BIBLE MEDITATION:
Blessed be God, even the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of mercies, and the God of all comfort; Who comforts us in all our tribulation, that we may be able to comfort them which are in any trouble, by the comfort wherewith we ourselves are comforted of God. 2 Corinthians 1:3-4
DEVOTIONAL THOUGHT:
Someone has well said that discouragement is a darkroom where the negatives of fear and failure are developed.
Some people are encouragers and others are discouragers. Have you ever met a discourager? They’re like a drink of water to a drowning man. They can brighten up a room by leaving it. They leave you drained and depressed.
But an encourager leaves you full and refreshed. God has cornered the market on encouragement. All encouragement comes from God. You’re never more like God than when you’re encouraging people and never more like the devil than when you are discouraging people.
ACTION POINT:
Find a needy person and enrich him; a lonely person and include him; a misunderstood person and affirm him; an undiscovered person and develop him; a failing person and restore him.
~Adrian Rogers~
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Ezekiel 20:23-26
(23) Also I raised My hand in an oath to those in the wilderness, that I would scatter them among the Gentiles and disperse them throughout the countries, (24) because they had not executed My judgments, but had despised My statutes, profaned My Sabbaths, and their eyes were fixed on their fathers' idols. (25) "Therefore I also gave them up to statutes that were not good, and judgments by which they could not live; (26) and I pronounced them unclean because of their ritual gifts, in that they caused all their firstborn to pass through the fire, that I might make them desolate and that they might know that I am the LORD."'
New King James Version
Notice the emphasis on the personal pronoun "My." The source of the law or the values we submit to is the sovereign. This aids us greatly in determining whether idolatry is present and how our conscience will respond.
God forcefully contrasts His laws with pagan commands and practices. He clearly implies that those who submit to pagan commands are guilty of putting another god before the true God. The Israelites—in sincerity and a clear conscience, perhaps even fervently—brutally sacrificed their sweet and innocent firstborn in the fires to Molech, and all the while they were guilty of a horrible, vicious idolatry!
Today, we may not throw babies onto Molech's altar, but we abort 4,200 pregnancies a day, ending the lives of these potential members of God's Family in the name of free choice and self-concern. The law of the land permits this atrocity! If that is not idolatry, what is? What kind of morality, what religion, permits men to enact such heinous laws? People have become blinded by focusing on their own pleasure, failing to see even that murder is involved, let alone the idolatry. God's law nowhere permits such a depraved activity.
~John W. Ritenbaugh~
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The Pattern for Servanthood
In the world's thinking, great men are the ones with authority, prominence, and power. Though Jesus Christ had all that, He gave it up to become a servant (Isa. 42:1).
Jesus gave Himself completely to fulfill the Father's plan of redemption, even though the beneficiaries—namely, each of us—were undeserving. God is holy and righteous, and He cannot be in the presence of sin. Therefore, He must separate Himself from those who are stained by wrongdoing. That includes all of humanity (Rom. 3:23).
Everybody is born captive to the desires of the flesh (Rom. 6:16-18). When someone claims to be living on his "own terms," he is actually serving whatever his human nature craves. The penalty for that false sense of liberty is death (Rom. 6:23).
Jesus' ultimate act of service was to give His life as a ransom for many (Matt. 20:28). The word describes the price paid to set a slave free—Christ voluntarily purchased our liberation. There was only one way our holy God could remove our guilt yet remain true to His own law: Someone sinless had to pay our sin debt for us.
Jesus' sacrifice spared us the penalty we deserve. Instead, we receive the gift of grace and have been declared no longer guilty. Moreover, we are elevated from slaves to sons and daughters of the Almighty!
Jesus served the Father's purpose faithfully. He gave up His righteousness to carry the weight of all our wickedness—and endured a crushing separation from His Father. To meet our needs, the Savior held nothing of Himself back, and thereby set a powerful example of servanthood for us follow.
~Dr. Charles F. Stanley~
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A Proliferation of Christian Devotionals and Sermons
Saturday, October 5, 2019
Classic Christian Quotes from Classic Ministers
Classic Christian Quotes from Classic Ministers
Saturday, September 28, 2019
Classic Christian Quotes from Classic Ministers
Classic Christian Quotes from Classic Ministers
The Blessing of God's Spiritual Influence
Perhaps today you are honestly doing all you know to do, but it seems like you are in this season of drought. God's blessing has seemingly dried up in your life.
