Grace Gems for NOVEMBER, 2016
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He may be your emperor - but he is my father!
(J.C. Pittman, "Bible Truths Illustrated" 1917)
A Roman emperor, after a successful military campaign, was returning in triumph to Rome. Great throngs filled the city to welcome the mighty hero. While passing through one of the crowded thoroughfares, a little girl, wild with joy, dashed toward his chariot.
The officer stopped her and said: "That is the chariot of the emperor, and you must not attempt to reach him."
The little one replied: "He may be your emperor - but he is my father!" In a moment she was not only in the chariot, but also in the arms of her father.
It is even so with true believers. While God is the Emperor of all men - He is that, and infinitely more, to us - He is our Father!
"This, then, is how you should pray: Our Father in Heaven . . ." Matthew 6:9~ ~ ~ ~
He who counts the stars!
(Charles Spurgeon)
"He heals the brokenhearted, binding up their wounds. He counts the stars and calls them all by name. How great is our Lord! His power is absolute! His understanding is beyond comprehension!" Psalm 147:3-5
He who counts the stars and calls them by their names, is in no danger of forgetting His own children! He knows your case as thoroughly as if you were the only creature He ever made, or the only saint He ever loved!
It is most important for us to learn, that the smallest trifles are as much arranged by the God of Providence, as the most startling events. He who counts the stars - has also numbered the hairs of our heads. Our lives and deaths are predestined - but so, also, are our sitting down and our rising up!
"Are not two sparrows sold for a penny? Yet not one of them will fall to the ground apart from the will of your Father. And even the very hairs of your head are all numbered!" Matthew 10:29-30~ ~ ~ ~
We shall only sink into the everlasting arms!
(Author unknown)
"The eternal God is your refuge - and underneath are the everlasting arms!" Deuteronomy 33:27
If we are held in the clasp of the everlasting arms - we need not fear that we shall ever be separated from the enfolding. "Underneath." They are always underneath us. No matter how low we sink in weakness, in fainting, in pain, in sorrow - we never can sink below these everlasting arms. We can never drop out of their clasp!
God's love is deeper than human sorrow. Sorrow is very deep, but still and forever, in the greatest grief - these arms of Divine love are underneath the believing sufferer.
God's love is deeper than death. When every earthly support is gone from beneath us, when every human arm unclasps and every face fades from before our eyes, and we sink away into what seems darkness and the shadow of death - we shall only sink into the everlasting arms!
Drop your plummet into the deepest sea of sorrow, and at the end of your soundings: "Underneath are the everlasting arms!"What abiding consolation! What all-embracing, never-failing strength!
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Others may, you cannot!
(George Watson, 1845-1924)
"If anyone wishes to come after Me, he must deny himself, and take up his cross and follow Me. For whoever wishes to save his life will lose it; but whoever loses his life for My sake will find it." Matthew 16:24-25
If God has called you to be truly like Jesus - He will draw you into a life of crucifixion and humility. He will put on you such demands of obedience, that you will not be allowed to follow other Christians. In many ways, He seems to let other believers do things which He will not let you do.
Others who seem to be very religious and useful, may push themselves up to be admired, and scheme to carry out their plans - but you cannot. If you attempt it - you will meet with such failure and rebuke from the Lord as to make you sorely penitent.
Others can brag about themselves, their work, their successes - but the Holy Spirit will not allow you to do any such thing. If you begin to do so - He will lead you into some deep mortification that will make you despise yourself and all your good works.
Others will be allowed to succeed in making great sums of money, or in having a legacy left to them, or in having luxuries - but God may supply you only on a day-to-day basis, because He wants you to have something far better than gold - a helpless dependence on Him and His unseen treasury.
The Lord may let others be honored and put forward - while keeping you hidden in obscurity, because He wants to produce some choice, fragrant fruit in you, which can only be produced in the shade.
God may let others be great - but He will keep you small. He will let others do a work for Him and get the credit - but He will make you work and toil without others knowing how much you are doing. Then, to make your work still more precious, He will let others get the credit for the work which you have done. This to teach you the message of the Cross and humility.
