Forest Hill Baptist Church

Psalm 138:4-5 May all the kings of the earth praise you, O LORD, when they hear the words of your mouth.  May they sing of the ways of the LORD, for the glory of the LORD is great. (NIV)

Do everything in love. 1 Corinthians 16:14 (NIV)

1 Peter 3:15 But in your hearts set apart Christ as Lord. Always be prepared to give an answer to everyone who asks you to give the reason for the hope that you have. But do this with gentleness and respect. (NIV)

The current effort of so many religious leaders to harmonize Christianity with science, philosophy and every natural and reasonable thing is, I believe, the result of failure to understand Christianity and, judging from what I have heard and read, failure to understand science and philosophy as well. At the heart of the Christian system lies the cross of Christ with its divine paradox. The power of Christianity appears in its antipathy toward, never in its agreement with, the ways of fallen men. The truth of the cross is revealed in its contradictions. The witness of the church is most effective when she declares rather than explains, for the gospel is addressed not to reason but to faith. -- A. W. Tozer

2 Peter 3:9  The Lord is not slow in keeping his promise, as some understand slowness. He is patient with you, not wanting anyone to perish, but everyone to come to repentance. (NIV)

It is inherent in the nature of man that his will must be free. Made in the image of God who is completely free, man must enjoy a measure of freedom. This enables him to select his companions for this world and the next; it enables him to yield his soul to whom he will, to give allegiance to God or the devil, to remain a sinner or become a saint.... God will take nine steps toward us, but He will not take the tenth. He will incline us to repent, but He cannot do our repenting for us. -- A. W. Tozer

Give me a sign of your goodness, that my enemies may see it and be put to shame, for you, O LORD, have helped me and comforted me. Psalm 86:17 (NIV)

"God does not comfort us to make us comfortable, but to make us comforters." John Henry Jowett (1817-1893)

Better a dry crust with peace and quiet than a house full of feasting, with strife. Proverbs 17:1 (NIV)

"How long, O LORD, must I call for help, but you do not listen? Or cry out to you, "Violence!" but you do not save?  Why do you make me look at injustice? Why do you tolerate wrong? Destruction and violence are before me; there is strife, and conflict abounds." Habakkuk 1:2-3 (NIV)

“I am a man of peace; but when I speak, they are for war.” Psalm 120:7 (NIV)

God has rescued us before.  He will do it again.  Pray for His peace.

Romans 14:17  For the kingdom of God is not a matter of eating and drinking, but of righteousness, peace and joy in the Holy Spirit.  (NIV)

“The modern world has had far too little understanding of the art of keeping young. Its notion of progress has been to pile one thing on top of another, without caring if each thing was crushed in turn. People forgot that the human soul can enjoy a thing most when there is time to think about it and be thankful for it. And by crowding things together they lost the sense of surprise; and surprise is the secret of joy.” —G. K. Chesterton

"Violence is a lie, for it goes against the truth of our faith, the truth of our humanity. Violence destroys what it claims to defend: the dignity, the life, the freedom of human beings. Violence is a crime against humanity for it destroys the very fabric of society." Pope John Paul II

Genesis 6:11 Now the earth was corrupt in God's sight and was full of violence. (NIV)

Things have not changed very much over the millennia. So what is our only hope? The only answer: Jesus Christ.

Psalm 140:1 Rescue me, O LORD, from evil men; protect me from men of violence. (NIV)

Luke 9:59-62 ⁵⁹  He said to another man, "Follow me." But the man replied, "Lord, first let me go and bury my father." ⁶⁰  Jesus said to him, "Let the dead bury their own dead, but you go and proclaim the kingdom of God." ⁶¹  Still another said, "I will follow you, Lord; but first let me go back and say good-by to my family." ⁶²  Jesus replied, "No one who puts his hand to the plow and looks back is fit for service in the kingdom of God." (NIV)

"Procrastination is the thief of time, but it is much more. It clutters up our lives with an appalling number of half-done things." Cliff Cole