Love came down at Christmas...

Love came down at Christmas, 

Love all lovely, Love Divine; 

Love was born at Christmas, 

Star and Angels gave the sign. 

Worship we the Godhead,

Love Incarnate, Love Divine; 

Worship we our Jesus: 

But wherewith for sacred sign? 

Love shall be our token, 

Love be yours and love be mine, 

Love to God and all men, 

Love for plea and gift and sign.

 ...Christina Rossetti

Praying for a blessed, peaceful, holy and healthy Christmas for all!

-Pat Dague

“Let God empty you out...

“Let God empty you out that He may save you from becoming spiritually stale, and lead you ever onward. He is always calling us to pass beyond the thing we know into the unknown. A throne is God’s purpose for you; a cross is God’s path for you; faith is God’s plan for you.” ...Alan Redpath 

The Lord Jesus is in the midst of His church...

The Lord Jesus is in the midst of His church. He walks among the golden candlesticks (Rev. 2:13). His promise, "Lo, I am with you always," is as effectual now as it was the morning He prepared breakfast for His disciples at the lake (John 21:9)...

If we know that Jesus is with us, every power will be developed and every grace will be strengthened. We will throw ourselves into the Lord's service with heart, soul, and strength. ...CH Spurgeon

"One of the first lessons of our Lord in His school of prayer...

"One of the first lessons of our Lord in His school of prayer was: Not to be seen of men. Enter your inner chamber; be alone with the Father. When He has thus taught us that the meaning of prayer is personal individual contact with God, He comes with a second lesson: You have need not only of secret solitary, but also of public united prayer. And He gives us a very special promise for the united prayer of two or three who agree in what they ask. As a tree has its root hidden in the ground and its stem growing up into the sunlight, so prayer needs equally for its full development the hidden secrecy in which the soul meets God alone, and the public fellowship with those who find in the name of Jesus their common meeting-place." -Andrew Murray

"If we are really convinced of the truth of our message...

"If we are really convinced of the truth of our message, then we can proclaim it before a world of enemies, then the very difficulty of our task, the very scarcity of our allies becomes an inspiration, then we can even rejoice that God did not place us in an easy age, but in a time of doubt and perplexity and battle. Then, too, we shall not be afraid to call forth other soldiers into the conflict."   -J. Gresham Machen

Once we have felt the power of God's love...

Once we have felt the power of God's love-the way he accepts us as his children, trusts us with the most precious message in the world, and heals us of the ugly effects of sin-we will never be the same. We will want to pass it on to others by responding to them in a way that will draw them closer to that love. ...Floyd McClung Jr.

Modern culture is a mighty force....

Modern culture is a mighty force. It is either subservient to the gospel or else it is the deadliest enemy of the gospel. For making it subservient, religious emotion is not enough, intellectual labor is also necessary. And that labor is being neglected. The Church has turned to easier tasks. And now she is reaping the fruits of her indolence. Now she must battle for her life. -J.Gresham Machen

God is our refuge and strength, a very present help in trouble...

‘God Is Our Refuge’: A Look Back at Billy Graham’s 9/11 Message

1 God is our refuge and strength,

    a very present help in trouble.

2 Therefore we will not fear though the earth gives way,

    though the mountains be moved into the heart of the sea,

3 though its waters roar and foam,

    though the mountains tremble at its swelling. 

4 There is a river whose streams make glad the city of God,

    the holy habitation of the Most High.

5 God is in the midst of her; she shall not be moved;

    God will help her when morning dawns.

6 The nations rage, the kingdoms totter;

    he utters his voice, the earth melts.

7 The Lord of hosts is with us;

    the God of Jacob is our fortress. 

8 Come, behold the works of the Lord,

    how he has brought desolations on the earth.

9 He makes wars cease to the end of the earth;

    he breaks the bow and shatters the spear;

    he burns the chariots with fire.

10 “Be still, and know that I am God.

    I will be exalted among the nations,

    I will be exalted in the earth!”

11 The Lord of hosts is with us;

    the God of Jacob is our fortress.

-Psalm 46

I prayed for faith...

"I prayed for faith, and thought that some day faith would come down and strike me like lightning. But faith did not seem to come. One day I read in the tenth chapter of Romans, ‘Now faith cometh by hearing, and hearing by the Word of God’. I had up to this time closed my Bible, and prayed for faith. I now opened my Bible, and began to study, and faith has been growing ever since."  -Dwight L. Moody

A habit of hearty private prayer...

Of all the evidences of the real work of the Spirit, a habit of hearty private prayer is one of the most satisfactory that can be named. A man may preach from false motives. A man may write books and make fine speeches and seem diligent in good works, and yet be a Judas Iscariot. But a man seldom goes into his closet, and pours out his soul before God in secret, unless he is in earnest. The Lord himself has set his stamp on prayer as the best proof of true conversion.  -J.C. Ryle

Holiness...

