Meaningful

[Not only is all your affliction momentary, not only is all your affliction light in comparison to eternity and the glory there. But all of it is totally meaningful. Every millisecond of your pain, from the fallen nature or fallen man, every millisecond of your misery in the path of obedience is producing a peculiar glory you will get because of that.

I don’t care if it was cancer or criticism. I don’t care if it was slander or sickness. It wasn’t meaningless. It’s doing something! It’s not meaningless. Of course you can’t see what it’s doing. Don’t look to what is seen.

When your mom dies, when your kid dies, when you’ve got cancer at 40, when a car careens into the sidewalk and takes her out, don’t say, “That’s meaningless!” It’s not. It’s working for you an eternal weight of glory.

Therefore, therefore, do not lose heart. But take these truths and day by day focus on them. Preach them to yourself every morning. Get alone with God and preach his word into your mind until your heart sings with confidence that you are new and cared for.] -- John Piper.

Platt Video of the Day

SEES IN SECRET

Somebody is being interviewed at a conference with cameras watching, another person is at the most despairing nursing home and singing about Jesus with faith and love for those weak bodies who still have mind enough to benefit from the minister's testimony. James tells us not to "go speak at conferences, be professors, and keynote speakers." James tells us to visit the widows. May we not overlook the significance of giving a cup of cold water (a very unseen and private ministry). May we give (truth, kindness, wisdom, love) in secret, and He who sees in secret will reward thee openly.

Small Things

God's grace made Jonathan Edwards who he was, and yet God used "means" to develop Edwards. It may have been Edward's Dad, Mom, Uncle, Aunt, Brother, sister, neighbor, friend at church, christian co-worker, and countless "unknown nobodies" behind the scenes to develop, direct, nurture, and guide Edwards along the way. May we (as I often am) not strive to be Edwards (asking for some public ministry and public attention), but may we strive to be faithful in the secret and hidden ways to minister to others. A small word in the parking lot or at dinner table with friends can be just as pivotal and useful as anything else. If a paramedic found me all alone in the woods, His medicine (good news and truth) would be just as life giving as if I had received it in front of millions.

GREET THE DAY

Rough draft, flaws and all. As you begin the day, greet it. And if the day welcomes you, let your peace come upon it, but if it is not welcoming, let your peace return to you. And if anyone will not receive you, nor listen to your words, shake the dust off your feet when you end that day. My goal was to substitute "people/unbelievers" (which is still true) with the concept of "day" such as having a good day or a difficult day; My goal was not to edit Scripture, but exemplify how the fundamental principle is still true regardless if we are literally travelling city to city as the original disciples did. I've been living in the same house for over 8 years, so I wanted to take the premise of the passage and extend it to something that would strengthen me as we also face the word's apathy, indifference, and deafness.

Prayer Closet

A personal, private, prayer closet comes from an awareness that education alone is entirely insufficient.

WITHOUT EXCUSE

Stephen Charnock lists ten attributes of God that may be recognized by the light of Nature:

1. the power of God, in creating a world out of nothing
2. the wisdom of God, in the order, variety, and beauty of creation
3.  the goodness of God, in the provision God makes for His creatures
4.  the immutability of God, for if He were mutable, He would lack the perfection of the sun and heavenly bodies, “wherein no change hath been observed”
5. His eternity, for He must exist before what is made in time
6.  the omniscience of God, since as the Creator He must necessarily know everything He has made
7.  the sovereignty of God, “in the obedience his creatures pay to him, in observing their several orders, and moving in the spheres wherein he set them”
8.  the spirituality of God, insofar as God is not visible, “and the more spiritual any creature in the world is, the more pure it is”
9.  the sufficiency ofGod, for He gave all creatures a beginning, and so their being was not necessary, which means God was in no need of them
10.  His majesty, seen in the glory of the heavens
All of these attributes of God may be known by sinful man by observation of the natural world.

Charnock, The Knowledge of God, in Works, 4:115; cited from Beeke, Jones, A Puritan Theology, p. 17.

While the gospel may not reach every individual person in their lifetime, everyone is without excuse for sinning against the light God did give them in these four books.

“Because that which may be known of God is manifest in them; for God hath shewed it unto them. For the invisible things of him from the creation of the world are clearly seen, being understood by the things that are made, even his eternal power and Godhead; so that they are without excuse: Because that, when they knew God, they glorified him not as God, neither were thankful; but became vain in their imaginations, and their foolish heart was darkened” (Romans 1:19-21).

SERIOUS AND CHEERFUL

Christians should be grave and serious, though cheerful and pleasant. They should feel that they have great interests at stake, and that the world has too. They are redeemed—not to make sport; purchased with precious blood—for other purposes than to make men laugh. They are soon to be in heaven—and a man who has any impressive sense of that will habitually feel he has much else to do than to make men laugh. The true course of life is midway between moroseness and levity; sourness and lightness; harshness and jesting. Be benevolent, kind, cheerful, bland, courteous—but serious. Be solemn, thoughtful, deeply impressed with the presence of God and with eternal things—but pleasant affable and benignant. Think not a smile sinful; but think not levity and jesting harmless. —Albert Barnes

Contentment

Contentment, then, is the product of a heart resting in God. It is the soul’s enjoyment of that peace that passes all understanding. It is the outcome of my will being brought into subjection to the Divine will. It is the blessed assurance that God does all things well, and is, even now, making all things work together for my ultimate good. A.W. Pink

MERCY IS HIGHER THAN SIN, SO JOY IS HIGHER THAN SORROW

And since the greatness of God's mercy is far above our sins as the heavens are above the earth, our faith and joy in God's mercy ought to be far above our sadness for our sins. ~Henry Scougal

ATONEMENT- MacArthur

The fallout of that would be like this. Hell is full of people for whom Christ died. I’ll say it another way. Hell is full of people whose sins were paid for in full on the cross. That’s a little more disturbing when you say it like that, isn’t it? Another way to say it would be that the lake of fire, which burns forever with fire and brimstone, is filled with eternally damned people whose sins Christ fully atoned for on the cross. God’s wrath was satisfied by Christ’s atonement on behalf of those people who will forever stay in hell.

Now by the way, heaven will also be populated by the souls of those for whom Christ died. So, Christ did exactly the same thing for the occupants of hell as He did for the occupants of heaven. That makes the question a little more disturbing. The only difference is the people in heaven accepted the gift, the people in hell rejected it. That’s pretty much the traditional evangelical view. But it just sounds strange when you start to kind of pick it apart a little bit, doesn’t it? That Jesus died and paid in full the penalty for the sins of the damned, and died and paid in full the penalty for the sins of the glorified, that Jesus did the same thing for the occupants of hell that He did for the occupants of heaven, and the only difference hinges on the sinner’s choice?

