Favorite Pastor Quotes 6

Favorite Pastor Quotes 6

Riches Of Grace

"God...hath in these last days spoken unto us by his Son...by whom also he made the worlds" (Hebrews 1:1-2)

Would it startle you if I dared to say that the living God has never done anything in His universe apart from Jesus Christ?

Christians seem to be woefully unaware of the full meaning and measure of the grace of God. Why should we question God's provision when the Holy Spirit tells us through the apostle John that the Word who became flesh is "full of grace and truth"? Brethren, the stars in their courses, the frogs that croak beside the lake, the angels in heaven above and men and women on earth below - all came out of the channel we call the eternal Word!

In the book of Revelation, John bears record of the whole universe joining to give praise to the Lamb that was slain. Under the earth and on the earth and above the earth, John heard creatures praising Jesus Christ, all joining in a great chorus: "Worthy is the Lamb that was slain to receive power, and riches, and wisdom, and strength, and honor, and glory, and blessing" (5:12).

Yes, surely the entire universe is breneficiary of God's rich grace in Jesus Christ!

Lord, I praise Your name. You alone are worthy of all my adoration. Help me to walk uprightly today as a testimony to Your presence in my life. Amen

~A. W. Tozer~
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Benefits of Grace

"But now in Christ Jesus ye...are made nigh by the blood of Christ" (Ephesians 2:13)

Only a believing Christian can testify, "I am a sinner - saved by the grace of God!A" But that is not the whole story. All that we have is cut of His grace. Jesus Christ, the eternal Word who became flesh and dwelt among us, is the open channel through whom God moves to provide all the benefits He gives, both to saints and to sinner - yes, even to sinners!

Even though you may still be unconverted and going your own way, you have received much out of the ocean of His fullness. You have received the pulsing life that beats in your bosom.

You have received the brilliant mind and the brain without which you could not function. You have received a memory that strings the events you cherish as a jeweler strings pearls into a necklace.

When we say to an unbelieving man, "Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ," we are actually saying to him: "Believe on the One who sustains you and upholds you and who has given you life. Believe in the One who pities you and spares you and keeps you. Believe on the One out of whom you came!"

Lord, You are such a wonderful God! Your offer of salvation is available to all men, women and children. You send Your rain on both the just and the unjust. Lord, open my eyes to those in my sphere of influence who don't know You. Amen

~A. W. Tozer~
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Grace Can Be Costly

"For it is a good thing that the heart be established with grace...grace be with you all, Amen" (Hebrews 13:9, 25)

Christians all around us are trying every shortcut they can think of to get "something for nothing" in the kingdom of God. Talk to them and they will predictably flare up: "Isn't grace something for nothing?"

That depends upon what kind of grace we are talking about.

Pastor Dietrich Bonhoeffer gave his life as a martyr in Hitlet's German, but he left a book now known around the world: The Cost of Discipleship." He pointed out a sharp distinction between "cheap grace" and "costly grace." Although God's grace has been given freely to humans who do not deserve it, Bonhoeffer believed it rightly could be called "costly grace" because it cost our Lord Jesus Christ even the suffering of death.

Some men and women have actually turned God's grace into lasciviousness. They do not know what the word "grace" means - that God gives us out of His rich and full goodness although we are unworthy of it. When I preach about the grace of God and point out that Jesus commanded us to take up our cross and follow Him, those who do not know the meaning of grace respond: "Oh, Tozer is now  preaching legalism."

Father, as I go about the activities of my day today - and for each month of this year - I want to be mindful of Your "costly grace" and desire to grow more deeply in my understanding of it. Amen

~A. W. Tozer~
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United With Christ

"We are in him that is true, even in His Son Jesus Christ" (1 John 5:20)

The Spirit of God has impelled me to preach and write much about the believer's conscious union with Christ - a union that must be felt and experienced. I will never be through talking about the union of the soul with the Saviour, the conscious union of the believer's heart with Jesus.

Remember, I am not talking about a "theological union" only. I am speaking also of a conscious union, a union that is felt and experienced.

I have never been ashamed to tell my congregations that I believe in feelings. I surely believe in what Jonathan Edwards termed "religious affections". That is man's perspective.

