God's righteousness doesn't grow from human anger. So throw all spoiled virtue and cancerous evil in the garbage.
As you move through life today, don’t look around to see who appears to be “doing life” better than you. Just keep your eyes on Jesus.
“He who overcomes, I will grant to him to sit down with Me on My throne, as I also overcame and sat down with My Father on His throne.”
The reality of life is not always a pleasant one. We can be wise as serpents and genital as doves or be ignorant to the reality that is in the world. The enemy wants you naive and ignorant to it all to suck you in to this world's view....
as a believer we are taught not to strive with man so I used that as an excuse not to be the best, a top gun but now all that is changed, I want to be the best at all I can. I have realized that this means letting go of some things to make room for other things. It's hard to let go.
I have thought about legacy and what it means to me. What it is I want to be remembered by and is not a man who does everything and is good at nothing but rather a man in the will of God striving to be a great father, son, servant, and not just good but great at the calling that God has for me.
Callings can be like seasons in life. Some are for life and others are only for a time. The ability to let go and move forward is the harsh reality we all have to face and it is a part of growth.
Jesus, the author and the finisher of our faith (Hebrews 12:2), said, "It is finished." Our redemption, our salvation is done. It's a finished work. You can't add to it. You can't improve upon it. And it's not a joint effort; it's not like, "Well God, you do your part and I'll do my part."
God was the master of ceremonies at the Cross.
~Ernest Reisinger~
If Christ had not come, if He had not gone to the Cross, we would still be separated from God. We would not be redeemed. We would still be kept out of the Holiest of Holies, and the Holy Spirit would not have come as the Comforter.
God will not allow a trial to come into your life unless He has a purpose. He doesn't send the storms, but He uses them.
Motivation is what gets you started. Habit is what keeps you going.
Love can melt the hardest heart, heal the wounds of the broken heart, and quiet the fears of the anxious heart.
"I must confess there are days when my circumstances don't seem to lend themselves to worship. Days when I feel caught up in my own problems or pulled down by depression that entering into worship feels hypocritical. On those days I am to worship anyway! I am to bring the Lord what the Bible calls sacrificial praise: 'So through Jesus let us always offer to God our sacrifice of praise".--C Cloninger
"But let your 'Yes' be 'Yes,' and your 'No,' 'No.'"
—Matthew 5:37
Words matter. So use them wisely.
O let this love of Christ fill our hearts with adoring gratitude and lead us to practical demonstrations of its power.
C.H. Spurgeon
Hosanna! Save Now.....!
Education will gain you knowledge but to get to heaven you need to be transformed.
Poem: Read the Bible Through
(Author: Anonymous)
Yes I thought I knew my Bible
Reading piecemeal, hit or miss
Now a part of John or Matthew
Then a bit of Genesis
Certain chapters of Isaiah
Certain Psalms, twenty-third
First of Proverbs, twelfth of Romans
Yes I thought I knew the Word
But I found that thorough reading
Was a different thing to do
And the way was unfamiliar
When I read my Bible through
You who like to play at Bible
Dip and dabble here there
Just before you kneel all weary
Yawning through a hurried prayer
You who treat this crown of writings
As you treat no other book
Just a paragraph disjointed
Just a crude impatient look
Try a worthier procedure
Try a broad and steady view
You will kneel in awesome wonder
When you read the Bible through
Mat 22:29
Jesus answered and said to them, “You are mistaken, not knowing the Scriptures nor the power of God.
Jude 1:3
Beloved, while I was very diligent to write to you concerning our common salvation, I found it necessary to write to you exhorting you to contend earnestly for the faith which was once for all delivered to the saints.
Be willing to die to self, get out your own way.
“Has it ever occurred to you that one hundred pianos all tuned to the same fork are automatically tuned to each other? They are of one accord by being tuned, not to each other, but to another standard to which each one must individually bow. So one hundred worshipers met together, each one looking away to Christ, are in heart nearer to each other than they could possibly be, were they to become 'unity' conscious and turn their eyes away from God to strive for closer fellowship.”
― A.W. Tozer, The Pursuit of God
“If you look at the world, you'll be distressed. If you look within, you'll be depressed. If you look at God you'll be at rest.”
― Corrie ten Boom
The Jews took the 10 commandments to 613 laws
JESUS took 10 commandments to 2
KEEP IT SIMPLE!!
What a blessing it is to grow old alongside the one you love. There is no love more beautiful than that tempered by grace through trial and time.
Your marriage is your legacy, and it's important to keep that in view.
May the only thing that grows old in your marriage be the two of you. May every other aspect of your relationship grow newer each day.
The story of the Bible isn’t primarily about the desire of people to be with God; it’s the desire of God to be with people. -John Ortberg
The temptation of the age is to look good without being good.-Brennan Manning
The name of God is not I WAS or I WILL. His name is I AM, and He wants us to believe that everything He has done in the past, everything He has promised for the future, He can also do here, NOW!