That is to say, the death of Jesus Christ, then, is not an actual atonement, it is only a potential atonement. He really did not purchase salvation for anyone in particular. He only removed some kind of barrier to make it possible for sinners to choose to be saved. So the message then - the typical evangelical message - is to sinners, “God loves you so much He sent His Son who paid in full the penalty for your sins. And won’t you respond to that love, and not disappoint God, and accept the gift, and let Him save you since He already paid in full the price for your sins?” The final decision is up to the sinner.

And it kind of carries the notion that God loves you so much, you’re so special, He gave His Son and He paid in full the penalty for your sins, and that’s supposed to move you emotionally to love Him back and accept this gift. And so you kind of work the sinner, and kind of manipulate the sinner in that direction, trying to find a psychological point, a felt-need point, play the right organ music, sing the right invitation hymn. You know, grease the slides and get him moving in the direction of making the choice.

Now we’ve got a problem here, folks. We’ve got a big problem. We saw in our last study that no sinner on his own can make that choice, right? This is the doctrine of absolute inability. He can’t make it. He cannot make that choice. All people - all people - are sinners, and all sinners are dead in their trespasses and sins. All of them are alienated from the life of God. All do only evil continually. All are unwilling and unable to understand, to repent and to believe. All have darkened minds, blinded by sin and Satan, all have hearts that are full of evil, all are wicked, desperately wicked. All desire only the will of their father who is Satan. All of them are unable to seek God. They are all trapped in absolute inability and unwillingness.

So how then can the sinner make the choice? I don’t care what felt need you might find. I don’t care what you might think you see “in his heart” that will let you lead anyone to Christ. I don’t care how many invitation verses you sing, or how much organ music or mood music you play to try to induce some kind of response, the sinner on his own cannot understand, cannot repent, and cannot believe.

Remember what we saw in John 1? To as many as believed He gave the authority, “the right to become children of God but not by the will of man or the will of the flesh. Ephesians 2:8-9. “By grace are you saved through faith; but that not of yourselves.” It is through Him that you are in Christ, 1 Corinthians 1:30. Salvation is from God. We saw that. He has to give life to the dead. He has to give sight to the blind. He has to give hearing to the deaf. He has to give understanding to the ignorant. He has to give repentance to those who love sin. He has to give faith to those who can’t believe. -- JOHN MACARTHUR

Place of Repose

"This was the one who had reclined on Jesus' bosom at the supper . . . " John 21:20

The bosom of Jesus still pillows the head of the weary, loving disciple of the Lord. There is no real rest for the soul, but in Jesus.

Where should the Christ-loved, the Christ-loving disciple lean, with his sins and sorrows, with his weariness and want--but upon the bosom of his Lord? It is the place of repose, of faith, and of love.

There is room for you there amid the countless ones who fly to it for consolation, safety, and repose. Go and lean with your burden, your grief, and your sin--where the beloved disciple reclined; and you shall realize the blessedness of the oneness, confidence, and affection which exist between Jesus and all the disciples whom He loves. 

Two Videos on 2 Peter 3:9

Video One on 2 Peter 3:9

Video Two on 2 Peter 3:9

SAVING FAITH IS GOD'S GRACIOUS GIFT

We must never think of salvation as a kind of transaction between God and us in which He contributes grace and we contribute faith. For we were dead and had to be quickened before we could believe. No, Christ's apostles clearly teach elsewhere that saving faith too is God's gracious gift.

John Stott
The Message of Ephesians

HOW WE PRAY, READ, AND LISTEN

Private PRAYER lies at the very foundation of religion--yet the mere formal repetition of a set of words, when "the heart is far away"--does good to no man's soul.

Reading the BIBLE is essential to the attainment of sound Christian knowledge--yet the mere formal reading of so many chapters as a task and duty, with out a humble desire to be taught of God, is little better than a waste of time.

Just as it is with praying and Bible reading--so it is with LISTENING. It is not enough that we go to Church and hear sermons. We may do so for fifty years, and be nothing bettered, but rather worse! "Consider carefully," says our Lord, "how you listen!"

Would anyone know how to listen aright? Then let him lay to heart three simple rules:

For one thing, we must listen with FAITH, believing implicitly that every Word of God is true, and shall stand. The Word in old time did not profit the Jews, "not being mixed with faith in those who heard it." Hebrews 4:2

For another thing, we must listen with REVERENCE--remembering constantly that the Bible is the book of God. This was the habit of the Thessalonians. They received Paul's message, "not as the word of men--but the Word of God." 1 Thessalonians 2:13

Above all, we must listen with PRAYER--praying for God's blessing before the sermon is preached, and praying for God's blessing again when the sermon is over. Here lies the grand defect of the hearing of many. They ask no blessing--and so they receive none. The sermon passes through their minds like water through a leaky vessel, and leaves nothing behind.

Let us bear these rules in mind every Sunday morning, before we go to hear the Word of God preached. Let as not rush into God's presence careless, reckless, and unprepared--as if it did not matter how we listened. Let us carry with us faith, reverence, and prayer. If these three are our companions--then we shall listen with profit, and return with praise!

--J.C. Ryle.

Countless Millions

Surely, even if we were carefully to examine just one minute of our lives, we would find ourselves worthy of eternal death. Indeed, each one of us would discover ourselves to be sinners, not in just one area but a hundred thousand; not due to some one fault but to countless millions. Now if even we ourselves acknowledge that we are full of so many blemishes, surely God is aware of many more than we could ever perceive, because he sees more deeply than we can, as John writes in his epistle (l John 3:20). Thus, the case is settled. The verdict is that no one can be justified by the law; justification is through faith alone. 


-- John Calvin.


-- Great Quote!  (prompted by John Splawn's citation.)

Principles for Effective Debate

20 Principles for Effective Debate

Truth in Worship Not Merely Emotions

Worship is not merely an emotional exercise with God-words or musical sounds that induce certain feelings. Worship is certainly not a mystical catharsis of human passion detached from any rational thought or biblical precept. True worship is a response of adoration and praise prompted by truth that God has revealed. Psalm 145:18 says, “The Lord is near to all who call upon Him, to all who call upon Him in truth” (emphasis added). Clearly, truth is prerequisite to acceptable worship. [1]
He goes on to say, “Truth is always at the heart of authentic worship. Every kind of enthusiasm or emotion that is not inseparably linked to the truth is ultimately meaningless.”

Indifferent Prayer and Empty Ceremony

God’s name, I think, is taken more times in vain in churches than anywhere else. The blasphemy in the sanctuary is worse than the blasphemy in the street. Empty ceremony, superficial worship, thoughtless praise, errant doctrine, love of error, indifferent prayer, phony ritual, these things abound.

