Call to Intercession

"Discernment is God's call to intercession, never to faultfinding." ~ Corrie Ten Boom

Things Looking Bleak?

"No matter how bleak the current circumstances, evil and death do not have the final say." ~ K. Brower

Be Exceptional

"Nobody can prevent you from choosing to be exceptional." ~ Mark Sanborn

For Married Couples

“Married couples are not meant to live for one another, but live beside one another for the Lord.” ~ John Henderson

I Remember...

"I remember with bitterness the duties I have shirked:
I remember with sorrow the hard words I have spoken:
I remember with shame the unworthy thoughts I have harboured.
Use these memories, O God, to save me, and then for ever blot them out."

~ John Baillie (as quoted in Gary Thomas's book "Every Body Matters")

HE Can Handle It

“After exploring through astronomy what the Creator has done and how He continues to control the vast reaches of the cosmos, I find it easy to trust Him with my family concerns. Somehow, it seems like He might just be able to handle them.” ~ James Dobson (When God Doesn’t Make Sense)

Self Vs. God?

“In the name of liberty professing Christians glut themselves with luxuries, entertainments and sensuous pleasures. Under the banner of freedom men give the reins to their thirst for wealth, women dress immodestly, feeding vanity which loves attention, and youth abandon themselves to athletics and leisure. When self is fed in this manner it becomes brazen and runs to excess, crowding God out of the heart… They begin again to serve themselves rather than the Lord.” ~ Walter J. Chantry

Spiritual Pride?

"Pet doctrines can easily promote spiritual pride. Our "enlightened interpretation" can make us feel superior and smarter than all those Christians who don't agree with our perspective." ~ Dan Delzell

Worry Doesn't Control

"How simple it is to see that all the worry in the world cannot control the future. How simple it is to see that we can only be happy now. and that there will never be a time when it is not now." ~ Gerald Jampolsky

The End of the World

‎"What the caterpillar calls the end of the world, the master calls a butterfly." ~ Richard Bach

Go Together

Don't be fooled by our narcissistic culture. It's not about "Jesus and me." This journey of faith expressed in holy love and obedience is about "Jesus and us." Go together.
~ N.G. Gunter

Teach Them Valuable Skills

‎"Teach boys and girls valuable skills with which they can compensate for any losses in their life in years to come. They can benefit from learning something that will serve as the centerpiece of their self-concept during the difficult years." ~ James Dobson (Solid Answers)

You Do Make a Difference

"What you do makes a difference, and you have to decide what kind of difference you want to make." ~ Jane Goodall

Express Your Faith Inwardly AND Outwardly

"All of us have different ways in which we connect with God and express our faith. You might be someone who says, “I express my faith through service. I really like to use my hands to express my faith.” Others may be geared to solitude and prayer or worship and singing. One generation may say, “Discipleship means engaging in issues of justice, creation care or the poor.” Another generation may say, “I define discipleship by being committed to the local church, paying my tithe, or teaching a Sunday school class.” Neither of these is wrong, but there must be a sense of balance between inward and outward practices as we strive for spiritual maturity." ~ Mark Maddix

Think...

“Not thinking is one simple reason why thousands of souls are thrown away forever into the Lake of Fire. Men will not consider, will not look ahead, will not look around them, will not reflect on the end of their present course, and the sure consequences of their present days, and wake up to find they are damned for a lack of thinking. Young men, none are in more danger of this than yourselves. You know little of the perils around you, and so you are careless how you walk. You hate the trouble of serious, quiet thinking, and so you make wrong decisions and bring upon yourselves much sorrow.” ~ J.C. Ryle

Criticism

"When someone criticizes, quickly discern if they are trying to help you or hurt you. If it's hurtful, realize their criticism says a lot more about their insecurities than your inadequacies." ~ Lysa TerKeurst

Get Excited about Your Work

"I feel sorry for the person who can't get genuinely excited about his work. Not only will he never be satisfied, but he will never achieve anything worthwhile." 