The Holy Spirit will put a strict watch on you, and with a jealous love rebuke you for careless words and feelings, or for wasting your time - which other Christians never seem distressed over.
So make up your mind that God is an infinite Sovereign and has a right to do as He pleases with His own - and that He may not explain to you a thousand things which may puzzle your reason in His dealings with you.
If you absolutely give yourself to be His slave, He will wrap you up in a jealous love and let other Christian people say and do many things which you cannot.
However, know this great secret of the Kingdom: When you are so completely possessed with the living God that you are, in your secret heart, pleased and delighted over this peculiar, personal, private, jealous guardianship and management of the Holy Spirit over your life - then you will have found the vestibule of Heaven, the high calling of God.~ ~ ~ ~
Character
(John MacDuff)
Character is the product of daily, hourly actions, words and thoughts:
daily forgiveness,
daily unselfishness,
daily kindnesses,
daily sympathies,
daily charities,
daily sacrifices for the good of others,
daily struggles against temptation,
daily submissiveness under trial.
It is these, like the blending of colors in a picture - which constitute a person's character.~ ~ ~ ~
Me last!
(J.C. Pittman, "Bible Truths Illustrated" 1917)
Among the truly popular girls I have known, one stands out preeminently. I never knew one person who did not find her just lovable.
Once during her Sophomore year in high school, a group of her chums were discussing mottoes and naming their favorites. "Hitch your wagon to a star!" and "To the stars through difficulties!" were favored.
Turning to Jessie, someone said, "Haven't you a motto?"
"Yes," she said; "it is this: 'Me last!'"
"What do you mean by that?" the others asked.
"That's my motto, and I think it is a good one."
"But what does it mean?"
Then Jessie explained: "It means just what it says - 'me last.' That is, I am to think of myself last. I am to put everyone else ahead of me, and then can look after myself when everybody else is taken care of."
The girls saw, and they knew that right there lay the secret of her popularity.
"Jesus called the Twelve and said: If anyone wants to be first - he must be the very last, and the servant of all." Mark 9:35
"Jesus got up from the meal, took off his outer clothing, and wrapped a towel around His waist. After that, He poured water into a basin and began to wash His disciples' feet, drying them with the towel that was wrapped around Him."
"Now that I, your Lord and Teacher, have washed your feet - you also should wash one another's feet. I have given you an example that you should do as I have done for you." John 13:4-5, 14-15~ ~ ~ ~
The nickels and noses racket!
(Milburn Cockrell, 1941-2002)
The average pastor is no longer a powerful, plain preacher - but a polite, polished politician!
We live in a time of big meetings, big churches, big church buildings, big preachers, and big church budgets. The failure or success of a church and its pastor - is judged by the number of nickels and noses that they have. In all too many cases, there is seen in this more Satanic pride, than spiritual piety.
In the craze for nickels and noses churches have replaced preachers and pastors, with puppeteers and pranksters. The gospel of Christ has been superseded by gimmicks, gadgets, and games. Psychology has taken the place of Holy Spirit conviction. The faith has been displaced for finance, fun, and foolishness. Church discipline has been relegated to the background, in order to swell the size of the church with religious hypocrites who might give a little money to the church now and then.
The nickels and noses racket has filled our churches with unconverted persons. We have far more churchianity than Christianity. Many church members are white-washed - but they are not blood-washed. Their names are upon the church roll - but they are not found in the Lamb's book of life. Many have been reformed - but they have not been re-born. Many have been confirmed - but they have not been converted to Christ. There are so many lost people in our churches, that you cannot tell the difference between a church member and the unconverted. The reason is, because there is no difference. Both are headed to Hell as fast as time can carry them!
It has produced icy services - and cold, callous, complacent church members. Look at the average church! They have their robed choir, their cut and dried program, and their intellectual preaching. They have a beautiful edifice. They have all the organization and rituals one could ask for - but in most cases it is Spiritless! We have form without reality; we have organization without power; we have profession without possession. We have a form of godliness - without the power of it. We have religion without life.
