Search This Blog

Saturday 31 December 2011

The presence of God is the central fact of Christianity. At
the heart of the Christian message is God Himself waiting for
His redeemed children to push in to conscious awareness of His
presence. That type of Christianity which happens now to be the
vogue knows this Presence only in theory. It fails to stress
the Christian's privilege of present realization. According to
its teachings we are in the presence of God positionally, and
nothing is said about the need to experience that Presence
actually. We are satisfied to rest in our judicial possessions
and, for the most part, we bother ourselves very little about
the absence of personal experience.- A. W. Tozer (1897-1963), The Pursuit of God [1948], Christian Publications, 1982, p. 35

The best proof that He will never cease to love us lies in that He never began. What we are for Him and what He is for us belongs to the realm of eternal values. Without this we are nothing, in it we have all.- Geerhardus Vos: Redemptive History and Biblical Interpretation, ed. By Richard B Gaffin, p.29

What is Christ's joy in us, but that He deigns to rejoice
on our account? And what is our joy, which He says shall be
full, but to have fellowship with Him? He had perfect joy on
our account, when He rejoiced in foreknowing and predestinating
us; but that joy was not in us, because we did not then exist;
it began to be in us, when He called us. And this joy we
rightly call our own, this joy wherewith we shall be blessed,
which is begun in the faith of them who are born again, and
shall be fulfilled in the reward of them who rise again.- Augustine of Hippo (354-430), from Tractate 83 on the Gospel of John as quoted in A Commentary on the Holy Scriptures, vol. III, John Peter Lange & tr. Philip Schaff, New York: C. Scribner amp Co., 1871,p. 485

It is thought that unconditional grace is unsafe. Man will
feel free to go on sinning. On the contrary, unconditional
forgiveness is the only rope that is long enough to reach to
the bottom of the pit into which we have fallen.-Edward Judson (1844-1914), "Life under pressure: a Lenten sermon", in The Outlook, v. XCVII, Lyman Abbott, ed., Outlook Co., 1911, p. 749

Thursday 29 December 2011

The joy of life is made up of obscure and seemingly mundane victories that gives us our own small satisfactions.- Billy Joel

Thus [in heaven] they shall eat and drink abundantly, and swim in the ocean of love, and be eternally swallowed up in the infinitely bright, and infinitely mild and sweet, beams of divine love; eternally receiving that light, eternally full of it, and eternally compassed round with it, and everlasting reflecting it back again to its foundations.- Jonathan Edwards
Quoted in The Rational Biblical Theology of Jonathan Edwards by John Gerstner, Berea Publication, 1993, p. 543

Never grow a wishbone, daughter, where your backbone ought to be.- Clementine Paddleford, 1898 - 1967

Never insult an alligator until after you have crossed the river. - Cordell Hull, 1871 - 1955

Never rely on your friends for money, or on your money for friends.- Mardy Grothe

Wednesday 28 December 2011

Let it be a settled principle in our minds that the true Christian must always enter the kingdom of God "through much tribulation" (Acts 14:22). His best things are yet to come. This world is not our home. If we are faithful and decided servants of Christ, the world will certainly hate us, as it hated our Master. In one way or another grace will always be persecuted. No consistency of conduct, however faultless, no kindness and amiability of character, however striking, will exempt a believer from the world's dislike, so long as he lives. It is foolish to be surprised at this. It is mere waste of time to murmur at it. It is a part of the cross, and we must bear it patiently. The children of Cain will hate the children of Abel, as long as the earth continues. "Marvel not, my brethren," says John, "if the world hates you." "If you were of the world," says our Lord, "the world would love his own; but because you are not of the world, but I have chosen you out of the world, therefore the world hates you." (1 John 3:13;John 15:18,19)~ J.C. Ryle, Expository Thoughts on the Gospels: Luke volume 2 , [Carlisle, PA: Banner of Truth, 1998], 363. {Luke 21:10-19}

In one sense it is possible “to be so heavenly minded that we are of no earthly good.” But in a much deeper sense, it is impossible to be of any real earthly good unless we are heavenly minded. Only the heavenly minded will have the patience to continue faithful in God’s work when it becomes hard, unappreciated and seeming unending. There is no greater cure for discouragement, fatigue or self-pity than to think of being in the presence of the Lord one day and of spending eternity with Him. We should make no apology for being heavenly minded.-John MacArthur,Hebrews Commentary, Moody, 1983, p. 331.

