Classic Christian Quotes from Classic Ministers

Classic Christian Quotes from Classic Ministers

The picture of agonizing love!(Charles Spurgeon)

"Then Pilate took Jesus and had Him scourged. The soldiers twisted together a crown of thorns and put it on His head. They clothed Him in a purple robe and went up to Him again and again, saying, "Hail, king of the Jews!" And they struck Him in the face!" John 19:1-3

Pilate delivered our Lord to the lictors to be scourged. The Roman scourging was a most dreadful instrument of torture. It was made of the sinews of oxen, and sharp bones were inter-twisted among the sinews; so that every time the lash came down--these pieces of bone inflicted fearful laceration, and tore off some flesh from the victim. The Savior was, no doubt, bound to the pillar, and thus beaten. He had been beaten before, but this scourging of the Roman lictors was probably the most severe of His flagellations.

"With His stripes we are healed." Isaiah 53:5

My soul, stand here and weep over His poor stricken body. Believer in Jesus, can you gaze upon Him without tears, as He stands before you--the picture of agonizing love? He is at once as white as the lily for innocence, and as red as the rose with the crimson of His own blood. As we feel the sure and blessed healing which His stripes have wrought in us--does not our heart melt at once with love and grief? If ever we have loved our Lord Jesus--surely we must feel that affection glowing now within our bosoms.

"See how the patient Jesus stands,
  Insulted in His lowest case!
  Sinners have bound the Almighty's hands,
  And spit in their Creator's face!

"With thorns His temples gored and gashed
  Send streams of blood from every part.
  His back's with knotted scourges lashed,
  But sharper scourges tear His heart!"We would sincerely go to our chambers and weep. But since our business calls us away this morning, we will first ask our Beloved to print the image of His bleeding self upon the tablets of our hearts all the day; and at nightfall we will return to commune with Him, and sorrow that our sin should have cost Him so dear!

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The Cross The Believer's Motivation

1 Corinthians 2:1-5

Paul was single-minded in the message he preached. The cross was not only his primary subject; it was also his motivation for living. When we begin to understand all that Jesus did for us at Calvary, we, too, can receive fresh motivation to live for Him. For instance, we can...

Walk humbly before God. Since the power to live the Christian life is supplied by Christ, there is no room for pride. When Jesus died, our "flesh" nature was crucified with Him so that we could live in newness of life. Any success we achieve in living righteously or walking in obedience is possible only because He is working through us.

Serve the Lord faithfully. At the cross, we were placed "in Christ," and He is in us (Gal. 2:20). We are now His body on earth, created for good works which God has prepared for us to do (Eph. 2:10). Jesus wasn’t crucified so we could sit in pews each Sunday and listen to sermons. He has specific tasks for each of us to achieve during our lifetime.

Share our faith. Knowing all that Jesus accomplished at the cross should motivate us to share the gospel with others. This world is filled with hurting people who know nothing about salvation. Since their eternal destiny is at stake, how can we keep our mouths closed?

Too often we view the cross only as a past event that secured our eternal destiny, and we fail to see how it can motivate daily choices and activities. Stop to contemplate all that God is continually accomplishing in you though the cross. Let it be your motivation to live wholeheartedly for Christ.

~Dr. Charles F. Stanley~

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Compromise

As we continue our consideration of prosperity, I want to turn your attention to Luke 12:31,

"But seek the kingdom of God, and all these things shall be added to you."

This is a simple but powerful principle for life:  We have to put God's Kingdom first if we are to realize God's prosperity.

A lot of Christians get caught up in the drive for prosperity and forget that God's greatest desire is for us to pursue His Kingdom.  In fact, I think some of God's children today are frustrated as they are endeavoring to prosper.  They can see the promise of prosperity in the Word, yet they are coming up short, and they are asking, "God, what's up?"

I really think this is an issue of the heart.  God is not prospering them because they may not be mature enough spiritually to handle the degree of prosperity they are seeking.  It might do them harm.

This brings to mind a young coworker of mine from a number of years ago.  He was a believer but was struggling financially.  One night we were in a restaurant after work when he shared a difficult struggle he was going through.

We prayed that God would do something supernatural to help him in his time of need.  Two days later, he got an unexpected inheritance.  It was huge!  And you know what?  The next week he wasn't at work.  Instead he was out partying.  All of a sudden, his church life stopped and he walked away from his relationship with God.  He didn't have the maturity to handle the success.

~Bayless Conley~