I am aware also that from God's perspective there are qualities in the Divine Being that can only be known by the heart; never by the intellect!!

Long ago John wrote: "Hereby perceive we the love of God, because he laid down his life for us" (1 John 3:16). So it is best for us to confess that as humans we have difficulty in understanding what God has said when He says that He loves us!

Heavenly Father, help me to be conscious of Your presence in my life today. And I pray that others will see You through me. Amen

~A. W. Tozer~

Favorite Pastor Quotes 5

Favorite Pastor Quotes 5


Desires after Christ!

(John Flavel, "The Fountain of Life")

"Yes, He is altogether lovely! This is my Beloved, and this is my Friend!" Song of Songs 5:16 

"Whom have I in Heaven but you? Earth has nothing I desire besides You!" Psalm 73:25 

Christ is the very essence of all delights and pleasures--the very soul and substance of them! As all the rivers are gathered into the ocean, which is the meeting-place of all the waters in the world--so Christ is that ocean in which all true delights and pleasures meet!

Are our desires for Christ ARDENT? Has Christ the supreme place in our hearts? Do we esteem all things but dung that we may win Christ and be found in Him?

Are our desires for Christ UNIVERSAL? Is everything about Christ desirable in our eyes? The hypocrite is for a divided Christ. The true believer loves . . .
  both His government and His grace,
  both His sovereignty and His mercy, 
  both His Lordship and His priesthood.

Do our desires after Christ lead us to EFFORT--to use all the means of grace to accomplish His will? 
He is revealed in His Word--do we read it? 
He is preached in the gospel--do we hear it? 
He will be found by those who seek Him--do we earnestly seek Him?

Are our desires after Christ PERMANENT--or only a sudden fit of emotion, fear or impulse? If our hearts and our longing for communion with Him--we will only be satisfied when we awake with His likeness. Nothing that this world affords can possibly take us from this goal!

Do our desires after Christ spring from a DEEP SENSE OF OUR NEED of Christ? Has conviction of sin opened our eyes . . .
  to see our misery, 
  to feel our burden of sin,
  to understand our inability, and 
  to make us sensible that the only remedy lies in the Lord Jesus Christ? 
Bread and wine are made necessary by hunger and thirst. Christ is only precious to those who need Him!

"My soul yearns for You in the night; in the morning my spirit longs for You!" Isaiah 26:9 
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Christ in the Storm!

Author unknown

"Take courage! It is I. Do not be afraid." Mark 6:50

Blessed Jesus, if You are with us — what shall we fear? All we dread is Your removal. Only assure us of Your presence — and let the rains descend, and the waves beat vehemently — none of these things shall move us.

There is something in the situation of the disciples on that dismal night, so correspondent with the experience of most Christians. And there is something so interesting and engaging in their certain, though long delayed deliverance — that a few moments spent in particular consideration of them, may, I hope, be useful.

"And he immediately constrained his disciples to get into the ship, and to go to the other side, unto Bethsaida, while he sent away the people." We may easily imagine how unwilling His disciples were to leave Him, and might have expected to find them expressing their reluctance. But we hear no such language. Like the good Centurion, He said to them, "Go! — and they go!" He sent them from Him, but it was only to make His presence more desirable and welcome. God's commands may sometimes seem grievous, and such a path may be marked out for us, as in our apprehensions threatens greatly to interrupt our communications with Him. But if we have patience to wait and see His design — we shall find that in reality His commandments are merciful and gracious, and that He has taken the best means for the accomplishment of our wishes, and the comfort and salvation of our souls.

"And when he had sent them away, he departed into a mountain to pray." How strangely did the blessed Jesus condescend to human infirmities! He hungered and thirsted, He wept and prayed. That we, sinful and necessitous creatures, who abound with wants and miseries, should retire to pray, is no wonder. You find, Christian, that you cannot live without prayer, or enjoy yourself in a crowd. You cannot go on from day to day, in a constant hurry of business and pleasure, without retiring to commune with your God.

