Central Message For Believers
Posted by jerrywhite on Jun 29, 2011
“Some years ago one of our ministers went to the foreign mission field to do deputation work. Before he left, there was a little gathering for prayer, where he asked what his message should be. The thought was expressed that in speaking to Christians, he should press home to them a message of a full salvation, and rouse their hearts to believe in and accept an indwelling Christ. On his return he told with what deep interest the presentation of this truth had been received, many saying that they had never before understood this rightly.
Dr. Maclaren said years ago that it seemed as if the Church had lost the truth of the indwelling Christ. We speak of Paul’s missionary methods, but is there not a greater need of Paul’s missionary message, as it culminates in these supreme words: ‘Christ in you, the hope of glory’? Paul felt the need of much prayer to enable him to give the message rightly. Is there not a call to all intercessors, and to our beloved ministers and missionaries themselves, to make it a matter of first importance to obtain the power, and from a living experience to lead Christians into the enjoyment of their rightful heritage? ‘Jesus replied, If anyone loves me, he will obey my teaching. My Father will love him, and we will come to him and make our home with him’ (John 14:23).”
Andrew Murray
The Believer’s Secret of the Abiding Presence, 99-100
Compiled by Louis Gifford Parkhurst, Jr.
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Union with Christ is fundamental truth every Christian must know in their heart if they are to live a Christ-like life. Even a casual reading of the New Testament reveals that Christ in the believer, living through the believer, is a Christian’s only hope for a God pleasing life. Every attempt without this heart knowledge is hopeless and vain. There is absolutely no other way. If this truth is taught consistently, meditated upon regularly and believed tenaciously, then its reality will take root and all of your life becomes opportunity to allow Christ to be who He is through your unique personality. Abiding in Christ so He can abide in you in all of His fullness is God’s glorious way for your daily living. Your part is to believe God’s Word steadfastly, and trust Him to do it. Do you?
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Christ Our Sanctuary
Posted by jerrywhite on Jun 27, 2011
“He who was eternally God, who was as much a divine person as the Father and the Spirit, who has to humble himself just to look at the things in heaven and earth (Psalm 113:6), took the nature of man to be his own. From then on he was no less man than he was God. To multiply the wonder of this mystery, he humbled himself to the point that he became a man who was despised and rejected(Isaiah 53:3; John 1:11)….
Here we find our sanctuary, our certain refuge. What do the distressed look for in a sanctuary? A supply to meet their needs, deliverance from all their fears, and a defense against all danger. Sin-hunted souls that flee their own guilt and God’s wrath, who can’t shake the shackles of sin, find their supplier, deliverer, and protector in Christ coming down to be their sanctuary (Hebrews 6:18). Do you feel the heavy load of sin on your shoulders? Are you confounded by temptation? Are you bent low under the oppression of any spiritual adversary? One glimpse of the glory of Christ coming down for you can support and relieve you.
Any time we look for someone to help us, we need to know two things: Is he willing to help me? Is he able to help me? One without the other might be impressive or sweet, but won’t bring relief. But we find both in Christ. What will he not do for us? He emptied and humbled himself, infinitely stepped down from the prerogative of his glory in his being and self-sufficiency. Won’t he relieve us in all our distress? Won’t he do for us everything we need? Won’t he be a sanctuary for us? And we have no reason to doubt his power to help us, because by coming down to be a suffering man, he gave up nothing of his power as God, nothing of his wisdom or grace. He could still do all that he could do as God from eternity. So as we see his glory as the One who came down for us, we worship him—and we find our sanctuary. We’re ‘filled with an inexpressible and glorious joy’ (1 Peter 1:8).”
Kris Lundgaard
Through The Looking Glass, 53-54
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He only is my rock and my salvation, my fortress; I shall not be shaken. On God rests my salvation and my glory; my mighty rock, my refuge is God.
Psalm 62:6-7 (ESV)
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Clear Vision Of Purpose
Posted by jerrywhite on Jun 23, 2011
“Three men, all engaged at the same employment, were asked what they were doing. One said he was making five dollars a day. Another replied he was cutting stone. The third said he was building a cathedral. The difference was not in what they were actually doing, although, the spirit of the third might quite possibly have made him the more expert at his task. They were all earning the same wage; they were all cutting stone; but only one held it in his mind that he was helping build a great edifice. Life meant more to him than to his mates; he saw further and clearly. He had a vision of hope in his task.
