unseen world and its armies. The more clearly you perceive this, the more you will admire the all–conquering love that took Him to death on the cross. Spurgeon
Character is what you are in the dark. D.L. Moody
"Sound doctrine will never save a man unless he puts his trust in the Lord Jesus." — Charles Spurgeon
Beloved, what is your desperate problem? What heavy trial hangs over you? Bring it to the mercy seat. The God of the prophets lives. He lives to help His saints, “that you may lack nothing”. Believe in the Lord of hosts! Approach Him. Plead the name of Jesus. Spurgeon
Sufferings are God’s winds, His contrary winds, sometimes His strong winds. They are God’s hurricanes, but, they take human life and lift it to higher levels and toward God’s heavens. Streams Desert
"Many in these days give up the substance of the gospel. May they learn better very soon!" — Charles Spurgeon
"Faith alone can bring us to see Jesus." — Charles Spurgeon
Hope is never ill when faith is well. John Bunyan
Jerry Bridges
The power we need to live the Christian life is as much an underserved favor from God as is the gift of our salvation.
"I am afraid we are too much like the world for the world to hate us." — Charles Spurgeon
"I believe that if I should preach to you the atonement of our Lord Jesus, and nothing else, twice every Sabbath day, my ministry would not be unprofitable." - Charles Spurgeon
An honest heart ceases fighting against God. -A.W. Pink -
In prayer we act like men; in praise we act like angels. -Thomas Watson -
"Very often retire from company to pray." -William Bramwell.
"If all the angels were with me, I might fail. But if God is with me, I must succeed." — Charles Spurgeon
The doulos spirit is the spirit of self-renunciation and glad submission to proper authority, service utterly disinterested, yielding our own preferences and interests unreservedly for the glory of the Master and the sake of our brethren. AB Simpson
I have often thought that the best Christians are found in the worst of times. John Bunyan
The more humble a person is, the more receptive and full he becomes. Hills repel water; valleys are filled up. Augustine
"Any attempt to approach God without the mediator is an insult to his Son." — Charles Spurgeon
"Hearing the Word lights us up with joy." — Charles Spurgeon
The more we enjoy of him, the more we are ravished with delight. - Thomas Watson
When we choose to cooperate with God and submit to His way, He will do amazing things in and through us.
Our choice of friends plays a vital role in our lives.
Boundaries are so important to keep balance in your life. Be careful who you hang around with.
Holiness is the distinguishing mark of the Christian.
~Michael Howell~
Remember in the Old Testament, when the priests were godly, the people followed the Lord. When the priests were worldly, the people fell into idolatry—like priests, like people. We all have to be spiritually mature leaders.
We are about that life~ Team Empowered
Become a better listener by wagging your tail more than your tongue. Great listening skills is an integral part of being a good communicator and leader.
“There are two kinds of people—those who come in a room and say, ‘Well, here I am’ or those that come in a room and people say “There you are.” Dogs are great at making us feel needed and valued, a trait we should learn to pass on to coworkers, employees or family.
One act of obedience is better than a hundred sermons.
~Dietrich Bonhoeffer~
As I watched them tear a building down
A gang of men in a busy town
With a ho-heave-ho, and a lusty yell
They swung a beam and the side wall fell.
I asked the foreman, “Are these men skilled,
And the men you’d hire if you wanted to build?”
He gave a laugh and said, “No, indeed,
Just common labor is all I need.”
“I can easily wreck in a day or two
What builders have taken years to do.”
And I thought to myself, as I went my way
Which of these roles have I tried to play?
Am I a builder who works with care,
Measuring life by rule and square?
Am I shaping my work to a well-made plan
Patiently doing the best I can?
Or am I a wrecker who walks to town
Content with the labor of tearing down?
“O Lord let my life and my labors be
That which will build for eternity!”
-- Author Unknown
“There are two days in every week about which we should not worry, two days which should be kept free from fear and apprehension.
“One of these days is Yesterday, with its mistakes and cares, its faults and blunders, its aches and pains. Yesterday has passed forever beyond our control. All the money in the world cannot bring back Yesterday. We cannot undo a single act we performed; we cannot erase a single word we said. Yesterday is gone.
“The other day we should not worry about is Tomorrow, with its possible adversities, its burdens, its large promise, and poor performance. Tomorrow is also beyond our immediate control. Tomorrow's sun will rise, either in splendor or behind a mask of clouds; but it will rise. Until it does, we have no stake in tomorrow, for it is as yet unborn. This leaves only one day: Today.
The Safari Called Life Check-off List
• Learn from those who have gone before
• Travel lightly; no extra baggage
• Be prepared and expect the unexpected
• The more you learn the less you fear
• Slow down, watch and listen
• Respect your environment
• Leave your ego behind
• Anticipate, innovate and make do
• Be optimistic; tomorrow did not exist before
• Collect memories instead of souvenirs
• Enjoy the journey
• Celebrate all life, not just your own
Excerpted from Safari to the Soul
Anticipation does not give you the win.