That helpless, dependent, sinful creatures, should need to pray often and long, is not at all strange. But what, blessed Jesus, should induce You so often to attend to this duty? Alas! in this, as well as in every other instance, we see that Your thoughts are not as ours. Intercession for others, which makes so small a part of our prayers — was the chief subject of Yours. The weather-beaten disciples we may be certain were not forgotten.

O afflicted, tempest-tossed, and uncomforted ones — as distant and unregarded as you may apprehend yourself to be — He is near those who are of a broken heart. While you are struggling with the most formidable and threatening troubles, and all His waves and billows are passing over you — remember that Jesus is in the mountain praying for you!

"When evening came, the boat was in the middle of the lake, and he was alone on land. He saw the disciples straining at the oars, because the wind was against them." Everything seemed to conspire to heighten their misery and aggravate their distress. The night was dark; the winds were high and contrary; the sea was boisterous; and, what was worst of all, their Master was absent! Had He been with them, however the elements had raged — they might have thought themselves safe. But the providence of God many times calls His servants, His most beloved disciples, to walk in darkness, where they can see no light. He cuts them off from all prospects and possibilities of comfort from any other hand but His own, to teach them to wait upon Him, and to convince them that from Him alone come their help and salvation.

He could easily prevent our sufferings, but He wisely permits them, that He may magnify His mercy in our deliverance, and confirm our faith by the removal of our distress. But though the wind was against them, we find not that they returned to Jesus. Their Master had ordered them to go to the other side, and therefore, in spite of wind and weather, they press forward.

Mark this, O my soul. He sent out His servants to sea, though He foresaw the storm, and perhaps purposely too — that they might be tossed by the tempest. Why are you, therefore, cast down — why are you disquieted within me? Depend upon His grace, follow His directions — and the end will fully equal your wishes.

"About the fourth watch of the night he went out to them, walking on the lake." All that long and tempestuous night must the disciples wear out in terror and distress. In the evening there was no appearance of Jesus. But when they had been all night long tossed at the mercy of the waves, and quite spent with toils and fears, in the fourth watch, which was near the morning, Jesus comes to them. This was done that He might exercise their faith and patience, and that their devotion may be more animated, and deliverance more welcome — in consequence of the trying delay.

We own, O Lord, that we are often unable to explain the reasons of Your conduct. What You do — we cannot fathom; but we depend on Your promise, and we rejoice in the thought that we shall know it hereafter.

Christian friend, like these poor disciples, you may be now in the midst of a sea of trouble. The winds roar; the billows glance, and foam, and howl; the night is very dark — and your Savior's absence heightens your distress. But the time to favor you is now fully come. Perhaps it is now midnight with you; but if you hold out until the fourth watch, He will certainly appear for your deliverance.

He came to them walking on the lake. He, who among the mountains was a man — reassumed the imperial royalties of the Godhead. The waves play round the feet of their Master. The tempest that rocks their vessel will not ruffle His robe or lift His hair.

"And he would have passed them by." Surely His absence could not be more grievous than this. But we must not always determine the Lord's designs from appearances. He sometimes appears to turn from us — when He is most attentive to our distresses. If He passes us by, or rather seems as if He would, when we are struggling in the storm — we know that it is not for lack of kindness or affection. He will not — He cannot neglect us! Oh, let us therefore never distrust Him.

"But when they saw him walking on the lake, they thought he was a ghost. They cried out, because they all saw him and were terrified!" What object would have been so pleasant to the disciples as their Master? And yet His presence greatly alarmed them. Has not our ignorance, too, of Jesus, and the way that He takes — led us often to suspect, yes, to run away from our safety, to be afraid of our means of comfort, and to mistake our compassionate and heavenly Friend?

"Immediately he spoke to them and said: Take courage! It is I. Do not be afraid." This was indeed very seasonable; for, in consequence of their alarm from the apprehension of seeing an apparition, and from the increasing violence of the tempest — they were almost overwhelmed. Until they were thus afraid, He would not speak — but then He could be no longer silent.

