By A.W. Tozer
The nearer we draw to the heart of God the less taste we will have for controversy.
Warnings
The Believer’s Armor: God’s Provision for Your Protection
John MacArthur
Ephesians 6:10-17; Luke 4:2; Luke 22:44
Introduction
The Christian life is a battle. It is warfare on a grand scale.
Jesus’ ministry began with a battle against Satan that lasted forty days (Luke 4:2). As Jesus’ ministry drew to an end, Satan besieged Him again in the Garden of Gethsemane. He hit Him with such force that our Lord sweat great drops of blood (Luke 22:44). Those two accounts alone teach us that the battle may not become easier as we grow in obedience to God. If anything, Satan will intensify his efforts against those who continue effectively serving the Lord. But God has not left us defenseless.
CHARLIE COULSON, THE CHRISTIAN DRUMMER BOY
Thank You to my dear friend Joanne for sharing this wonderful story and for providing the link.
TOUCHING INCIDENTS AND REMARKABLE ANSWERS TO PRAYER,
A Book By S. B. SHAW. 1893
As Related by Dr. M.L.R.
Two or three times in my life God in His mercy touched my heart, and twice before my conversion I was under deep conviction.
During the American war, I was surgeon in the United States army, and after the battle of Gettysburg there were many hundred wounded soldiers in my hospital, amongst whom were twenty-eight who had been wounded so severely that they required my service at once. Some whose legs had to be amputated, some their arms, and others both their arm and leg. One of the latter was a boy who had been but three months in the service, and being too young for a soldier. He enlisted as a drummer. When my assistant surgeon and one of my stewards wished to administer chloroform, previous to the amputation, he turned his head aside and positively refused to receive it. When the steward told him that it was the doctor’s orders, he said: “Send the doctor to me.” Continue reading
The Distinguishing Mark of Christianity
John MacArthur from Grace to You
Freedom or slavery—what’s the distinguishing mark of Christianity? In a generation fixated on freedom, fulfillment, and autonomy, the vote has been cast early and often for freedom. But the Bible is abundantly clear—slavery is the heart of what it means to be a true Christian. It’s time to reassert this unpopular notion: true Christians are slaves of Christ.
The Once-born and the Twice-born
CLASSIFICATION IS ONE OF THE MOST DIFFICULT of all tasks. Even in the realm of religion there are enough lights and shades to make it injudicious to draw too fine a line between men and men. If the religious world were composed of squares of solid black and solid white classification would be easy; but unfortunately it is not.
It is a grave error for us evangelicals to assume that the children of God are all in our communion and that all who are not associated with us are ipso facto enemies of the Lord. The Pharisees made that mistake and crucified Christ as a consequence.
With all this in mind, and leaning over backwards to be fair and charitable, there is yet one distinction which we dare make, which indeed we must make if we are to think the thoughts of God after Him and bring our beliefs into harmony with the Holy Scriptures. That distinction is the one which exists between two classes of human beings, the once-born and the twice-born. Continue reading
How to Lose Your Joy
An Unremarkable Faith
This article originally appeared here at Grace to You.
Meet Larry, a thirty-six year old Science teacher. Larry married Cathy 12 years ago. They love each other and enjoy raising their two sons. Larry’s life wouldn’t hold out much interest to the average citizen. His Facebook account doesn’t draw many friends and nobody ever leaves a comment on his blog. In fact, most people would summarize Larry’s life with one word—boring. But not Larry. Teaching osmosis to junior high students, playing Uno with his kids, and working in the yard with Cathy is paradise to him. But the real love of his life is Jesus. Larry’s a Christian. He’s been walking with the Lord for more than 20 years.
The Saint Must Walk Alone
MOST OF THE WORLD’S GREAT SOULS have been lonely. Loneliness seems to be one price the saint must pay for his saintliness.
