Classic Christian Quotes From Classic Ministers

 Classic Christian Quotes From Classic Ministers

The advantages and blessings of family worship

(Arthur Pink)

An old writer well said, "A family without prayer is like a house without a roof--open and exposed to all storms." All our domestic comforts and temporal mercies issue from the loving-kindness of the Lord. The best we can do in return is to gratefully acknowledge His goodness to us as a family.

Family worship should be conducted reverently, earnestly and simply. It is then that the little ones will receive their first impressions and form their initial conceptions of the Lord God. Great care needs to be taken lest a false idea be given to them of the Divine Character. For this, the balance must be preserved between dwelling upon . . .
  His holiness, and His mercy,
  His power, and His tenderness,
  His justice, and His grace.

Worship should begin with a few words of prayer invoking God's presence and blessing.
A short passage from His Word should follow, with brief comments thereon.
Two or three verses of a Psalm or hymn may be sung.
Close with a prayer of committal into the hands of God. Though we may not be able to pray eloquently, we should pray earnestly. Prevailing prayers are usually brief ones. Beware of wearying the young ones.
 
The advantages and blessings of family worship are incalculable. Family worship . . . .
  will prevent much sin,
  conveys a sense of God's majesty and authority,
  sets solemn Scripture truths before the mind,
  brings down benefits from God on the home.

Personal piety in the home is a most influential means, under God, of conveying piety to the little ones.

Children are largely creatures of imitation, copying what they see in their parents--so good instructions must always be accompanied by godly example. That teaching which issues only from the lips alone, is not at all likely to sink any deeper than the ears. Children are particularly quick to detect inconsistencies, and despise hypocrisy. How Christian parents need to be constantly on their guard against anything which might render them contemptible in the eyes of those who should respect and revere them!

"Love the LORD your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your strength. These commandments that I give you today are to be upon your hearts. Impress them on your children. Talk about them when you sit at home and when you walk along the road, when you lie down and when you get up." Deuteronomy 6:5-7

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God’s Unfailing Love

Ephesians 2:1-7

Do you feel loved by God?  Let me ask the question a different way: Did you know that as a believer, it’s possible to mentally understand God loves you without actually sensing it? In fact, the reverse can be true as well—we may say we love God, all the while knowing that our feelings of affection for Him are limited.

There are a variety of reasons that a Christian might not sense love from God or affection for Him, some of which stem from childhood experiences. Perhaps love was absent in the home, or maybe it just wasn’t expressed verbally or demonstrated in practical ways. An individual’s personality could also be part of the equation—some people are naturally expressive while others are more reserved in their emotions.

Although this discrepancy between knowledge and experience can be distressing, there is hope. Meditating on all the ways God has demonstrated His love for you—and asking Him to help you perceive it—can begin to move that truth from your head to your heart. Remember that love is God’s very nature (1 John 4:8), not something conditioned on your performance. And if you’ve been adopted into His family through faith in His Son, God has chosen to lavish kindness on you in Christ. 

Believing and accepting that you are loved by the Father will in turn affect your feelings for Him. Commit to knowing Him more intimately and accurately through His Word, and your affection for Him will begin to grow. As you spend time with Him in Scripture and prayer, you’ll discover that the saying “to know him is to love him” is certainly true of God.

~Dr. Charles F. Stanley~

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That dead man or dead woman

(Thomas Brooks)

"What the wicked dreads will overtake him;
 what the righteous desire will be granted." Proverbs 10:24

"The desire of the righteous ends only in good,
 but the hope of the wicked only in wrath." Proverbs 11:23

We should lament over that dead man or dead woman . . .
  whom Hell harbors,
  whom the devil devours,
  whom divine justice torments!

But let us rejoice over those departed believers whom Christ embosoms, and whom all the court of Heaven comes forth to welcome!