If His presence was frightful, His words were comfortable. "Take courage! It is I. Do not be afraid." He was present before, but they mistook Him, and feared — for it is His word alone which can make His presence known. "Take courage!" It is remarkable how frequently exhortations of this kind are used by Christ and His apostles. He is pleased to see His servants cheerful; therefore He has said, "Be anxious for nothing." "Cast all your care upon Him — for He cares for you." "Cast your burden upon the Lord." "Delight yourself in the Lord." "Rejoice in the Lord always — and again I say rejoice."

A thousand passages of this kind might be enumerated to show us how abundantly light is sown for the righteous, and gladness for the upright in heart. Take courage! O dejected believer, dry up your tears, and cast off the gloom of your countenance, which is so unfitting your character, and so displeasing to your Savior. For the credit of your religion, for the honor of your Master, for the encouragement of your fellow-disciples — be cheerful, and let all the world see that wisdom's ways are ways of pleasantness.

"It is I!" He does not say who — nor was it necessary. His sheep hear His voice; and we are not of His flock if we do not know Him by His voice, among a thousand. "It is I, the sovereign Lord of Heaven and earth. It is I, who command the winds and waves, and they obey me. It is I, your Lord and Savior, and Friend, whom you lost last night in the mountain, praying for you."

What a seasonable and comprehensive word was that, and how did it calm the tumult of their passions! Blessed Jesus, only say, "It is I!" and in spite of winds and waves and storms, and men and devils, we are safe!

"O You who quiets the storm, and lays to rest the war of elements — bear me in safety across the dark and troubled sea of life. Ever be present with me in your watchful love, and in all the might and mercy of your power. Never leave me — never forsake me. In darkness, be my light. In sorrow, be my joy. In death, be my life. And after death, bring me to that cloudless world, where not a wave of trouble shall ever come; where the din of earth shall be hushed into everlasting quiet, and the sighs of time shall give place to the songs of immortality!"

"Your shoes shall be iron and bronze! As your days, so shall your strength be. There is no one like the God of Jeshurun, Who rides the heavens to help you, and in His excellency on the clouds. The eternal God is your refuge, and underneath are the everlasting arms!" Deuteronomy 33:25-27

He who dwells in the shelter of the Most High will rest in the shadow of the Almighty. I will say of the LORD, "He is my refuge and my fortress, my God, in whom I trust." Surely he will save you from the fowler's snare and from the deadly pestilence. He will cover you with his feathers, and under his wings you will find refuge; his faithfulness will be your shield and rampart. You will not fear the terror of night, nor the arrow that flies by day!" Psalm 91:1-5

"When you lie down, you will not be afraid; when you lie down, your sleep will be sweet." Proverbs 3:24

"Surely God is my salvation; I will trust and not be afraid. The LORD, the LORD, is my strength and my song; he has become my salvation." Isaiah 12:2

"In God I trust; I will not be afraid. What can man do to me?" Psalm 56:11

Favorite Pastor Quotes 4

Favorite Pastor Quotes 4

Christ calls men to carry a cross!

(A.W. Tozer) 

"Then Jesus said to His disciples: If anyone would come after Me, he must deny himself and take up his cross and follow Me." Matthew 16:24 

"Do not love the world or the things in the world. If anyone loves the world, the love of the Father is not in him. The world is passing away, and the lust of it; but he who does the will of God abides forever!" 1 John 2:15,17 

Any appeal to the public in the name of Christ which rises no higher than an invitation to tranquility--must be recognized as mere humanism, with a few words of Jesus thrown in to make it appear Christian.

Christ calls men to carry a cross--but we call them to have fun in His name. 

Christ calls them to forsake the world--but we assure them that if they but accept Jesus, the world is their playground. 

Christ calls them to suffer--but we call them to enjoy all the bourgeois comforts modern civilization affords. 

Christ calls them to holiness--but we call them to a cheap and tawdry happiness. 

We can afford to suffer now--we will have a long eternity to enjoy ourselves. And our enjoyment will be valid and pure, for it will come in the right way and at the right time.
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Look at that cold creeping worm!

(Thomas Guthrie)

Look at that cold creeping worm! The playful child shudders from its touch!

