If we are going to be used by God...

For thus says the One who is high and lifted up,

    who inhabits eternity, whose name is Holy:

“I dwell in the high and holy place,

    and also with him who is of a contrite and lowly spirit,

to revive the spirit of the lowly,

    and to revive the heart of the contrite.

  -Isaiah 57:15

A great many think because they have been filled once, they are going to be full for all time after; but O, my friends, we are leaky vessels, and have to be kept right under the fountain all the time in order to keep full. If we are going to be used by God we have to be very humble. A man that lives close to God will be the humblest of men. I heard a man say that God always chooses the vessel that is close at hand. Let us keep near Him.   -Dwight Lyman Moody

Cast your burden on the Lord...

Cast your burden on the Lord,

    and he will sustain you;

He will never permit

    the righteous to be moved.

-Psalm 55:22

Give me a stout heart to bear my own burdens. Give me a willing heart to bear the burdens of others. Give me a believing heart to cast all burdens upon Thee, O Lord. -John Baillie

God Leads Us Along...

 

God Leads Us Along

Verse 1 

In shady, green pastures, 

so rich and so sweet,

  God leads His dear children along;

  where the water’s cool flow 

bathes the weary one’s feet,

  God leads His dear children along.

Refrain:

Some through the waters, 

Some through the flood,

Some through the fire, 

but all through the blood;

Some through great sorrow, 

but God gives a song,

in the night season 

and all the day long.

Verse 2 

Sometimes on the mount 

where the sun shines so bright,

  God leads His dear children along;

  sometimes in the valley, 

in darkest of night,

  God leads His dear children along.

Verse 3 

Though sorrows befall us

 and evils oppose,

  God leads His dear children along;

  through grace we can conquer, 

defeat all our foes,

  God leads His dear children along.

"That they may all be one..."

“I do not ask for these only, but also for those who will believe in me through their word, that they may all be one, just as you, Father, are in me, and I in you, that they also may be in us, so that the world may believe that you have sent me. The glory that you have given me I have given to them, that they may be one even as we are one, I in them and you in me, that they may become perfectly one, so that the world may know that you sent me and loved them even as you loved me."  

-John 17:20-23

The Lord your God is in your midst...

The Lord your God is in your midst,

    a mighty one who will save;

he will rejoice over you with gladness;

    he will quiet you by his love;

he will exult over you with loud singing.

  -Zephaniah 3:17

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Blessed is he whose help is the God of Jacob...

Blessed is he whose help is the God of Jacob,

    whose hope is in the Lord his God,

who made heaven and earth,

    the sea, and all that is in them,

who keeps faith forever;

    who executes justice for the oppressed,

    who gives food to the hungry.

The Lord sets the prisoners free;

    the Lord opens the eyes of the blind.

The Lord lifts up those who are bowed down;

    the Lord loves the righteous.

        -Psalm 145:5-8

Christ will be master of the heart...

Christ will be master of the heart, and sin must be mortified. If your life is unholy, then your heart is unchanged, and you are an unsaved person. The Savior will sanctify His people, renew them, give them a hatred of sin, and a love of holiness. The grace that does not make a man better than others is a worthless counterfeit. Christ saves His people, not IN their sins, but FROM their sins. Without holiness, no man shall see the Lord.  —Charles Spurgeon

I am the Good Shepherd...

I am the good shepherd. I know my own and my own know me, just as the Father knows me and I know the Father; and I lay down my life for the sheep. And I have other sheep that are not of this fold. I must bring them also, and they will listen to my voice. So there will be one flock, one shepherd.  

-John 10:14-16

My Lord Jesus Christ, Good Shepherd, who have shown Your very gentle mercy to us unworthy sinners in various physical pains and sufferings, give grace and strength to me, Your little lamb, that in no tribulation or anguish or pain may I turn away from You!  -Francis of Assisi

But even if you should suffer for righteousness' sake...

