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Thursday, January 26, 2012

A Tiny Seed, A Tiny Deed - Max Lucado



Tiny Seed, A Tiny Deed
 Max Lucado

Do not despise…small beginnings, for the LORD rejoices to see the work begin. Zechariah 4:10 NLT

Against a towering giant, a brook pebble seems futile. But God used it to topple Goliath. Compared to the tithes of the wealthy, a widow's coins seem puny. But Jesus used them to inspire us…

Moses had a staff.

David had a sling.


Samson had a jawbone.


Rahab had a string.


Mary had some ointment.


Aaron had a rod.


Dorcas had a needle.




All were used by God.
What do you have?  Much more than you might think. 
 God inhabits the tiny seed. He empowers the tiny deed. Never discount the smallness of your deeds.



Wednesday, January 25, 2012

John Wesley - A Reformer


 

 

"Beware you be not swallowed up in books! An ounce of love is worth a pound of knowledge."

 

 "Unless God has raised you up for this very thing, you will be worn out by the opposition of men and devils. But if God be for you, who can be against you? Are all of them together stronger than God? O be not weary of well doing!"

 

"Give me one hundred preachers who fear nothing but sin, and desire nothing but God, and I care not a straw whether they be clergymen or laymen; such alone will shake the gates of hell and set up the kingdom of heaven on Earth."

 

 

 

 

"What one generation tolerates, the next generation will embrace."

 

"Vice does not lose its character by becoming fashionable."

 

"It cannot be that the people should grow in grace unless they give themselves to reading. A reading people will always be a knowing people. "

 

"Earn all you can, give all you can, save all you can"

 

"When I have money, I get rid of it quickly, lest it find a way into my heart."

 

 

 

 

"I continue to dream and pray about a revival of holiness in our day that moves forth in mission and creates authentic community in which each person can be unleashed through the empowerment of the Spirit to fulfil God's creational intentions."


"When you set yourself on fire, people love to come and see you burn."

"Catch on fire with enthusiasm and people will come for miles to watch you burn."

 

"In using all means, seek God alone. In and through every outward thing, look only to the power of His Spirit, and the merits of His Son. Beware you do not get stuck in the work itself; if you do, it is all lost labour. Nothing short of God can satisfy your soul. Therefore, fix on Him in all, through all, and above all...Remember also to use all means as means-as ordained, not for their own sake..."

 

"God grant that I may never live to be useless!"

 

 "Do all the good you can,

By all the means you can,

In all the ways you can,

In all the places you can,

At all the times you can,

To all the people you can,

As long as ever you can."

 

"Thanksgiving is inseparable from true prayer; it is almost essentially connected with it.

 One who always prays is ever giving praise, whether in ease or pain, both for prosperity and for the greatest adversity. He blesses God for all things, looks on them as coming from Him, and receives them for His sake- not choosing nor refusing, liking or disliking, anything, but only as it is agreeable or disagreeable to His perfect will."

 

 

"I am not afraid that the people called Methodists should ever cease to exist either in Europe or America. But I am afraid lest they should only exist as a dead sect, having the form of religion without the power. And this undoubtedly will be the case unless they hold fast both the doctrine, spirit, and discipline with which they first set out."

 "By salvation I mean not barely according to the vulgar notion deliverance from hell or going to heaven but a present deliverance from sin a restoration of the soul to its primitive health its original purity a recovery of the divine nature the renewal of our souls after the image of God in righteousness and true holiness in justice mercy and truth."

 

"Though I am always in haste, I am never in a hurry."

 

"When I was young I was sure of everything; in a few years, having been mistaken a thousand times, I was not half so sure of most things as I was before; at present, I am hardly sure of anything but what God has revealed to me"

 

"I want to know one thing, the way to heaven; how to land safe on that happy shore. God Himself has condescended to teach the way; for this end He came from heaven. He hath written it down in a book. Give me that book! At any price give me the Book of God!"

 

"with all prayer (Eph. 6:18)" All sorts of prayer- public, private, mental, vocal. Do not be diligent in one kind of prayer and negligent in others... let us use all."



"Afraid of What?" - Uncle Jack


"The country districts of North Jiangsu China were wild and dangerous in the fall of 1931, but the missionaries kept on itinerating--trusting their lives to God's keeping. At Haizhou near the coast the Reverend John W. Vinson, otherwise known as Uncle Jack as he was affectionately called by the younger missionaries, insisted on going into the country.