Let me point you to 2 Samuel 21:1-3,
Now there was a famine in the days of David for three years, year after year; and David inquired of the LORD. And the LORD answered, "It is because of Saul and his bloodthirsty house, because he killed the Gibeonites." So the king called the Gibeonites and spoke to them. Now the Gibeonites were not of the children of Israel, but of the remnant of the Amorites; the children of Israel had sworn protection to them, but Saul had sought to kill them in his zeal for the children of Israel and Judah. Therefore David said to the Gibeonites, "What shall I do for you? And with what shall I make atonement, that you may bless the inheritance of the LORD?"
There was a famine in the land because there had been no rain for three years. So David inquired of the Lord, and God spoke to him. If you read to the end of the story, you see the rain finally did fall, the drought was broken, and the famine was over.
But here is the point. It says, David inquired of the Lord, and the Lord answered him.
If there is a drought in your life, ask God why. God will talk to you. Jesus said, "My sheep hear My voice." If you in earnestness will seek God and ask Him why, God will speak to you.
Be willing to take responsibility for whatever He shows you. There just may be something in the past that needs to be corrected.
Just ask. Then act on what He reveals.
~Bayless Conley~
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I love you with an everlasting love. (Jeremiah 31:3 GW)
"I have borne with you all this time because I love you; anything could have happened to you, but I have not let it, I have shown you infinite longsuffering and patience, and earnest solicitude for your eternal well-being: because I love you, I have kept you alive, and have brought you to this time and to this place; I have not let you go." Oh, that this might come home to us! We may, all unconsciously, be hearing this message now simply because of this infinite love of God which has been preserving us unto this hour to let us know it. You may think it is quite fortuitous that you are hearing it – just one of the chance happenings of life; but if you knew the truth it is this infinite love of God which has held you to this time in relation to the infinite purposes of that love to let you know it. There is nothing casual about it, there is sovereign love here. "Because I have so loved, because, self-sufficient as I am, I cannot do without you" – oh, mystery of Divine love! – "because I so much wanted you I created you, and now at this moment I am drawing you." We cannot take that in, but that is the teaching of the Word of God... God does not want that kind of love that is not love at all because it gets everything that it wants to satiate its own lusts. That is not love. This love of God must make us like itself, it must be after its own kind. And so, strangely enough, many have come to find the love of God through the dark way of suffering – to discover that God was not their enemy but their friend, when they thought that He was pursuing with the object of destroying them....
Listen again, whoever you may be. If you know yourself only a little you must be amazed at this statement, but if it does not come to you as the most wonderful thing that ever was or could be, there is something grievously the matter with you; that such a One should say to such as WE, "I have loved THEE, with an everlasting love." May God Himself bring that home to us with something of its implication, something of its meaning and value, its glory, its wonder. If He should graciously do that, we shall be worshipers for the rest of our lives; there will be something about us that is in the nature of awe and wonder and we shall go softly. The realization of it will smite all our pride to the dust. There is no room for pride here. This will remove all those horrible things - pride, avarice, covetousness, self-interest, worldly ambition - and we shall be very humble, very grateful people, full of a great longing somehow to requite that love, somehow to win for that One His rights.
~T. Austin-Sparks~
Classic Christian Quotes from Classic Ministers
Classic Christian Quotes from Classic Ministers
Morning
O God, my heart is fixed.
The Lord is my light and my salvation; whom shall I fear? the LORD is the strength of my life; of whom shall I be afraid?
Thou wilt keep him in perfect peace, whose mind is stayed on thee: because he trusteth in thee. - He shall not be afraid of evil tidings: his heart is fixed, trusting in the LORD. His heart is established, he shall not be afraid, until he see his desire upon his enemies.
What time I am afraid, I will trust in thee. - In the time of trouble he shall hide me in his pavilion: in the secret of his tabernacle shall he hide me; he shall set me up upon a rock. And now shall mine head be lifted up above mine enemies round about me: therefore will I offer in his tabernacle sacrifices of joy: I will sing, yea, I will sing praises unto the LORD.
The God of all grace, who hath called us unto his eternal glory by Christ Jesus, after that ye have suffered awhile, make you perfect, stablish, strength-en, settle you. To him be glory and dominion for ever and ever.
PSA. 108:1. Psa. 27:1. Isa. 26:3. -Psa. 112:7,8. Psa. 56:3. Psa. 27:5,6. I Pet. 5:10,11.
EVENINGThe Lord hath prepared his throne in the heavens; and his kingdom ruleth over all.
The lot is cast into the lap; but the whole disposing thereof is of the LORD. - Shall there be evil in a city, and the LORD hath not done it?
I am the LORD, and there is none else; there is no God beside me: I girded thee, though thou hast not known me: that they may know from the rising of the sun, and from the west, that there is none beside me. I am the LORD, and there is none else. I form the light, and create darkness: I make peace, and create evil: I the LORD do all these things.