The church is to judge whether a man is a Christian on the
basis of his doctrine, the propositional content of his faith,
and then his credible profession of faith. When a man comes
before a local church that is doing its job, he will be quizzed
on the content of what he believes. If, for example, a church
is conducting a heresy trial (the New Testament indicates there
are to be heresy trials in the church of Christ), the question
of heresy will turn on the content of the man's doctrine. The
church has a right to judge, in fact it is commanded to judge,
a man on the content of what he believes and teaches.- Francis A. Schaeffer
(1912-1984), The Mark of the Christian, Inter-Varsity Press, 1976, p. 16

Christianity may not always offer supernatural deliverance from earth’s problems, but it always offers supernatural use for them. It is likely that Peter, who was delivered from prison, learned less than Paul, who stayed there.-L. Thomas Holdcroft

Tuesday 27 December 2011

Jesus, please teach me to appreciate what I have before time forces me to appreciate what I had.- Susan L. Lenzkes

We are… saplings here, but we shall be transported into our heavenly soil to grow in God’s light. Here our abilities are in blossom; there they shall burst forth with fruits of greater beauty. Our death is but the passing from one degree of loving service to another; the difference is like that of the unborn child and the one who has entered into the experiences of a new life. Our love for God will continue, but awakened with new purity and purposefulness.- Erwin Lutzer, One Minute After You Die by Erwin Lutzer, Moody Publishers, 1997, p. 67.

The way to worry about nothing is to pray about everything.-Unknown

We desire that the Scripture may speake like it selfe, as
in the language of Canaan, that it may bee understood even of
the very vulgar.Many other things we might give thee warning of (gentle
Reader) if we had not exceeded the measure of a Preface
alreadie. It remaineth, that we commend thee to God, and to the
Spirit of his grace, which is able to build further then we can
aske or thinke. He removeth the scales from our eyes, the vaile
from our hearts, opening our wits that we may understand his
word, enlarging our hearts, yea correcting our affections, that
we may love it above gold and silver, yea that we may love it
to the end.- Miles Smith (1554-1624), in the preface to The Authorised Version of the English Bible [1611],Cambridge: The University Press, 1909, p. 29

O Lord, I live here as a fish in a vessel of water only enough to keep me alive, but in heaven I shall swim in the ocean. Here I have a little air in me to keep me breathing, but there I shall have sweet and fresh gales. Here I have a beam of sun to lighten my darkness, a warm ray to keep me from freezing; yonder I shall live in light and warmth forever.- Unknown Puritan

Monday 26 December 2011

Giving up is the ultimate tragedy.- Robert Donovan

A true Christian has a good hope when he looks ahead: the worldly man has none. A true Christian sees light in the distance: the worldly man sees nothing but darkness. And what is the hope of a true Christian? It is just this, - that Jesus Christ is coming again, coming without sin, - coming with all His people, - coming to wipe away every tear, - coming to raise His sleeping saints from the grave, - coming to gather together all His family, that they may be for ever with Him. Why is a believer patient? Because he looks for the coming of the Lord. He can bear hard things without murmuring. He knows the time is short. He waits quietly for the King.~ J.C. Ryle, Holiness: Its Nature, Hindrances, Difficulties, and Roots, “Christ is All”, [Moscow, ID: Charles Nolan Publishing, 2001], 382.

