Our confidence in God's ability to keep His promises is further strengthened by His rhetorical question addressed to Jeremiah. "Behold, I am the LORD, the God of all flesh. Is there anything too hard for Me?" Our God not only created the universe, He is the ruler of all humanity. The Psalmist also saw this truth. "The LORD brings the counsel of the nations to nothing; He makes the plans of the peoples of no effect. The counsel of the LORD stands forever, The plans of His heart to all generations" (Psalm 33:10-11).
The flesh is always there. You have to know your strengths and your weaknesses. You need to know when it is time to pray and read, when it is time to rest in the Lord and when it is time to meditate and listen to Him fully.
Sin is a matter of what we are, not what we learn.
~Brian Edwards~
We are vulnerable when we do not get enough rest, but we are even more open to attacks when we have not spent time with the Lord, refreshed in the Word and in prayer. When we are not spiritually strong, the old man, the flesh, rises up and can overcome us.
When it comes to spiritual matters – God is the Potter, the Creator, and we are the clay. The world says we should never give up our rights because if we do, we will lose everything. God says that if we surrender to Him, we will gain everything that is important.
In order for God to make us into what He wants us to be, we have to become pliable and willing - like clay. We must come to Him, placing ourselves in His hands, the Potter’s hands. Total surrender demands that we come with no agenda, no pre-set conditions – giving Him permission to bend us, break us and change us.
We sometimes come to God, with a hardened heart and brittle spirit. Life has broken and damaged us and the wrong hands have molded us. Remember, how we come to Him is not nearly as important as the fact that we come.
As we give up control to Him, like a Master Craftsman, He begins to work patiently and lovingly, with a specific plan and one-of-a-kind design in mind. He works through circumstances as well as people, through joy and pain, victory and defeat. He filters every part of life through His plan for us and uses it to create a life of worth and meaning.
A loving parent would be sorely grieved if his child could not trust him; and how ungenerous, how unkind is our conduct when we put so little confidence in our heavenly Father who has never failed us, and who never will.
Charles Spurgeon
There are times when we must come to the realization that we're not in control and that Jesus Christ is in perfect control of every circumstance. He is not only our perfect Teacher in all things, but He is, indeed, our Master!
"Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.” Matthew 5:3 happiness is a byproduct of a state of being called “joy,” the fruit of the Holy Spirit. The “poor in spirit” recognize that self-made happy potions can’t help them, that they are empty and depleted apart from God. Jesus has no good news for “rich in spirit,” only for those so impoverished they know they need Him.
If we are ruled by sin we shall inevitably be ruined by it.
~Matthew Henry~
we are not focusing on where we are but where we will be.
friends will always stick with friends even if it is wrong or not best.
A PERSON'S WORD IS HIS BOND
Is your word your bond? Do you follow through on what you commit to doing, no matter what? That's what God does. His FAITHFULNESS is everlasting! Let's enjoy the freedom God gives us, but only after we keep our promises!
When prayers are strongest, mercies are nearest.
~Edward Reynolds~
n recent days, we have meditated upon many of the strategic promises of God. When considering promises, the ability of the one making the promises is a vital concern. If we examine God's ability and His promises with an open heart, growth in faith will always be the result. In our present verses, God's promise-keeping ability is assured by His role in creation and by His rule over mankind.
Think about the people in your life that you admire. My bet is that one of their key characteristics is that you can count on them. They keep their promises. You can believe what they say. Have you ever thought about how crucial integrity like that is to good relationships? And how God is like that?
Don't allow the devil to prevent you from growing in the Lord. We all have setbacks, but don't be discouraged. Don't give up. Keep moving forward. Through the blood of Jesus and the power of the Holy Spirit, we are conquerors.
Maybe you don’t want to trouble God with your hurts. After all, “He’s got famines and pestilence and wars. He won’t care about my little struggles,” you think. Why don’t you let Him decide that?