Those alarming words come from John MacArthur’s sermon, “Scripture-Twisting Tradition.” In the message, John looks at a pivotal incident in the life of Christ.

Confronted by Israel’s religious leaders, the Lord exposed the hypocrisy of the Pharisees’ empty religious tradition, and the significant barrier it posed to cultivating a right relationship with Christ. In his sermon, John explains how Israel’s religion was corrupted and overrun with pious traditions that clouded the nature of God’s law. In many ways, rabbinical tradition had usurped and replaced God’s law as the final authority for life and godliness.

Happy is that Christian

Our Lord has . . .
many weak children in his family,
many dull pupils in his school,
many raw soldiers in his army,
many lame sheep in his flock. ...
Yet He bears with them all, and casts none away.
Happy is that Christian who has learned to do likewise with his brethren.--- JC. Ryle

60 Minutes will not replace 6 days of Neglience

Even a 60 minute sermon will not make up for 6 days of personal negligence. Yes, 30 minutes is not a long enough sermon, but really it takes 6 days of personal investment to be maturing spiritually;  to be personally in the Word for 6 days;  to be praying personally for 6 days, Spiritual Maturity cannot happen by passively listening to a sermon, even if the sermon was 60 minutes long.

Showing up at the Charlotte Chess Center for a 60 minute lecture will not transform your chess game, you must go home and study the game for yourself, each day on a personal level of investment and attention.  5 minutes of Blitz chess will not improve your chess game, and 5 minutes of blitz devotions will not improve your Spiritual maturity.

RESTATED.

Spiritual Maturity cannot happen by passively listening to a sermon, even if the sermon was 60 minutes long. Yes, God does use the preaching of His Word, but He brings His disciples to 7 days of personal investment to seek Him in prayer and Scripture. A pastor cannot "repair" 7 days of a persons own negligence with even a sermon, even if it is over 60 minutes long. In years past, I have enjoyed preaching long sermons, because I enjoy the Word. 

Most golfers do not limit their golfing to 30 minutes, because they really enjoy golfing and time is not a factor. People do not go Snow Skiing and limit their time to 30 minutes on the slope. People enjoy shopping and all types of endeavors in which they are willing to put in more than 30 minutes into the activity; so likewise we should enjoy the Word of God. 

But to my original point, it is wrong to think that even a 60 minute sermon could make up for someone's own personal negligence in seeking God daily.

7 Years of Jogging

7 years of weekly jogging, still requires weekly jogging to maintain one's physical fitness. Even though one has repeated "the same" activity for 7 years. Likewise as Christians, we may review passages on prayer, faith, love, joy, generosity, labor, and godliness for 7 years; and from a mental capacity think that this is "old information" (like jogging), yet to maintain spiritual health and fitness we continue our weekly studies of God's Word. (our continued jogging, so to speak.). May we run the race with endurance.

GRACE MULTIPLIED

"May grace and peace be multiplied unto you."
     2 Peter 1:2

When we see and feel how we need grace every
moment in our lives, we at once perceive the beauty in
asking for an abundant, overflowing measure of grace.

We cannot walk the length of the street without sin.

Our carnal minds, our vain imaginations, are all on the
lookout for evil. Sin presents itself at every avenue, and
lurks like the prowling night-thief for every opportunity
of secret plunder. In fact, in ourselves, in our fallen nature,
except as restrained and influenced by grace, we sin with
well near every breath that we draw. We need, therefore,
grace upon grace, or, in the words of the text, grace to be
"multiplied" in proportion to our sins. Shall I say in
proportion? No! If sin abounds, as to our shame and sorrow
we know it does, we need grace to much more abound!

When the 'tide of sin' flows in with its muck and mire,
we need the 'tide of grace' to flow higher still, to carry
out the slime and filth into the depths of the ocean,
so that when sought for, they may be found no more.

We need grace, free grace . . .
  grace today,
  grace tomorrow,
  grace this moment,
  grace the next,
  grace all the day long.

We need grace, free grace . . .
  healing grace,
  reviving grace,
  restoring grace,
  saving grace,
  sanctifying grace.

And all this multiplied by all our . . .
  wants and woes,
  sins,
  slips,
  falls, and
  unceasing and aggravated backslidings.

We need grace, free grace . . .
  grace to believe,
  grace to hope,
  grace to love,
  grace to fight,
  grace to conquer,
  grace to stand,
  grace to live,
  grace to die.

Every moment of our lives we need . . .
  keeping grace,
  supporting grace,
  upholding grace,
  withholding grace.

"May grace and peace be multiplied unto you."
     2 Peter 1:2

MAN CAN DO THE ONE

To wash and dress a corpse is a far different thing from making it alive: man can do the one, God alone can do the other. If you have then, been "born again," your acknowledgment will be, "O Lord Jesus, the everlasting Father, Thou art my spiritual Parent; unless Thy Spirit had breathed into me the breath of a new, holy, and spiritual life, I had been to this day 'dead in trespasses and sins.' My heavenly life is wholly derived from Thee, to Thee I ascribe it. 'My life is hid with Christ in God.' It is no longer I who live, but Christ who liveth in me." May the Lord enable us to be well assured on this vital point, for to be unregenerate is to be unsaved, unpardoned, without God, and without hope.

Charles Spurgeon

Naked We Go Forth

GOD IS OUR CONSOLATION

Such a God have we, such a God do we worship, to such a God do we pray, at whose command all created things sprang into being. Why then should we fear if this God favours us? Why should we tremble at the anger of the whole world? If He is our dwelling-place shall we not be safe though the heavens should go to the wrack? For we have a Lord greater than all the world. We have a Lord so mighty that at His word all things sprang into being. And yet we are so fainthearted that if ...the anger of a single prince or king, nay, even of a single neighbour, is to be borne, we tremble and droop in spirit. Yet in comparison with this King, all things beside in the whole world are but as the lightest dust which a slight breath moves from its place, and suffers not to be still. In this way this description of God is consolatory, and trembling spirits ought to look to this consolation in their temptations and dangers.

Martin Luther

YOUR MANY DEFECTS

Your many defects and corruptions (Arthur Pink, "Christ our Exemplar")

"Leaving you an example, that you should follow in His steps." 1 Peter 2:21
 
Sincere believers are often cast down by the realization of how far, far short they come to measuring up to the standard which Christ has set before them. According to the yearnings of the new nature—you have sincerely endeavored to follow Christ's example, but being weak in grace and meeting with much opposition from the flesh and temptations from the Devil—you have been frequently turned aside from the holy purposes and designs of your honest hearts—to the great grief and discouragement of your souls. You can heartily say with David, "O that my ways were directed to keep Your statutes!" (Psalm 119:5), and you have tried hard and long to follow after exact holiness, "if by any means you might attain unto it." But your efforts have been repeatedly thwarted, your aspirations dashed, and you have to cry out, "O wretched man that I am! Who will free me from this life that is dominated by sin!" (Romans 7:24)

First, let us assure the genuinely exercised soul, that such defects in obedience do not invalidate your justification, or in any way affect your acceptance with, and standing before God. Your justification is not built upon your obedience—but upon Christ's. However imperfect you are in yourself, you are "complete in Him" (Col. 2:10). Woe had it been to Abraham, Moses, David, and Paul—if their justification had depended upon their own holiness and good works. Let not, then, your sad failures dampen your joy in Christ—but rather be increasingly thankful for His robe of righteousness, which hides your filthy rags!

