This week's "thoughts" come from various authors. They are timeless truths having to do with salvation or growth in godliness. They are self-explanatory and obviously written from a grounding in Scriptural truth mixed with the "yes" of personal experience. Take a moment to meditate on each one and you will surely find food for your soul as well as guidance for walking with Christ. Enjoy.
"Always respond to every impulse to pray. The impulse to pray may come when you are reading or when you are struggling to understand a text. I would make an absolute law of this -- always obey such an impulse. Where does it come from? It is the work of the Holy Spirit (Phil. 2:12-13). This often leads to some of the most remarkable experiences in the life of the minister. So never resist. Never postpone it. Never push it aside because you are busy. Give yourself to it; yield to it... Such a call to prayer must never be regarded as a distraction. Always respond to it immediately and thank God if it happens to you frequently."
Dr. Martyn
Lloyd-Jones (1899-1981) "Preaching and
Preachers."
"Tell
the young, tell the poor, tell the aged, tell the ignorant, tell the sick, tell
the dying -- tell them about Christ. Tell them of His love; tell them of His
doings; tell them what He has done for the chief of sinners; tell them what He
is willing to do until the last day of time; tell it to them over and over
again. Never be tired of speaking of Christ. Say to them broadly and
fully, freely and unconditionally, unreservedly and undoubtingly -- 'Come unto
Christ, as the penitent thief did; come unto Christ and you shall be
saved."
J. C,. Ryle
(1816-1900) Sermon - "Christ's Greatest Trophy."
"Grace
stands in direct opposition to any supposed worthiness on our part. To say it
another way: Grace and works are mutually exclusive. As Paul said in Romans
11:6, "And if by grace, then it is no longer by works; for if it were,
then grace would no longer be grace." Our relationship with God is
based on either works or grace. There is never a works-plus-grace relationship
with Him."
Jerry Bridges
(1929-2016) "Transforming
Grace."
"Loving
a holy God is beyond our moral power. The only kind of God we can love by our
sinful nature is an unholy god, an idol made by our own hands. Unless we are
born of the Spirit of God, unless God sheds His holy love in our hearts, unless
He stoops in His grace to change our hearts, we will not love Him... To love a
holy God requires grace, grace strong enough to pierce hardened hearts and
awaken moribund souls."
R. C. Sproul
(1939- ____) "The Holiness of God."
"Grace
does away with the distance between the sinner and God, which sin had created.
Grace meets the sinner on the spot where he stands; grace approaches him just
as he is. Grace does not wait till there is something to attract it, nor until
good reason is found in the sinner for its flowing to him... It was free,
sovereign grace when it thought of the sinner; it was free grace when it found
him and laid hold of him, and it is free grace when it hands him up into glory."
Horatius Bonar
(1808-1889) Sermon - "God's Purpose in Grace."
"I
know of no other way to triumph over sin long-term, than to gain a distaste for
it because of a superior satisfaction in God."
John Piper (1946- _____) "Desiring
God."
"If
heaven were by merit, it would never be heaven to me, for if I were in it I
should say, "I am sure I am here by mistake... I have no claim to
it." But if it be by grace and not by works, then we may walk into
heaven with boldness."
Charles H. Spurgeon
(1834-1892)
"When I stand before
the throne,
Dressed in beauty not my own,
When I see Thee as Thou art,
Love Thee with unsinning heart,
Then Lord shall I fully know -- not till then,
How much I owe."
Robert Murray
McCheyne (1813-1843)
That about sums it up for today!
Blessings on your tomorrow, Pastor Jeff