He doeth according to his will in the army of heaven, and among the in-habitants of the earth: and none can stay his hand, or say unto him, What doest thou? - If God be for us, who can be against us?
He must reign, till he hath put all enemies under his feet. - Fear not, little flock; for it is your Father's good pleasure to give you the kingdom.
PSA. 103:19. Prov. 16:33. Amos 3:6. Isa. 45:5-7. Dan. 4:35. Rom. 8:31. I Cor. 15:25. Luke 12:32.
~Samuel Bagster~
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Morning
O God, my heart is fixed.
The Lord is my light and my salvation; whom shall I fear? the LORD is the strength of my life; of whom shall I be afraid?
Thou wilt keep him in perfect peace, whose mind is stayed on thee: because he trusteth in thee. - He shall not be afraid of evil tidings: his heart is fixed, trusting in the LORD. His heart is established, he shall not be afraid, until he see his desire upon his enemies.
What time I am afraid, I will trust in thee. - In the time of trouble he shall hide me in his pavilion: in the secret of his tabernacle shall he hide me; he shall set me up upon a rock. And now shall mine head be lifted up above mine enemies round about me: therefore will I offer in his tabernacle sacrifices of joy: I will sing, yea, I will sing praises unto the LORD.
The God of all grace, who hath called us unto his eternal glory by Christ Jesus, after that ye have suffered awhile, make you perfect, stablish, strength-en, settle you. To him be glory and dominion for ever and ever.
PSA. 108:1. Psa. 27:1. Isa. 26:3. -Psa. 112:7,8. Psa. 56:3. Psa. 27:5,6. I Pet. 5:10,11.
EVENINGThe Lord hath prepared his throne in the heavens; and his kingdom ruleth over all.
The lot is cast into the lap; but the whole disposing thereof is of the LORD. - Shall there be evil in a city, and the LORD hath not done it?
I am the LORD, and there is none else; there is no God beside me: I girded thee, though thou hast not known me: that they may know from the rising of the sun, and from the west, that there is none beside me. I am the LORD, and there is none else. I form the light, and create darkness: I make peace, and create evil: I the LORD do all these things.
He doeth according to his will in the army of heaven, and among the in-habitants of the earth: and none can stay his hand, or say unto him, What doest thou? - If God be for us, who can be against us?
He must reign, till he hath put all enemies under his feet. - Fear not, little flock; for it is your Father's good pleasure to give you the kingdom.
PSA. 103:19. Prov. 16:33. Amos 3:6. Isa. 45:5-7. Dan. 4:35. Rom. 8:31. I Cor. 15:25. Luke 12:32.
~Samuel Bagster~
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One Big Request
Yesterday we looked at God’s promise in John 14:14. Too often people take the verse to imply, “If you ask anything, I will do it.” They overlook the most essential phrase: “in My name.”
Asking in Christ’s name has two meanings. First, believers are welcome to make requests that align with God’s purpose and plan. To do that, we need to ask Him if our prayers match His will. God has several ways of assuring followers that they are on the correct path. For instance, He may increase right desires or decrease wrong ones. Another possibility is that He will use His Word to redirect a Christian’s steps or confirm that the believer is going the right way. Either way, God will make a path for the man or woman who seeks to do His will.
Second, invoking Christ’s name means that we desire to glorify Him instead of ourselves. James gives this warning: “You ask and do not receive, because you ask with wrong motives, so that you may spend it on your pleasures” (James 4:3). To understand that, let’s consider those who are trying to pray their way out of a financial hole as an example. The question is, Does a person want to get out of debt so that he has more for himself or so that he can use the excess in God-honoring ways? Motives are apparent to God, and He will not encourage ones rooted in sin.
In the name Jesus Christ, there is abundant power. However, calling upon Him in prayer is not a magic charm to get what we want. Rather, it is a signal that we are laying down our personal desires and our own way of getting things done. In so doing, we commit to follow God and bring honor to Him.
~Dr. Charles F. Stanley~
Saturday, September 21, 2019
Classic Christian Quotes from Classic Ministers
Classic Christian Quotes from Classic Ministers
I have told you all this so that you may find your peace in Me. You will find trouble in the world – but, never lose heart, I have conquered the world! (John 16:33 Phillips)
When the spiritual stands to confront the merely formal, traditional, nominal and "natural," then there is going to be trouble. This is not now merely the reaction from the world: it is the reaction from religion. I would go further, and say it may be the reaction from Christianity. There is a very great difference between formal, traditional, nominal, "natural" Christianity, on the one side, and spiritual Christianity, on the other; a great deal of difference. So much so, that this also becomes a battlefield – the battlefield of a lot of trouble.