Second, your heart-anguish over your unlikeness to Christ, evidences that you have a sincere acquaintance with the evil of your heart, a deep loathing of sin, and truly love God. The most eminent saints have made the bitterest lamentation on this account, "My sins have flooded over my head; they are a burden too heavy for me to bear. My wounds are foul and festering because of my foolishness!" (Psalm 38:4-5)

Third, the Holy Spirit makes an excellent use of your infirmities, and turns your failures unto spiritual advantages. By those very defects—He humbles you, subdues your self-righteousness, causes you to appreciate more deeply the riches of free grace, and to place a higher value upon the precious blood of the Lamb. By your many falls—He makes you to long more ardently for Heaven—and gradually reconciles you to the prospect of death. The more a holy soul is buffeted by sin and Satan—the more sincerely will he cry out, "Oh that I had wings like a dove! for then would I fly away, and be at rest!" (Psalm 55:6). "O the blessed chemistry of Heaven, to extract such mercies—out of such miseries!" (John Flavel), to make sweet flowers—spring up out of such bitter roots! Fourth, your bewailed infirmities do not break the bond of the Everlasting Covenant! That holds firm, notwithstanding your many defects and corruptions. "Iniquities prevail against me" said David—yet in the same breath he added, "You shall purge them away!" (Psalm 65:3)

Fifth, though the defects of your obedience are grievous to God—yet your deep sorrows for them are well-pleasing in His sight, "The sacrifices of God are a broken spirit—a broken and a contrite heart, O God, You will not despise!" (Psalm 51:17)

Sixth, your very grief is a conformity to Christ—for when here, He was "the Man of sorrows." If He suffered because of our sins—shall we not be made to weep over them?

Seventh, "Though God has left many defects to humble you—yet He has given many things to comfort you. This is a comfort—that your sins are not your delight as once they were—but your shame and sorrow! This is a comfort—that your case is not singular, but more or less the same complaints and sorrows are found in all gracious souls in the world!" (John Flavel)

NO MOTIVE TO WITHDRAW

God was not induced to bestow His renewing grace in the first instance, by anything which He saw, meritorious or attractive, in the repenting sinner; and therefore the subsequent absence of everything good in him would be no new motive to God for withdrawing His grace.

--The Reformed Doctrine of Predestination 186

Waiter, not Chef

"A preacher is not a chef; he's a waiter.  God doesn't want you to make the meal.  He just wants you to deliver it to the table without messing it up.  That's all.  We are servants under divine commission."

-- John MacArthur. 

Thomas Brooks Meme

Great Luther Quote

LUTHER QUOTE

DOST THOU UNDERSTAND

CUP OF COLD WATER

Maybe this is a bad illustration, so feel free to critique it; but glean my aim behind it. When a young child draws a picture or painting for there parent. The parent loves the picture and the child, yet it is not because the picture has professional aspects found in Rembrandt, van Gogh, da Vinci, Monet, Michelangleo, etc. The parent loves the child even if the child had not drawn a picture, the parent loves the child because the child is his.

Christians are adopted by Father through the grace and love of Jesus whom He sent in grace and love. Christians belong to God, we are His children, we are made in His image, and now bear the aroma of Christ. Because He first loved us, we love Him; We enjoy "drawing pictures" for Him. He "accepts our pictures" through Christ despite how poor, simple, and worthless they are in themselves. We need not fear or be anxious that others have better pictures or better skills, God loves us.

We need not worry that the world has zero interest in our labors and efforts, they certainly will not; but we are not "drawing pictures" for the world, we are drawing them for God. So I aim to encourage all Christians in this manner-- take today to draw pictures for your Heavenly Father.

This may mean witness to someone, visiting someone who is in the hospital, nursing home, or shut-in; it may mean making a blog entry, video devotional, or sending an encouraging email. It could be watching someone's kids for them while they are out of town or facing an emergency.

The world did not care what Noah was doing, but Noah did not care what the world thought. Noah was doing his labor to honor God, because He knew God was trustworthy. I need to remember how rejected Elijah, Elisha and all the prophets were; We know how God assured Ezekiel that men would reject him, but Ezekiel was not living to please men or gain their affirmation or feedback (in essence). The same is said by Paul in Galatians 1. There were assuredly wealthy kings, rulers, and men in Jesus' day, yet God does not involve them in the feeding of the 5,000; rather, He involved a little boy with just a basket of food. If God has given you a basket of food, and He has, don't despise it. Don't think you need to own 10 restaurants to "make an impact."

Wikipedia is saying McDonalds has over 36,000 locations world-wide, such stores like this and Walmart may donate millions to charitable endeavors, yet you look at your monthly budget and only have $20 to apply to Christian ministry (and I don't mean only giving money to a group, though that is one way to bless someone. I mean personal using that money in an endeavor which you are directly engaged in serving or witnessing etc.) -- even so God remembers the cup of cold water given to His disciples in His name. There is over 7 hours of daylight left today....go out and give a cup of cold water.

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REFER IT BACK TO GOD

But we are short-sighted creatures, not only unworthy--but unable to rightly choose for ourselves.

If the choice was left to us--it would be our wisdom to refer it back to God.

We may be sure that He does not willingly grieve or afflict us. He takes no pleasure in seeing us weep and mourn--rather, every day brings us ten thousand proofs that He delights in our prosperity.

Whenever we are in heaviness, therefore, there is a need-be for it--faithful are the wounds of such a Friend! Our trials are made no sooner, nor longer--than the necessity of the case requires. He who wounds--has promised likewise to heal. He is all sufficient, and can give more than He will ever take away from His redeemed people. I trust she will find power to commit herself, and her every concern, into His hands; and that she will have reason to acknowledge, from day to day, that He does all things well!

Whatever the outcome may be--our Lord is wise and good in all His dealings. His mercies to us are new every morning--and as numerous as the minutes of our lives!

One of the excerpts from John Newton's Letters.

WRITE ON WATER

Great Quote from C.H.Spurgeon ~ You write His mercies on the water, but your own trials you engrave on granite; these things ought not to be.