But even if you should suffer for righteousness' sake, you will be blessed. Have no fear of them, nor be troubled, but in your hearts honor Christ the Lord as holy, always being prepared to make a defense to anyone who asks you for a reason for the hope that is in you; yet do it with gentleness and respect, having a good conscience, so that, when you are slandered, those who revile your good behavior in Christ may be put to shame. For it is better to suffer for doing good, if that should be God's will, than for doing evil.  -1 Peter 3:14-17

The more vigor you need, the more gentleness and kindness you must combine with it... All stiff, harsh goodness is contrary to Jesus.  -François Fénelon

Christ Our Hope in Life and Death

 

Christ Our Hope in Life and Death 

Keith and Kristyn Getty, Matt Papa

What is our hope in life and death?

Christ alone, Christ alone.

What is our only confidence?

That our souls to him belong.

Who holds our days within his hand?

What comes, apart from his command?

And what will keep us to the end?

The love of Christ, in which we stand.

O sing hallelujah!

Our hope springs eternal;

O sing hallelujah!

Now and ever we confess

Christ our hope in life and death.

What truth can calm the troubled soul?

God is good, God is good.

Where is his grace and goodness known?

In our great Redeemer’s blood.

Who holds our faith when fears arise?

Who stands above the stormy trial?

Who sends the waves that bring us nigh

Unto the shore, the rock of Christ?

Unto the grave, what shall we sing?

“Christ, he lives; Christ, he lives!”

And what reward will heaven bring?

Everlasting life with him.

There we will rise to meet the Lord,

Then sin and death will be destroyed,

And we will feast in endless joy,

When Christ is ours forevermore.

The hour has come for you to wake from sleep...

Besides this you know the time, that the hour has come for you to wake from sleep. For salvation is nearer to us now than when we first believed. The night is far gone; the day is at hand. So then let us cast off the works of darkness and put on the armor of light. -Romans 13:11-12

We have the means to evangelize our country; but they are slumbering in the pews of our churches.  -John Stott

In that same hour he rejoiced in the Holy Spirit...

In that same hour he rejoiced in the Holy Spirit and said, “I thank you, Father, Lord of heaven and earth, that you have hidden these things from the wise and understanding and revealed them to little children; yes, Father, for such was your gracious will.   -Luke 10:21

It is almost always a mistake to recruit exceptional people for leadership; look for ordinary Christians—that is mostly what you have anyway. But prize them, value them. And appoint them as leaders.  -Eugene H. Peterson

Prayer is something deeper than words...

O Lord, God of my salvation,

 I cry out day and night before you.

 Let my prayer come before you;

incline your ear to my cry!

-Psalm 88:1-2

Prayer is something deeper than words. It is present in the soul before it has been formulated into words. And it abides in the soul after the last words of prayer have passed over our lips.

Prayer is an attitude of our hearts, an attitude of mind. Prayer is a definite attitude of our hearts toward God, an attitude which He in heaven immediately recognizes as prayer, as an appeal to His heart. Whether it takes the form of words or not, does not mean anything to God, only to ourselves.  -O. Hallesby 

He has delivered us from the domain of darkness...

He has delivered us from the domain of darkness and transferred us to the kingdom of his beloved Son, in whom we have redemption, the forgiveness of sins. -Colossians 1:13-14

When Jesus Christ shed his blood on the cross, it was not the blood of a martyr; or the blood of one man for another; it was the life of God poured out to redeem the world. 

-Oswald Chambers

"For I decided to know nothing among you except Jesus Christ and him crucified."

For I decided to know nothing among you except Jesus Christ and him crucified. And I was with you in weakness and in fear and much trembling, and my speech and my message were not in plausible words of wisdom, but in demonstration of the Spirit and of power, so that your faith might not rest in the wisdom of men but in the power of God. -1 Corinthians 2:2-5

The moment we make up our minds that we are going on with this determination to exalt God overall, we step out of the world’s parade... We shall acquire a new viewpoint; a new and different psychology will be formed within us; a new power will begin to surprise us by its upsurgings and its outgoings. -AW Tozer

He has great tranquility of heart...

