Saturday, February 24, 2018

Favorite Pastor Quotes 6

Favorite Pastor Quotes 6


How may I pass through life with the least inconvenience?

(John Newton)

If I am redeemed from eternal misery by the death of Jesus; and if He is now preparing a glorious mansion for me near Himself, that I may drink of the rivers of pleasure at His right hand for evermore--then the question is not (at least ought not to be), "How may I pass through life with the least inconvenience?"

Rather it should be: "How may my little span of life be made most subservient to the praise and glory of Him who loved me, and gave Himself for me?"

"Live your lives as strangers here in reverent fear. For you know that it was not with perishable things such as silver or gold that you were redeemed from the empty way of life handed down to you from your forefathers--but with the precious blood of Christ, a lamb without blemish or defect!" 1 Peter 1:17-19 

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BEREAVEMENT
George Mylne 

Bereavement!
 What a word it is — a word of many-headed woes! A word telling . . .
of families made desolate;
of wounded hearts;
of weeping eyes;
of closest bonds abruptly torn asunder;
of social fellowship extinguished;
of life's fondest hopes destroyed;
of earth becoming one large graveyard.
There is no domestic bliss secure against deaths inroads. There is no promise of long companionship so flattering, but in a moment the dream may vanish, and nothing be left but the hard reality of woe.
Bereavement! Yes, it is a word of anguish. It says . . .
that hearts are broken,
that the iron enters into the very soul;
that the axe is laid at the root of life's romance;
that the sky of former joys is clouded over with the mantle of distress.
How many tales of sorrow does bereavement tell! Yet, it is a word fraught with importance to the soul; a word, for purposes of good, framed in the vocabulary of Heaven, God's mind and will impressed upon it. Bereavement is . . .
the exponent of God's judgments;
the expression of His love in chastening;
the verbal embodiment of His good pleasure.
Bereavement is His voice in action; speaking in facts; preaching in visitations; the Lord himself walking abroad in His realities.
Bereavement speaks of Death. This is the head and substance of its teaching. It tells how "Sin entered into the world, and death by sin; and so death passed upon all men, for that all have sinned" (Romans 5:12).
It is not only a solemn word — but also a searching word — a word speaking its volumes to all who hear it! Moreover, it is a special word to you. It says, "Be still, and know that I am God" (Psalm 46:10). It says, "Shall not the Judge of all the earth do right?" (Genesis 18:25). Who may say to him, "What are you doing?" (Ecclesiastes 8:4). Then, why are you struck dumb, as though God dealt strangely with you? Was He bound to grant your friend a lease of life — to leave the family bond unbroken, as long as it suited you — or to give you warning of what He meant to do? Must the tide of death be stayed, that it should not rob you of your cherished one?
Ah no! We are brought through sin into harsh contact with confounding providences; yes, face to face with sudden painful visitations! How often are we made to "drink the wine of astonishment," by the stern realities of a fallen world — nature diverted from its normal course by sinful contrarieties, calling for exceptional and sharp strokes — bereavement suddenly coming to wound the circle of our satisfactions!
This is the method that the Lord adopts to arrest our notice; to bring to mind, that there is a God who rules in Heaven and earth — a truth too often overlooked. It is as though He said, "Mourner, are you prepared to die? Prepared to balance your final account with Me? Are you ready — if I should send for you next?" And thus He brings before us all the realities of an unseen world — the facts of death, of judgment, and eternity!
Then, is there not mercy in bereavement — mercy, not in disguise, but manifest — not silent, but speaking plainly? Is it not mercy to be led to see our sins — and to see our need of Jesus, and His precious Blood — and through grace, to be at peace with God through Jesus? Thus God has ordered it, that joy and sorrow should be linked together in His providential visitations. And thus "the valley of Achor" (in other words, the valley of trouble) is made "a door of hope." And thus "vineyards" are filled with fruits of peace. And thus mourners are made to "sing as in the days" of youth, from blessings found where least expected.
So wondrous are God's dealings with a fallen world. No sorrow but has its mate — its appropriate and true consolation — the very grief leading to consequences, if rightly followed out, involving peace — solid, well-grounded peace.

