William Lloyd Garrison’s “The Liberator” & Frederick Douglass via American Minute
William Lloyd Garrison published the Boston anti-slavery paper The Liberatorand founded the American Anti-Slavery Society in 1833.
Suffering hundreds of death threats for his politically incorrect stand on the value of human life, William Lloyd Garrison died MAY 24, 1879.
He wrote:
“I desire to thank God, that he enables me to disregard “the fear of man which bringeth a snare,” and to speak his truth in its simplicity and power. And here I close with this fresh dedication:
Still to oppose and thwart, with heart and hand,
In W.P. and F.J.T. Garrison, 1885-89, William Lloyd Garrison wrote:
“Wherever there is a human being, I see God-given rights inherent in that being, whatever may be the sex or complexion.”
Former slave Frederick Douglass wrote in My Bondage and My Freedom, 1855:
“After reaching New Bedford, there came a young man to me with a copy ofThe Liberator…edited by William Lloyd Garrison…
His paper took its place with me next to the Bible…
It detested slavery…and, with all the solemnity of God’s word, demanded the complete emancipation of my race…
His words were…holy fire…
The Bible was his text book…Prejudice against color was rebellion against God.”
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Fields of Change
by Steve Arterburn
“Sow for yourselves righteousness, reap the fruit of unfailing love, and break up your unplowed ground, for it is time to seek the Lord, until he comes and showers righteousness on you.” – Hosea 10:12
Character isn’t instantly created. It’s carved out.
To God, our lives are like a series of fields that need working. Once one has been worked, we move to the next. At each stop He encourages us to get busy tilling ground hardened by sin, pulling weeds grown in neglect, and planting seeds of biblical truth. He makes us willing and able for the work; and He makes each task fruitful through the power of the Holy Spirit.
But change does happen. The Bible gives us insight how. Think of Joseph in an Egyptian jail, and Moses in the desert. Recall David’s years of flight from Saul and Jonah’s time in the belly of a fish. Reflect upon Gideon in a cave and Job’s catastrophes. Consider Abraham’s wanderings and Peter’s three denials of Christ. Look at the apostle Paul’s blinding encounter with the risen Lord on the road to Damascus.
These stories, and many more like them, recount the ways of God among the men He claims for His own. As you spend time considering them, you will see a pattern emerge: brokenness, humility, and the learning of patience all come before spiritual maturity and usefulness. Open up your Bible and search out these stories. Learn from them. They demonstrate the pattern of change for your own life in Christ.
“You can tell a lot about a fellow’s character by his way of eating jelly beans.”
~ Ronald Reagan 40th U.S. President- (1911-2004)
A Thousand Years
6 Blessed and holy is he that hath part in the first resurrection: on such the second death hath no power, but they shall be priests of God and of Christ, and shall reign with him a thousand years.
7 And when the thousand years are expired, Satan shall be loosed out of his prison,
Revelations 20:6-7
The First Ressurection
What an interesting time that we live in! Not a good time as we see more and more persecution of the followers of Christ across the world. And yet a time that must occur in order to fulfill the prophecies laid out in the Bible. And yet with the horror of seeing those who are killed, we must as well remember the promise. Always looking to God and not to man, to the future and not to relive and renew the past. What has gone before is not what He has plans for in the future and it is the future that we desire to be a part of.
English: Resurrection of Christ (Photo credit: Wikipedia)
Revelation 20
Good News Translation (GNT)
4 Then I saw thrones, and those who sat on them were given the power to judge. I also saw the souls of those who had been executed because they had proclaimed the truth that Jesus revealed and the word of God. They had not worshiped the beast or its image, nor had they received the mark of the beast on their foreheads or their hands. They came to life and ruled as kings with Christ for a thousand years. 5 (The rest of the dead did not come to life until the thousand years were over.) This is the first raising of the dead. 6 Happy and greatly blessed are those who are included in this first raising of the dead. The second death has no power over them; they shall be priests of God and of Christ, and they will rule with him for a thousand years.
