Encouraging Thought from Jim Elliot

In a letter to his parents (August 8, 1950).

“Surely those who know the great passionate heart of

Jehovah must deny their own loves to share in the

statement of His. Consider the call from the Throne above,

Go ye, and from round about, Come over and help us, and

even the call from the damned souls below, Send Lazarus

to my brothers, that they come not to this place. Impelled,

then, by these voices, I dare not stay home while Quichuas

perish. So what if the well-fed church in the homeland

needs stirring? They have the Scriptures, Moses, and the

Prophets, and a whole lot more. Their condemnation is

written on their bank books and in the dust on their Bible

covers. American believers have sold their lives to the

service of Mammon, and God has His rightful way of

dealing with those who succumb to the spirit of Laodicea."

Emphasis added

If God did not bless, not one hair, not a solitary wisp of straw, would grow; but there would be an end of everything. At the same time God wants me to take this stance: I would have nothing whatever if I did not plow and sow. God does not want to have success come without work, and yet I am not to achieve it by my work. He does not want me to sit at home, to loaf, to commit matters to God, and to wait till a fried chicken flies into my mouth. That would be tempting God. ~Martin Luther

Waiting for God is not laziness. Waiting for God is not going to sleep. Waiting for God is not the abandonment of effort. Waiting for God means, first, activity under command; second, readiness for any new command that may come; third, the ability to do nothing until the command is given.


Waiting on God means power to do nothing save under command. This is not lack of power to do anything. Waiting for God needs strength rather than weakness. It is power to do nothing. It is the strength that holds strength in check. It is the strength that prevents the blundering activity which is entirely false and will make true activity impossible when the definite command comes.
~G. Campbell Morgan
This is definitely the word I needed to hear today.  It is always such a blessing to learn something from those friends that are younger than me.  It gives me hope and shows me there are those that are still actively seeking God.  Thank you, Amber!

No soul has ever lacked God's supply when he depended upon God's invitation to trust in Him absolutely.
~John Owen

"It is a mercy that our lives are not left for us to plan, but that our Father chooses for us; else might we sometimes turn away from our best blessings, and put from us the choicest and loveliest gifts of His providence." ~Susannah Spurgeon

Find Yourself

A friend just posted this on his blog.  I really like this song and I really like the thoughts he shares to go with it.

…Jesus is the Commander of my destiny. Our destiny. He is guiding our steps and making our paths straight. Even when things don't make sense from my limited perspective. 
God sees the end and the beginning. He is painting His picture on the canvas of humanity, and I am thankful that we can be a part of His masterpiece. I am thankful that in God, we truly find ourselves. ~John

Through Christ,
Lady B

Quote of the Day...

"Never trust someone that has not brought a book with them."

~Lemony Snicket, aka Daniel Handler

Personal Importance of Prayer

Bibles read without prayer; sermons heard without prayer; marriages contracted without prayer; journeys undertaken without prayer; residences chosen without prayer; friendships formed without prayer; the daily act of prayer itself hurried over, or gone through without heart: these are the kind of downward steps by which many a Christian descends
to a condition of spiritual palsy, or reaches the point where God allows them to have a tremendous fall.
~(James Charles)  J. C. Ryle

“I look for better…”

 
The shadows of the evening that precedes a lovelier morning are drawing down around us both. But our God is in the shadow as in the shine, and all is and will be well: have we not seen his glory in the face of Jesus? and do we not know him a little?...This life is a lovely time, but I never was content with it. I look for better --- oh, so far better! I think we do not yet know the joy of mere existence.... May the loving Father be near you and may you know it, and be perfectly at peace all the way into the home country, and to the palace home of the living one -- the life of our life.
                                                                                ~George Macdonald

Today’s Quote- Worship

I do not know much about Mr. Stott but sadly he passed away today.

If worship is right because God is worthy of it, it is also the best of all antidotes to our own self-centredness, the most effective way to "disinfect us of egotism," as one writer put it long ago. In true worship we turn the searchlight of our mind and heart upon God and temporarily forget about our troublesome and usually intrusive selves. We marvel at the beauties and intricacies of God's creation. We "survey the wondrous cross on which the Prince of glory died." We are taken up with God, the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit...Because we are normally so turned in on ourselves, we will not find this easy. But we have to persevere, since nothing is more right or more important.
~John R. W. Stott

Today's Quote:

Whatever makes men good Christians makes them good citizens.
~Daniel Webster

Today's Quote:

What gives us conviction of sin is not the number of sins we have committed; it is the sight of the holiness of God.
~Martyn Lloyd-Jones

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Yesterday’s-
It is idleness that creates impossibilities; and where people don't care to do anything, they shelter themselves under a permission that it cannot be done.
~Robert Smith