Thursday, May 31, 2018

MY PAST AND MY FUTURE



I live under His heavens,
 
The nations are under His authority,
My destiny is under His direction,
My PAST is under His grace,
My FUTURE is under His control,
My cares are under His wing,
My sin is under His blood!

- (ministry127.com)

Isa 18-19 (GNT):  But the LORD says, “Do not cling to events of the past or dwell on what happened long ago. Watch for the new thing I am going to do. It is happening already - you can see it now! I will make a road through the wilderness and give you streams of water there.”

“The only way to get rid of a past is to get a future out of it.” - Phillip Brooks.

Tuesday, May 29, 2018

WATER BAPTISM




Baptism is a Gospel ordinance commemorating the death, burial & resurrection of Christ.

In baptism, public testimony is given to the effect that the one baptized has been:

-Crucified with Christ (Gal. 2:20).

- Buried with Him (Rom. 6:4).

- Raised with Him to walk in newness of life (Col. 3:1).

- J. W. K., in Evangelical Visitor (moreillustrations.com)

MK 16:16 (NIV): “Whoever believes and is baptized will be saved, but whoever does not believe will be condemned.”

“Baptism is the initial step of a faithful heart.” - Max Lucado.

ACTS 2:38 (CSB): Peter replied, “Repent and be baptized, each of you, in the name of Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of your sins, and you will receive the gift of the Holy Spirit.”

“After many painful trials, which none can know, but those who are taught to relinquish a system in which they had been educated, I settled down in the full persuasion, that the immersion of a professing believer in Christ is the only Christian baptism.” -  Adoniram Judson.

Monday, May 28, 2018

CHRISTIAN FAITHFULNESS



A story that carries its own application to Christian faithfulness has been told of a question & answer that passed between Martin Niemoeller & a chaplain who visited him in his detention for his faith:

"Why are you here?" asked the chaplain.

"Why are you not here?" asked Dr. Niemoeller.

-‘Christian Faith and Life’. (moreillustrations.com)

“If Jesus preached the same message minister's preach today, He would have never been crucified.” -  Leonard Ravenhill.

Jer 1:17 (GNT): “Get ready, Jeremiah; go and tell them everything I command you to say. Do not be afraid of them now, or I will make you even more afraid when you are with them.”

“The chief danger of the Church today is that it is trying to get on the same side as the world, instead of turning the world upside down. Our Master expects us to accomplish results, even if they bring opposition and conflict. Anything is better than compromise, apathy, and paralysis. God, give to us an intense cry for the old-time power of the Gospel and the Holy Ghost!” -  A.B. Simpson.

Friday, May 25, 2018

REBELLION REMOVES PROTECTION




God protects His children by putting a hedge around them. We find that in Job 1:10 which says: “Hast not thou made a hedge about him, and about his house, and about all that he hath on every side?

God will not remove it as He has put it with a purpose. Devil can’t remove it, as it is incapable to do so.

It is we ourselves who can break the hedge by our rebellion against God’s Word and make ourselves vulnerable to the attacks of the devil as in Ecclesiastes 10:8 which says: “whoso breaketh a hedge, a serpent shall bite him.”

Given a chance, the devil will steal that which is precious to us, that is, sanity of our very mind (Mark 5:15), at the loss of which, one will not be able to make any more wise decisions.

- (tcchristo.blogspot.com)

Mark 5:15 (NLV): “They came to Jesus and saw the man who had had the demons. He was sitting with clothes on and in his right mind.”

“An ounce of obedience is worth a pound of protection.” -  Woodrow Kroll.

Thursday, May 24, 2018

FRIENDSHIP WITH CHRIST



It is said that Zinzendorf, when a boy, used to write little notes to the Savior & throw them out of the window, hoping that He would find them.

Later in life, so strong was his faith in the friendship of Christ & in his own need of that friendship as a daily solace, that once, when traveling, he sent back his companion, that he might converse more freely with the Lord, with whom he spoke audibly.

So do we all need friendly converse with Him, our soul's love. That man never knew what it was to be familiar with God who complains of the want of friends when God is with him.

Cultivate the friendship of the Lord Jesus. Carry every burden of life to His loving heart & this you may do with confiding trustfulness.

- (moreillustrations.com)

“You are my friends if you obey my commandments.” – Lord Jesus Christ. (John 15:14 GW)

“A rule I have had for years is: to treat the Lord Jesus Christ as a personal friend.” -  D.L. Moody.

“The dearest friend on earth is a mere shadow compared to Jesus Christ.” -  Oswald Chambers.

Wednesday, May 23, 2018

ASSURANCE



Robert Bruce, of Kinnaird, after breakfast on the last day of his life, said suddenly to his daughter:

"Hold, daughter; my Master calleth me."

At these words his sight, unconsciously to himself, failed & he called for a Bible; but finding that he was sightless, he said:

"Turn up the 8th chapter of Romans & put my finger on verse 39."

"Now," he said, "is my finger on it?"

They told him it was. Then he said: "God be with you my children; I have breakfasted with you, & I shall sup with the Lord Jesus Christ tonight." Immediately he died.

- Dawn. (moreillustrations.com)

Rom 8:38-39 (PHILLIPS): “I have become absolutely convinced that neither death nor life, neither messenger of Heaven nor monarch of earth, neither what happens today nor what may happen tomorrow, neither a power from on high nor a power from below, nor anything else in God’s whole world has any power to separate us from the love of God in Jesus Christ our Lord!”

“I believe hundreds of ‘Christians’ are being deceived by Satan now on this point, that they have not got the assurance of salvation just because they are not willing to take God at His word.” -  D.L. Moody.

Monday, May 21, 2018

SMOKING




AUNT MARY (horrified): "Good gracious. Harold, what would your mother say if she saw you smoking cigarettes?"

HAROLD (calmly): "She'd have a fit. They're her cigarettes."

- (moreillustrations.com)

1 Cor 3:16-17 (GW): “Don’t you know that you are God’s temple and that God’s Spirit lives in you?  If anyone destroys God’s temple, God will destroy him because God’s temple is holy. You are that holy temple!”

Pro 10:27 (GNT): “Obey the Lord, and you will live longer. The wicked die before their time.”

“I did come with a warning … yet you chose me … so now suffer!” – Cigarette. (A selection)

“If you can’t stop smoking, cancer will!” – The Fresh Quotes.
 

Sunday, May 20, 2018

GOD & THE WORLD




Kapitango Kusita, an evangelist overseer of the Dondi Church, Portuguese Africa, was discoursing on following the "white" path & the "white" path only.

It was night & the crowd of natives sat around the camp fire. A native dog passed between the fire & the listeners.

"Look at that dog! How many legs it has?" asked the preacher.

"Four," came the reply.

"Yes, four indeed," retorted Kapitango, "but have you ever seen the four legs of a dog trying to follow more than one path at the same time? No, no! All four go together, but yet humans with only two legs try to follow two paths at the same time: Christ & the world – money or wealth"

- Record of Christian Work. (moreillustrations.com)

Luke 16:13 (NIRV): “No one can serve two masters at the same time. Either you will hate one of them and love the other. Or you will be faithful to one and dislike the other. You can’t serve God and money at the same time.”

"He who chases two rabbits catches neither." – Confucius.