I should have given more praise.- Arthur Wellesley, First Duke of Wellington, 1769 - 1852

Wise people learn when they can; fools learn when they must.- Arthur Wellesley, First Duke of Wellington, 1769 - 1852

Death is not the end of the road; it is only a bend in the road. The road winds only through those paths through which Christ Himself has gone. This Travel Agent does not expect us to discover the trail for ourselves. Often we say that Christ will meet us on the other side. That is true, of course, but misleading. Let us never forget that He walks with us on this side of the curtain and then guides us through the opening. We will meet Him there, because we have met Him here.- Erwin Lutzer,One Minute After You Die, Moody, 1997, p. 78-79.

Sunday 25 December 2011

True faith does not depend merely on the state of man's head and understanding, but on the state of his heart. His mind may be convinced. His conscience may be pierced. But so long as there is anything the man is secretly loving more than God, there will be no true faith. The man himself may be puzzled, and wonder why he does not believe. He does not see that he is like a child sitting on the lid of his box, and wishing to open it, but not considering that his own weight keeps it shut. Let a man make sure that he honestly and really desires first the praise of God. It is the lack of an honest heart which makes many stick fast in their false religion all their days, and die at length without peace. Those who complain that they hear, approve, assent, but make no progress, and cannot get any hold on Christ, should ask themselves this simple question - "Am I honest? Am I sincere? Do I really desire first the praise of God?"~ J.C. Ryle,Expository Thoughts on the Gospels: John, volume 1, [Carlisle, PA: Banner of Truth, 1987], 317-318. {John 5:40-47}

There is only one way to bring peace to the heart, joy to the mind, and beauty to the life; it is to accept and do the will of God.-William Barclay

This is our comfort. We are “immortal until our work is done;” mortal still, but immortal also. Let us never fear death, then, but rather rejoice at the approach of it, since it comes at our dear Bridegroom's bidding! C.H. Spurgeon, Christ with the Keys of Death and Hell, #894.

The only works of unregenerated man in heaven are the scars of the nails in the hands and feet of Jesus, the wounds in His side, and the thorn scars on His brow.-Walter Knight, Knight's Treasury of 2,000 Illustrations, Eerdmans, 1963, p. 155.

Saturday 24 December 2011

We need not wonder that so much importance is attached to our Lord's resurrection. It is the seal and memorial stone of the great work of redemption, which He came to do. It is the crowning proof that He has paid the debt He undertook to pay on our behalf, won the battle He fought to deliver us from hell, and is accepted as our guarantee and our substitute by our Father in heaven. Had He never come forth from the prison of the grave, how could we ever have been sure that our ransom had been fully paid (1 Corinthians 15:17)? Had He never risen from His conflict with the last enemy, how could we have felt confident that He has overcome death - and him that had the power of death, that is the devil (Hebrews 2:14)? But thanks be unto God, we are not left in doubt. The Lord Jesus really rose again for our justification~ J.C. Ryle, Expository Thoughts on the Gospels: Matthew, [Carlisle, PA: Banner of Truth, 1986], 403, 404. {Matthew 28:1:10}


Who would complain if God allowed one hour of suffering in an entire lifetime of comfort? Why complain about a lifetime that includes suffering when that lifetime is a mere hour of eternity- Philip Yancy

Depend upon it [Christian], your dying hour will be the best hour you have ever known! Your last moment will be your richest moment, better than the day of your birth will be the day of your death. It shall be the beginning of heaven, the rising of a sun that shall go no more down forever!- C.H. Spurgeon, Christ with the Keys of Death and Hell, #894

The surrendered life is the careful life. The sanctified steward uses what belongs to Another and handles it very carefully against the day of accounting. On the other hand, the surrendered life is a carefree life. Losses that devastate the natural man are endured with amazing calm by the sanctified man, for how can he really lose what he has already relinquished?-R. B. Acheson

Thursday 22 December 2011

Nails were not enough to hold God-and-man nailed and
fastened on the Cross, had not love held Him there.- Catherine of Siena (1347-1380), Saint Catherine of Siena as seen in her letters, J. M. Dent, 1906, p. 42

Here, where our Lord once laid his Head,
Now the grave lies buried.
Richard Crashaw (1613-1649), from "Divine Epigrams", The Complete Works of Richard Crashaw, London: J. R. Smith, 1858, p. 16

