We welcome your stories of the "heros" in our community. They can be soldiers in God's Army or in our war on terror. We also welcome testimonials and inspirational stories of how you chose the "road less traveled" that led to a life of "joy and peace that surpasses all understanding".
More Great Quotes
By Various Authors
"If you believe what you like in the Gospel, and reject what you don't like, it is not the Gospel you believe, but yourself." - Augustine.
"If you study the Bible without applying it to your daily life, then it would be better not to study it at all." - Zac Poonen
"Our Faith must be tested. God builds no ships but what He sends to sea." - D.L. Moody
"Holiness is an impossibility - without the HOLY Spirit." - Anonymous
"God always visits his people when they reach the point of desperation." - Stephen Olford
"This generation of Christians is responsible for this generation of souls on the earth!" - Keith Green
"Do not pray for easy lives, pray to be better men and women. Do not pray for tasks equal to your strength, pray for strength equal to your tasks." - Phillips Brooks
"If God sends us on strong paths, we are provided strong shoes." - Corrie ten Boom
"You will never please everybody. Some men will say you have gone too far. Other men will say you haven't gone far enough. I just compromise and say I won't please anybody." - A.W. Tozer
><> January 27, 2012
More Great Quotes
By Various Authors
"On some positions, Cowardice asks the question, "Is it safe?" Expediency asks the question, "Is it politic?" And Vanity comes along and asks the question, "Is it popular?" But Conscience asks the question "Is it right?" And there comes a time when one must take a position that is neither safe, nor politic, nor popular, but he must do it because Conscience tells him it is right." – Martin Luther King
"There is nothing, indeed, which God will not do for a man who dares to step out upon what seems to be the mist; though as he puts his foot down he finds a rock beneath him." - F. B. Meyer
"Our circumstances are not an accurate reflection of God's goodness. Whether life is good or bad, God's goodness, rooted in His character, is the same."- Helen Grace Lescheid
"It's exciting to live in complete oneness with the will of God. It is never dull or static because it is not a one-time, once-for-all commitment. It is something we have to work at constantly, moment by moment." - Evelyn Christenson
"What else will do except faith in such a cynical, corrupt time? When the country goes temporarily to the dogs, cats must learn to be circumspect, walk on fences, sleep in trees, and have faith that all this woofing is not the last word."- Garrison Keillor
"If you feel stuck, bring your whole self to Christ, not just the problem, but you. Ask God to change your heart. Commit yourself to pray to that end. It's God's heart to give good gifts to His children." - Sheila Walsh
"Why do so many Christians pray such tiny prayers when their God is so big?" - Watchman Nee
><> January 20, 2012
More Great Quotes
By Various Authors
"If I profess with the loudest voice and clearest exposition every portion of the truth of God except precisely that point which the world and the devil are at that moment attacking, I am not confessing Christ, however boldly I may be professing Christ. Where the battle rages, there the loyalty of the soldier is proved, and to be steady on all the battlefield besides, is mere flight and disgrace if he flinches at that point." - Martin Luther
"If the doctrine of Christian union is true, then division and sectarianism are a great and prodigious evil, and therefore ought to be abolished. Who then will lay the axe to the root of this corrupt tree to help cut it down?" - D.S. Warner
"There is no Christian Gospel if history simply unwinds into a meaningless puddle, if the cosmos simply escapes into a cataclysmic black hole, or if the universe finally dies of exhausted energy. Without belief in a biblical eschatology, there is no Christian hope. Without a sense of perfect moral judgment in the end, the human heart is homeless." - R. Albert Mohler, Jr.
"To be where God is quietly talked about seems a lovely thing. But to be where God really grips us is a risky matter. As long as a Living God is about and given any chance at all, it will be found dangerous to be in His presence. Dangerous, that is, to everything that is more to our liking than it is to His." - Dr. Paul S. Rees
"If rich men only knew when they died, how . . .their relatives would scramble for their money, the worms for their bodies, and the devil for their souls, they would not be so anxious to save money!" - William Tiptaft
“Only fix even the smallest amount you purpose to give of your income, and give this regularly; and as God is pleased to increase your light and grace, and is pleased to prosper you more, so give more. If you neglect in habitual giving, a regular giving, a giving principle based upon Scriptural grounds, and leave it only to feeling and impulse, or particular arousing circumstances, you will certainly be a loser.” – George Mueller
><> January 13, 2012
More Great Quotes
By Various Authors
"A man who loves you the most is the man who tells you the most truth about yourself." - Robert Murray M'Cheyne
"You don't need to know the word of God; you need to know the God of the word." - Leonard Ravenhill
“God's will is hard only when it comes up against our stubbornness, then it is as cruel as a ploughshare and as devastating as an earthquake.” - Oswald Chambers
"Half a dozen men on their knees for 60 minutes waiting upon the Lord with the absolute conviction that they have no answer, that their human ideas and programmes are ineffective and bankrupt - they will accomplish more than 50 men around a table discussing problems for a whole year." - Alan Redpath
"It takes spiritual authority to bless others. Many Christians say, "God bless you," but one clearly senses that although the words express a kind wish, they lack real spiritual authority." -M. Basilea Schlink
"We are never, never so much in danger of being proud as when we think we are humble." - C.H. Spurgeon
><> January 6, 2012
More Great Quotes
By Various Authors
The neglected heart will soon be a heart overrun with worldly thoughts; the neglected life will soon become a moral chaos; the church that is not jealously protected by mighty intercession and sacrificial labors will before long become the abode of every evil bird and the hiding place for unsuspected corruption. The creeping wilderness will soon take over that church that trusts in its own strength and forgets to watch and pray." - A. W. Tozer
"The old cross slew men; the new cross entertains them. The old cross condemned; the new cross amuses. The old cross destroyed confidence in the flesh; the new cross encourages it." - A.W. Tozer
"Revival is when God gets so sick and tired of being misrepresented that He shows Himself." - Leonard Ravenhill
"Conversion is not a repairing of the old building; but it takes all down, and erects a new structure. It is not the sewing on a patch of holiness; but with the true convert, holiness is woven into all his powers, principles and practice. The sincere Christian is quite a new fabric, from the foundation to the top-stone. He is a new man, a new creature; all things are become new (2 Cor 5:17)." - Joseph Alleine
"He that rides to be crowned, will not think much of a rainy day." - John Trapp
"Real prayer is communion with God" - Arthur W. Pink
><> December 30, 2011
More Great Quotes
By Various Authors
"Character is doing the right thing when nobody's looking. There are too many people who think that the only thing that's right is to get by, and the only thing that's wrong is to get caught." -J. C. Watts
"Am I not destroying my enemies when I make friends of them?" -Abraham Lincoln
"My captor walked up to me and with his sandal drew a cross in the dirt. Both prisoner and guard stood wordlessly there for a minute or two, venerating the cross, until the guard rubbed it out and walked away. This is my faith. The faith that unites and never divides, the faith that bridges unbridgeable gaps in humanity. That is my religious faith, and it is the faith I want my party to serve and the faith I hold in my country." - Senator John McCain
"Two men please God--who serves Him with all his heart because he knows Him; who seeks Him with all his heart because he knows Him not." -Nikita Ivanovich Panin
"God, give us grace to accept with serenity the things that cannot be changed, courage to change the things which should be changed, and the wisdom to distinguish the one from the other." -Reinhold Niebuhr
"Be not angry that you cannot make others as you wish them to be, since you cannot make yourself as you wish to be." -Thomas a Kempis
"When the passions become masters, they are vices." -Blaise Pascal
"Never let your head hang down. Never give up and sit down and grieve. Find another way. And don't pray when it rains if you don't pray when the sun shines." -Satchel Paige
><> December 9, 2011
God’s Powerful Army
By David Wilkerson
Something very powerful and awesome is going on in the world today —something beyond human comprehension—something that will affect the whole world in these last days.
God is preparing a small but powerful army of Christians, the most dedicated army on the face of the earth. The Lord will come forth to command them to do exploits; He is going to close out the ages with a pure, devoted, fearless remnant.
All my life I have heard stories about our godly forefathers who hated sin. These men and women knew God’s voice and spent hours, even days, in fasting and prayer. They prayed unceasingly and had the power and ability to successfully stand up against immorality in their day.