Afflicted friend, I hope you know the secret. If not, may God reveal it to you. Receive, I beg you, this word of exhortation, kindly intended, and, I trust, not heedlessly expressed. May you be comforted, not with earth's flimsy consolations, but with the solid verities of Heaven. Accept the following pages which now I dedicate to your perusal. And if therein you find anything suited to your need — then give God the glory. And may your sore affliction of bereavement be duly sanctified, and gilded with His grace.
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What is Your Burden?
George Mylne
 
Who has not a burden to bear in this world of burdens? All men have some burden or another — and they have the heaviest burden who think that they have none to bear.
Do you ask me, reader, what I mean? Why, is not sin a burden —  unpardoned sin? What man has such a heavy load upon his back, as he whose transgressions are not forgiven, whose sins are not covered — as he, who walks about with a burden on him which will sink him into the bottomless pit, if he has it not taken off him? And yet, for the most part, those are the very men, who do not feel the burden.
They don't see their sins — they don't see their danger. They are full of earthly pleasure — their heart is as light as a feather. What do such men know of the burden of sin? How can they value the Savior's words, "Come unto me, all you who labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest?" (Matthew 11:28.) Poor souls, may God have mercy upon them! May He open their eyes to see their sin! May He cause them to feel their burden, before they sink under it, never more to rise! May He show them the way to Jesus, that the burden that is upon them may be taken off, and all their sins be cast into the depths of the sea!
Reader, shall I tell you what led me to write this tract? I was reading lately to some sick people in the fourth chapter of Nehemiah, and there I read, "The strength of the bearers of burdens is decayed" 5:10. I spoke of it to them, and I thought it would be a good subject for you and I. You must have some burden to bear. Perhaps you feel it sorely — perhaps your strength is decayed. Let us see whether we can encourage one another out of the Word of the Lord.
Reader, what is your burden? Are your sins become heavy to you? Once you did not feel them — you did not know you had them. You carried them about with you wherever you went, but the Prince of the power of the air did not let you feel them — He made you walk with lightness of heart. He made you trip merrily along, as though you had no burden to bear. But oh, how things are changed! Now your "transgressions are with you, and as for your sins, you know them." (Isaiah 59:12.) "The yoke of your transgressions is bound upon you; they are wreathed, and come up upon your neck." Therefore you say, "He has made my strength to fail" — therefore your "sighs are many, and your "heart is faint." (Lam. 1:14, 22.)
Oh, reader, are you looking to Jesus? If so, why is your burden still upon you? Did He not bear your sins in His own body on the tree? (1 Peter 2:24.) Cannot you say, "The Lord has laid on Him the iniquity of us all"? (Isaiah 53:6.) Why then do you take upon you what Jesus has taken from you? If He has borne the burden, why do you bear it too? Friend, this is not the way of grace — this is not the way that Jesus saves you. He saves you to free you — to take your burden from you. Walk, then, in your liberty — and go lightly in your grace. But if you cannot rejoice in your liberty, if you will bear your own burden still — no wonder that your strength is decayed — no wonder that your heart is gone. Don't you know that the weight of your sins made Jesus sweat drops of blood — it weighed Him to the ground? How then can you seem to bear the burden; and not faint beneath its load? Be wise, my friend — be hopeful, and believing. Open your eyes wide, and read the promises. Open your ear, and hear all that Jesus says to you — so shall your burden fall from your back. In the Cross you shall find liberty — in the Cross you shall have peace.
Reader, perhaps you know that God has had mercy upon you, and yet you feel a great burden upon you — the body of sin and death. Paul felt this burden. It made him cry out, "O wretched man that I am! Who shall deliver me from the body of this death?" Romans 7:24. You feel your body a constant weight upon you. How often it makes your soul heavy! How much longer you would pray, and meditate on the word of God, if your body would only let you! How much it keeps you down! Sometimes you are sick — sometimes you are drowsy — you cannot do the things that you would. Your sinful body is like a great black curtain hung up between you and your God. Oh how often the strength of the bearers of burdens is decayed! How often you faint beneath the load!
