Keeping Unity

“All people will know that you are my followers if you love each other.” John 13:35

Stop and think about that verse for a minute. Could it be that unity is the key to reaching the world for Christ? . . .

Nowhere, by the way, are we told to build unity. We are told simply to keep unity. From God’s perspective there is but “one flock and one shepherd” (John 10:16). Unity does not need to be created; it simply needs to be protected.

Famous Quotes on Prayer

 "God does nothing except in response to believing prayer." John Wesley

 "Prayer is where the action is." John Wesley

 "The man who mobilizes the Christian church to pray will make the greatest contribution to world evangelization in history." Andrew Murray

 "Faith in a prayer-hearing God will make a prayer-loving Christian." Andrew Murray

 "We must begin to believe that God, in the mystery of prayer, has entrusted us with a force that can move the Heavenly world, and can bring its power down to earth." Andrew Murray

Think it over…

A happy marriage is a long conversation that always seems too short…Andre Maurois

But as many as received him, to them gave the power to become the sons of God, [even] to them that believe on his name: (John 1:12)

The right to become God's own children! Halleluiah! How blessed are we who believe! To become children of God's right hand, adopted into everlasting glory, is such a wondrous act of mercy that we can only respond with praise never-ceasing! Holy, holy, holy is our Lord! Hallelujah! Rejoice!

Spiritual Quotes 

"Spring bursts today, For Christ is risen and all the earth's at play."

“Self is the opaque veil that hides the face of God from us. It can be removed only in spiritual experience, never by mere instruction.”

“Above all the grace and gifts that Christ gives to his beloved is that of overcoming self.”

“God, harden me against myself.”

Word of God

Lord, teach me to walk in obedience to your ways:

1 John 3:24  

Those who obey his commands live in him, and he in them. And this is how we know that he lives in us: We know it by the Spirit he gave us.

Lord, strengthen me to stand against the enemy:

Ephesians 6:10  

10 Finally, be strong in the Lord and in his mighty power. 

11  Put on the full armor of God so that you can take your stand against the devil's schemes.

Seven one-liners! From Calvary's quiet Lamb

What was Jesus saying during the rest of His six hours on the cross?

He didn't require His wounds to dry, scab and scar before He forgave. There is no record that Jesus calculated His personal pain before discharging His pardon. Each bruise and blow was met with silent mercy.

He was openly showing His bride how to embrace the cross that awaited her—and no true disciple can escape the cross.

But for all the strains you and I face as followers, no one will ever pay a toll like Jesus. His death is filled with endless grace and boundless perplexity.

Yet it was Jesus, not I, who violently died in silent payment.

But while you're celebrating, pause to remember the greatest silent sermon ever preached—the one that lasted for six hours. It's the one that's easy to memorize but difficult to emulate—the one that was lived, not spoken, by a silent Lamb. 

Think it over…

. God sees:

God sees everything. Don’t do anything because others seeing you.

. Jesus is unseen guest!

Worship -

Worship day - Word for everyone.

Now we know that God does not hear sinners; but if anyone is a worshiper of God and does His will. He hears him. - John 9:31

Spiritual Quotes 

 “There are only two kinds of people in the end: those who say to God, 'Thy will be done,' and those to whom God says, in the end, 'Thy will be done.' All that are in Hell, choose it. Without that self-choice there could be no Hell. No soul that seriously and constantly desires joy will ever miss it. Those who seek find. To those who knock it is opened.”

 “Prayers never fall on deaf ears.”

 “You'll never realize Jesus is all you need until Jesus is all you've got.”

 “The most glorious promises of God are generally fulfilled in such a wondrous manner that He steps forth to save us at a time when there is the least appearance of it.”

 “Gratitude is the most fruitful way of deepening your consciousness that you are not an "accident," but a divine choice.”

Keeping Unity

“All people will know that you are my followers if you love each other.” John 13:35

Stop and think about that verse for a minute. Could it be that unity is the key to reaching the world for Christ? . . .

