Where Christ Appears

We go to church services hoping that Christ will appear in the "temple" - a church building - but all the while God is looking at us and hoping that Christ will appear in us - the true temple of God.

~ R. T. Nusbaum

Sin is...

Sin is a ceaseless, undying power in our life. A ceaseless, undying power must come against it. And there is only one such power in the universe - only one, which has a chance against sin: the power of the living Christ.

~ Henry Drummond

Submit and Surrender

When we submit and surrender to God, we accept the lessons we can learn from our disappointments, illnesses, and failures, trusting that God will use them to conform us to the image of Christ.

~ Gary Thomas (The Beautiful Fight)

Transformation

Transformation is not a quick fix. Rather, it's a lifelong journey - but I agree with the apostle Paul: in the end, it's the only race worth running (see 2 Timothy 4:7). On our own, we cannot grow very far or very fast; but empowered by God, filled with his Spirit, and guided by his Word, we can become radically different people available to him for his glory. We can, over time, actively cooperate with God's transforming power and offer up each part of our bodies to him, asking God to help us see as he sees, to hear as he hears, to think as he thinks, and to feel as he feels.

~ Gary Thomas (The Beautiful Fight)

Wordsworth

The world is too much with us; late and soon,
Getting and spending, we lay waste our powers:
Little we see in Nature that is ours -

~ Wordsworth

Live in God's Power

Jesus warns us that we can err in two ways: by lacking biblical understanding and by failing to live in God's power.

~ Gary Thomas (The Beautiful Fight)

What does ungodly mean?

"Ungodly" doesn't only mean being against God; it can also describe those who live without God's power and presence.

~ Gary Thomas (The Beautiful Fight)

God IS Able

Why should we pare down the promises of God to the level of what we have hitherto experienced of what God is 'able to do,' or even what we have thought he might be able to do for us? Why not receive God's promises, nothing doubting, just as they stand.

~ taken from Gary Thomas's book, The Beautiful Fight page 32

Prayer is...

"Prayer is not a magic wand for satisfying our own wishes, but it's an opportunity to work with God in accomplishing His purpose."

~ David C. Egner

So let us humbly and earnestly pray for one another for the effective fervent prayer of a righteous man avails much. (see James 5:16)

One Concern of the devil

The one concern of the devil is to keep Christians from praying. He fears nothing from prayerless studies, prayerless work, prayerless religion. He laughs at our toil. He mocks our wisdom. BUT he trembles when we pray.

~ Samuel Chadwick

Circumstances are not an accurate...

Our circumstances are not an accurate reflection of God's goodness. Whether life is good or bad, God's goodness, rooted in His character, is the same.

~ Helen Grace Lescheid

God's Plans

Circumstances may appear to wreck our lives and God's plans, but God is not helpless among the ruins. God's love is still working. He comes in and takes the calamity and uses it victoriously, working out His wonderful plan of love.

~ Eric Liddell

Softer Heart?

"Do you know how God softens hearts? He sends the rain. Anytime you see someone going through a storm in life, you can know God is softening that person's heart."

~ Rick Warren (Better Together: 40 Days of Community)

Adversity is...

Adversity is not simply a tool. It is God's most effective tool for the advancement of our spiritual lives. The circumstances and events that we see as setbacks are oftentimes the very things that launch us into periods of intense spiritual growth. Once we begin to understand this, and accept it as a spiritual fact of life, adversity becomes easier to bear.

~ Charles Stanley

Look at Jesus

If I look at myself, I am depressed. If I look at those around me, I am often disappointed. If I look at my circumstances, I am discouraged. But if I look at Jesus, I am constantly, consistently, and eternally fulfilled!

~ Anonymous

Can't Afford

"None but the Lord himself can afford us The more clearly we recognize how we dig our own wells in search of water, the more fully we can repent of our self-sufficiency and turn to God in obedient trust."

~ Larry Crabb

Suffering and Loss

When you suffer and lose, that does not mean you are being disobedient to God. In fact, it might mean you're right in the centre of His will. The path of obedience is often marked by times of suffering and loss.

~ Charles (Chuck) Swindoll

Trust in God

Trust in yourself and you are doomed to disappointment;....but trust in GOD, and you are never to be confounded in time or eternity.

~ Dwight L. Moody

The Burden of the Day

It has been well said that no man ever sank under the burden of the day. It is when tomorrow's burden is added to the burden of today that the weight is more than a man can bear. Never load yourselves so, my friends. If you find yourselves so loaded, at least remember this: it is your own doing, not God's. He begs you to leave the future to Him, and mind the present.