These forefathers have long since passed on. But God is in the process of raising up another army and this time His warriors will not be made up only of elderly, gray-haired fathers and mothers of Zion. This new army will be composed of both new and seasoned believers, both young and old, ordinary Christians who lay hold of God! A whole new realm of ministry is about to come forth!
The denominational church system appears to be in the throes of death. It has almost no influence in the secular world, no mighty power in Christ. Some accuse me of being “hard” on pastors. But I am in touch with many godly pastors who grieve as I do over the backsliding in the ministry today. There is a holy remnant of godly pastors in the land, and I thank God for every one of them. Yet, it is still a fact that more and more ministers are racing down the road of compromise.
The Bible warns that we are not to fret! God has a plan and it is being manifested. It is put forth plainly in Scripture, mostly in the first four chapters of First Samuel.
The prophet Samuel is a type of God’s last-days remnant. The Lord chose him amid the worst of times and hid him away in training until it was time to bring forth His new thing. God told Samuel, “Behold, I will do something in Israel at which both ears of everyone who hears it will tingle” (1 Samuel 3:11). What would so amaze and startle all who heard it? It was the judgment of God on the backslidden religious system and the raising up, training and anointing of a new, holy remnant!
What God did in Samuel’s day, He does in every generation. Indeed, in every generation there has been a remnant, a praying people after His own heart.
Birth of the Last Days Remnant
The prophet Samuel is a type of the last-days holy remnant—a prepared body of believers that rises out of the ruins of the old, decadent church.
Hannah, Samuel’s mother, birthed her son through bitter tears and much prayer. “And she was in bitterness of soul, and prayed to the Lord and wept in anguish” (1 Samuel 1:10).
Try to imagine the scene: Hannah was at the temple every day, on her knees before the altar, crushed and broken because she was childless. As she wept, her adversary—her husband’s other wife— made fun of her. “And her rival also provoked her severely, to make her miserable, because the Lord had closed her womb” (1 Samuel 1:6).
There are three important things I want to point out from this passage:
* First, the remnant that Samuel represents is born in grief and intercession.
* Second, those who pray and grieve after God’s heart will be provoked by adversaries.
* And third, God’s remnant is always going to be misunderstood!
Note what happened to Hannah as she prayed: “And it happened, as she continued praying before the Lord, that Eli watched her mouth. Now Hannah spoke in her heart; only her lips moved, but her voice was not heard. Therefore Eli thought she was drunk. So Eli said to her, ‘How long will you be drunk? Put your wine away from you!’” (1 Samuel 1:12-14). Eli and his sons represent the dying, corrupt church that has forsaken the Lord’s way. Eli was so out of touch—so dead in his spirit—he thought Hannah was drunk!
When Hannah was praying, she was filled with grief, burdened for the birth of a son. All she could do was move her lips because of her groaning in the Spirit. She prayed, “If You will indeed look on the affliction of Your maidservant and remember me, and . . . will give Your maidservant a male child, then I will give him to the Lord all the days of his life” (1 Samuel 1:11).
Here are two distinguishing marks of God’s holy remnant:
* They pray like Hannah. Their burden is deep and their heart is stirred because of the wickedness in God’s house.
* Like Hannah, they give themselves to prayer every day of their lives.
God wants to make you like that. He wants you to be able to touch Him and hear from Him. He wants to give you a ministry to others who will come to you with their burdens and trials. And as you pray for them, His Word will come forth!
-Please comment on this topic at the website below- http://www.johnthebaptisttv.com/
><> December 6, 2011
More Great Quotes
By Various Authors
"Not to be afflicted is a sign of weakness; for, therefore God imposeth no more on me, because he sees I can bear no more." — Joseph Hall
"When we grow careless of keeping our souls, then God recovers our taste of good things again by sharp crosses." — Richard Sibbes
"The winter prepares the earth for the spring, so do afflictions sanctified prepare the soul for glory." — Richard Sibbes
"Do not even such things as are most bitter to the flesh, tend to awaken Christians to faith and prayer, to a sight of the emptiness of this world, and the fadingness of the best it yield?... How then can we be offended at things by which we reap so much good?" — John Bunyan
"As the wicked are hurt by the best things, so the godly are bettered by the worst." — William Jenkyn
"He that rides to be crowned, will not think much of a rainy day." — John Trapp
"Afflictions are light when compared with what we really deserve. They are light when compared with the sufferings of the Lord Jesus. But perhaps their real lightness is best seen by comparing them with the weight of glory which is awaiting us." — Arthur W. Pink
><> December 2, 2011
More Great Quotes
By Various Authors
"Lord...bend me lower, Lord, down at Jesus' feet. Holy Spirit, bend me until your work's complete." - Ron Owens
"The essence of idolatry is the entertainment of thoughts about God that are unworthy of Him. The heaviest obligation lying upon the Christian Church today is to purify and elevate her concept of God until it is once more worthy of Him." -A.W. Tozer
"Get a single, solitary thought in your mind, and that thought - the precious love of Jesus. Go and live it out, and come what may, you will be respected though abused. They may say you are an enthusiast, a fanatic, a fool, but those names from the world are titles of praise and glory. The world does not take the trouble to nickname a man unless he is worth it. It will not give you any censure unless it trembles at you." - Charles Spurgeon
“It was the greatest honor God did to man that he made man in the image of God; but it is the greatest dishonor man has done to God that he has made God in the image of man.” - Matthew Henry
"Do you wish to rise? Begin by descending. You plan a tower that will pierce the clouds? Lay first the foundation of humility." -Augustine.
"The Lord uses his flail of tribulation to separate the chaff from the wheat." - John Bunyan
"If Christ justifies you, he will sanctify you." - Robert Murray McCheyne
"Men will allow God to be everywhere except on his Throne" -Charles Spurgeon
"Light means nothing to a blind man." - A.W. Tozer
"Some preachers ought to put more fire into their sermons or more sermons into the fire." - Vance Havner
"The Bible definitely is infallible, how else could it survive so many years of bad preaching?" - Leonard Ravenhill
><> November 18, 2011
More Great Quotes
By Various Authors
"The Holy Ghost does not come upon methods, but upon men. He does not anoint machinery, but men. He does not work through organizations, but through men. He does not dwell in buildings, but men. He indwells the Body of Christ, directs its activities, distributes its forces, empowers its members." - Samuel Chadwick
"Western culture has things a little backwards right now. We think that if we had every comfort available to us, we'd be happy. We equate comfort with happiness. And now we're so comfortable we're miserable. There's no struggle in our lives. No sense of adventure. We get in a car, we get in an elevator, it all comes easy. What I've found is that I'm never more alive than when I'm pushing and I'm in pain, and I'm struggling for high achievement..." - Dean Karnaze
"Determine to PRACTICE whatever you read. Christians should be walking Bibles, living the truths written. The Word is not only a guide to knowledge, but a guide to obedience. A holy reading of God’s Word, results in our fleeing from sins, and practicing the duties commanded. 'I have kept my feet from every evil path so that I might obey Your word.' Psalm 119:101" - Thomas Watson.
"To know what you believe, look at what you do." - Anonymous
"There is nothing so permanent as a short-term compromise." -Ron Bailey
"Oh to fully realize the littleness of time and greatness of eternity!" - Thomas Chalmers
"Idle hands? But the Master is calling for thee! Art thou willing His call to receive? Are you idly wiling life's hours away? Will you go that they might believe?" - Anonymous
"The one thing that is said to have suprised God is that the voice of intercession had ceased. 'And he saw that there was no man, and wondered that there was no intercessor' (Isaiah 59:16). His delivering mercy depends upon intercessors, who will put their shoulders under the burdens of others..." - Samuel Chadwick
><> November 4, 2011
Great Quotes on Love
By Various Authors
'"God is Light." "God is Love." That which professes to be light yet lacks love, is not of God; while that which calls itself love, but is not according to light is equally not of God.' -J. Charleton Steen.
"If the first mark of a true and living church is love, the second is suffering. The one is naturally consequent on the other. A willingness to suffer proves the genuineness of love." - John Stott
"A little love has made me willingly study, preach, write, and even suffer..." - Richard Baxter
"Wherever the fear of God rules in the heart, it will appear both in works of charity and piety, and neither will excuse us from the other." - Matthew Henry
"To love as Christ loves is to let our love be a practical thing and not a sentimental thing." - Sir Charles Villiers Stanford.