The farmer may be only planting seed, but if he opens his eyes, he is feeding the world. The railroad man, the factory hand, the clerk in the store, likewise, are building their cathedrals. The investors in stocks and bonds, the executives of great corporations—they are building cathedrals likewise, if only they can catch the vision. The homemaker does not count the dollars she receives for her exertions. If she did, her life might be unhappy indeed.
The rest of us, the great and the humble, are thinking too much about such things as cutting stone and making profits. Stop! Realize the beauty of life. Stir up the hope that lies with you.”
The Omaha Bee Newspaper
Fill Me With Hope, August 1
Compiled by Paul M. Miller
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The Lord Jesus worked as a carpenter and cared for His mother and brothers and sisters until His Heavenly Father showed Him at His baptism to begin His public ministry. Even His ordinary obscure days in Nazareth as a carpenter and Mary’s eldest son, where no one knew who He really was except His mother, pleased His Father. God spoke this at His baptism. His purpose as a human being was to please and glorify His Father in all things no matter how mundane. This clear vision of purpose may be your joy also.
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Strong Intimacy With God
Posted by jerrywhite on Jun 19, 2011
“Some years ago, I heard a Chinese Christian leader testify to God’s goodness under persecution. Arrested because of his faith, he was taken daily from his prison cell to his assigned task—cleaning out a large cesspool in a rural area. Prisoners on other assignments would be closely watched by the Red Guard, but not this one. The foul smell was too much for them and they stayed far away.
And so it was that each morning, as he arrived at the cesspool, he would lift up his eyes and voice to heaven and start singing in Chinese:
I come to the garden alone
While the dew is still on the roses,
And the voice I hear, falling on my ear
The Son of God discloses.
And He walks with me and He talks with me
And He tells me I am His own,
And the joy we share as we tarry there,
None other has ever known.
The special intimacy he had cultivated with God was so strong that he no longer noticed the vile smell. Even the cesspool had become a fragrant garden. H then proceeded to do his work as unto God. And nobody lost out!
So it is with us. The more intimate the communion, the less conscious we become of circumstances, hardships or even the passing of time. It is possible to cultivate this by means of an increasingly rich time with God each day. We can then carry the sense of His presence with us to transform the secular into the sacred.”
Keith Price
Thirsting After God, 45-46
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“Make the worship of God and prayer to God as much your business all day long as at your appointed times of prayer and worship. You must have periods of time when you can drive away from your mind everything that is capable of interrupting your thoughts of God. Even in the heights of some labors, you can be conscious of praising God.”
Brother Lawrence
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Incredible Everlasting Love
Posted by jerrywhite on Jun 16, 2011
“Since your soul’s Spouse, who walks and lives within you, is omnipotent, He gives you omnipotence as He loves you with all His might! And since He is Wisdom, you perceive that He is loving you in the highest and best ways—knowing His ways are above those of mere men. Since He is holy, He loves you with a love that is at work to set you apart for himself. Since He is righteous, He will love you in a way that leads you in His paths of righteousness.
And more—He that loves you is merciful, compassionate, meek. He is altogether strong, sublime, and delicate. He is a Lover who is clean, pure, and forever true. He loves you liberally, without self-interest, and with every intention to do good to you.
The One who loves you is humility itself. He thinks of you and cares for you with the highest esteem. He even makes himself your equal, and joyfully shows you every expression of His grace.
This One who revealed himself to Moses says to you: ‘I am yours. I am for you. It gives me the greatest delight to bring all that is in my name—I AM—and give it all to you. My desire is to be yours.’
How can anyone give words to the sheer delight of knowing you are so loved, so lifted up by the Lover, and held in such tender esteem?”
John Of The Cross
You Set My Spirit Free, 140-141
Arranged and Paraphrased by David Hazard
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I have loved you with an everlasting love; therefore I have continued my faithfulness to you.
Jeremiah 31:3 (ESV)
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Jesus , lover of my soul,
Let me to Thy bosom fly.
Charles Wesley
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