"Let me die the death of the righteous, and may my end be like theirs!" Numbers 23:10

"Precious in the sight of the Lord is the death of His saints!" Psalm 116:15

Classic Christian Quotes From Classic Ministers

 Classic Christian Quotes From Classic Ministers

Once more I will shake not only the earth but also the heavens. (Hebrews 12:26 ESV)

Everything is going to be shaken in earth and in heaven, with a view to finding out just how much there is of Christ living in it. These Jewish believers were going to see the temple and the whole temple system wrecked, and then they would discover just how much they had got of Christ, or how much of their life was bound up with earthly things. They would see what was left when that was all gone. God is not only going to shake Judaism, but this heavenly thing. He will shake heaven and earth, and we shall find out by that shaking what we have left when the earthly system passes, when even the representation of heavenly things in Christianity is tested (for Christianity has developed a representation of heavenly things, just as Judaism has). Men have made an earthly representation of the New Testament revelation of the church, and ministry, and priesthood. It is all going to be tested. For many it is now in the melting pot. The issue is the shaking of heaven and earth. What have we got left? The issue is Christ.

Whether you like all that we have said, or agree with it or not, does not worry me; but I am concerned that we have come to Christ, to show that Christ in heaven is our Life, Christ in heaven is our All, and appointed to be so by God, and nothing here can take the place of Christ. God will bring everything to an end that takes the place of Christ. He has determined from eternity that in all things Christ should have the preeminence, and have the fullness, and that nothing shall glory before Him or take His place. The Lord bring us into a larger measure of Christ, and a larger measure of Christ into us.

~T. Austin-Sparks~

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But God also prepared a worm!

(John MacDuff)

"And the Lord God prepared a gourd, and made it to come up over Jonah, and soon it spread its broad leaves over Jonah's head, shading him from the sun. This eased some of his discomfort, and Jonah was very grateful for the gourd. But God also prepared a worm! When the morning rose the next day, it smote the gourd so that it soon died and withered away." Jonah 4:6-7

There is surely great comfort in the thought that the bounds of our life are divinely appointed.
  Our lots in life,
  our occupations,
  our positions,
  our dwellings,
  what the fatalist calls 'our destinies',
  what heathen mythology attributed to 'the Fates';
all this is marked out by Him who "sees the end from the beginning."

It is He who takes us to our sweet shelters of prosperity, with their sparkling brooks of joy.

It is He who, when He sees fit, sends the worm.

Oh, it is our comfort to know, in this mysterious, raveled, varied life of ours, that the Great Craftsman has the threads of our existence in His own hands; weaving the complex pattern, evolving good out of evil, and order out of confusion.

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Putting Aside Childish Ways

Matthew 6:16-24

Teenagers are known to measure themselves against peers, but I’ve noticed that many adults today also struggle with comparison. Social media platforms make it especially difficult to outgrow this type of thinking. When comparing ourselves to others, we tend to ...

Think security is based on what we own. This attitude tempts us to work longer hours or pressure others to do so. But since material things can’t bring lasting security, the search for better or more possessions can be endless. Real security is found only in our position as the heavenly Father’s adopted children (Eph. 1:5). Our place in heaven sets us free from materialism.

Believe we are failures. When we think this way, no success in business or personal life can be effective—we crave affirmation but can never get enough praise to really change our opinion of ourselves. But God says He has chosen us and made us co-heirs with His Son Jesus (Rom. 8:16-17). Our value comes from belonging to Him.

Let’s acknowledge any detrimental thoughts, surrender them to God, and intentionally embrace what He says is true about us. This is the path that leads to spiritual maturity and healthy relationships.

~Dr. Charles F. Stanley~

Classic Christian Quotes From Classic Ministers

 Classic Christian Quotes From Classic Ministers

Far from a world of grief and sin--with God eternally shut in!

(Charles Spurgeon)

"Those He predestined, He also called;
 and those He called, He also justified;
 and those He justified, He also glorified!" Romans 8:30

Here is a precious truth for you, believer. You may be poor, or in suffering, or unknown--but for your encouragement take a review of your "calling" and the consequences that flow from it, and especially that blessed result here spoken of.

As surely as you are God's child today--so surely shall all your trials soon be at an end, and you shall be rich to all intents of bliss! Wait awhile, and your weary head shall wear the crown of glory, and your work-worn hands shall grasp the palm-branch of victory.

Do not lament your troubles--but rather rejoice that before long you will be where "there shall be neither sorrow, nor crying, neither shall there be any more pain." The chariots of fire are at your door, and a moment will suffice to bear you to the glorified. The everlasting song is almost on your lips. The portals of Heaven stand open for you.

Do not think that you can fail of entering into eternal rest.
If He has effectually called you--then nothing can divide you from His love.
Trials and troubles cannot sever the bond;
the fire of persecution cannot burn the link;
the hammer of Hell cannot break the chain.
You are eternally secure!