COMPLETE IN CHRIST

Oh desponding Christian, is not your grief caused by looking within yourself? Is not that miserable feeling of failure and disappointment, caused by your strange fixation upon your hollow heart of iniquity? You look within, hoping to find something good, something pure, something precious, something clean--but what do you see? Nothing but sin! To stare into one's self--is to stare into a bottomless pit of despair and hopelessness! "The heart is deceitful above all things and desperately wicked!" Jeremiah 17:9

Will we ever learn this? There is nothing within us to give us hope, rest, or peace. Have we ever found anything within us that gave us joy? Of course not! Then why do we continue to stare into the darkness? All that we see within is foul, ugly, and grim! One glance within ought to sicken us. We would sooner find diamonds in a dunghill or roses growing in a sewer--than find goodness dwelling within!

In ourselves we are sinful, guilty, and vile! But bless God forever! Our standing before God is not in ourselves; it's in Christ! He is . . .
our Salvation,
our Righteousness,
our Hope,
our Holiness, and
our Acceptance with God!

Change the direction of your gaze--and look up! Stop staring into the empty void of your heart--and fix your eyes upon Jesus your Lord, in whom all fullness dwells. Our hope is not within, but without, seated at the right hand of the Father! Lift up your head that is bowed down with guilt and shame! Behold Christ your Savior! Behold your glorious Redeemer! Bid sorrow goodbye and fear depart! Rejoice, for "You are complete in Him!"

Believers are perfect in Christ. To be complete in Christ is to be perfect in Christ. Perfect is not something that we will be, or strive to be--but something that we are right now, by virtue of our eternal union with God's darling Son.

Brothers and sisters in Christ, we are, by the free grace of God, complete in Christ our Savior!
We lack nothing!
All that He is--we are in Him!
All that He has--we have in Him!
All that He has done--we've done in Him!
We possess the infinite fullness of eternal life and everlasting salvation in Jesus Christ our Lord!

We are completely righteous in Him!
We are completely holy in Him!
We are completely forgiven in Him!
We are completely accepted in Him!
We are completely, everlastingly, perfectly sinless in Him!

"Looking unto Jesus the Author and Finisher of our faith" Hebrews 12:2

~Frank Hall

IT IS THE DUTY

"It is the duty of God’s servants to warn men of their danger, to point out that the way of rebellion against God leads to certain destruction and to call upon them to throw down the weapons of their revolt and flee from the wrath to come. It is their duty to teach men that they must turn from their idols and serve the living God, otherwise they will eternally perish. It is their duty to rebuke wickedness wherever it be found and to declare that the wages of sin is death.

This will not make for their popularity, for it will condemn and irritate the wicked, and such plain speaking will seriously annoy them. Those who expose hypocrites, resist tyrants, oppose the wicked, are ever viewed by them as troublemakers. But as Christ declared, “Blessed are ye, when men shall revile you, and persecute you, and shall say all manner of evil against you falsely, for My sake. Rejoice, and be exceedingly glad: for great is your reward in heaven: for so persecuted they the prophets which were before you” ( Matthew 5:11,12)."

~ Arthur Pink, "The Life of Elijah"

CHRIST WILL BUILD HIS CHURCH

Christ Will Build His Church

Forever let us thank God that the building of the one true Church is laid on the shoulders of One who is mighty. Let us bless God that it does not rest upon man. Let us bless God that it does not depend on missionaries, ministers, or committees.

Christ is the almighty Builder. He will carry on His work, though nations and visible Churches do not know their duty. Christ will never fail. That which He has undertaken He will certainly accomplish! ~ J.C. Ryle

Merciful High Priest

"Let us take comfort in the thought that the Lord Jesus does not cast off His believing people because of failures and imperfections. He knows what they are. He takes them, as the husband takes the wife--with all their blemishes and defects; and once joined to Him by faith, He will never leave them. He is a merciful and compassionate High-priest. It is His glory to pass over the transgressions of His people, and to cover their many sins.

He knew what... they were before conversion--wicked, guilty, and defiled; yet He loved them.

He knows what they will be after conversion--weak, erring, and frail; yet He loves them.

He has undertaken to save them, notwithstanding all their shortcomings--and what He has undertaken, He will perform.

Let us learn to pass a charitable judgment on the conduct of professing believers. Let us not set them down in a low place, and say they have no grace--because we see much weakness and corruption in them. Let us remember that our Master in Heaven bears with their infirmities--and let us try to bear with them too.

The Church is little better than a great hospital. We ourselves are all, more or less, weak and infirm--and all daily need the skillful treatment of the heavenly Physician. There will be no complete cures until the resurrection day!"

J.C. Ryle

Glory in Nothing but Christ

"Do not glory in your own faith, your own feelings, your own knowledge, or your own diligence. Glory in nothing but Christ." ~ J.C. Ryle

Mrs. Prest, Foxes Book of Martyrs

This is about "Mrs. Prest" from Foxes Book of Martyrs. I am focusing on : the joy and cheer of her face as though preparing for a wedding, despite facing death at the stake.

To the disgrace of Mr. Blackston, treasurer of the church, he would often send for this poor martyr from prison, to make sport for him and a woman whom he kept; putting religious questions to her, and turning her answers into ridicule. This done, he sent her back to her wretched dungeon, while he battened upon the good things of this world.

There was perhaps something simply ludicrous in the form of Mrs. Prest, as she was of a very short stature, thick set, and about fifty-four years of age; but her countenance was cheerful and lively, as if prepared for the day of her marriage with the Lamb.

To mock at her form was an indirect accusation of her Creator, who framed her after the fashion he liked best, and gave her a mind that far excelled the transient endowments of perishable flesh. When she was offered money, she rejected it, "because (said she) I am going to a city where money bears no mastery, and while I am here God has promised to feed me."

When sentence was read, condemning her to the flames, she lifted up her voice and praised God, adding, "This day have I found that which I have long sought." When they tempted her to recant,—"That will I not, (said she) God forbid that I should lose the life eternal, for this carnal and short life. I will never turn from my heavenly husband to my earthly husband; from the fellowship of angels to mortal children; and if my husband and children be faithful, then am I theirs. God is my father, God is my mother, God is my sister, my brother, my kinsman; God is my friend, most faithful."

Being delivered to the sheriff, she was led by the officer to the place of execution, without the walls of Exeter, called Sothenhey, where again the superstitious priests assaulted her.

While they were tying her to the stake, she continued earnestly to exclaim "God be merciful to me, a sinner!" Patiently enduring the devouring conflagration, she was consumed to ashes, and thus ended a life which in unshaken fidelity to the cause of Christ, was not surpassed by that of any preceding martyr.