~ Walter Chrysler

Work for Eternal Rewards

"If you serve others for the reward of gaining their admiration and gratitude, then your reward will be fleeting and ultimately dissastisfying. If you serve others for the reward of bringing pleasure to your Father God's heart as you work side by side with him, then you will gain eternal rewards." ~ Anonymous

Take Up Your Cross

‎"People don’t want an authoritative God over them (Isaiah 6) and they don’t want a suffering Savior (Isaiah 53)—that would imply that they might have to take up their cross and wash others’ feet. And Jesus was both." ~ John Piper

Let Go!

"It's hard to let go anything we love. We live in a world which teaches us to clutch. But when we clutch we're left with a fistful of ashes." ~ L'Engle

Women Are Essential

“You see, women have been essential to every great move of God. Yes, Moses led the Isaelites out of Egypt, but only after his mother risked her life to save him! Closer to our time, Clara Barton was instrumental in starting the Red Cross. Harriet Beecher Stowe's Uncle Tom's Cabin put fire into people's heart to end slavery in the United States. Rosa Parks kicked the Civil Rights movement into gear with her quiet act of courage. Eunice Kennedy Shriver created the Special Olympics. Mother Teresa inspired the world by bringing love to countless thought unlovable. And millions of other women quietly change the world every day by bringing the love of God to those around them.” ~ Stasi Eldredge (Your Captivating Heart: Unveil the Beauty, Romance, and Adventure of a Woman's Soul)

On Your Knees

‎"People are backsliders on their knees long before they backslide openly in the eyes of the world." ~ J.C. Ryle

Highest Plane

‎"We can never live this life on the highest plane unless we are continually growing and moving forward." ~ Billy Graham.

Training for Kids

‎"Your children will go to public school, a lot of them, and they will be trained for somewhere around 15,000 hours in ungodly, secular thought. And then they'll go to Sunday school and they'll color a picture of Noah's Ark. And you think that is going to stand against the lies they are being told?" ~ Paul Washer

It Is Your Job!

"It’s your job to commit to memorizing Scripture. It’s God’s job to bring Scripture to your mind when you need it." ~ Nancy Leigh DeMoss

Do You Have a Healthy State of Mind?

‎"No Christian is in a healthy state of mind who is not prepared for trouble and persecution." ~ J.C. Ryle

Sun Rise or Son Rise

"The greater rising is not the sun which rises in the Eastern sky and sinks in the West, but the Son who rises once and never sets." ~ Boyd

You Are Your Child's Most Important Teacher

‎"Parents are to be the first and most important educators of their own children, diligently teaching them the Word of God." ~ Albert Mohler

Amazing Gifts

‎"God desires us. God yearns for us jealously and desires to give us so much more than what the world can offer." ~ Robbie Pruitt

The Gospel Story Line

"Out of the cross comes the resurrection. Out of weakness comes real strength. Out of repentance and admitting you are weak comes real power. Out of giving away and serving others comes real strength. Out of generosity and giving your money away comes real wealth. That’s the gospel story line." ~ Tim Keller

Stand on the Bible Alone

"Build not your faith on any minister or set of ministers. Let no man become your Pope. Make no Christian living your standard of what is right in faith or practice, however high his name, his rank, or his learning. Let your creed be the Bible, and nothing but the Bible; and your example Christ, and nothing short of Him." ~ J.C. Ryle

Armed Forces Day

"Our servicemen and women shoulder the burden of defense as one of the responsibilities of citizenship in this free country. Having participated in protecting our rights and having met oppression on the battlegrounds of the world, they are able to appreciate and savor the blessings of citizenship in the country they serve." ~ Melvin Laird, 1970, Former Secretary of Defense

Make a Difference

"Set before us this day sufficient joy, love, and opportunity to make a difference." ~ B. Brown

Don't Be Enslaved

"God’s ways are always best, and we’re free to enjoy Him when we’re not enslaved to our own appetites." ~ Nancy Leigh DeMoss

Make an Impact

“If we were left to ourselves with the task of taking the gospel to the world, we would immediately begin planning innovative strategies and plotting elaborate schemes. We would organize conventions, develop programs, and create foundations… But Jesus is so different from us. With the task of taking the gospel to the world, he wandered through the streets and byways…All He wanted was a few men who would think as He did, love as He did, see as He did, teach as He did and serve as He did. All He needed was to revolutionize the hearts of a few, and they would impact the world.” ~ David Platt (Radical: Taking Back Your Faith from the American Dream)

