Sunday Quotes

 

“God’s purpose for my life was that I have a passion for God’s glory and that I have a passion for my joy in that glory, and that these two are one passion.” (Jonathan Edwards)

“What you are is God's gift to you, what you become is your gift to God.” (Hans Urs von Balthasar)

“Do all the good you can. By all the means you can. In all the ways you can. In all the places you can. At all the times you can. To all the people you can. As long as ever you can.” (John Wesley)

“We may speak about a place where there are no tears, no death, no fear, no night; but those are just the benefits of heaven. The beauty of heaven is seeing God.” (Max Lucado)

“We need never shout across the spaces to an absent God. He is nearer than our own soul, closer than our most secret thoughts.” (A.W.Tozer)

“Men are never duly touched and impressed with a conviction of their insignificance, until they have contrasted themselves with the majesty of God.” (R.C.Sproul)

“When we are securely rooted in personal intimacy with the source of life, it will be possible to remain flexible without being relativistic, convinced without being rigid, willing to confront without being offensive, gentle and forgiving without being soft, and true witnesses without being manipulative.” (Henri J.M. Nouwen)

“Of all the knowledge that we can ever obtain, the knowledge of God, and the knowledge of ourselves, are the most important.” (Jonathan Edwards)

“As the fear of God is the beginning of wisdom, so the denial of God is the height of foolishness.” (R.C.Sproul)

“If you board the wrong train, it is no use running along the corridor in the other direction.” (Dietrich Bonhoeffer)

“Jesus tends to his people individually. He personally sees to our needs. We all receive Jesus' touch. We experience his care.” (Max Lucado)

“Satan is so much more in earnest than we are—he buys up the opportunity while we are wondering how much it will cost.” (Amy Carmichael)

“A truly Christian love, either to God or men, is a humble broken-hearted love. The desires of the saints, however earnest, are humble desires. Their hope is a humble hope; and their joy, even when it is unspeakable and full of glory, is a humble broken-hearted joy, and leaves the Christian more poor in spirit, and more like a little child, and more disposed to a universal lowliness of behavior.” (Jonathan Edwards)

“He that loveth little prayeth little, he that loveth much prayeth much.” (St. Augustine)

“I have never met the man I could despair of after discerning what lies in me apart from the grace of God.” (Oswald Chambers)

“If by doing some work which the undiscerning consider ‘not spiritual work’ I can best help others, and I inwardly rebel, thinking it is the spiritual for which I crave, when in truth it is the interesting and exciting, then I know nothing of Calvary love.” (Amy Carmichael)

“God wants the whole person and He will not rest till He gets us in entirety. No part of the man will do." (A.W.Tozer)

“Truth is the agreement of our ideas with the ideas of God.”

(Jonathan Edwards)

“The Christians are right: it is Pride which has been the chief cause of misery in every nation and every family since the world began.” (C.S.Lewis)

“Oh, will you pray? Stop now and pray, lest desire turn to feeling and feeling evaporate.” (Amy Carmichael)

“A truly humble man is sensible of his natural distance from God; of his dependence on Him; of the insufficiency of his own power and wisdom; and that it is by God's power that he is upheld and provided for, and that he needs God's wisdom to lead and guide him, and His might to enable him to do what he ought to do for Him.” (Jonathan Edwards)

Monday Quotes

When the Christian faith becomes defined by who we are and what we do and not by who Christ is and what he did for us, we miss the gospel - and we, ironically, become more disobedient. Tullian Tchividjian

The truth is the real Christian experience is truly about repenting every day because there is no Christian that doesn't sin. Stephen Baldwin

I'm excited to create more awareness about the importance of giving the youth of America a choice. There's a 24-hour music channel. There's a 24-hour comedy channel. I believe there's a 24-hour gay channel coming. Why isn't there a 24-hour Christian channel that's edgy and hip and cool and new and different, like all that other stuff? Stephen Baldwin

Some of us live a Christian life as if we're always under the stern, watchful eye of our Father and he is very impossible to please... No, God delights even in our heartfelt attempts at obedience. Kevin DeYoung

If creators of Christian culture hope to produce work that will bear good fruit, we must draw our life from the true source - our living Savior. He is real. He is present. But all too often we reduce him to an abstraction, giving him intellectual assent, but not our hearts. Michael O'Brien