UN urges people to eat insects to fight world hunger | KurzweilAI
While I admit that I am a bit of a coward when it comes to trying different foods, I am always amazed at evidence of God’s consideration in everything that exists on the earth. God provides in amazing ways and knowing that there are options like this for the hungry of the world just reinforces the word of God and His promise to provide for us. King James Version
But even the very hairs of your head are all numbered. Fear not therefore: ye are of more value than many sparrows.
Luke 12:6-8
UN urges people to eat insects to fight world hunger | KurzweilAI.
The report by the UN Food and Agriculture Organizationsays that eating insects could help boost nutrition and reduce pollution, BBC News reports.
It notes than over 2 billion people worldwide already supplement their diet with insects.
Wasps, beetles and other insects are currently “underutilized” as food for people and livestock, the report says.
The authors point out that insects are nutritious, with high protein, fat and mineral content. Read the rest at UN urges people to eat insects to fight world hunger | KurzweilAI.
The Epistle of Philippian [found on He Hath Said] by a friend
- A recent study in Philippians prompted me to wonder, what if this one brief book were our only available Bible? How much would we have to believe and live off of? At least this:
• He who began a good work in us will bring it to completion at the day of Jesus Christ (1:6);
• We are all partakers of grace together (1:7);
• We will be pure and blameless for the day of Christ (1:10);
• Human opposition, far from defeating the gospel, is serving to advance the joyous spread of the gospel (1:12-18);
• Should life be lost, Christ is gained (1:21);
• Temporary survival is gospel opportunity (1:22);
• To depart and be with Christ is far better than this life (1:23);
• The further we go with Christ, the more joy we experience (1:25);
• The gospel of Christ is an uplifting power (1:27);
• Opposition to gospel witness presages the doom of the opponents and the glorious destiny of the faithful (1:28);
• It is a God-given privilege to suffer for the sake of Christ (1:29);
• Union with Christ brings encouragement, comfort from love, participation in the Spirit, affection and sympathy (2:1);
• Christ Jesus himself is living proof that the arrogance of this world is doomed and that gospel humility is the path of great reward (2:6-9);
• Jesus is King, and he will have every rational creature in the universe know it and own it, to the greater glory of God the Father (2:10-11);
• We do not need even an apostle always present to lead us by the hand; God himself is deeply at work in us (2:12-13);
• Knowing Christ Jesus the Lord redefines all trophies of self-exaltation as “rubbish,” for he gives true righteousness and participation in his death and resurrection; he is so superior to all things in this world that, whatever path we may take into the resurrection of the dead, the price to be paid is small (3:7-11);
• In conversion, Christ Jesus takes eternal possession of us (3:12);
• The call of God in Christ Jesus offers a prize far beyond this world, worthy of our all (3:14);
• To whatever extent we struggle to grasp the upward call, God will reveal all that we need revealed (3:15);
• To settle for the rewards of this world is to make oneself an enemy of the cross of Christ and to make a god of one’s earthly appetites, which is the path of destruction and the reversal of a truly human life (3:18-19);
• We who worship by the Spirit of God and glory in Christ Jesus and put no confidence in the flesh also find our citizenship in heaven, from which we await a Savior, the Lord Jesus Christ, who will raise our “vile” (KJV) bodies into his immortal glory by his power over all things (3:3, 20-21);
• Our names are written in the book of life (4:3);
• The Lord is at hand (4:5);
• God receives our prayers and sends his overruling peace to guard our hearts when the circumstances of life would have us frantic (4:6-7);
• As we follow the apostolic example of lovely heavenly-mindedness, we experience the presence of the God of peace (4:8-9);
• Christ strengthens us to accept with contentment whatever life may bring (4:11-13);
• When we support the ministry of the gospel, the fruit increases to our own credit (4:17);
• God receives our gospel partnership as a sacrifice pleasing to himself (4:18);
• God is committed to our own needs with all his riches in glory in Christ Jesus (4:19);
• In it all, God will get glory for himself forever and ever (4:20);
• And in the meantime, the grace of the Lord Jesus Christ will steadfastly be with our spirit (4:23).