It has caused pastors to spend more time worrying with goats, than feeding the sheep. The pastor nowadays must provide a spiritual diet for people who have no spiritual appetite. Like Ezekiel of old (Ezekiel 37:1-10), he must preach to dead, dry bones - but without the blessings which Ezekiel experienced. These dry, dead bones can't hear - yet the pastor must keep preaching and pretend that someone is listening. These dry, dead bones do not grow in grace - for the dead do not grow. These baptized bones are in no way sensitive to the appeals made to them from the Scriptures by the pastor. They watch the clock on Sunday morning, hoping the pastor will preach a short sermon so they can soon go home and do what they really enjoy.
This idea has given us the gimmick gospel. Most church members want to be entertained - instead of instructed in the Word of God. They have far more delight in the gospel of amusement - than the gospel of the atonement. Gospel celebrities must be brought in to entertain these worldly church members. These members love to hear these clerical comedians who mix a few verses of Scripture with a large amount of humor. Special singing groups must be brought in too. These have the same dress, music, hair style, and manners of any rock and roll group. Our church services nowadays have become a carefully produced theatrical production for the delight of carnal Christians and religious rascals. The only difference between this entertainment and that in the local nightclub, is that it has a religious flavor! But they say it must be done to get nickels and noses!
While there are some exceptions, most big churches are worldly churches. They have high carnality - and low spirituality. Truth is very scarce in such fashionable churches, because the Word of God has been compromised to keep nickels and noses.~ ~ ~ ~
Three inscriptions!
(J.C. Pittman, "Bible Truths Illustrated" 1917)
Over the triple doorways of a European Cathedral, there are three inscriptions spanning the splendid arches.
Over one is carved a beautiful wreath of roses, and underneath is the lettering:
"All which pleases us - is but for a moment."
Over the other arch is sculptured a cross, and there are the words:
"All which troubles us - is but for a moment."
But on the great central entrance to the main aisle, is the inscription:
"That alone is important, which is eternal."
If we always realize these three truths, we would not let trifles trouble us;
nor would we be so much interested in the passing pageants of the hour.
We would live, as we do not now - for the permanent and the eternal.
"So we fix our eyes not on what is seen, but on what is unseen.
For what is seen is temporary, but what is unseen is eternal!" 2 Corinthians 4:18~ ~ ~ ~
"Giving thanks always and for everything to God the Father in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ!" Ephesians 5:20
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One day, Johann Tauler of Strosbourg met a peasant and greeted him, "God give you a good day, my friend!"
The peasant answered briskly, "I thank God that I never have a bad day!"
Tauler, astonished, kept silent for a moment. Tauler then added, "God give you a happy life, my friend."
The peasant replied composedly, "I thank God that I am never unhappy!"
"Never unhappy!" cried Tauler bewildered, "What do you mean?"
"Well," came the reply, "When it is sunshine - I thank God; and when it rains - I thank God. When I have plenty - I thank God; and when I am hungry - I thank God. Since God's will is my will, and whatever pleases God pleases me - I am never unhappy."
Tauler looked upon him with awe. "Who are you?" he asked.
"I am a king!" said the peasant.
"A king?" Tauler asked, "Where is your kingdom?"
The peasant smiled and whispered softly, "In my heart!"~ ~ ~ ~
"Be thankful in all circumstances, for this is God's will for you who belong to Christ Jesus." 1 Thessalonians 5:18
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In all circumstances! This comes as a surprise when one considers the vicissitudes of human life. Sickness and health, poverty and wealth, joy and sorrow - are all ingredients of the cup placed to human lips - so all must come within the scope of thanksgiving. Why be thankful for everything? Because God causes everything to work together for good to those who love Him.
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A godly farmer was asked to dine with a well-known gentleman. While there, he asked a blessing at the table as he was accustomed to do at home. His host said jeeringly, "That is old fashioned; it is not customary nowadays for well-educated people to pray before they eat."
The farmer answered that with him it was customary - but that some of those on his farm never thanked God their food.
"Ah, then," said the gentleman, "they are sensible and enlightened! Who are they?"
"My pigs!" the farmer answered.~ ~ ~ ~
"Thanks be to God for His indescribable gift!" 2 Corinthians 9:15
And did the Holy and the Just,
The Sovereign of the skies,
Stoop down to wretchedness and dust,
That guilty worms might rise?