GOD IS AWARE OF MANY MORE

"Even if we were carefully to examine just one minute of our lives, we would find ourselves worthy of eternal death. Indeed, each one of us would discover ourselves to be sinners, not in just one area but a hundred thousand; not due to some one fault but to countless millions. Now if even we ourselves acknowledge that we are full of so many blemishes, surely God is aware of many more than we could ever perceive, because he sees more deeply than we can, as John writes in his epistle (l John 3:20). Thus, the case is settled. The verdict is that no one can be justified by the law; justification is through faith alone."... Calvin

He will hear His people.

The way my mind works, on one level...it is a very audacious thing to pray.  God is holy, we are sinful, who am I to approach God and think that I will be heard.  On the other hand, it is a very audacious thing not to pray.  Jesus is full of grace, Jesus is my righteousness, how can I possibly think that God will not hear me considering what Christ has done to forgive me, cleanse me, restore me, make me a new creation, and knowing my life is hid in Christ.  Isn't the resurrection of Jesus proof that the Father accepts the life, death, and work of Christ on my behalf, and isn't the resurrection and ascension of Christ proof that the Father will thus hear me when I pray.  Surely God will not resurrect Christ then turn away the very person that he purchased, pardoned, and cleansed.  I will be heard because I have an Holy and Perfect Advocate, I will be heard because I have a High Priest seated in power and glory. 

HOW HIS HEART IS CONSTITUTED

“Those speak foolishly who ascribe their anger or their impatience to such as offend them or to tribulation. Tribulation does not make people impatient, but proves that they are impatient. So everyone may learn from tribulation how his heart is constituted.” - Martin Luther

I am going to add here, not only anger or impatience, but possibly even "ongoing" sorrow and depression.  Yes we should be grieved for a short season at things;  but we should not have "ongoing" sorrow and depression.  Tribulation once again is displaying how our heart is constituted.  It shows we are not finding our Joy in Christ: His grace and His glory that He has accomplished.

DOCTRINE OF PRAYER

If your knowledge of doctrine does not make you a great man of prayer, you had better examine yourself again.
~ D. Martyn Lloyd-Jones

LOVE NOT THE WORLD

(Horatius Bonar) 

"Do not love the world or anything in the world." 1 John 2:15

WHY?

1. Because the gain of it, is the loss of the soul--Matthew 16:25-26.
 
2. Because its friendship is enmity to God--James 4:4.
 
3. Because it did not know Christ--John 1:10; 17:25.
 
4. Because it hates Christ--John 7:7; 15:18.
 
5. Because the Holy Spirit has forbidden us--1 John 2:15.
 
6. Because Christ did not pray for it--John 17:9.
 
7. Because Christ's people do not belong to it--John 17:16.
 
8. Because its Prince is Satan--John 13:31; 16:11.
 
9. Because Christ's kingdom is not of it--John 18:36.
 
10. Because its wisdom is foolishness--1 Corinthians 1:20.
 
11. Because Christ does not belong to it--John 8:23.
 
12. Because it is condemned--1 Corinthians 11:32.
 
13. Because it is passing away--1 Corinthians 7:31.
 
14. Because it slew Christ--James 5:6; Matthew 21:39.
 
15. Because it is crucified to us--Galatians 6:14.
 
16. Because we are crucified to it--Galatians 6:14.
 
17. Because it is the seat of wickedness--2 Peter 1:4; 1 John 5:19.
 
18. Because its god is the evil one--2 Corinthians 4:4.
 

HAPPINESS FROM GOD

While all men seek after happiness, scarcely one in a hundred looks for it from God.
John Calvin

INVETERATE HOSTILITY

"When the Gospel is presented to the sinner, not only is his understanding completely ignorant of its glorious contents, but the will is utterly perverse against it. Not only is there no desire for Christ, but there is inveterate hostility against Him. Nothing but the almighty power of God can overcome the enmity of the carnal mind."

~ Arthur Pink, "Spiritual Union and Communion"

NO CAUSE TO BOAST

Christian, though you do not break forth into a flame of scandal, yet you have no cause to boast, for there is much sin raked up in the embers of your nature. You have the root of bitterness in you, and would bear as hellish fruit as any, if God did not either curb you by His power, or change you by His grace.
--Thomas Watson--

SECULAR AFFAIRS

A true saint intermeddles with secular affairs, more out of necessity than choice.

-Thomas Watson-

HE LOVES TO LOVE US

The great God not only loves His saints, but He loves to love them.

Jerry Bridges.

HE LOVES US

O saints, do but let your thoughts dwell upon the love of Christ, who passed by angels and thought of you; who was wounded that, out of his wounds, the balm of Gilead might come to heal you; who leaped into the sea of his Father's wrath, to save you from drowning in the lake of fire! Think of this unparalleled love, which sets the angels wondering—and see if it will not affect your hearts and cause tears to flow forth!

-Thomas Watson-

DO WE THINK OF GOD

1. God thinks on us every morning; his mercies are "new every morning" (Lam. 3:23). He gives us night-mercies, he rocks us asleep every night: "So he gives his beloved sleep" (Psalm 127:2). And if we awaken, he gives "songs in the night" (Job 35:10). If God is thinking of us day and night, shall not we think of his Name? How can we forget a friend who is ever mindful of us? Though God is out of our sight, we are not out of his thoughts!
   -Thomas Watson-

TEN LOOKS AT CHRIST

For every look at your self, take ten looks at Christ.

-- Robert Murray McCheyne

PASSION AND JOY FOR HIS GLORY

God’s purpose for my life was that I have a passion for God’s glory and that I have a passion for my joy in that glory, and that these two are one passion."

— Jonathan Edwards  

Now what is glorifying God, but a rejoicing at that glory He has displayed?

--Jonathan Edwards.

(Most likely this has already been posted on my blog months or years ago, but it bears repeating). 

IT IS ENOUGH FOR ME

“Thou, O Lord, thou bruises me, it is enough for me to know it is thy hand.” -- John Calvin

GOD BRINGS IT TO THE HEART

There could be potential frustration for a pastor to tell of God's glory and grace, only to have souls nod their head in an intellectual agreement which is tottering on boredom for "old news"; yet we preach by faith (not frustration), knowing God will bring the truth deeper than the mind all the way to the heart.  Because this is the work of God, we are free to rest in His power, and so we proclaim His goodness with freedom and joy.