Your first step is to go to the right person. Go to God. Your second step is to assume the right posture. Bow before God. Luke 18:7 reminds us, “God will always give what is right to His people who cry to Him night and day, and He will not be slow to answer them.”
Listen to the prayer in Psalm 25:1-2: “Lord, I give myself to You, my God. I trust You.” So, go…bow…and trust. It’s worth a try, don’t you think?
Character is higher than intellect. ...A great soul will be strong to live, as well as strong to think.
-Ralph Waldo Emerson
With God it's never about luck but His sovereign will. Even if your in prison rejoice. If you are as JOB was rejoice. That is the mind set we need to have.
Be careful from who’s eyes you see the world through.
This is liberty: to know that God alone matters.
~Donald Haukey~
Knowing God's character protects us from analyzing and challenging specific actions He takes.
Turn the why into the what.
God what do you want to do right now in me and through me?
Trust His timing
Moses had a rod
Noah had an Ark
Adam had his rib
David had a sling
Gideon had a torch
Easter used her voice
Ruth used her feet
The poor widow used some oil with Elijah
The boy had and used his lunch
In all this they where all obedient.
What Do We Have?
The power of prayer
The word of God
The indwelling of the Holy Spirit
Fellowship with the saints
The wisdom of the church
Resources
Time
Waiting on the Lord is not laziness
Waiting is activity on command.
Love may have brought you together, but your marriage covenant will keep you together.
Love as an emotion is a fickle thing. It comes and goes with moods, circumstances, perceptions, and so much more.
Allowing ourselves, to be honest, and real, letting God take all that pain and sorrow—all the messiness of life— and transform them into His blessing, His healing, His life lessons, His plan of redemption for our lives.
Ray Bently
No amount of spiritual posturing, religious rituals, or even ministry work—nothing can replace the raw humanity of a believer pouring his or her heart out to God.
“If you’re not balanced on the inside, you’re not going to be balanced on the outside.”
What we think about is what our life becomes about. Are we on a mission of punishment and persecution like Saul, or on a mission of mercy and salvation like Jesus?
“When you are in the dark, listen, and God will give you a very precious message for someone else when you get into the light.” —Oswald Chambers
Never forget the price Jesus paid for you. By offering His life as a living sacrifice, He purchased you as His bride. To Him you are valuable, loved, precious, and honored.
When Holy God draws near in true revival, people come under terrible conviction of sin. The outstanding feature of spiritual awakening has been the profound consciousness of the Presence and holiness of God.
~Henry Blackaby~
The time has come to turn to God and reassert our trust in Him for the healing of America - our country is in need and ready for spiritual renewal.
~Ronald Reagan~
Do nothing you would not like God to see. Say nothing you would not like God to hear. -
JC Ryle
"Many have heard, but they have not believed; the sound of the gospel has entered into their ears, but its inner sense and sacred power have not been felt in their hearts."
Charles Spurgeon
He has the power to forgive sins, but he will not put forth his power toward an impenitent sinner.
Thomas Watson
There isn't anything that will cause the heart to burn with joy and gladness like the Word of the Living God.
D.L. Moody
"God grant us grace to live more for the future than we have been accustomed to do."
- Charles Spurgeon
Ask the dying sinner by his bedside whether it proved a comfortable thought that he cared more for the world than his own soul. -
JC Ryle
To be lip-holy and heart-hollow is a brief character [description] of a hypocrite.
—Edmund Calamy, Saints’ Memorials, 29
“Do not waste time bothering whether you ‘love’ your neighbor; act as if you do, and you will presently come to love him.” -
C.S. Lewis
“Are you doing it for God, or for you in God’s name?”
—Paul Washer
Take your stand on God's Word, then you cannot fail! His Word has been tried for six thousand years, and it has not failed.
D.L. Moody
Sometimes when we get overwhelmed we forget how big God is.
"If you think heaven worth nothing, and Christ worth nothing, if you consider worldly gain to be everything, and comfort everything, and honor everything if you could not die a martyr's death for Christ, your love to him is not worth much..."