Shame
Stained glass at St John the Baptist’s Anglican Church http://www.stjohnsashfield.org.au, Ashfield, New South Wales. Illustrates Jesus’ description of himself “I am the Good Shepherd” (from the Gospel of John, chapter 10, verse 11). This version of the image shows the detail of his face. The memorial window is also captioned: “To the Glory of God and in Loving Memory of William Wright. Died 6th November, 1932. Aged 70 Yrs.” (Photo credit: Wikipedia)
To accept Jesus in our lives there is one requirement and that is to be ashamed of our past and to repent of our sins. If you go in with an attitude that you are inherently good and sinless and that you can go on with your life as before, you are fooling only yourselves and not Jesus. For those who teach that your salvation is their road to salvation and that therefore you must choose to follow what they teach, I only feel a great sadness. These will never truly know God because they are not sorry for their own actions, they are sorry for yours. Perhaps they truly believe that they can force you to be sinless and that they will profit in Jesus eyes because of that. That is not what Jesus teaches, nor is it anywhere in the Bible. Nothing that we do can get us into heaven except of accepting Jesus Christ into our lives and repenting of our actions, not the actions of others.
We can and should be ashamed of the actions of others that we see when they preach sin and ignorance and lead others astray. We should correct them when we can, and most of all we should pray that God reveals to them the error of their ways. Especially knowing that the final destination for those is coming with the judgment and return of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ.
Only with the support of Jesus and the armor provided by God can we withstand what is coming. Only with the blood of Jesus can we reach heaven and the sight of God. When we accept Jesus into our lives and repent of our sins, He enters in and it is His blood that redeems us. Not our own actions, not our effort, but the sacrifice that He made. But if we believe that we can continue to sin without regards to the sacrifice that He gave, we are denying that He was worthy and that we are new. Instead we are clinging to the old and it shows that we do not love Him.
How can we stop this deadly cycle? By continually immersing ourselves in Him. With prayer, with reading His word, with congregating with others who share our belief. Faith grows with practice, our armor is strengthened with use. Like the sword that is hardened with dipping it in fire and hammering it to withstand the blows of others. God bless you and please take time to open your Bible. If you don’t have one, check out sites like Bible Gateway, you can read online and there is no charge.
Hebrews 9:25-27
King James Version (KJV)
25 Nor yet that he should offer himself often, as the high priest entereth into the holy place every year with blood of others;
26 For then must he often have suffered since the foundation of the world: but now once in the end of the world hath he appeared to put away sin by the sacrifice of himself.
27 And as it is appointed unto men once to die, but after this the judgment:
Hebrews 10:11-13
King James Version (KJV)
11 And every priest standeth daily ministering and offering oftentimes the same sacrifices, which can never take away sins:
12 But this man, after he had offered one sacrifice for sins for ever, sat down on the right hand of God;
13 From henceforth expecting till his enemies be made his footstool.
Hebrews 10:25-27
King James Version (KJV)
25 Not forsaking the assembling of ourselves together, as the manner of some is; but exhorting one another: and so much the more, as ye see the day approaching.
26 For if we sin wilfully after that we have received the knowledge of the truth, there remaineth no more sacrifice for sins,
27 But a certain fearful looking for of judgment and fiery indignation, which shall devour the adversaries.
King James Bible (Photo credit: freefotouk)
John Bunyan and Pilgrim’s Progress
American Minute with Bill Federer
FEB. 22 – John Bunyan and Pilgrim’s Progress
John Bunyan wrote in aRelation of My Imprisonment:
“Upon the 12th of…November 1660…the justice…issued out his warrant to take me…as if we that were to meet together…to do some fearful business, to the destruction of the country; when alas! the constable, when he came in, found us only with our Bibles in our hands, ready to speak and hear the word of God…
So I was taken and forced to depart…But before I went away, I spake some few words of counsel and encouragement to the people, declaring to them…that they would not be discouraged, for it was a mercy to suffer upon so good account…we suffer as Christians…better be the persecuted, than the persecutors.”