REMEMBER THE VANDALS

Remember the Vandals

From the February 1810 edition of the Baptist Magazine:

At a meeting held at Wittenburg by the leading parties of the reformation with a view to promote the harmony of the whole; it was agreed that Albert, Bucer and Luther should be the preachers. At the close of the services Luther requested Bucer to be his guest, to which Bucer readily acceded. In the course of the evening Luther found an opportunity to make his remarks on the sermon delivered by his sage friend. He spoke highly in its praise, but added “Bucer, I can preach better than you.” Such an observation sounded oddly to the ears of his friend, who however took it in good part, and readily replied “Every person of course will agree that Luther should bear the palm.” Luther immediately changed the tone of his voice, and with indescribable seriousness addressed his friend to this effect. “Do not mistake me, my brother; as though I spake merely in the praise of myself; I am fully aware of my weakness, and am conscious of my inability to deliver a sermon so learned and judicious, as the one I have heard from your lips this afternoon. But my method is, when I enter the pulpit to look at the people that sit in the aisle; because they are principally Vandals–[By this term he meant the ignorant common people, and alluded to the circumstance of those parts having been formerly overrun by hordes of ignorant Vandals]–I keep my eye, says he, on the Vandals, and endeavour to preach what they can comprehend. But you shot over their heads; your sermon was adapted for learned hearers, but my Vandals could not understand you. I compare them to a crying babe who is sooner satisfied with the breast of its mother, than with the richest confectionaries; so my people are more nourished by the simple word of the Gospel, than by the deepest erudition though accompanied with all the embellishments of Eloquence.”–The contributor of this article wishes that himself and his brethren may always imitate Luther, and remember the Vandals.

WE HAVE NOTHING

''God knoweth we have nothing of ourselves, therefore in the covenant of grace he requireth no more than he giveth, and giveth what he requireth, and accepteth what he giveth.'' Richard Sibbes from The Bruised Reed

WE CAN DO NOTHING

"Without the Spirit of God, we can do nothing. We are as ships without wind. We are useless." - C. H. Spurgeon

SATISFACTION

SATISFACTION

“I am not satisfied with my faith,” says one. NO, of course you aren’t, nor will you ever be, at least I hope not! The Bible does not say, “Therefore being satisfied with our faith we have peace with God,” it says, “Being justified by faith, we have peace with God.” “I am not satisfied with my repentance.” That is wonderful! What would you do with your repentance if you were satisfied with it? Would you bring it to God instead of the blood?

Oh, what pride and self-righteousness must be in any person who is satisfied with his repentance and faith! That person could never find true peace, for such a refuge of lies must fall.

“I am not satisfied with my love.” What? Did you expect, on this earth to be satisfied with any grace found in you? Was it your love for Christ or His love for you that gave you peace at first? Now then, there is but one thing with which Almighty God is satisfied – entirely satisfied – and that is THE PERSON AND WORK OF HIS SON! It is with Christ that we must be satisfied, not with ourselves, nor anything about us! When we cease from ALL our labors, and ALL our righteousness, and ENTER INTO HIS REST, pardon and peace will come without delay.

– Horatius Bonar (1809-1889)

SATISFACTION

SATISFACTION “I am not satisfied with my faith,” says one. NO, of course you aren’t, nor will you ever be, at least I hope not! The Bible does not say, “Therefore being satisfied with our faith we have peace with God,” it says, “Being justified by faith, we have peace with God.” “I am not satisfied with my repentance.” That is wonderful! What would you do with your repentance if you were satisfied with it? Would you bring it to God instead of the blood? Oh, what pride and self-righteousness must be in any person who is satisfied with his repentance and faith! That person could never find true peace, for such a refuge of lies must fall. “I am not satisfied with my love.” What? Did you expect, on this earth to be satisfied with any grace found in you? Was it your love for Christ or His love for you that gave you peace at first? Now then, there is but one thing with which Almighty God is satisfied – entirely satisfied – and that is THE PERSON AND WORK OF HIS SON! It is with Christ that we must be satisfied, not with ourselves, nor anything about us! When we cease from ALL our labors, and ALL our righteousness, and ENTER INTO HIS REST, pardon and peace will come without delay. – Horatius Bonar (1809-1889)

THE OLD MAN IN A BELIEVER

The Old Man in a Believer


God has left in all His children the old man, to remind us of our base origin, to hide pride from our eyes, to exclude boasting form our lips, and to keep us from putting any confidence in the flesh. It is to exercise our grace, especially patience; to make us watchful, to make us sensible of the depth of man’s fall, and finally, to exalt the grace of God; to make us sick of self, and sick of the world, sick of sin, and to teach us to prize Christ the Great Physician, and to make us long for that perfect rest which remaineth to the people of God. – William Huntington 1745-1813

He Found Nothing

God creates faith in the human heart, the same way He created the world. He found nothing and created something. -- Martin Luther

He Found Nothing

God creates faith in the human heart, the same way He created the world. He found nothing and created something. -- Martin Luther

PARTICULAR REDEMPTION

Tertullian (A.D. 200): “Christ died for the salvation of His people…for the church.” Cyprian (A.D. 250): “All the sheep which Christ hath sought up by His blood and sufferings are saved…Whosoever shall be found in the blood, and with the mark of Christ shall only escape…He redeemed the believers with the price of His own blood…Let him be afraid to die who is not reckoned to have any part in the cross and sufferings of Christ.” Lactantius (A.D. 320): “He was to suffer and be slain for the salvation of many people…who having suffered death for us, hath made us heirs of the everlasting kingdom, having abdicated and disinherited the people of the Jews…He stretched out His hands in the passion and measured the world, that He might at the very time show that a large people, gathered out of all languages and tribes, should come under His wings, and receive the most great and sublime sign.” Eusebius (A.D. 330): “To what ‘us’ does he refer, unless to them that believe in Him? For to them that do not believe in Him, He is the author of their fire and burning. The cause of Christ’s coming is the redemption of those that were to be saved by Him.” Julius (A.D. 350): “The Son of God, by the pouring out of His precious blood, redeemed His set apart ones; they are delivered by the blood of Christ.” Hilarion (A.D. 363): “He shall remain in the sight of God forever, having already taken all whom He hath redeemed to be kings of heaven, and co-heirs of eternity, delivering them as the kingdom of God to the Father.” Ambrose (A.D. 380): “Before the foundation of the world, it was God’s will that Christ should suffer for our salvation…Can He damn thee, whom He hath redeemed from death, for whom He offered Himself, whose life He knows is the reward of His own death?” Pacian (A.D. 380): “Much more, He will not allow him that is redeemed to be destroyed, nor will He cast away those whom He has redeemed with a great price.” Epiphanius (A.D. 390): “If you are redeemed…If therefore ye are bought with blood, thou are not the number of them who were bought with blood, O Manes, because thou deniest the blood…He gave His life for His own sheep.” Jerome (A.D. 390): “Christ is sacrificed for the salvation of believers…Not all are redeemed, for not all shall be saved, but the remnant…All those who are redeemed and delivered by Thy blood return to Zion, which Thou hast prepared for Thyself by Thine own blood…Christ came to redeem Zion [a metaphor for the church] with His blood. But lest we should think that all are Zion or every one in Zion is truly redeemed of the Lord, who are redeemed by the blood of Christ form the Church…He did not give His life for every man, but for many, that is, for those who would believe.” Anselm: “If you die in unbelief, Christ did not die for you.” Remigius (A.D. 850): “Since only the elect are saved, it may be accepted that Christ did not come to save all and did not die on the cross for all.” IRRESISTIBLE GRACE Ignatius: “Pray for them, if so be they may repent, which is very difficult; but Jesus Christ, our true life, has the power of this.” Justin Martyr (A.D. 150): “Having sometime before convinced us of the impossibility of our nature to obtain life, hath now shown us the Savior, who is able to save them which otherwise were impossible to be saved…Free will has destroyed us; we are sold into sin.” Barnabas (A.D. 70): “God gives repentance to us, introducing us into the incorruptible temple.” Irenaeus (A.D. 180): “Not of ourselves, but of God, is the blessing of our salvation…Man, who was before led captive, is taken out of the power of the possessor, according to the mercy of God the Father, and restoring it, gives salvation to it by the Word; that is, by Christ; that many may experimentally learn that not of himself, but by the gift of God, he receives immortality.” Tertullian (A.D. 200): “Do you think, O men, that we could ever have been able to have understood these things in the Scriptures unless by the will of Him that wills all things, we had received grace to understand them?…But by this it is plain, that it (faith) is not given to thee by God, because thou dost not ascribe it to Him alone.” Cyprian (A.D. 250): “Whatsoever is grateful is to be ascribed not to man’s power, but to God’s gift. It is God’s, I say, all is God’s that we can do. Yea, that in nothing must we glory, since nothing is ours.” Arnobius (A.D. 303): “You place the salvation of your souls in yourselves, and trust that you may be made gods by your inward endeavor, yet it is not our own power to reach things above.” Lactantius (A.D. 320): “The victory lies in the will of God, not in thine own. To overcome is not in our power.” Athanasius (A.D. 350): “To believe is not ours, or in our power, but the Spirit’s who is in us, and abides in us.”