Yet in a few weeks, and with merry laugh and flying feet, that same child over flowery meadow, is hunting an insect that never lights upon the ground, but flitting in painted beauty from flower to flower--drinks nectar from their cups, and sleeps the summer night away in the bosom of their perfumes. 

If that is the same boy--this is also the same creature. The change most wonderful! 

Yet this is but a dull, earthly emblem of the divine transformation wrought in those who are converted by God!

Fallen though he is, man is capable of undergoing a more wondrous change than the insect when, no longer a worm, no longer crawling on the ground, no longer feeding on garbage--it leaves its shell to spend its happy days in sport, flitting from flower to flower; its food their juices and its bed their leaves. 

The spiritual change which we call conversion, is not a mere reform. It is a mighty revolution--a revolution greater than the tomes of profane history. Conversion changes the heart, the habits, and the eternal destiny of an immortal being!Conversion does not bestow new faculties. Yet our affections, our temperament, our will, our judgment partake of this great and holy change. Thus, the understanding is enlightened; the will is renewed; and our whole temperament is sweetened and sanctified by the Spirit of God.

"Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation; the old has gone, the new has come!" 2 Corinthians 5:17 
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What doctrine is more emptying, humbling, and therefore sanctifying!

(Octavius Winslow)

"God chose the foolish things of the world to shame the wise;
 God chose the weak things of the world to shame the strong.
 He chose the lowly things of this world and the despised things . . ." 1 Corinthians 1:27-28

What doctrine is more emptying, humbling, and therefore sanctifying, than predestination? It lays the axe at the root of all human boasting!

In the light of this truth, the most holy believer sees that there is no difference between him and the vilest sinner that crawls the earth--but what the sovereign grace of God has made!

"By the grace of God I am what I am!" 1 Corinthians 15:10 

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Therefore it is that He withers our gourds and breaks our cisterns!

(Mary Winslow)

How poor and unsatisfying are all things here below--even the best and the loveliest! Oh, to walk more intimately with Him, to live above the world, and hold the creature with a looser hand--taking God's Word as our guiding light and our unfailing spring of comfort!

God has eternally provided such a magnificent and holy Heaven for us above, that He is jealous lest we should set our hearts too fondly and closely upon the attractions of earth. Therefore it is that He withers our gourds and breaks our cisterns--only to dislodge us here, and lead us to seek those things which are above, where Christ our treasure is.

Let us keep our eye and our hearts upon our blessed eternal home. Earth is but a stage erected as our passage to the glorious place which Jesus has gone to prepare for us. What a place must that be, which infinite power and love has engaged to provide! Oh, let us not lose sight of Heaven for a moment.

How prone are we to allow our minds and hearts (treacherous hearts!) to become entangled with the baubles of this dying world. No wonder Christ exhorted us to watch and pray. Heaven is our home--our happy home. We are but strangers and pilgrims here on earth. Try and realize it. Let us keep ourselves ready to enter with Him to the marriage supper of the Lamb. In a little while we shall see Him--not as the "Man of sorrows"--but the "King in His beauty!" Then let us fight against this poor world and all its false attractions, for it is passing away.

Dearest Jesus! help Your pilgrims to live more like pilgrims, above a poor dying world, and more in full view of the glory that awaits them when they shall see You face to face!

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The most suitable good!

(Thomas Doolittle, "Love to Christ Necessary to Escape the Curse at His Coming!")

A thing is desirable, because it is suitable. The suitableness of the object allures our desires and love.

Suitableness is the ground of love. A thing might be good in itself, yet, if we apprehend no suitableness in it to us--then the love of our hearts is not upon it. Therefore, in pain and sickness, a man judges ease and health to be better for him than gold and silver--because they are more suitable. A man in hunger and thirst, esteems bread and water to be better than honors and pleasures--because they are more suitable.