"What we love usually manages to get into our conversation. What is down in the well of the heart will come up in the bucket of the speech." - Vance Havner.
"Love rejoices not in iniquity, but rejoices in the truth." -1 Cor 13:6.
><> October 28, 2011
More Great Quotes
By Various Authors
"Whatever else you fail of, do not fail of the influence of the Holy Spirit; that is the only way you can handle the consciences of men." - David Brainerd
"With all thy getting, get unction." - Leonard Ravenhill.
"If the whole Church goes off into deception, that will in no way excuse us for not following Christ." - Leonard Ravenhill
"Consider how immense the sum of the sins of the world must be! The sins that one of us commits in one day are very numerous. If all our proud thoughts could be known, and all our rebellious feelings against God could be exposed, how vast would be the amount! But consider what millions of millions of men have lived on this earth; what treachery, what blasphemy, what murders, what idolatry, have defiled it in every place, at every moment. Yet all these multiplied crimes Jesus can take away; so great is the power of his blood. O that all the world would come to the Lamb of God, that they might all be cleansed from their innumerable transgressions." -Favell Lee Mortimer
"If you have men who will only come if they know there is a good road, I don't want them. I want men who will come if there is no road at all." - David Livingstone
"The more grace Christians have, the more clearly they can see the contrast between holiness and sin. This will necessarily lead them to pray more often, earnestly, and fervently, give them a disrelish for the vanities of the world, and a sincere and hearty desire to devote all they have to Christ and to serve Him entirely." - Ann "Nancy" Judson
"I too have found a secret and I hope it will prove the defining point of my life. It is not so much where I am, or what I am doing, rather it is all about WHO is with me." - Alan Martin
><> October 21, 2011
More Great Quotes
By Various Authors
"You cannot know God beyond the point of your obedience to what you already know of Him." - T. Austin Sparks
“Why do we idolise Christian singers and speakers? We go from glorifying musicians in the world to glorifying Christian musicians. It’s all idolatry!…Satan is getting a great victory as we seem to worship these ministers on tapes and records and clammer to get their autographs in churches and concert halls from coast to coast.” - Keith Green
"Paul never glamorized the gospel! It is not success, but sacrifice! It's not a glamous gospel ,but a bloody gospel, a gory gospel, and a sacrificial gospel! 5 minutes inside eternity and we will wish that we had sacrificed more!!! Wept more, bled more, grieved more, loved more, prayed more, given more!!!" - Leonard Ravenhill
"God's wounds cure, sin's kisses kill." - William Gurnall
"Only a life of prayer and meditation will render a vessel ready for the Master's use." - George Mueller
"God gets me into a relationship with Himself whereby I understand His call, then I do things out of sheer love for Him on my own account. To serve God is the deliberate love-gift of a nature that has heard the call of God." - Oswald Chambers
"It is our duty not to not only hold fast, but to hold forth the Word of life; not only to hold fast for our own benefit, but to hold it forth for the benefit of others, to hold it forth as the candlestick holds forth the candle, which makes it appear to advantage all around, or as the luminaries of the heavens, which shed their influences far and wide." - Matthew Henry
><> October 7, 2011
More Great Quotes
By Various Authors
"It is very easy for us to speak and theorize about faith, but God often casts us into crucibles to try our gold, and to separate it from the dross and alloy. Oh, happy are we if the hurricanes that ripple life's unquiet sea have the effect of making Jesus more precious. Better the storm with Christ than smooth waters without Him." --Macduff
“Depend upon it, if you are bent on prayer, the devil will not leave you alone. He will molest you, tantalize you, block you, and will surely find some hindrances, big or little or both. And we sometimes fail because we are ignorant of his devices…I do not think he minds our praying about things if we leave it at that. What he minds, and opposes steadily, is the prayer that prays on until it is prayed through, assured of the answer.” - Mary Warburton Booth
"We are not praying that our borders be opened. We are praying that heaven be opened." - The prayer of a church under persecution in Vietnam
"The three secrets of the christian life are: 1. humility 2. humility 3. humility. God opposes the proud but gives grace to the humble." -Zac Poonen
"I have decided to follow Jesus, Tho' no one joins me, still I will follow, The world behind me, the cross before me, No turning back, no turning back." - S. Sundar Singh
"The aim and final end of all music should be none other than the glory of God and the refreshment of the soul." - Johann Sebastian Bach
"A fish only has liberty in the water.
A bird only has liberty in the air.
You, a child of God, only have liberty in Holiness.
You were created for it." - Dean Taylor
><> September 30, 2011
More Great Quotes
By Various Authors
“Why do so many marriages turn out ill? Is it not often because each seeks rather to get than to give, to be ministered to rather than to minister?” ~ F. B. Meyer
“God never can use any man very much till he has grace enough to forget himself entirely while doing God’s work; for He will not give His glory to another nor share with the most valued instrument the praise that belongs to Jesus Christ alone.” ~ A. B. Simpson
“The greatest miracle Almightily God can do is to take an unholy man out of an unholy world, make that unholy man holy, put him back in an unholy world and keep him holy! It takes all the power of the Atonement to do that, plus the indwelling of the Spirit of God and all the promises of God.” ~ Leonard Ravenhill
“Great sermons lead the people to praise the preacher. Good preaching leads the people to praise the Saviour.” ~ Charles Finney
“I believe that God has given to Christian men the responsibility of fighting for and protecting the doctrine of the Church, and it is a tragedy that we don’t have more strong men of conviction who will fight to protect the Gospel.” - David Pawson
"They have sold the truth for popularity!" - Derek Prince
><> September 16, 2011
More Great Quotes
By Various Authors
“When I try, I fail. When I trust, He succeeds.” - Corrie Ten Boom
“Great cathedrals and costly houses of worship dazzle our eyes and stir the wonder of the passerby; mighty throngs stream through their aisles every Sabbath; and yet there is a situation that chills the hearts of many of God’s wisest servants. It is a good time to inquire, ‘Where is the Lord God of Elijah?’” - Rev. E. K. Cox, 1929
“One hundred religious persons knit into a unity by careful organization do not constitute a church any more than eleven dead men make a football team.” - A.W. Tozer
“We live in a day of itching ears but I have no commission from God to scratch them.” - Leonard Ravenhill
“A true love of God must begin with a delight in his holiness.” -Jonathan Edwards
“Religion today is not transforming people; rather it is being transformed by the people. It is not raising the moral level of society; it is descending to society’s own level, and congratulating itself that it has scored a victory because society is smilingly accepting its surrender.” - A. W. Tozer
“The early church was married to poverty, prisons and persecutions. Today, the church is married to prosperity, personality, and popularity.”- Leonard Ravenhill
“Trying to do the Lord’s work in your own strength is the most confusing, exhausting, and tedious of all work. But when you are filled with the Holy Spirit, then the ministry of Jesus just flows out of you.” - Corrie Ten Boom.
><> September 2, 2011
More Great Quotes
By Various Authors
"To be right with God, has often meant to be in trouble with men." -A.W. Tozer
“Some want to live within the sound of church or chapel bell; I want to run a rescue shop within a yard of hell.” - C. T. Studd
“If your faith does not make you pray, have nothing to do with it: get rid of it, and God help thee to begin again.” - Charles Spurgeon
"To bear the cross means that you refrain from doing what you have the power to do. You are qualified to fulfill your desire, yet you refrain from doing so. A person like this is the strongest person. The strongest person is not the one who is able to do something, but the one who is able not to do what he has the power to do." - Watchman Nee
“If you are under the dominion of sin, you are yet an utter stranger to the salvation of God.” - Catherine Booth
“The popular gospel of this day, is the laughing-stock of Hell; it dare neither damn the sinner, nor sanctify the saint.” - Catherine Booth
”Discernment is not knowing the difference between right and wrong. It is knowing the difference between right and almost right.” – Charles H. Spurgeon
“Hell is a lesson learned too late” - Anon.