Man, proud man! dressed in a little brief authority, plays such fantastic tricks before high heaven as make the angels weep.- William Shakespeare, 1564 - 1616

Through tattered clothes small vices do appear; robes and furred gowns hide all.-
William Shakespeare, 1564 - 1616

Violent delights have violent ends, and in their triumph die; like fire and powder, which, as they kiss, consume. They are as sick that surfeit with too much, as they that starve with nothing.-
William Shakespeare, 1564 - 1616

Tuesday 20 December 2011

That the Potter should die for His clay is a stupendous miracle.- Lynn Landrum

Life is a grindstone, and whether it grinds a man down or polishes him up depends on what he is made of.- Josh Billings, 1818 - 1885

Leave out the cross and you have killed the religion of Jesus. Atonement by the blood of Jesus is not an arm of Christian truth; it is the heart of it.- C.H. Spurgeon

When Christ came into the world, peace was sung; and when He went out of the world, peace was bequeathed.-Francis Bacon

Monday 19 December 2011

I have held many things in my hands, and have lost them
all; but whatever I have placed in God's hands, that I still
possess.- Martin Luther (1483-1546)

We are apt to complain, but remember: God’s infinite plan ordered [these trials]... The reason we do not see the wisdom of [the trial] is partly because being creatures we cannot fathom the wisdom of the Creator, and as sinful creatures we are blind and prejudiced. It is also partly because we forget the purpose they ultimately aim toward, and measure them by our own standards. It is also partly through our own pride, because we have such a high opinion of our own wisdom, which is foolishness indeed.- Samuel Willard, The Decrees of God, 1690

That there are no random events with respect to God. To us it is true that time and chance influence all things. Things come to pass in unseen ways, and by unknown means, but with respect to God it is not so. Nothing can happen either outside His knowledge or intention, for it is His decree that gives being to all events. The things that are, would never be if He had not intended them.- Samuel Willard, The Decrees of God, 1690.

Sunday 18 December 2011

It is human nature to think wisely and to act in an absurd fashion.- Anatole France, 1844 - 1924

Of all the ways of defining man, the worst is the one which makes him out to be a rational animal.
- Anatole France, 1844 - 1924

To live thus--to cram today with eternity and not wait the
next day--the Christian has learnt and continues to learn (for
the Christian is always learning) from the Pattern. How did He
manage to live without anxiety for the next day--He who from
the first instant of His public life, when He stepped forward
as a teacher, knew how His life would end, that the next day
was His crucifixion; knew this while the people exultantly
hailed Him as King (ah, bitter knowledge to have at precisely
that moment!), knew, when they were crying, "Hosanna!", at His
entry into Jerusalem, that they would cry, "Crucify Him!", and
that it was to this end that He made His entry. He who bore
every day the prodigious weight of this superhuman knowledge--
how did He manage to live without anxiety for the next day?-Søren Kierkegaard (1813-1855), Christian Discourses,tr. Walter Lowrie, New York: Oxford University Press, 1961, p. 78

When a Christian realizes his citizenship is in heaven, he begins acting as a responsible citizen of earth. He invests wisely in relationships because he knows they’re eternal. His conversations, goals, and motives become pure and honest because he realizes these will have a bearing on everlasting reward. He gives generously of time, money, and talent because he’s laying up treasures for eternity. He helps spread the good news of Christ because he longs to fill heaven’s ranks with his friends and neighbors. All this serves the pilgrim well not only in heaven, but on earth; for it serves everyone around him.-Joni Eareckson Tada Heaven: Your Real Home, Zondervan, www.Zondervan.com, 1995, p. 110.

