Wednesday, December 30, 2009

January 10, 2010

“Wounded pride excites revenge, and this always burns hottest in the weakest minds.”

(Thomas McCrie; 1772-1835)

January 9, 2010

“Is there anything in the world that can shew you the misery, ugliness, and damning nature of sin, as the death of Christ?” (William Bridge; 1649)

January 8, 2010

To present the bait and hide the hook; to present the golden cup, and hide the poison; to present the sweet, the pleasure, and the profit that may flow in upon the soul by wrath and misery that will certainly follow the committing of sin. By this device he took our first parents: ‘And the serpent said until the woman, Ye shall not surely die.’ (Thomas Brooks, 1608-1680)

January 7, 2010

“No man or devil is as bad to us as our evil self is to us.” (Augustine; 354-430)

January 6, 2010

“Heresy admits enough of Christ to calm the conscience, but it retains enough of self to slay the soul.” (Henry Law; 1797-1884)

January 5, 2010

“Lean not unto thine own understanding; think not to accomplish thy designs by the strength of thine own without God’s blessing.” (Matthew Poole; 1624-1679)

January 4, 2010

A defect in the intellectual or spiritual man is at the root of all this error. The defect is not in the pages of inspiration, but in the human heart. (George Burrows, First Published 1853)

January 3, 2010

“We are creatures of extremes. When our self-confidence and self-sufficiency are subdued, we are prone to become occupied with our weakness and insufficiency instead of keeping our eyes steadily on the One who began a good work in us.” (Arthur W. 1886-1952)

January 2, 2010

“The omniscience of God is subservient to no one. God is never surpassed by the deeds of man. His knowledge is perfect regarding all the ways of all created beings or things. It has been well stated , ‘If God ever increased in knowledge, or had be to acquainted with any new intention of the creature, He would no longer be perfect in omniscience, and therefore could not be God.” (Author Unknown)

January 1, 2010

“It is never easy for our robust and haughty flesh to accept, but the Scriptures clearly teach that it is not in man to direct his steps. If it is not in man to command his way, then it quite reasonably must be assigned to another. Faith receives this blessed truth and bows the head in humble adoration.” (Author not known)

Sunday, December 13, 2009

December 31, 2009

“For “nothing defiles a man but what comes from within’ (Matt. 15,) that is, that which the heart has conceived within it—as thoughts of uncleanness—in which, although Satan himself be the father of them, the heart is the mother and womb.” Thomas Goodwin (1600-1679)

December 30, 2009

“Those who come to him he needs them not to receive from them, but to give unto them; he needs not their fullness, but their emptiness, that his fullness may overflow to the supply thereof.” (George Hutcheson, 1615–1674)

December 29, 2009

“You never did a single thing in your whole life which in God’s sight was not full of sin.” Brownlow North (1741–1820)

December 28, 2009

“Satan hath cast such sinful seed into our souls, that now he can no sooner tempt, but we are ready to assent; he can no sooner have a plot upon us, but he makes a conquest of us….Whatever sin the heart of man is most prone to, that the devil will help forward.”

(Thomas Brooks, 1608–1680)

December 27, 2009

“Every providence hath a voice, though sometimes it be so still and low that it requireth some skill to hear it. Our spirits are most satisfied when we discern God’s aim in everything.”

(Thomas Manton; 1620-1677)

Wednesday, December 9, 2009

December 26, 2009

Christians ought to be particularly on their guard against tampering in any degree with the word of God. We should never forget that, when we are explaining any expression of Scripture, we are treating of what are the very words of the Holy Ghost, as much as if they had been spoken to us by a voice from heaven. (Robert Haldane; 1772–1854)

December 25, 2009

“Nothing that a man does in this life is without consequences. Every effect has a cause, and every cause produces an effect. So many of our troubles arise from the fact that we forget that causes lead to effects, and that these effects in turn lead to certain inevitable consequences.” D. Martyn Lloyd-Jones (1899-1981)

December 24, 2009

Faithful waiting that looks only to God is like the willow tree, “often shaken and whipped in the wind, but firm at the root.” (Unknown)

December 23, 2009

God’s Providence: “This is an important branch of practical religion; and to the neglect of its due cultivation may be imputed much of that darkness and distress of mind which is felt under afflictive dispensations. The possession of this knowledge is a mark of wisdom, and a means of safety: “Whoso is wise, and will observe these things, even they shall understand the loving-kindness of the Lord.” Thomas McCrie (1797–1875)

December 22, 2009

“All experience teaches that, the holier men become, the more convinced they are of their own sinfulness.” (Alfred Plummer; 1841-1926)

December 21, 2009

“But what does it help if man is on your side, if God is against you?” Frans Bakker (1919-1965)

December 20, 2009

“In a word, trust in God is that high act or exercise of faith whereby the soul, looking upon God and casting itself on his goodness, power, promises, faithfulness, and providence, is lifted up above carnal fears and discouragements; above perplexing doubts and disquietments; either for the obtaining and continuance of that which is good, or for the preventing or removing of that which is evil.” Thomas Lye (1621-1684)

December 19, 2009

“The Lord our God, who bids us believe, also enables us to believe,” Charles H. Spurgeon (1834-1892)

December 18, 2009

Never a word of merit should be in the mouth of a true believer; for have mercy on me, O Lord, is David’s only plea; any good in us, is but a sandy ground to build on. (David Dickson; 1583-1663)

December 17, 2009

The wicked blasphemer desires to infiltrate the believer’s heart with suspicions and doubts concerning the power of God, His promises, and His willingness to perform on behalf of the spiritually exhausted child. If he can diminish his faith and cast a shadow upon the excellency of God, or the validity of divine redemption, he has won the day. This he seeks to do only and always. (Anonymous)

December 16, 2009

“It is not by one great sacrifice on our part that the hearts of others are made stout for the journey and strong for the task, but by the constant performance of the petty kindnesses, no one of which might be worth recording, but which, in the aggregate, constitute a sublime record.” William Graham Scroggie (1877-1958)

December 15, 2009

“Private self-love seems to be the root of depravity; the grand succedaneum in human affection to the love of God and man. Self-admiration, self-will, and self-righteousness are but different modifications of it. Where this prevails, the creature assumes the place of the Creator, and seek his own gratification, honour, and interest, as the ultimate end of all his actions. Hence, when the apostle describes men under a variety of wicked characters, the first link in the chain is—lovers of their own selves. Hence also the first and grand lesson in the Christian school is—to deny ourselves. " (Note to the reader---succedaneum means SUBSTITUTE)

Andrew Fuller (1754-1815)

December 14, 2009

“There is in true love, a complacency and delight in God; a conformity to his will; a loving what he loves.” Robert Leighton (1611-1684)