And then there is the fleshly mind. The mind, that will go after the world, when you wish it to go after God — the soul which will cleave to the dust, when you desire to feel that you are risen with Christ — sitting in heavenly places in Christ Jesus. Then there are your tempers — your evil passions — that are ever at work  — refusing to be brought into captivity unto the obedience of Christ. Oh, my friend, all these things are indeed against you. How often they worry you! How much they wear you out! The strength of the bearers of burdens is decayed — you are ready to faint.
Paul said, "Oh wretched man that I am!" But Paul said something more: "I thank God through Jesus Christ." (Romans 7:25.) He knew that God was able to help him — that He had helped him before — that he was ready to help him again. Paul looked to Jesus, who was strong to help — mighty to save. He felt the thorn in the flesh — it was a great burden to him. He thrice besought the Lord that it might depart from him. And what said God? "My grace is sufficient for you: for my strength is made perfect in weakness." (2 Corinthians 12:7-9.) This was how Paul bore his burdens. Christian reader, this is how you must bear yours.
Oh how many burdens there are in life! Are you the father of a family? How many cares this brings with it! All your children to think of — to clothe and to feed, and to put out in the world — and if you are a Christian, their souls to think of — their sins to grieve you — their ignorance to instruct. This, no doubt, is a great burden. Are you fainting under it! Is your strength decayed?
Are you a widow with many children? How desolate you felt in the first days of your widowhood! How desolate it may be — you still feel! Have you much ado to find your children bread? How hard you work for them! In how many ways are you tired for them! Is the strength of the bearers of burdens decayed? Are you likely to faint?
Perhaps your time is occupied in teaching — you have many young scholars under your care. You have dull ones to bear with — idle ones to reason with — backward ones to bring on — mischievous ones to correct. What a worry you live in! How much is there to try your patience! You think you must give it up — that you can bear it no longer!
It may be your lot to work a shop — from morning to night to wait upon your customers — or yet to grow weary because no one comes to buy. Sometimes you are tired — often you are anxious — some customers are tiresome and hard to please — you often shut up shop with a fainting body, and a heavy heart — the strength of the bearers of burdens is decayed.
Are you a servant in some family — the only one to do all the work! Up late, and rising early — to cook — to wash — to sweep — to scour — the bell to answer — the table to spread. All to be done by you alone — all to come out of your own strength! Who can tell how weary you feel — how often you are likely to drop, from too much work!
Reader, you may be tried in some of these, or in many other ways. You may have a burden of sickness — of pain — of weakness — of depressed spirits — who can tell all the burdens? Who can count all the cares? But, whatever your burden may be, I hope you know how to bear it — and where to look for help. "The secret of the Lord is with those who fear Him." (Psalm 25:14.) There is a secret strength laid up for God's people, that the world knows not of.
Oh, my heavy-laden friend, are you looking to Jesus? Is His name precious to you? Have you washed in His blood? Have you brought the burden of your sins to His cross — have you left the burden there? Then, bring to Him the burden of your sorrows — your weariness — and your cares. Will He not care for you? Will He not help you? Will He not put strength in you? Oh yes, Jesus is a true Helper — there is none like Him — all power is His — all kindness too.
Oh, you bearers of burdens, is your strength decayed? Lo "He gives power to the faint; and to those who have no might He increases strength." "Those who wait upon Him shall renew their strength." (Isaiah 40:29, 31.) Then cast your burden upon this mighty Jesus! He is pledged to sustain you — fear not, neither be afraid. (Psalm 55:22.)
Reader, there is a yoke that is easy, and a burden that is light. (Matthew 11:30.) I mean the cross of Christ. And why is Christ's yoke easy and His burden light?
1. Because it takes away the heaviest burden of all — the load of your sins. What is taken away, is surely light to bear.
2. Because it gives you strength to bear every other burden — so that the burden becomes no burden — Christ bears it for you.
3. He bids you do many things that flesh cannot do — He gives you many things to bear that flesh does not like — but then He Himself gives all the strength — so that it is not you that bear the burden, but Christ that bears it for you.
4. Because all the while He can fill your heart with joy and gladness.

