But God chose what is foolish in the world to shame the wise...

For consider your calling, brothers: not many of you were wise according to worldly standards, not many were powerful, not many were of noble birth. But God chose what is foolish in the world to shame the wise; God chose what is weak in the world to shame the strong; God chose what is low and despised in the world, even things that are not, to bring to nothing things that are, so that no human being might boast in the presence of God. And because of him you are in Christ Jesus, who became to us wisdom from God, righteousness and sanctification and redemption, so that, as it is written, “Let the one who boasts, boast in the Lord.” -1 Corinthians 1:26-31

The life of holiness is the life of faith in which the believer, with a deepening knowledge of his own sin and helplessness apart from Christ, increasingly casts himself upon the Lord, and seeks the power of the Spirit and the wisdom and comfort of the Bible to battle against the world, the flesh, and the devil.  

-Edmund P. Clowney

He is the radiance of the glory of God...

Long ago, at many times and in many ways, God spoke to our fathers by the prophets, but in these last days he has spoken to us by his Son, whom he appointed the heir of all things, through whom also he created the world. He is the radiance of the glory of God and the exact imprint of his nature, and he upholds the universe by the word of his power. After making purification for sins, he sat down at the right hand of the Majesty on high, having become as much superior to angels as the name he has inherited is more excellent than theirs. -Hebrews 1:1-4 Image

Whoever keeps his commandments abides in God...

Beloved, if our heart does not condemn us, we have confidence before God; and whatever we ask we receive from him, because we keep his commandments and do what pleases him. And this is his commandment, that we believe in the name of his Son Jesus Christ and love one another, just as he has commanded us. Whoever keeps his commandments abides in God, and God in him. And by this we know that he abides in us, by the Spirit whom he has given us. -1 John 3:21-24

Accustom yourself then by degrees thus to worship Him, to beg His grace, to offer Him your heart from time to time, in the midst of your business, even every moment, if you can. Do not always scrupulously confine yourself to certain rules, or particular forms of devotion, but act with a general confidence in God, with love and humility.   -Brother Lawrence

I Will Sing of My Redeemer

 

I Will Sing of My Redeemer 

 Fernando Ortega

1. I will sing of my Redeemer,

And His wondrous love to me;

On the cruel cross He suffered,

From the curse to set me free.

 

Sing, oh, sing of my Redeemer,

With His blood He purchased me,

On the cross He sealed my pardon,

 Paid the debt, and made me free.

2. I will tell the wondrous story,

How my lost estate to save,

In His boundless love and mercy,

He the ransom freely gave.

3. I will praise my dear Redeemer,

His triumphant pow’r I’ll tell,

How the victory He giveth

Over sin, and death, and hell.

“Why are you afraid, O you of little faith?”

And when he got into the boat, his disciples followed him. And behold, there arose a great storm on the sea, so that the boat was being swamped by the waves; but he was asleep. And they went and woke him, saying, “Save us, Lord; we are perishing.” And he said to them, “Why are you afraid, O you of little faith?” Then he rose and rebuked the winds and the sea, and there was a great calm. And the men marveled, saying, “What sort of man is this, that even winds and sea obey him?” -Matthew 8:23-27

Fear not the storm, it brings healing in its wings, and when Jesus is with you in the vessel, the tempest only hastens the ship to its desired haven.  -CH Spurgeon Image

As you come to him, a living stone...

So put away all malice and all deceit and hypocrisy and envy and all slander. Like newborn infants, long for the pure spiritual milk, that by it you may grow up into salvation— if indeed you have tasted that the Lord is good.

 As you come to him, a living stone rejected by men but in the sight of God chosen and precious, you yourselves like living stones are being built up as a spiritual house, to be a holy priesthood, to offer spiritual sacrifices acceptable to God through Jesus Christ. -1 Peter 2:1-5

Wherever souls are being tried and ripened, in whatever commonplace and homely ways—there God is hewing out the pillars for his temple.   -Phillips Brooks Image

He will swallow up death forever...

He will swallow up death forever;

and the Lord God will wipe away tears from all faces,

and the reproach of his people 

he will take away from all the earth,

for the Lord has spoken.

-Isaiah 25:8

The valley of the shadow of death holds no darkness for the child of God. There must be light, else there could be no shadow. Jesus is the light. He has overcome death.   

-D.L. Moody

But we have the mind of Christ...