~ George Macdonald

God is GOOD!

Often I have heard people say, "How good God is! We prayed that it would not rain for our church picnic, and look at the lovely weather!" Yes, God is good when He sends good weather. But God was also good when He allowed my sister, Betsie, to starve to death before my eyes in a German concentration camp. I remember one occasion when I was very discouraged there. Everything around us was dark, and there was darkness in my heart. I remember telling Betsie that I thought God had forgotten us. "No, Corrie," said Betsie, "He has not forgotten us. Remember His Word: "For as the heavens are high above the earth, so great is His steadfast love toward those who fear Him." Corrie concludes, "There is an ocean of God's love available - there is plenty for everyone. May God grant you never to doubt that victorious love - whatever the circumstances."

~ Corrie Ten Boom

Give Your Troubles to God

Every evening I turn my troubles over to God - He's going to be up all night anyway.

~ Donald J. Morgan

Financial Loss

Perhaps God has been speaking to you and you wonder why you have troubles. Maybe you have suffered a financial loss and you find it very difficult to understand. Is God speaking to you in an effort to bring you back to Himself? You need to face these matters squarely and be honest with God as He deals with you.

~ Theodore Epp

Where does your security lie?

"Where does your security lie? Is God your refuge, your hiding place, your stronghold, your shepherd, your counselor, your friend, your redeemer, your saviour, your guide? If He is, you don't need to search any further for security." ~ Elisabeth Elliot

Anxiety is...

Anxiety is the natural result when our hopes are centred in anything short of God and His will for us.

~ Billy Graham

Tomorrow's Fears

Be not miserable about what may happen tomorrow. The same everlasting Father, who cares for you today, will care for you tomorrow.

~ Francis de Sales

Regretting the past and fearing the future

I was regretting the past and fearing the future. Suddenly God was speaking: "My name is I am." I waited and God continued: "When you live in the past, with its mistakes and regrets, it is hard. I am not there. My name is not I was. When you live in the future, with its problems and fears, it is hard. I am not there. My name is not I will be. When you live in this moment, it is not hard. I am here. My name is I AM."

~ Helen Mellincost

Suggestions for Fasting and Feasting

Fast from discontent; feast on thankfulness. Fast from worry; feast on trust. Fast from anger; feast on patience. Fast from self-concern; feast on compassion for others. Fast from unrelenting pressures; feast on unceasing prayers . Fast from bitterness; feast on forgiveness. Fast from discouragement, feast on hope. Fast from media hype, feast on the honesty of the Bible. Fast from idle gossip; feast on purposeful silence. Fast from problems that overwhelm; feast on prayer that undergirds.

~ Anonymous

Sin Looks Worse When...

Oh, how horrible our sins look when they are committed by someone else!


~ Chuck Smith

Judgement Seat or Witness Stand?

The trouble with most Christians today is that they would rather be on the judgement seat than on the witness stand.

~ Anonymous

Attitude - Do as I say not as I do???

Those things that one cannot improve in himself or in others, he ought to endure patiently, until God arranges things otherwise. Nevertheless when you have such impediments, you ought to pray that God would help you, and that you may bear them kindly. Endeavour to be patient in bearing with the defects of others, whatever they are; for you also have many failings which must be borne by others. If you cannot make yourself be as you would like to be, how can you expect to have another person be to your liking in every way? We desire to have others perfect, and yet we do not correct our own faults. We would allow others to be severely corrected, and will not be corrected ourselves. We will have others kept under by strict laws, but in no case do we want to be restrained. And so it appears that we seldom weigh our neighbour in the same balance with ourselves.

~ Thomas a Kempis

What do you deserve?

The Lord is merciful and gracious, slow to anger and abounding in steadfast love... He does not deal with us according to our sins, nor repay us according to our iniquities." (Psalm 103:8, 10) Can you think of one person in your life who "deserves" whatever you could dish out? On the other hand, can you imagine if we got what we deserved? But instead, God sent His Son to save us. Thank heaven we got what we never could deserve.

~ Anonymous

Temptation

Unless you have never been tempted, don't pass judgement on someone who has yielded.

~ Anonymous

(see 1 Corinthians 10:13)

Never Believe Anything Bad UNLESS...

Never believe anything bad about anybody unless you positively know it to be true; never tell even that unless you feel that it is absolutely necessary - and that God is listening while you tell it.

~ William Penn

Behavior We Expect...

This year, or this month, or, more likely, this very day, we have failed to practise ourselves the kind of behaviour we expect from other people.

~ C. S. Lewis (The Case for Christianity)