Saturday, February 17, 2018

A. W. Tozer Quotes

A. W. Tozer Quotes

Created for Eternity

"Having made peace through the blood of the Cross, by him to reconcile all things unto himself...whether they be things in earth, or things in heaven" Colossians 1:20

Men and women without God are helpless and hopeless human beings. We do will to remember that sin is to the human nature what cancer is to the human body!

Who can argue with the fact that sin has ruined us?

Our feverish activity is only one sign of what is wrong with us - sin has plunged us into the depths and so marked us with morality that we have become brother to the clay - but God never meant it to be so.

Men and women may argue and make excuses, but it does not change the fact that in our human society we are completely surrounded by three marks of the ancient curse: Everything is recent, temporal, and transient! That is why the Holy Spirit whispers faithfully, God Almighty come to live among us and to save - actually to give us eternity!

This we know: When we turn our faces toward the Eternal One, asking, "God have mercy on me, a sinner," we are finally being what God intended us to be in the first place!

Almighty God and Eternal Father, help me to journey through the coming year with a new set of eyes. Enable me to see life from Your lofty, eternal perspective. Amen
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Man Has Lost God

The average person in the world today, without faith and without God and without hope, is engaged in a desperate personal search and struggle throughout his lifetime. He does not really know what he is doing here. He does know where he is going.

The sad commentary is that everything is he doing is being done on borrowed time, borrowed money and borrowed strength - and he already knows that in the end he will surely die! It boils down to the bewildered confession of many humans that they have lost God somewhere along the way.

Man, made more like God than any other creature, has become less like God than any other creature. Created to reflect the glory of God, he has retreated sullenly into his cave - reflecting only his own sinfulness.

Certainly it is a tragedy above all tragedies in this world that love has gone from man's heart. Beyond that, light has gone from his mind. Having lost God, he blindly stumbled on through this dark world to find only a grave at the end!

Dear Lord, thank You for the hope I have found in Christ. And thank You for giving meaning and purpose to my life. Help me to glorify You today. Amen
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Saviour and Lord

"For by grace are ye saved through faith...it is the gift of God" (Ephesians 2:8)

God chose His only begotten Son as the channel for His grace and truth, for John witnesses that "grace and truth came by Jesus Christ" (John 1:17).

The Law was given by Moses - but that was all that Moses could do. He could only "command" righteousness. In contrast, only Jesus Christ produces righteousness.

All that Moses could do was to forbid us to sin. In contrast, Jesus Christ came to save us from sin.

Moses could not save anyone - but Jesus Christ is both Saviour and Lord.

Grace came through Jesus Christ before Mary wept in the manger stall in Bethlehem. It was the grace of God in Christ that saved the human race from extinction when our first parents sinned in the Garden.

It is plain in history that God forgave Israel time and time again. It was the grace of God in Christ prior to the Incarnation that made God say: "I have risen early in the morning and stretched out my hands to us!"

Dear Lord, I want to be a reflection of Your grace and truth in the lives of my family, friends and coworkers today. Amen
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Our Charter Is From God


"Upon this rock I will build my church; and the gates of hell shall not prevail against it" (Matthew 16:18)


While we are right to thank God in appreciation for all of the great and good men in the history of the Christian church, we actually "follow" none of them. Our charter goes farther back and is from a higher source. They were rightly looked upon as leaders, but they were all servants of God, even as you and I are.

Luther sowed. Wesley watered. Finney reaped - but they were only servants of the living God.

In our local assemblies, we are part of the church founded by the Lord Jesus Christ and perpetuated by the mystery of the new birth. Therefore, our assembly is that of Christian believers gathered unto a Name to worship and adore the Presence. So, in that sense, the strain is gone. The strain and pressure to abide by traditional religious forms all begin to pale in importance  as we function in faith as the people of God who glorify His Name and honor His Presence!

If all of this is true - and everything within me witnesses that it is - we may insist that God is able to do for us all that He did in the days of the apostles. There has been no revocation of our charter!

Dear Lord, thank You for the people in my life who have helped to shape me spiritually. And thank You that You alone are still the Source of new life. Amen

Saturday, February 10, 2018

Favorite Pastor Quotes 4

Favorite Pastor Quotes 4



GRACE!

(John Mason's Spiritual Sayings)

*The goodness of God satisfies our emptiness,
  the mercy of God satisfies our sinfulness, and
  the grace of God satisfies our unworthiness.
 
*What sin is there, which grace cannot pardon?
  What heart is there, which grace cannot soften?
  What soul is there, which grace cannot save?
 
*The more God's justice was magnified in His Son--
  the more was His grace magnified in the sinner.
 
*God humbled His holy Son--to exalt His saving grace.
 
*God's faithfulness performed what His grace promised.
  Grace drew the covenant--faithfulness keeps it.
  Grace called us--faithfulness will not cast us off.
 
*Abusers of God's grace--are treasurers up of His wrath!
 
*There is grace in the desire for grace
  --as there is sin in the desire for sin.
 
*Though God in grace has done great things for you--yet consider what in justice He might have done to you.
 