John Bunyan was imprisoned for 12 years, during which time he tried to support his family by making shoelaces.
He wrote The Pilgrim’s Progress, published FEBRUARY 18, 1678.
It was an allegory of a pilgrim, named Christian, who fled from the City of Destruction and was directed by Evangelist to follow the narrow path, overcoming temptations, depressions, deceptions, and persecutions till he reached the Celestial City of Zion.
Pilgrim’s Progress was translated into over 100 languages and, after the Bible, was the world’s best-seller for hundreds of years.
It was found in nearly every colonial New England home, along with the Bible and Fox’s Book of Martyrs.
Benjamin Franklin wrote in hisAutobiography:
“My old favorite author, Bunyan’s Pilgrim’s Progress…has been translated into most of the languages of Europe, and suppose it has been more generally read than any other book, except perhaps the Bible.”
It inspired many subsequent books, such as Mark Twain‘sInnocents Abroad or the New Pilgrim’s Progress (1869); C.S. Lewis’ Pilgrim’s Regress (1933); and L. Frank Baum‘sWizard of Oz (1900).
Pilgrim’s Progress began:
“As I walked through the wilderness of this world, I lighted on a certain place where was a den, and I laid me down in that place to sleep: and, as I slept, I dreamed a dream. I dreamed, and behold, I saw a man clothed with rags, standing in a certain place, with his face from his own house, a book in his hand, and a great burden upon his back.
I looked, and saw him open the book, and read therein; and, as he read, he wept, and trembled; and, not being able longer to contain, he brake out with a lamentable cry, saying, What shall I do?”
Later in the book, John Bunyan wrote:
“Christian ran thus till he came at a place somewhat ascending, and upon that place stood a cross…So I saw in my dream, that just as Christian came up with the cross, his burden loosed from off his shoulders, and fell from off his back.”
Further in Pilgrim’s Progress is written:
“Then said Christian, You make me afraid, but whither shall I fly to be safe?…To go back is nothing but death; to go forward is fear of death, and life-everlasting beyond it. I will yet go forward…
Frighted with the sight of the lions…Christian to himself again, These beasts range in the night for their prey; and if they should meet with me in the dark…how should I escape being by them torn in pieces?…
He lift up his eyes, and behold there was a very stately palace before him…He entered into a very narrow passage…he espied two lions in the way…
The porter at the lodge…perceiving that Christian made a halt as if he would go back, cried unto him, saying, Is thy strength so small? Fear not the lions, for they are chained, and are placed there for trial of faith where it is, and for discovery of those that had none. Keep in the midst of the path, and no hurt shall come unto thee…
He went on, trembling for fear of the lions, but taking good heed to the directions of the porter; he heard them roar, but they did him no harm…”
John Bunyan continued:
“But now, in this Valley of Humiliation, poor Christian was hard put to it…a foul fiend coming over the field to meet him; his name is Apollyon. Then did Christian begin to be afraid, and to cast in his mind whether to go back or to stand his ground.
But he considered again that he had no armour for his back; and therefore thought that to turn the back to him might give him the greater advantage with ease to pierce him with his darts. Therefore he resolved to venture and stand his ground…
The monster was hideous to behold; he was clothed with scales…wings like a dragon, feet like a bear, and out of his belly came fire and smoke…
Apollyon straddled quite over the whole breadth of the way, and said…prepare thyself to die; for I swear by my infernal den, that thou shalt go no further; here will I spill thy soul. And with that he threw a flaming dart at his breast; but Christian had a shield in his hand, with which he caught it…
Apollyon as fast made at him, throwing darts as thick as hail; by the which, notwithstanding all that Christian could do to avoid it, Apollyon wounded him in his head, his hand, and foot…
This sore combat lasted for above half a day, even till Christian was almost quite spent; for you must know that Christian, by reason of his wounds, must needs grow weaker and weaker…
Christian’s sword flew out of his hand. Then said Apollyon, I am sure of thee now. And with that he had almost pressed him to death, so that Christian began to despair of life;
but as God would have it, while Apollyon was fetching of his last blow, thereby to make a full end of this good man, Christian nimbly stretched out his hand for his sword, and caught it, saying, Rejoice not against me, O mine enemy; when I fall I shall arise; and with that gave him a deadly thrust, which made him give back…
And with that Apollyon spread forth his dragon’s wings, and sped him away, that Christian for a season saw him no more…
A more unequal match can hardly be, –
Christian must fight an angel; but you see,
The valiant man by handling Sword and Shield,
Doth make him, though a Dragon, quit the field.”
