One amazing aspect of God exercising His ability on our behalf is the imparting of His power within our lives: "according to the power that works in us." This is how the Lord wants to develop godliness in our lives. He Himself desires to work by the power of His grace deep within our hearts.
Our inadequacy is the first matter the Lord desires to clarify for us. "Not that we are sufficient of ourselves to think of anything as being from ourselves." Our own personal inadequacy is so comprehensive that we cannot expect that anything godly or eternal will source from us. We do not have any resources that can save a soul, transform a life, or cause the Lord's church to be edified.
"Our sufficiency is from God." When we live in humble dependency, the Lord's supply becomes our needed sufficiency. "Our sufficiency is from God, who also made us sufficient as ministers of the new covenant."
Another significant characteristic resulting from living by grace is that we become living letters of Christ. "You are manifestly an epistle of Christ." The Lord wants to turn our lives into a "walking and talking letter of Him." He wants to make us a living explanation of who Christ is and all that He offers. What a great opportunity this presents.
When we get away from God’s Word, we move away from a moral society. When we have no absolutes, people do whatever they want, and they can justify their actions.
God wasn't only
interested in getting the children of Israel out of Egypt. He also
wanted to get Egypt out of the children of Israel - both physically
and spiritually. God's plan was to transform a slave people into
Promised Land people. He used some tough times in the desert to
accomplish that goal, but God always had that goal in sight.
Sheep are dumb, can never be left alone and often stray, requiring the shepherd to find and rescue them. A shepherd never pushes his sheep but rather leads his sheep, going before them, making sure they are not walking into danger. The needs of sheep, compared to the needs of other animals, are greater because of their instinct to be afraid and when faced with a fearful situation, to run. Without a shepherd to care for the sheep, they will not last long.
God raises "deliverers" during times of need. Why? I believe it is because God makes himself known -- less from the miracle than through the testimony and life of the one who accepts God's call. Moses accepted God's call, and the Israelites were led out of captivity as a result.
There is no holding pattern for believers nor can we live in a neutral state. We are either going forward or backward. We are either being renewed or consumed.
Unsaintly saints are the tragedy of Christianity.
~A. W. Tozer~
The greatest blessing a spouse can receive from his wife is as simple as a Thank you for being you.
*Correction does much, but encouragement does more.
SEIZE THE OPPORTUNITIES... Most people work a J.O.B = (Just Over Broke), All of them want a M.B.A. = (Massive Bank Account) They are clueless on how to create wealth and be R.I.C.H = (Residual Income Creates Happiness) Continuously surrounding themselves with H.A.T.E.R.S = (Having Anger Towards Everyone Reaching Success) and then wonder why they are P.O.O.R =(Passing Over Opportunities Repeatedly)....
All that is necessary for evil to triumph is for good men to do
nothing
~Edmund Burke~
When we look at the world around us, we see the church has no voice. We are no longer salt and light to a dying world. We have become ineffective. On this National Day of Prayer, I pray Christian brothers and sisters around the world would commit to continue in prayer day and night. I pray we would no longer compromise God’s Word or be silent. Make that your commitment on this day of prayer.
Problems are just opportunities dressed up in work clothes.
There is no downtime for a leader; they never stop leading.
The only life that counts is the life that costs.
~Frederick P. Wood~
In Psalm 9:17, it says that the wicked go into hell and all nations that forget God go into hell. You know that our nation is at the point of forgetting God. You are the last generation to know Him if we don't pass on the Good News of Jesus Christ.
But thankfully the story doesn't end here. There's hope! In Revelation 1:18, Jesus appears to John and says, "Behold, I have the keys to death and hell." Do you believe this for your life?
Resoling conflict is not about always being right but about giving up your rights!
Casey Kendall ~
Marriage is your foremost ministry!
rec·on·cil·i·a·tion~
the restoration of friendly relations, the action of making one view or belief compatible with another.
: the act of causing two people or groups to become friendly again after an argument or disagreement: the process of finding a way to make two different ideas, facts, etc., exist or be true at the same time.