Holiness comes not of blood—parents cannot give it to their children: nor yet of the will of the flesh—man cannot produce it in himself: nor yet of the will of man—ministers cannot give it you by baptism. Holiness comes from Christ. It is the result of vital union with Him. It is the fruit of being a living branch of the True Vine.  -J.C. Ryle

There are many of us that are willing to do great things for the Lord...

There are many of us that are willing to do great things for the Lord; but few of us willing to do little things... Look at that wonderful sermon that [Jesus] preached to that lone woman at the well of Samaria. He was tired and weary, but he had time and the heart to preach to her. This is but one of many instances in the life of the Master from which we may learn a precious lesson. If the Son of God had time to preach to one soul, cannot every one of us go and do the same?

...Dwight Lyman Moody 

Fear not because your prayer is stammering...

Fear not because your prayer is stammering, your words feeble, and your language poor. Jesus can understand you. Just as a mother understands the first lispings of her infant, so does the blessed Saviour understand sinners. He can read a sigh, and see a meaning in a groan.    -J. C. Ryle

He is with us on our journeys. He is there when we are home...

He is with us on our journeys. He is there when we are home. He sits with us at our table. He knows about funerals and weddings and commencements and hospitals and jails and unemployment and labor and laughter and rest and tears. He knows because He is with us-He comes to us again and again-until we can say "It's You! It's You!"  -Bob Benson

Faith is a work of God in us...

Faith is a work of God in us, which changes us and brings us to birth anew from God. It kills the old Adam, makes us completely different people in heart, mind, senses, and all our powers, and brings the Holy Spirit with it. -Martin Luther

The Servant Messiah...

The Servant Messiah carries out his ministry in the lives of his ministers. His life is reproduced in their lives, so they also are servants. But this ministry is exercised in and towards the Church, so as to enable the Church itself to carry out the ministry of the Servant. The Messiah came as a Servant; his ministers are servants; and the Church he created is a Servant-Church.  ...Anthony T. Hanson

"Is faith growing or declining as the years go by?

"Is faith growing or declining as the years go by? Does faith stand strong and four square, these days, as iniquity abounds and the love of many grows cold? Does faith maintain its hold, as religion tends to become a mere formality and worldliness increasingly prevails? The enquiry of our Lord, may, with great appropriateness, be ours. 'When the Son of Man cometh,' He asks, 'shall He find faith on the earth?' We believe that He will, and it is ours, in this our day, to see to it that the lamp of faith is trimmed and burning, lest He come who shall come, and that right early." -E.M. Bounds

Teach me to watch over all my ways...

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

There is satisfaction in serving the Lord Jesus...

There is satisfaction in serving the Lord Jesus; sweetness in suffering for His Name; blessing in bearing His reproach; pleasure in becoming a pilgrim; delight in doing His bidding…like Moses of old, with lowly heart and veiled face, we shall walk where He leads, shall be thankful for daily manna, shall endure as seeing Him who is invisible, shall believe Him when every other friend fails. -Victor Raymond Edman

Well therefore may the cross of Christ be the glory of Christians...

Wonder not then, that all the true followers of Christ, the saints of every age, have so gloried in the cross of Christ, have imputed such great things to it, have desired nothing so much as to be partakers of it, to live in constant union with it. It is because His sufferings, His death and cross, were the fulness of His victory over all the works of the devil. Not an evil in flesh and blood, not a misery of life, not a chain of death, not a power of hell and darkness, but were all baffled, broken, and overcome by the process of a suffering and dying Christ. Well therefore may the cross of Christ be the glory of Christians. ...William Law

In waiting upon God...

In praying, we are often occupied with ourselves, with our own needs, and our own efforts in the presentation of them. In waiting upon God, the first thought is of the God upon whom we wait. God longs to reveal Himself, to fill us with Himself. Waiting on God gives Him time in His own way and divine power to come to us… Be still before Him, and allow His Holy Spirit to waken and stir up in your soul the child-like disposition of absolute dependence and confident expectation. Wait on God till you know you have met Him; prayer will then become so different. And when you are praying, let there be intervals of silence, reverent stillness of soul, in which you yield yourself to God, in case He may have aught He wishes to teach you or to work in you. -Andrew Murray

No man is greater than his prayer life...

No man is greater than his prayer life. The pastor who is not praying is playing; the people who are not praying are straying. We have many organizers, but few agonizers; many players and payers, few pray-ers; many singers, few clingers; lots of pastors, few wrestlers; many fears, few tears; much fashion, little passion; many interferers, few intercessors; many writers, but few fighters. Failing here, we fail everywhere. -Leonard Ravenhill

A prayerless church member is a hindrance...

A prayerless church member is a hindrance. He is in the body like a rotting bone or a decayed tooth. Before long, since he does not contribute to the benefit of his brethren, he will become a danger and a sorrow to them. Neglect of private prayer is the locust which devours the strength of the church.  

-Charles H. Spurgeon