That voice which effectually called you to Jesus at first--shall call you yet again from earth to Heaven, from death's dark gloom to immortality's unuttered splendors! Rest assured, the heart of Him who has predestined, called and justified you--beats with infinite love towards you! You shall soon be with the glorified, where your everlasting portion is. You are only waiting here to be made fit for your Celestial inheritance, and that done, the wings of angels shall waft you far away to the mount of peace, and joy, and blessedness, where, "Far from a world of grief and sin--with God eternally shut in," you shall rest forever and ever!

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Whoever wants to be My disciple must deny themselves and take up their cross and follow Me. (Mark 8:34 NIV)

In the end it will be the End that judges our Christian life. And so it is the Holy Spirit’s work, His interest, concern, energy and activity; not only to bring people to the door and to get them inside the door, but to make them know that that door is but the opening of a Way, on the other side of the door everything lies. It is not the door alone, but it is what lies beyond the door, and that is this renewal, this making anew after the image of Him that created. The End governs: it is Christ in all that He signifies and means and stands for. It is that vast All that He is.  “Christ is All, and in all” is the last clause. It is Christ in that fullness, which is more than our salvation, more than our initial salvation. The door is essential, but it is what it leads to that justifies going in it at all.

Christ Himself, when He was here, never failed to let people know that when they entered that door, or that straight and narrow way, they were in for trouble.... Now that may sound like a very terrible thing to say, especially to you young Christians who are not far inside the door, but be perfectly clear about it; the Lord Jesus never deceived anybody about this, never at all. He let people know that to “follow Him,” as He put it at that time, involved them in difficulty and suffering and persecution and trial and a lifelong thing. There is a cost here, a great cost. And we shall discover that while there are the compensations, for there are undoubtedly the compensations in this life, and the mighty compensations for eternity, this is a way which is not easy for the natural man by any means. This work of the Holy Spirit is drastic, exacting, and very trying to the flesh. Make no mistake about it; it will take all the energy that the Holy Spirit Himself has to accomplish this work. It really will. So the Lord Jesus has not left us in any doubt about this.

~T. Austin-Sparks~

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The Danger of False Teaching

Romans 16:17-18

Throughout the ages the church has been bombarded with false teaching, and it’s still prevalent today. Since the only way to combat error is with truth, the church must be grounded in the Scriptures to avoid falling victim to deception.

The church needs an accurate view of Jesus. To hold firmly to the truth of the gospel, we must have a solid understanding of who Christ is. Though some claim Jesus was a teacher or a prophet, Scripture says He was fully God, who created everything and came to earth to save mankind from condemnation (John 1:1-13).  Others argue that there are many ways to God. However, reconciliation with Him requires that sin’s penalty be paid in full by one who is sinless. Only Jesus, the perfect Son of Man, could meet God’s requirement. Therefore, no one can come to the Father except through Him (John 14:6).

The church must also affirm true doctrine. False teachers can be very persuasive and lead listeners into wrong thinking, confusion, and discouragement. In contrast, true doctrine strengthens and encourages believers by assuring them that salvation is by God’s grace through faith in Christ alone; it is not gained or maintained by their performance (Eph. 2:8-9). Those who belong to Jesus need never fear condemnation because the penalty for their sins has been paid (Rom. 8:1). Everyone who is born again has an imperishable inheritance, which is reserved in heaven and protected by divine power through faith until God reveals it (1 Peter 1:3-5). 

Can you discern false teaching? The only way to guard yourself and your church is to be firmly grounded in God’s Word.

~Dr. Charles F. Stanley~

Classic Christian Quotes from Classic Ministers

Classic Christian Quotes from Classic Ministers

Our sufficiency is from God. (2 Corinthians 3:5)

We go through times of trial and test under the hand of God, and it is so easy to get into that frame of mind which says in effect, 'The Lord does not want us, He need not have us!' We let everything go, we do not care about anything; we have gone down under our trials and we are rendered useless. I do not believe the Lord ever comes to a person like that to take them up. Elijah, dispirited, fled to the wilderness, and to a cave in the mountains; but he had to get somewhere else before the Lord could do anything with him. "What doest thou here, Elijah?" (1 Kings 19:9). The Lord never comes to a man and recommissions him when he is in despair. "God shall forgive thee all but thy despair" (F. W. H. Myers, "St. Paul") – because despair is lost faith in God, and God can never do anything with one who has lost faith....

