The Humble Man

It is the humble man who God protects and liberates; it is the humble whom He loves and consoles. To the humble He turns and upon them bestows great grace, that after their humiliation He may raise them up to glory. He reveals His secrets to the humble, and with kind invitation bids them come to Him. Thus, the humble man enjoys peace in the midst of many vexations, because his trust is in God, not in the world. Hence, you must not think that you have made any progress until you look upon yourself as inferior to all others.

The Imitation of Christ, Thomas A Kempis

Money In The New Testament

It is no surprise in these difficult economic times that the topic of money is constantly being discussed. With unemployment at almost 10%, and with many families and individuals struggling, everyone is talking about money. Talk show hosts, news anchors, analyst, and politicians all have an opinion on how the American people should save, use, spend, or invest their money.

But did you know that Jesus discussed money more than any other topic in the New Testament? He did not discuss where to invest or how much to save, but he did repeatedly explain why money is important. According to Jesus, money is important because how it is used is an indicator of... Read More Here.

The Fruit Of Love

Only the Holy Spirit can create in us the kind of love toward our Savior that will overflow in imaginative sympathy and practical helpfulness toward his people. Only the Holy Spirit can train us in love....

In God's Presence, March 3

Surviving The Cross

Nothing ever survives the Cross but what is wholly of God in Christ. God never asks us to do anything we can do. He asks us to live a life which we can never live and to do a work which we can never do. Yet, by His grace, we are living it and doing it. The life we live is the life Christ lived in the power of God, and the work we do is the work of Christ carried on through us by His Spirit whom we obey. Self is the only obstruction to that life and to that work.

Sit Walk Stand, Watchman Nee

A Christ-like Vocation

Everybody has a vocation to some form of life work. But behind that and deeper than that, everybody has a vocation to be a person, to be fully and deeply a human being, to be Christ-like. And the second is more important than the first. It is more important to be a great person than a great teacher, butcher, or candlestick maker. And if the only chance of succeeding in the second is to fail in the first, the failure, from God's point of view, is fruitful.

The Relentless Tenderness of Jesus, Brennan Manning

Scared: A Novel At The Edge Of The World

Scared, the new novel by Tom Davis, follows the merging life paths of two people separated by age, skin color, and continents who are unexpectedly brought together by God's hand.

Stuart Daniels, an award winning New York Times photographer, is haunted by his most famous photo taken during a rebel attack on a village in the Congo. The violent image disturbes him so deeply.... Continue reading here.

Taking The Lowest Place

Always take the lowest place and the highest will be given to you, for the highest cannot exist apart from the lowest. The saints who are greatest before God are those who consider themselves the least, and the more humble they are within themselves, so much more glorious they are. Since they do not desire vain glory, they are full of truth and heavenly glory. Being established and strengthened in God, they can by no means be proud. They attribute to God whatever good they have received; they seek no glory from one another but only that which comes from God alone. They desire above all things that He be praised in themselves and in all His saints - this is their constant purpose.

The Imitation Of Christ, Thomas A Kempis.

The Penalty of Sin

One of the penalties of sin is our acceptance of it. It is not only God who punishes for sin, but sin establishes itself in the sinner and takes its toll. No struggling or praying will enable you to stop doing certain things, and the penalty of sin is that you gradually get used to it, until you finally come to the place where you no longer even realize that it is sin. No, power, except the Holy Spirit, can change or prevent the inherit consequences of sin.

My Utmost For His Highest, March 16.

Our Body For Christ

Christ has no body on earth but yours, no hands but yours, no feet but yours. Yours are the eyes through which Christ's compassion for the world is to love out; yours are the feet with which He is to go about doing good; and your are the hands with which He is to bless us now.

St. Teresa of Avila

Feed The Forgotten

How can we creatively find ways to give food to these families who are hungry and weak? Thanks to Children's Hope Chest we can all take part in bringing meals to people who desperately need them - what a great way to spend a weekend! We get to Feed The Forgotten.