><> August 5, 2011
More Great Quotes
By Various Authors
“Christians don't tell lies – they just go to church and sing them.” - A. W. Tozer
"It's Jesus - only Jesus" - Denny Kenaston
"To the degree that I'm willing to submit to God, He is able to change and conform me to the image of Christ." - Dr. Jerry Benjamin
"God did not save us to make us happy, He saved us to make us holy." - Dr. Jerry Benjamin
"The greatest glory Jesus brought to God was not when he walked on lthe water or prayed for long hours, but when he cried in agony in the Garden of Gethsemane and still continued to follow God's will, even though it meant isolation, darkness and the silence of God. Thus, we know that when everything around us fails, when we are destroyed and abandoned, our tears, blood and dead corpses are the greatest worship songs we have ever sung." - Ziya Meral
"One of these days some simple soul will pick up the book of God, read it, and believe it. Then the rest of us will be embarrassed." --Leonard Ravenhill
><> July 22, 2011
More Great Quotes
Provided By Sermonindex
"That which lasts forever is reality, and unless it lasts forever, God says it is not real." - Darrel Champlin
"Never was a church-wide, heaven-sent revival needed than at this present time. It is the only answer to the spiritual warfare we face in every part of the world. Bombs, bullets and body bags will never stem the tide of terror and horror that threatens human existence. We must recognize that "the weapons of our warfare are not carnal but mighty in God for pulling down strongholds..." - Stephen Olford
"God is not looking for brilliant men, is not depending upon eloquent men, is not shut up to the use of talented men in sending His Gospel out in the world. God is looking for the broken men who have judged themselves in the light of the Cross of Christ. When He wants anything done, He takes up men who have come to the end of themselves, whose confidence is not in themselves, but in God." - H.A. Ironside
"Though the cross of Christ has been beautified by the poet and the artist, the avid seeker after God is likely to find it the same savage implement of destruction it was in the days of old. The way of the cross is still the pain-wracked path to spiritual power and fruitfulness. So do not seek to hide from it. Do not accept an easy way. Do not allow yourself to be patted to sleep in a comfortable church, void of power and barren of fruit. Do not paint the cross nor deck it with flowers. Take it for what it is, as it is, and you will find it the rugged way to death and life. Let it slay you utterly." - A.W. Tozer
"So much as one person with a contrary spirit to God is enough to affect all the meetings - that the revival fire did not flow until that person broke and confessed, or the Lord removed him." - Jonathan Goforth
"I want the presence of God Himself, or I don't want anything at all to do with religion...I want all that God has or I don't want any." - A.W. Tozer
"The reality of Hell needs to be anguished over, and to be understood as a terrible and eternal calamity. Once your life ends, there is no turning back; there is no second chance; there is no way to make amends when you realize that what you have spurned all your living days in those who have preached to you, and witnessed to you is, in fact, true." -Art Katz
><> June 10, 2011
More Great Quotes
By Various Authors
The reason why many Jews—I‘m not among them—are fearful of Christianity is, they‘re tired of Christians saying that we‘re a bunch of Christ killers. They‘re tired of the lie that we killed Jesus. - Shmuley Boteach
One reason, of course, as a Christian, I believe the Bible is the word of God. I take the Bible as the standard.- Jerry Falwell
If you are a Christian, you are free to think that all these religions, even the queerest ones, contain at least some hint of the truth. - C.S. Lewis
God remits guilt to no one whom He does not, at the same time, humble in all things and bring into subjection to His vicar, the priest. - Martin Luther
It's a paradise that we are going to go into, because to be in the presence of God itself will be a paradise. - Billy Graham
I think the people, the Bible says render your hearts and not your garments, and people begin to render their hearts and they weep before the Lord, and they really get serious with God. - Pat Robertson
><> May 20, 2011
More Great Quotes
By Various Authors
"It does not appear that these extraordinary gifts of the Holy Ghost were common in the Church for more than two or three centuries. We seldom hear of them after that fatal period when the Emperor Constantine called himself a Christian;...From this time they almost totally ceased;...The Christians had no more of the Spirit of Christ than the other heathens....This was the real cause why the extraordinary fits of the Holy Ghost were no longer to be found in the Christian Church; because the Christians were turned Heathens again, and had only a dead form left." - John Wesley
"When the Lord's sheep are a dirty grey, all black sheep are more comfortable." - Vance Havner
“Depend upon it, if you are bent on prayer, the devil will not leave you alone. He will molest you, tantalize you, block you, and will surely find some hindrances, big or little or both. And we sometimes fail because we are ignorant of his devices…I do not think he minds our praying about things if we leave it at that. What he minds, and opposes steadily, is the prayer that prays on until it is prayed through, assured of the answer.” - Mary Warburton Booth
"God loves with a great love the man whose heart is bursting with a passion for the IMPOSSIBLE." - William Booth.
"Apostolic preaching is not marked by its beautiful diction, or literary polish, or Cleverness of expression, but Operates 'in demonstration of the Spirit and of power.'" - Arthur Wallis
"I hope some of you will agree with me that it is of far greater importance that we have better Christians than that we have more of them! If we have any spiritual concerns, our most pressing obligation is to do all in our power to obtain a revival that will result in a
reformed, revitalized, purified church... followers of Christ must become personally and vitally involved in the death and resurrection of Christ. And this requires repentance, prayer, watchfulness, self-denial, detachment from the world, humility, obedience and cross-carrying.." -A.W. Tozer
"He is no fool who gives away what he can not keep, to gain that which he can not lose." - Author Unknown
><> May 13, 2011
6 Famous Christian Mothers
By James Smith
Mom's have always played a vital role in our lives, and Mother's Day is a great chance remember and give thanks to moms. Over the centuries, Moms have been given jobs of great faith.
 |
Mother of Moses
Jochebed was the wife of Amram and the mother of Moses. We learn about her the most in Exodus 2. Pharaoh commanded the mid-wives to kill all boy Hebrew babies. The mid-wives feared God more and Moses was born anyway. Mothers and fathers have often feared over the future of their children.
Imagine Jochebed's fears! Moses was born into a super hostile world. Eventually she placed her baby boy in a basket and let him float down the river. He was found by Pharaoh's daughter and spared. Who knows if Jochebed placed him on the river strategically close to Pharaoh's daughter or not.
However, her heart had to have broke as he him floated away from her. Pharaoh's daughter saw a beautiful child and needed some one to nurse him. Jochebed was the woman hired to perform this task. Moses was taught about God during this time. No matter how hostile the environment a godly woman can teach her children about God.
Mother of Samuel
Hannah was the wife of Elkanah, but she was barren, 1 Samuel 1. She prayed to God for a child.
"O Lord of hosts, if You will indeed look on the affliction of Your maidservant and remember me, and not forget Your maidservant, but will give Your maidservant a male child, then I will give him to the Lord all the days of his life, and no razor shall come upon his head" (1 Samuel 1:11).
This woman dedicated her son to the Lord. After he grew she weaned him and took him to Eli. There is no definite age, however we do know this child was very young. "Moreover his mother used to make him a little robe, and bring it to him year by year when she came up with her husband to offer the yearly sacrifice" (1 Samuel 2:19).
Mother of Isaac
The changing of Sarah's name was more than a play with words. Sarah meant mother of nations. Every time someone called Sarah or anytime she introduced herself to someone she was making a statement of faith, calling herself the mother of many nations even before she had a child. By this time she was already 90 years old.
GEN 18:10 "Then the LORD said, 'I will surely return to you about this time next year, and Sarah your wife will have a son.'"
Sarah eventually gave birth to Isaac.
Mother of Jesus
Mary the mother of Jesus, although a virgin and promised to marry to Joseph, was with child. She was not asked how she felt about this situation.
God chose Mary and she had to accept what happened.
This was durring a time where young unmarried pregnant women at that time were stoned.
She was going to have the Savior of the world. During her life she would get to see him grow (Luke 2:52), perform miracles (John 2:1-11), gather large crowds (John 6), and God's Word.
Mother of Timothy
Lois was the mother of Eunich, 2 Timothy 1:5. Often we read of her grandson, Timothy. However, Timothy's mother was Eunich.
We also know that Timothy's father was a gentile, Acts 16:1. We also know Timothy learned the Holy Scriptures while growing up, "from childhood you have known the Holy Scriptures" (2 Timothy 3:15a). Lois and Eunich worked as a team in teaching Timothy.
Perhaps One Of The Most Famous Moms in Christian History...
Is that of Monica of Hippo. She was Augustine of Hippos mother, born in the year 332 in what's now modern day Algeria. Monica married a pagan non-Christian man who was very violent. She constantly prayed for him and he eventually did become a Christian.
