"Ask God"

“I asked God for strength that I might achieve. I was made weak that I might learn humbly to obey. I asked for health that I might do greater things. I was given infirmity that I might do better things. I asked for riches that I might be happy. I was given poverty that I might be wise. I asked for power that I might have the praise of men. I was given weakness that I might feel the need of God. I asked for all things that I might enjoy life. I was given life that I might enjoy all things. I got nothing that I asked for, but everything I hoped for. Almost despite myself, my unspoken prayers were answered. I am, among all men, most richly blessed.”

A.W.Tozer quote

“The devil is a better theologian than any of us and is a devil still.”

D.L.Moody quote

Grace means undeserved kindness. It is the gift of God to man the moment he sees he is unworthy of God's favor.

The Lord never taught Joshua how to use a sword. He told him to meditate on the Lord day and night and he would have great success.

Walk softly and carry a big stick.

Luk 22:36 And He said to them, But now, he who has a purse, let him take it, and likewise his wallet. And he who has no sword, let him sell his garment and buy one.

Mat 5:39 But I say to you, Do not resist evil. But whoever shall strike you on your right cheek, turn the other to him also.
In answer to a question I received the other day; Jesus never said a man shouldn't defend himself or his family. If someone strikes you on your cheek, they aren't threatening your life, they're merely threatening your pride.

Albert Einstein quote

"In view of such harmony in the cosmos which I, with my limited human mind, am able to recognize, there are yet people who say there is no God. But what really makes me angry is that they quote me for the support of such views." The Expanded Quotable Einstein, Princeton University, page 214

from The Choice Sayings of Robert C. Chapman

God indeed, as our Father in Christ Jesus, does not blame us for Indwelling Sin; but He does require that we should contend against it.

We should deal with our corrupt nature as we would with a notorious thief,—never trust it.

To take God at His word is the business of Faith.

Faith is the good cable that, stretched and strained, does not break in the storm.

There is no short cut to Spiritual maturity. The only way to grow as a Christian is through reading and studying the Bible.

Spurgeon's Gems

“Thou shalt arise, and have mercy upon Zion: for the time to favour her, yea, the set time is come. For thy servants rake pleasure in her stones, and favour the dust thereof.”


- Psa_102:13, Psa_102:14

A selfish man in trouble is exceedingly hard to comfort, because the springs of his comfort lie entirely within himself, and when he is sad all his springs are dry. But a large-hearted man full of Christian philanthropy, has other springs from which to supply himself with comfort beside those which lie within. He can go to his God first of all, and there find abundant help; and he can discover arguments for consolation in things relating to the world at large, to his country, and, above all, to the church. David in this Psalm was exceedingly sorrowful; he wrote, “I am like an owl of the desert. I watch, and am as a sparrow alone upon the house top.” The only way in which he could comfort himself, was in the reflection that God would arise, and have mercy upon Zion: though he was sad, yet Zion should prosper; however low his own estate, yet Zion should arise. Christian man! learn to comfort thyself in God’s gracious dealing towards the church. That which is so dear to thy Master, should it not be dear above all else to thee? What though thy way be dark, canst thou not gladden thine heart with the triumphs of his cross and the spread of his truth? Our own personal troubles are forgotten while we look, not only upon what God has done, and is doing for Zion, but on the glorious things he will yet do for his church. Try this receipt, O believer, whenever thou art sad of heart and in heaviness of spirit: forget thyself and thy little concerns, and seek the welfare and prosperity of Zion. When thou bendest thy knee in prayer to God, limit not thy petition to the narrow circle of thine own life, tried though it be, but send out thy longing prayers for the church’s prosperity, “Pray for the peace of Jerusalem,” and thine own soul shall be refreshed.

The fairest things in the sight of the world are the foulest in the sight of God. The world's wisdom and the world's religions.