I never heard a Christian sermon preached in a church. Lincoln Steffens

Courage is contagious. When a brave man takes a stand, the spines of others are often stiffened. Billy Graham

The greatest legacy one can pass on to one's children and grandchildren is not money or other material things accumulated in one's life, but rather a legacy of character and faith. Billy Graham

You're born. You suffer. You die. Fortunately, there's a loophole. Billy Graham

Do all the good you can, by all the means you can, in all the ways you can, in all the places you can, at all the times you can, to all the people you can, as long as ever you can. John Wesley

Is it not hard that even those who are with us should be against us - that a man's enemies, in some degree, should be those of the same household of faith? Yet so it is. John Wesley

Men never do evil so completely and cheerfully as when they do it from religious conviction. Blaise Pascal

Happiness is when what you think, what you say, and what you do are in harmony. Mahatma Gandhi

You must not lose faith in humanity. Humanity is an ocean; if a few drops of the ocean are dirty, the ocean does not become dirty. Mahatma Gandhi

I'm a Christian, a conservative, and a Republican, in that order. Mike Pence

We relish news of our heroes, forgetting that we are extraordinary to somebody too. Helen Hayes

The greatest good you can do for another is not just to share your riches but to reveal to him his own. Benjamin Disraeli

O never give me over to my own heart's desires, nor let me follow my own imaginations! John Wesley

It is not talking but walking that will bring us to heaven. Matthew Henry

He whose head is in heaven need not fear to put his feet into the grave. Matthew Henry

It is common for those that are farthest from God, to boast themselves most of their being near to the Church. Matthew Henry

Money, Money, Money

Money is never enough. We keep striving and working for more. This is not new; it is from eons that we already always trying to earn money and more money.

Tom Harper explains this from a Biblical perspective.

Imagine you suddenly find $100 million in your bank account (and it's rightfully yours). What would you do with it?

Once you've celebrated, paid off all your debt, bought a couple cars and moved into your new private-island home, what would be next in life?

An Indian saint and poet, Sant Kabir Das, said thus - 

"Sayeen Itna Deejiye, Ja Mein Kutumb Samaye.

Main Bhi Bhookha Na Rahun, Sadhu Na Bhookha Jaye".

(Please God, give me enough so that I can support myself and my family, and so that no one goes hungry, not me nor any saint who comes to my home). 

Proverbs 30:8-9 also says it so well:

"…give me neither poverty nor riches!

Give me just enough to satisfy my needs.

For if I grow rich, I may deny you and say, "Who is the Lord?"

And if I am too poor, I may steal and thus insult God's holy name".

Ecclesiastes chapter 5 directly addresses this dreamy scenario of finding the rainbowed pot of gold. Here are a few points Solomon makes in verses 10 and 11:

1. Those who love money will never have enough.

2. How meaningless to think that wealth brings true happiness!

3. The more you have, the more people come to help you spend it.

4. So what good is wealth—except perhaps to watch it slip through your fingers!

These pithy statements are straight from the New Living Translation. And how true they are!

The main point, which is also a universal truth as we have seen, is in verse 15 "We all come to the end of our lives as naked and empty-handed as on the day we were born. We can't take our riches with us."

If we can't take it with us, why do we strive for more than we need?

Trusting God for just enough is a way of describing how God provides what is needed in the moment, while also requiring trust in what will come next. 

Monday Quotes

Start by doing what's necessary; then do what's possible; and suddenly you are doing the impossible. Francis of Assisi

Perfection is not attainable, but if we chase perfection we can catch excellence. Vince Lombardi

Someone is sitting in the shade today because someone planted a tree a long time ago. Warren Buffett

When wealth is lost, nothing is lost; when health is lost, something is lost; when character is lost, all is lost. Billy Graham

My home is in Heaven. I'm just traveling through this world. Billy Graham

Comfort and prosperity have never enriched the world as much as adversity has. Billy Graham

The main rule to me is to honor God with your life. To life a life of integrity. Not be selfish. You know, help others. But that's really the essence of the Christian faith. Joel Osteen

When a man becomes a Christian, he becomes industrious, trustworthy and prosperous. Now, if that man, when he gets all he can and saves all he can, does not give all he can, I have more hope for Judas Iscariot than for that man! John Wesley