It is the right reaction, being proactive, not reactive, second guessing your play.
Stop Writing About Your Past—And Start Writing About Your Future
by Chris Widener
"The history of free men is never written by chance, but by choice—their choice." — Dwight D. Eisenhower
“Plenty of people miss their share of happiness, not because they never found it, but because they didn't stop to enjoy it.”
— William Feather
“Learn how to be happy with what you have while you pursue all that you want.”
— Jim Rohn
“A good laugh is sunshine in the house.”
— William Makepeace Thackeray
“Most folks are about as happy as they make their minds up to be.”
— Abraham Lincoln
“God wants the whole person and He will not rest till He gets us in entirety. No part of the man will do" – AW Tozer
Did you ever consider the depth of love in the heart of God, when God the Father equipped His Son for the great enterprise of mercy?
A man is known by the company he shuns as well as by the company he keeps.
~C. H. Spurgeon~
All of us need the Lord's tender touch today. Whatever situation you are facing, don't let another minute go by without reaching out to Him. The past is exactly that. As much as we'd like to change it, we cannot. But God can change our present and our future if we but ask. Whether there are painful memories from your childhood or hurtful words that continue to haunt you, give them to Jesus and allow Him to take your hand and lift you up.
God has a plan for you. He is not finished with you yet
The world will label you but God has released you and set you free and apart.
Casey Kendall
Don't give in or give up Just move forward. Phil.3:13
We have the promises of God form the word of God to lead us in the footsteps of God!
Casey Kendall
If God does not hold it against us, why do we hold it against each other?
Casey Kendall
Breathe in God's grace through the word and confession and breath out your past with a changed heart.
If you win the war but loose people you have won nothing!
Some people can't be won apart from just praying and then there are some that even given the opportunity will never be won. It is not your job to do Jesus job it is your job to plant the seed. The rest is not up to you.
Be deaf, be blind, be dead to gossip, and it will grow disgusted with you and select a more sensitive victim.
~C. H. Spurgeon~
“With Christ’s power, we are able to pursue and play for His glory. We want to go out and show the world that Christ lives.”
In a race, we wouldn’t stop to look at how far we had come, or which competitors had fallen or taken a break along the way. We would keep our eye steadily and solely on the goal – urging and straining every ligament and muscle fiber to win. If our attention was diverted or we became distracted in some way, it might cause us to stumble, fall or otherwise be slowed down and thereby lose the victory.
The Lord wants us to remember the beauty of nature, the love of a friend or spouse, the joy of a child, the way music can stir your soul or a story can touch your heart. Think about those who sacrifice their lives for our freedom and well-being. God is giving us permission to look beyond the pain and misery and find joy in what is good and beautiful.
Being a Christian means that we will act in new ways, putting aside behaviors that are common to life outside of Christ so that we might live fully for God’s glory.
“You wanna write? Put your butt in that chair and sit there a long, long time.” Writing is not glamorous work. But it is a noble work. A valued work. A worthwhile work. A holy work. “How many a man,” asked Thoreau, “has dated a new era in his life from the reading of a book!”
God welcomes us into his presence. God welcomes our prayers no matter which forms they take. We don’t have to get the words right—because God hearing us doesn’t depend on us. It depends on his grace through Jesus Christ.
Many times we want others to forget the way we used to be, but are we any different today?
It's easy to be Christ-like when there is no persecution, beating, or false imprisonment. Would you go in peace or would it be payback time? It's not easy to die to self but this is our call, in Christ.
The single most important activity of your life is to worship God.
Sinclair Ferguson
“Control oil and you control nations; control food and you control the people.”
Henry Kissinger:
“God never hurries. There are no deadlines against which he must work. Only to know this is to quiet our spirits and relax our nerves.” —A.W. Tozer
I charge you never to give up the old doctrine of the blood of Christ, the complete satisfaction which that atoning blood made for sin, and the impossibility of being saved except by that blood.
JC Ryle
Your relationship with God should allow others to see the goodness, kindness, and love of Christ in you!
If it’s a real movement of God…
You can’t define it.
You can’t contain it.
You can’t own it.
You can’t explain it.
You can’t protect it.
The Spirit is like the wind Jesus said, you can feel it but that’s it!
Ed Taylor
Jesus Christ is the:
• Way
• Truth
• Life
• Light
• Word
• Son of God
• Holy One
• Author of life
• Resurrection
• Power of God
• Lord of glory
• Head of the Church
• King of kings
• Lord of lords
• Almighty
• Alpha & Omega
• Savior
Happy Lord’s Day!
"Faith in Jesus is the best cure for every care, the best balm for every wound."—
Charles Spurgeon
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