Carnal Christianity?

‎"If I see aright, the cross of popular evangelicalism is not the cross of the New Testament. It is, rather, a new bright ornament upon the bosom of a self-assured and carnal Christianity. The old cross slew men, the new cross entertains them. The old cross condemned; the new cross amuses. The old cross destroyed confidence in the flesh; the new cross encourages it." ~ A. W. Tozer

Battle Ground

There is no neutral ground in the universe; every square inch, every split second is claimed by God and counterclaimed by Satan. ~ C. S. Lewis

10 Finally, be strong in the Lord and in his mighty power. 11 Put on the full armor of God so that you can take your stand against the devil’s schemes. 12 For our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the powers of this dark world and against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly realms. 13 Therefore put on the full armor of God, so that when the day of evil comes, you may be able to stand your ground, and after you have done everything, to stand. 14 Stand firm then, with the belt of truth buckled around your waist, with the breastplate of righteousness in place, 15 and with your feet fitted with the readiness that comes from the gospel of peace. 16 In addition to all this, take up the shield of faith, with which you can extinguish all the flaming arrows of the evil one. 17 Take the helmet of salvation and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God. 18 And pray in the Spirit on all occasions with all kinds of prayers and requests. With this in mind, be alert and always keep on praying for all the saints. ~ Ephesians 6:10-18 (NIV 1984)

Sin of Unforgiveness

‎"It doesn’t matter how up-to-date you are in new revelations from the many seminars and Bible schools you’ve attended or how many books you’ve read or even how many hours you pray and study. If you are offended and in unforgiveness and refuse to repent of this sin, you have not come to the knowledge of the truth. You are deceived, and you confuse others with your hypocritical lifestyle. No matter what the revelation, your fruit tells a different story. You’ll become a spring spewing out bitter waters that will bring deception, not truth. "~ John Bevere (Bait of Satan)

Do You Understand the Urgency?

‎"If we understand what lies ahead for those who do not know Christ, there will be a sense of urgency in our witness." ~ David Jeremiah

Only God...

‎"The moment you come to realize that only God can make a man godly, you are left with no option but to find God, and to know God, and to let God be God in and through you." ~ Major Ian Thomas

Trump Card ... Love

"When we allow God's love to trump our anger, we are able to experience RESTORATION in relationships." ~ Gwen Smith

I'm an Alien

“I must keep alive in myself the desire for my true country, which I shall not find till after death; I must never let it get snowed under or turned aside; I must make it the main object of life to press on to that other country and to help others to do the same.” ~ C. S. Lewis

“If then you have been raised with Christ, seek the things that are above, where Christ is, seated at the right hand of God” ~ Colossians 3:1 (ESV)

Commit it All

"Commit to Him the past; He can blot out its guilt and torment. Commit the present with its shortcomings and human weakness. Commit the future with its threats of evil. You are turning them over to understanding sympathy, to loving willingness, to power unlimited, to infinite wisdom." ~ Bertha Munro

Prepare Your Children

‎"Many parents are working hard to prepare the path for their children. Wise parents are working hard to prepare their children for the path. You cannot control the path, but you can prepare the child." ~ Cary Schmidt

Pray Together

"Because prayer is intimacy with God, a natural by-product of praying together is intimacy with each other." ~ Stormie Omartian

Who Do You Dress for?

As Thomas Watson says in the quote below, "Many dress themselves in such fashions as to make the devil fall in love with them." It should be our desire as Christian women (and men) to dress in a way that would please our heavenly Father. Perhaps, when we dress we should stop and look in the mirror and ask ourselves, "Am I pleasing God or seducing the devil?" ~ Mary Jean Whitney-Dawson

Many dress themselves in such fashions as to make the devil fall in love with them. Dark makeup, gaudy attire, naked breasts, what are these but the flags and banners which pride displays? ~ Thomas Watson (Godly Man's Picture p. 82)

