Classic Christian Quotes From Classic Ministers

 Classic Christian Quotes From Classic Ministers

Momentary Pleasure

Genesis 25:19-34

Decisions have consequences. That can be a good thing, but at times we end up dealing with lifelong repercussions. Then we look back and wish our decision had been wiser.

For example, in exchange for a bowl of stew, Esau sacrificed his birthright. In other words, he gave up not only his wealth, inheritance, position, and prominence but also power and the right to lead the entire family.

Is there a “bowl of stew” in your life—something you want badly that’s right in front of you, there for the taking? At the moment, it may seem like the right decision, but later you could find you’ve traded something valuable for something with little or no worth.

Whenever we’re ruled by anything besides the Holy Spirit, we are more prone to sacrifice our future for immediate gratification. Appetites are God-given, but they aren’t designed to dominate us. That’s what caused Esau to lose his future. He wanted to satisfy his appetite right then and, at the time, was willing to pay the price.

We can endanger our future when we focus on the temporary instead of the eternal. What are you doing right now that could have lifelong consequences? Is it worth it? Ask God to help you see your situation from His perspective.

~Dr. Charles F. Stanley~

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My determined purpose is that I may know Him. (Philippians 3:10 AMP)

There are few words in his writings which reveal how committed to the Lord Jesus this man was. The whole context is one consummate outpouring of his heart to the One whom he said had "apprehended" him, and he focuses all in a brief half sentence: "That I may know Him." The impressive thing about this expressed ambition is the time at which it is made. Here is a man who has had a revelation and knowledge of Jesus Christ greater than any other man up to that time. That knowledge commenced whence as he said, "it pleased God to reveal His Son in me." That beginning devastated him, and sent him into the desert to try to grasp its implications. Later he had been "caught up into the third heaven and shown unspeakable things, which (he said) were not lawful to be uttered." Between, and around those two experiences, there is evidence of an ever growing knowledge of Christ. Here, after all that, near the end of his life, he is crying passionately: "That I may know Him."

The very least that we can say about this is that the Christ in view was a very great Christ indeed, who outstrips the greatest capacity and comprehension of man. This stands in such tremendous contrast to the limited Christ of our recognition and apprehension! How very much more there is in Christ than we have ever seen!

~T. Austin-Sparks~

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You are an offense to Me, because you are not thinking God's thoughts but human thoughts! (Matthew 16:23 ISV)

I think that does say to us that a position has to be taken inclusively and over many things where the will of God is concerned. We have to come very definitely and positively to such a position, and then realize that from time to time there will be, by one means or another, an effort of the enemy to change our minds, to weaken us in that course, to make other suggestions, to get us to reconsider it in the light of various issues and interests. We shall meet this offending, this stumbling, this hindering thing and have to be very ruthless with it. The way the Lord dealt with Peter was, in a sense, ruthless. Really there was no weakness in His attitude over that. Discerning its true nature, He saw clearly that, if He yielded to this suggestion, then He would go neither to Jerusalem nor to the Cross. It is a question of whether we have settled that such and such is the way of the will of God, and then, will this or that arising mean in the long run that we never get there, never do that will? If so, it has to be handled very ruthlessly and put out of the way and put behind us. The Cross comes to us in many connections and different terms.

Then, if we are really going to come through to the place of spiritual power as did Peter, that ground of the enemy must continually be forsaken and refused. The enemy has to be robbed of that which will destroy us and give him power to destroy us, and we have to be very ruthless with anything that arises to give him that position and defeat God's intention where we are concerned. This battle of heaven and hell, God and Satan, goes on in our souls, but there is for us this consolation, that we have a High Priest ever living to make intercession. We have a great asset in the continual intercession of the Lord Jesus for us.

~T. Austin-Sparks~

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Where Love and Justice Meet

Romans 3:21-26

The Lord can’t have a dilemma, but if He could, it would be this: How can a loving God justly forgive sinners? Although God loves the people He created, He can’t ignore, excuse, or arbitrarily forgive their transgressions, since His justice demands that sin’s penalty be paid.

The solution was the cross, where divine love and justice met. Because God loves us, He sent His Son to earth to shed His precious blood on the cross in payment for our sin debt (Rom. 6:23). Since only a sacrifice without defect was acceptable (Lev. 22:20), Jesus alone qualified: As God in human flesh, He was the only person who ever lived a sinless life. At the cross, our sin was laid on Him, and He died in our place. This satisfied the Father’s justice “so that He would be just and the justifier of the one who has faith in Jesus” (Rom. 3:26).