Don't focus on your self, focus on others, be others centered!
God is!
BEAUTIFUL
COMPASSIONATE
SLOW TO ANGER
RELENTS TO CAUSE HARM.
It is not what you say
Not what you do
But the character of God living in and through you that makes lives want to change
Marriage is called a covenant for good reason. It is an agreement that puts boundaries around behavior to provide an environment where the relationship can flourish.
Be the person who impacts others lives,
Don’t live for the applause of man rather live for God!
God does not bless good intentions rather He blesses initiative.
Don't let fear, doubts, past sins or regrets keep you from being the person God has called you to be!
The closer we get to the second coming of Christ, the more we ought to meet together to encourage each other to hold fast our hope and to pour ourselves into acts of love.
John Piper
Being a homemaker has less to do with being the husband or wife in the relationship, and more to do with cherishing your family. Even if you don't have children, if you have a household you're a homemaker.
God chose David to be king of Israel, He was anointed by Samuel the prophet but he did not start raining as king for 15 to 20 years. As I study the life of David, I find he spent a great deal of his time waiting.
If you are, it will become evident!
Leaders, are you building with the twigs of worldly strategies or the solid rock of
God’s Word?
—Charles R. Swindoll
Praying and waiting go hand in hand. You haven’t really learned to pray until you’ve learned to wait.
—Charles R. Swindoll
A leader doesn’t earn respect in the rush
of public activity but by what he does when he’s all alone.
—Charles R. Swindoll
The first
response to
opposition must
be prayer. It’s the
most overlooked
discipline
among leaders.
—Charles R. Swindoll
You can’t ignore
discouragement.
It’s like ignoring
a flat tire.
You’ve got to fix it!
—Charles R. Swindoll
With God helping me I can do no other
Martin Luther
If Happiness Where A Disease No Other Would Be More Contagious
Chuck Swindall
The only constant thing is change.
Craig Groeschel
Kindness has converted more sinners than zeal, eloquence or learning," wrote Frederick Faber, a 17th-century hymn writer.
"Do not be satisfied with loving people in your own mind. Love them until they feel your love."—Mike Mason
To get nations back on their feet, we must first get down on our knees.
~ Billy Graham~
“…the freedom to choose a Godly path is the essence of liberty,” …in his 1981 National Day of Prayer proclamation President Ronald Reagan also said, “as a Nation, we cannot but hope that more of our citizens would, through prayer, come into a closer relationship with their Maker.”
A sensation upon sensation makes up the daily news and many cries out the world are on the brink of disaster. You can’t ignore the drama, but you don’t want to get swept away in the distress. Where is peace found in life’s storm?
We all are guilty to one degree or another of placing boundaries on God. What restrictions do you place on Him? Where have you put God "in a box of your own making?" Intellectually you may agree that God is not only at church but sometimes we do not have the same "feeling" of being close to God outside of the building where we worship. What thoughts or ideas about God do you need to change?
To get nations back on their feet, we must first get down on our knees.
~ Billy Graham~
We exist to reach people where they are and to connect them to everything God has for their life.
All that is necessary for evil to triumph is for good men to do nothing ~
Edmund Burke~
God's Word answers: weave His truths into everyday life when sitting, walking, laying down, and getting up. Any moment can become a teachable moment.
In light of God being our sufficiency for the development of godly characteristics, this benedictory prayer in Ephesians 3 becomes an appropriate and instructive response.
It begins with the most critical issue for living the Christian life, the ability of God: "Now to Him who is able." Natural religious thinking would set forth the ability of man as the most vital matter in developing a godly life. Such an approach would leave us striving vainly under the law, attempting to live up to God's perfect standards by our own inadequate resources. Praise be to God, there is a heavenly, effective option: relying upon God's ability.
“The light that shines from the Crucified is a light…which both illuminates the obscurity of being and overcomes the darkness of nonbeing.” — Nicolas Berdyaev
God answers the prayer. God opens the door.