When her eldest son Augustine of Hippo went off to study in Carthage, he got into a life of Manichaeism (a form of Buddhism). Later, she went to see a holy bishop who consoled her with the now famous words "the child of those tears shall never perish".
She prayed with heavy tears for 7 straight years until Augustine eventually did convert to Christianity. Not only did he become a Christian, he studied to become a priest and wrote many famous books.
About the Author - James Smith is the founder of PreachIt.org and has many sermons, powerpoints and articles to help you, as a minister of the gospel, reach out to your congregation. If you would like to learn more about James Smith log onto PreachIt.org.
><> May 6, 2011
More Great Quotes
Various Authors
"One of these days some simple soul will pick up the book of God, read it, and believe it. Then the rest of us will be embarrassed." -Leonard Ravenhill
"The opportunity of a lifetime must be seized within the lifetime of the opportunity." - Leonard Ravenhill
“Depend upon it, if you are bent on prayer, the devil will not leave you alone. He will molest you, tantalize you, block you, and will surely find some hindrances, big or little or both. And we sometimes fail because we are ignorant of his devices…I do not think he minds our praying about things if we leave it at that. What he minds, and opposes steadily, is the prayer that prays on until it is prayed through, assured of the answer.” - Mary Warburton Booth
“You have nothing to do but to save souls. Therefore spend and be spent in this work. And go not only to those that need you, but to those that need you most…It is not your business to preach so many times, and to take care of this or that society; but to save as many souls as you can; to bring as many sinners as you possibly can to repentance.” – John Wesley
“Only they who fulfill God’s commands have a claim on the Lord.” - Leonard Ravenhill
"God loves with a great love the man whose heart is bursting with a passion for the IMPOSSIBLE." - William Booth.
"Prayer is occupation with my needs, Praise is occupation with my blessings, but Worship is occupation with God Himself." - Leonard Ravenhill
><> April 29, 2011
More Great Quotes
By Various Authors
"The great misconception in our day is this: that God isn't concerned to protect His own integrity. He's a kind of wishy-washy deity, who just waves a wand of forgiveness over everybody. No. For God to forgive you is a very costly matter." -R.C. Sproul
"A revival of religion presupposes a declension." - Charles G. Finney
"I had this day a great sense of the emptiness and vanity of all things here below. If I had millions and millions of worlds, they would not make me happy. Christ is all in all, in him I find a solid peace." - Henry Alline
"Do not we rest in our day too much on the arm of flesh? Cannot the same wonders be done now as of old? Do not the eyes of the Lord still run to and fro throughout the whole earth to show Himself strong on behalf of those who put their trust in Him? Oh, that God would give me more practical faith in Him! Where is now the Lord God of Elijah? He is waiting for Elijah to call on Him." - James Gilmour of Mongolia
"I have need of nothing." - The Laodicean Church
"I have seen, at different times, the smoke of a thousand villages - villages whose people are without Christ, without God, and without hope in the world." - Robert Moffat
"A man with God is always in the majority." - John Knox
><> April 1, 2011
More Great Quotes
By Various Authors
"When the Lord's sheep are a dirty grey, all black sheep are more comfortable." - Vance Havner
“O Luther, you had 95 theses . . . The matter is far more terrible—there is only one thesis. The Christianity of the New Testament does not exist at all. Here there is nothing to reform.” - Soren Kierkegaard
"God did not save us to make us happy, He saved us to make us holy." - Dr. Jerry Benjamin
"In seasons of severe trial, the Christian has nothing on earth that he can trust to, and is therefore compelled to cast himself on God alone. When no human deliverance can avail, he must simply and entirely trust himself to the providence and care of God. Happy storm that wrecks a man on such a rock as this! O blessed hurricane that drives the soul to God--and God alone!" - Spurgeon
"I am much afraid that schools will prove to be ‘great gates of hell’ unless they diligently labor in explaining the Holy Scriptures, engraving them in the hearts of youth. I advise no one to place his child where the Scriptures do not reign paramount. Every institution in which men are not increasingly occupied with the Word of God must become corrupt." - Martin Luther
"One of these days some simple soul will pick up the book of God, read it, and believe it. Then the rest of us will be embarrassed." -Leonard Ravenhill
"The opportunity of a lifetime must be seized within the lifetime of the opportunity." - Leonard Ravenhill
><> March 25, 2011
 |
C.S. Lewis, ca 1947 |
More Great Quotes
By Various Authors
"If you have no wish to bring others to heaven, you are not going there yourself." -C.H. Spurgeon
"Make it an object of constant study, and of daily reflection and prayer, to learn how to deal with sinners so as to promote their conversion." -Charles G. Finney
“If Jesus had preached the same message that ministers preach today, He would never have been crucified.” - Leonard Ravenhill
"Obedience is the crown and honour of all virtue." - Martin Luther
"Salvation is a helmet, not a nightcap." -Vance Havner
"The only fear I have is to fear to get out of the will of God. Outside of the will of God, there's nothing I want, and n the will of God there's nothing I fear, for God has sworn to keep me in His will. If I'm out of his will that's another matter. But if I'm in His will, He's sworn to keep me." - A. W. Tozer - Success and the Christian, 80
"Resolved: that all men should live for the glory of God. Resolved second: That whether others do or not, I will."- Jonathan Edwards
"Craving clarity, we attempt to eliminate the risk of trusting God. " - Brennan Manning
"The Church exists for nothing else but to draw men into Christ, to make them little Christs. If they are not doing that, all the cathedrals, clergy, missions, sermons, even the Bible itself, are simply a waste of time. God became Man for no other purpose." -C.S. Lewis
><> March 11, 2011
More Great Quotes
By Various Authors
"All we need is need." - John Gertsner
"Of all the duties enjoined by Christianity none is more essential and yet more neglected than prayer." - Fenelon
"You know, we live in a day when we are more afraid of holiness than we are of sinfulness. We accommodate ourselves to iniquity not only in the world, but in the fellowships round about." -Leonard Ravenhill
"Friend, you will never stumble as long as you are on your knees!" -Raymond Beasley
"You say to me; 'Oh brother, we are "in the world" [and not of it]' Sure you are, but you don't have to pump it into your living room!! Garbage in, Garbage out !!!" - Paul Washer
"Is the world still in your heart?" - Keith Daniel
"A revival of religion presupposes a declension." - Charles G. Finney
"To be much for God, we must be much with God.Jesus, that lone figure in the wilderness, knew strong crying, along with tears. Can one be moved with compassion and not know tears? Jeremiah was a sobbing saint. Jesus wept. So did Paul. So did John....Though there are some tearful intercessors behind the scenes, I grant you that to our modern Christianity, praying is foreign." - Leonard Ravenhill
><> February 25, 2011
True Valentines
By Dr. Michael A. Halleen
"Dear friends, let us love one another, for love comes from God." (1 John 4:7)
Valentine's Day is coming up. This love business is a tricky thing. In western culture, we have it all wrapped up with emotion, as though love springs from liking someone enough to have warm feelings toward them. In fact, love is a way of acting toward another, regardless of feelings.
Mr. Alwin was my English teacher in high school and director of the junior class play in which I had a role requiring me to kiss Sally Brunzell. Inexperienced at sixteen, I had never kissed a girl before, and my first attempts in rehearsal were evidently awkward even beyond what's expected in a high school play. Mr. Alwin called Sally and me into his classroom after school one afternoon and told us we had to improve. "I want you to practice here and now," he said, "until you get it right!" He judiciously kept the door open and remained at his desk while we went to the back of the room to practice.
"No, no, no!" he said loudly after our first faltering attempts. "What's the matter with you, Halleen?" (The fault obviously was mine.) I mumbled something to the effect that I could kiss Sally better if we loved each other. "Feelings have nothing to do with how to kiss her!" he roared from across the room. "This is for the stage!" He proceeded to give me specific direction on the proper techniques of a stage kiss. It was the first time I had to think about separating feelings of love from actions of love.
A few years later, while in college and living with my widowed grandfather, I asked him about something we had read in a student Bible study about loving God. I confessed that I was having a hard time mustering up any feelings for God. "Love for God has nothing to do with feelings," this wise veteran preacher told me. "To love God is to obey God. It's about what you do, not what you feel."