Love to Christ is grounded on the soul discerning the suitableness of Christ unto him. He says,
"Food is not more suitable to a hungry man,
 nor medicine to a sick man,
 nor clothing to a naked man--
than Christ is to me, a poor, sinful, and lost man--an undone, perishing, and damned man! For . . .
  I am naked--and He will give clothe me with His perfect righteousness,
  I am blind--and He will restore my spiritual sight,
  I am enslaved to sin and Satan--and He will give me liberty,
  I am lost--and He will save me,
  I am guilty--and He will pardon me,
  I am polluted--and He will cleanse me,
  I am an enemy to God--and He will reconcile me,
  I am ignorant--and He will teach me,
  I am indebted--and He will be my Surety,
  I am poor--and He will make me wealthy to all eternity,
  I am a stranger to God--and He bring me into acquaintance with Him,
  I am unfit for Heaven--and He will make me fit to be a partaker of the inheritance of the saints in light.

Love to Christ includes a discovery of Christ unto the soul, as the most suitable good.

In poverty, Christ will be my riches.
In disgrace, Christ will be my honor.
In bonds and imprisonment, Christ will be my liberty.
In pain, Christ will be my comfort.
In death, Christ will be my life.
In the loss of all things, Christ will be better to me than the enjoyment of all these things!

Though I have riches--yet I might be damned.
But if I have Christ--then I shall be saved!

Though men admire me--yet God might loathe me.
But if I have Christ--then the Lord will love me!

Though I prosper in the world, in all my pomp--I might be walking in the way to everlasting misery!
But if I have Christ--He will lead me in the paths unto eternal glory!

Look, O my soul, look around about you, and you shall find none so suitable to you, as the lovely Savior. Then He alone shall have my best love. Is there none for me like Him? Then I will fix my love on Him!

Favorite Pastor Quotes 3

Favorite Pastor Quotes 3

The law of the Spirit of life in Christ Jesus has made me free from the law of sin and death. (Romans 8:2)

Let any of our old man, whether of our old temper, our old way of judging, our old disposition, any of it come up at all, if we are children of God, we know quite well that at that point a barrier is set up and we cannot get past, we are held up in our spiritual life and we have to go back and have that thing cleared up. It is as real as any other thing in the universe to us. At that moment we stand still spiritually, and the flaming sword is across our path. There is no way for that here. Bring that here and you will be judged. You will meet the judgment of God. You will be broken. It is coming up against the fact that God finished with all that long ago and we have to accept God’s standpoint. When we have accepted it then the thing works out, it continually works out. We take that position, we accept the truth.

We cannot bring an actual end to the old creation ourselves, but we say in a positive way: "I reckon as God reckons." Well then we shall find as we go on that God, having put all that under death, death rests upon it and if ever it shows its head again, the sentence of death is met. If we begin to work for the Lord with our own natural strength we meet death and before long our natural strength will come under death. If we begin to use our natural judgment in the things of God we shall meet an arrest and before long we shall come to a deadlock, unable to get through. Anything which we bring of nature into the things of God will bring us up against – not some new issue, but the old issue – death which was made to rest upon the old creation. In so far as we move in the newness of Life, work by the Spirit of God, and walk after the Spirit, death is done away and we are in Life and we can go on and can get through, no matter how much there may be of handicap and weakness in nature, we can get through as we go on in the Spirit. "The law of the Spirit of life in Christ Jesus made me free from the law of sin and death." We are free!

~T. Austin-Sparks~

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BIBLE MEDITATION:
“I prayed unto the LORD my God, and made my confession…” Daniel 9:4
 
DEVOTIONAL THOUGHT:
The greatest thing we can do for America is to pray for America. I am convinced if there were ever a need for prayer, this is the hour. It’s one thing to criticize that our children cannot pray in school. But I think it is unmitigated hypocrisy to carp and criticize about children not being able to pray in school unless we ourselves are prayer warriors, don’t you?  We must teach our children to pray in the home.  We are unvarnished hypocrites to criticize, yet not teach our children to pray—by both gentle instruction and by example. Our children are watching us and will model our behavior. 
 
ACTION POINT:
Teach your children how to pray in the home. Take them beyond “Now I lay me down to sleep.” We rattle off our little prayers. But have you really set your face to pray?

~Adrian Rogers~

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In wondrous contrast--and yet with consistent harmony!

(Frederick Marsh)

In the floral kingdom, the flowers have many hues. A number of different colored flowers in a bouquet will enhance the beauty of each other by their contrast.