C.S. Lewis quote

It is Christ Himself, not the Bible, who is the true word of God. The Bible, read in the right spirit and with the guidance of good teachers, will bring us to Him. We must not use the Bible as a sort of encyclopedia out of which texts can be taken for use as weapons.

taken from an Ironside commentary on Matthew 23

It is always a snare when one feels he has a certain reputation of godliness to maintain before his fellows. It is so easy to succumb to the temptation of trying to appear more devoted than one really is. The only right thing is to live before God and to be utterly indifferent to men’s praise or blame.

Another Spurgeon Gem

“If thou lift up thy tool upon it, thou hast polluted it.”


- Exo_20:25

God’s altar was to be built of unhewn stones, that no trace of human skill or labour might be seen upon it. Human wisdom delights to trim and arrange the doctrines of the cross into a system more artificial and more congenial with the depraved tastes of fallen nature; instead, however, of improving the gospel carnal wisdom pollutes it, until it becomes another gospel, and not the truth of God at all. All alterations and amendments of the Lord’s own Word are defilements and pollutions. The proud heart of man is very anxious to have a hand in the justification of the soul before God; preparations for Christ are dreamed of, humblings and repentings are trusted in, good works are cried up, natural ability is much vaunted, and by all means the attempt is made to lift up human tools upon the divine altar. It were well if sinners would remember that so far from perfecting the Saviour’s work, their carnal confidences only pollute and dishonour it. The Lord alone must be exalted in the work of atonement, and not a single mark of man’s chisel or hammer will be endured. There is an inherent blasphemy in seeking to add to what Christ Jesus in His dying moments declared to be finished, or to improve that in which the Lord Jehovah finds perfect satisfaction. Trembling sinner, away with thy tools, and fall upon thy knees in humble supplication; and accept the Lord Jesus to be the altar of thine atonement, and rest in him alone.

Many professors may take warning from this morning’s text as to the doctrines which they believe. There is among Christians far too much inclination to square and reconcile the truths of revelation; this is a form of irreverence and unbelief, let us strive against it, and receive truth as we find it; rejoicing that the doctrines of the Word are unhewn stones, and so are all the more fit to build an altar for the Lord.

Two Different Conversions by Jim Baumgaertel

Two Different Conversions


When I became a follower of Jesus Christ I underwent two different conversions, although I didn't realize it at the time. First, I was converted from my old life into the Body of Christ by reconciliation with God through Jesus. Hallelujah! At about the same time I bought into the Evangelical Subculture under the false impression that it WAS the Body of Christ. It took me years to realize the difference between the two.

I had been aware of "Christendom": that worldly religious structure consisting of political and economic empires and bureaucracies, both Protestant and Catholic, that had fought religious wars and undertaken crusades to retake the "Holy Land", that had burned people at the stake, that continued to preach false Christs and false gospels of works, and that continues to talk about the counterfeit unity called Ecumenicalism.

But I had not understood the nature of the Evangelical Subculture, that is a part of the worldly structure of "Christendom". This subculture has its own organizations and institutions, denominations, parachurch organizations; its own magazines and radio stations and TV networks; its own schools and colleges and universities; its own celebrities; its own music industry and book stores; its own marketing and advertising worlds.

Like Joining a Club

The tragedy of the Evangelical Subculture is that people who have a sincere desire to follow Jesus get side tracked into a zeal for being a part of this worldly system. It is like joining a club. The club member begins to wear the clothes and trinkets bought at the "Christian" book stores; watch "Christian" TV and listen to "Christian" radio; buy the latest fad books that sweep the "Christian media"; subscribe to the "Christian" magazines; worship the "Christian" celebrities; use all the latest jargon promoted in the latest books by the celebrity authors.

A cult-like mentality develops among people who see this Evangelical system as identical to the Body of Christ. Their zeal is for the trappings of the subculture. It is its own religion. If someone tries to point out the unbiblical nature of some aspect of this subculture people will take offense because you are criticizing their religion. The subculture becomes the message. The "gospel" that people preach is for conversion to the system, not really to Jesus Christ.