From our perspective, salvation is a free gift offered to everyone who confesses Jesus as Savior and Lord. However, for the Son and the heavenly Father, it was a very costly transaction. Therefore, we should never take our salvation for granted or think lightly of it. This gift is our most precious possession. 

~Dr. Charles F. Stanley~

Classic Christian Quotes From Classic Ministers

 Classic Christian Quotes From Classic Ministers

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The city has no need of sun or moon, for the glory of God illuminates the city, and the Lamb is its light. (Revelation 21:23 NLT)

Light is not a mental thing: that is to say, it is not just a matter of having a store of mental knowledge. That is not light. It is possible to have an enormous amount of doctrine and truth and never be luminaries, that is, never register impact upon darkness. Real light is experimental: that is to say, it is the fruit of experience, the experience of suffering. How have you children of God come to know what you do know of the Lord, that real kind of knowledge of the Lord which is so precious to us, which means so much and which makes you in that measure of value to others? It is through suffering, it is through the difficult way the Lord has led you, it is through the work of the Cross that He has wrought in you. “The Lamb is the lamp” – suffering leading to knowledge, to light, to understanding. It is the only way. These people at the end will be in the good of a great and wonderful revelation which has come by their fellowship with Christ in His sufferings. It is very true. It may not be too comforting from one standpoint, but it is true; and it ought to help us to realize this: that the Lord, in the way in which He is dealing with us, in the sufferings which He allows to come upon us, is really seeking our education, that we may have a knowledge of Himself which can only come that way, and which is a peculiar kind of knowledge of tremendous value to us and through us to others. We do not learn in any other way. It is the Lamb, always the Lamb-principle, the way of suffering and sacrifice and self-emptying, that brings us into the knowledge of the Lord. “The Lamb is the lamp thereof”; and, just as it is deeper death unto fuller life, so it may often be deeper darkness unto fuller light.

The Lord seems to lead us in a way where we are less and less able naturally to understand Him. He gets us altogether out of our natural capacity, beyond our capacity for interpreting His ways. We just do not know what the Lord is doing, or why He is doing what He is doing; yet it is the way by which we come to a very real kind of inward knowledge of Himself. It may not be capable of explanation in words to anybody, but we know, somehow or other we know, and that is a mighty thing, a mighty power of knowledge. It is light through the Cross.

~T. Austin-Sparks~

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Believers’ Responsibility

Luke 3:22

As we saw yesterday, words are but one part of our communication. Now let’s look at two types of messages we should purposefully model for the kids in our life.

First, children need affirmation that they are loved, accepted, and competent—the very things we see the Father speaking about to His Son in today’s passage. We must give children a sense of security and belonging so they won’t look to unhealthy sources for acceptance. And the way we care and provide for them will help them grasp the heavenly Father’s love.

Second, children learn godliness when it is modeled. Reading Scripture aloud and sharing stories of the Lord’s involvement in our life are both important, but our everyday actions matter just as much. What we do should match what we say and testify about God’s love. For example, we can’t expect kids to understand the golden rule if we act with selfishness, arrogance, or insensitivity.

Modeling a godly life is often an intentional pursuit, like studying Scripture or serving as a family on a mission trip. It can also be as simple and unplanned as picking up a piece of trash on a neighbor’s lawn. But keep in mind that actions and words aren’t always perceived correctly. Check that the child’s understanding matches the message you hope to communicate.

Your words and actions teach lessons. Children need to know, beyond any doubt, that they’re treasured and capable, so be mindful about giving them the tools they need in order to follow Christ. Remember, God doesn’t expect perfection. He’ll guide the willing heart—and cover missteps with His grace.

~Dr. Charles F. Stanley~

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Yea, hath God said?

When the tempter came to Jesus, he said, If thou be the Son of God. - Jesus said unto him, It is written, ... it is written, ... it is written. - Then the devil leaveth him.

I may not return with thee. For it was said to me by the word of the LORD, Thou shalt eat no bread nor drink water there. He said unto him, I am a prophet also as thou art; and an angel spake unto me by the word of the LORD, saying, Bring him back with thee into thine house, that he may eat bread and drink water. But he lied unto him. So he went back with him. The man of God ... was disobedient unto the word of the LORD: therefore the LORD hath delivered him unto the lion, which hath torn him, and slain him, according to the word of the LORD. - Though we, or an angel from heaven, preach any other gospel unto you than that which we have preached unto you, let him be accursed. - Thy word have I hid in mine heart, that I might not sin against thee.

