Are you in despair? It's because you are looking to your self. Look to Christ, in Him there is no despair. - (forgot who said).
"We have no power from God unless we live in the persuasion that we have none of our own." - John Owen
When things happen in my life that I don't understand, I find solace in the firm belief that..."God is protecting me from something." I don't know what it is, but I trust that these eventful weeks and months are all according to His wonderful plan for His glory and my good. -- (my testimony.)
The Church shall never perish!
Her dear Lord to defend,
To guide, sustain, and cherish,
Is with her to the end:
Though there be those who hate her,
And false sons in her pale,
Against both foe or traitor
She ever shall prevail.
Though with a scornful wonder
Men see her sore oppressed,
By schisms rent asunder,
By heresies distressed:
Yet saints their watch are keeping,
Their cry goes up, “How long?”
And soon the night of weeping
Shall be the morn of song!
Before it is called to do anything, the church is called to receive something-and not only once, but again and again: namely the announcement that even in its weakness, suffering, half-heartedness, and a legacy of faith stained by unfaithfulness, Christ is King. ~Michael Horton (The Gospel-Driven Life)
If we preach the whole counsel of God, we shall be accused of extremism, not only by the world but also by a professing church that cannot endure sound doctrine.
~~Vance Havner