RIGHTEOUSNESS

How can a man trust in his own righteousness?
 
It is like seeking shelter under one's own shadow. We may stoop to the very ground; and, the lower we bend, we still find that our shadow is under us.
 
But, if a man flee to the shadow of a great rock or of a wide-spreading tree, he will find abundant shelter from the rays of the noonday sun.
 
So human merits are useless; and Christ alone is able to save to the uttermost those who come unto God by him.
 
- Medhurst (moreillustrations.com)
 
Isa 64:6 (JUB): “But we were all as an unclean thing, and all our righteousnesses as filthy rags; and we all fell as the leaves of a tree; and our iniquities, like the wind, have taken us away.”
 
“Our lifestyle, language, attitudes, and manner of dress reflect on His name. He leads us in paths of righteousness for His name's sake. Unless you are honestly convinced that the thing in question will bring glory to God, then don't do it.” -  Curtis Hutson.

TRIED AND TRUE

When a founder has cast his bell he does not at once put it into the steeple, but tries it with the hammer & beats it on every side, to see if there is a flaw.

So when Christ transforms a man, He does not at once convey him to heaven, but suffers him to be beaten upon by many temptations & afflictions, and then exalts him to his crown.

As snow is of itself cold, yet warms & refreshes the earth, so afflictions, though in themselves grievous, keep the Christian's soul warm & make it fruitful.

- Fellowship News. (moreillustrations.com)

1 Cor 10:13 (ERV): “The only temptations that you have are the same temptations that all people have. But you can trust God. He will not let you be tempted more than you can bear. But when you are tempted, God will also give you a way to escape that temptation. Then you will be able to endure it.”

“Temptation usually comes in through a door that has deliberately been left open.” - Arnold Glasow.

THE TRAVELER

The Bible is the greatest traveller in the world. It penetrates to every country, civilized & uncivilized.

It is seen in the royal palace & in the humble cottage. It is the friend of Emperors & beggars.

It is read by the light of the dim candle amid Arctic snows. 

It is read under the glare of the equatorial sun. It is read in city & country, amid the crowds & in solitude.

Wherever its message is received, it frees the mind from bondage & fills the heart with gladness.

- Dr. A. T. Pierson  (moreillustrations.com)

Acts 20:32 (RSV): “And now I commend you to God and to the word of his grace, which is able to build you up and to give you the inheritance among all those who are sanctified.”

 
“If you have a Bible that's falling apart, you'll have a life that's not.” -  Adrian Rogers. 

WHEN KINGS DEFY GOD

There is a story told in Benjamin Franklin's autobiography of a clergyman who was ordered to read the proclamation issued by King Charles I, bidding the people to return to sports on Sundays.
 
To the congregation's amazement & horror, he did read the Royal edict in church, which many other clergy had refused to do. But he followed it with the words, "Remember the Sabbath day, to keep it holy," (Exo 20:8) and added:
 
"Brethren, I have laid before you the commandment of your king and the commandment of your God. I leave it to you to judge which of the two ought rather to be observed."
 
- Christian Herald.(moreillustrations.com)
 
Deu 30:19 (ICB): “Today I ask heaven and earth to be witnesses. I am offering you life or death, blessings or curses. Now, choose life! Then you and your children may live.”
 
“A sacred regard to the authority of God ought to lead us to reject an error, however old, sanctioned by whatever authority, or however generally practiced.” -  Charles Spurgeon.

A RUNNER WHO HONORED GOD

It is told of Eric Liddell, who won the 400 meters race at the Olympic games in Paris, that when he found his race was to be run on the Lord's Day he refused to compete, saying: "I object to Sunday sports in toto," and thus counted himself out.
 
The sporting press of Europe derided him; he was criticized on all sides, even by the papers of his own country. But the stand taken by such a noted athlete had its effect & the race was not run until later in the week.
 
He says: "I remember that when I was about to run in the finals the trainer handed me a little note. I opened it & read the words, `Them that honor Me will I honor.' (1 Sam 2:30). It was God's promise. He helped me & I won."
 
And the public that had condemned him changed its opinion & gave him great applause.
 
-Youth's Companion. (moreillustrations.com)
 
“Show me the person you honor, for I know better by that the kind of person you are. For you show me what your idea of humanity is.” -  Thomas Carlyle.

RELEASING HURT - FORGIVING

A little boy was sitting on a park bench in obvious pain. A man walking by asked him what was wrong.

The young boy said, "I'm sitting on a bumble bee."

The man urgently asked, "Then why don't you get up?"

The boy replied, "Because I figure I'm hurting him more than he is hurting me!"

How many of us handle forgiveness like this little boy?

We endure pain for the sadistic satisfaction of believing we are hurting our offender more than he is hurting us.

When we get off the bench of unforgiveness both parties can begin to realize relief from their pain.

Source: Kent Crockett, (ministry127.com)

“I also think it's hard to hate one person but love another. It's hard to treat anybody right when our heart isn't right. Even people you want to love may be suffering from your bitterness, resentment and unforgiveness.” -  Joyce Meyer.

Rom 12:19 (GW): Don’t take revenge, dear friends. Instead, let God’s anger take care of it. After all, Scripture says, “I alone have the right to take revenge. I will pay back, says the Lord.”

WONDERS OF GOD’S WORKS

Queen Elizabeth - known as Good Queen Bess - had as her motto, graven on some of her coins, the words in Latin, 'A Domino factum est istud et mirabile oculis noris'.
 
The English translation is:
 
“This is the Lord's doing and it is marvelous in our eyes.” (Ps 118. 23)
 
When she was told that she had become Queen of England, these were the words she uttered.
 
- (moreillustrations.com)
 
Ep 3:20 (ICB): “With God’s power working in us, God can do much, much more than anything we can ask or think of.”

“God can perform wonders, but so can evil spirits imitate! How crucial for us to distinguish what is of God from what is not of God. If one has not died to his emotional life but earnestly seeks sensational events, he will be easily duped.” -  Watchman Nee.

TEMPTATION

A man once watched an Indian preparing a snare with which to catch a wild animal. He was surprised to learn that the Indian never sprang the trap or pulled the noose the first time the animal appeared.
 
Instead of that, he would let it come repeatedly & feed where the trap was & then, when it had become bold & thoroughly familiar with the surroundings, he would set the trap so that the next time it came the animal would be caught in the snare.
 
That is the way temptation works. It does not drive its shaft into the heart of its victim at first, but deceives it & lures it on; and then the fatal blow is delivered.
 
- (moreillustrations.com)
 
1 Cor 10:13 (ERV): “The only temptations that you have are the same temptations that all people have. But you can trust God. He will not let you be tempted more than you can bear. But when you are tempted, God will also give you a way to escape that temptation. Then you will be able to endure it.”
 
“To be tempted is in itself no sin. It is the yielding to the temptation, and giving it a place in our hearts, which we must fear.” -  J.C. Ryle.

POWER OF THE BIBLE

Dr. Robert Moffat, in one of his lonely travels in Africa, came faint & hungry to a village, and the natives appeared anything but friendly.

Soon a poor Bechuana woman came from one of the huts and spread before him meat, milk & fruit. She was about to slip away unobserved when Moffat called her & asked her the reason for her conduct.

Taking out from her bosom an old & well-worn copy of the Bible in Dutch, she exclaimed:

“This is the fountain whence I drink. This is the oil that makes my lamp burn.”

- (moreillustrations.com)

1 Jn 5:2 (GW): “We know that we love God’s children when we love God by obeying his commandments.”

“The Bible was not given to increase our knowledge but to change our lives.” -  D.L. Moody.