Now we have received not the spirit of the world, but the Spirit who is from God, that we might understand the things freely given us by God. And we impart this in words not taught by human wisdom but taught by the Spirit, interpreting spiritual truths to those who are spiritual.

    The natural person does not accept the things of the Spirit of God, for they are folly to him, and he is not able to understand them because they are spiritually discerned.  The spiritual person judges all things, but is himself to be judged by no one. “For who has understood the mind of the Lord so as to instruct him?” But we have the mind of Christ. -1 Corinthians 2:12-16

The guidance of the Spirit is generally by gentle suggestions or drawings, and not in violent pushes; and it requires great childlikeness of heart to be faithful to it. The secret of being made willing lies in a definite giving up of our will. As soon as we put our will on to God’s side, He immediately takes possession of it and begins to work in us to will and to do of His good pleasure.  -Hannah Whitall Smith

“Be still, and know that I am God."

“Be still, and know that I am God.

I will be exalted among the nations,

I will be exalted in the earth!”

-Psalm 46:10

How can you expect God to speak in that gentle and inward voice which melts the soul, when you are making so much noise with your rapid reflections? Be silent, and God will speak again.  -François Fénelon

God knows our heart better than we ever can...

For my thoughts are not your thoughts,

 neither are your ways my ways, declares the Lord.

For as the heavens are higher than the earth,

 so are my ways higher than your ways

 and my thoughts than your thoughts.

  -Isaiah 55:8-9

God knows our heart better than we ever can. He is the only one who can separate the true from the false; he alone can purify the motives of the heart. But he does not come uninvited. If chambers of our heart have never experienced the healing touch, perhaps it is because we have not welcomed the divine scrutiny.   -Richard J. Foster

I Set My Hope on Jesus

 

I Set My Hope on Jesus (Come Thou Fount of Every Blessing) 

 Matt Boswell, Matt Papa, Sing!

Verse 1

When this life of trials tests my faith,

I set my hope on Jesus.

When the questions come and doubts remain,

I set my hope on Jesus.

For the deepest wounds that time won't heal,

there's a joy that runs still deeper.

There's a truth that's more than all I feel;

I set my hope on Jesus.

Chorus

I set my hope on Jesus,

my rock, my only trust,

who set His heart upon me first;

I set my hope on Jesus.

Verse 2

Though I falter in this war with sin,

I set my hope on Jesus.

When I fail the fight and sink within,

I set my hope on Jesus.

Though the shame would drown me in its sea,

and I dread the waves of justice,

I will cast my life on Calvary;

I set my hope on Jesus.

Verse 3

Though the world call me to leave my Lord,

I set my hope on Jesus.

Though it offer all its vain rewards,

I set my hope on Jesus.

Though this heart of mine be prone to stray,

give me grace enough to finish.

Till I worship on that final day,

I set my hope on Jesus.

Come Thou Fount of Every Blessing — Verse 3

Oh, to grace how great a debtor

daily I'm constrained to be!

Let Thy goodness, like a fetter,

bind my wand'ring heart to Thee.

Prone to wander, Lord, I feel it,

prone to leave the God I love;

here's my heart, Lord,

take and seal it,

seal it for Thy courts above!

Only those who try to live near God...

And the Lord said, “Who then is the faithful and wise manager, whom his master will set over his household, to give them their portion of food at the proper time? Blessed is that servant whom his master will find so doing when he comes. Truly, I say to you, he will set him over all his possessions. -Luke 12:42-44

Only those who try to live near God and have formed the habit of faithfulness to Him in the small things of our daily life, can hope in times of need for that special light which shows us our path. To do as well as we can the job immediately before us, is the way to learn what we ought to do next.  -Evelyn Underhill

Thou only knowest what we need...

Therefore do not be anxious, saying, ‘What shall we eat?’ or ‘What shall we drink?’ or ‘What shall we wear?’ For the Gentiles seek after all these things, and your heavenly Father knows that you need them all. -Matthew 6:31-32

Lord, I know not what I ought to ask of Thee; Thou only knowest what we need; Thou lovest me better than I know how to love myself. O Father! give to Thy child that which he himself knows not how to ask... Teach me to pray; pray Thyself in me.  -François Fénelon

Therefore I tell you, do not be anxious about your life...

Therefore I tell you, do not be anxious about your life, what you will eat or what you will drink, nor about your body, what you will put on. Is not life more than food, and the body more than clothing? Look at the birds of the air: they neither sow nor reap nor gather into barns, and yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not of more value than they? And which of you by being anxious can add a single hour to his span of life? 