Mr. Alwin's classroom and my grandfather's dinner table were two places where I began to understand love's reality. Feelings come and go, but actions can be carried out with a degree of consistency. If love demands that I feel warm and cozy toward an enemy, or even a friend, I'm lost. But if it requires only that I act in a way that is kind and truthful, whatever my feelings, there's hope. And that's the love to which God calls us. That's being a *true* valentine.
Sally's and my stage kiss was carried out successfully. "I knew you could do it," Mr. Alwin said.
<> February 14, 2011
Great Christian Quotes
By Various Authors
Freedom prospers when religion is vibrant and the rule of law under God is acknowledged. - Ronald Reagan
If you have great challenges, have greater faith. - Leinani Kamaka
God is the author of who we are and where we are to go. - Ley Anne
In the End, we will remember not the words of our enemies, but the silence of our friends. - Martin Luther King, Jr.
As optimism has died, human beings increasingly turned either to fundamentalist religion or to secular materialism in the constant search for meaning. -Bishop John Shelby Spong
We turn to God for help when our foundations are shaking only to learn that it is God shaking them. -Charles West
My captor walked up to me and with his sandal drew a cross in the dirt. Both prisoner and guard stood wordlessly there for a minute or two, venerating the cross, until the guard rubbed it out and walked away. This is my faith. The faith that unites and never divides, the faith that bridges unbridgeable gaps in humanity. That is my religious faith, and it is the faith I want my party to serve and the faith I hold in my country. -Senator John McCain
@ September 17, 2010
More Great Quotes
From Sermonindex.net
"Are not the Church in their present state a standing, public, perpetual denial of the gospel? Do they not stand out before the world, as a living, unanswerable contradiction of the gospel; and do more to harden sinners and lead them into a spirit of caviling and infidelity, than all the efforts of professed infidels from the beginning of the world to the present day?" - Charles Finney
"A revival of real praying would produce a spiritual revolution." -E.M. Bounds
"How often God visited the Jewish Church with judgments because they would not repent and be revived at the call of His prophets! How often have we seen Churches, and even whole denominations, cursed with a curse, because they would not wake up and seek the Lord, and pray: 'Wilt Thou not revive us again, that Thy people may rejoice in Thee?'" -Charles Finney
"All it takes to make a preacher is a sermon - but it takes an altar to make a man of God." - B.H. Clendennen
"The great number of teachers is the reason of the multitude of sects, for which we shall soon have no names left." - Jan Amos Comenius
"Only those who will risk going too far can possibly find out how far one can go." -T.S. Eliot
"The one thing we learn from history is that we don't learn from history." - Leonard Ravenhill
"Every Minister ought to know that if the prayer meetings are neglected, all his labors are in vain." -Charles Finney.
@August 27, 2010
Go and Tell…
By Dr. Michael A. Halleen
Go home to your family and tell them how much the Lord has done for you, and how he has had mercy on you. (Mark 5:19)
Jesus spoke these words to the madman of the Gadarene hills, a man he had healed and who had begged to be able to follow the Lord into other regions. No doubt his desire to leave that place had to do with the discomfort he would feel in facing the questions—and the skepticism—of family and neighbors about his changed life.
I sat in the cafeteria of Beaumont Hospital in suburban Detroit one day years ago after making a routine pastoral call. As I put the cream in my coffee, my friend Bob Byberg, a surgeon and family physician to many in our congregation, suddenly appeared and sat down across from me, dressed in his surgical garb.
“I’m afraid I’ll have to miss the church board meeting tonight,” he said. “I still have two surgeries scheduled today and then rounds to make. I won’t be out of here until at least nine.” I nodded and assured him I understood. He paused, took a deep breath, and went on. “I’ve been thinking about resigning from the board. I really can’t give it the time it deserves.”
What does one say? Here was a superb Christian, dedicated to the ministry of healing with all the skill and wisdom he had acquired over the years. I suspect that the Lord might have said Yes, go to your operating room. Do my work there. I have other followers with other gifts qualified to run the work of the church. You are commissioned to bear witness to me in this place, where you live and work.
Like the man of Gadara, we are tempted to see faraway regions and new environments as places where we might be effective men and women of faith. “If only I were in different circumstances,…” we tell ourselves. “When things get better for me,…” we imagine. “If I were among strangers,” the healed man said, “I could be a better witness.”
I want you here, now, Jesus said to him—and to us. Go to your family and tell them how much the Lord has done for you. Go to your workplace and live as I have taught you. Go to your neighborhood and be my person there. We serve God best when we serve him where we are now.
About the Author: Monday Moments are written by Dr. Michael A. Halleen. Contact Mike at mhalleen@att.net to be added to or removed from the distribution list.
@August 19, 2010
Great Inspirational Quote
By Various Authors
Our lives end the day we become silent about the things that matter. - Martin Luther
Be who you are and say what you feel because those who mind don't matter and those who matter don't mind. - Dr. Seuss
Imagination is more important than knowledge. For knowledge is limited to all we now know and understand, while imagination embraces the entire world, and all there ever will be to know and understand. - Albert Einstein
In the End, we will remember not the words of our enemies, but the silence of our friends. - Martin Luther King, Jr.
I asked Jesus ... "How much do you love me " And Jesus said ... "This much." Then He stretched out His arms and died. – Unknown
"If you judge people, you have not time to love them." - Mother Teresa
@August 13, 2010
More Great Quotes
By Various Authors
A man can no more diminish God's glory by refusing to worship Him than a lunatic can put out the sun by scribbling the word, 'darkness' on the walls of his cell. – C.S. Lewis
Any fool can count the seeds in an apple. Only God can count all the apples in one seed. – Robert H. Schuller
Be assured, if you walk with Him and look to Him, and expect help from Him, He will never fail you. – George Mueller
Depend on it. God’s work done in God’s way will never lack God’s supply. He is too wise a God to frustrate His purposes for lack of funds, and He can just as easily supply them ahead of time as afterwards, and He much prefers doing so. – J. Hudson Taylor
Every evening I turn my worries over to God. He's going to be up all night anyway. – Mary C. Crowley
Everyman's life is a fairy tale written by God's fingers. – Hans Christian Anderson
@ July 16, 2010
Inspirational Quotes for Independence Day!
By Various Christian Saints
One with God is a majority. - Billy Graham
He who made all men hath made the truths necessary to human happiness obvious to all… Our forefathers opened the Bible to all. - Samuel Adams
In the beginning of the contest with Britain, when we were sensible of danger, we had daily prayers in this room for Divine protection. Our prayers, Sir, were heard, and they were graciously answered… do we imagine we no longer need His assistance? – Benjamin Franklin
This is all the inheritance I can give my dear family. The religion of Christ can give them one which will make them rich indeed. – Patrick Henry
Just as all things upon earth represent and image forth all the realities of another world, so the Bible is one mighty representative of the whole spiritual life of humanity. - Helen Keller
@July 2, 2010
More Great Quotes…
By Various Christian Saints
"In times of affliction we commonly meet with the sweetest experiences of the love of God." - John Bunyan
God's wounds cure, sin's kisses kill." - William Gurnall
"As Christians, I challenge you. Have a great aim - have a high standard - make Jesus your ideal...make Him an ideal not merely to be admired but also to be followed.” - Eric Liddell
"The sorest afflictions never appear intolerable, but when we see them in the hand of God, Who dispenses them; when we know that it is our loving Father who abases and distresses us; our sufferings will lose their bitterness and become even a matter of consolation." - Brother Lawrence
"Anxiety does not empty tomorrow of its sorrows, but only empties today of its strength." - C.H. Spurgeon
"All heaven is interested in the cross of Christ, all hell terribly afraid of it, while men are the only beings who more or less ignore its meaning." - Oswald Chambers
"The Hottest places in hell are reserved for those who, in times of moral crisis, preserved their neutrality." - Dante
@ June 18, 2010
More Great Christian Quotes
By Various Christian Saints
"If any man should ask me what is the first, second, and third part of being a Christian, I must answer 'Action!' - Thomas Brooks
"In all trouble you should seek God. You should not set Him over against your troubles, but within them. God can only relieve your troubles if you in your anxiety cling to Him. Trouble should not really be thought of as this thing or that in particular, for our whole life on earth involves trouble; and through the troubles of our earthly pilgrimage we find God." - Augustine of Hippo
"Never forget that God tests his real friends more severely than his lukewarm ones." - Kathryn Hulme
"They gave our Master a crown of thorns. Why do we hope for a crown of roses?" - Martin Luther
"Besides each believer stands an angel as protector and shepherd leading him to life." - St. Basil the Great
@June 11, 2010
Great Christian Quotes…
By Some Very Honorable Men and Women
"I had rather be in hell with Christ, then be in heaven without him." - Martin Luther
"It is not possible to speak of the right to choose when a clear moral evil is involved, when what is at stake is the commandment, Do not kill!" - Mother Teresa
"Guilty? Yes, no matter what the motive, love of ease, or a desire to save from suffering the unborn innocent, the woman is awfully guilty who commits the deed. It will burden her conscience in life, it will burden her soul in death; but oh! thrice guilty is he who, for selfish gratification, heedless of her prayers, indifferent to her fate, drove her to the desperation which impels her to crime." - Susan B. Anthony
"A dog barks when his master is attacked. I would be a coward if I saw that God's truth is attacked and yet would remain silent." - John Calvin
"We could never learn to be brave and patient, if there were only joy in the world." - Helen Keller
"Set yourself earnestly to discover what you are made to do, and then give yourself passionately to the doing of it." - Martin Luther King Jr.
