scripture
Isaiah 40:3-5
A voice of one calling: "In the desert prepare the way for the LORD; make straight in the wilderness a highway for our God. Every valley shall be raised up, every mountain and hill made low; the rough ground shall become level, the rugged places a plain. And the glory of the LORD will be revealed, and all mankind together will see it. For the mouth of the LORD has spoken."
quote
The future is as bright as the promises of God.
William Carey
scripture
Colossians 1:15-17
He is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn over all creation. For by him all things were created: things in heaven and on earth, visible and invisible, whether thrones or powers or rulers or authorities; all things were created by him and for him. He is before all things, and in him all things hold together.
Colosenses 1:15-17
Él es la imagen del Dios invisible, el primogénito de toda creación, porque por medio de él fueron creadas todas las cosas en el cielo y en la tierra, visibles e invisibles, sean tronos, poderes, principados o autoridades: todo ha sido creado por medio de él y para él. Él es anterior a todas las cosas, que por medio de él forman un todo coherente.
quote
It seems to us that the most important work in the world is the work which is visible, which we can see: building a house, plowing the land, feeding cattle, gathering fruits; and that the work which is invisible, the work done by our soul, is not important. But our invisible work at the improvement of our soul is the most important work in the world, and all other visible kinds of work are useful only when we do this major work.
Leo Tolstoy
SCRIPTURE
2 Corinthians 4:5-6
For we do not preach ourselves, but Jesus Christ as Lord, and ourselves as your servants for Jesus’ sake. For God, who said, “Let light shine out of darkness,” made his light shine in our hearts to give us the light of the knowledge of the glory of God in the face of Christ.
THOUGHT
Paul writes above that God made His light shine in our hearts just as He made light shine out of darkness. A quick read will have you focus on the light and not the dark. To fully appreciate where we are, it is necessary for us to think about where we’ve been and who we were before we met Christ. God is the only light producing substance within our lives.
QUOTE
But when you take the Bible literally, for what it says, you have to come back to the fact that there is only one way of salvation; there's only one Savior.
Tim LaHaye
scripture
Luke 6:46
Jesus speaking, “But why do you call Me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ and do not do the things which I say?”
quote
One act of obedience is better than one hundred sermons.
Dietrich Bonhoeffer
thought
People love to think of Jesus as their Savior, and they should do so.
When they neglect that He is also their Lord, then they are imagining a Jesus of their own creation.
Jesus is our Savior and our Lord.
scripture
Isaiah 16:5
In love a throne will be established; in faithfulness a man will sit on it— one from the house of David— one who in judging seeks justice and speeds the cause of righteousness.
quote
God framed the history of the world in view of the coming of Jesus Christ. In the very beginning He chose a family whose line of descent should run directly from Eden to Bethlehem. This family God took into covenant with Himself, and the promise of the covenant was that of its seed Christ should be born in the fullness of time. This covenant-line runs through the whole of the Old Testament as the golden thread runs through the beautiful fabric. Everything centers in this covenant-line. It unifies the Old Testament. It is the cord upon which the pearls of history are strung. Keep this in mind, and it will explain a thousand mysteries and perplexities in reading the Old Testament.
- David Gregg
scripture
Matthew 6:5-8
Jesus speaking, "And when you pray, do not be like the hypocrites, for they love to pray standing in the synagogues and on the street corners to be seen by men. I tell you the truth, they have received their reward in full. But when you pray, go into your room, close the door and pray to your Father, who is unseen. Then your Father, who sees what is done in secret, will reward you. And when you pray, do not keep on babbling like pagans, for they think they will be heard because of their many words. Do not be like them, for your Father knows what you need before you ask him.”
quote
We are not necessarily doubting that God will do the best for us; we are wondering how painful the best will turn out to be.
C. S. Lewis
lyrics
Addison Road: Casualties
He sees his life just pass by
Just another number in a suit and tie
No purpose here nothing to give
Is this what it means to really live?
His feet never touch the ground
His days fly by, he can't slow down
(CHORUS)
Casualties of the American dream
Have we lost our vision
Drifting off and living
Half asleep with a faint heartbeat
Just dying to be revived
I want to be revived
She's screaming out, "I've lost control"
Caught in another undertow
She's only barely hanging on
Been holding her breath for so long
Her feet never touch the ground
She's not sure which way is up or down
I want to be revived
I want to feel alive
And in a world so numb
Don't let me become another
Casualty living in this dream
Yeah
I want to be revived
scripture
James 3:7-8
For every kind of beast and bird, of reptile and creature of the sea, is tamed and has been tamed by mankind. But no man can tame the tongue. It is an unruly evil, full of deadly poison.
quote
Words which do not give the light of Christ increase the darkness.
Mother Teresa
scripture
Matthew 13:36-43 (The Parable of the Weeds Explained)
Then he left the crowd and went into the house. His disciples came to him and said, "Explain to us the parable of the weeds in the field." He answered, "The one who sowed the good seed is the Son of Man. The field is the world, and the good seed stands for the sons of the kingdom. The weeds are the sons of the evil one, and the enemy who sows them is the devil. The harvest is the end of the age, and the harvesters are angels. "As the weeds are pulled up and burned in the fire, so it will be at the end of the age. The Son of Man will send out his angels, and they will weed out of his kingdom everything that causes sin and all who do evil. They will throw them into the fiery furnace, where there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth. Then the righteous will shine like the sun in the kingdom of their Father. He who has ears, let him hear.”
quote
Whisper in my ear that Satan has moved you up. He said that you are getting to be dangerous to his kingdom. He says you are spoiling his plans, you are thwarting his purposes. You are pulling down his strongholds. We are not pulling things down! We’re building pretty little churches and little rooms for people to sit around. If Jesus came back He wouldn’t clean the temple, He’d cleanse the pulpit. We are in grave danger when we let our accomplishments become the ground of our confidence. Oh boy, how we want to be esteemed, how we want to be respected, how people should realize what precious the gifts of the spirit I’ve been given. You know why they don’t? Because you stink with pride, that’s why.
- Leonard Ravenhill
scripture
Psalm 42:5-8
Why are you downcast, O my soul? Why so disturbed within me? Put your hope in God, for I will yet praise him, my Savior and my God. My soul is downcast within me; therefore I will remember you from the land of the Jordan, the heights of Hermon—from Mount Mizar. Deep calls to deep in the roar of your waterfalls; all your waves and breakers have swept over me. By day the LORD directs his love, at night his song is with me— a prayer to the God of my life.
quote
I have talked with people that have no assurance of sins forgiven. They want to feel saved before they are willing to commit themselves to Christ. But I believe that the only ones whom God actually witnesses by His spirit, are born again. [These] are the people who, whether they say it or not, come to Jesus Christ and say something like this, “Lord Jesus, I am going to obey you, and love you, and serve you, and do what you want me to do as long as I live. Even if I go to hell at the end of the road simply because You are Worthy to be loved, and obeyed, and served, and I am not trying to make a deal with you.”
Paris Reidhead, Ten Shekels and a Shirt
scriptures
Proverbs 22:4
Humility and the fear of the LORD bring wealth and honor and life.
quote
The really tough thing about true humility is you can't brag about it.
Gene Brown