GEN. 3:1. Matt. 4:3. -Matt. 4:4,7,10. -Matt. 4:11. I Kgs. 13:16 19,26. Gal. 1:8. Psa. 119:11.

~Samuel Bagster~

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The holiness of a Christian!

(Letters of John Newton)

"For I know that in me (that is, in my flesh) nothing good dwells." Romans 7:18

The depravity of our fallen nature is, and will be, universally and always felt during our present earthly state. It insinuates into, and mixes with all our thoughts, and all our actions. It is inseparable from us, as the shadow from our bodies when the sun shines upon us.

The holiness of a Christian does not consist in a deliverance from depravity--but in being sensible of it, striving against it, and being humbled under it; and taking occasion from thence to admire our Savior, and rejoice in Him as our complete righteousness and sanctification.

The grace of God puts a great deal into the heart--but it takes nothing out. Nature and grace, flesh and spirit, will antagonize each other to the end of life. Therefore the life of a believer, while in the body, is a continual state of warfare.

The apostle felt a law in his members warring against the law of his mind. He would do good, but evil was present with him. He groaned, being burdened.

When we first set out, we hope to be spiritually rich--but the Lord's purpose is to make us sensible of our extreme poverty. We wish to be something--but He is teaching us that we are nothing.

When indeed we are willing to be nothing, that He may be all in all, in us and for us--then I think we reach the very acme of holiness. Then, while we feel that we have no sufficiency of ourselves, we shall be enabled to do all things that occur in the line of duty, through Him strengthening us.

Classic Christian Quotes From Classic Ministers

 Classic Christian Quotes From Classic Ministers

New methods, new plans, new organizations!

(E.M. Bounds)

The young preacher has been taught to lay out all his strength on the form, style, and beauty of his sermon as an oratorical performance.

We have thereby cultivated a worldly taste in the church and raised the clamor for . . .
  talent, instead of grace;
  eloquence, instead of piety;
  rhetoric, instead of revelation;
  brilliancy, instead of holiness.

What the Church needs today is not more or better machinery, nor new organizations, nor novel methods--but men whom the Holy Spirit can use, men of prayer, men mighty in prayer.

The Holy Spirit does not flow through methods, but through men.
He does not anoint church machinery, but men, men of prayer.   

We are constantly straining to devise new methods, new plans, new organizations to advance the Church and secure enlargement and efficiency for the gospel.

The Church is looking for better methods--God is looking for holier men.

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I pray... that the eyes of your heart may be enlightened in order that you may know the hope to which He has called you, the riches of His glorious inheritance in the saints. (Ephesians 1:18 NIV)

What is Christ’s inheritance in the saints? What are the riches of the glory of Christ’s inheritance in the saints? It is that the saints are to provide Him with the means of the universal manifestation of Himself as God has purposed Him to be. It is a part of the arrangement in those counsels of the Godhead, that He shall be the central fullness, but that the fullness should not be manifested, displayed in an isolated way. There would be no purpose in that, because He could have done that in Deity without incarnation, He could have possessed the fullness in that way, and that is what the letter to the Philippians says. He was equal with God, and had all the fullness, but He emptied Himself. Why? In order that others might be brought into the fullness, that He might not hold it all for Himself. That is what Satan wants to do.

The Lord Jesus let go in order to bring others in. The apostle says, “Let this mind be in you.” If any of you are inclined to stand for your own rights, on your own ground, to hold things for yourself, you are violating the very spirit of Christ who let go His own rights in order that others might come into them and get the benefit. So the inheritance of Christ is this: that He is made heir of all things, but He can have all things only as He has the saints, and He gets those “all things” through and in the saints. It is a part of the arrangement, the agreement. It is not as one isolated unit in God’s universe, that He is to have everything, but by appointment man-wise, in a corporate sense, and not only in a personal sense.... The Lord is not satisfied with His people just being saved, and the Lord is not satisfied that people should just remain saved. The Lord has fixed this as His goal: the full knowledge of Him. It is indispensable to the Lord. His inheritance is bound up with it. The need today is that the Lord’s own people should come into a knowledge of Himself which they do not possess, into a position in relation to Himself which they do not occupy; in a word: into the full knowledge of Him.