'But Uncle Jack,' they said, 'you're not strong enough to itinerate so soon after your operation.'

"'I must go,' he replied. And then added, 'I must witness for the Lord while I can.'

Was he thinking of the words of our Lord, 'I must work the works of Him that sent me while it is day. The night cometh, when no man can work.'" May I put in my own little parenthesis here. Are you working the works of Him who sent you? Remember the night is coming when no man can work.

 Let's do faithfully each day what God gives us.

"Well, Mr. Vinson went to a little market town called Yan-Chia-Chi about 30 miles to the southeast. And there he was warmly greeted by a little group of Chinese Christians, many of whom he himself had through the years baptized.

After talking with them a while about the services to be held the next morning, he went to sleep there in the little chapel.

"That very night a wild army of bandits, more than 600 in all, swooped down upon the little town looting, burning, killing and wounding the people all that night and the next day.

When they finally departed they took with them about 150 Chinese men, women and children to hold for ransom. And their prize captive was the American missionary, Mr. Vinson.

"An army of government soldiers pursued the bandits and overtook them at a little village called Lianyungang, where the robbers barricaded themselves behind the village wall. The government troops immediately besieged the village.

"'Do you want to go free?' the bandit chief asked Vinson.

"'Certainly,' he replied.

"'All right, you write a letter to the commanding officer of these soldiers to withdraw his troops and we will let you go.'

"'Will you also free all these Chinese prisoners?' the missionary asked.

"'Certainly not,' replied the bandit chief.

"'Then I, too, refuse to go free,' said Vinson--and he was adamant even in the face of vehement threats.

"That night the bandits tried to break out in the darkness. Many of them were killed, and 125 of the 150 captives escaped. The bandits fled taking Vinson with them, but he could not run because of his recent operation. The daughter of a Chinese pastor was one of the prisoners who escaped from the bandits. She later told of having seen a bandit threatening Mr. Vinson with a pistol and trying to frighten him.

"'I'm going to kill you,' he said as he pointed the gun at the missionary's head, 'aren't you afraid?'

"'No, I am not afraid,' came the calm reply, 'if you kill me I will go right to God.'

"He was killed, shot and beheaded. At the time of his death the writer, also, was itinerating in bandit territory between Zhejiang and Haizhou. When he reached a little railroad station to return home he heard the sad news. And when he arrived home he read the full glorious account written by our Hijo missionaries of Jack Vinson's fearless witness for Christ.

"This writer went to his study and sat silently for a few minutes. Then, picking up his pen, he began to write as though it were some hymn he was recalling from memory. Within 15 minutes the five verses all were written and never have been changed. If ever a poem was given of God, this one was."

I would call it a poem of passion.

The writer calls it "Afraid of What?" Here's the poem:

Afraid of what?
To feel the spirit's glad release?
To pass from pain to perfect peace?
The strife and strain of life to cease?
Afraid of that?

Afraid of what?
Afraid to see the Saviour's face?
To hear His welcome and to trace the glory,
Glean from wounds of grace?
Afraid of that?

Afraid of what?
A flash, a crash, a pierced heart?
Darkness, light, O heaven's art?
A wound of His a counterpart?
Afraid of that?

Afraid of what?
To enter into heaven's rest,
And yet to serve the Master blessed?
From service good to service best?
Afraid of that?

Afraid of what?
To do by death what life could not?
Baptize with blood a stony plot,
Till souls shall blossom from the spot?
Afraid of that?

"Later on at Mr. Vinson's funeral, Chinese officials who knew not Christ marvelled that here was man who refused to save himself. The missionaries then told them of John Vinson's Master, who saved others--himself he could not save. And some of the little churches in Mr. Vinson's country field, which had been cold now, took on new life. And many of the church members became hot-hearted for Christ. And many more received Christ as Savior after Jack Vinson's martyrdom."

And that's the end of Mr. Vinson's story, but I have no doubt that it had an impact on John and Betty Stam.

Betty Stam was a young woman when I met her; I was probably four or five years old. She was one of the guests in our home, but she was on her way to China to marry her fiancé, John Stam. And he had been waiting for her for more than a year.