Nowhere, by the way, are we told to build unity. We are told simply to keep unity. From God’s perspective there is but “one flock and one shepherd” (John 10:16). Unity does not need to be created; it simply needs to be protected.

Your Friend Jesus

 “The Word became flesh and dwelt among us.” John 1:14

Jesus was touchable, approachable, reachable . . .

He was the kind of fellow you’d invite to watch the Rams-Giants game at your house. He’d wrestle on the floor with your kids, doze on your couch, and cook steaks on your grill. He’d laugh at your jokes and tell a few of his own. And when you spoke, he’d listen to you as if he had all the time in eternity.

And one thing’s for sure, you’d invite him back.

Familiar verse from the Bible…

Matthew 16:18 

On this rock I will build my church, and the gates of death will not overcome it.

Your Problems Matter to God

Thank God! He deserves your thanks. His love never quits. Psalm 136:1 

If I know that one of the privileges of fatherhood is to comfort, then why am I so reluctant to let my heavenly Father comfort me?

Why do I think he wouldn’t care about my problems? (“They are puny compared to starving people in India.”)

Why do I think he is too busy for me?

Thoughts 

- Obedience to God is the key to freedom.

-The spirit’s keen paring knife enhances a Christian’s fruit-bearing life.

- No one who is abandoned to God will feel abandoned by God.

- Even the best people have nothing to boast about.

He Knows What We Need

“We do not know how to pray as we should. But the Spirit himself speaks to God for us.” Romans 8:26

You know, we really don’t know what to pray for, do we? What if God had answered every prayer that you ever prayed? Just think who you’d be married to. Just think where you’d be living. Just think what you’d be doing.

God loves us so much that sometimes he gives us what we need and not what we ask.

Spiritual Quotes 

"Our old history ends with the cross; our new history begins with the resurrection."

"It is not the business of the church to adapt Christ to men, but men to Christ."

"We taste Thee, O Thou Living Bread, And long to feast upon Thee still: We drink of Thee, the Fountainhead, And thirst our souls from Thee to fill."

Just the ticket.

In him we have . . . the forgiveness of sins, in accordance with the riches of God’s grace. —Ephesians 1:7

When a police officer stopped a woman because her young daughter was riding in a car without the required booster seat, he could have written her a ticket for a traffic violation. Instead, he asked the mother and daughter to meet him at a nearby store where he personally paid for the needed car seat. The mother was going through a difficult time and could not afford to buy a seat.

Although the woman should have received a fine for her misdemeanor, she walked away with a gift instead. Anyone who knows Christ has experienced something similar. All of us deserve a penalty for breaking God’s laws (Eccl. 7:20). Yet, because of Jesus, we experience undeserved favor from God. This favor excuses us from the ultimate consequence for our sin, which is death and eternal separation from God (Rom. 6:23). “In [Jesus] we have . . . the forgiveness of sins, in accordance with the riches of God’s grace” (Eph. 1:7).

JESUS

+ Ps. 39:30 “I will praise the name of God with a song, and will magnify Him with thanksgiving.”

+ According to the scriptures, the Devil is small enough to fit under our feet and God is big enough to fill both heaven and earth.

Thoughts 

- Let’s give our loving thanks for our Lord’s lavish gifts.

- What the Word of God is to the soul, water is to the body.

- The world may discount you, but in God’s eyes you are priceless.

- God gives enough grace for whatever we face.

Hope - what C.S. Lewis has to say?

 “Most people, if they had really learned to look into their own hearts, would know that they do want, and want acutely, something that cannot be had in this world. There are all sorts of things in this world that offer to give it to you, but they never quite keep their promise.

“At present we are on the outside… the wrong side of the door. We discern the freshness and purity of morning, but they do not make us fresh and pure. We cannot mingle with the pleasures we see. But all the pages of the New Testament are rustling with the rumor that it will not always be so. Someday, God willing, we shall get “in”… We will put on glory… that greater glory of which Nature is only the first sketch.