Ray Bently
Ask yourself: who owns your television, health club membership, Starbucks card, or paycheck? What or who is the Lord of your life? Is it your possessions, or Jesus? God is the creator of the universe; if He wants to do something He doesn't need our money to do it. He's after is our hearts.
Helen Keller, probably the best-known blind person who has ever lived, once said, “What would be worse than being born blind? To have sight without vision.” Recent polling among American college students reveals the majority have no vision for their lives, their families, or their communities. A 2016 George Barna survey reported that three-quarters of all churches in America have either peaked in attendance and influence or are on the decline.
The power to proclaim the greatest news in heaven or on earth was not given to angels. It was given to redeemed men … Every Christian is to be a witness; every follower of Christ is to preach the Gospel.
~Billy Graham~
Worry is an indication that we think God cannot look after us.
~Oswald Chambers~
When the eyes of the soul looking out, meet the eyes of God looking in, heaven has begun right here on this earth.
~A.W. Tozer~
Leading in a crisis is not just about careful thinking and courageous decision. It’s also about honoring emotions, both our own and those of the people we lead.
The devil loves it when we say we believe then prioritize
everything in our lives ahead of God.
~A. W. Tozer~
Leaders need to pay close attention to a variety of feelings among those they serve. Doing so will allow leaders to communicate effectively and guide compassionately. People will be inclined to follow leaders who understand them and honor their feelings.
Worry is a thin stream of fear trickling through the mind. If encouraged, it cuts a channel into which all other thoughts are drained.
~A.S. Roche~
“Care is injurious; but if you only turn this care into prayer,
then every care will be a benefit to you.”
~C.H. Spurgeon~
The cure to worry is trust — trust in God, and trust
in his love and protection.
~Billy Graham~
It is not your hold of Christ that saves, but His hold of you.
~C. H. Spurgeon~
In the cross, sin is cursed and canceled. In the cross, grace is victorious and available.
~G. Campbell Morgan~
If Jesus can take a child’s lunch and feed thousands, he is always more than adequate in every challenge and valley you face in this life.
Dustin Benge
You only need entertainment when you've lost the joy of the Lord. -Leonard Ravenhill -
The heart of the natural man is wedded to everything which is opposed to God. -A.W. Pink -
Dustin Benge
Through the blood of Christ on the cross, not only does He pay the penalty we deserve, but He also grants us the righteousness we do not deserve.
What love, passing understanding, was it, to give Christ to us! - Thomas Watson
God's mercies are always novelties--They are new every morning. C.H. Spurgeon -
Faith is to prayer what the feather is to the arrow: without it prayer will not hit the mark. -J.C. Ryle -
"It is because Christ loved me and gave himself for me that I want to know him; it is because he has shed his blood for me and has chosen me that I may be one with him for ever, that my soul desires a fuller acquaintance with him." - C.H. Spurgeon. Sermon 552
The good fruit doth not make a good tree; but the good tree maketh the good fruit. So, the fruit of sanctification doth not make a man to be justified; but justification maketh a man produce the good fruit of sanctification. —Marrow Man Ralph Erskine, Works 1:378
He received our evils to bestow his good, and submitted to our curse to impart to us his blessings; sustained the extremity of that wrath we had deserved, to confer upon us the grace he had purchased. —Puritan Stephen Charnock, Works 3:519
Jesus Christ went more willingly to the cross—than we do to the throne of grace. —Puritan Thomas Watson, Heaven Taken by Storm, Pg. 11
At the bus station distributing tracts. Had one really good conversation so far with an attentive man asking many questions. “After we are gained to Christ ourselves, we should labor to gain others to Christ.” —Puritan Richard Sibbes, The Bruised Reed
"The cross is a resplendent display of unmerited, unexpected, unexampled love." — Charles Spurgeon #GoodFriday
"Get this deep into your soul, 'Christ died for me,' and you will soon be ready to die for him." — Charles Spurgeon #GoodFriday
"Without the death of Jesus, nothing remains for us but death." — Charles Spurgeon
"Never dare to despair if God answers prayers." — Charles Spurgeon
"Jesus heals all who come and casts out none." — Charles Spurgeon
“The least selfish one is King of this kingdom.” — Charles Spurgeon
"He who went so far as to die on the cross for us, can and will give us all things needed for our eternal safety." — Charles Spurgeon #GoodFriday
"Sin necessitates death. Jesus died." — Charles Spurgeon #GoodFriday
"The doctrine of the cross can be used to slay sin." — Charles Spurgeon #GoodFriday
"The cross is the only place where it is safe for a sinner to attempt to meet his God." — Charles Spurgeon #GoodFriday
"He who died on the cross was none other than he that made the world." — Charles Spurgeon #GoodFriday
"If you are afraid that your sins are too great, Christ's infinite sacrifice calms your fears." — Charles Spurgeon #GoodFriday
"Entrust yourself to those pierced hands, which are now glorified with the signet rings of royal power." — Charles Spurgeon #GoodFriday
In the cross there is a cure for every spiritual disease." — Charles Spurgeon #GoodFriday
Predestination presides over every motion of the fin of every minnow." — Charles Spurgeon
"Children need to learn the doctrine of the cross." — Charles Spurgeon #GoodFriday
"The gospel is all about Christ from beginning to end." – Charles Spurgeon
"The cross unites the church in the holy bands of love." — Charles Spurgeon
Jesus didn't die boldly & publicly for you to live your faith timidly & privately.