Point Them to Jesus

"Point your children to Christ and His will for their lives. More than ever, children today need solid moral and spiritual foundations—and you have a responsibility to help give these to them. Make sure of your own commitment to Christ, and then do all you can to put Him at the center of your family." ~ Billy Graham

Actions Speak Loudest

"Pay attention to your example. Children not only learn from what we say to them, but also from what we do. The Bible's advice to those who teach applies also to us as parents: "In everything set them an example by doing what is good" (Titus 2:7). ~ Billy Graham

Empty Hands Full Heart

"A truly rich man is one whose children run into his arms when his hands are empty." ~ Unknown

Make the Most of It

“Mental and spiritual health in your family begin with the acceptance of life as it is and a willingness to make the most of what has been given.” ~ James Dobson (Solid Answers)

Call Him to His Best

"If your husband is spiritually weaker than you are, your job is to bear with his failings in such a way that you build him up, not tear him down. Instead of assuming the worst, call him to his best." ~ Gary Thomas (Sacred Influence)

Lesson for Dad

"One of the most important things you can do for your children is to let them know you love them—clearly and often. Tell them you love them ... hug them ... spend time with them ... listen to them ... encourage them. They need to know they are important to you, and the best way to do this is to let them know you love them. That doesn't mean you never discipline them when they need it—but when you do, they'll know you're doing it not out of anger but out of love." ~ Billy Graham

Unconditional Love

“Whatever they grow up to be, they are still our children, and the one most important of all the things we can give to them is unconditional love. Not a love that depends on anything at all except that they are our children.” ~ Rosaleen Dickson

Mold & Model

“If it is important to produce respectful, responsible young citizens, then we should set out to mold them accordingly.” ~ James Dobson (The New Dare to Discipline)

Advice for Fathers

"Consider the cost of entering into sin. When the commander falls, everyone he is responsible for is severely affected." ~ Chuck Black

Sacrifice Personal Comfort...

"A mark of spiritual maturity is a willingness to sacrifice personal comfort in order to strengthen other believers. Paul urges Christians to pursue only activities that promote peace and behavior that builds up others." ~ Henry Blackaby

Discipleship

In the past, discipleship was built on attaining right belief or knowing the right things. However, the mind doesn’t always penetrate the heart in ways that enable us to live as faithful disciples and followers of Christ. When I talk about discipleship, I focus on practices: what kinds of practices help us identify with the life of Christ, and how do these practices enable us to live out a life of love and compassion toward others? To be a disciple is to participate in the means of grace in ways that form and shape us into the likeness of Christ. Often, we think of spiritual formation as the inner landscape of the person. To be formed and shaped in the likeness of Christ is something that must be developed in community—in the context of our faith community or in our involvement with our society/culture. ~ Mark Maddix

Don't Lose Your Joy

“Many people lose the small joys in the hope for the big happiness.” ~ Pearl S. Buck

Do You Really Believe It? Really?

"How rarely we have heard the Gospel like men in earnest,—and read the Bible as if we were feeding on it,—and prayed as if we wanted an answer! How poor and feeble has been our witness against sin! How seldom have we looked like men about our Father’s business! How little have we known about singleness of eye, and wholeness of heart, and walking in the Spirit! How weak has been our faith, how feeble our hope, how cold our charity! How few of us have lived as if we believed all that is written in the Word, and moved through life like pilgrims travelling to a better land!" ~ J.C. Ryle

A Little Commitment

"A little commitment turns out to be the same as none." ~ Elton Trueblood

Freedom & Responsibility

“We should give conscious thought to the reasonable, orderly transfer of freedom and responsibilities so that we are preparing the child each year for that moment of full independence that must come.” ~ James Dobson (Solid Answers)

Hurt People Hurt People

"Most of the time, the people who cause us hurt are themselves hurt and wounded." ~ Michael

Great Mistake

‎"Nobody made a greater mistake than he who did nothing because he could do only a little." ~ Edmund Burke

In Remembrance

"We must see ourselves there at that supper and at that cross, knowing it was for each of us that Jesus died. Every time we take the bread and wine, we remember; and it reshapes us. It reminds us where we came from, and it defines who we are and who we will be." ~ Adam Hamilton (24 Hours that Changed the World)

You Can't Be Anything You Want to Be...