Value for Others

‎"My heart cries out to God, I don't want to be that 'no one'. I want my life to have value for others. I want to comfort and strengthen that which remains, and which is at the point of death. I want to share what I am and what I have." ~ Brother Andrew (God's Smuggler)

Pray With Expectation

"Each time, before you intercede, be quiet first, and worship God in His glory. Think of what He can do and how He delights to hear the prayers of His redeemed people. Think of your place and privilege in Christ, and expect great things!" ~ Andrew Murray

Someone Is Searching

"There is someone who is searching for what you have already found through faith in Jesus Christ." ~ J. K. Warrick

You Do Not Struggle Alone

The fact that this new age is emerging reveals something basic about the universe. It tells us something about the core and heartbeat of the cosmos. It reminds us that the universe is on the side of justice. It says to those who struggle for justice, "You do not struggle alone, but God struggles with you." ~ Martin Luther King Jr. (I Have a Dream: Writings and Speeches That Changed the World)

Actions Speak Loudest

‎"We show whether we really love Jesus by the way we treat other people. When we help someone in need, it’s like we’re helping the Lord Himself. He takes what we do for others personally." ~ Nancy Leigh DeMoss

Attentive Reading

‎"Knowledge of the Bible never comes by intuition. It can only be obtained by diligent, regular, daily, attentive reading." ~ J.C. Ryle

Purpose of Christianity

"The purpose of Christianity is not to avoid difficulty, but to produce a character adequate to meet it when it comes. It does not make life easy; rather it tries to make us great enough for life." ~ James Christensen.

God be...

"God be in my head, and in my understanding;
God be in my eyes, and in my looking;
God be in my mouth, and in my speaking;
God be in my heart, and in my thinking;
God be at my end, and at my departing."

~ Sarum Primer

Nonsense...

Here is a fun quote...

‎"If I had a world of my own, everything would be nonsense. Nothing would be what it is because everything would be what it isn't. And contrary-wise; what it is it wouldn't be, and what it wouldn't be, it would. You see?" ~ Lewis Carroll (Alice in Wonderland ~ Alice)

Spirituality...

"Spirituality in human beings is not an extra or "superior" mode of existence. It's not a hidden stream of separate reality, a separate life running parallel to our bodily existence. It does not consist of special "inward" acts even though it has an inner aspect. It is, rather, a relationship of our embodied selves to God that has the natural and irrepressible effect of making us alive to the Kingdom of God—here and now in the material world." ~ Dallas Willard

What Are Your Obsessions?

"Earthly obsessions....humans glorify them...build them up..at times worship obsessions and obsessive behaviours....and in the end...they destroy humans. They destroy lives, relationships, everything.

Time to ask ourselves...what are my obsessions? Are they on things of God and what is holy and right and fully of His grace and mercy? Or are they on self satisfying things?

And then ask Him to help us get rid of them....."

~ Rochelle Alberti

Condition of Your Heart

"A lot of people pray about the sorry conditions of their churches but ignore prayer for the sorry conditions of their hearts." ~ M.E. Anderson

What Is Most Important in Life?

"“What good is knowledge without the fear of God? A humble ignorant man is better than a proud scholar, who studies natural things and knows not himself.” ~ Jeremy Taylor

Love Your Enemies

"I say to you today, my friends, that in spite of the difficulties and frustrations of the moment, I still have a dream. It is a dream deeply rooted in the American dream.

I have a dream that one day this nation will rise up and live out the true meaning of its creed: "We hold these truths to be self-evident: that all men are created equal."

I have a dream that one day...the sons of former slaves and the sons of former slave owners will be able to sit down together at a table of brotherhood.

I have a dream that one day [every state] ... sweltering with the heat of injustice and oppression, will be transformed into an oasis of freedom and justice.

I have a dream that my four children will one day live in a nation where they will not be judged by the color of their skin but by the content of their character.

I have a dream today."