She went to China; she married John. The Lord gave them a baby, and very shortly thereafter they were captured by Chinese communists, striped half-naked, chained together and marched through the streets of that little Chinese village. And Betty was forced to watch as John's head was chopped off. Then she was forced to put her neck on the chopping block--and she too was beheaded.

Their little baby had been left behind in their home.

The home had been ransacked but miraculously--and surely providentially--the baby was not noticed. And a Chinese pastor found the little child and was able to rescue her. When I was about 12-years old I copied into my Bible a prayer that Betty Scott Stam had written:

"Lord, I give up all my own plans and purposes, all my own desires and hopes and accept Thy will for my life.

I give myself, my life, my all utterly to Thee to be Thine forever. Fill me and seal me with Thy Holy Spirit. Use me as Thou wilt. Send me where Thou wilt.

And work out Thy whole will in my life at any cost now and forever."


Tuesday, January 17, 2012

The Traveller's Map...



It is the traveller's map,
The pilgrim's staff,
The pilot's compass,
The soldier's sword,
And the Christian's character.

Here Heaven is opened,
The gates of hell disclosed.

Christ is the object,
Our good it's design,
The glory of God its end.

It should fill the memory,
Rule the heart
And guide the feet.

Read it carefully,
Frequently, prayerfully.

It is a mine of wealth,
And a river of pleasure.

It is given to you here in this life,
Will be opened at the judgment
And is established forever.

It involves the highest responsibility,
Will reward the greatest labour,
And condemn all who trifle with its Sacred Contents.



 

 

What the Experts have to Say?

 

No man ever believes that the Bible means what it says: He is always convinced that it says what he means. --George Bernard Shaw

 

The Holy Book of the living God suffers more from its exponents today than from its opponents. -Leonard Ravenhill

 

Never place a period where God has placed a comma. God is still speaking. Gracie Allen

 

 

The New Testament is the very best book that ever was or ever will be known in the world. --Charles Dickens

 

We do not read the Bible the way it is; we read it the way we are. --Evelyn Uyemura

 

Bible reading is an education in itself. --Lord Tennyson

 

I am a creature of a day. I am a spirit come from God, and returning to God. I want to know one thing: the way to heaven. God himself has condescended to teach me the way. He has written it down in a book. Oh, give me that book! At any price give me the book of God. Let me be a man of one book.--John Wesley

 

Reading the Bible without meditating on it is like trying to eat without swallowing. --Anonymous

 

The Bible is a book that has been read more and examined less than any book that ever existed. --Thomas Paine

 

There is a way of reading the Bible that seems to leave God far away, off in the shadows somewhere. It is all information and technicalities and knowledge, but it feels like you're sitting with your back towards God. You come up against a difficulty or question, and you go to books, you ask pastors, friends, strangers on the internet, anyone but Him. Gradually God gets smaller and dimmer. --Unknown

 

Do you wish to find out the really sublime? Repeat the Lord's Prayer. --Napolean

 

You may as well quit reading and hearing the Word of God, and give it to the devil, if you do not desire to live according to it. -- Martin Luther

 

The word of God hidden in the heart is a stubborn voice to suppress.--Billy Graham

 

 

If there is anything in my thoughts or style to commend, the credit is due to my parents for instilling in me an early love of the Scriptures. --Daniel Webster

 

It is a mistake to look to the Bible to close a discussion; the Bible seeks to open one. - William Sloane Coffin

 

It is impossible to rightly govern the world without God and the Bible. --George Washington

Saturday, January 14, 2012




'...which always causeth us to triumph in Christ...' 2 Corinthians 2:14


Jesus said, '...Here on earth you will have many trials...' (John 16:33 NLT).

Having problems doesn't mean you're a fake, a failure or the focus of God's displeasure.

The storm tested both the believer's and the unbeliever's house (Matthew 7:24-27). But the believer overcame it.

So What's God's goal?

 To make you an overcomer, not an escape artist!

'Thanks be unto God, which always causeth us to triumph in Christ.' Yes, God will deliver you but first He will develop you.



There are problems you can't avoid and must deal with, such as: Your physical heredity.

 In a society obsessed with 'looks,' are you unhappy about yours?