Leave formalism alone, and everything will go on quite quietly. Leave traditionalism alone – that is, the set order of things as it has always been; that framework of things as it has been constituted and set up and established by man; that Christianity which is the fixed, accepted system of things – and you will escape a great deal of trouble. But seek to bring in a truly spiritual order of things, and trouble arises at once. And YOU are the trouble maker! The truth is that the trouble lies in the existing condition, the situation, the state; but it is only brought out by your action. And so spiritual men and women, and spiritual ministry, are called "trouble makers," because the two things cannot go on together. That is where Israel was. They had the traditions, they had the oracles, they had the ordinances, they had the testimonies; they had the forms, they had the system – they had it all; but, in the days of the prophets, there was ever this vast gap between the "externals" and "internals" of life in relation with God. The heart is far removed from the lips. The spiritual reality is not found in the formal. You may have it all – but then bring in the truly spiritual meaning of things, and trouble begins in that very realm. It is the trouble which arises when what is external and traditional comes into conflict with something which is truly spiritual.
~T. Austin-Sparks~
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MORNING
I delight in the law of God after the inward man.
O how love I thy law! it is my meditation all the day. - Thy words were found, and I did eat them; and thy word was unto me the joy and rejoicing of mine heart. - I sat down under his shadow with great delight, and his fruit was sweet to my taste. - I have esteemed the words of his mouth more than my necessary food.
I delight to do thy will, O my God: yea, thy law is within my heart. - My meat is to do the will of him that sent me, and to finish his work.
The statutes of the LORD are right, rejoicing the heart: the commandment of the LORD is pure enlightening the eyes. More to be desired are they than gold, yea, than much fine gold: sweeter also than honey and the honeycomb. - Be ye doers of the word, and not hearers only, deceiving your own selves. For if any be a hearer of the word, and not a doer, he is like unto a man beholding his natural face in a glass.
ROM. 7:22. Psa. 119:97. Jer. 15:16. -Song 2:3. Job 23:12. Psa. 40:8. -John 4:34. Psa. 19:8,10. Jas. 1:22,23.
EVENING
The Lord thy God accept thee.
Wherewith shall I come before the LORD, and bow myself before the high God? shall I come before him with burnt offerings, with calves of a year old? Will the LORD be pleased with thousands of rams, or with ten thousands of rivers of oil? shall I give my firstborn for my transgression, the fruit of my body for the sin of my soul? He hath shewed thee, O man, what is good; and what doth the LORD require of thee, but to do justly, and to love mercy, and to walk humbly with thy God?
We are all as an unclean thing, and all our righteousnesses are as filthy rags. - There is none righteous, no, not one. For all have sinned, and come short of the glory of God; being justified freely by his grace through the redemp-ion that is in Christ Jesus: whom God hath set forth to be a propitiation through faith in his blood. To declare ... at this time his righteousness: that he might be just, and the justifier of him which believeth in Jesus.
Accepted in the Beloved. - Ye are complete in him.
II SAM. 24:23. Mic. 6:6 8. Isa. 64:6. -Rom. 3:10,23 26. Eph. 1:6. Col. 2:10.
I delight in the law of God after the inward man.
O how love I thy law! it is my meditation all the day. - Thy words were found, and I did eat them; and thy word was unto me the joy and rejoicing of mine heart. - I sat down under his shadow with great delight, and his fruit was sweet to my taste. - I have esteemed the words of his mouth more than my necessary food.
I delight to do thy will, O my God: yea, thy law is within my heart. - My meat is to do the will of him that sent me, and to finish his work.
The statutes of the LORD are right, rejoicing the heart: the commandment of the LORD is pure enlightening the eyes. More to be desired are they than gold, yea, than much fine gold: sweeter also than honey and the honeycomb. - Be ye doers of the word, and not hearers only, deceiving your own selves. For if any be a hearer of the word, and not a doer, he is like unto a man beholding his natural face in a glass.
ROM. 7:22. Psa. 119:97. Jer. 15:16. -Song 2:3. Job 23:12. Psa. 40:8. -John 4:34. Psa. 19:8,10. Jas. 1:22,23.
EVENING
The Lord thy God accept thee.
Wherewith shall I come before the LORD, and bow myself before the high God? shall I come before him with burnt offerings, with calves of a year old? Will the LORD be pleased with thousands of rams, or with ten thousands of rivers of oil? shall I give my firstborn for my transgression, the fruit of my body for the sin of my soul? He hath shewed thee, O man, what is good; and what doth the LORD require of thee, but to do justly, and to love mercy, and to walk humbly with thy God?