- Charles Spurgeon
"Preachers are not salesmen, for they have nothing to sell. They are bearers of Good News."
-Billy Graham
It costs something to be a true Christian. Let that never be forgotten. To be a mere nominal Christian, and go to church, is cheap and easy work. But to hear Christ’s voice, follow Christ, believe in Christ, and confess to Christ, requires much self-denial. -
JC Ryle
Holiness is excellent in whatsoever subject it is found.
Jonathan Edwards
Because we do not see which way relief should come, we conclude none is to be expected. But all these reasonings of unbelief are vanquished by a serious reflection upon our own experiences.
God has helped, therefore He can.
He has as much power and ability as formerly.
John Flavel
I have reason to praise him for my trials, for, most probably, I should have been ruined without them.
John Newton
Scripture does what psychoanalysis can't do-it pierces the heart, penetrates deep into the soul, and judges the motives. To see yourself in the light of Scripture is to see yourself as you really are.
— John MacArthur
We live in an age when there is a false glare on the things of time and a great mist over the things of eternity. -
JC Ryle
Believers may vary in the amount of fruit they produce, but there is no such thing as a fruitless believer.
R.C Sproul
It is folly to think the Lord provides grace for every trouble but the one you are in today.
Charles Spurgeon
"May God grant to us grace to be Daniels, even if the lions' den should threaten us."
- Charles Spurgeon
The most wicked book you will ever read is your own heart.
Charles Spurgeon
Oh, that I could fill up every moment of time, during my abode here below, in the service of my God and King.
David Brainerd
"God brings revival not for the enjoyment of His people, but for the glory of His name, and He will not share that glory with men." -Brian Edwards.
Not only does God never lose a battle, God never wastes a battle!
Just because you're a boy who isn't interested in sports, hunting, and fishing doesn't mean you're a 'girl trapped in a boy's body'. Just because you're a girl who is interested in sports, hunting, and fishing doesn't mean you're a 'boy trapped in a girl's body'. Don't fall to the pressure of people trying redefine what God's already defined. He didn't make a mistake in creating you. You're intentional, so don't let culture try to label you, when God has already created you. (Gen 1:26 - 27) The "authentic you" is who God created you to be.
If “my truth” contradicts Scripture, then it’s time for my truth to change.
Stop snacking! Snacking never improves your health, it only improves big-food's bottom line...
Kindness is the language which the deaf can hear and the blind can see.
The greatest tool we have is the gospel, it is a light and hope to all men.
“Such is the fullness of Christ's satisfaction, that he has not only freed such as are united unto him from condemnation, but purchased for them the adoption of children.” — William Whitaker
“Confession is more than expression. It is not just saying what is in our heart; it is joining a community and sharing its dangers and tasks as well as its blessings.” — Phillip Cary, The Nicene Creed, 20.
“We need grounds, reasons, and witnesses to prove what we say to be true. But the Word of God is a sufficient testimony to itself. It is its own proof because what truth speaks must of necessity be true.” — George Swinnock, The Blessed and Boundless God, 96.
“There are depths in His Word where elephants can swim, and there are also shallows where lambs can wade.” — George Swinnock, The Blessed and Boundless God, 96.
“He who was the Son of God’s love, became the subject of his displeasure… that we, who were children of wrath, might become the objects of his favor.” — William Whitaker
When we say "I believe" in our baptism or "we believe" in a Sunday liturgy, we are making a commitment that is a pledge of allegiance, joining us to other believers around the world in the Body of Christ.” — Phillip Cary, The Nicene Creed, 20.