Just so in the cross of Christ, the attributes of God are brought out in wondrous contrast--and yet with consistent harmony. There we see . . .
  His name glorified,
  His love manifested,
  His majesty upheld,
  His justice satisfied,
  His truth vindicated,
  His law magnified, and
  His righteousness displayed in the putting away of our sins!

"Mercy and truth meet together. Righteousness and peace have kissed each other!" Psalm 85:10

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Leaving a Lasting Impact

Matthew 5:13-16

On this Independence Day, consider the question, How do you use the gift of freedom? God gives all believers true liberty through His Son Jesus Christ. Do you squander that blessing or share it with others? The problem is, some people are so focused on their own needs and desires that they fail to impact even their closest neighbor.

Think about the people you see every week. Do you know how many of your neighbors are sick? Are there people in your church who struggle to make it from day to day? Do you know if any of your coworkers are going through hardships? Most likely, there are individuals all around you who could use assistance. But being self-focused limits our ability to notice those people, let alone reach out to them.

Jesus taught His disciples, “You are the salt of the earth; but if the salt has become tasteless, how can it be made salty again? It is no longer good for anything, except to be thrown out and trampled under foot by men” (Matt. 5:13). In order for salt to remain useful, it must maintain its purity and potency. Likewise, we must endeavor to lead holy, humble, and loving lives, focusingon the Savior’s will rather than our own.

God has prepared the good works that we are to walk in (Eph. 2:10). Our job is to choose to do so.

Whether or not we affect our world positively depends on the focus of our heart. Do you look inward to consider how you can do more to get ahead and add to your lot in life? Or do you look outward and think about ways that you can do more to serve others?

~Dr. Charles F. Stanley~

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Freedom from the dominion of sin!

(George Everard, "Up High!")

There is no more galling yoke to be found, than . . .
  the thraldom of evil passions, tyrant lusts and sinful habits,
  uncontrolled tempers which burst forth like a hurricane,
  temptations which hurry a man onward toward the precipice of utter ruin,
  the dark trinity of "the world, the flesh, and the devil"--
all drawing a man along the pathway that leads to eternal damnation! Here is a foe that is terrible indeed!

Yet in Christ, there is freedom from the dominion of sin, and from all the power of the enemy.

Satan is strong, for he is a roaring lion. But Christ is stronger, for He is the Lion of the tribe of Judah. Yes, He is the almighty Shepherd, who can guard the weakest of His flock from the treachery and deceit of the evil one.

Sin is strong, and it has conquered and destroyed its myriads in every age. But Christ is stronger, for He is our Joshua, and can put every enemy beneath our feet. If united to Christ by true faith, "sin shall not have dominion over you." Being no longer under the law, but under grace--Christ reigns in you by His Holy Spirit, and by the same Spirit can make you more than conqueror over every snare of the tempter.

Christian, always remember the secret of success in the sore conflict you have to wage. Let "the joy of the Lord" be "your strength." Apart from Christ, there is nothing but defeat. You may resolve to do better, you may strive against your besetting sin--but if it is in your own might, you will fail. But draw near to Christ, and keep Him in view continually. Hide deep in your heart His own word of promise, "My grace is sufficient for you, for My strength is made perfect in weakness." Fly to Him as your stronghold, whenever danger is at hand. Make Him your shield, when the shafts of the wicked one are aimed for your destruction.

I often think of a lesson I learned one snowy day in Birmingham. A big bully was unmercifully snow-balling a smaller boy. But when the little fellow saw me coming, he ran behind me and kept me between himself and his enemy, until he was able to escape from him.

Ah, here is a lesson for me, thought I. Let me ever make Christ my shield. Let me ever put Him between me and my temptations; between me and my cares, and fears, and perils--and He will answer for them. No evil can overcome His power--and when I thus trust in Him, no sin or evil can overcome me.

Thus will you find strength for victory. You will be delivered from the sin which was once too strong for you. More and more the Spirit of Christ shall fashion you in His image and likeness. More and more shall the evil nature be mortified and kept under control, and Christ Himself make your heart His dwelling-place.