How to approach Easter with your unbelieving family & friends: - Pray for their openness. - Pray for your kindness. - Remember that God loves them even more than you do. - Be confident in your faith, but don't argue about it. - Invite them to church. - Point to the risen Jesus.
It's Friday. The soldiers nail the Savior's hands to the cross. They nail the Savior's feet to the cross. They raise him up next to criminals. The earth trembles. The sky grows dark. The King yields his spirit. It's Friday. But, Sunday's comin'. - S.M. Lockridge
God is still good, even when I don’t understand. God is still faithful, even when it doesn’t make sense. God still has a plan, even when I can’t see it. God still reigns, even when things look like chaos. God is still near, even when I can’t feel Him. God is still God.
Without Biblical truths like the Cross of Jesus, the blood of Christ, and the resurrection of the Son of God… there is no reason to celebrate Easter weekend. Get into churches this weekend that aren’t afraid to get into the Bible!
If you're worshipping a God who always agrees with you, then you're probably not worshipping the real God… but a glorified version of yourself.
The truth is like a lion; you don’t have to defend it. Let it loose; it will defend itself. Augustine
“Justified by faith is he who, excluded from the righteousness of works, grasps the righteousness of Christ through faith, and clothed in it, appears in God's sight not as a sinner but as a righteous man.” — John Calvin, Institutes of the Christian Religion, III.xi.2.
A Christian is: a mind through which Christ thinks, a heart through which Christ loves, a voice through which Christ speaks, and a hand through which Christ helps. Augustine
Because God has made us for Himself, our hearts are restless until they rest in Him. Augustine
Men, if you want to be married, find a godly gal, treat her right, talk to her parents, pop the question, tie the know, and start making babies. — Kevin DeYoung
“Scripture everywhere refers the righteousness of Christ, which is imputed to us, to the obedience of his life and the suffering of his death, by which he answered the demands of the law and perfectly fulfilled it.” — Francis Turretin
God would have His Bride without a spot or even a wrinkle. AB Simpson
Was it for crimes that I had done He groaned upon the tree? Amazing pity! grace unknown! And love beyond degree! - Isaac Watts
I fear there is much we are doing in the name of the Christian church that is wood, hay and stubble destined to be burned up in God’s refining fire. A day is coming when I and my fellow ministers must give account of our stewardship. Tozer
“God does not love us because Christ died for us; Christ died for us because God loved us. If it is God’s wrath that needed to be propitiated, it is God’s love that did the propitiating.” —John Stott, The Cross of Christ
“The Gospels are journeys to the cross with extended introductions. You cannot abstract the teaching of Jesus from His death without distorting His teaching." - D.A. Carson
The Lord wants us to grow in the magnificent blessing of living victoriously through Him. Having a triumphant Christian walk can only be realized from a developing acquaintanceship with the Lord, because we are only able to "reign in life through the One, Jesus Christ."
We have been considering that the new covenant of grace is a covenant of relationship. The simple phrase "in Christ" indicates the extent of the intimacy that is available by grace. "In Christ" is where we live spiritually. It is also how we live. As surely as a fish is in the ocean and lives on the resources of the ocean, we are "in Christ" and live on the resources of Christ. As surely as an unborn child is in the mother and lives on the life of the mother, we are "in Christ" and live on the life of Christ.
The new covenant of grace is a covenant of relationship. Spiritual death through Adam made this covenant of grace necessary. Spiritual life through Christ makes intimacy with God possible. Every human who has ever existed inherited a sinful, fallen, earthly life from Adam: "by man came death." Every person who has ever put their faith in Christ has received from Him a righteous, risen, heavenly life: "by Man [that is, Jesus] also came the resurrection of the dead."
The resurrection of Jesus Christ changed everything. It changed a group of disillusioned, discouraged, downhearted disciples into a group of on-fire, passionate preachers who turned their world upside down. And the resurrection of Jesus can change your life as well.
We must have hope to survive in life. Someone has said that we can live forty days without food, three days without water, about eight minutes without air, and about one second without hope.