~ Martin Luther King, Jr. (Loving Your Enemies)

You Can Serve

"Everybody can be great...because anybody can serve. You don't have to have a college degree to serve. You don't have to make your subject and verb agree to serve. you only need a heart full of grace. a soul generated by love." ~ Martin Luther King, Jr.

Delight in the Law of the Lord

"The law of God was designed not to make us miserable, not to make us prisoners, not to keep us from enjoying life. The law of God was designed to help us enjoy life. It was designed for our blessing and to protect us from anything and everything that could keep us from fully enjoying our Creator.

That’s why the psalmist said, 'I take delight in the law of the Lord.'”

~ Nancy Leigh DeMoss

Your Life Matters

"Whether you're pushing a stroller or a grocery cart or an aluminum walker, whether you are single, married, or a widow, whether your challenge is eight children or no children, whether life has you nursing children with measles, a husband with cancer, or your own osteoporosis, your life counts--counts mightily--as you face its challenges with a heart full of devotion to God." ~ Elizabeth George

Natural Part of Life

"Service is the overflow which pours from a life filled with love and devotion. But strictly speaking, there is no call to that. Service is what I bring to the relationship and is the reflection of my identification with the nature of God. Service becomes a natural part of my life. God brings me into the proper relationship with Himself so that I can understand His call, and then I serve Him on my own out of a motivation of absolute love." ~ Oswald Chambers (My Utmost for His Highest)

Called By God

‎"God doesn’t call us because we’ve got everything under control. He calls us because He loves us. God wants to give you a fresh heart and hunger for Himself. He’s calling you to return to Him, to start seeking Him with all your heart." ~ Nancy Leigh DeMoss

To the Beat of a Different Drum

‎"If a [child] does not keep pace with his companions, perhaps it is because he hears a different drummer. Let him step to the music which he hears, however measured and far away." ~ Henry David Thoreau

My Prayer...for My Children

"I keep asking that the God of our Lord Jesus Christ, the glorious Father, may give you the Spirit of wisdom and revelation, so that you may know him better. ~ Ephesians 1:17 (NIV 1984)

Consumerism

Honestly, I know very little about Mark Driscoll, except that some crazy controversy happened on someone's FB page over something that he did... I have no idea what it was, but I came across this quote today and thought it made sense...so here it is...

"Consumerism is a religion. Stores are temples. Right now people are out shopping for an identity trying to make earth heaven." ~ Mark Driscoll

Childhood...

‎"WHAT was wonderful about childhood is that anything in it was a wonder. It was not merely a world full of miracles; it was a miraculous world." ~G.K. Chesterton ('Autobiography')

What Do You Really Want to Do with Your Life?

"Many people avoid even considering what they really want for fear of being put down by others. They have internalized the Voice of Conformity. You too may have heard this voice. It's the one that tells you that you must stay in line and follow the prescribed formula or pattern for your life. It's the one that tells you that you must spend your life doing what you "should" do instead of what you really want to do. It's the one that tells you not to expect too much--that you will only be disappointed if you try to follow your dreams." ~ Laurence Boldt (How to Find the Work You Love)

Most Harmful Entertainment

‎"The art that is most harmful to Christians is not the art that has scenes with bad language or uncomfortable depictions of evil acts. It is, instead, the art that has us almost involuntarily sympathizing with the wicked. We all know, for instance, that we shouldn’t sympathize with the vigilante murder of a bully, but if the artist has captured our affections with his storytelling and we are sympathizing, literally feeling with, the protagonist even if we know that his actions are morally reprehensible then we have succumbed to worldliness." ~ Bob Bixby (from his review of Les Misérables)

What Do You Desire?

"The sanctified man honestly desires to do the whole will of God. We are always safe when we test the reality of our sanctification against this desire, and we are always in danger if we test it against any other." ~ A. F. Harper

Isolation or Relation?

"Our relatedness brings us into reality, provided we are open to it. For instance, we prefer to avoid those people who annoy us, upset us, rub us the wrong way, push our buttons. Yet these are precisely the people who can help us to grow. Our reaction to them exposes the egoism we try to hide, the fear we suppress, the spite we pretend isn't there. Let's ask ourselves, 'Who is the person I most hate to be around?' We need that very person in order to be real.