~T. Austin-Sparks~

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The Battle of the Mind

2 Corinthians 10:3-5

Do you understand how Satan works to bring down believers? Although we may think of his attacks as external, the real battleground is in the realm of ideas. If he can get a church to believe erroneous doctrines, unbiblical philosophies, and false assumptions about God, he can lead it away from the truth and into error.

And the Enemy uses this same tactic on individual Christians as well. The battlefield is our mind, not our circumstances. As the Father of Lies, he knows that deception is an effective tactic. His goal is to influence our thoughts because how we think determines our attitudes, emotions, desires, and actions. Therefore, he seeks to twist our thoughts in order to gain a foothold and wreak havoc in all areas.

Any thought that is contrary to God’s Word needs to be taken “captive to the obedience of Christ” (2 Corinthians 10:5). And Jesus showed us how: Every time Satan threw a temptation at Him, He answered it with an appropriate Scripture (Matt. 4:1-11). However, we can’t simply wave our Bible in the air, hoping to scare the devil away. To effectively defeat his lies, we need a good working knowledge of God’s Word so that we can fight deception with truth, whatever the situation might be.

For instance, if you struggle with fear and anxiety, cling to verses that affirm God’s trustworthiness and care. If envy is the problem, the answer is Christ’s sufficiency for your life. As you fill your mind with God’s Word, Satan’s lies will become easier to identify, and your attitudes, emotions, desires, and behaviors will align with truth.

~Dr. Charles F. Stanley~

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Created for a Purpose

Many Christians today are not living the successful life God intends because they have missed the purpose for which they were born.

Ephesians 2:10 tells us,

For we are His workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand that we should walk in them.

If you are going to live successfully, you have to know what you are all about. Any tool that is used for something other than what it was created for will not be effective. And it is liable to get damaged.

At times I have needed a hammer to pound in a nail, but I have been too lazy to go out in the garage to get one (don't get too self-righteous, you've done it too!).  So I have ended up using whatever I had handy, like a wrench.

Well, you can get the nail in, but you are not going to be very effective.  You are liable to dent the wall, and you are liable to damage the wrench.

Too many Christians today are not functioning or flowing in the thing they were created for, and consequently, they are not effective.  And sometimes they get hurt and damaged.

You do have a purpose.  In fact, the word in Ephesians 2:10 translated workmanship literally means you are handcrafted by God.  The Greek word is the same word we derive our English word poem from.

In other words, your life is not to be without order or symmetry or rhyme or reason.  God has some specific things mapped out for your life.  You are not an accident.  You are not excess baggage.  You have a purpose. 

Ask God today to show you that purpose, and then develop the gifts God has given you to fulfill that purpose.

~Bayless Conley~

Classic Christian Quotes From Classic Ministers

 Classic Christian Quotes From Classic Ministers

Mark 2:4
And when they could not come nigh unto Him for the press, they uncovered the roof where he was: and when they had broken it up, they let down the bed wherein the sick of the palsy lay.

Faith is full of inventions. The house was full, a crowd blocked up the door, but faith found a way of getting at the Lord and placing the palsied man before Him. If we cannot get sinners where Jesus is by ordinary methods we must use extraordinary ones. It seems, according to Luke 5:19, that a tiling had to be removed, which would make dust and cause a measure of danger to those below, but where the case is very urgent we must not mind running some risks and shocking some proprieties. Jesus was there to heal, and therefore fall what might, faith ventured all so that her poor paralyzed charge might have his sins forgiven.

O that we had more daring faith among us! Cannot we, dear reader, seek it this morning for ourselves and for our fellow-workers, and will we not try to-day to perform some gallant act for the love of souls and the glory of the Lord. The world is constantly inventing; genius serves all the purposes of human desire: cannot faith invent too, and reach by some new means the outcasts who lie perishing around us? It was the presence of Jesus which excited victorious courage in the four bearers of the palsied man: is not the Lord among us now? Have we seen His face for ourselves this morning? Have we felt His healing power in our own souls?

If so, then through door, through window, or through roof, let us, breaking through all impediments, labour to bring poor souls to Jesus. All means are good and decorous when faith and love are truly set on winning souls. If hunger for bread can break through stone walls, surely hunger for souls is not to be hindered in its efforts. O Lord, make us quick to suggest methods of reaching Thy poor sin-sick ones, and bold to carry them out at all hazards.