Yes, the Redeemer left His throne,
His radiant throne on high,
(Surprising mercy! love unknown!)
To suffer, bleed, and die!
He took the dying traitor's place,
And suffered in his stead;
For man (O miracle of grace!)
For man the Savior bled!
Dear Lord, what heavenly wonders dwell
In Your atoning blood!
By this are sinners snatched from Hell,
And rebels brought to God!
What glad return can I impart
For favors so divine?
O take my all, this worthless heart,
And make it wholly Thine!
Anne Steele, 1859~ ~ ~ ~
There is a higher end in life than to be amused!
(J.C. Pittman, "Bible Truths Illustrated" 1917)
"A man's life does not consist in the abundance of the things that he possesses." Luke 12:15
"Implanted within us is a desire for amusement - the entire suppression of which is as injurious, as it is unauthorized. The Christian religion is antagonistic only to that which is hurtful to spiritual life. It is not opposed to wholesome amusements. It does not rob us of any pleasures which are consistent with our eternal welfare."
"Healthy recreation should be encouraged, with one proviso - that it never be forgotten that there is a higher end in life than to be amused. Care should be taken, not to suppress the desire for amusement - but to moderate and rightly direct it. The limitation which devotion to Christ imposes, must ever be observed, lest pleasure be made the business of life, instead of life's relaxation."
"The selection of fitting sources of amusement should not be difficult. There are many such, without tampering with questionable ones, which may prove detrimental and even destructive to spiritual life. The question requiring settlement is: "Am I, by the amusement in which I indulge, being spiritually helped or hindered? Is my soul being lifted up - or more heavily weighted down?"
"The Christian should find pleasure not only in the world's confectionery - but chiefly in the strong meat of the Word."
"All things are yours. Take them and use them; but never let them interfere with the higher life which you are called on to lead."
"A ship is all right in the sea - so long as the sea is not in the ship. In the same way, a Christian is all right in the world - so long as the world is not in the Christian."~ ~ ~ ~
My politics!
(Letters of John Newton)
The whole system of my politics is summed up in this one verse, "The Lord reigns! Let the nations tremble!" Psalm 99:1
The times look awfully dark indeed; and as the clouds grow thicker - the stupidity of the nation seems proportionally to increase. If the Lord had not a remnant here, I would have very formidable apprehensions. But He loves His children; some are sighing and mourning before Him, and I am sure He hears their sighs, and sees their tears. I trust there is mercy in store for us at the bottom; but I expect a shaking time before things get into a right channel - before we are humbled, and are taught to give Him the glory.
The state of the nation and the state of the churches - both are deplorable! Those who should be praying - are disputing and fighting among themselves! Alas! how many professors are more concerned for the mistakes of government - than for their own sins!"Hallelujah! For our Lord God Almighty reigns!" Revelation 19:6
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Short pithy gems from the Puritan Thomas Brooks!
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Christian! Consider that the trials and troubles, the calamities and miseries, the crosses and losses that you meet with in this world - are all the Hell that ever you shall have!
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There is the seed of all sins - the vilest and worst of sins - are in the best of men!
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He who will play with Satan's bait - will quickly be taken with Satan's hook!
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A preacher's life should be a commentary upon his doctrine.
Heavenly doctrines should always be adorned with a heavenly life.
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The greatest and the hottest fires that ever were on earth are but ice - in comparison to the fire of Hell!
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The two poles could sooner meet - than the love of Christ and the love of the world.~ ~ ~ ~
Short pithy gems from Jonathan Edwards!
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Lord, stamp eternity on my eyeballs!
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Almost every man who hears of Hell - flatters himself that he shall escape it.
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The godly are destined for inconceivable happiness!
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Remember that pride is the worst viper in the heart - and the greatest disturber of the soul's peace and sweet communion with Christ. Pride was the first sin that ever was. Pride is the most difficult sin to root out. It is the most hidden, secret and deceitful of all lusts. It often insensibly creeps into the midst of religion, and sometimes under the disguise of humility!~ ~ ~ ~
Short pithy gems from the Puritan Richard Baxter!
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Nothing below Heaven is worth setting our hearts upon!