Relationships show us what's truly happening in our life, if we have the courage to face it. They reveal this separate, unreal self of ours who wants to isolate us from the rest of the human race.... If we come to church on Sunday with the notion, 'I'm here to be alone with God, I'm here to do my private devotion,' we're living in a dream world. There is no such thing as a solitary Christian."

~ Terence Grant (The Silence of the Unknowing)

Made for Him

"Our hearts have been made to cry out for a love that can come only from our Creator. The cup of our soul will never be filled apart from the love of God." ~ Angela Thomas

Think God's Thougths

"My thoughts aren't adequate, Lord, to enable me to lead Your people through the quagmire of today's society. Nor are the thoughts of the writers, the teachers, the preachers, and the psychologists that bombard me from the pages and the airways. I'm only going to be effective as a spiritual leader as I learn to 'think God's thoughts.' Amen." ~ A. W. Tozer

Resistance Vs. Power

"The degree of resistance is probably proportionate to the amount of power waiting to be unleashed and the satisfaction to be experienced once the "no" breaks through to "yes" and the call is followed." ~ Gregg Levoy (Callings: Finding and Following an Authentic Life)

Discipline Means...

Discipline means doing the right things at the right time for the right reason. ~ Unknown

Let Him Make You

"Our Lord Jesus Christ, the word of God, of his boundless love, became what we are that he might make us what he himself is." ~ Iranaeus

Precious Lord

"When the darkness appears and the night draws near
And the day is past and gone,
At the river I stand,
Guide my feet, hold my hand.
Take my hand, Precious Lord, lead me home."

~ Thomas A. Dorsey

Vows...

“Vows made in storms are forgotten in calm.” ~ Thomas Fuller

Offer Them to God's Service

‎"Let us devote every child to God and His service. Let us stop praying that our children will be saved if we are not willing to offer them for His service. Let us lay each child upon the altar, Let us see this one thing---that they may become worthy and equipped to be set apart for the service of the King. Let your example teach the Church that there are those who, because they love their children most intensely, know nothing better for them than to yield them to the will and the work of their God."

~ Andrew Murray (May 9, 1828 – January 18, 1917) Raising Your Children for Christ

This Beautiful Vision

"The marvelous vision of the peaceable Kingdom, in which all violence has been overcome and all men, women, and children live in loving unity with nature, calls for its realization in our day-to-day lives. Instead of being an escapist dream, it challenges us to anticipate what it promises. Every time we forgive our neighbor, every time we make a child smile, every time we show compassion to a suffering person, every time we arrange a bouquet of flowers, offer care to tame or wild animals, prevent pollution, create beauty in our homes and gardens, and work for peace and justice among peoples and nations we are making the vision come true.

We must remind one another constantly of the vision. Whenever it comes alive in us we will find new energy to live it out, right where we are. Instead of making us escape real life, this beautiful vision gets us involved."

~ Henri Nouwen

Compassion Costs

"Compassion costs. It is easy enough to argue, criticize and condemn, but redemption is costly, and comfort draws from the deep. Brains can argue, but It takes heart to comfort." ~ Samuel Chadwick

Get To Give

"We get to give. We get to give. God has been so good to us that we get to give.” ~ Jesse Middendorf

The Work of Christmas

"When the song of the angels is stilled,
When the star in the sky is gone,
When the kings and princes are home,
When the shepherds are back with their flocks,

The work of Christmas begins:

To find the lost,
To heal the broken,
To feed the hungry,
To release the prisoner,
To rebuild the nations,
To bring peace among people,
To make music in the heart."