~Charles Spurgeon~

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Waiting on God

Psalm 37:7-9

Almighty God formed you. He knows your talents and weaknesses, as well as every detail of your situation and potential results of any decision you might make.

Your Creator knows what is best for your life. His plan for you, which is motivated by wisdom and love, is executed with perfect timing. This last part can be hard for us to accept, especially when it involves waiting. But patience is often part of the plan.

Our human nature wants instant gratification, but in some seasons of life, God teaches us to trust Him and yield those longings. We demonstrate surrender and humility before Him when we submit to His timetable.

Of course, there is another option. God gave us the free will to choose His plan or step away from it. When life does not follow our desired path, we can try to make things happen in our own power. Though this option is tempting at uncomfortable times, it often leads to disappointment and difficulty, and we end up missing God’s best.

Scripture contains rich promises that we can claim throughout life—and God always keeps His Word. As His followers, we are to believe with faith, anticipate with hope, and wait quietly with patience (Rom. 12:12). In the meantime, we listen and obey.

Embrace whatever season God has you in right now. If it’s a time of waiting, choose patience, trusting that His plan for you is beautiful. Walking in His will requires us to remain sensitive to His voice. When we readily listen to our loving Father, He protects us from making mistakes.

~Dr. Charles F. Stanley~

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Do nothing out of selfish ambition or vain conceit, but in humility consider others better than yourselves. (Philippians 2:3 NIV)

What do we expect when we go on with God, when we come right out for God? What have we in view? Well, the answer to that question will decide whether, in relation to God, we have ambitions for something on the earth. Do you get the point? You see, it is so possible to swing over your natural ambitions to spiritual aims. It is the same thing still at work, and the only difference is the direction or sphere. You can be as ambitious in the work of God as you can be in the world, and it is the same natural ambition. It is the ambitiousness of nature. You desire – what do you desire? To see something, to have something, to be in something? Ambition for success; yes, once it was in the world – now the same ambition transferred to other things....

It is a mark of going on when we can come to the place where it is true before God that we have let go all the prosperity and success even of Christian work and Christian ministry as men would count it. To be able to let go the great opportunities and the great advantages that may be had amongst Christian people, and the prizes that can be grasped, and to say, “It is all right, the Lord knows; it is for Him to give or withhold. I am not going to make a line for those prizes. I am not going to allow those things to influence my walk with God. Ambition is not going to dictate my course,” is a sure sign of growth. It may not seem here on earth to mean very big things; wide open doors and all that, but somehow you may take it that there is Life there, spiritual influence there, something that is counting there. In the end it will have counted. But this does sometimes first of all necessitate that conflict with ambition where all those suggestions and influences have to be laid low, and we come to the place where we see that the way of Life is to go on with God though it costs us everything. The law of the Spirit of Life works in that way.... The way of Life demands that we shall get before the Lord again, and say, “Lord, though all my earthly prospects fade, though all my ambitions are disappointed, it is You I want. You are my ambition, my goal. If I have You, these other things will count for much less.” I believe that, as we can get there – and not many of us have got a long way on that road – but as we can get there, we find the secret of Life, of joy, of release.

~T. Austin-Sparks~

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The sin before us is a very old one!

(J.C. Ryle, "The Gospel of Luke")

"Then they began to argue among themselves about who would be the greatest among them." Luke 22:24

We see in this passage how firmly pride and love of preeminence can stick to the hearts of Christian men. The strife was one which had been rebuked by our Lord on a former occasion. The Lord's Supper which the disciples had just been receiving, and the circumstances under which they were assembled--made the strife particularly inappropriate.

And yet at this very season, the last quiet time they could spend with their Master before His death--this little flock begins to argue among themselves about who would be the greatest!

Such is the heart of man--ever weak, ever prideful, ever ready, even at its best times, to turn aside to what is evil!

The sin before us is a very old one. Ambition, self-esteem, and self-conceit--lie deep at the bottom of all men's hearts, and often in the hearts where they are least suspected! Thousands imagine that they are humble, who cannot bear to see an equal more honored and favored than themselves. Few indeed can be found who rejoice heartily in another's promotion over themselves.