*While we carry a sense of grace in our conscience to comfort us
  --let us carry a sense of sin in our memory to humble us.
 
*We can never thank God enough for His patience--which has kept us so long out of Hell;
  nor for His grace--which so earnestly invites us to Heaven.
 
*All who are elect--are vessels of grace;
  all who are regenerate--are patterns of grace;
  all who are saved--are monuments of grace;
  all the work of Heaven--is to sing the loud praises of grace.
 
*It melts the heart to think that God is as full of grace--as I am as full of sin!
  He is as free to forgive--as I am to offend.
  He has daily grace--for my daily sins.
 
*The heart of man is such a barren soil that no good can grow--there unless almighty grace plants it.
 Grace is an immortal seed, cast into an immortal soil, which brings forth immortal fruit!
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In wondrous contrast--and yet with consistent harmony!

(Frederick Marsh)

In the floral kingdom, the flowers have many hues. A number of different colored flowers in a bouquet will enhance the beauty of each other by their contrast.

Just so, in the cross of Christ, the attributes of God are brought out in wondrous contrast--and yet with consistent harmony. There we see . . .
  His name glorified,
  His love manifested,
  His majesty upheld,
  His justice satisfied,
  His truth vindicated,
  His law magnified, and
  His righteousness displayed in the putting away of our sins!

"He did it to demonstrate His justice at the present time, so as to be just and the one who justifies those who have faith in Jesus."Romans 3:26 

"Love and faithfulness meet together; righteousness and peace kiss each other!" Psalm 85:10
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Thread for a Web Begun
J. R. Miller

There is a secret of victorious living which, if people knew it, would make all life easier for them. It may be stated thus—that as we take up any duty and go forward with it, we shall receive the strength we need to do it. There are several Divine promises that give this assurance. One reads, "As your days—so shall your strength be." Deuteronomy 33:25. This seems to mean that the help which God gives, varies according to the necessity of the particular day.
When we have abundance of ordinary human strength, we do not need so much special Divine help, and God then gives less. Really, it is always God's strength that we have, whether it is what we call natural, or whether it comes in a supernatural way. When we have human friends about us, with sweet companionship, we do not need so much the revealing of the Divine presence and the companionship of the unseen Friend; but when we lose the human aide, then we need the Divine more deeply; and in the loneliness, God makes Himself known to us as never before. So it is in all our experiences. God fits His blessing--to our days.
When we are faint--He increases strength.
When we are sorrowful--He gives comfort.
When we are in danger--He grants protection.
When we are weary--He gives rest.
"As your days--so shall your strength be."
Another of Christ's promises reads, "My grace is sufficient for you." Every word of this assurance shines with radiant light.

"My grace is sufficient for you." It is Christ's grace that is sufficient. We know that He has all Divine fullness, and therefore we are sure that no human need can ever exhaust His power to give help!

"My grace is sufficient for you." It is Christ's grace that is sufficient. If it were anything else but grace, it might not give us such comfort. Grace is undeserved favor, goodness shown to the unworthy. We deserve nothing, for we are sinners. But it is Christ's grace which is sufficient, and so we can claim it.

"My grace is sufficient for you."
 It is present tense--IS sufficient. Christ is always speaking personally to the one who is in any need, and saying, "My grace IS sufficient for you."

"My grace is sufficient for you." The word "sufficient" is one whose meaning expands and amplifies with the measure of the need. No necessity is so small as not to be included; and none is so great as to go beyond the capacity of the blessing that is promised.