Ben Franklin wrote in hisAutobiography:
“From a child I was fond of reading, and all the little money that came into my hands was ever laid out in books. Pleased with the Pilgrim’s Progress, my first collection was of John Bunyan’s works in separate little volumes.”
President Theodore Roosevelt stated while laying the cornerstone of the office building of the House of Representatives, April 14, 1906:
“In Bunyan’s Pilgrim’s Progress you may recall the description of the man with the muck-rake, the man who could look no way but downward, with the muck-rake in his hand, who was offered a celestial crown for his muck-rake, but who would neither look up nor regard the crown he was offered, but continued to rake to himself the filth of the floor.”
President Grover Cleveland had memorized Pilgrim’s Progress as a youth, and commented:
“I have always felt that my training as a minister’s son has been more valuable to me as a strengthening influence than any other incident in life.”
President Ronald Reagan greeted Australia’s Prime Minister, June 30, 1981, referring to John Bunyan:
“Robert Louis Stevenson wrote, ‘We are all travelers in what John Bunyan calls the wilderness of this world. And the best that we find in our travels is an honest friend – they keep us worthy of ourselves.’”
President Franklin Roosevelt referred to John Bunyan’s Pilgrim’s Progress on January 19, 1936:
“When Theodore Roosevelt died, the Secretary of his class at Harvard, in sending classmates a notice of his passing, added this quotation from ‘Pilgrim’s Progress’:
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FEB. 21 – JQA & the Bible
American Minute with Bill Federer
FEB. 21 – JQA & the Bible
A bronze marker on the U.S. House floor indicates where Adams’ desk once stood.
John Quincy Adams was the only U.S President to serve in Congress after having been President.
African slaves were purchased at Muslim slave markets and brought to the Americas.
The annotated John Quincy Adams-A Bibliography, compiled by Lynn H. Parsons (Westport, CT, 1993, p. 41, entry#194), contains “Unsigned essays dealing with the Russo-Turkish War and on Greece,” (The American Annual Register for 1827-28-29 (NY: 1830):
“The natural hatred of the Mussulmen towards the infidels is in just accordance with the precepts of the Koran…
The fundamental doctrine of the Christian religion is the extirpation of hatred from the human heart. It forbids the exercise of it, even towards enemies…
In the 7th century of the Christian era, a wandering Arab…spread desolation and delusion over an extensive portion of the earth…
He declared undistinguishing and exterminating war as a part of his religion…The essence of his doctrine was violence and lust, to exalt the brutal over the spiritual part of human nature.”
On September 26, 1810, John Quincy Adams wrote in his diary:
“I have made it a practice for several years to read the Bible through in the course of every year. I usually devote to this reading the first hour after I rise every morning…
I have this morning commenced it anew…this time with Ostervald’s French translation.”
In September of 1811, John Quincy Adams wrote to his son from St. Petersburg, Russia:
“My dear Son…You mentioned that you read to your aunt a chapter in the Bible or a section of Doddridge’s Annotations every evening. This information gave me real pleasure; for so great is my veneration for the Bible…
It is of all books in the world, that which contributes most to make men good, wise, and happy… My custom is, to read four to five chapters every morning immediately after rising from my bed…
It is essential, my son…that you should form and adopt certain rules…of your own conduct… It is in the Bible, you must learn them…
‘Thou shalt love the Lord thy God, with all thy heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy mind, and with all thy strength, and thy neighbor as thy self.’ On these two commandments, Jesus Christ expressly says, ‘hang all the law and the prophets’.”