OSWALD CHAMBERS
An intellectual conception of God may be found in a bad vicious character. The knowledge and vision of God is dependent entirely on a pure heart. Character determines the revelation of God to the individual. The pure in heart see God.
To the despairing backslider: “To cure this raging despair, consider, if you have but a mind to return from your great and infamous sins, the Lord is 𝘮𝘰𝘳𝘦 𝘳𝘦𝘢𝘥𝘺 to receive and pardon than you can be to return.” —Puritan Thomas Manton, Works 15:35
“There is more mercy in Christ than sin in us.” Richard Sibbes
Remember Christ’s design was ‘to take away sin’, not to take away obedience. —Puritan Thomas Manton, Works 11.162
“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
"Since the world was created, man has imitated Satan." — Charles Spurgeon
"Even before creation, God sat as a king on his throne, forever to be worshipped." — 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
"To the graceless, the yoke of Christ is intolerable, but to the saved sinner it is easy and light." — Charles Spurgeon
"As long as you look to yourself there is no hope for you." — 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
"It should be the husband’s pleasure to please his wife." — Charles Spurgeon
"God teaches his people every day through sickness." — Charles Spurgeon
"Oh church of God, fear not: you shall do wonderful things." — Charles Spurgeon
"If I know God, and yet live for my own profit, for my own honor, for my own comfort, then I do not glorify God as God." — Charles Spurgeon
The love a husband gives his wife, he must give to nobody else in the world." — Charles Spurgeon
"The gospel is all about Christ from beginning to end." – Charles Spurgeon
"We delight to feel that he who has ruled all things for our good does not change." — Charles Spurgeon
"The more vile a man is, the more eagerly I invite him to believe in Jesus." — Charles Spurgeon
"God calls you to turn your eye off yourself and look to him." — Charles Spurgeon
"No believer ever complains who is frequently in prayer." — Charles Spurgeon
The fresh gales of the Spirit sweetly revive and nourish grace. - Thomas Watson
God does not have an obligation to give us explanation about our expectation. His promise is simply relaxation. Jon Courson
It is my job to feed the flock—to encourage, nourish, and love. Jon Courson
The unbelieving mind would not be convinced by any proof, and the worshipping heart needs none. -A.W. Tozer -
To argue that man is the sole determiner of his own destiny,...is to strip God of the attribute of omnipotence. -A.W. Pink -
...the Eternal was made in time, the Infinite became finite, the Immortal mortal, yet continuing eternal, infinite, immortal... -John Owen -
How many adorn their temples and decorate their priests, but refuse to obey the word of the Lord! -C.H. Spurgeon -
Jonathan Edwards
He who has true divine love renounces himself for God's sake. It makes a person desire to be emptied of himself that God may fill him.
Burk Parsons
Grace doesn't free us in order to make us feel free to sin. Grace makes us despise our sin. Grace frees us to obey, and, when we sin, grace frees us to repent as we, by grace, rest in the perfect obedience of Christ.
[Satan] cannot bear that God should have any to worship Him, or to love Him, and therefore he uses all ways that malice and envy can prompt unto him to draw and entice men from Him. —William Spurstowe, Wells of Salvation Opened, 180
Christ offends men because his gospel is intolerant of sin. Charles Spurgeon
WHEN GOD BLOCKS IT, DON'T TRY TO BUILD A BACK DOOR TO ALLOW IT REENTRY. WHAT HE REMOVES HE REPLACES...WITH BETTER!