"My grace is sufficient for you." The grace is sufficient for each of His redeemed children--"for you" the promise runs.
There are Divine words, also, which imply that the supply of blessing that we receive—will depend upon ourselves. God's people in ancient times were commanded to cross the Jordan, the promise being that the stream would divide for them. Yet the waters would not have parted for them—if they had not gone forward in obedience and faith. As a matter of fact, it was only when the feet of the priests, walking in advance, were wetted in the rushing floods—that the stream began to sink away. When Jesus was ready to send forth His disciples to bear His gospel, His command was, "Go into all the world." Then came the promise, "And lo, I am with you all the days." The promise is very precious—but we cannot separate it from the command. We cannot have this blessed presence—unless we are, in our own way, to the measure of our own ability, seeking to make disciples of all nations. It is when we go out in His name—that He will be with us.
This is the unvarying law of spiritual blessing and good. Life lies before us, with its burdens, its duties, its responsibilities, its struggles, its perplexities. It does not come to us all in one piece. God breaks our years—into months and weeks and days, and never gives us more than just a little at a time—never more than we can bear or do for the day. Then if we take up the present duty or burden, we shall always have strength to do it. If we have enough of our own natural strength—and that is God's strength too—He does not need to give us special strength; for why should anything so precious as strength be wasted? But if we do not have strength of our own sufficient for the work or struggle, we need not falter—but should go on, just as if we had omnipotence in our arm; for the promise is that if we honor God by obeying Him, though the task be impossible to our ability, He will honor us by giving us all the help we need. The river will surely open when He has bidden us to cross it—if only we move on as if there were no river. The bread will surely be given when we enter the wilderness, following the Divine leading—if only we go on as if we had abundance of provision.
But we must not forget that the promised blessing depends upon our faith and obedience. If we do not begin the task that seems impossible, if we wait to receive the help before we will begin it—the help will never come. If we do not begin our march toward the river, waiting until it opens—it will not open at all. If we do not enter upon the struggle, waiting for strength to be given for the battle before we accept it—we shall never get the strength. An old proverb says, "Get your spindle and your distaff ready, and God will send the flax." Yes—but He will not send the flax—unless we get the spindle and distaff ready. We must do our part, thus proving our faith—or God will not do what He has promised, for His promise is conditional.
Another old proverb says, "For a web begun—God sends the thread." We must take up the scant bundle of threads we have, and begin our weaving, confident that the Lord will provide threads as we go on—enough to finish the web. He will never put His threads into folded, waiting hands.
There is a whole sermon in these lines. There are thousands of good people who do almost nothing with their life—because they are waiting for God to send the thread—before they will begin to weave the web of duty which He bids them to weave. They say, "I want to be useful; I want to do good; but God has not given me anything to work with." Now, the truth is, that God has given them enough to begin with, and that is all He will give at first. There were only five barley loaves, and there were five thousand hungry people. What were these among so many? But for the web begun—God sent the thread that day. There was only a little meal in a barrel and a little oil in a cruse, and there were years of famine yet to be passed through. But again for the web begun—God sent the thread.
The teaching is for us, and it is one of the most practical lessons we can learn. Put your hands to the tasks that are surely yours, never asking whether you are able to do them or not, and not waiting for God to provide all the strength or all the material you will need, before you begin to do them. Whatever is your duty must be done, no matter how far beyond your strength it may be. It is yours to begin; it is God's duty to help you through—and He will, if you honor Him by trusting Him.
Those who live lives of great usefulness—have always begun with the little they had. Ofttimes it was a very small capacity for helping others; but they began in a quiet way, doing what they could. Then as they used the gift they had—it grew in their hands, until they filled a large sphere of usefulness, touching many lives with the blessing of their helpfulness. For a web begun—God sent the thread.
The same law of human diligence and Divine blessing prevails in the building up of character. Ten lepers cried to Jesus for healing. He answered, bidding them go and show themselves to the priest. This was what the law required lepers to do, after they had been cured, when the priest would give them a certificate of health and cleanness, permitting them to return again to society. These lepers were not cured. Their bodies showed no mark of healing. But they promptly obeyed the Master's word, and "as they went—they were cleansed."
There are those who long for a beautiful life, for a transformed character—but it seems to them, they never can attain to such renewal, they are so full of faults and blemishes. But if they begin to follow Christ, starting with the little fragment of Christ-likeness which their hands can pick up—God will help them and they will grow at last into rich beauty of soul.
Just so, get the victory over the one temptation of the hour—and that will be the first thread in a web of complete victoriousness! Get one little line of loveliness into your disposition—and that will be the beginning of a spirit which at last will include "whatever things are lovely." For a web begun—God will send the thread.
There is a beautiful Eastern fable of a child walking beside the sea, who saw a bright spangle lying in the sand. She stooped down and picked it up, and found that it was attached to a fine thread of gold. As she drew this out of the sand there were other bright spangles on it. She drew up the gold thread, and wound it about her neck and around her head and her arms and body, until from head to foot she was covered with the bright threads of gold and sparkled with the brilliance of the silver spangles.
So it is when we lift out of God's Word an ornament of beauty to put into our life. We find that other fragments of loveliness, all bound together on the golden chain of love, and are attached to the one we have taken up! Then as we draw up the chain and entwine it about our neck, and weave it into a web to make a garment for our soul—we find that it is endless! Infinite as God Himself, is the abundance of the lovely things that we may draw out of the treasury of His grace—to deck our life with beauty. "For a web begun—God sends the thread."
This same law applies in the learning of all life's lessons. The Divine teaching is never lacking—but we must ever begin the lesson with the little we know. We must take the one step that is plain to us—and then God will make plain the next step for us, and the next, and the next. We must not demand to know all the way—before we will set out. We must trust Christ and go on—even in the dark. We must never falter when there seems to be no path; as we go on—it will open. As we do the will of God—we shall know the teaching. When we begin the web—God will send the threads to weave into the beautiful ending!