@June 4, 2010
Mothers in Israel
By Patrick Odum
 |
Villagers in Israel would not fight;
they held back until I, Deborah, arose,
until I arose, a mother in Israel. (Judges 5:7)
Deborah was ahead of her time.
Her story's told in the book of Judges, chapters 4 and 5. The book tells of the escapades of several early leaders in Israel, prior to the development of the monarchy. The “Judges,” as we call them in English, seem to have been mostly tribal chieftains, Robin Hood – like outlaws, or particularly skilled warriors who fought or led local wars against the nations that threatened Israel as they carved out a place for themselves in the land God had given them. Samson and Gideon, a couple of the best-known characters in the Bible, come from Judges. And then some of them are overlooked.
Like Deborah.
She was ahead of her time: a woman of influence in a time when it was men who had the influence. She was a prophet, the text tells us, and she led Israel as judge in a difficult twenty years when God had raised up a Canaanite king, Jabin, and his fleet of chariots to subjugate Israel. Most of the influence she had seems to have been because of her reputation for fairness in settling disputes. Eventually, though, her influence filtered out into larger arenas.
She got a message, apparently – a word from the Lord to a young man named Barak. She called him to her tree, the tree she sat under during the days, rendering her judgments, and she told him what God had said. He was to gather ten thousand soldiers from the tribes of Naphtali and Zebulun and go to war against Jabin. He was to lead his army up Mount Tabor, God would bring Jabin's army to the Kishon River valley, and Barak would lead a charge down from the mountains. “I will give [them] into your hands,” the Lord promised.
Barak's response to Deborah was, “OK, but not unless you go with me.”
Pretty radical for the time – a woman at the front. Deborah agrees, though God tells her that because Barak wants her to come along, it will be a woman who takes out the Canaanite general (which seems to be just fine with Barak!). The battle goes pretty much as anticipated: Deborah gives the word for the charge that finishes the Canaanites, and a woman named Jael kills their general while he sleeps in her tent, hiding out from Barak and his soldiers.
I love the song, credited to Deborah and Barak, that celebrates one of the most unusual military victories in a national history known for unusual military victories. The song celebrates how, at a time when the soldiers in Israel were afraid to lift a finger against the Canaanites, Deborah arose “a mother in Israel.” It celebrates how Deborah, as Israel's national conscience and de facto general, reminded her people of who it was that they were supposed to trust, and who they were supposed to be. Because of Deborah's courage, the song says, Barak took heart. And because Barak took heart, soldiers from tribes all over Israel came out to join his coalition. Jabin's army was routed, and his hold on Israel began to fail.
All because Deborah believed God's promises, and rallied others to believe them too.
“Mother in Israel” sums it up pretty well.
Because that's what mothers do – best, and instinctively – they believe in God's promises, and rally their children to believe in them too. Sometimes they do it with the help of their children's father, sometimes without him, sometimes in spite of him. Some of them do it in their roles as full-time homemaker, while some of them juggle careers as well. Some of these mothers in Israel focus their attentions on their biological children, and maybe their friends. Some of them adopt children who'd be motherless without them. And some are “mothers in Israel” to the boys and girls, men and women, who populate their churches and neighborhoods and classrooms. (Interesting, isn't it, that we call Deborah a mother and know nothing about her biological children – or even if she had any.)
Mothers in Israel come in all shapes, sizes, ages, temperaments, and circumstances. Their economic status can vary, as can their education, race, and skill set. Some may be acknowledged leaders, while others are just known and respected because of their wisdom and good judgment. What they have in common, though, is that they listen to God and they inspire the people who depend on them to be who he says they are and to do what he says they can.
So Happy Mothers' Day to the mothers in Israel who challenge us not to compromise what we know to be right for anything, however valuable it might be.
Happy Mothers' Day to the mothers in Israel who remind us how valuable we are to God when we forget. And who remind us that we aren't quite as great as we think when we think too much of our own abilities.
Happy Mothers' Day to the mothers in Israel who remind us of what matters when we lose our way: loving God and our neighbor. Acting justly, loving mercy and walking humbly with God. Peace, love, and joy in the Holy Spirit.
Happy Mothers' Day to the mothers in Israel who teach us firsthand and in living color about God's love, grace, and mercy.
Happy Mothers' Day to the mothers in Israel who tell us the stories in which we find ourselves.
Happy Mothers' Day to the mothers in Israel who somehow push us to be better without ever making us think that they could love us any more than they already do.
Happy Mothers' Day to the mothers in Israel who never let us settle for being good enough, who refuse to let us take refuge in easy lies and empty comfort, and who won't let us believe that any challenge is bigger than our God.
Happy Mothers' Day to the mothers in Israel who give us their heart, their strength, their youth, and would never think of taking anything in return.
We owe all of you a great debt, and can only repay it with our appreciation and our love. And we know, of course, that you've never asked for anything else.
Thank you to our Mothers in Israel, for solving our squabbles and calming our fears. And even more, for paying attention to God and telling us when we need to hear it most who he says we are and what he says we can do.
We love you, we appreciate you, and we honor you.* And we're not going anywhere if you don't go with us.
* Especially you, Laura, Mom, and Edie.
To read more from Patrick Odum, please visit his website at FaithWebBlog.com.
@May12, 2010
Sister Alissa Lynne’s Life Testimony
By Sister Alissa Lynne
Praise the Lord, my name is Sister Alissa Lynne and God is truly awesome and wonderful. He has blessed me so and I would like to share what He has done for me in my life. For the Lord is with us always, even when we do not know Him, He knows us.
At the age of six months old, I got the Asian flu, at the time there was a strain going around that was ending the lives of infants and senior citizens. My mother took me to the doctors and pretty much the doctor said to give me the medicine and that is all they could do. My mom took me home, and said she watch the life leave me, I was just as limp and swallow breathing. She told me that she rubbed me down with rubbing alcohol and prayed over me. She said she placed her child on the altar of God and committed my life to Him. An hour later I was bouncing up and down on her leg and showed no signs of having a thing.
At the age of 8 years old, I was laying in my bed and felt some one shake me. I woke up to a room full of smoke and no one there. I got up and told my mom, as we were all out the house, my bedroom blew up. The room was destroyed but I was not there! To this day, I know I was touched by God! AMEN!
At the age of 17, colon cancer attacked me. The Lord blessed me to overcome this disease. At the age of 25, thyroid cancer came to me and the Lord blessed me to overcome that illness. At the age of 33, I had cancer in my uterus, and yet again God blessed me to be here still. At the age of 38, I was diagnosed with Lupus and though I have days of flare ups, my organs have not been damaged and I know that I am healed in the name of Jesus.
From the age of 6 years old until I was 17 years old, I was molested by my step father and grew up in fear that my family would perish if I told anyone. My relationship with my mother was gravely strained and when I was able to move out, I did! I started a life of hanging out, drinking, sleeping around, experimenting with drugs but really not giving a care about my life.
I got married twice to two men who were abusive to me in more ways than one. I was at the lowest point ever in my life that I had ever been. I was a walking zombie. I wanted to die and after years of trying to kill myself and spending time with therapist and hospitals, nothing was working.