“The primary job of a pastor is to help people love Jesus more.” -Bryan Chapell
There is but one way to heaven, and that is Christ. But there are many ways to hell: especially these two; some walk a more clean way of self-righteousness, & others a more dirty way of open wickedness; but both meet together at the end… —Ralph Erskine (1685-1752), Works 2:61
Sin is a disease and God has provided a costly remedy. Charles Spurgeon
Guard your thoughts well, for thoughts are heard in Heaven. Charles Spurgeon
At the very centre of history stands the person of Jesus Christ. And he does so because he is at the centre of God's story." -Sinclair Ferguson
"The Bible fits together as a story and Christ is at the center of that story." - Steve Mathewson
Backsliding begins with dusty Bibles. Charles Spurgeon
The cross of Christ justifies God; He remains holy because He has punished sin in the death, the shed blood, of His Son. Martyn Lloyd-Jones
Show yourselves men, and in the strength of Jesus say, Farewell, lust of the flesh, I will no more walk with thee! Farewell, lust of the eye, and pride of life! Farewell, carnal acquaintance and enemies of the cross, I will no more walk and be intimate with you! George Whitefield
The only works of righteousness that serve to justify a sinner are the works of Christ. R.C. Sproul
“No one ever lost out by excessive devotion to Christ. Whatever has to be renounced for his name’s sake will be repaid abundantly, both in this life and the next.” Harry Ironside
"Thank God my salvation does not depend upon my frail hold on Him, but of His mighty grasp on me.” Martyn Lloyd-Jones
We should ask God to increase our hope when it is small, awaken it when it is dormant, confirm it when it is wavering, strengthen it when it is weak, and raise it up when it is overthrown. John Calvin
Hearken, my believing reader. What is the cause of your weakness? Is it not because the fountain of life is little used? Is it not because you are resting on old experiences, and not daily gathering new manna—daily drawing new strength from Christ? JC Ryle
To know Christ, to trust Christ, to love Christ, these are among the elementary principles of piety. Charles Spurgeon
“The hearing and keeping the word of God brings the happiness of a spiritual union and communion with God.“ Jonathan Edwards
“Christ obeyed his Father with the love of a Son. Let our obedience be the obedience of love.” Jonathan Edwards
Sin leaves a stain of guilt and pollution upon the soul. Nothing can fetch out this stain but the blood of Christ; and Christ shed his own blood to satisfy Divine justice, and purchase pardon and purity for his people. Matthew Henry
Unless there be a true and hearty confession of our sins to God, we have no promise that we shall find mercy through the blood of the Redeemer. "Whosoever confesseth his sins and forsaketh them shall find mercy." Charles Spurgeon
Those who know God best are the ones who speak to Him most. Martyn Lloyd-Jones
From every pulpit in the land it needs to be thundered forth that God still lives, that God still observes, that God still reigns. A.W. Pink
“When Jesus said, ‘“I am the Way,’ He clearly intended to exclude all other ways, so beware lest you perish in any one of them!” Charles Spurgeon
Our works do not save us. Just so also our cross and suffering do not save us. Christ alone is our salvation. Martin Luther
Sin can bring pleasure, but never happiness. R.C. Sproul
“The secret of holiness is heart occupation with Christ Himself.” Harry A. Ironside
“This is faith: a renouncing of everything we are apt to call our own and relying wholly upon the blood, righteousness and intercession of Jesus.” John Newton
When there's something in the Word of God that I don't like, the problem is not with the Word of God. It's with me. R.C. Sproul
Jesus came to take away sin in three ways: to remove the penalty of sin, the power of sin, and, at last, the presence of sin. C.H. Spurgeon
“Martyrdom will never kill you, ultimately. But false teaching always will.” Sinclair Ferguson
A Church is a soul saving company or it is nothing. Charles Spurgeon
You can’t walk down the aisle to make a decision to be born again. Only God, the Holy Spirit can raise you from the dead. RC Sproul
The only-loving, overly-nice all-inclusive non-judging tolerate Jesus often presented today would've never been crucified 2,000 years ago. People yelled "crucify", because He said, “He is God, that He is the Only Way, you're either with Me or against Me", and called sin - sin.
"Oh! one hour with God infinitely exceeds all the pleasures and delights of this lower world." -David Brainerd.
It appears how necessary it was that Christ the mediator should be both God & man. For if He had not been man, He would not have been a fitting sacrifice; and if He had not been God, the sacrifice would not have been 𝘴𝘶𝘧𝘧𝘪𝘤𝘪𝘦𝘯𝘵. —William Ames, Marrow of Theology, 133
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