IF WE WOULD PERCEIVE

"If we would perceive the worthlessness of this fading life, we must be deeply affected by the view of the heaven life." (Syn. Gosp. II:305) "No man can meditate on the heavenly life, unless he be dead to the world, and to himself." (Is. IV:242) "If meditation on the heavenly life were the prevailing sentiment in our hearts, the world would have no influence in detaining us." (John II: 30) "We ought to apply our minds to meditation upon a future life, so that this world may become cheap to us." (Dan. I:226) "We look at nothing but the world, till the Lord has drawn us to Himself." (Past. Epp. 319) "The Lord, by calling us to heaven, withdraws us from the earth." (Past. Epp. 320) John Calvin

the sense of the excellency of Christ

"The notion that there is a Christ, and that Christ is holy and gracious, is conveyed to the mind by the Word of God, but the sense of the excellency of Christ by reason of that holiness and grace, is nevertheless immediately the work of the Holy Spirit." - Jonathan Edwards (Monergism Books)

ADDING SOMETHING

Charles Spurgeon: And what is the heresy of Arminianism but the addition of something to the work of the Redeemer? Every heresy, if brought to the touchstone, will discover itself here.

GRATEFUL AND PEACEFUL HEARTS

"If it be plain that adversities are good for us, why should we not then endure them with grateful and peaceful hearts?" - John Calvin, On the Christian Life

"All the miseries which God sends in this world for sin are to put us in mind of our state and condition we are in, and therefore that we should thereby enter into an examining of our sins, to condemn ourselves before God, and after we are condemned, to ask him pardon and pray him to clothe us anew with those blessings which we lost through our thanklessness, and to reform us by his justice and repair us by the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ." - John Calvin, Sermons on 1 Timothy

Men and women are ...stuffed with all kinds of rebellion, of ignorance, of want of faith, of deceit, of hypocrisy, and such like. And now, what is he that dares boast of himself? So then our faults must put us in mind to run to God and confess that we are in his sight as castaways and without any hope. Ibid

PRAYER IN ALL

If Jesus is to save you, you must pray. If your sins are to be forgiven, you must pray. If the Spirit is to dwell in your heart, you must pray. If you are to have strength against sin, you must pray. If you are to dwell with God in heaven, your heart must talk with God upon earth by prayer. Oh! do not be a prayerless Christian, whatever others may think right. Begin to pray this day if you never prayed before. Remember if you and I are to meet each other with joy at Christ’s appearing, you must pray. -J.C. Ryle-

KIND AND DURATION

Thomas Watson "A contented Christian does not seek to choose his cross but leaves God to choose for him. He is content with both for the kind and the duration."

WORRIED OR BITTER

Worry is not believing God will get it right, and bitterness is believing God got it wrong. ~Tim Keller

Happiness in Thee

Help me never to expect happiness from the world, but only in Thee. -- Valley of Vision

ADOPTION IS A GREATER MERCY

Adoption is a greater mercy than Adam had in paradise.

Author: Thomas Watson

PROPER WORSHIP

"When we believe that we should be satisfied rather than God glorified in our worship, then we put God below ourselves as though He had been made for us rather than that we had been made for Him."

-Stephen Charnock

Gate of the Year

I actually prefer Ravi's paraphrased version better, but I will post the original poem.

God Knows

And I said to the man who stood at the gate of the year:
“Give me a light that I may tread safely into the unknown.”
And he replied:
“Go out into the darkness and put your hand into the Hand of God.
That shall be to you better than light and safer than a known way.”
So I went forth, and finding the Hand of God, trod gladly into the night.
And He led me towards the hills and the breaking of day in the lone East.

So heart be still:
What need our little life
Our human life to know,
If God hath comprehension?
In all the dizzy strife
Of things both high and low,
God hideth His intention.

God knows. His will
Is best. The stretch of years
Which wind ahead, so dim
To our imperfect vision,
Are clear to God. Our fears
Are premature; In Him,
All time hath full provision.

Then rest: until
God moves to lift the veil
From our impatient eyes,
When, as the sweeter features
Of Life’s stern face we hail,
Fair beyond all surmise
God’s thought around His creatures
Our mind shall fill

"The Gate of the Year" is the popular name given to a poem by Minnie Louise Haskins. The title given to it by the author was "God Knows"

GOD HEARS OUR PRAYERS

"...If we will pray to God aright, we must know what his will is, and to understand that, we must know what he has shown us in his word, we must frame ourselves to it, we must hear what he says to us and adjust all of our requests according to his will, resting ourselves upon his promises. And then let us not doubt but that when we call upon him in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, we shall feel that our prayers will not be in vain, nor unprofitable...."  -- John Calvin