-Matthew 6:25-27

In laying off your burdens, therefore, the first one you must get rid of is yourself. You must hand yourself and all your inward experience, your temptations, your temperament, your frames and feelings, all over into the care and keeping of your God, and leave them there. He made you and therefore He understands you and knows how to manage you, and you must trust Him to do it. -Hannah Whitall Smith

How sweet are your words to my taste...

      How sweet are your words to my taste,

    sweeter than honey to my mouth!

    Through your precepts I get understanding;

    therefore I hate every false way.

Your word is a lamp to my feet

    and a light to my path.

  -Psalm 119:103-105

There is not in the world a kind of life more sweet and delightful than that of a continual walk with God. Those only can comprehend it who practice and experience it; yet I do not advise you to do it from that motive.  -Brother Lawrence

The redeemed soul possesses all things in Christ...

God chose what is low and despised in the world, even things that are not, to bring to nothing things that are, so that no human being might boast in the presence of God.  And because of him you are in Christ Jesus, who became to us wisdom from God, righteousness and sanctification and redemption, so that, as it is written, “Let the one who boasts, boast in the Lord.”    -1 Corinthians 1:28-31 Image

The redeemed soul possesses all things in Christ. He is a complete Savior. He lacks nothing. Having Him we are saved to the uttermost; without Him we are utterly lost and undone.  -Abraham Kuyper

Do not be conformed to this world...

I appeal to you therefore, brothers, by the mercies of God, to present your bodies as a living sacrifice, holy and acceptable to God, which is your spiritual worship. Do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewal of your mind, that by testing you may discern what is the will of God, what is good and acceptable and perfect. -Romans 12:1-2 Image

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

Psalm 150 (Praise the Lord)

 

 Psalm 150 (Praise the Lord) 

 Matt Boswell and Matt Papa

You made the starry hosts

You traced the mountain peaks

You paint the evening sky with wonders

The earth, it is Your throne

From desert to the sea

All nature testifies Your splendor

CHORUS

Praise the Lord

Praise the Lord

Sing His greatness

All creation

Praise the Lord

Raise your voice

You heights and all you depths

From furthest east to west

Let everything that has breath

Praise the Lord

You reached into the dust

In love, Your Spirit breathed

You formed us in Your very likeness

To know Your wondrous works

To tell Your mighty deeds

To join the everlasting chorus

CHORUS

Let symphonies resound

Let drums and choirs ring out

All heaven hear the sound of worship

Let every nation bring

Its honors to the King

A roar of harmonies eternal

FINAL CHORUS

Praise the Lord

Praise the Lord

Sing His greatness

All creation

Praise the Lord

Raise your voice

You heights and all you depths

From furthest east to west

You distant burning stars

All creatures near and far

From sky to sea to shore

Sing out forevermore

Let everything that has breath

Praise the Lord

You crown the year with your bounty...

You crown the year with your bounty;

    your wagon tracks overflow with abundance.

The pastures of the wilderness overflow,

    the hills gird themselves with joy,

the meadows clothe themselves with flocks,

    the valleys deck themselves with grain,

    they shout and sing together for joy.

   -Psalm 65:11-13

Such is the confidence that we have through Christ toward God...

Such is the confidence that we have through Christ toward God. Not that we are sufficient in ourselves to claim anything as coming from us, but our sufficiency is from God, who has made us sufficient to be ministers of a new covenant, not of the letter but of the Spirit. For the letter kills, but the Spirit gives life. -2 Corinthian 3:4-6

A satisfying prayer life...elevates and purifies every act of body and mind and integrates the entire personality into a single spiritual unit. Such prayer can only be the result of a life lived in the Spirit...

In the long pull we pray only as well as we live.  -A.W. Tozer

"How vast are the possibilities of prayer!

"How vast are the possibilities of prayer! How wide is its reach! What great things are accomplished by this divinely appointed means of grace! It lays its hand on Almighty God and moves Him to do what He would not otherwise do if prayer was not offered. It brings things to pass which would never otherwise occur. The story of prayer is the story of great achievements. Prayer is a wonderful power placed by Almighty God in the hands of His saints, which may be used to accomplish great purposes and to achieve unusual results. Prayer reaches to everything, takes in all things great and small which are promised by God to the children of men. The only limits to prayer are the promises of God and His ability to fulfill those promises. 'Open thy mouth wide and I will fill it.'" 