John Quincy Adams’ correspondence to his son is compiled in Letters of John Quincy Adams to his son, on the Bible and its Teachings, which contains his statement:
“No book in the world deserves to be so unceasingly studied, and so profoundly meditated upon asthe Bible.”
On March 13, 1812, John Quincy Adams noted:
“This morning I finished the perusal of the German Bible.”
After negotiating the Treaty of Ghent, John Quincy Adams wrote from London, December 24, 1814:
“You ask me what Bible I take as the standard of my faith – the Hebrew, the Samaritan, the old English translation, or what? I answer, the Bible containing the Sermon on the Mount…
The New Testament I have repeatedly read in the original Greek, in the Latin, in the Geneva Protestant, in Sacy’s Catholic French translations, in Luther’s German translation, in the common English Protestant, and in the Douay Catholic translations.
I take any one of them for my standard of faith.”
On December 31, 1825, John Quincy Adams wrote in his diary:
“I rise usually between five and six…I walk by the light of the moon or stars, or none, about four miles, usually returning home…I then make my fire, and read three chapters of the Bible.”
Poet Ralph Waldo Emerson wrote concerning John Quincy Adams:
“No man could read the Bible with such powerful effect, even with the cracked and winded voice of old age.”
John Quincy Adams wrote:
“I speak as a man of the world to men of the world; and I say to you, Search the Scriptures! The Bible is the book of all others…not to be read once or twice or thrice through, and then laid aside, but to be read in small portions of one or two chapters every day.”
At the age of 77, John Quincy Adams was vice-president of the American Bible Society, where he stated, February 27, 1844:
The Bible carries with it the history of the creation, the fall and redemption of man, and discloses to him, in the infant born at Bethlehem, the Legislator and Saviour of the world.”
Get the book, Prayers and Presidents
American Minute is a registered trademark. Permission is granted to forward. reprint or duplicate with acknowledgement to vwww.AmericanMinute.com
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Broken but Made Beautiful via Becoming Like Christ
Anne was a special person in my life. I first met her when I asked her to teach clay modeling to our group of campers at a summer Bible camp. She told me about how she loved her work with clay and how she had just recently purchased a kiln to bake her clay creations. When I asked her how she got started in her work of clay modeling she told me her story.
Her son, who was born mentally challenged due to brain damage at birth, had passed away at the age of 15, several months before I met her. She told me how working with the clay had helped her to get through those difficult days of caring for him during those years. Her life had been broken through this difficulty but God had made something beautiful out of her brokenness. While working with the clay God had been at work molding her life and now I was seeing the beauty created by God the master potter. Read the rest at: Broken but Made Beautiful.
Building for Christ:Churches, Bore wells, Cycles and Talents
Just a note in case anyone would like to hear Pastor Mauldin and is in the Coal Hill, Ar. area on this coming Sunday, Feb. 10th, he will be giving us an update in person. God bless you!
Kerry Mauldin
Thought for the Day
Types of chromosomal mutations (Photo credit: Wikipedia)
Observations confirm that mutations overwhelmingly cause a loss of information, not a net gain, as evolution requires.
Mutations, when properly understood, are an excellent example of science confirming the Bible. When one sees the devastating effects of mutations, one can’t help but be reminded of the Curse in Genesis 3. The accumulation of mutations from generation to generation is due to man’s sin. But those who have placed their faith in Christ, our Creator, look forward to a new heaven and Earth where there will be no more pain, death or disease.
For Such a Time as This: Life Lessons from the Book of Esther – Online Bible Study Tools
For Such a Time as This: Life Lessons from the Book of Esther – Online Bible Study Tools.
For Such a Time as This: Life Lessons from the Book of Esther
The Book of Esther in Review
What a tremendous book we have just completed! Not only is it a great story with all the drama and elements that a novel would contain, but it contains great lessons about how we should be living, conducting ourselves on the job, facing opposition, facing success, and looking ahead confidently to the future. Most importantly, it is the best “textbook” of the Scriptures about the providence of God, and how He works in the perfect way and the perfect timing to accomplish His purposes.