The Subculture, Institutionalism, and Deception

The pop culture of Evangelicalism feeds on institutionalism, denominationalism, "non-denominational" institutional church organizations, and the professional clergy system. The professional clergy and their church organizations, in turn, find an indoctrinated constituency to fill their pews and programs. Both the subculture and the institutional churches turn a relationship with Jesus and his people into a participation in a religion and a lifestyle.

This Evangelical Subculture has played a major role in setting professing Christians up for deception. It seduces people to think and act like the subculture instead of reading the Bible for themselves and deriving their understanding from the Bible. It has been this subculture that has infected the Evangelicals with psychology, self-esteem, political action and social activism, unity at the expense of sound doctrine, mysticism, and cult attachments to gurus, movements, and organizations. Ultimately, the end of this deception is a merging of the Evangelical Subculture with the global counterfeit religious vision.

We ought to be content with the simplicity of following Jesus and being the Body of Christ together with those the Lord provides for fellowship, according to the teachings of the Apostles in the New Testament.

Jim Baumgaertel

Proclamation, Invitation, and Warning http://procinwarn.com/ jimbaum@procinwarn.com

heard it on the radio

It's odd
That God
Would choose
The Jews;
But twice as odd
That those who choose
The Jewish God
Would hate the Jews.

Each Sunday

Each Sunday congregations of freshly showered and scented cultists sit on cushioned seats in air-conditioned churches across America, contemplating whether to have lunch at Hometown Buffet or Red Lobster. They like their church because the pastor wears a Hawaiian shirt and cracks clean jokes with a George Carlin wit. They like the church band because they’re edgy, like the music they used to listen to before they were converted. They close their eyes and raise a hand to the sky (Jesus antenna) phishing for reception from the man upstairs as the Dave Matthews look-alike sings songs of praise and worship. The church is the size of an arena with a large stage and giant screen in the background. On the screen is an image of troops huddled in prayer, which fades into an image of a soldier holding a smiling Arab child, which fades into an image of F-16’s blazing across the sky, which fades into an image of troops on tanks handing out bottled water to a thirsty crowd, which fades into an image of a soldier reading the Bible, which fades into…

Satan Rules This World

•Satan rules all men that are in his kingdom Some he rules through lust. Some he rules through covetousness. Some he rules through appetite. Some he rules by their temper, but he rules them. And none will ever seek to be delivered until they get their eyes open and see that they have been taken captive. Dwight L. Moody

which side are you on?

•I can't help thinking of the old woman who started out when the war commenced with a poker in her hand. When asked what! she was going to do with it she said: "I can't do much with it, but I can show what side I'm on." My friends, even if you can't do much, show to which side you belong.

proselytes

It is characteristic of sectarians generally that they are far more concerned about obtaining adherents to their special beliefs than winning lost souls for Christ. The new adherents become ardent advocates of the system with which they now identify themselves. As a rule, those thus perverted trust in their new association for ultimate salvation, so entering into a worse state than before they were proselytized. It is harder to reach and awaken the adherent of a false cult than to bring a godless worldling to see his lost condition and his need of salvation.

REPENT

The very commandment of God—“Repent” —shows a dispensation above the law, and supposes a fountain of grace in the heart of God. Were there not forgiveness with God, there could have been no commandment to repent. Robert Cleaver Chapman

Some sayings of Robert Cleaver Chapman

The Bible is always a new book to those well acquainted with it.


It is natural to the corrupt heart of man to deny its weakness and sinfulness, and to boast of its strength and righteousness.

Unbelief is in man’s sight no sin at all— whilst in God’s sight it is of all sins the greatest.

To seek healing of soul from duties instead of the blood of Christ, is taking poison to cure disease.
 
For more go to the link at the bottom of the page.

Matthew 18:22 Seventy Times Seven

Jesus said to him, "I do not say to you seven times, but seventy times seven."

 The man who can forgive injuries seventy times seven is the man who is best able to defend himself.

Affliction

To paraphrase Samuel Rutherford: Sometimes when you're in the cellar of affliction, that's where you can find the Lord's choicest wines.