But even if you should suffer for righteousness' sake, you will be blessed. Have no fear of them, nor be troubled, but in your hearts honor Christ the Lord as holy, always being prepared to make a defense to anyone who asks you for a reason for the hope that is in you; yet do it with gentleness and respect, having a good conscience, so that, when you are slandered, those who revile your good behavior in Christ may be put to shame. For it is better to suffer for doing good, if that should be God's will, than for doing evil. -1 Peter 3:14-17

He has great tranquility of heart who cares neither for the praises nor the fault-finding of men. He will easily be content and pacified, whose conscience is pure. You are not holier if you are praised, nor the more worthless if you are found fault with. What you are, that you are; neither by word can you be made greater than what you are in the sight of God.   

-Thomas à Kempis

Now when Jesus was at Bethany...

Now when Jesus was at Bethany in the house of Simon the leper, a woman came up to him with an alabaster flask of very expensive ointment, and she poured it on his head as he reclined at table. And when the disciples saw it, they were indignant, saying, “Why this waste? For this could have been sold for a large sum and given to the poor.” But Jesus, aware of this, said to them, “Why do you trouble the woman? For she has done a beautiful thing to me. For you always have the poor with you, but you will not always have me. In pouring this ointment on my body, she has done it to prepare me for burial. Truly, I say to you, wherever this gospel is proclaimed in the whole world, what she has done will also be told in memory of her.” -Matthew 26:6-13 Image

There is a certain extravagance in love. The alabaster phial of perfume was meant to be used drop by drop; it was meant to last for years, perhaps even a life-time; but in a moment of utter devotion, the woman poured it on the head of Jesus. Love does not stop nicely to calculate the less or more; love does not stop to work out how little it can respectively give. With a kind of divine extravagance, love gives everything it has and never counts the cost. Calculation is never any part of love.

-William Barclay

My Soul Will Wait...

 

My Soul Will Wait (Psalm 62)

 Sovereign Grace Music

VERSE 1

When the enemy surrounds and my heart grows faint within

When the darkness overwhelms and my fears are pressing in

I will trust in You, O Lord, in the silence I will wait

I will stand upon Your Word

 

CHORUS

You’re my solid rock and my salvation

My steadfast hope that won’t be shaken

My soul will wait, my soul will wait for You

 

VERSE 2

You’re my stronghold and my shield 

in the midst of every threat

Though the wicked never yield, they will vanish like a breath

Yes, I know the outcome’s sure, Satan’s evil plans will fail

In Your power I’m secure

                    

CHORUS 2

You’re my solid rock and my salvation

My steadfast hope that won’t be shaken

My soul will wait, my soul will wait for You

You’re my comfort when I feel forsaken

My refuge and my sure foundation

My soul will wait, my soul will wait for You

 

VERSE 3

This is love I can’t explain, this is mercy unreserved

Through Your sacrifice so great, 

I have peace that’s undeserved

For the battle has been won, and I fear no shame or loss

Now the sting of death is gone

 

TAG

Pouring out our hearts before You

We will trust in You

Perfect Savior, strong defender

We will trust in You

The facts are that God is not silent...

The facts are that God is not silent, has never been silent. It is the nature of God to speak. The second Person of the Holy Trinity is called the Word. The Bible is the inevitable outcome of God’s continuous speech. It is the infallible declaration of His mind for us to put into our familiar human words. 

-AW Tozer

He has delivered us from the domain of darkness...

He has delivered us from the domain of darkness and transferred us to the kingdom of his beloved Son, in whom we have redemption, the forgiveness of sins. -Colossians 1:13-14

When Jesus Christ shed his blood on the cross, it was not the blood of a martyr; or the blood of one man for another; it was the life of God poured out to redeem the world. -Oswald Chambers

Jesus the Holy One is the humble one...

Have this mind among yourselves, which is yours in Christ Jesus, who, though he was in the form of God, did not count equality with God a thing to be grasped, but emptied himself, by taking the form of a servant, being born in the likeness of men. And being found in human form, he humbled himself by becoming obedient to the point of death, even death on a cross. Therefore God has highly exalted him and bestowed on him the name that is above every name, so that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, in heaven and on earth and under the earth, and every tongue confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father.  -Philippians 2:5-8

Jesus the Holy One is the humble one: the holiest will ever be the humblest. There is none holy but God: we have as much of holiness as we have of God. And according to what we have of God will be our real humility, because humility is nothing but the disappearance of self in the vision that God is all. The holiest will be the humblest. -Andrew Murray

One thing have I asked of the Lord...