Saturday 17 December 2011

Faith is a living, unshakeable confidence in God's grace;
it is so certain, that someone would die a thousand times for
it. This kind of trust in and knowledge of God's grace makes a
person joyful, confident, and happy with regard to God and all
creatures. This is what the Holy Spirit does by faith. Through
faith, a person will do good to everyone without coercion,
willingly and happily; he will serve everyone, suffer
everything for the love and praise of God, who has shown him
such grace. It is as impossible to separate works from faith as
burning and shining from fire. - Martin Luther (1483-1546), "Preface to the Letter of St. Paul to the Romans", par. 15

No matter how big or soft or warm your bed is, you still have to get out of it.- Grace Slick

Are you indeed Christ's sheep? Then be sure you will have many a trial; where would be the value of a Savior, if there were not enemies to be saved from? Yes! You will have many a trial! Satan has great wrath against all who have escaped his snares, and he will bring every weapon to bear against your peace; he will start many a doubt within your mind, he will stir up many a vile and blasphemous imagination within the chambers of your heart, many a horrid thought you once would have believed impossible—but still remember those words, "never perish." Yes! You will have many a trial!

~ J.C. Ryle,

Tract: The Privileges of the True Christian

Where, then, does happiness lie? In forgetfulness, not
indulgence, of the self. In escape from sensual appetites, not
in their satisfaction. We live in a dark, self-enclosed prison,
which is all we see or know if our glance is fixed ever
downward. To lift it upward, becoming aware of the wide,
luminous universe outside--this alone is happiness. At its
highest level, such happiness is the ecstasy that mystics have
inadequately described. At more humdrum levels, it is human
love; the delights and beauties of our dear earth, its colors
and shapes and sounds; the enchantment of understanding and
laughing, and all other exercise of such faculties as we
possess; the marvel of the meaning of everything, fitfully
glimpsed, inadequately expounded, but ever present.- Malcolm Muggeridge (1903-1990), Jesus Rediscovered,

Thursday 15 December 2011

Sickness, in the very nature of things, can never be anything but trying to our flesh. Our bodies and souls are strangely linked together, and that which vexes and weakens the body can hardly fail to vex the mind and soul. But sickness, we must always remember, is no sign that God is displeased with us; no, more, it is generally sent for the good of our souls. It tends to draw our affections away from this world, and to direct them to things above. It sends us to our Bibles, and teaches us to pray better. It helps to prove our faith and patience, and shows us the real value of our hope in Christ. It reminds us that we are not to live always, and tunes and trains our hearts for our great change. Then let us be patient and cheerful when we are laid aside by illness. Let us believe that the Lord Jesus loves us when we are sick no less than when we are well.~ J.C. Ryle, Expository Thoughts on the Gospels: John, volume 2, [Carlisle, PA: Banner of Truth, 1987], 257-258. {John 11:1-6}


It seemed to me that God had looked over the whole world to find a man who was weak enough to do His work, and when He at last found me, He said, "He is weak enough- he’ll do." All God’s giants have been weak men who did great things for God because they reckoned on His being with them. - J. Hudson Taylor (when someone complimented him on founding the China Inland Mission)

Boredom is the feeling that everything is a waste of time; serenity, that nothing is.- Thomas Szasz

We pilgrims walk the tightrope between earth and heaven, feeling trapped in time, yet with eternity beating in our hearts. Our unsatisfied sense of exile is not to be solved or fixed while here on earth. Our pain and longings make sure we will never be content, but that’s good: it is to our benefit that we do not grow comfortable in a world destined for decay.- Joni Eareckson Tada, Heaven: Your Real Home, Zondervan, www.Zondervan.com, 1995, p. 112.

Sin is not misfortune; sin is not error or ignorance. Sin is a choice against what you know pleases God. If you lose this meaning of sin, you lose the beauty of forgiveness.- Robert H. O’Bannon

Monday 12 December 2011

It is wonderful how much may be done if we are always doing.- Thomas Jefferson, 1743 - 1826

No man will ever bring out of the Presidency the reputation which carries him into it...To myself, personally, it brings nothing but increasing drudgery and daily loss of friends.- Thomas Jefferson, 1743 - 1826

The man who fears no truths has nothing to fear from lies.- Thomas Jefferson, 1743 - 1826