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Keep up a humble sense of your own faults - and that will make you compassionate to others.
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Unity in things necessary,
Liberty in things unnecessary,
and Charity in all things.
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Speak to your people as to those who must be awakened, either here - or in Hell!
We must screw the truth into men's minds!
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What we most value - we shall think no pains too great to gain.
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Be of good cheer, Christian, the time is near when God and you shall be as near as you can desire. You shall dwell in His family! You shall then have joy without sorrow - and rest without weariness!~ ~ ~ ~
Short pithy gems from Charles Spurgeon!
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If Christ has died for me - then I cannot trifle with the sin which killed my best Friend!
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An ounce of heart knowledge - is worth more than a ton of head learning!
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Amusement should be used to do us good 'like a medicine." It must never be used as the food of the man. Many have had all holy thoughts and gracious resolutions stamped out by perpetual trifling. Pleasure, so called, is the murderer of thought. This is the age of excessive amusement - everybody craves for it, like a babe for its rattle!
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Long ago I ceased to count heads. Truth is usually in the minority in this evil world!
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Look to the cross, and hate your sin - for sin nailed your Well-Beloved to the tree!~ ~ ~ ~
Short pithy gems from the Puritan John Owen!
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The more I see of the glory of Christ - the more the painted beauties of this world wither in my eyes!
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The seed of every sin - is in every heart!
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In the divine Scriptures, there are shallows and there are deeps.
Shallows where the lamb may wade - and deeps where the elephant may swim!
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Never was sin seen to be more abominably sinful, than when the burden of it was upon the shoulders of the Son of God! Would you, then, see the true demerit of sin? Take the measure of it from the cross of Christ!
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Nothing shall be lost - which is done for God or in obedience to Him.
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Satan's greatest strategy is in making people think they have plenty of time before they die to consider their eternal welfare.~ ~ ~ ~
Short pithy gems from John Calvin!
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Man's heart, so to speak, is a perpetual factory of idols!
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When the Bible speaks - God speaks!
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Nothing, including human suffering, happens by chance.
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No one will calmly and quietly submit to bear the cross - except those who have learned to seek their happiness beyond this world!
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Without the fear of God - men do not even observe justice among themselves!
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The human heart has so many crannies where vanity hides, so many holes where falsehood works, and is so decked out with deceiving hypocrisy - that it often dupes itself!~ ~ ~ ~
Short pithy gems from the Puritan Richard Sibbes!
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The depths of our misery - can never fall below the depths of God's mercy.
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What the heart loves best - the mind studies most.
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It is better to go afflicted to Heaven - than merry to Hell.
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Poverty and affliction take away the fuel that feeds pride.
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Whatever God takes away from His children - He either replaces it with a much greater favor, or else gives strength to bear it.
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Sin is not so sweet in the committing of it - as it is bitter in the reckoning of it.~ ~ ~ ~
Short pithy gems from the Puritan Matthew Henry
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We cannot expect too little from man - nor too much from God!
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A life spent in the service of God and communion with Him, is the most pleasant life that anyone can live in this world.
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The Bible is a letter God has sent to us.
Prayer is a letter we send to Him.~ ~ ~ ~
We should take heed of pride - it is the sin that turned angels into devils!
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God is either your best friend - or your worst enemy.
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Knowledge is vain and fruitless - which is not reduced to practice.
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Short pithy gems from John Newton!
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May we sit at the foot of the cross - and there learn . . .
what sin has done,
what justice has done,
and what love has done!~ ~ ~ ~
I am persuaded that love and humility are the highest attainments in the school of Christ - and the brightest evidences that He is indeed our Master!
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My grand point in preaching, is to break the hard heart - and to heal the broken one!
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I am not what I ought to be. Ah! How imperfect and deficient!
I am not what I wish to be. I would abhor what is evil, and cleave to what is good.
I am not what I hope to be. Soon, soon, I shall put off mortality - and with mortality, all sin and imperfection.
Yet, though I am not what I ought to be, nor what I wish to be, nor what I hope to be - I can truly say that I am not what I once was - a slave to sin and Satan. And I can heartily join with the apostle, and acknowledge, "By the grace of God, I am what I am!"~ ~ ~ ~
Short pithy gems from Elizabeth Prentiss
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The longer I live, the more conscious I am of my human frailty - and of the constant, overwhelming need I have of God's grace.