One thing have I asked of the Lord,

    that will I seek after:

that I may dwell in the house of the Lord

    all the days of my life,

to gaze upon the beauty of the Lord

    and to inquire in his temple.

For he will hide me in his shelter

    in the day of trouble;

he will conceal me under the cover of his tent;

    he will lift me high upon a rock.

And now my head shall be lifted up

    above my enemies all around me,

and I will offer in his tent

    sacrifices with shouts of joy;

I will sing and make melody to the Lord.

        -Psalm 27:4-6

All who call on God in true faith...

Truly, I say to you, whoever says to this mountain, ‘Be taken up and thrown into the sea,’ and does not doubt in his heart, but believes that what he says will come to pass, it will be done for him. Therefore I tell you, whatever you ask in prayer, believe that you have received it, and it will be yours. -Mark 11:23-24

All who call on God in true faith, earnestly from the heart, will certainly be heard, and will receive what they have asked and desired, although not in the hour or in the measure, or the very thing which they ask; yet they will obtain something greater and more glorious than they had dared to ask.  -Martin Luther

Praise, My Soul, the King of Heaven

 

Praise, My Soul, the King of Heaven 

 Keith and Kristyn Getty, Sing!

Vs 1

Praise, my soul, the King of heaven

To His feet thy tribute bring;

Ransomed, healed, restored, forgiven,

Who like me His praise should sing?

Alleluia, alleluia

Praise the everlasting King

Vs 2

Praise Him for His grace and favor

To our fathers in distress;

Praise Him, still the same forever,

Slow to chide, and swift to bless.

Alleluia, alleluia

Glorious in His faithfulness

Vs 3

Father-like, He tends and spares us;

Well our feeble frame He knows;

In his Hands He gently bears us,

Rescues us from all our foes.

Alleluia, alleluia

Widely as His mercy goes.

Vs 4

Frail as summer’s flow’r we flourish–  

Blows the wind and it is gone.

But, while mortals rise and perish

God endures unchanging on!

Alleluia, alleluia

Praise the High Eternal one!

Vs 5

Angels, help us to adore Him;

Ye behold Him face to face;

Sun and moon, bow down before Him,

Dwellers all in time and space

Alleluia, alleluia

Praise with us the God of grace

We would like Christ’s gifts without Christ’s Cross...

That crowd of Jews would have followed Christ at that moment because He was giving them what they wanted [bread], and they wished to use Him for their plans and dreams and purposes. That attitude to Christ still lingers in men’s minds. We would like Christ’s gifts without Christ’s Cross; we would like to use Christ instead of allowing Him to use us. -William Barclay  Image

But if God so clothes the grass of the field...

And why are you anxious about clothing? Consider the lilies of the field, how they grow: they neither toil nor spin, yet I tell you, even Solomon in all his glory was not arrayed like one of these. But if God so clothes the grass of the field, which today is alive and tomorrow is thrown into the oven, will he not much more clothe you, O you of little faith? -Matthew 6:28-30

The relation of Jesus to His heavenly Father was not a relation to a vague and impersonal goodness, it was not a relation which merely clothed itself in symbolic, personal form. On the contrary, it was a relation to a real Person, whose existence was just as definite and just as much a subject of theoretic knowledge as the existence of the lilies of the field that God had clothed. The very basis of the religion of Jesus was a triumphant belief in the real existence of a personal God.   

-J. Gresham Machen

To be right with God...

“Blessed are you when people hate you and when they exclude you and revile you and spurn your name as evil, on account of the Son of Man! Rejoice in that day, and leap for joy, for behold, your reward is great in heaven; for so their fathers did to the prophets. 

-Luke 6:22-23

To be right with God has often meant to be in trouble with men.  -AW Tozer 

In the way of virtue, there is no standing still...