We are all as an unclean thing, and all our righteousnesses are as filthy rags. - There is none righteous, no, not one. For all have sinned, and come short of the glory of God; being justified freely by his grace through the redemp-ion that is in Christ Jesus: whom God hath set forth to be a propitiation through faith in his blood. To declare ... at this time his righteousness: that he might be just, and the justifier of him which believeth in Jesus.
Accepted in the Beloved. - Ye are complete in him.
II SAM. 24:23. Mic. 6:6 8. Isa. 64:6. -Rom. 3:10,23 26. Eph. 1:6. Col. 2:10.
~Samuel Bagster~
Classic Christian Quotes from Classic Ministers
Classic Christian Quotes from Classic Ministers
Where is Christ in your theological system?
(Charles Spurgeon)
"And beginning with Moses and all the Prophets, He explained to them what was said in all the Scriptures concerning Himself." Luke 24:27
"These are the Scriptures that testify about Me!" John 5:39
Take this Book and distill it into one word--and that one word will be JESUS! The Bible itself, is but the body of Christ, and we may look upon all its pages as the swaddling bands of the infant Savior--for if we unroll the Scripture, we come upon Jesus Christ Himself.
Where is Christ in your theological system? He Himself is . . .
the Doctor and Doctrine,
the Revealer and Revelation,
the Illuminator and the Light of men.
He is exalted in every word of truth, because He is its sum and substance.
He sits above the gospel, like a prince on His own throne.
Doctrine is most precious, when we see it distilling from His lips and embodied in His person.
Sermons are only valuable, in proportion as they speak of Him and point to Him!
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Where is Christ in your theological system?
(Charles Spurgeon)
"And beginning with Moses and all the Prophets, He explained to them what was said in all the Scriptures concerning Himself." Luke 24:27
"These are the Scriptures that testify about Me!" John 5:39
Take this Book and distill it into one word--and that one word will be JESUS! The Bible itself, is but the body of Christ, and we may look upon all its pages as the swaddling bands of the infant Savior--for if we unroll the Scripture, we come upon Jesus Christ Himself.
Where is Christ in your theological system? He Himself is . . .
the Doctor and Doctrine,
the Revealer and Revelation,
the Illuminator and the Light of men.
He is exalted in every word of truth, because He is its sum and substance.
He sits above the gospel, like a prince on His own throne.
Doctrine is most precious, when we see it distilling from His lips and embodied in His person.
Sermons are only valuable, in proportion as they speak of Him and point to Him!
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Your Life Is Your Time
Our lives are governed by time. That's why we're surrounded by clocks and calendars that dictate our activities. As the minutes tick by, we wonder where the day went. When responsibilities and pressures mount, we complain, "I just don't have time to get it all done!" But the reality is that God has given us enough time to do exactly what He's planned for our lives. Perhaps the bigger issue is whether we are using our time to do our will or the Lord's.
Time is a gift from God, and He has allotted each of us a measure in which to live and accomplish His purposes. We have only two options—to spend it temporally on our own interests or invest it eternally. Since time can never be retrieved or reversed, it's critical that we make the most of every opportunity the Lord provides.
The key to investing in eternity is following God's plan for your life, not just filling your days with activities. Jesus was allocated just thirty-three years of life on earth, but only the last three were spent in fulfilling His Messianic ministry. To us that seems like a waste of time. Yet Christ accomplished everything His Father gave Him to do. That's why on the cross He could say, "It is finished" (John 19:30).
Scripture compares earthly life to "a vapor that appears for a little while and then vanishes" (James 4:14), but eternal life never ends. It's foolish to spend your life on a vapor when you can reap everlasting benefits by following God's will for your time here. Each day is an opportunity to choose.
~Dr. Charles F. Stanley~
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"And the peace of God, which transcends all our powers of thought, will be a garrison to guard your hearts and minds in Christ Jesus" (Phil. 4:7)
There is what is called the "cushion of the sea." Down beneath the surface that is agitated by storms, and driven about with winds, there is a part of the sea that is never stirred. When we dredge the bottom and bring up the remains of animal and vegetable life we find that they give evidence of not having been disturbed in the least, for hundreds and thousands of years. The peace of God is that eternal calm which, like the cushion of the sea, lies far too deep down to be reached by any external trouble and disturbance; and he who enters into the presence of God, becomes partaker of that undisturbed and undisturbable calm.
--Dr. A. T. Pierson
--Dr. A. T. Pierson
When winds are raging o'er the upper ocean,
And billows wild contend with angry roar,
'Tis said, far down beneath the wild commotion,
That peaceful stillness reigneth evermore.