If we make any profession of serving Christ, then let us live on our guard against this great evil. The harm that it has done to the Church of Christ, is far beyond calculation. Let us learn to take pleasure in the prosperity of others, and to be content with the lowest place for ourselves. The rule given to the Philippians should be often before our eyes, "In lowliness of mind--let each esteem others better than themselves." The example of John the Baptist is a bright instance of the spirit at which we should aim. He said of our Lord, "He must increase, but I must decrease."

Classic Christian Quotes From Classic Ministers

 Classic Christian Quotes From Classic Ministers

God Accomplishes What Concerns You

Psalms 138:7-8

 

David was a man who walked through trouble on a regular basis. His psalms express the struggles and disappointments he faced, yet in the end, he always turned his focus back to God. The key to his victorious attitude was his strong faith in the Lord.

 

David was confident in God's purpose. That's why he could say, "The Lord will accomplish what concerns me" (v. 8). The only way we can walk through trouble and not be defeated is by keeping our focus on the Lord and His purpose. He has promised to do a good work in our lives, but sometimes the only way He can complete it is in valleys of hardship.

~Charles F. Stanley~

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The Blessing of God's Spiritual Influence

In the beginning of Isaiah 55  God invites His people to come to Him and fellowship with Him.  In verses 3 and 6 God says,

"Incline your ear, and come to Me.  Hear, and your soul shall live….  Seek the LORD while He may be found, call upon Him while He is near."

In verses 10-11, we are told what happens to those who respond to this invitation, to God's call to come and seek Him and listen to Him,

"For as the rain comes down, and the snow from heaven, and do not return there, but water the earth, and make it bring forth and bud, that it may give seed to the sower and bread to the eater, so shall My word be that goes forth from My mouth; it shall not return to Me void, but it shall accomplish what I please, and it shall prosper in the thing for which I sent it."

In the same way rain brings blessing when it waters the earth (causing it to bring a bountiful harvest and fruitfulness into the lives of the people), so God's spiritual influence brings refreshment and fruitfulness to our lives.

What is God's spiritual influence?  It is the impact of His Word and His Spirit upon the hearts of His children. 

~Bayless Conley~

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Jude 24
Faultless before the presence of His glory.

Revolve in your mind that wondrous word, faultless!" We are far off from it now; but as our Lord never stops short of perfection in His work of love, we shall reach it one day.

The Saviour who will keep His people to the Lend, will also present them at last to Himself, as "a glorious church, not having spot, or wrinkle, or any such thing, but holy and without blemish." All the jewels in the Saviour's crown are of the first water and without a single flaw. All the maids of honour who attend the Lamb's wife are pure virgins without spot or stain. But how will Jesus make us faultless? He will wash us from our sins in His own blood until we are white and fair as God's purest angel; and we shall be clothed in His righteousness, that righteousness which makes the saint who wears it positively faultless; yea, perfect in the sight of God. We shall be unblameable and unreproveable even in His eyes. His law will not only have no charge against us, but it will be magnified in us.

~Charles Spurgeon~

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Do not fret when wicked men seem to succeed! Do not envy evildoers! —Ps 37:1 NET

This to me is a Divine command; the same as “Thou shalt not steal.” Now let us get to the definition of fretting. One good definition is, “Made rough on the surface.” “Rubbed, or worn away”; and a peevish, irrational, fault-finding person not only wears himself out, but is very wearing to others. To fret is to be in a state of vexation, and in this Psalm we are not only told not to fret because of evildoers, but to fret not “in anywise.” It is injurious, and God does not want us to hurt ourselves.

A physician will tell you that a fit of anger is more injurious to the system than a fever, and a fretful disposition is not conducive to a healthy body; and you know rules are apt to work both ways, and the next step down from fretting is crossness, and that amounts to anger. Let us settle this matter, and be obedient to the command, “Fret not.”—Margaret Bottome