"You cannot be anything you want to be. But you can be everything God wants you to be." ~ Max Lucado, Cure for the Common Life

Correct the Wrong

"Blameless does not mean perfect. . . . If you are to be blameless, you must do everything in your power to correct any wrongdoing and reconcile any broken relationship." ~ Henry Blackaby

Give, Serve, Love

"Give of your hands to serve and your hearts to love." ~ Mother Teresa

Seek Help

"[When suffering] you need to seek help. This help comes first and finally from the living God. He hears, helps, strengthens, and vindicates those who rely on Him. If you look anywhere else first, you will set yourself up for a fall. You will get snared in bitterness and revenge (spurning God for your pride). You will flee in avoidance and addiction (spurning God for your false refuges and comforts). You will develop a perverted dependency on others (spurning God for your trust in man). Sadly, our culture has awakened countless people to think about what evil-doers (“abusers”) have done to them, but it has cast them upon their own resources as “abuse victims.” Yet victims can properly understand their own sins and sufferings, and God’s grace." ~ David Powlison (Seeing With New Eyes)

Are You Sick?

"If you live in a sick society and you are well adjusted, then you are sick. ~ Randy Alcorn

“Do not love the world or the things in the world. If anyone loves the world, the love of the Father is not in him” ~ 1 John 2:15 (ESV)

Deep Restoration

"Walking with God leads to receiving his intimate counsel, and counseling leads to deep restoration. As we learn to walk with God and hear his voice, he is able to bring up issues in our hearts that need speaking to. Some of those wounds were enough to break our hearts, create a rift in the soul, and so we need his healing as well. This is something Jesus walks us into--sometimes through the help of another person who can listen and pray with us, sometimes with God alone."
~ John Eldredge (Waking the Dead)

Forsaken

"Sin forsaken is one of the best evidences of sin forgiven." ~ J.C. Ryle

What is Your Passion?

"Desire that your life count for something great! Long for your life to have eternal significance. Want this! Don’t coast through life without a passion." ~ John Piper

Untapped Evangelistic Opportunity

"There are many mission fields, but family presents what may be the greatest untapped evangelistic opportunity before the church today. What is at stake is the salvation of millions of children under the evangelistic and discipleship ministry of fathers and mothers in the home. This is not the only mission field, to be sure, but it is perhaps the most neglected mission field before the church in our time." ~ Scott Brown from the article ~ The Greatest Untapped Evangelistic Opportunity Before the Modern Church

Who's There?

John Wesley tells of a dream he had. In the dream, he was ushered to the gates of Hell. There he asked, "Are there any Presbyterians here?" "Yes!", came the answer. Then he asked, "Are there any Baptists? Any Episcopalians? Any Methodists?" The answer was Yes! each time. Much distressed, Wesley was then ushered to the gates of Heaven. There he asked the same question, and the answer was No! "No?" To this, Wesley asked, "Who then is inside?" The answer came back, "There are only Christians here." (1 Cor. 1:10-17) ~ John Welsey

No Excuses

"Unless I am willing to believe what God says about my bent towards sinning, and the seriousness of that sin, I will always be rationalizing, making excuses and casting blame on anything and anyone that I can." ~ Randy Alcorn

“For your name’s sake, O LORD, pardon my guilt, for it is great” (Psalm 25:11).

