In 1 Corinthians 15:10. Paul proclaims: “I am what I am by the grace of God. “There is nothing that will bend a man’s will like the recognition of divine love which is blessedness to come in contact with, and to obey.” “You may try to sway him by motives of advantage and self-interest, and to thunder into his ears the pealing words of duty and right and ‘ought,’ and there is no adequate response.” “You cannot soften a heart by the hammers of the law. You cannot force a man to do right by brandishing before him the whip that punishes doing wrong.” “You cannot sway the will by anything but the heart; and when you can touch the deepest spring it moves the whole mass.” Maclaren biblehub.com “You have seen some ponderous piece of machinery, which resists all attempts of a puny hand laid upon it to make it…
Category: <span>Walk, for Christians</span>
Accede, Accept, Access. “Come to, receive, come in — for coming, for taking, for entering.” The words of my Title are from Latin derivation, but have great significance to us believers. They mean: We come, we believe, we gain entrance. Jesus cried out, “come,” and we came — then we received Him — then we were given power to become sons of God with access to Father. To come required a drawing of invitation. To receive required a removal of obstacles and a cleansing. To enter requires continuance in our purified state. Friends, we are accepted in the beloved — we have touched power and grace — we have access to the Father in heaven! When we consider the above with a view to a gathering of souls, we discover “Unity, Peace, and Oneness.” For these we must endeavor — to keep the unity of the Spirit… a unity produced…
As we obey the truth, God may allow us to be placed in precarious situations and locales — only to deliver us and reveal His glorious nature. Why does He do this? — so we can see the vast difference between Almighty God and un-mighty man. Here, watch one such occasion: “And these three men, Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego, fell bound into the burning fiery furnace. Then King Nebuchadnezzar was astonished and rose up in haste. He declared to his counselors, “Did we not cast three men bound into the fire?” They answered and said to the king, “True, O king.” He answered and said, “But I see four men unbound, walking in the midst of the fire, and they are not hurt; and the appearance of the fourth is like a son of the gods.” Then Nebuchadnezzar came near to the door of the burning fiery furnace; he declared, “Shadrach, Meshach,…
The Christian life takes guts, but where get we this intestinal fortitude? We gain courage as we wait on the Lord, look diligently at the road ahead, access our transporting integrity, allow it’s righteousness to smooth the way mentally, watch God snatch us away! Proverbs 4:25-27 teaches: “Let your eyes look directly forward, and your gaze be straight before you. ponder the path of your feet; then all your ways will be sure. Do not swerve to the right or to the left; turn your foot away from evil.”E.S.V. 1 Peter 1:13 then teaches: “Therefore, preparing your minds for action, and being sober-minded, set your hope fully on the grace that will be brought to you at the revelation of Jesus Christ.” E.S.V. Finally Heb 12:15 directs us: “Looking diligently lest any man fail of the grace of God; lest any root of bitterness springing up trouble you, and thereby many…
Proverbs 20:8 teaches: “A king that sits in the throne of judgment scatters away all evil with his eyes.” “We are made Kings to rule over our own lusts to some degree. We are not Kings to be freed altogether from them, but Kings to strive against them . It is a Liberty to fight and in fighting to overcome it last. The liberty of sanctification is not a liberty that ends combat with our corruptions, but a gracious Liberty to keep them under, till by subduing them little by little, we have a perfect victory.” “What greater encouragement can a man have to fight against his enemy, than when he is sure of final victory before he fights.” all quotes are from Richard Sibbes, “Glorious Freedom.” He adds these observations, “Grace does not take away liberty. No, it establishes liberty.” “…It is the manner of the reasonable creature to do…
Matthew 9 teaches the Words of Jesus, “They that be whole need not a physician, but they that are sick. But go you and learn what that means, I will have mercy, and not sacrifice: for I am not come to call the righteous, but sinners to repentance.” Repentance is a gift from God: The Psalmist cries, “Turn Thee unto me, and have mercy upon me; for I am desolate and afflicted.” Psalm 25:16 The people cry,”Turn us again, O God, and cause thy face to shine; and we shall be saved.” Psalm 80:3 David cries, “Create in me a clean heart, O God; and renew a right spirit within me.” Psalm 51:10 Ezra cries, “Turn away mine eyes from beholding vanity; and quicken thou me in thy way.” Psalm 119:37 Who restored Adam and Eve after their sin? God restored them — God took away their fig leaves and then God killed…
Dr. Carl H. Stevens tells a story of virtue: “Ned Bedford, one of John Rockefeller’s closest business advisers, told the story of how Mr. Rockefeller dealt with a man whose wrong decision cost his oil company a huge sum of m o n e y. Mr. Bedford made an appointment to discuss how to deal with the man. Expecting Mr. Rockefeller to be angry, even though the loss was not his fault, Mr. Bedford was prepared for a difficult meeting. When he went into the office , he noticed a notepad in Mr. Rockefeller’s hands. On that pad was a list of twenty-five virtues that characterized the man who had cost Standard Oil two million dollars. “ You know this man has saved me money five or six times—saved me far more than two million,” Mr. Rockefeller said. “I am going to give him a raise.”” From, “Christ Is My…
Do you often grapple over the many decisions, including non-decisions, that brought you to your present circumstances? Lets try. There was the life changing time when Christ became real, the decision to marry, and the decision to have children. There was the decision for Bible College, moving to another state, finding a new job. These events are on the positive side of planning. Then there was the unforeseen happenings: the departure of a spouse, the death of a child, the loss of a job, the pains of sickness. On top of that are the many unthinkable mistakes, abuses, betrayals, and cowardly opting-outs. These were the lessons, hard to be learned, and may have stolen a large part of our lives. Nevertheless here we are. What are we to think about it all? The Apostle beautifully says: ” But whatever gain I had, I counted as loss for the sake of…
“Feeling the stress of a fallen world is part of existence. We might call this the’blues.’ Romans 8:23 teaches, ‘we groan.’” “The blues are common to the lot of a fallen human race.” “… Expectation of a carefree life or constant euphoria and excitement are neither scriptural nor true to experience.” Steven Waterhouse “The fact that you have become a Christian does not mean that you cease to have to live with yourself — You will have to live with yourself as long as you are alive. ” Martin Lloyd Jones Depression is related to 1. Little interest or pleasure in doing things, 2. Feeling down, depressed, or hopeless, 3. Trouble falling or staying asleep, or sleeping too much, 4. Feeling tired or having little energy, 5. Poor appetite or overeating, 6. …you are a failure or have let yourself or your family down, 7. Trouble concentrating on things, 8. Moving or speaking so slowly,…
Galatians 5:7 could be read this way , “Who has been breaking up the road you were traveling so well, and who has stopped you from advancing?” The devil likes to stop the Christian in his tracks — creating an attitude of uncertainty about the path in which God is leading… He also aims to impede their relationship and fellowship with God. Methods include: Mental strain — The devil induces believers to toil in their thoughts — Unexplained tiredness and a lack of emotional control — Details cause tension — The person often complains about being overworked –He feels too drained to pray or to study. …an attitude of carelessness — Results in a contempt For discipline and leadership — a lackadaisical disposition. Anxiety Nervousness materialism. all taken from Dr. Carl H. Stevens Sometimes our faith-practices don’t seem to work out as usual. Is God pulling the plug on this…