We do not want to merely “see” beauty–though, God knows, even that is bounty enough. We want something else which can hardly be put into words–to be united with the beauty we see, to pass into it, to receive it into ourselves, to bathe in it, to become part of it.

Quotes on Old Age

- The old are in a second childhood. 

- The last of life, for which the first was made. 

-When we're young we have faith in what is seen, but when we're old we know that what is seen is traced in air and built on water.

- Old men’s prayers for death are laying prayers, in which they abuse old age and long extent of life. But when death draws near, not one is willing to die, and age no longer is a burden to them. 

- There's one advantage to being 102. There's no peer pressure. 

-All my life I've been taught how to die, but no one ever taught me how to grow old. 

Think it Over…

Knowledge

Knowledge is a fruit; wisdom is NOT putting it in a Fruit Salad.

Encourage. 

Be an encourager. The world has plenty of critics already.

Thoughts 

Broken things become useful in God’s hands.

Sooner or later you’ll have to face God.

Have faith in God - not faith in faith.

Christ is the reason for the season.

My Rainbows!

George Matheson, the well-known blind preacher of Scotland died some time back. He had once said: “My God, I have never thanked Thee for my thorn. I have thanked Thee a thousand times for my roses, but not once for my thorn. I have been looking forward to a world where I shall get compensation for my cross; but I have never thought of my cross as itself a present glory.

“Teach me the glory of my cross; teach me the value of my thorn. Show me that I have climbed to Thee by the path of pain. Show me that my tears have made my rainbows.”

We Are His

 “Thank you for your love, thank you for your faithfulness.”  Psalm 138:2

We give more applause to a brawny ball-carrier than we do to the God who made us. We sing more songs to the moon than to the Christ who saved us . . .

Though we may not act like our Father, there is no greater truth than this: We are his. Unalterably. He loves us. Undyingly.

Smile 

In the journey of life, we pass pleasures and pain. There will be sunshine and rain. There will be loss and gain. But we must learn smile again and again. 

Eternal Happiness

 “God has planted eternity in the hearts of men.”  Ecclesiastes 3:10

You will never be completely happy on earth, simply because you were not made for earth. Oh, you will have your moments of joy. You will catch glimpses of light. You will know moments or even days of peace. But they simply do not compare with the happiness that lies ahead.

Thoughts 

. Jesus sacrificed His life for ours.

. The Holy Spirit is our ever-present Teacher.

. God loves us not because of who we are, but because of who He is.

. Loving God doesn’t make life effortless, but having His strength makes it easier.

. The Bible, God’s eternal truth, can be trusted today.

Names of Jesus

Capstone 

Acts 4:11  He is 

“‘The stone you builders rejected, which has become the capstone.’

1 Peter 2:7 

Now to you who believe, this stone is precious. But to those who do not believe, “The stone the builders rejected has become the capstone,”

Chief Cornerstone

Ephesians 2:20  

Built on the foundation of the apostles and prophets, with Christ Jesus himself as the chief cornerstone.

Chief Shepherd 

1 Peter 5:4  

And when the Chief Shepherd appears, you will receive the crown of glory that will never fade away.

Christ 

1 John 2:22  

Who is the liar? It is the man who denies that Jesus is the Christ. Such a man is the antichrist—he denies the Father and the Son.

Creator

John 1:3  

Through him all things were made; without him nothing was made that has been made.

Deliverer 

Romans 11:26  

And so all Israel will be saved, as it is written: “The deliverer will come from Zion; he will turn godlessness away from Jacob.

Eternal Life 

1 John 1:2  

The life appeared; we have seen it and testify to it, and we proclaim to you the eternal life, which was with the Father and has appeared to us.

1 John 5:20  

We know also that the Son of God has come and has given us understanding, so that we may know him who is true. And we are in him who is true—even in his Son Jesus Christ. He is the true God and eternal life.