Saturday, February 3, 2018

Favorite Pastor Quotes 3

Favorite Pastor Quotes 3


The Family Influence Good or Bad


Proverbs 22:6 tells us, "Train up a child in the way he should go, even when he is old he will not depart from it." What a great responsibility this places on parents. Records of royal lineage (1 Kings 15-16) illustrate that one's level of submission to God is often mirrored in the offspring's life.
Now, it's true that children eventually grow and make their own decisions. There are godly parents who are heartbroken by their kids' poor choices. Similarly, some from backgrounds full of sinful bondage become righteous people of integrity.
As mothers and fathers, we are given a momentous task: to model and teach how to live according to God's Word. Thankfully, we don't have to rely on ourselves for wisdom. Good parenting involves prayerful self-evaluation, godly counsel, and thoughtful course corrections.
Start by considering how you'd answer the following questions if your children were to walk in your way: What place will Jesus, the Word of God, and the church have in their lives? Will they seek God's direction as the ultimate guide for decisions? Will they develop strong godly relationships? Will they know how to handle money wisely? Will they do their best in their vocation? As you seek answers, ask God to reveal truth, since self-examination can be difficult.
In prayerfully considering your impact as a parent, expect to see positives and negatives. The goal isn't self-condemnation, so keep in mind 1) there's no perfect parent and 2) it's never too late. Even if the kids are grown, you can ask forgiveness, share what you've learned, and model a godly life starting now.

~Dr. Charles F. Stanley~
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The spiritual person judges all things, but is himself to be judged by no one. (1 Corinthians 2:15 ESV)

We have to continually ask the question: "Is Christ everything in this matter, or am I wanting my own way? Am I allowing my own feelings, desires and likes to dominate or is Christ everything? Is Christ in all here, so far as it is within my power, in the energy of the Holy Spirit, for it to be so?" That has to be reduced to the minutia of daily life. We have to get away when we are upset, annoyed, provoked, irritated, and fight that battle out and say: "Lord, You have to be everything in this matter: it does not matter how my interests are affected." And from those details of everyday life and experience out to the wider ranges, and up to the place where we may be the Lord’s responsible servant, the Word and the Spirit have to govern; and the Word and the Spirit have one object: Christ – everything and in all.
Recognizing that, we see that this further thing is necessary, that we are a truly spiritual people. It is very often difficult to define what is meant by spirituality, or a spiritual people. It is one of those things better experienced than explained. But for the moment it can be put quite simply and quite safely and soundly in this way, that a spiritual people is a people who are governed by the Word and the Holy Spirit to this end: that in everything within and without, Christ is All and in all. That is true spirituality.

~T. Austin-Sparks~
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We live on an enchanted ground, and are surrounded with snares!

(John Newton's Letters)

My dear Madam,
We all hope, by-and-bye, to have new bodies which are not subject to illness. In the mean time, if the Lord is pleased to sanctify the infirmities to which our present mortal frame is subject--we shall have cause to praise Him, no less for the bitter than the sweet. 

I am convinced in my judgment, that a cross or a pinch somewhere or other, is so necessary to us--that we cannot go on well for a considerable time without one. We live on an enchanted ground, and are surrounded with snares! If we are not quickened by trials--we are very prone to sink into spiritual formality or carelessness. It is a shame it should be so--but so it is, that a long course of prosperity always makes us spiritually drowsy!

Trials therefore are medicines--which our gracious and wise Physician prescribes, because we need them. He proportions thefrequency and the weight of them--to what our case requires. 