The Christian missionary may preach the gospel to the poor naked heathen, but the spiritual heathen who populate Europe have as yet heard nothing of Christianity. Carl Jung

Did I offer peace today? Did I bring a smile to someone's face? Did I say words of healing? Did I let go of my anger and resentment? Did I forgive? Did I love? These are the real questions. I must trust that the little bit of love that I sow now will bear many fruits, here in this world and the life to come. Henri Nouwen

First of all, the Jewish religion has a great deal in common with the Christian religion because, as Rabbi Gillman points out in the show, Christianity is based on Judaism. Christ was Jewish. Barbara Walters

The sometimes-tough love of the Christian faith of my childhood demanded a certain amount of self-reflection and, occasionally, self-criticism. J. D. Vance

The bird is powered by its own life and by its motivation. A. P. J. Abdul Kalam

Sir, my concern is not whether God is on our side; my greatest concern is to be on God's side, for God is always right. Abraham Lincoln

Coincidence is God's way of remaining anonymous. Albert Einstein

There are two kinds of people: those who say to God, 'Thy will be done,' and those to whom God says, 'All right, then, have it your way.' C. S. Lewis

God meets daily needs daily. Not weekly or annually. He will give you what you need when it is needed. Max Lucado

This is a paradox of man: compared to God, man is nothing; yet we are everything to God. Dieter F. Uchtdorf

The best way to find yourself is to lose yourself in the service of others. Mahatma Gandhi

Pastor Rajiv's Mid-Week Message

 

What's in it for Me?

“Religion today is not transforming people— it is being transformed by people. It is not raising the moral level of society— it is descending to society's own level and congratulating itself that it has scored a victory because society is smiling, accepting its surrender.” - A. W. TOZER (1897-1963)

These words reflect the true state of society and Christianity today. As Christians, do we embody Christianity? Or do we take what is convenient and ignore or justify the rest.

Christianity is not a convenience. It is a way of life to be led by emulating Christ for the Glory of our Father in Heaven. Don't we pray that? When we help someone in need is it for Gods glory or our own? When we perform church activities, is it for our own name to be up in lights or for the body of Christ? When we pray for someone to be healed is it for Gods glory or because we just like that person? Do we use the church as a social and networking platform or THE house of God? Do we follow Christ with a zero agenda ?

The fact is today's society views every thing with the lens of WIFM (what's in it for me) instead of "what's in it for God".

We cant pick and choose as we do. Living the Christian life means going out of our comfort zone and our "convenience zone", with a zero agenda. It means taking a step back from self glorification.

Christianity is not supposed to be the surrender of the church but our own surrender to God. It can involve surrendering small things throughout the day, or surrendering bigger things like hopes and dreams. Are we ready for that or is it an inconvenience?

The Coffee Story

The coffee story is quite a common analogy to human nature. If you are carrying a cup of hot coffee and someone jostles your hand, the coffee in the cup (or whatever is in it) spills over.

Similarly, in humans, hidden feelings, frustrations, fear etc spill over and out of us when our life is jostled by circumstances or someone's behaviour. We can take some ones advice negatively and react or some thing which hurts us.

In our life stresses and "jostles" are inevitable.

Consider the cup to be the heart and mind and whatever is in it to be the coffee. Whatever we fill in the cup is what will spill out, when jostled.

King David's cup ran over with Gods goodness and provision in his life because he recognised God. He understood His works. He talked, God answered and he listened. David was Gods friend. King David's heart was filled with God. His cup ran over with God.

Today let us meditate on ourselves: when we are under stress what spills out of our cup? Can I fill my heart with the Spirit of God rather than anger, abuse and violence so that when I am jostled, His spirit spills over?

"You prepare a table before me

in the presence of my enemies.

You anoint my head with oil;

my cup runneth over. ."