We began in the winter capitol of the Persian Empire, Susa, where we also concluded the story.Pride, lust, alcoholism, and the pursuit of power and dominance marked the Empire’s ruler, Ahasuerus (Xerxes). Ahasuerus sought to gain support for his campaign against Greece and then onward into Europe. However, his foolish partying cost him his marriage, and although Queen Vashti lost her crown, she kept her dignity as she refused the king’s immoral drunken orders. God used this providentially however to begin arranging His chess pieces for what He planned to do.
When Ahasuerus attacked Greece, despite all odds being on his side, he was badly beaten and returned to Susa in shame and depression, missing the wife he had divorced. His advisors hooked onto this, and began a search for all the beautiful virgins of the land to be brought to the king so he could find a substitute for Vashti. These women were sadly taken from their homes to never return again, but to be the concubines of the king. Again God was working providentially in this, for this also allowed Esther to get into the place He had for her to make a dramatic impact for Him.She was selected by the king as Vashti’s replacement, and this would be vital in the long run.
Read the rest: For Such a Time as This: Life Lessons from the Book of Esther – Online Bible Study Tools
Esther before Ahasuerus (Photo credit: Wikipedia)
Invitation
I would like to introduce a new blog: A Needed Word
A.W. Tozer : EXCEPT YE REPENT
English: Micah Exhorts the Israelites to Repent (Micah 7:1-20) Русский: Пророк Михей говорит Израильтянам об их беззакониях (Михей 7:1-20) (Photo credit: Wikipedia)
There are many compelling lessons to be drawn from the Scriptures and one of the clearest is that sinful and rebellious people can never be forced into repentance. The same act that may cause one person to repent and believe will cause others to hate and despise God! The same Bible sermon that brings the person to tearful submission at an altar of prayer will send others out with pride and a resolve to have their own human way. Students of the Scriptures are aware that the Old Testament prophets and the writing apostles of New Testament times foresaw and proclaimed God’s coming day of judgment-the consummate settling of accounts between the Sovereign God and his rebellious and sinful creation. How desperately we would like to believe that in the face of coming judgment, all lost men and women will cry out to God, but such will not be the case: “The rest of mankind that were not killed by these plagues still did not repent” (Revelation 9:20).
Tozer on Christian Leadership
god (Photo credit: the|G|™)
Personal Life: Let God Alone
But let patience have its perfect work, that you may be perfect and complete, lacking nothing.—James 1:4
God is saying, “I stand ready to pour a little liquid fire into your heart, into your spiritual being!”
We respond: “No, Lord, please excuse me. That sounds like fanaticism—and I would have to give up some things!” So we refuse His desire, even though we want all the benefits of His cross.
There is this thoughtful phrase in The Cloud of Unknowing: “He wills thou do but look on Him and let Him alone.” Let God alone. In other words, let Him work! Don’t stop Him. Don’t prevent Him from kindling your heart, from blessing you and leading you out of a common state into that of special longing after Him. You don’t have to coax God. He is not like a reluctant father waiting for his child to beg. The blessings are His to give and He waits for us to let Him work….
“Look on Him and let Him work, let Him alone.” Get your hands down to your side and stop trying to tell God where to cut. Stop trying to make the diagnosis for God. Stop trying to tell God what to give you. He is the Physician! You are the patient….
Let Him work and your spiritual life will begin to blaze like the rising sun. I Talk Back to the Devil, 63-64.
“Lord, I know there is a work You want to do in my life today. I’ll try to stay out of the way, take my hands off, and let You work! I’ll put my hands to my side even now as a sign that I’m going to let You alone today to do Your work in me. Amen.” via Bible Gateway
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Thought for the Day
John 15:6
Good News Translation (GNT)
6 Those who do not remain in me are thrown out like a branch and dry up; such branches are gathered up and thrown into the fire, where they are burned.