Live and Learn from Parents

“We heavily depend on those who bring us up. We get from them a taste and a bias which clings to us most of the days of our lives. We learn the language of our mothers and fathers, and learn to speak it almost without thinking, and unquestionably we catch something of their manners, ways, and mind at the same time. Time will tell, how much we all owe to early impressions, and how many things in us may be traced back to the seeds sown in the days of our infancy, by those who were around us." ~ J.C. Ryle

Intimacy & Brokenness

"Intimacy with God goes hand in hand with your brokenness. Your desire for intimacy with your heavenly Father will be accompanied by brokenness, as it escorts you into intimacy with eternal God. It is your date with destiny. A broken and contrite heart delivers intimacy with the Almighty. Do not despise your broken condition. Rather, delight in its opportunity for intimacy. You long to know Jesus in the power of His resurrection and the fellowship of His suffering (Philippians 3:10). These prayers were not in vain. Your brokenness is answered prayer. The answer may not be exactly what you expected. You may have anticipated a smoother route, a paved road free of bumps or pot holes. But the path of a personal and intimate relationship with Christ is not always easy." ~ Boyd Bailey (Wisdom Hunters)

Look for the Best in Others

"When we seek to discover the best in others, we somehow bring out the best in ourselves." ~ Ward

Preoccupation with...

“The sin of worldliness is a preoccupation with the things of this temporal life. It's accepting and going along with the views and practices of society around us without discerning if they are biblical. I believe that the key to our tendencies toward worldliness lies primarily in the two words "going along". We simply go along with the values and practices of society.” ~ Jerry Bridges (Respectable Sins: Confronting the Sins We Tolerate)

Don't Forget

"Has God ever convicted you of something while you’re reading the Bible, and a few hours later you’ve forgotten all about it? There’s something simple that has helped me to remember. I write down what God has shown me from His Word. That helps me feel more accountable for taking action." ~ Nancy Leigh DeMoss

Are You a Jesus' Fan?

‎"Most problems involving church people is because converts are Jesus fans not Jesus disciples." ~ Miles McPherson

He Knows

"God has not been trying an experiment on my faith or love in order to find out their quality. He knew it already. It was I who didn't." ~ C. S. Lewis

Be Transformed

“When the child of God looks into the Word of God, and sees the Son of God, he is transformed by the Spirit of God into the image of God for the the glory of God.” ~ Warren Wiersbe

Weak People

"God is not looking for strong, self-made people. He’s looking for weak people who will find their strength not in themselves, not in their abilities, but in him." ~ Randy Alcorn

“For the sake of Christ, then, I am content with weaknesses, insults, hardships, persecutions, and calamities. For when I am weak, then I am strong” ~ 2 Corinthians 12:10

Great Effect on the Souls of Those Who Enter

Marriage, unquestionably, is not a sacrament, as the Romish Church vainly asserts. But marriage is a state of life which has the greatest effect on the souls of those who enter into it. It helps them upwards or downwards. It leads them nearer to heaven or nearer to hell. We all depend much on the company we keep. Our characters are insensibly moulded by those with whom we pass our time. To none does this apply so much as to married people. Husbands and wives are continually doing either good or harm to one another’s souls.

Let all who are married, or think of being married, ponder these things well. Let them take example from the conduct of Joseph and Mary, and resolve to do likewise. Let them pray together, and read the Bible together, and go to the house of God together, and talk to one another about spiritual matters. Above all, let them beware of throwing obstacles and discouragements in one another’s way about, means of grace. Blessed are those husbands who say to their wives as Elkanah did to Hannah, “Do all that is in thy heart.” Happy are those wives who say to their husbands as Leah and Rachel did to Jacob, “Whatsoever God hath said unto thee, do.” (1 Sam. 1:23; Gen. 31:16.)

~ J.C. Ryle

Make Me Like Jesus

"David and Nancy Guthrie once told me, “It troubles us that the church’s one response to suffering is to pray that it will be taken away. Nobody’s first prayer is ‘Use this to help us become Christlike.’” ~ Randy Alcorn

The Making of a Christian

“The Word of God well understood and religiously obeyed is the shortest route to spiritual perfection. Nothing less than a whole Bible can make a whole Christian.” ~ A. W. Tozer

Walking Sermon

"A Christian is a walking sermon. They preach far more than a minister does, for they preach all week long." ~ J.C. Ryle

Surrender

"There may be some issue where God is calling you to surrender. I don’t know what you may be struggling with, but whatever it is, let me just encourage you: Don’t delay obedience." ~ Nancy Leigh DeMoss