The Bible tells us about two disciples of Jesus who had lost hope. It was their understanding that the Messiah would overthrow the tyranny of Rome. But in passages such as Psalm 22 and Isaiah 53, the Scriptures speak of a suffering Savior—not a militant Messiah.
In their minds, everything seemed to be going beautifully. But suddenly and unexpectedly, one of Jesus’ own handpicked disciples betrayed Him. Jesus was sent to trial, and in a rush to judgment, they scourged Him and ultimately murdered Him in cold blood before their eyes. His followers were absolutely devastated. This was their Messiah. This was their hero. And this was their friend. They still loved Him. They respected His teachings and honored His memory. But they felt He had failed. They thought He had come short of what He had arrived on this earth to accomplish.
Despite the fact that Jesus said He would die and rise again, they missed that memo. They wanted to get out of Jerusalem as quickly as possible. As two of Jesus’ disciples were walking and talking about everything that happened, Jesus came along and began walking with them.
Did you know that Jesus is walking with you too? He noticed the sadness written across their faces, and He sees the same with us. If it troubles us, it troubles Him. If it concerns us, it concerns Him.
Although Jesus was walking with the two disciples, they didn’t know it was Him. Luke’s Gospel tells us that God prevented them from recognizing Jesus (see 24:16). In the same way, God is with us, whether we know it or not. When you put your faith in Jesus Christ, He becomes a part of your life and promises that He never will leave you or forsake you.
He not only is with you on sunny days, but He is also there on cloudy days. He not only is with you on the mountaintops, but He is also there in the valleys. He is walking with you through everything that you’re facing.
Jesus’ resurrection reveals to believers the true way to life.
Are you suffering today? God the Father is with you! He will not leave you. He will stay close to you through every moment of your troubles, every day of your life and help you as much as you will let Him. Let Jesus be the example and follow Him all the way to victory.
Jesus went to the cross not helplessly but willingly. In accord with the Father’s purpose, He chose the exact moment that He would lay down his life for His sheep (John 10:11). Here, then, we see the very Author of life willingly taking His final breaths and reminding us of His absolute authority as well as His inexhaustible love. “He breathed his last” so that you might breathe in the fresh, purified air that was made available to you the moment you were born again.
Jesus, calling out with a loud voice, said, “Father, into your hands I commit my spirit!” And having said this he breathed his last. |
OSWALD CHAMBERS
The great word of Jesus to His disciples is Abandon. When God has brought us into the relationship of disciples, we have to venture on His word; trust entirely to Him and watch that when He brings us to the venture, we take it.
OSWALD CHAMBERS
The remarkable thing about fearing God is that when you fear God you fear nothing else, whereas if you do not fear God you fear everything else. “Blessed is every one that feareth the Lord”;…
OSWALD CHAMBERS
Our danger is to water down God’s word to suit ourselves. God never fits His word to suit me; He fits me to suit His word.
When the “rooster crows” in our lives—when a warning, a reminder, a wake-up call stirs our conscience and opens our eyes to the truth—we can respond with repentance like Peter or despair, like Judas.
Life or death.
Even if others have forsaken you, Jesus never will. Even if you feel forsaken in this season, you are not. Jesus paid your ransom on the Cross because He loves you that much! Reach up to Him!
S.M. Lockridge (1913-2000) was a prominent African American preacher who preached a powerful message titled It’s Friday but Sunday is Coming. One passage reads:
It’s Friday. Jesus is buried. A soldier stands guard.
And a rock is rolled into place. But it’s Friday. It is only Friday.
Sunday is a comin’!
There is nothing else in all the world that demonstrates how real God’s love is for sinners and how real our sin is to God.
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to take up the cross and follow Jesus is a willingness to make any sacrifice He asks. Are you taking up your cross? You can and you should carry the cross today.
On this Good Friday we hope you will take the time and remember the great sacrifice and suffering that Jesus went through to defeat our sin and death. Share with us ways you commemorate what Jesus did on Good Friday.
Our access to God isn’t restricted to a temple or a church or any other building, nor must it be through a merely human priest or a guru. No, 2,000 years ago God broke into history to establish direct access to Himself through Jesus. Now there is “one mediator between God and men, the man Christ Jesus, who gave himself as a ransom for all” (1 Timothy 2:5-6). The temple curtain being torn in two was divine vandalism on your behalf! You don’t have to be sidetracked by priests and rituals anymore. They can be nothing but pointless. Instead, you can come to God, just as you are, confident of welcome and mercy and help, all because of Jesus.
I’m not advocating failure. But you are not a success if you sacrifice greater things in your pursuit of it.
Why did God put me on this earth to begin with? Why am I here? These are important questions. The Bible tells us that we’ve been placed on this earth to glorify God with our lives and to produce spiritual fruit.
“We are not called to proclaim philosophy and metaphysics, but the simple gospel.” — Charles Spurgeon
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