The only true comfort of life consists in living in communion with God.” — William Whitaker
“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
"Huge as this great universe is, God has complete power over it, as you have over the ball which you toss in your hand." — Charles Spurgeon
"If I committed all the sins that have ever been committed, I should not have needed any greater Savior than I have now." — Charles Spurgeon
"If the Lord is your friend, who is he that can harm you? All is well." — Charles Spurgeon
"To submit to a Creator who is too wise to err and too good to be unkind should not be hard." — Charles Spurgeon
"Our God not only hears prayer but also loves to hear it." — Charles Spurgeon
"A Christian must never stop repenting, for I fear he never stops sinning." — Charles Spurgeon
"Faith is the reverse of sight. It is to believe that we are saved when sin tells us that we are lost." — Charles Spurgeon
"Avoid a sugar-coated gospel. Seek that gospel which rips up, tears, and cuts, and even kills, for that is the gospel that makes alive again." — Charles Spurgeon
"To preach Christ without his cross is to betray him with a kiss." — Charles Spurgeon
"My trust is not that I am holy, but that being unholy, he is my righteousness." — Charles Spurgeon
"The more grace we have, the less we shall think of ourselves, for grace, like light, reveals our impurity." — Charles Spurgeon
"Faith which accepts one word of God and rejects another is not faith in God, but faith in our own judgment or our own taste." — Charles Spurgeon
"You are a great sinner, but he is a greater Savior. Come, Goliath sinner, the Son of David can save even you." — Charles Spurgeon
"The gospel is all about Christ from beginning to end." – Charles Spurgeon
"The enthroned Lamb himself is all the heaven we desire." — Charles Spurgeon
"God has punished Christ instead of me, and therefore he cannot also punish me." — Charles Spurgeon
"He who demands a reason of God is not in a fit state to receive one." — Charles Spurgeon
"I hate sin... not because it damns me, but because it has done God wrong. To have grieved my God is the worst grief to me." — Charles Spurgeon
"Every week I preach justification by faith to my people, because every week they forget it." -Martin Luther
Anything that involves a believer in fear of bondage cannot possibly be the work of the Holy Spirit of God. It must come either from his own heart of unbelief or as a temptation of the evil one. David Jeremiah
Tell me not of your justification, unless you have also some marks of sanctification. -J.C. Ryle -
To those to whom Christ is the hope of future glory, he is also the life of present grace. -John Owen -
[Self-righteous people] think they can pray, hear, meditate, restrain sin, do acts of justice and charity, in a spiritual manner, without a special assistance from Christ to perform them. —Puritan David Clarkson, Works 1:300
God hath plentifully opened his good-will and heart to sinners; whatever the burden and distress be, still there is some remedy from the word of God. —Thomas Manton, Works 7:474
"Everything is needful that He sends. Nothing is needful that He withholds." -John Newton.
"It's not the strength of your faith that saves you, but the strength of HIM upon whom you rely." - Charles Spurgeon
It’s interesting to watch pastors destroy with their own hands… what they actually built with their own hands. Creativity. Ingenuity. Efficiency. Business tactics. On the list grows. No wonder. Only the true Church built by Jesus will continue.
He desires nothing less than our total and absolute freedom to live for Him and to allow Him to live through us. If we concentrate on loving and knowing Him and loving others, we will know what it is to be free! Ray Bentley
His way is to get self out of the way entirely, and let Him create anew out of nothing, so that all shall be of Him; and we must find Jesus the Alpha and Omega. AB Simpson
“The function of the pulpit is not to entertain, to amuse, to satisfy an idle curiosity; it is to instruct, to inspire, to fire the heart and mind, to implant within us noble desires and ambitions, the Lord Jesus Christ & to beget within them a passion for Him.” - Francis Grimké
We have to find in Christ, not a mask that conceals our face, but an entire wardrobe of clothing, which is His righteousness. R.C. Sproul
The mature believer who says, ‘OK, Lord, I’m not going to change my location or situation. Instead, I’m going to stay right here and allow You to do Your work through people who might irritate me in order that I might be more like You.’ Jon Courson
I have more understanding than all my teachers: For thy testimonies are my meditation. Psalm 119:99 “We should, if we can, exceed our teachers, but not despise them.” —Puritan Thomas Manton, Works 8:11
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