For this very reason, make every effort to supplement your faith with virtue, and virtue with knowledge, and knowledge with self-control, and self-control with steadfastness, and steadfastness with godliness, and godliness with brotherly affection, and brotherly affection with love.  -2 Peter 1:5-7

In the way of virtue, there is no standing still; anyone who does not daily advance, loses ground. To remain at a standstill is impossible; he that gains not, loses; he that ascends not, descends. If one does not ascend the ladder, one must descend; if one does not conquer, one will be conquered. -François de Sales

I have set the Lord always before me...

I have set the Lord always before me;

    because he is at my right hand, I shall not be shaken.

 Therefore my heart is glad, and my whole being rejoices;

    my flesh also dwells secure.

 For you will not abandon my soul to Sheol,

    or let your holy one see corruption.

 You make known to me the path of life;

    in your presence there is fullness of joy;

    at your right hand are pleasures forevermore.

                  -Psalm 16:8-11

One way to recollect the mind easily in the time of prayer, and preserve it more in tranquillity, is not to let it wander too far at other times. You should keep it strictly in the Presence of God; and, being accustomed to think of Him often, you will find it easy to keep your mind calm in the time of prayer, or at least to recall it from its wanderings.  

-Brother Lawrence

The righteous flourish like the palm tree...

The righteous flourish like the palm tree

    and grow like a cedar in Lebanon.

 They are planted in the house of the Lord;

    they flourish in the courts of our God.

 They still bear fruit in old age;

    they are ever full of sap and green,

 to declare that the Lord is upright;

    he is my rock, and there is no unrighteousness in him.

    -Psalm 92:12-15

Teach me to watch over all my ways...

Come, O children, listen to me;

    I will teach you the fear of the Lord.

 What man is there who desires life

    and loves many days, that he may see good?

 Keep your tongue from evil

    and your lips from speaking deceit.

 Turn away from evil and do good;

    seek peace and pursue it.

       -Psalm 34:11-14

Teach me to watch over all my ways, that I may never be surprised by sudden temptations or a careless spirit, nor ever return to folly and vanity. Set a watch, O Lord, before my mouth, and keep the door of my lips, that I offend not in my tongue, neither against piety nor charity. Teach me to think of nothing but Thee, and what is in order to Thy glory and service; to speak nothing but Thee and Thy glories; and to do nothing but what becomes Thy servant, whom Thy infinite mercy by the graces of Thy Holy Spirit hath sealed up to the day of redemption.

-Jeremy Taylor

Having the eyes of your hearts enlightened...

"I do not cease to give thanks for you, remembering you in my prayers, that the God of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of glory, may give you the Spirit of wisdom and of revelation in the knowledge of him, having the eyes of your hearts enlightened, that you may know what is the hope to which he has called you, what are the riches of his glorious inheritance in the saints, and what is the immeasurable greatness of his power toward us who believe, according to the working of his great might..."  

-Ephesians 1:16-19

Give me an open ear, O God, that I may hear Thy voice calling me to high endeavor.

Give me an open mind, O God, a mind ready to receive and to welcome such new light of knowledge as it is Thy will to reveal to me.

Give me open eyes, O God, eyes quick to discover Thine indwelling in the world which Thou hast made.

Give me open hands, O God, hands ready to share with all who are in want the blessings with which Thou hast enriched my life.   -John Baillie

Strengthen the weak hands...

Strengthen the weak hands,

and make firm the feeble knees.

Say to those who have an anxious heart,

 “Be strong; fear not!

   Behold, your God

    will come with vengeance,

     with the recompense of God.

      He will come and save you.”

        -Isaiah 35:3-4

Amid all our dryness let us never grow discouraged, but go steadily on, patiently waiting the return of better things; let us never be misled to give up any devout practices because of it, but rather, if possible, let us increase our good works, and if we cannot offer liquid preserves to our Bridegroom, let us at least offer Him dried fruit—it is all one to Him, so long as the heart we offer be fully resolved to love Him. 

 -François de Sales

Wait for the Lord...

I believe that I shall look 

upon the goodness of the Lord

    in the land of the living!

 Wait for the Lord; be strong, 

and let your heart take courage;

    wait for the Lord.