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The thorny path bears some of the sweetest flowers that adorn life. And when with naked, bleeding feet we walk upon a flinty soil - we often find diamonds!
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Dying grace is not usually given until it is needed. Death, to the disciple of Jesus, is only stepping from one room to another and far better room of our Father's house. How little all the sorrows of the way will seem to us, when we get to our home above.
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What are trials, but angels to beckon us nearer to Him. I have lived to see that God never was so good to me - as when He seemed most severe.
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In proportion to your devotion to the Savior - will be the blessedness of your life.~ ~ ~ ~
Short pithy gems from George Whitefield
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You may have orthodox heads - and yet you may have the devil in your hearts!
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How sweet is rest after fatigue! How sweet will Heaven be when our journey is ended!
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Be humble, talk little, think and pray much.
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The Christian world is in a deep sleep!
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All our afflictions and all our temptations - are to make Heaven more desirable, and earth more loathsome!
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The Lord Jesus sits in Heaven, ruling over all, and causing all things to work for His children's good.
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Short pithy gems from David Brainerd
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I love to live on the brink of eternity!
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Let me forget the world - and be swallowed up in the desire to glorify God.
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Oh! one hour with God infinitely exceeds all the pleasures and delights of this lower world!
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I have received my all from God.
Oh, that I could return my all to God!~ ~ ~ ~
O how vain and unworthy it is to live for any lower end than the glory of God!
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Short pithy gems from the Puritan Thomas Watson!
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Eternity to the godly - is a day that has no sunset.
Eternity to the wicked - is a night that has no sunrise.~ ~ ~ ~
Christ is never sweet - until sin is felt to be bitter.~ ~ ~ ~
Christ will not throw away His pearls, for every speck of dirt!~ ~ ~ ~
The world is a flattering enemy - it kills by embracing. Whom the world kisses - it betrays.
Is Heaven in your eye, and Christ in your heart, and the world under your feet?~ ~ ~ ~
Christ shed tears - for those who shed His blood!
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The pleasure of sin is soon gone - but the sting remains!
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He who believes not in the blood of the Lamb - must feel the wrath of the Lamb.
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Sin has the devil for its father, shame for its companion, and death for its wages!
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Short pithy gems from Arthur Pink
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The nature of Christ's salvation is woefully misrepresented by the present-day evangelist. He announces a Savior from Hell - rather than a Savior from sin. And that is why so many are fatally deceived, for there are multitudes who wish to escape the Lake of fire - who have no desire to be delivered from their carnality and worldliness.~ ~ ~ ~
The Bible is no lazy man's book! Much of its treasure, like the valuable minerals stored in the recesses of the earth, only yield up themselves to the diligent seeker. No verse of Scripture yields its meaning to lazy people.~ ~ ~ ~
Prayer is not so much an act as it is an attitude - an attitude of dependence, dependence upon God.~ ~ ~ ~
It is not the absence of sin, but the grieving over it - which distinguishes the child of God from empty professors.~ ~ ~ ~
Instead of a river, God often gives us a brook, which may be running today and dried up tomorrow. Why? To teach us not to rest in our blessings - but in the Blesser Himself!~ ~ ~ ~
Short pithy gems from J.R. Miller
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Christ is building His kingdom with earth's broken things.
Men want only the strong, the successful, the victorious, the unbroken, in building their kingdoms. But God is the God of the unsuccessful, of those who have failed. Heaven is filling with earth's broken lives, and there is no bruised reed that Christ cannot take and restore to glorious blessedness and beauty. He can take the life crushed by pain or sorrow - and make it into a harp whose music shall be all praise. He can lift earth's saddest failure - up to Heaven's glory!
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It is impossible to estimate full influence of the reading of the Word in a home day after day and year after year. It filters into the hearts of the young. It is absorbed into their souls. It colors all their thoughts. It is wrought into the very fiber of their minds. It imbues them with its own spirit. It's holy teachings become the principles of their lives, which rule their conduct and shape all their actions.