A great deal is made of the natural side of many of the Lord's servants, and usually with tragic results. A lot is made of Paul. 'What a great man Paul was naturally, what intellect he had, what training, what tremendous abilities!' That may all be true, but ask Paul what value it was to him when he was right up against a spiritual situation. He will cry, "Who is sufficient for these things?" "Our sufficiency is from God" (2 Cor. 2:16; 3:5). Paul was taken through experiences where he, like Moses, despaired of life. He said, "We... had the sentence of death within ourselves, that we should not trust in ourselves, but in God which raiseth the dead" (2 Cor. 1:9).

~T. Austin-Sparks~

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Why We Must Guard the Heart

Psalm 139:17-24

We all have things we treasure, whether they are prize objects, activities, or experiences. And what we most value is what is closest to our heart.

Proverbs 4:23 admonishes us to keep watch over our heart because it holds our treasures, and in it is potential for good or evil. Originally, the heart is full of wickedness (Jer. 17:9), but when it is purified, we are able to see the very face of God (Matt. 5:8). With such possibilities within us, is it any wonder that we are exhorted to employ all diligence in guarding our heart?

So how do we remove the impurities and uncover those secrets of the heart spoken of in Psalm 44:21? The answer is through our omniscient Father. He knows what litters the landscape of our hearts. He tells us in Revelation 2:23 that “I am He who searches the minds and hearts” and again in Hebrews 4:13 that “all things are open and laid bare” to His eyes.

Our role in all of this is to ask the Lord for help. We may not know what sin lies within, but He does. Like David in today’s psalm, we too can say, “Search me, O God, and know my heart ... and lead me in the everlasting way” (Psalm 139:23-24).

~Dr. Charles F. Stanley~

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Sunday Reflection: The Meekness of Christ

In a world dominated by the powerful and strong, no one wants to be seen as weak or easily taken advantage of. Our culture is quick to use the label “meek” for people who seem submissive or unassuming, but God paints a different picture of meekness—one that’s strong yet gentle, unselfish, and kind.

As He was being led to the cross, Jesus didn’t argue or demand to be understood. Nor did He take advantage of His power as the Son of God (Phil. 2:6-7). Instead, our Savior humbled Himself, giving His life so we could become like Him (Phil. 2:8; Rom. 8:29). And He prayed for the forgiveness of the very people who nailed His body to the cross (Luke 23:34). Imagine if we truly embraced this as our model for meekness—displaying grace and humility at all times, even when the world around us says we shouldn’t. How would life be different?

Think about it
• What does it mean that Jesus was “gentle and humble in heart” (Matt. 11:29). How is this kind of gentleness and humility manifested in your relationships with other people?

• Think about the difference between our culture’s definition of meekness (weak, powerless) and the Son of God’s sacrifice for us. Does meditating on His example help you to understand meekness in a new way?

~Dr. Charles F. Stanley~

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Strong medicine has become needful for the nation!

(Letters of John Berridge)

Dear Sir,
The times are awful; and likely to become more so. Rods have been used without effect, and now the scorpions are coming. May their bite awaken us, but not destroy us!

National pride, infidelity, and profligacy are growing very rampant, and will grow from bad to worse unless restrained by heavy judgments.

The worst evil God can bring upon a nation is to say to it, as once He said to Ephraim, "Let him alone!" But if the Lord intends our good, He will chastise us sorely. This is the Bible-road to reformation.

On this account, however formidable His judgments are, I know not whether I should fear them more, or bid them welcome. Strong medicine has become needful for the nation; and however nauseous to the palate, or painful in the operation, it must be deemed a blessing. May the Lord prepare us for the tempest, and prove to be our hiding-place!

Classic Christian Quotes from Classic Ministers

Classic Christian Quotes from Classic Ministers

I would rather have a crooked creed and a straight Bible

(Charles Spurgeon)

My love of consistency with my own doctrinal views, is not great enough to allow me to knowingly alter a single text of Scripture. I have great respect for orthodoxy, but my reverence for inspiration is far greater. I would sooner a hundred times over, appear to be inconsistent with myself, than be inconsistent with the Word of God.