 -Psalm 27:13-14

Do not be afraid of silence in your prayer time. It may be that you are meant to listen, not to speak. So wait before the Lord. Wait in stillness. Wait as David waited when he “sat before the Lord.” And in that stillness, assurance will come to you. You will know that you are heard; you will know that your Lord ponders the voice of your humble desires; you will hear quiet words spoken to you yourself, perhaps to your grateful surprise and refreshment.  -Amy Carmichael 

When they saw the star...

When they saw the star, they rejoiced exceedingly with great joy. And going into the house, they saw the child with Mary his mother, and they fell down and worshiped him. Then, opening their treasures, they offered him gifts, gold and frankincense and myrrh. -Matthew 2:10-11

Likewise the Spirit helps us in our weakness...

Likewise the Spirit helps us in our weakness. For we do not know what to pray for as we ought, but the Spirit himself intercedes for us with groanings too deep for words. And he who searches hearts knows what is the mind of the Spirit, because the Spirit intercedes for the saints according to the will of God.  

-Romans 8:26-27

The discussion of prayer is so great a task that it requires the Father to reveal it, His Firstborn Word to teach it, and the Spirit to enable us to think and speak rightly of so great a subject. -Origen

Therefore, since we are surrounded by so great a cloud of witnesses...

Therefore, since we are surrounded by so great a cloud of witnesses, let us also lay aside every weight, and sin which clings so closely, and let us run with endurance the race that is set before us, looking to Jesus, the founder and perfecter of our faith, who for the joy that was set before him endured the cross, despising the shame, and is seated at the right hand of the throne of God.   -Hebrews 12:1-2

We get our moral bearings by looking at God. We must begin with God. We are right when, and only when, we stand in a right position relative to God, and we are wrong so far and so long as we stand in any other position. -AW Tozer

Therefore, since we have been justified by faith...

Therefore, since we have been justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ.  -Romans 5:1

Let a man set his heart only on doing the will of God and he is instantly free. No one can hinder him. If we understand our first and sole duty to consist of loving God supremely and loving everyone, even our enemies, for God’s dear sake, then we can enjoy spiritual tranquillity under every circumstance.  

-AW Tozer

Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ...

Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of mercies and God of all comfort, who comforts us in all our affliction, so that we may be able to comfort those who are in any affliction, with the comfort with which we ourselves are comforted by God. For as we share abundantly in Christ's sufferings, so through Christ we share abundantly in comfort too. -2 Corinthians 1:3-5

A life devoted unto God, looking wholly unto Him in all our actions, and doing all things suitably to His glory, is so far from being dull, and uncomfortable, that it creates new comforts in everything that we do. -William Law

You shall not go out with haste, for the Lord will go before you...

You shall not go out with haste, for the Lord will go before you, and the God of Israel will be your rear guard. —Isaiah 52:12

Security from Yesterday. “…God requires an account of what is past” (Ecclesiastes 3:15). At the end of the year we turn with eagerness to all that God has for the future, and yet anxiety is apt to arise when we remember our yesterdays. Our present enjoyment of God’s grace tends to be lessened by the memory of yesterday’s sins and blunders. But God is the God of our yesterdays, and He allows the memory of them to turn the past into a ministry of spiritual growth for our future. God reminds us of the past to protect us from a very shallow security in the present.

Security for Tomorrow. “…the Lord will go before you….” This is a gracious revelation— that God will send His forces out where we have failed to do so. He will keep watch so that we will not be tripped up again by the same failures, as would undoubtedly happen if He were not our “rear guard.” And God’s hand reaches back to the past, settling all the claims against our conscience.

Security for Today. “You shall not go out with haste….” As we go forth into the coming year, let it not be in the haste of impetuous, forgetful delight, nor with the quickness of impulsive thoughtlessness. But let us go out with the patient power of knowing that the God of Israel will go before us. Our yesterdays hold broken and irreversible things for us. It is true that we have lost opportunities that will never return, but God can transform this destructive anxiety into a constructive thoughtfulness for the future. Let the past rest, but let it rest in the sweet embrace of Christ.

Leave the broken, irreversible past in His hands, and step out into the invincible future with Him. -Oswald Chambers