I know...there may be many of you out there like me who have already given financially to this and other projects and are feeling like there might not be much left to give. But since we can provide a meal for only $.14 for someone in Uganda I suggest we swap something we have planned for this weekend in order to feed these precious, hungry people. Are you in? Here are some ideas:

Who has plans to go out for lunch or dinner? Would you consider swapping your meal to Feed The Forgotten. Get this: The $30 dinner that you swap can provide 214 meals for Ugandans! (When you swap your meal please remember to note "Feed The Forgotten" in the notes section.)

Who is planning on shopping for new summer clothes? Would you consider swapping one of your items to put food in the bellies of hungry people? Giving up that $25 shirt will provide 179 meals for people in Uganda!

Whose children are anxious to do their first lemonade stand of the year? How about talking to your kids about swapping their profits from the lemonade they sell to Feed The Forgotten? One $.75 lemonade can feed 5 children a meal. What a great way to show your children that they CAN do something too!!

Who is planning on paying a babysitter so you can go out this weekend? How about swapping babysitting services with a friend so that you both can donate the money you saved to Feed The Forgotten? A $40 savings in babysitting can provide285 meals for Ugandans!!

Who is looking forward to that Saturday morning coffee at the coffee shop? How about swapping your $4.00 coffee drink for 29 meals for hungry people? It doesn't take much!

Who has plans to catch a movie this weekend? How about swapping one movie ticket (about $9.50) for 68 meals?? Hard to believe that sacrificing one movie can give so many people food!

Who is planning a trip to the local ice cream shop? How about swapping your $10 ice cream visit to fill up 71 peoplewith a meal?

We CAN do something and we can do it together this weekend! When you give (being sure to identify "Feed the Forgotten" in the notes section) please pray for these people who are suffering and have such tangible needs. It's humbling that God chooses to use US to be His hands and feet. These people will NOT be forgotten this weekend!!

$0.14 will provide 1 meal
$2.86 will feed someone for 20 days
$1 will feed a family
$20 will feed a family for 20 days

YOU can Make a Difference

*Originally posted by Brandi

Stand In The Door

When Charles Spurgeon was once asked if the heathen who had never heard the Gospel would be saved, his reply is reputed to be, 'Will you be saved when you do not bring them the Gospel?' What a responsibility we have to every creature in every place: even the unexpected.

Plenty For Everyone, Corrie Ten Boom

'Stand in the door' means that we must be obedient and go where God tells us, whether it be a call to the mission field or a call to work for Him at home. He can use us only when we are in the place where he wants us to be.

Plenty For Everyone, Corrie Ten Boom

Change Agents For Christ

You and I are not meant to act like pre-resurrection disciples, racked with fear, doubt, and timidity. We are post-resurrection disciples, and if we are to live like post-resurrection disciples, everything in our lives must change. The question for us is whether we are willing to make that commitment - to live and act differently, and to repair the hole in our own gospel. If we are, then God will use us as parts of His amazing plan to change the world. 

But becoming this kind of disciple, one who is determined to be the gospel to the the world around him, involves intentional decision. It doesn't just happen. Any of us who have ever been on a diet or embarked on an exercise regimen know that fitness and weight loss don't just happen. They require us to make a choice and then change our behaviors in deliberate ways - it cannot be "business as usual." And it's not easy. The same is true of discipleship. We won't really become change agents for Christ just by going to church every Sunday. We will have to make some "on purpose" life choices and then change our priorities and behavior. Only then can God transform us and use us to change the world. 

The Hole In Our Gospel, Rich Stearns

Taking Up Our Cross

Jesus never explained the "why" of suffering... He simply made it the indispensable condition for discipleship. Never once did Jesus ask those who wanted to join the company of His friends if they were chaste, honest, sober, or respectable. Never once did He attempt to charm anyone to His service with fair promises of happiness. On the contrary, with uncompromising honesty, He said, "If anyone will come after Me, let him take up his cross daily. And whoever does not take up his cross daily (not weekly or monthly) and come after Me cannot be My disciple."

The Relentless Tenderness of Jesus, Brennan Manning