If your creed and Scripture do not agree, then cut your creed to pieces and make it agree with this Book. The Word of God is the infallible chart of faith. Follow it closely, for this Book cannot lead you astray.

Some want to shape the Scriptures to fit their creed, and they get a very nice square creed too, and trim the Bible most dexterously. It is astonishing how they do it, but I would rather have a crooked creed and a straight Bible, than I would try to twist the Bible to suit what I believe.

Those who will only believe what they can reconcile in their own minds, will necessarily disbelieve much of divine revelation.

Those who receive by faith everything which they find in Scripture, will receive many things which they can never harmonize into a definitive creed.

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Let us go out to Him, outside the camp, and bear the disgrace He bore. (Hebrews 13:13 NLT)

We can organize our movements, lay our plans, and draft our schemes. We can lay it all out according to the New Testament and it can be dead, ineffective.... You see the difference between a traditional system, whether it be Judaism or Christianity, and a living thing coming all the time in a living way out from the Christ Himself by the Holy Spirit, the Holy Spirit Himself doing it. Well, this is going to cost something. See what it meant for these people. At the end of this letter you come on this: “Wherefore, Christ also... suffered without the camp. Let us therefore go to Him without the camp, bearing His reproach.” The camp was Judaism, and He suffered without the camp because He repudiated Judaism and stood for the realization of all God’s thoughts as in Himself personally. He gathered up everything into His own person, “I am.” It is the Christ who is the full sum and embodiment of all God’s thoughts and ways, and that takes the place of Judaism, and He, therefore, repudiated Judaism and suffered without the camp. "Let us go to Him without the camp."

What is the issue? If you are going to take this line you are going to repudiate organized Christianity, going to repudiate Christendom as a traditional system, going to repudiate that order of things which is made, and going, therefore, to suffer reproach and be outside of the camp suffering His reproach. In other words, we are immediately going to come up against that force of antagonism to stop what has come in through the death and resurrection and exaltation of the Lord Jesus, the heavenly thing. Is it not sad that these people met it through God’s historic people, the people who claimed to have the oracles, to be the elect, to be the favored of the Lord? It is always like that. “A man’s foes shall be those of his own household.” Do not narrow that down to the limits of a family where one is a Christian and all the rest are not. That is not the point at all. It is his own household, the Christian household. You will meet the antagonism to what has come in from heaven as a heavenly thing; you will meet the antagonism amongst those who are the traditional people of God in this dispensation. That is how it will be. That is going to be the cost of a walk in Life with the Lord and not with man, knowing the Lord for yourself.

~T. Austin-Sparks~

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Key #2 to Effective Prayer - Being Connected

Yesterday we found that the first key to effective prayer is the need to be specific when we pray.  Today, I want to show you the second key:  The need to have a close relationship with God.

In John 15:5, Jesus says,

"I am the vine, you are the branches.  He who abides in Me, and I in him, bears much fruit; for without Me you can do nothing."

God wants every part of our life to be connected to Him.  And He tells us that as that happens, as we have our lives connected with Him, we bear much fruit.  A few verses later Jesus directly connected that fruit to prayer.

In John 15:16, Jesus goes on to say,

"You did not choose Me, but I chose you and appointed you that you should go and bear fruit and that your fruit should remain, that whatever you ask the Father in My name He may give you."

If we are connected to God and we abide in Him, Jesus says we will bear much fruit—prayer fruit.  Think about a fruit tree for a moment.  The leaves come out because the branches are attached to the tree.  In the spring the branch will blossom, and from those blossoms comes the fruit.

But if something happens and the branch is not solidly connected to the tree, it will probably not bear any fruit at all.  There may be a few leaves, but the blossoms won't come and there won't be any fruit.  The blossoms and healthy fruit will only come if the branch is fully connected.

God wants us connected to Him in every part of our lives.  When that happens, our prayers will be in line with His desires, and we can be confident that He will answer.

~Bayless Conley~

Classic Christian Quotes from Classic Ministers

Classic Christian Quotes from Classic Ministers

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Of His fullness we have all received, and grace for grace. (John 1:16)

It is a grand thing and a source of tremendous strength to come to the same position as that of Christ as Man, where we know that boundless heavenly resources are available. I think we only come there progressively, and not all at once. We only come there by the way of discipline - discipline which takes the form of bringing us to an utter dependence, but which is yet not an emptying and a breaking down as an end in itself, but one which is accompanied by that grace of God - that graciousness of God - which, when we are empty, makes His fullness to abound.