-E.M. Bounds

Only let your manner of life be worthy of the gospel of Christ...

Only let your manner of life be worthy of the gospel of Christ, so that whether I come and see you or am absent, I may hear of you that you are standing firm in one spirit, with one mind striving side by side for the faith of the gospel...  

-Philippians 1:27

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

His divine power has granted to us all things that pertain to life and godliness...

His divine power has granted to us all things that pertain to life and godliness, through the knowledge of him who called us to his own glory and excellence, by which he has granted to us his precious and very great promises, so that through them you may become partakers of the divine nature, having escaped from the corruption that is in the world because of sinful desire. 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. For if these qualities are yours and are increasing, they keep you from being ineffective or unfruitful in the knowledge of our Lord Jesus Christ. -2 Peter 1:3-8 Image

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

I will turn the darkness before them into light...

And I will lead the blind

    in a way that they do not know,

in paths that they have not known

    I will guide them.

I will turn the darkness before them into light,

    the rough places into level ground.

These are the things I do,

    and I do not forsake them.

         -Isaiah 42:16

In perplexities,—when we cannot understand what is going on around us—cannot tell whither events are tending—cannot tell what to do, because we cannot see into or through the matter before us, —let us be calmed and steadied and made patient by the thought that what is hidden from us is not hidden from Him.   -Frances Ridley Havergal

God Leads Us Along

 

God Leads Us Along 

Song Offering

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.

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.

Refrain

3.  Though sorrows befall us and Satan oppose,

God leads His dear children along;

Through grace we can conquer, defeat all our foes,

God leads His dear children along.

Refrain

All Scripture is breathed out by God...

All Scripture is breathed out by God and profitable for teaching, for reproof, for correction, and for training in righteousness, that the man of God may be complete, equipped for every good work. -2 Timothy 3:16-17

As in paradise, God walks in the Holy Scriptures, seeking man.  -Ambrose

O Lord, we wait for you...

In the path of your judgments,

    O Lord, we wait for you;

your name and remembrance

    are the desire of our soul.

My soul yearns for you in the night;

    my spirit within me earnestly seeks you.

For when your judgments are in the earth,

    the inhabitants of the world learn righteousness.

-Isaiah 26:8-9

Such is our dependence upon God that we are obliged not only to do everything for His sake, but also to seek from Him the very power. This happy necessity of having recourse to Him in all our wants, instead of being grievous to us, should be our greatest consolation. What a happiness is it, that we are allowed to speak to Him with confidence, to open our hearts and hold familiar conversation with him by prayer! He Himself invites us to it. -François Fénelon Image

All your works shall give thanks to you, O Lord...

All your works shall give thanks to you, O Lord,

    and all your saints shall bless you!

They shall speak of the glory of your kingdom

    and tell of your power,

to make known to the children of man your mighty deeds,

    and the glorious splendor of your kingdom.

Your kingdom is an everlasting kingdom,

    and your dominion endures throughout all generations.

 -Psalm 145:10-13

We need never shout across the spaces to an absent God. He is nearer than our own soul, closer than our most secret thoughts. -AW Tozer Image

By this we know love, that he laid down his life for us...

By this we know love, that he laid down his life for us, and we ought to lay down our lives for the brothers. But if anyone has the world's goods and sees his brother in need, yet closes his heart against him, how does God's love abide in him? Little children, let us not love in word or talk but in deed and in truth. -1 John 3:16-18

Give us love, sweetest of all gifts, which knows no enemy. Give us in our hearts pure love, born of your love to us, that we may love others as you love us. O most loving Father of Jesus Christ, from whom flows all love, let our hearts, frozen in sin, cold to you and cold to others, be warmed by this divine fire. So help and bless us in your Son. -Anselm

"And to know the love of Christ that surpasses knowledge..."

For this reason I bow my knees before the Father, from whom every family in heaven and on earth is named, that according to the riches of his glory he may grant you to be strengthened with power through his Spirit in your inner being, so that Christ may dwell in your hearts through faith—that you, being rooted and grounded in love, may have strength to comprehend with all the saints what is the breadth and length and height and depth, and to know the love of Christ that surpasses knowledge, that you may be filled with all the fullness of God.   -Ephesians 3:14-19 Image

Paul says: “The love of Christ passeth knowledge.” It is like the blue sky into which you may see clearly, but the real vastness of which you cannot measure.   -Robert Murray M’Cheyne

Gracious is the Lord, and righteous...

