Monthly Archives: May 2018

Where did we come up with this concept of “spare time,” anyway? Is there any time for which we aren’t accountable to God? Is there any time during which God doesn’t care what you are doing? No Christian has ever had spare time. You may have spare time from labor … Continue reading →

Jesus has many who love his heavenly kingdom, but few who bear his cross. Many want consolation, but few desire adversity. Many are eager to share Jesus’ table, but few will join him in fasting. — Thomas à Kempis 2 Corinthians 1:3-7 (NLT2) 3  All praise to God, the Father … Continue reading →

Day by day, dear God, of you three things we pray: to see you more clearly, love you more dearly, follow you more nearly, day by day. Amen.  —Chichester, Richard of, (c. 1197-1253 1 Corinthians 15:57 (NLT2)  But thank God! He gives us victory over sin and death through our … Continue reading →

Matthew 5:11-12 (NLT2) 11  “God blesses you when people mock you and persecute you and lie about you and say all sorts of evil things against you because you are my followers. 12  Be happy about it! Be very glad! For a great reward awaits you in heaven. And remember, … Continue reading →

“Lord Jesus, make my heart sit down.”—African proverb Matthew 11:29 (NLT2)  Take my yoke upon you. Let me teach you, because I am humble and gentle at heart, and you will find rest for your souls. Elesha Hodge, comp., Today’s Best Illustrations – Volumes 1-4, (Carol Stream, IL: Christianity Today, … Continue reading →

The work of God in redemption is to restore this inverted order: to put God up and man down, in order that He might put man up. Now in order that He might do that, God came down—as far down as He could get. — A. W. Tozer Philippians 2:6-7 … Continue reading →

Father, I want to know Thee, but my cowardly heart fears to give up its toys. I cannot part with them without inward bleeding, and I do not try to hide from Thee the terror of the parting. I come trembling, but I do come. Please root from my heart … Continue reading →

A. W. Tozer:  “Only a Christian has a right to hope, for only he has the power of God to give substance to his hope.” Hebrews 6:19-20 (NIV) 19  We have this hope as an anchor for the soul, firm and secure. It enters the inner sanctuary behind the curtain, … Continue reading →

In his 1942 devotional Abundant Living, E. Stanley Jones, Methodist doctor and missionary to India, writes:  The early Christians did not say in dismay: “Look what the world has come to,” but in delight, “Look what has come to the world.” They saw not merely the ruin, but the Resource … Continue reading →

“The lowest ebb is the turn of the tide.”—Henry Wadsworth Longfellow Galatians 5:5 (NIV)   But by faith we eagerly await through the Spirit the righteousness for which we hope. Today’s Best Illustrations – Volume 5, (Carol Stream, IL: Christianity Today, 1997), WORDsearch CROSS e-book, Under: “HOPE”.