And billows wild contend with angry roar,
'Tis said, far down beneath the wild commotion,
That peaceful stillness reigneth evermore.
Far, far beneath, the noise of tempest dieth,
And silver waves chime ever peacefully,
And no rude storm, how fierce soe'er it flieth,
Disturbs the Sabbath of that deeper sea.
And silver waves chime ever peacefully,
And no rude storm, how fierce soe'er it flieth,
Disturbs the Sabbath of that deeper sea.
So to the heart that knows Thy love, O Purest,
There is a temple sacred evermore,
And all the babble of life's angry voices
Dies in hushed silence at its peaceful door.
There is a temple sacred evermore,
And all the babble of life's angry voices
Dies in hushed silence at its peaceful door.
Far, far away, the roar of passion dieth,
And loving thoughts rise calm and peacefully,
And no rude storm, how fierce soe'er it flieth,
Disturbs the soul that dwells, O Lord, in Thee.
--Harriet Beecher Stowe
And loving thoughts rise calm and peacefully,
And no rude storm, how fierce soe'er it flieth,
Disturbs the soul that dwells, O Lord, in Thee.
--Harriet Beecher Stowe
"The Pilgrim they laid in a large upper chamber, facing the sun-rising. The name of the chamber was Peace."
--Bunyan's Pilgrim's Progress
--Bunyan's Pilgrim's Progress
~L. B. Cowman~
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Saturday, September 14, 2019
Classic Christian Quotes from Classic Ministers
Classic Christian Quotes from Classic Ministers
How to conquer the world!
(Thomas Brooks, "The Unsearchable Riches of Christ!")
Perhaps the world--the smiling world or the frowning world, the tempting world or the persecuting world--lies as a heavy stone or burden upon your heart, as it does upon the hearts of thousands in these days. Witness their attempting anything to get the favors, honors and riches of this world! Ah! how many have turned their backs upon God, and Christ, and Heaven--to gain the world!
Men may hear many sermons--and yet remain worldly.
They may pray like angels--and yet live as if there were no Heaven nor Hell.
They will talk much of Heaven--and yet those who are spiritual and wise, smell their breath to stink strongly of earth.
All their endeavors can never cure them of this soul-killing disease--until faith breaks forth in its glorious actings. A man may hear sermons and pray many years--and yet remain as carnal, base, and worldly as ever! There is no way under Heaven to remove this burden--but by the exercise of faith!
"For everyone born of God overcomes the world. This is the victory that has overcome the world, even our faith. Who is it that overcomes the world? Only he who believes that Jesus is the Son of God." 1 John 5:4-5
Faith presents the world to the soul under all those notions which the Scripture holds forth the world unto us by. The Scripture holds forth the world as . . .
an impotent thing,
as a mixed thing,
as a mutable thing,
as a momentary thing.
Now faith comes and sets this home with power upon the soul--and this takes the soul off from the world.
Faith causes the soul to converse with those more glorious, soul-satisfying, soul-delighting, and soul-contenting objects! Now when faith is busied and exercised about soul-ennobling, soul-greatening, soul-raising, and soul-cheering objects--a Christian tramples the world under his feet! In Hebrews 11, it was the exercise of faith and hope upon noble and glorious objects, which carried them above the world . . .
above the smiling world,
above the frowning world,
above the tempting world,
and above the persecuting world!
Faith conquers the world, by assuring the soul of enjoying of better things. Men may talk much of Heaven, and of Christ, and religion, etc.; but give me a man who really and clearly lives under the power of divine faith--and I cannot see how such a one can be carried out in an inordinate love to these poor transitory worldly things.
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Go dogs, and eat the garbage!
(Charles Spurgeon)
"Do not be yoked together with unbelievers.
For what do righteousness and wickedness have in common?
Or what fellowship can light have with darkness?
What harmony is there between Christ and Belial?
What does a believer have in common with an unbeliever?
What agreement is there between the temple of God and idols?
'Therefore come out from them and be separate,' says the Lord. 'Touch no unclean thing, and I will receive you. I will be a Father to you, and you will be My sons and daughters,' says the Lord Almighty." 2 Corinthians 6:14-18
I believe that one reason why the church at this present moment has so little influence over the world, is because the world has so much influence over the church! Nowadays, we hear mere professors pleading that they may do this, and do that--that they may live like worldlings. My sad answer to them, when they crave this liberty is, "Do it if you dare. It may not cost you much hurt, for you are so bad already. Your worldly cravings show how rotten your hearts are! If you are hungering after such dog's food--go dogs, and eat the garbage!"
Worldly amusements are fit food for pretenders and hypocrites.