Gracious is the Lord, and righteous;

    our God is merciful.

The Lord preserves the simple;

    when I was brought low, he saved me.

Return, O my soul, to your rest;

    for the Lord has dealt bountifully with you.

       -Psalm 116:5-7

God is our refuge and strength..."Psalm 46"

"Psalm 46" 

The Corner Room 

 God is our refuge and strength,

A very present help in trouble.

Therefore we will not fear though the earth gives way,

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

Though its waters roar and foam,

Though the mountains tremble at its swelling.

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

The holy habitation of the Most High.

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

God will help her when morning dawns.

The nations rage, the kingdoms totter;

He utters his voice, the earth melts.

The Lord of hosts is with us;

The God of Jacob is our fortress.

Come, behold the works of the Lord,

How he has brought desolations on the earth.

He makes wars cease to the end of the earth;

He breaks the bow and shatters the spear;

He burns the chariots with fire.

“Be still, and know that I am God.

I will be exalted among the nations,

I will be exalted in the earth!”

The Lord of hosts is with us;

The God of Jacob is our fortress.

Humble yourselves, therefore...

Humble yourselves, therefore, under the mighty hand of God so that at the proper time he may exalt you, casting all your anxieties on him, because he cares for you. Be sober-minded; be watchful. Your adversary the devil prowls around like a roaring lion, seeking someone to devour. Resist him, firm in your faith, knowing that the same kinds of suffering are being experienced by your brotherhood throughout the world. And after you have suffered a little while, the God of all grace, who has called you to his eternal glory in Christ, will himself restore, confirm, strengthen, and establish you. To him be the dominion forever and ever. Amen.   -1 Peter 5:6-11

If you think to build a high house of virtues, lay first a deep foundation of humility.  -Augustine

Blessed is the one whose transgression is forgiven...

Blessed is the one whose transgression is forgiven,

    whose sin is covered.

Blessed is the man against whom the Lord counts no iniquity,

    and in whose spirit there is no deceit.

For when I kept silent, my bones wasted away

    through my groaning all day long.

For day and night your hand was heavy upon me;

    my strength was dried up as by the heat of summer. 

I acknowledged my sin to you,

    and I did not cover my iniquity;

I said, “I will confess my transgressions to the Lord,”

    and you forgave the iniquity of my sin. 

           -Psalm 32:1-5

The grandest fact under heaven is this—that Christ by his precious blood does actually put away sin, and that God, for Christ’s sake, dealing with men on terms of divine mercy, forgives the guilty and justifies them, not according to anything that he sees in them or foresees will be in them, but according to the riches of his mercy which lie in his own heart.  -CH Spurgeon

In this you rejoice...

In this you rejoice, though now for a little while, if necessary, you have been grieved by various trials, so that the tested genuineness of your faith—more precious than gold that perishes though it is tested by fire—may be found to result in praise and glory and honor at the revelation of Jesus Christ. 

-1 Peter 1:6-7

Faith always means helplessness. In many cases it means: I can do it with a great deal of trouble, but another can do it better. But in most cases it is utter helplessness; another must do it for me. And that is the secret of the spiritual life.  

-Andrew Murray Image

Blessed is the man who remains steadfast under trial...

Blessed is the man who remains steadfast under trial, for when he has stood the test he will receive the crown of life, which God has promised to those who love him. -James 1:12

God never strikes but in love, nor takes away save to give again. I pray Him to comfort you, to preserve your health, and to turn your heart wholly to Himself. Blessed is he who lives in faith, trusts to none save God, and uses this world as though he were already beyond it.    -François Fénelon

Therefore, as you received Christ Jesus the Lord...

Therefore, as you received Christ Jesus the Lord, so walk in him, rooted and built up in him and established in the faith, just as you were taught, abounding in thanksgiving.  See to it that no one takes you captive by philosophy and empty deceit, according to human tradition, according to the elemental spirits of the world, and not according to Christ. For in him the whole fullness of deity dwells bodily, and you have been filled in him, who is the head of all rule and authority. 