 Feel too tall, too short, unattractive, not athletic; you're apple-shaped, pear-shaped, your nose is all wrong? Got freckles, double chin, protruding ears? Tried to darken it, lighten it, accentuate it, hide it, reduce it, enlarge it, but it never looks the way you wish?

 Beware of our culture's carnal norms.

 '...They measure themselves by one another and compare themselves with one another...without understanding' (2 Corinthians 10:12 ESV).

 The Bible points out that 'sorrow awaits those who argue with their Creator...saying, "Stop, you're doing it wrong!'' (Isaiah 45:9 NLT).

 Look your best, but accept what you can't change. God doesn't make mistakes.

 Don't be like those 'without understanding.' '..."People judge by outward appearance, but the Lord looks at the heart"' (1 Samuel 16:7 NLT).

Adopt God's standard, not man's. Start appreciating yourself.



Thursday, January 5, 2012

See Jesus On The Chair

A man's daughter had asked the local pastor to come and pray with her father. When the pastor arrived, he found the man lying in bed with his head propped up on two pillows and an empty chair beside his bed. The priest assumed that the old fellow had been informed of his visit.
"I guess you were expecting me," he said.
"No, who are you?"
"I'm the new associate at your local church," the pastor replied.
"When I saw the empty chair, I figured you knew I was going to show up."
"Oh yeah, the chair," said the bedridden man. "Would you mind closing the door?" 

Puzzled, the pastor shut the door.
 

"I've never told anyone this, not even my daughter," said the man.
"But all of my life I have never known how to pray. At church I used to hear the pastor talk about prayer, but it always went right over my head.."
"I abandoned any attempt at prayer," the old man continued, "until one day about four years ago my best friend said to me, 'Joe, prayer is just a simple matter of having a conversation with Jesus.
 Here's what I suggest. Sit down on a chair, place an empty chair in front of you, and in faith see Jesus on the chair. It's not spooky because he promised, 'I'll be with you always.' Then just speak to him and listen in the same way you're doing with me right now."


"So, I tried it and I've liked it so much that I do it a couple of hours every day. I'm careful, though. If my daughter saw me talking to an empty chair, she'd either have a nervous breakdown or send me off to the funny farm."
 

The pastor was deeply moved by the story and encouraged the old guy to continue on the journey. Then he prayed with him, and returned to the church.
 

Two nights later the daughter called to tell the pastor that her daddy had died that afternoon.
"Did he seem to die in peace?" he asked.
"Yes, when I left the house around two o'clock, he called me over to his bedside, told me one of his corny jokes, and kissed me on the cheek. When I got back from the store an hour later, I found him dead.
 


But there was something strange, In fact, beyond strange-kinda weird.
Apparently, just before Daddy died, he leaned over and rested his head on a chair beside the bed."



 

Tuesday, January 3, 2012

Fwd: Blessings For The New Year.. 2012



 

The LORD bless you and keep you;
May He make his face shine upon you
and be gracious to you; and give you peace.

May He give you strength to preserve no matter how hard your day is.

May He give you shelter from the wind and a refuge from the storm,
streams of water in the desert, level paths for your feet,
and the shadow of a great rock in a thirsty land.

May He preserve you from all evil: preserve your soul,
preserve your going out and your coming in from this time forth, and even for evermore.
May He watch between you and me while we are absent from each other.

May your food be rich; delicacies fit for a king.
May He give you the desires of your heart.
When you are distressed may He turn His ear to you quickly.

May He have Mercy on you all day long.

May He guard your life, and give you peace
May He always may count you worthy of his calling,
and that by his power He may fulfil every good purpose of yours and every act prompted by your faith.

May the name of our Lord Jesus may be glorified in you, and you in him, according to the grace of our God and the Lord Jesus Christ.

May the LORD, the God of your fathers, increase you a thousand times and bless you as he has promised.

May He enable you to overcome and become a Pillar in the temple of the Lord.

Grace and peace to you from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ.

May you be called by His name, and may He heal your land.

For surely, O LORD, you bless the righteous; [and] surround them with your favor as with a shield.
And Surely goodness and Mercy shall follow you all the days of your life.

May you be so richly blessed that you will bless others with what overflows from your cup.

"The Lord bless and keep you. The Lord let His face shine upon you, and be gracious to you.
The Lord look upon you kindly and give you peace."

Baruch haba B'shem Adonai!