If you were God's children, you would loathe the thought of the world's evil joys. Your question would not be, "How far may we be like the world?" but your cry would be, "How can we get away from the world? How can we come out of it?"
"Whatever is true,
whatever is noble,
whatever is right,
whatever is pure,
whatever is lovely,
whatever is admirable,
if anything is excellent or praiseworthy
--think about such things!" Philippians 4:8
________________________
You were fitter to be loathed, than loved!
(Thomas Boston, "Human Nature in its Fourfold State")
Call to mind the state you were in formerly. "Remember that at that time you were without Christ . . . having no hope and without God in the world." Ephesians 2:12
You are no longer a child of wrath--but an heir of God, and joint heir with Christ!
Remember--that in the day our Lord first took you by the hand, you were in no better a condition than others. O, what moved Him to take you--when He passed by so many others who were much better than you? He found you a child of wrath, even as others--but He did not leave you so. He came into the common prison where you lay in fetters, even as others. From among the multitude of condemned malefactors, He picked you out, commanded your fetters to be taken off, put a pardon in your hand, and brought you into the glorious liberty of the children of God--while He left others in the devil's fetters!
Remember--there was nothing in you to engage Him to love you, in the day He appeared for your deliverance. You were a child of wrath, even as others. You were fit for Hell, and altogether unfit for Heaven! Yet the King brought you into His palace. The King's Son loved you, a condemned criminal, and espoused you to Himself--on the day in which you might have been led forth to eternal execution! "Even so, Father, for so it seemed good in Your sight!"
Remember--you were fitter to be loathed, than loved, in that day. Be amazed and wonder--that when He saw you in your blood, that He did not look upon you with abhorrence and pass you by!
Remember--it was He who took off your prison garments, and clothed you with robes of righteousness, garments of salvation! He took the chains from off your arms, the rope from around your neck; and put you in such a dress, as you might be fit for the court of Heaven--even to eat at the King's table!
Admire that matchless love which brought you out of the state of wrath! Christ's love brought your soul from the pit of corruption! He gave His life for your life. He gave His precious blood to quench the flames of wrath--which otherwise would have forever consumed you! He took you out of the horrible pit, and out of the miry clay. How broad was that love, which covered such a multitude of sins! See . . .
the length of it--reaching from everlasting to everlasting;
the depth of it--going so low as to deliver you from the lowest Hell;
the height of it--raising you up to sit in heavenly places!
That your soul is not overwhelmed with the wrath of God, is owing purely to Jesus Christ! That your heart is not filled with horror and despair, is owing to Him alone! That . . .
your eyes are not now blinded with the smoke of the bottomless pit;
your hands not now fettered with adamantine chains of darkness;
your tongue is not now broiling in the fire of Hell; and
your feet are not now standing in the lake which burns with fire and brimstone--is owing purely to Jesus Christ!
Walk humbly, as it befits debtors to free grace!
You have no reason to complain of your lot in the world, whatever it is.
Well may you bear the cross for Him . . . .
who bore your curse;
who has freed you from eternal wrath;
and who has quenched Hell-fire for you!
How to conquer the world!
(Thomas Brooks, "The Unsearchable Riches of Christ!")
Perhaps the world--the smiling world or the frowning world, the tempting world or the persecuting world--lies as a heavy stone or burden upon your heart, as it does upon the hearts of thousands in these days. Witness their attempting anything to get the favors, honors and riches of this world! Ah! how many have turned their backs upon God, and Christ, and Heaven--to gain the world!
Men may hear many sermons--and yet remain worldly.
They may pray like angels--and yet live as if there were no Heaven nor Hell.
They will talk much of Heaven--and yet those who are spiritual and wise, smell their breath to stink strongly of earth.
All their endeavors can never cure them of this soul-killing disease--until faith breaks forth in its glorious actings. A man may hear sermons and pray many years--and yet remain as carnal, base, and worldly as ever! There is no way under Heaven to remove this burden--but by the exercise of faith!
"For everyone born of God overcomes the world. This is the victory that has overcome the world, even our faith. Who is it that overcomes the world? Only he who believes that Jesus is the Son of God." 1 John 5:4-5
Faith presents the world to the soul under all those notions which the Scripture holds forth the world unto us by. The Scripture holds forth the world as . . .
an impotent thing,
as a mixed thing,
as a mutable thing,
as a momentary thing.
Now faith comes and sets this home with power upon the soul--and this takes the soul off from the world.
Faith causes the soul to converse with those more glorious, soul-satisfying, soul-delighting, and soul-contenting objects! Now when faith is busied and exercised about soul-ennobling, soul-greatening, soul-raising, and soul-cheering objects--a Christian tramples the world under his feet! In Hebrews 11, it was the exercise of faith and hope upon noble and glorious objects, which carried them above the world . . .
above the smiling world,
above the frowning world,
above the tempting world,
and above the persecuting world!