There is a positive as well as a negative side. God is no believer in negatives as being the ultimate goal; but when He breaks and when He empties, He does something on the positive side which ever causes us to marvel, and we have to say every time: "Well, that was the Lord, not ourselves." We come progressively by that way of discipline to know that there are heavenly resources which far outstrip all human possibilities, and these resources are operative. This is what constitutes spirituality - this is what makes a life or service spiritual: it is the drawing upon heavenly resources, living the life as out from heaven. That is spirituality. That constitutes a spiritual life and a spiritual walk. The resources are not drawn from self or from the world; they are all drawn from above. The government is not that here of men or of the world, but that which is from above. Everything is so utterly from above - and so utterly not from man - that the life or work becomes spiritual as a consequence.

~T. Austin-Sparks~
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How to Discern Direction From God

Psalm 86:1-13

Have you been seeking the Lord’s guidance on a particular issue yet still can’t discern what He would have you do? We don’t always know why God doesn’t make everything clear when we ask for His help. But doing certain things can prepare us to hear His directions.

Seek Cleansing. We need to ask the Lord if there is anything in our life that is hindering our prayers. Then, if He brings something to mind, we can receive His cleansing through confession (1 John 1:9).

Surrender. If we have not fully yielded ourselves to the Lord, our heart will remain set on our own desires. When that’s the case, we’ll have difficulty perceiving His will (James 4:3).

Ask Wisely. God is committed to answering our prayers if we ask according to His will (1 John 5:14-15). Therefore, we must carefully consider if our requests align with His desires as revealed in Scripture.

Meditate. Since God’s Word is a light to our path, the more we think about the truths of Scripture, the clearer the way will become (Psalm 119:105).

Wait. God promises to act on the behalf of those who wait (Isa. 64:4). Therefore, we must resist the urge to run ahead of Him by trying to fix the situation ourselves or manipulate circumstances to get our desired outcome.

Instead of letting uncertainty cause you to become anxious or fearful, consider these five practices. Then begin to look at your situation as an opportunity to trust your sovereign, omnipotent God who always works everything for your good (Rom. 8:28).

~Dr. Charles F. Stanley~

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His exaltation is our exaltation!
(Charles Spurgeon)

"God exalted Him to His own right hand as Prince and Savior" Acts 5:31

"And being found in appearance as a man, He humbled himself and became obedient to death--even death on a cross! Therefore God exalted Him to the highest place and gave Him the name that is above every name" Philippians 2:8-9

Jesus, our Lord, once crucified, dead and buried--now sits upon His throne of heavenly glory! The highest place that Heaven affords, is His by undisputed right.

It is sweet to remember that the exaltation of Christ in Heaven is a representative exaltation. He is exalted at the Father's right hand, and though as Jehovah He had eminent glories, in which finite creatures cannot share--yet as the Mediator, the honors which Jesus wears in Heaven are the heritage of all the saints!

It is delightful to reflect how close is Christ's union with His people. We are actually one with Him; we are members of His body; and His exaltation is our exaltation!

He has a crown, and He gives us crowns too. He has a throne--but He is not content with having a throne to Himself. On His right hand there must be His queen, arrayed in "gold of Ophir." He cannot be glorified without His bride. "To him who overcomes, I will give the right to sit with Me on My throne, just as I overcame and sat down with My Father on His throne!" Revelation 3:21

Look up, believer, to Jesus--let the eye of your faith behold Him with many crowns upon His head; and remember that you will one day be like Him, when you shall see Him as He is! You shall not be so great as He is--for you shall not be divine. But still you shall, in a measure--share the same honors, and enjoy the same happiness and the same dignity which He possesses!

Christian! Be content to live unknown for a little while, and to walk your weary way through the fields of poverty, or up the hills of affliction; for by-and-by you shall reign with Christ, for He has "made us kings and priests unto God, and we shall reign forever and ever!"

Oh! wonderful thought for the children of God! We have Christ for our glorious representative in Heaven's courts now--and soon He will come and receive us to Himself, to be with Him there, to behold His glory, and to share His joy!