In the morning of the world (or should we say, in that strange darkness that came soon after the dawn of man’s creation) that pious soul, Enoch, walked with God and was not, for God took him; and while it is not stated in so many words, a fair inference is that Enoch walked a path quite apart from his contemporaries.
Another lonely man was Noah who, of all the antediluvians, found grace in the sight of God; and every shred of evidence points to the aloneness of his life even while surrounded by his people.
Holiness and Prayer
Joseph Caryl, 1647
“But if you will look to God and plead with the Almighty, if you are pure and upright, even now he will rouse himself on your behalf” Job 8:5-6
Sin’s Presence
Arthur Pink
February, 1948
There are two sides to a Christian’s life: a light side—and a dark one; an elevating side—and a depressing one. His experience is neither all joy—nor all grief; but a commingling of both. It was so with the apostle Paul: “As sorrowful—yet always rejoicing” (2 Corinthians 6:10). When a person is regenerated, he is not there and then taken to heaven—but he is given both a pledge and a foretaste of it. Nor is sin then eradicated from his being, though its dominion over him is broken. It is indwelling corruption which casts its dark shadow over his joy!
Know Thy Enemy
Know Thy Enemy
Wednesday, February 09, 2011
Are you ready to kill?
That’s a stark question, and it demands qualification, but killing is a regular part of the Christian life. There’s an aspect of being a Christian that’s downright violent.
You see, God commands us to hunt down and kill all remaining sin—to terminate it with extreme prejudice. Want proof? Here’s what Paul said in Romans 8:
So then, brethren, we are under obligation. Not to the flesh, to live according to the flesh—for if you are living according to the flesh, you must die; but if by the Spirit you are putting to death the deeds of the body, you will live. For all who are being led by the Spirit of God, these are sons of God (vv. 12-14)
The free grace of God (John Gill)
John Gill (23 November 1697 – 14 October 1771) was an English Baptist pastor, biblical scholar, and theologian who wrote the following that expresses what every true Christian believes:
STUDY GUIDE:”BEWARE THE PRETENDERS”
Part 1 of 6 Jude 1-2
THE ETERNAL SECURITY OF THE CHRISTIAN
by John F. MacArthur
A. The Analysis of the Epistle
The book of Jude is probably one of the most neglected books in the Bible. In spite of its short length, it is extremely important. The beginning of the Church Age is described in the Acts of the Apostles; its end is dealt with in the Epistle of Jude (which somebody has titled, “The Acts of the Apostates”). The book of Acts describes the deeds and teachings of men of God who began to build the church, and Jude, the last New Testament epistle, relates the deeds and teachings of evil men who will be living when the Church Age comes to an end. In fact, it is the only book in the Bible that is devoted to discussing the great apostasy (departure from the faith) that is to come before the return of Jesus Christ.
In the gospels, our Lord predicted that people under the name of Christianity would turn their backs on the truth. Paul, Peter, and John, along with Jude and James explicitly state or imply the reality of that apostasy. The Epistle of Jude plays a very important part in developing a complete understanding of that event. It details God’s attitude toward those who depart from the faith.
Christian Love
Quote by D L Moody
Galations 5
IT speaks in Galatians about love, the fruit of the Spirit being love, joy, peace, gentleness, long suffering,meekness and temperance. The way this writer has put it — and I think it is very beautiful — is that joy is love exultant, peace is love in repose, and long suffering is love enduring. It is all love, you see, a gentleness is love in society, and goodness is love in action, and faith is love on the battle-field, and meekness is love at school, and temperance is love in training.
It is Well with My Soul
When peace, like a river, attendeth my way,
When sorrows like sea billows roll;
Whatever my lot, Thou has taught me to say,
It is well, it is well, with my soul.Refrain
It is well, with my soul,
It is well, with my soul,
It is well, it is well, with my soul. Though Satan should buffet, though trials should come,
Let this blest assurance control,
That Christ has regarded my helpless estate,
And hath shed His own blood for my soul. Continue reading
For the Love of His Truth 