~:L. B. Cowman~

Classic Christian Quotes From ClassicMinisters

 Classic Christian Quotes From Classic Ministers

BIBLE MEDITATION:  “Yea, though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil: for Thou art with me; Thy rod and Thy staff they comfort me.” Psalm 23:4   DEVOTIONAL THOUGHT: In Matthew 25, we read the parable of the talents. When the master who had distributed the talents came to see the stewardship of those talents, one man had taken his talent and hidden it in the ground.   You may have a buried talent, but you’ve been covered up by the sinister minister of fear, who keeps you from achieving your dreams. You say, “But what if I fail?” You can be so afraid of making a mistake that your entire life will be a mistake. The fear of failure keeps so many from competing that they never even get in the race. They just lose by default!   ACTION POINT: Sir Walter Scott was called a “dunce” by his teachers. Napoleon Bonaparte was next to last in his military class. Walt Disney was fired as a cartoonist because the newspaper said he couldn’t draw! It’s not bad to fail. We all will fail. But may God deliver you from the spirit of failure, which is a spirit of fear. ~Adrian Rogers~ _______________________________ The Burden of Inadequacy  Deuteronomy 1:19-36 Standing on the edge of the Promised Land, the Israelites were overcome by fear. The size and strength of the enemy contrasted sharply with their own weakness and inability. Because we're human, everyone at times will experience inadequacy and the uncomfortable feelings that accompany it. The issue you and I face is not whether we are sufficient for a task, but how we will respond when a challenge is beyond our capabilities. Like the children of Israel, we can give in to fear and then focus on the expectation of certain failure. As the obstacle grows in our minds, our feet run in the opposite direction, away from the challenge and toward safety. However, turning away from the task that God has given us will lead us not to security but into bondage. By allowing fear to control our choices, we'll become chained to feelings of inadequacy, which will shape our future decisions and, ultimately, our destinies. As a result of their refusal to trust the Lord and move forward to conquer the land, the Israelites were consigned to wander in the wilderness for 40 years. The men who did not believe God's promise never saw the land that He wanted to give them. Opportunities are always lost when we let fear overrule our faith. When God calls you to a task beyond your abilities, instead of giving in to your feelings, choose to rely on what you know about Him and His promises. By moving forward in faith despite your inadequacy, you will discover the Lord's faithfulness. He always empowers us for the works He assigns. ~Dr. Charles F. Stanley~ ______________________ The Reach of Almighty Grace "It shall come to pass, that in the place where it was said unto them, Ye are not My people, there it shall be said unto them, Ye are the sons of the living God"   (Hosea 1:10).   Sovereign grace can make strangers into sons, and the LORD here declares His purpose to deal thus with rebels and make them know what He has done. Beloved reader, the LORD has done this in my case; has He done the like for you? Then let us join hands and hearts in praising His adorable name. Some of us were so decidedly ungodly that the LORD's Word most truly said to our conscience and heart, "Ye are not my people." In the house of God and in our own homes, when we read the Bible, this was the voice of God's Spirit in our soul, "Ye are not my people." Truly a sad, condemning voice it was. But now, in the same places, from the same ministry and Scripture, we hear a voice, which saith, "Ye are the sons of the living God." Can we be grateful enough for this? Is it not wonderful? Does it not give us hope for others? Who is beyond the reach of almighty grace? How can we despair of any, since the LORD has wrought so marvelous a change in us?He who has kept this one great promise will keep every other; wherefore, let us go forward with songs of adoration and confidence. ~Charles Spurgeon~ _________________________ Looking to the Master In 2 Kings 6:5, we read the second in our series of seven principles to regain our spiritual edge.  It is the response of the man who lost his cutting edge, But as one was cutting down a tree, the iron ax head fell into the water; and he cried out and said, "Alas, master!  For it was borrowed." When this man lost his ax head and it fell into the water, he cried out and said, "Alas, master!"  He went to the prophet. The prophet was God's representative in that day.  He was the mouthpiece of God.  If you wanted to hear from God, you went to the prophet, and the prophet would give a word from God. Today, thank goodness, we have direct access to God as individuals.  We can go directly to the Lord Jesus Christ who is our Master.  And that is the second principle to regaining your spiritual edge.  You need to realize the only One who can restore your edge once it is lost, is the Lord Jesus Himself. You need to get your eyes off of men and get your eyes on the Master.  Some people make a great mistake because they have their eyes on men.  You will always be disappointed if your eyes are on men instead of on the Lord Jesus Christ. There is only One who can help you regain your spiritual edge, and that is Jesus Christ.  No man or woman can take His place. So today, put your eyes on the Master.  Cry out to Him to help you regain your spiritual edge. ~Bayless Conley~

Classic Christian Quotes From Classic Ministers

 Classic Christian Quotes From Classic Ministers

The Messages Parents Send

1 Samuel 20:30-34

When someone asks, "What do you do?" the reply frequently includes a job title. But anyone who is raising or interacting with children has a role far more important than ordinary career duties.