Odd Number

‎"A real Christian is an odd number...He feels supreme love for One whom he has never seen, talks familiarly every day to Someone he cannot see, expects to go to heaven on the virtue of Another, empties himself in order to be full, admits he is wrong so he can be declared right, goes down in order to get up, is strongest when he is weakest, richest when he is poorest, and happiest when he feels worst! He dies so he can live, gives away so he can keep, sees the invisible, hears the inaudible and knows that which passes knowledge. The man who has met God is not looking for something - he has found it. He is not searching for light - upon him the Light has already shined!" ~ A.W. Tozer

Shake Well

"Sometimes your medicine bottle has on it, "shake well before using." That is what God has to do with some of His people. He has to shake them well before they are ever usable." ~ Vance Havner

The Price Tags Have Been Rearranged

"We idolize the wrong people because Satan has rearranged the price tags and we’ve bought into his lie. We admire ability, while God admires humility." ~ Randy Alcorn

Put on then, as God’s chosen ones, holy and beloved, compassionate hearts, kindness, humility, meekness, and patience ~ Colossians 3:12 (ESV)

Nothing But the Bible

"Let the Bible, the whole Bible, and nothing but the Bible, be the rule of our faith and practice." ~ J.C. Ryle

Choose Joy

As our kids graduate, let's remember the wise words of Kay Warren: “Our children are not here to meet our need for appreciation. They were not born to meet our expectations for their lives. They are here to fulfill God’s purpose for them (Psalm138:8)" (From "Choose Joy") ~ Repost from Gary Thomas

A Refusal!

"Faith is a refusal to panic." ~ Martyn Lloyd-Jones

Don't Be Ashamed

"Whatever others around you think, don’t you ever be ashamed of being a Christian." ~ J.C. Ryle

If anyone is ashamed of me and my words, the Son of Man will be ashamed of him when he comes in his glory and in the glory of the Father and of the holy angels. ~ Luke 9:25-27 (NIV 1984)

I am not ashamed of the gospel, because it is the power of God for the salvation of everyone who believes: first for the Jew, then for the Gentile. ~ Romans 1:16 (NIV 1984)

HE is There

"At every assembly for public worship,—at every gathering for prayer and praise,—at every missionary meeting,—at every Bible reading, the King of kings is present,—Christ Himself attends. We may be often disheartened by the small number who are present on such occasions, compared to those who meet for worldly ends. We may sometimes find it hard to bear the taunts and ridicule of an ill-natured world, which cries like the enemy of old, “What do these feeble people?” (Nehem. 4:2.) But we have no reason for despondency. We may boldly fall back on these words of Jesus. At all such meetings we have the company of Christ Himself." ~ J.C. Ryle

Pace Yourself as God Intends

"When we don't pace ourselves as God intends, we tend to miss divine appointments ... Not only that, but when our lives our poorly paced, divine appointments seem like interruptions instead of live-giving opportunities." ~ Kevin Seymour

Misinterpretation

“When science and the Bible differ, science has obviously misinterpreted its data” ~ Henry Morris

Transform the Home

"It is difficult to see how Christianity can have a positive effect on society if it cannot transform its own homes." ~ John MacArthur

Actions Speak Loudest

"A man ought to live so that everybody knows he is a Christian... and most of all, his family ought to know." ~ D.L. Moody

Great Preaching Requires

"The three essentials for great preaching are: truth, clarity, and passion." ~ G. Campbell Morgan

Love the Poor

“The first miracle after the baptism of the Holy Ghost was wrought upon a beggar. It means that the first service of a Holy Ghost-baptized church is to the poor; that its ministry is to those who are lowest down; that its gifts are for those who need them most. As the Spirit was upon Jesus to preach the gospel to the poor, so His Spirit is upon His servants for the same purpose.” ~ Phineas F. Bresee

Defying Circumstances

"In the depths of suffering, a piercing sense of the presence of the Holy Spirit sometimes settles in on us, defying our circumstances." ~ Bentz

A Sacred Obligation

‎"To teach our children is a personal duty; we cannot delegate it to Sunday school teachers, or other friendly aids; these can assist us, but cannot deliver us from the sacred obligation...mothers and fathers must, like Abraham, command their households in the fear of God, and talk with their offspring concerning the wondrous works of the Most High.” ~ Charles Haddon Spurgeon