Classic Christian Quotes from Classic Ministers

Classic Christian Quotes from Classic Ministers



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The Qualities of Love

For the last number of devotionals, we have focused our attention on how love is such a vital quality to the Christian life.  We have seen that unless we love, any of the spiritual gifts are meaningless.

We have also seen that God has deposited His love in us already, and as a result, it is our responsibility to choose to express that love.  It is not something we can put on God's shoulders.  We must take on that obligation. 

So what do those qualities of love really look like?  I want to share with you 1 Corinthians 13 from the Amplified Bible, but I want to do it with a twist.  I want to make it personal and show how, if we choose to love as God has asked us to love, it will look.

1 Corinthians 13:4-8 from the Amplified Bible…personalized (read it out loud),

I endure long, and I am patient and kind.  I am never envious or boil over with jealousy.  I am not boastful or vainglorious.  I do not display myself haughtily.  I am not conceited, arrogant, or inflated with pride.  I am not rude or unmannerly.  I do not act unbecomingly.  God's love in me does not insist on its own rights or its own way for I am not self-seeking.  I am not touchy or fretful or resentful.  I take no account of the evil done to me.  I do not rejoice at injustice and unrighteousness, but I rejoice when right and truth prevail.  I bear up under anything and everything that comes, and I am ever ready to believe the best of every person.  My hopes are fadeless under all circumstances, and I endure everything without weakening.  God's love in me never fails.

~Bayless Conley~

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Seeking God’s Guidance

Psalm 16:1-11

A correct perspective of God is vital because it determines how we interact with Him. For instance, if we think He is concerned only about the big events in world history, we won’t bother to pray about our daily concerns. However, if our view of Him is grounded in the Scriptures, we’ll readily seek His guidance, knowing that He cares about every aspect of our life.

Despite this assurance, there may be times when we are so determined to get what we want that we don’t even ask for God’s direction. Instead, we plunge ahead, thinking that He will simply stop us if our decision is not according to His will. But the Lord won’t necessarily prevent us from doing that which is not His will, nor will He always come to our rescue if we have acted presumptuously without seeking His help.

A better approach is to do as David did. He said, “I have set the Lord continually before me; because He is at my right hand, I will not be shaken” (Psalm 16:8). The omniscient heavenly Father has provided everything we need to live wisely through His Word and His Spirit. And as those who know and love Him, we should desire to please God by seeking His direction in every area of life.

The Lord is certainly willing to guide us through the treacherous seas of decision-making. But we must pay attention to the instructions in His Word and to the promptings of His Spirit, who is our helper, teacher, and guide. Then we can say with David, “I will bless the Lord who has counseled me” (Psalm 16:7).

~Dr. Charles F. Stanley~

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The things which are impossible with men are possible with God. (Luke 18:27)

All hangs upon this one thing (as simple as it may seem) that if Christ is present (which means nothing else than that God is present) anything is possible at any moment. Are you waiting for some day when things will be better? It is not a matter of time at all, it is a matter of Him. He says, "I am time and eternity all in a moment, and you need not accept anything in the matter of time; you accept Me, and you may be well-nigh dead in the morning and be very much alive before the day is over. 'I am the resurrection and the life.'" Mary said, “I know that He will rise again in the last day.” For her resurrection was a matter of time. Oh no. Resurrection was right there....

As long as it takes to break a loaf you have gone from seed-time to harvest. "'Do you not say, There are yet four months, and then comes the harvest?' (John 4:35). I am here, and there can be harvest at any moment when I am here." It is not a matter of time, of circumstance. We are dealing with God, and He is not bound by anything that is known to our human life at all. Eternity dwells in any moment when He is present. All things are bound up with any moment when He is present. The centurion said, "Just say the word and my servant will be healed." "You need not come. Distance does not matter, time does not matter, just speak the word and it will be done." The Lord said, "Ihave not found such great faith, not even in Israel." The word was uttered, and when the enquiry was made as to when it happened it was found to synchronize with the moment when He spoke. He takes everything into His hands, and says "My hour..." and when that comes, there is no postponement. Oh, that we should lay hold of that more, live on that, never surrender to conditions, never surrender to the inevitable from the standpoint of the human, but say, "We have Him; He is our future, He is our circumstance." Anything can be at any moment with the Lord present.

~T. Austin-Sparks~