Parents are communicators. Yet unlike conference speakers, moms and dads don't get to preplan their entire message. Everything we do and say--especially that which happens "off the cuff"--teaches our kids. Think about your childhood days. What did your parents do that illustrated their priorities, beliefs, and passions?

Even without speaking, we send messages by our body language, interests, kindnesses, absence or presence, silence . . .  Add words to the mix, and we have a recipe for remarkable impact, whether positive or negative.

Inevitably, our children will be greatly affected by what we communicate and how they interpret it. Be conscious of the way each young one processes information--sometimes our intended message becomes skewed by their understanding. What an incredible responsibility we've been given. No wonder wise parents rely on God's help.

Only troubled parents--like the angry, jealous King Saul in today's passage--would ever set out to hurt their children. But in our busyness, or from past woundedness, we might just be sending damaging messages.

What are you communicating to your kids? Ask yourself: What do my actions point to as priorities in my life? Do my children sense a hunger in my heart for God's direction, counsel, and sustenance? Above all, would they know how to have a thriving relationship with Jesus Christ by watching my life?

~Dr. Charles F. Stanley~

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"Thou hast enlarged me when I was in distress" (Ps. 4:1).

This is one of the grandest testimonies ever given by man to the moral government of God. It is not a man's thanksgiving that he has been set free from suffering. It is a thanksgiving that he has been set free through suffering: "Thou hast enlarged me when I was in distress." He declares the sorrows of life to have been themselves the source of life's enlargement.

And have not you and I a thousand times felt this to be true? It is written of Joseph in the dungeon that "the iron entered into his soul." We all feel that what Joseph needed for his soul was just the iron. He had seen only the glitter of the gold. He had been rejoicing in youthful dreams; and dreaming hardens the heart. He who sheds tears over a romance will not be most apt to help reality; real sorrow will be too unpoetic for him. We need the iron to enlarge our nature. The gold is but a vision; the iron is an experience. The chain which unites me to humanity must be an iron chain. That touch of nature which makes the world akin is not joy, but sorrow; gold is partial, but iron is universal.

My soul, if thou wouldst be enlarged into human sympathy, thou must be narrowed into limits of human suffering. Joseph's dungeon is the road to Joseph's throne. Thou canst not lift the iron load of thy brother if the iron hath not entered into thee. It is thy limit that is thine enlargement. It is the shadows of thy life that are the real fulfillment of thy dreams of glory. Murmur not at the shadows; they are better revelations than thy dreams. Say not that the shades of the prison-house have fettered thee; thy fetters are wings -- wings of flight into the bosom of humanity. The door of thy prison-house is a door into the heart of the universe. God has enlarged thee by the binding of sorrow's chain.
--George Matheson

If Joseph had not been Egypt's prisoner, he had never been Egypt's governor. The iron chain about his feet ushered in the golden chain about his neck.

~L. B. Cowman~

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Faithfulness and Open Doors

In 1 Timothy 1:12 Paul writes,

And I thank Christ Jesus our Lord who has enabled me, because He counted me faithful, putting me into the ministry.

According to Paul, Jesus did three things.  First, He enabled him, which means Jesus is the One who puts the gifting in you.  He is the One who gives you talent.  He is the One who gives you the ability. 

Second, Paul says that Jesus counted him faithful.  Apparently, Jesus is watching and He expects you and me to be faithful.

Third, Paul says that Jesus put him into the ministry.  In other words, Jesus opens doors when we are faithful, doors that no man can shut.  When the way seems blocked, Jesus can make a way where there is no way.

Here is the point.  It is not enough just to be enabled.  Some of the greatest, most gifted, and talented people in the world are living far, far below their potential.  While the enablement is there, Jesus has not found them faithful yet, and so certain doors of opportunity remain shut.

Having the gifting is not enough.  You need to have both the gifting and be faithful.  When both are there, Jesus opens doors.

Recognize and develop the gifting God has given you, but focus on being faithful so that God can open doors in your life.

Here are a few other verses that also make it clear that faithfulness is the road between enablement and open doors,

A faithful man will abound with blessings, but he who hastens to be rich will not go unpunished (Proverbs 28:20).

"His lord said to him, ‘Well done, good and faithful servant; you were faithful over a few things, I will make you ruler over many things.  Enter into the joy of your lord'" (Matthew 25:21).

~Bayless Conley~