Faith conquers the world, by assuring the soul of enjoying of better things. Men may talk much of Heaven, and of Christ, and religion, etc.; but give me a man who really and clearly lives under the power of divine faith--and I cannot see how such a one can be carried out in an inordinate love to these poor transitory worldly things.
______________________
Go dogs, and eat the garbage!
(Charles Spurgeon)
"Do not be yoked together with unbelievers.
For what do righteousness and wickedness have in common?
Or what fellowship can light have with darkness?
What harmony is there between Christ and Belial?
What does a believer have in common with an unbeliever?
What agreement is there between the temple of God and idols?
'Therefore come out from them and be separate,' says the Lord. 'Touch no unclean thing, and I will receive you. I will be a Father to you, and you will be My sons and daughters,' says the Lord Almighty." 2 Corinthians 6:14-18
I believe that one reason why the church at this present moment has so little influence over the world, is because the world has so much influence over the church! Nowadays, we hear mere professors pleading that they may do this, and do that--that they may live like worldlings. My sad answer to them, when they crave this liberty is, "Do it if you dare. It may not cost you much hurt, for you are so bad already. Your worldly cravings show how rotten your hearts are! If you are hungering after such dog's food--go dogs, and eat the garbage!"
Worldly amusements are fit food for pretenders and hypocrites.
If you were God's children, you would loathe the thought of the world's evil joys. Your question would not be, "How far may we be like the world?" but your cry would be, "How can we get away from the world? How can we come out of it?"
"Whatever is true,
whatever is noble,
whatever is right,
whatever is pure,
whatever is lovely,
whatever is admirable,
if anything is excellent or praiseworthy
--think about such things!" Philippians 4:8
________________________
You were fitter to be loathed, than loved!
(Thomas Boston, "Human Nature in its Fourfold State")
Call to mind the state you were in formerly. "Remember that at that time you were without Christ . . . having no hope and without God in the world." Ephesians 2:12
You are no longer a child of wrath--but an heir of God, and joint heir with Christ!
Remember--that in the day our Lord first took you by the hand, you were in no better a condition than others. O, what moved Him to take you--when He passed by so many others who were much better than you? He found you a child of wrath, even as others--but He did not leave you so. He came into the common prison where you lay in fetters, even as others. From among the multitude of condemned malefactors, He picked you out, commanded your fetters to be taken off, put a pardon in your hand, and brought you into the glorious liberty of the children of God--while He left others in the devil's fetters!
Remember--there was nothing in you to engage Him to love you, in the day He appeared for your deliverance. You were a child of wrath, even as others. You were fit for Hell, and altogether unfit for Heaven! Yet the King brought you into His palace. The King's Son loved you, a condemned criminal, and espoused you to Himself--on the day in which you might have been led forth to eternal execution! "Even so, Father, for so it seemed good in Your sight!"
Remember--you were fitter to be loathed, than loved, in that day. Be amazed and wonder--that when He saw you in your blood, that He did not look upon you with abhorrence and pass you by!
Remember--it was He who took off your prison garments, and clothed you with robes of righteousness, garments of salvation! He took the chains from off your arms, the rope from around your neck; and put you in such a dress, as you might be fit for the court of Heaven--even to eat at the King's table!
Admire that matchless love which brought you out of the state of wrath! Christ's love brought your soul from the pit of corruption! He gave His life for your life. He gave His precious blood to quench the flames of wrath--which otherwise would have forever consumed you! He took you out of the horrible pit, and out of the miry clay. How broad was that love, which covered such a multitude of sins! See . . .
the length of it--reaching from everlasting to everlasting;
the depth of it--going so low as to deliver you from the lowest Hell;
the height of it--raising you up to sit in heavenly places!
That your soul is not overwhelmed with the wrath of God, is owing purely to Jesus Christ! That your heart is not filled with horror and despair, is owing to Him alone! That . . .
your eyes are not now blinded with the smoke of the bottomless pit;
your hands not now fettered with adamantine chains of darkness;
your tongue is not now broiling in the fire of Hell; and
your feet are not now standing in the lake which burns with fire and brimstone--is owing purely to Jesus Christ!
Walk humbly, as it befits debtors to free grace!
You have no reason to complain of your lot in the world, whatever it is.
Well may you bear the cross for Him . . . .
who bore your curse;
who has freed you from eternal wrath;
and who has quenched Hell-fire for you!
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!
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!
______________________________
The Cross The Believer's Motivation
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~
______________________________
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~
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