Many of His people are sharply exercised by poverty, which is a continual trial every day, and all the year round. Others have trials in their families. Those who have comfortable firesides, and a competence for this world--often suffer by sickness, either in their own persons, or in the persons of those they love. 

But any, or all of these crosses, are mercies--if the Lord works by them to prevent us from cleaving to the world, from backsliding in heart or life, and to keep us nearer to Himself. 

Let us trust our Physician--as He will surely do us good. And let us thank Him for all His prescriptions, for without them our soul-sickness would quickly grow upon us!

I sympathize with Miss K. in her trials--yet I know she will profit by them. I hope her illness will find relief--but it is better to have astiff neck with the grace of God--than to be stiff-necked in the sense in which many young people are, who can move their heads freely enough. I hope it is a mercy that she bears the yoke awhile in her youth. When the affliction has answered the good end for which it was sent--the Lord can easily remove it.
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...The Head, from whom all the body, nourished and knit together by joints and ligaments, grows with the increase that is from God. (Colossians 2:19)

What is the believer? In God's sight the believer is one in whom Christ is implanted, and God never looks at Christ in a limited way. He always looks at Him in an absolute way, and when Christ is implanted at the beginning of our life it is not as though God implanted Him in a fragmentary way. God's thought was that the end should be bound up with the beginning, and that Christ should be All and in all. That is why conversion is never an end in itself. It is only the first step toward the full end of God. It defines the nature of the believer in God's sight, that it is of Christ. You cannot make that. No decision cards can accomplish that. You can never make men and women Christians by inviting them to make certain decisions, to assent mentally to certain propositions of Christian doctrine, though perfectly true as to the Person and work of the Lord Jesus. There has to be something which constitutes in that individual, right at the very center of the being, a living union with Christ, and a deposit of Christ. Anything other than that is a false conversion. It is the depositing of Christ at the very center of the being, with a view to His spreading to the very circumference, that is the nature of a believer....
You see the pathetic hopelessness of trying to propagate anything by organized means and methods which really is all of God. It simply has to grow, it simply has to be. Ah, but when it is so it is mighty, it is indestructible, it is incorruptible. Nothing can stand in the way of Christ. It is that which rouses hell and the energies of the Devil. He does not mind all the other: doctrine, work, profession. That may often serve his ends as a great deception and misrepresentation; but bring Christ in, bring Christ through, realize Christ, and then you meet every force in this universe which is antagonistic to Christ.

~T. Austin-Sparks~
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Do not be led astray by all kinds of strange teachings!
(J.C. Ryle)

"Do not be led astray by all kinds of strange teachings!" Hebrews 13:9
Many things combine to make the present inroad of false doctrine peculiarly dangerous.
There is an undeniable zeal in some of the teachers of error--and their 'earnestness' makes many think they must be right.
There is a great appearance of learning and theological knowledge--and many imagine that such clever and intellectual men must surely be safe guides.
There is a general tendency to free thought in these latter days--many like to prove their independence of judgment, by believing novelties.
There is a wide-spread desire to appear tolerant and liberal-minded--many seem half ashamed of saying that anybody can be in the wrong.
There is a quantity of half-truth taught by the modern false teachers--they are incessantly using Scriptural terms and phrases in an unscriptural sense.
There is a morbid craving in the public mind for the more sensational and showy--men are impatient of inward, invisible heart-work.
There is a silly readiness in every direction to believe everybody who talks cleverly and earnestly--and a determination to forget that Satan is often "transformed into an angel of light." 2 Corinthians 2:14
There is a wide-spread 'gullibility' among professing Christians--every heretic who tells his story plausibly, is sure to be believed. Anyone who questions him, is called a bigot and a narrow-minded man.
All these things are peculiar symptoms of our times. I defy any observing man to deny them. They tend to make the assaults of false doctrine in our day peculiarly dangerous. They make it more than ever needful to cry aloud, "Do not be led astray by all kinds of strange teachings!" 
An ignorant laity will always be the bane of a Church! A Bible-reading laity may save a Church from ruin.
Let us read the Bible regularly, daily, and with fervent prayer, and become familiar with its contents.
Let us receive nothing, believe nothing, follow nothing--which is not in the Bible, nor can be proved by the Bible.
Let our rule of faith, our touchstone of all teaching--be the written Word of God!

"
To the law and to the testimony! If they do not speak according to this Word--it is because there is no light in them!" Isaiah 8:20