~ Howard Thurman (The Mood of Christmas)

Evidence ~ Decisions We Make

"Holiness is the everyday business of every Christian. It evidences itself in the decisions we make and the things we do, hour by hour, day by day." ~ Chuck Colson

Broken People

"God can do some important work with broken people. If you doubt that, just read the Bible." ~ M. Bruce

Focus on God's Truth

"Rather than focus on what I don’t understand … why something happened or why someone did something wrong … I have to trust in God. God is faithful. I may not the the truth about why something happened, but I can know God’s truth." ~ Glynnis Whitwer

Blessing or Curse?

“The almighty dollar bequeathed to a child is an almighty curse. No man has the right to handicap his son with such a burden as great wealth.” ~ Andrew Carnegie

Deny

"It's only when we deny ourselves that we truly discover the joy of following Christ." ~ Kyle Idleman (Not a Fan)

Prayer & Fasting

"Prayer is reaching out after the unseen; fasting is letting go of all that is seen and temporal. Fasting helps express, deepen, confirm the resolution that we are ready to sacrifice anything, even ourselves to attain what we seek for the kingdom of God." ~ Andrew Murray

Hungry for...

"Christian fasting, at its root, is the hunger of a homesickness for God." ~ John Piper (A Hunger for God)

Defeat Worldly Minded Schemes

"Cast down, O Lord, all the forces of cruelty and wrong. Defeat all selfish and worldly-minded schemes, and prosper all that is conceived among us in the spirit of Christ and carried out to the honor of His blessed name. Amen." ~ John Baillie

Grace

"Conduct depends upon light as well as grace. Therefore, holiness of heart does not imply perfect conduct." ~ J. B. Chapman

Press Through

‎"We press through whatever barriers of helplessness, doubt, or fear may be in our way, in order to lift our friends up to His throne, knowing that He alone can meet their need." ~ Nancy Leigh DeMoss

The Mystery of Prayer

“We must begin to believe that God, in the mystery of prayer, has entrusted us with a force that can move the Heavenly world, and can bring its power down to earth.” ~ Andrew Murray

How to Have a Happy Marriage

"People, I've seen this proven over and over: We will be happiest in our marriages when we draw fulfillment from becoming better spouses rather than wasting time and energy wistfully longing for better spouses. Love gives birth to love; despair gives birth to discouragement." ~ Gary Thomas

Absorb Scripture

‎"Absorb the Word by dwelling on it, pondering it, going over it again and again in your mind, considering it from many different angles, until it becomes a part of you." ~ Nancy Leigh DeMoss

Beauty...

‎"Nowhere does the Scripture condemn physical beauty or suggest that the outward appearance does not matter. What is condemned is taking pride in or giving excessive attention to physical beauty while neglecting matters of the heart." ~Nancy Leigh DeMoss

New Year's Resolutions

‎"If we will let God get as close to us as God wants to, we will see the world more like God does, and we will live by God's power a life we could not live by a lifetime of New Year's resolutions." ~ George G. Hunter III

Each Day...

"Pardon, good Lord, all my former sins, and make me every day more zealous and diligent to improve every opportunity of building up my soul in thy faith, love, and obedience. Make thyself always present to my mind, and let thy love fill and rule my soul in all those places, companies, and employments to which thou callest me this day. In all my passage through this world suffer not my heart to be set upon it, but always fix my single eye and my undivided affections on the prize of my high calling." ~ John Wesley

My Resolution Every Year, Every Day...

‎"Let us strive, every year we live, to become more deeply acquainted with Scripture." ~ J.C. Ryle

Success Is...

‎"Success is the sum of small efforts - repeated day in and day out." ~ Robert Collier

A New Year

2013

"A new year – a book of blank pages waiting to be filled. It is easy to fall prey to doubts and questions about unknown days before me. But maybe God’s will for my life is far greater than knowing what path my life will take, what career choice I will make or what job change will occur. Maybe God’s will is simply for me to serve Him and love Him and share His love with others. So simple, yet so complete. There is no need for lofty resolutions, no need for fear – I will begin my days with prayer; I will listen, and God and I will walk together. He will help me through the rest, one day at a time."

~ Author Unknown