Head-dibs

This is the book I am reading now. "We Christians greatly enjoy talking about the provision of God, how Christ defeated sin on the cross and gave us His Holy Spirit to empower us to victory over sin. But we do not as readily talk about our own responsibility to walk in holiness. Two primary reasons can be given for this. First, we are simply relunctant to face up to our responsibility. We prefer to leave that to God. We pray for victory when we know we should be acting in obedience. The second reason is that we do not understand the proper distinction between God's provision and our own responsibility for holiness." (From the Preface) If it's not been through your hands, it should be. If it's on your shelf, maybe it's time to get it down again . . .

[If you've been following along the past few weeks, I've been studying Daniel and recording some reflections here. For the previous entries in the series, please consult the side-bar: Bible-OT-Daniel. The first post in the series will be the last on the page, the most current on top. I don't program 'em, I just post 'em.] These final chapters of Daniel have been most challenging as we move toward a conclusion of our study in Daniel. As I've attempted to neatly sum up this final section in this post, I've begun to appreciate the spirit of 12:4, "But as for you, Daniel, conceal these words and seal up the book until the end of time; many will go back and forth, and knowledge will increase." First, remembering this work was not written with chapter and verse, this final section can be treated as a whole (in contrast to our previous studies, which have neatly fallen within chapters as are presently presented). Second, the task of going back and forth (...

Candidates, political parties, and supporters spend millions of dollars in campaigning for the office of the presidency of the United States. For the one who wins the job, there is also a tremendous physical and emotional price, resulting from the vigorous schedule and incredible pressures and responsibilities. Despite the financial and physical price the office exacts, there is no shortage of people willing to campaign for the job. Each new candidate brings a list of plans and promises, intending to bring about incredible progress. But when the president takes office, do these promises necessarily come to pass? Generally, a substantial percentage of them do not. Even the most honest candidate with the best intentions cannot keep all of his promises--the problems faced are simply too complex, and the resources available are simply not adequate to solve every problem. This is why one person after another is voted into power with great expectations of progress and peace only to find that...

Ten Indictments (A Historical 21st Century Message) by Paul Washer "Preached Wednesday, October 22nd at the Revival Conference in Atlanta, Georgia. Paul Washer delivers a urgent appeal to the Christians and Churches in North America that many have been believing a false gospel and have false assurance of their salvation. He lists 10 indictments against the modern Church system in America. This is a historical urgent message, tell others and spread the message. We need a reformation and revival of a biblical standard!" posted by Greg Gordon at Sermon Index ************ "There is little need for the devil and evil men to oppose a man praying for revival unless he is also laboring for reformation. We have been given truth, and we cannot simply do what is right in our own eyes and then expect the Holy Spirit to come down and bless our labors." (Paul Washer, from the above message)

"The source of strength lies in God's grace, not our will power, or in our spasms of earnestness. When we attempt to strengthen ourselves through self-effort, we are like the man who tried to make his stalled boat move by pushing against the mast. We exert ourselves a great deal, but actually get nowhere." N.A. Woychuk, "Exposition of 2 Timothy."

"I am afraid of the pastor that is another man when he enters the pulpit from what he was before. Reverend, you should never think a thought or do a deed or be caught in any situation that you couldn’t carry into the pulpit with you without embarrassment. You should never have to be a different man or get a new voice and a new sense of solemnity when you enter the pulpit. You should be able to enter the pulpit with the same spirit and the same sense of reverence that you had just before when you were talking to someone about the common affairs of life." A.W. Tozer, "Worship: The Missing Jewel of the Evangelical Church."

by Gayle Erwin 1. The Old Testament was filled with feasts A. They had at least one feast every month B. Three of those feasts lasted at least a week C. God set up the feast system D. God commanded that the feasts be filled with joy 2. When Jesus Came He was accused of being a glutton A. That surely meant that he had a weight problem, since no one that you know of who was skinny was ever accused of being a glutton. B. Most of the gospel of John was written around a table. C. The family of Jesus (in Mark chapter 3) thought he had gone crazy because he was not eating his lunch. 3. What did Jesus leave us to remember him by? Food! Bread and wine. 4. Jesus became angry only a few times. One time was when he was hungry and a fig tree, though well leaved, did not yield any fruit. It made him angry enough to kill the tree. 5. After the Resurrection, every time you see Jesus, what is he doing? Eating! A. Right after he appeared to the scared Apostles hidden in a room and told them not to fear,...

"Selected obedience is not obedience at all, it is merely convenience." --Haddon Robinson

"The nature of Christ's salvation is woefully misrepresented by the present-day evangelist. He announces a Savior from hell rather than a Savior from sin. And that is why so many are fatally deceived, for there are multitudes who wish to escape the Lake of Fire who have no desire to be delivered from their carnality and worldliness." A.W. Pink (1886-1952)

"Let no man decieve you with vain words or vain hopes or false notions of a slight and sudden repentance. As if heaven were a hospital founded on purpose to receive all sick and maimed persons that, when they can live no longer to the lusts of the flesh and the sinful pleasures of this world, can but put up a cold and formal petition to be admitted there. No, no, as sure as God is true, they shall never see the Kingdom of God who, instead of seeking it in the first place, make it their last refuge and retreat." John Tolliston (1630-1694)

A flippant youth once asked a preacher, "You say that people carry a weight of sin. I feel nothing. How heavy is sin? It is ten pounds? Eighty pounds?" The preacher replied, "If you laid a four hundred pound weight on a corpse, would it feel the load?" The youth replied, "It would feel nothing, because it is dead." The preacher concluded, "That spirit, too, is indeed dead which feels no load of sin or is indifferent to its burden and flippant about its presence."

When one football player jumps offside, the whole team is penalized. " Therefore, just as through one man sin entered into the world, and death through sin, and so death spread to all men, because all sinned ." (Romans 5:12)

"Faith is rest, not toil. It is the giving up all the former weary efforts to do or feel something good, in order to induce God to love and pardon; and the calm reception of the truth so long rejected, that God is not waiting for any such inducements, but loves and pardons of His own goodwill, and is showing that goodwill to any sinner who will come to Him on such a footing, casting away his own performances or goodnesses, and relying implicitly upon the free love of Him who so loved the world that He gave His only-begotten Son." Horatius Bonar, " Not Faith But Christ ."

"When I look at religion I have two questions. One, has anybody ever conquered death and two, if they have, did they make a way for me to conquer death? I checked the tomb of Buddha, and it was occupied, and I checked the tomb of Confucius and it was occupied, I checked the tomb of Mohammed and it was occupied, and I came to the tomb of Jesus and it was empty. And I said, there is one who conquered death. And I asked the second question, did He make a way for me to do it too? And I opened the Bible and discovered that He said, ‘ Because I live you shall live also .’" G.B. Hardy