I would rather be exposed to the inconveniences attending too much liberty, than those attending too small a degree of it.-Thomas Jefferson, 1743 - 1826

God’s people should plan for a voyage of a thousand years, but be prepared to abandon ship tonight.- Joseph Bayly

Sunday 11 December 2011

Oh, innocent victims of Cupid,
Remember this terse little verse;
To let a fool kiss you is stupid,
To let a kiss fool you is worse.-
Yip Harburg, 1896 - 1981

Let us observe this. There are few things so little believed and realized as the corruption of human nature. Men imagine that if they saw a perfect person, they would love and admire him. They flatter themselves that it is the inconsistency of professing Christians which they dislike, and not their religion. They forget that when a really perfect man was on earth, in the person of the Son of God, He was hated and put to death. That single fact goes far to prove the truth of [Jonathan] Edwards’ remark – “unconverted men would kill God, if they could get at Him.” - J.C. Ryle,Matthew Commentary, ch. 27

When evil befalls you, it is not you who are in danger, but
the others who do you evil; and if you don't help them, they
will perish in it. Therefore, for the others' sake, and because
of your responsibility to them--repay no one evil for evil. For
has God ever repaid you in such a way?- Dietrich Bonhoeffer (1906-1945), A Testament to Freedom: the essential writings of Dietrich Bonhoeffer, Geffrey B. Kelly, F. Burton Nelson, eds.,
HarperCollins, 1995, p. 286

Because faith makes invisible things real, and visible things unreal, earthly dissatisfaction becomes the road to heavenly satisfaction.- Joni Eareckson Tada, Heaven: Your Real Home, Zondervan, www.Zondervan.com, 1995, p. 98.

Most of the time, we scratched our heads and wondered how the matted mesh of threads in Romans 8:28 could possibly be woven together for our good. On earth, the underside of the tapestry was tangled and unclear; but in heaven, we will stand amazed to see the topside of the tapestry and how God beautifully embroidered each circumstance into a pattern for our good and His glory.-Joni Eareckson Tada,Heaven: Your Real Home, Zondervan, www.Zondervan.com, 1995, p. 45.

Saturday 10 December 2011

Prayer frees us to be controlled by God. To pray is to
change. There is no greater liberating force in the Christian
life than prayer. To enter the gaze of the Holy is never to be
the same. To bathe in the Light in quiet wonder and glad
surrender is to be slowly, permanently transformed. There is a
richer inward orientation, a deep hunger for communion. We feel
as if we are being taken over by a new control Center, and so
we are.- Richard J. Foster, Freedom of Simplicity, HarperCollins, 1989, p. 58

God hath work to do in this world; and to desert it because
of its difficulties and entanglements, is to cast off His
authority... It is not enough that we be just, that we be
righteous, and walk with God in holiness; but we must also
serve our generation, as David did before he fell asleep. God
hath a work to do; and not to help Him, is to oppose Him.-John Owen (1616-1683), Works of John Owen, v. IX, London: Johnson & Hunter, 1851, Sermon XIII, p. 171

Prayer in the sense of petition, asking for things, is a small part of it; confession and penitence are its threshold, adoration its sanctuary, the presence and vision and enjoyment of God its bread and wine.- C. S. Lewis

God has promised forgiveness to your repentance, but He has not promised tomorrow to your procrastination.-Augustine

There is a language in actions. And in some cases the language of action is much more clear and convincing than words.- Jonathan Edwards, Distinguishing Marks of a Work of the Spirit of God, 1741.