My 2nd husband of 8 years left me for another woman leaving me with my son to raise alone. I was devastated and hurting beyond belief. I knew I had to go to church and it was what I needed. I walked in the doors and felt so better. I joined the church and was baptized on July 24, 2008. The enemy attacked me as I was not reading the word of God as I should and surely was not praying as I should. I would half way do what I had to do.
The day that changed my life was when I decided I was going to take matters into my own hands; I jumped in my van and banged on the door of my estranged husband with the thought of killing him, his girlfriend and myself. As I was banging on the door, begging them to come out, a voice screamed in my head – GO HOME! I felt so different and for one moment there was a peace that came over me. I got in my van and have no idea how I got home. I was crying and could not stop. I called my aunt who is saved, and poured it out in tears.
When we got off the phone, I cried it all out to the Lord and when I was done crying, I looked in the mirror to see what God saw. I did not see what He saw but I did see me. I saw that I had to see me as He saw me. But for the first time in my life, after hearing Him speak to me to love Him with all my heart and trusting in Him, it was the beginning of a new life in Jesus.
I started talking to the Lord more, I started hearing His words to me and I was blessed to be filled with His Holy Spirit in speaking in tongues on March 2, 2006. My life has not been the same since! I am a blessed woman and sometimes I wonder why He loves me so, but you know what He loves me so much that He blesses me every day with new grace and mercy!
He sent me a man of God into my life who loved me through the pains and hurt of my past life. Jesus showed me the love of life in Him. He has shown me that He can be all that we need and when we are in Him we can live life abundantly. He has set me on a new path and a new walk in Him. I have never been this happy in my life. Sure things happen and pains come but the Lord heals me in all that I go through as long as I go to the Lord and give it to Him.
I am a blessed woman and He has laid a path before me that is awesome because the path is in Him. He has healed me in all aspects of life. I have been healed in my body, my mind, my spirit and soul! God is just so awesome, just spending time with the Lord can change your life for all eternity. I am standing in His word and I know that He will keep me!
May you continue to stand in the Lord and know that He can deliver you from any situation that you find yourself in. He will bring you out of mess that the world has dealt you and even the mess that we ourselves create! God is awesome and I am blessed in Him.
John 10:10 The thief cometh not, but for to steal, and to kill, and to destroy: I am come that they might have life, and that they might have it more abundantly.
Praise the Lord and keep walking in Jesus for your life.
Love your sister in Christ,
Sister Alissa Lynne
About the Author: She is the Founder of Women Living 4 Jesus (www.womenliving4jesus.org) You can read my life story at Living Victorious site - www.livingvictorious.com/thetruthmainpage.html
@ April 23, 2010; Source: Narrow is the Path
An Incredible Day In The History Of Haiti
By Jerry Miel (Feb 17).
I think that I will remember this day as one of the most significant in my life, not because of what I did, but for it's meaning...
Today was the one month anniversary of the great Haitian earthquake.
About 3 days ago the Haitian President announced that there would be 3 days of holiday from work for the purpose of fasting and prayer. This is absolutely historic. If you have ever been in Haiti as a visitor or missionary, could you ever have imagined such a pronouncement? Could you image such an announcementfrom the U.S. President? This morning I saw a young Haitian- American woman, the leader of a work team, crying because the Americans could not understand the incredible importance of this day and wanted to go about business as usual. Remember, it was only about 6 years ago that a former Haitian president called the nation to come together to rededicate the nation to Satan.
This was not "a minute of silence for the deceased" or something as equally insignificant. Whatever the President might have originally intended, this became a real commitment for the Haitian people. As I sit here this evening, I can hear the preaching coming from a nearby church. Services have been going on all day...
Let me tell you what I saw and felt today.
Peniel and I had planned an inspection trip up to the Artibonite Valley today. Right or wrong, I don't really know, but since it was the only opportunity, we went ahead with the trip. As we left the guest house about 7:30 am, we were met by throngs of well dressed people headed to various churches. The sounds of Christian music and worship filled the air everywhere. The next observation was that there was NO traffic. Port-au-Prince streets are always clogged and overflowing with bumper to bumper traffic. This morning there were only a few vehicles on the roads, a few small buses (tap taps), some UN and military vehicles, and a few private cars. We had clear sailing through town. The same was
true of foot traffic. Usually the streets are clogged also with people walking. Today there were only a few and many of them dressed for church. The only place that there were traffic blocks was in front of several churches where the congregations had overflowed the buildings and the yards and had moved out into the streets as well.
The next observation was that EVERYTHING was closed! We could not find even one business or gas station open. There were no intercity buses running. Whereas the sidewalks are usually overflowing with millions of street venders, we only saw a few here and there. The huge outdoor market near the wharf where thousands work each day and is spread out to cover most of the street, was EMPTY.
Where were all the people? They were in churches and makeshift meeting sites. Every church (except a JW church) had services going on, almost always overflowing into the streets. Beside broken down churches, services were taking place outside. In homeless camps, there were services. Everywhere the nation was gathered to worship and pray. No, I did not see any voodoo, Islamic, or Buddhist services. This scene was repeated in every town and hamlet that we passed during the day.
Tonight, Pastor Ignace, who is sharing the room with me, asked this question: "Can people still say that Haiti is a voodoo country?" What has been happening and is continuing to happen in Haiti did not happen because of the earthquake. It has been happening because the Haitian people know how to pray. This is a tremendous outpouring of God's power as the result of prayer. Twenty years ago I started praying for the Gospel to change the Haitian culture. I think that I am seeing God do that work.
The only sadness that I feel today is for our nation. While a nation that has long been under Satan's domination is turning to God with total commitment, our nation, founded on Godly values has rejected God and is rapidly trying to forget that his name even exists. Let us pray for revival.
4-MIN VIDEO of HAITI DAYS of PRAYER-
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=30rWm84z-zg
God bless you all!
@March 4, 2010
Family - God's Boot Camp
By Cindee Re
It was Tuesday morning. My sons were working through a biology study guide together, preparing for a test. My 8th grader enjoys all things science, but my 10th grader would rather have his teeth pulled than study biology. He'd willingly spend twice as long studying the Constitution of the United States in its original language than a fourth of that time with a microscope. Today was no exception. As my younger son attempted to answer his older brother's unrelenting questions, he lost his patience and muttered something unkind. Already frustrated and now provoked, my older son slugged his younger brother.
People issues - ugh! - by far the most challenging moments of my homeschooling day, but also often the most rewarding.
I sent my older son to his room to cool off, and talked to my younger son first. As usual, science wasn't the problem, expectations were. Too often we expect things from others we have no right to expect. Today, my older son expected his younger brother to do all the studying and feed him the answers, not only unrealistic, but wrong, a lose-lose situation.
When we expect others to distract us from our boredom, ease our loneliness, dispel our insecurities, or love us through our most unlovable moments, we expect too much. People can't fulfill our deepest needs, but God can, and He promises us in Philippians 4:19 that He will: "And my God will meet all your needs according to his glorious riches in Christ Jesus." With a beautiful promise like that, why do we continue to seek fulfillment in fellow, fallible human beings?
As I talked with my boys later that morning, I reminded them that God placed each of us in this family together on purpose. He knew it wouldn't always be easy, that there would be arguments and conflicts, and that tempers would sometimes flare. Yet God created families, because this is where we learn about whom God is and what grace means. This is where we learn to love one another deeply from the heart, to put God first, and to adjust our expectations of others. Family is where we learn respect and trust, teamwork and values. It's where we learn to encourage and pray for one another, where we learn to put the other person's needs ahead of our own. Family, like military boot camp, can be exhausting and exhilarating, challenging and freeing, frustrating and sometimes even overwhelming, but it's also where we learn to see one another not as we are today, but for whom we can become as we grow together in Christ. Seeing others' potential inspires us to persevere together through the rough patches, and as we do, we begin to learn what it means to willingly lay down our life for our brother.
Father, thank you for Your precious, priceless gift of family, and the opportunity to grow together into the people You created us to be. May we never take it or You for granted. Amen.
About the Author - Cindee Snider Re lives in Sussex, Wisconsin with her husband, their five children and two cats. She enjoys quiet evenings, long walks, homeschooling her children, good books, lots of tea, and traveling on the Harley with her husband. http://www.breathedeeply.org
@ January 29, 2010; Source: Faith Writers
More Christians Behaving Bravely 2009...
Thank you so much for visiting TidewaterCrossSection.com!
.