“A man may love another as his own soul, yet his love may not be able to help him. He may pity him in prison, but not relieve him, bemoan him in misery, but not help him, suffer with him in trouble, but not ease him. We cannot love grace into a child, nor mercy into a friend; we cannot love them into heaven, though it may be the greatest desire of our soul. . . . But the love of Christ, being the love of God, is effective and fruitful in producing all the good things which he wills for his beloved. He loves life, grace and holiness into us; He loves us into covenant, He loves us into heaven.” John Owen, Works (Edinburgh, 1980), II:63.
F.F. Bruce
Persistence in prayer for someone whom we don't like, however much it goes against the grain to begin with, brings about a remarkable change in attitude.
F.F. Bruce
Peter Marshall
We have only to be yielded, that is, willing, surrendered, and He will do the rest. He will make us according to the pattern for which, in His love, He designed us.
Peter Marshall
A-t-il voulu dire que, quelque bien que nous fassions, nous devions nous cacher aux yeux des hommes et craindre d'en être vus ?
Si tu crains les spectateurs, tu n'auras pas d'imitateurs : il faut donc qu'on te voie.
Mais tu ne dois pas agir pour qu'on te voie. Là ne doit pas être la fin de ta joie, le terme de ton bonheur, comme si tu estimais avoir obtenu tout le fruit de ta bonne action, quand on t'aura vu et loué. Cela, c'est néant.
Méprise-toi, quand on te loue : que celui-là soit loué en toi, qui agit par toi.
Le bien que tu fais, ne le fais donc pas pour ta propre gloire, mais pour la gloire de celui qui te donne de bien faire."
St Augustin (p. 341, Tr. VIII, 2)
Dallas Willard
Raymond C. Ortlund Jr., Supernatural Living for Natural People
“ The spring of Christian power runs all the way down to what we desire. Most of what we do in life, we do out of the desires of our hearts. This is humbling, but true. So the more our hearts love the Lord, the more progress we will make.”
Raymond C. Ortlund Jr., Supernatural Living for Natural People
Charles H. Spurgeon
The gospel is preached in the ears of all; it only comes with power to some. The power that is in the gospel does not lie in the eloquence of the preacher; otherwise men would be converters of souls. Nor does it lie in the preacher’s learning; otherwise it would consist in the wisdom of men. We might preach till our tongues rotted, till we should exhaust our lungs and die, but never a soul would be converted unless there were mysterious power going with it – the Holy Ghost changing the will of man.
Charles H. Spurgeon
Charles Spurgeon
The Word of God is like a lion. You don't have to defend a lion. All you have to do is let the lion loose, and the lion will defend itself.
Charles Spurgeon
Katie Davis
Being a Christ follower means being acquainted with sorrow. We must know sorrow to be able to fully appreciate joy. Joy costs pain, but the pain is worth it. After all, the murder had to take place before the resurrection.
Katie Davis
The Bible is a compass, pointing you in the right direction. Author Unknown
R. T. Kendall
A vital ingredient of worship is expectancy believing that something good is going to happen.
R. T. Kendall
Randy Smith
Satan is the prince of darkness, but he often uses his “smiling light” to achieve his best purposes. His effectiveness is limited when he comes as an open enemy, but oh so very powerful when he comes as a friend, when he comes as an “angel of light” (verse 14), like a Judas among the apostles. Satan deceives people to pull them down through self-righteousness, self-confidence and self-esteem. Then the enemy deceives them to keep them down through self-regret, self-despair and self-pity. Satan is powerful, but his is a defeated foe. For the Christian, he is only as strong as the power we permit him to have in our lives.
Randy Smith
J.C. Ryle, Expository Thoughts on the Gospels.
It is hard to imagine anything more tiresome and provoking than the conduct of Thomas… But it is impossible to imagine anything more patient and compassionate than our Lord’s treatment of this weak disciple… Our Lord has many weak children in His family, many dull pupils in His school, many raw soldiers in His army, many lame sheep in His flock. Yet he bears with them all and casts none away.
J.C. Ryle, Expository Thoughts on the Gospels.
Jim Elliff
God is faithful and just to forgive every sin and cleanse from all unrighteousness because of Christ’s atonement alone. In other words, the believer does not confess in order to get something. What he seeks he already has.
Jim Elliff
John Owen
God speaks by the Church (the true Church we mean); but He speaks nothing by her but what He speaks in the Scriptures, which she does only ministerially declare to us; and therefore the authority of God and His law is above hers, who, though she publish, yet did not make it, but is herself subject to it.
John Owen
Les noms racontent des histoires, surtout le nom qui est au-dessus de tous les autres noms, le nom de Jésus. C'est en son nom que je suis appelé à vivre. Son nom est devenu ma maison, ma demeure, mon refuge, mon arche. Son nom doit commencer à raconter l'histoire de la naissance, de la croissance, de la vieillesse et de la mort - révélant un Dieu qui nous a tant aimés qu'il nous a envoyé son unique enfant.
Henri Nouwen, The Road to Daybreak
Names tell stories, most of all the name which is above all other names, the name of Jesus. In his name I am called to live. His name has become my house, my dwelling place, my refuge, my ark. His name has to start telling the story of being born, growing up, growing old, and dying—revealing a God who loved us so much that he sent his only child to us.
Henri Nouwen, The Road to Daybreak