Thursday 8 December 2011

Christ forever sees us! Christ always knows us! Christ daily reads and observes our acts, words and thoughts! The recollection of this should alarm the wicked and drive them from their sins! Their wickedness is not hidden, and will one day be fearfully exposed, except they repent. It should frighten hypocrites out of their hypocrisy. They may deceive man, but they are not deceiving Christ. It should quicken and comfort all sincere believers. They should remember that a loving Master is looking at them, and should do all as in His sight. Above all, they should feel that, however mocked and slandered by the world, they are fairly and justly measured by their Savior's eye. They can say, "You, Lord, who know all things, know that I love You." (John 21:17)~ J.C. Ryle, Expository Thoughts on the Gospels: Luke volume 1, [Carlisle, PA: Banner of Truth, 1986], 145. {Luke 5: 17-26}


[Forgiveness] recognises the wrongdoer as a person. He has
done wrong, and about this there is no pretence. But that is
not the whole truth about him. He is still of infinite value as
a person, since every person is unique and irreplaceable by any
other. Since he has so greatly injured himself by doing wrong,
he is in special need of help, and help that can be rendered
only by the one to whom he has done the wrong.- Stephen Neill (1900-1984), A Genuinely Human Existence: Towards a Christian Psychology, Garden City, N.Y. : Doubleday, 1959, p. 210


God says to the believer, as the king of Israel said to the king of Syria, "I am yours--and all that I have!" This is a hive of divine comfort! All that is in God--is ours! His wisdom is ours to teach us! His love is ours to pity us! His Spirit is ours to comfort us! His mercy is ours to save us! When God says to the soul, "I am yours," He can say no more! "For this God is our God for ever and ever!" Psalm 48:14- Thomas Watson, "The Christian's Charter"


"For this God is our God for ever and ever!"
The degree of our faith is the degree of our prayer.
The strength of our hope is the strength of our prayer.
The warmth of our charity is the warmth of our prayer.-Carlo Carretto

In prosperity our friends know us; in adversity we know our friends.-- John Churton Collins

Prayer has everything to do with moulding the soul into the
image of God, and has everything to do with enhancing and
enlarging the measure of Divine grace. It has everything to do
with enriching, broadening and maturing the soul's experience
of God. That man cannot possibly be called a Christian, who
does not pray.- E. M. Bounds (1835-1913), The Necessity of Prayer [1907], Lulu, 2007, p. 26
Prayer pursues joy in fellowship with Jesus and in the power to share His life with others. And prayer pursues God’s glory by treating Him as the inexhaustible reservoir of hope and help. In prayer we admit our poverty and God’s prosperity, our bankruptcy and His bounty, our misery and His mercy. Therefore, prayer highly exalts and glorifies God precisely by pursuing everything we long for in Him and not in ourselves. - John Piper,Desiring God, 1996, p. 156,

Monday 5 December 2011

O the depth of the evil of sin! If ever you will see how
great and horrid an evil sin is, measure it in your thoughts,
either by the infinite holiness and excellency of God, who is
wrong'd by it; or by the infinite sufferings of Christ, who
died to satisfy for it; and then you will have deeper
apprehensions of the evil of sin.- John Flavel (1628-1691), The Whole Works of the Reverend Mr. John Flavel, v. I, Paisley: A. Weir and A. McLean, 1770, p. 199

Let us remember this in our private devotions. It must not satisfy us to say good words, if our heart and our lips do not go together. What does it profit us to be fluent and lengthy, if our imaginations are roving far away while we are upon our knees? It profits us nothing at all. God sees what we are really doing, and rejects our offering. Heart-prayers are the prayers He loves to hear. Heart-prayers are the only prayers that He will answer. Our petitions may be weak, and stammering, and poor in our eyes. They may be presented with no fine words, or well-chosen language, and might seem almost unintelligible, if they were written down. But if they come from a right heart, God understands them. Such prayers are His delight.~ J.C. Ryle, Expository Thoughts on the Gospels: Mark, [Carlisle, PA: Banner of Truth, 1985], 137. {Mark 7:1-13}


Ill habits gather by unseen degrees,
As brooks make rivers, rivers run to seas.- John Dryden, 1631 - 1700

The path of least resistance makes all rivers, and some men, crooked.- Napoleon Hill, 1883 - 1970

Courage can be a form of tenaciousness, a refusal to quit because you’re tired, hurt, humiliated or emotionally broken. Courage is the ability to face what life throws in your path on a daily basis.- Nina Lesowitz