Here are some of the 'jewels' I have pulled from reading and listening this summer.
"We are persuaded that Jesus was a historic person possessing two distinct and perfect natures, Godhead and manhood, and in this to be absolutely and forever unique. Only so could He be worthy not just of our admiration but of our worship." Basic Christianity by John Stott pg. 6
"If to believe in [Christ] was man's first duty, not to believe in Him was his cheif sin." Basic Christianity pg. 25
"This utter disregard of self in the service of God and man is what the Bible calls love. There is no self-interest in love. The essence of love is self-sacrifice. The worst of man is adorned by an occasional flash of such nobility, but the life of Jesus irradiated it with a never-fading incandescent glow.
Jesus was sinless because He was selfless. Such selflessness is love. And God is love." Basic Christianity pg. 44-45
"Sin is fundamentally the exaltation of man at the expense of God. What someone wrote of the Englishman is true of every man: 'He is a self-made man who worships his creator.'" Basic Christianity pg. 65
"Sin does not only estrange; it enslaves. If it alientates us from God, it also brings us into captivity." Basic Christianity pg. 75
"I have seen many men make it through tough times. I have seen very few endure prosperity." Pastor Charles Swindoll
"Because the confession of sin is the act of a sinner, it can be sinful. God is not deceived, but the sinner may deceive himself." Interpretation: Psalms by James L. Mays pg. 147
"Wealth...is a powerful seducer. However, as E.J. Dillon noted, experience shows that the pains endured in [wealth's] accumulation, 'and the anxiety suffered in preserving it, effectually destroy our capacity for enjoying the bliss which it is supposed to insure, long before misfortune or death snatches it form our grasp.'" Above All Earthly Pow'rs by David Wells pg. 196
"The worst sin of pride consists in its breathtaking dishonesty: construcing a view of oneself in light of the facts. Pride, as [Thomas] Aquinas put it, is an offense against right reason. Or as Mother Teresa once said, 'I am always very glad that my slanderers should tell a trifling lie about me rather than the whole terrible truth." Pride and Humility by Rober S. Rayburn from Tabletalk magazine May 2008 pg.64
1 comment:
Health Administer I enjoyed your post very thoroughly i always love to get a quick nugget of worthwhile information.
i tell you i identified with a lot of them.
1. i so felt like the part about enduring prosperity, combined with pride, and with a dash of the self made that worships the creator was directed right at me. My life is going good right now, but i tell you sometimes-- i don't always express my love in God. I am saved by the fact that i believe Jesus is the earthly version of God, and i believe that i am a sinner without him. i believe that by allowing him to lead my life, and myself trying to live according to his will is my only purpose in life. I believe this, but so often i let myself get in the way. i think about myself. i don't express that selfless love like i should. and this frustrates me. it frustrates me to no end.
Sometimes i sit hear, and i think about this sin that lives inside me. and how it wins, and how i pray, and how i realize that sin gives off a misconception of how things really are, and how it is inevitable that i will sin again. But that is not true. it isn't inevitable. God can do anything. To think that he can create all that is and can't help me overcome my earthly desires that he created is paradoxical. God can lift every rock that he creates. I pray now everynight for that childlike faith. a strengthening of my faith so that i can move mountains. i need a stronger faith, i need to be able to understand that Christ is all i will ever need.
and after all that i come to a point to where i am just asking asking God for things to benefit me. Things that will in turn glorify him, but my motives are for my own well being.
Health Administrator i have so much further to go, but i need to make sure my thoughts are inline with Gods because if they aren't then my prayers are sinful.
Life is getting harder and harder each day. i feel surrounded by sin constantly, and i need that faith to strengthen my armor, because it is weak right now.
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