-Colossians 2:6-10

Let us therefore without ceasing hold fast by our hope and by the earnest of our righteousness, which is Jesus Christ who took up our sins in His own body upon the tree, who did no sin, neither was guile found in His mouth, but for our sakes He endured all things, that we might live in Him. Let us therefore become imitators of His endurance; and if we should suffer for His name’s sake, let us glorify Him. For He gave this example to us in His own person, and we believed this.   -Polycarp

“O Lord, Thou knowest.”

But, as it is written,

 “What no eye has seen, nor ear heard,

     nor the heart of man imagined,

 what God has prepared for those who love him”—

   these things God has revealed to us through the Spirit. For the Spirit searches everything, even the depths of God. For who knows a person's thoughts except the spirit of that person, which is in him? So also no one comprehends the thoughts of God except the Spirit of God.  -1 Corinthians 2:9-11

God will not hold us responsible to understand the mysteries of election, predestination, and the divine sovereignty. The best and safest way to deal with these truths is to raise our eyes to God and in deepest reverence say, “O Lord, Thou knowest.” Those things belong to the deep and mysterious Profound of God’s omniscience. Prying into them may make theologians, but it will never make saints.   

-A.W. Tozer

Jesus, Keep Me Near the Cross

 

 Jesus, Keep Me Near the Cross

 Keith and Kristyn Getty, Sandra McCracken 

Vs 1

Jesus, keep me near the cross

There a precious fountain

Free to all, a healing stream,

Flows from Calv’ry’s mountain

Chorus

In the cross, in the cross

Be my glory ever

Till my ransomed soul shall find

Rest beyond the river

Vs 2

Near the cross my trembling soul

Heard the Savior calling

There He died that I may know

Grace and peace abounding

Vs 3

Near the cross! O Lamb of God,

Bring its scenes before me

Help me walk from day to day

With its shadow o’er me

Vs 4

Near the cross! My heart will stay

Hoping, trusting ever

Till my eyes shall see the face

Of my blessed Savior

The Christian is the real radical of our generation...

Jesus said to him, “I am the way, and the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me. If you had known me, you would have known my Father also. From now on you do know him and have seen him.” John 14:6-7

The Christian is the real radical of our generation, for he stands against the monolithic, modern concept of truth as relative. But too often, instead of being the radical, standing against the shifting sands of relativism, he subsides into merely maintaining the status quo. If it is true that evil is evil, that God hates it to the point of the cross, and that there is a moral law fixed in what God is in Himself, then Christians should be the first into the field against what is wrong.   -Francis A. Schaeffer

Therefore you also must be ready...

Therefore, stay awake, for you do not know on what day your Lord is coming. But know this, that if the master of the house had known in what part of the night the thief was coming, he would have stayed awake and would not have let his house be broken into. Therefore you also must be ready, for the Son of Man is coming at an hour you do not expect.   -Matthew 24:42-44

Fear not the storm...

And when he got into the boat, his disciples followed him. And behold, there arose a great storm on the sea, so that the boat was being swamped by the waves; but he was asleep. And they went and woke him, saying, “Save us, Lord; we are perishing.” And he said to them, “Why are you afraid, O you of little faith?” Then he rose and rebuked the winds and the sea, and there was a great calm. And the men marveled, saying, “What sort of man is this, that even winds and sea obey him?”   -Matthew 8:23-27 Image

Fear not the storm, it brings healing in its wings, and when Jesus is with you in the vessel, the tempest only hastens the ship to its desired haven.   -CH Spurgeon

And this is the confidence that we have toward him...

And this is the confidence that we have toward him, that if we ask anything according to his will he hears us. And if we know that he hears us in whatever we ask, we know that we have the requests that we have asked of him. -1 John 5:14-15

God will either give you what you ask, or something far better.

-Robert Murray M’Cheyne

But let all who take refuge in you rejoice...

But let all who take refuge in you rejoice;

    let them ever sing for joy,

and spread your protection over them,

    that those who love your name may exult in you.

For you bless the righteous, O Lord;

    you cover him with favor as with a shield.

-Psalm 5:11-12

The blessed and inviting truth is that God is the most winsome of all beings and in our worship of Him we should find unspeakable pleasure.   -A.W. Tozer

You did not choose me, but I chose you...

You did not choose me, but I chose you and appointed you that you should go and bear fruit and that your fruit should abide, so that whatever you ask the Father in my name, he may give it to you. -John 15:16 Image

“A soul filled with large thoughts of the Vine will be a strong branch, and will abide confidently in Him. Be much occupied with Jesus, and believe much in Him, as the True Vine.”  ―Andrew Murray