Quotes to Inspire

 

"God never said that the journey would be easy, but He did say that the arrival would be worthwhile." — Max Lucado

"You are the only Bible some unbelievers will ever read." — John MacArthur

"Christianity, if false, is of no importance, and if true, of infinite importance. The only thing it cannot be is moderately important." — C.S. Lewis

"It is not the trials in your life that develop or destroy you, but rather your response to those hardships." — Charles Stanley

"If you believe in a God who controls the big things, you have to believe in a God who controls the little things. It is we, of course, to whom things look 'little' or 'big.'" — Elisabeth Elliot

"We are all faced with a series of great opportunities brilliantly disguised as impossible situations." — Chuck Swindoll

"The greater your knowledge of the goodness and grace of God on your life, the more likely you are to praise Him in the storm." — Matt Chandler

"It is great to be faced with the impossible, for nothing is impossible if one is meant to do it. Wisdom will be given, and strength. When the Lord leads, He always strengthens." — Amy Carmichael

"Life is God's novel. Let him write it." — Isaac Bashevis Singer

"Faith is to believe what you do not see; the reward of this faith is to see what you believe." — Saint Augustine

"When I consider the cross of Christ, how can anything that I do be called a sacrifice?" — Amy Carmichael

"One of the Devil's great lies is that the path to a fulfilling life is to live for one's self." — Andrew B. Ray

"If not for the tests in our lives some of us would not learn to pray." — Aminata Coote

Preach to Yourself!

In management, there is a concept of self-talk. There is nothing crazy about talking to oneself. Self-talk is the internal dialogue that people have with themselves, and it can have a big impact on how a person feels and acts. Positive self-talk can help people feel better about themselves, and can have many benefits, including goal attainment and building an overall positive attitude.

Drawing a cue from this concept, when we do our daily devotions and or read the Bible, instead of a mechanical tick in the box, if we relate what is being read to our own lives, each phase or period, we will be able to spot where we went wrong and what we did right. This knowledge will help to correct ourselves for future, aligning our life to Christ and Gods ways and will.

That is exactly how computers also work. They analyze the past to predict the future.

What does it mean to "preach to ourselves"?

"Preaching to ourselves is essentially the biblical call to "meditate" on Scripture - hearing and reflecting on both the Word and how God is speaking through it. It is personally applying the Word of God to our hearts and lives with the aim of glorifying and enjoying God" - Pastor Joe Thorn

This self-preaching, if done regularly, will turn itself into a meaningful meditation, the outcome of which is transformation of the person.

Paul Tripp says that no one is more influential in your life than you are, and that you should preach the gospel to yourself daily.

King David too, learned to preach to himself when he was threatened by fear. Psalm 56 includes some of David's preaching, such as "When you get afraid, don't be afraid!" and "I am trusting in God. I'm not going to live in fear".

Feasting During Adversity

Psalm 23 is quite strange. After all, after having walked through the "valley of the shadow of death" God prepares a feast for David in the presence of his enemies! Can we/ you ever feast or banquet during adverse times?

The KJV devotional has this to say -

"David faced so many challenges but remained confident in the power and provision of God. He knew how God could prepare a feast; not just in a secure place but even in the presence of enemies. This illustration shows us the richness of God’s care for His people and the confidence we can have in Him. We see here that God prepares the table and does not bother to remove the presence of enemies (or adversity). This means that there are times when God allows hardships to linger, but He still provides care, sustenance, provision, and strength while we are going through these adversities.

We cannot always expect God to get rid of all of our obstacles for us, but we can be confident that even when surrounded by threats or hardships, God invites us to sit and dine at His table, enjoy His blessings, and trust that He can protect us (and help us to overcome). As our provider, He ensures that we are nourished and well cared for even when we face opposition or threats."

David leaves his story for us as a proof that God provides for our needs, even in extremely challenging circumstances. He blesses us with abundance and joy as well as protection for the adversity that may surround us, at all times. 

Rise and Shine by Janice Riley is available here. 

Rise and Shine: Book Review

Today, we cover a book named "Time to Rise and Shine" by Janice Riley, a dear friend, book publisher, and ordained minister. She and her husband Rob, a professional and short-term missionary, have visited India, Honduras and the Dominican Republic for revival meetings. Their mission trips included construction projects, prophetic training, community outreach and more.

The book highlights the changing needs of Christianity in today's world and the need for a Christ-like response to people and situations.

According to Janice, "this book is a heart’s cry to come and be transformed into the likeness of Christ, calling the Bride of Christ into her destiny, her identity.

While The Church has been told what to do, given the top five ways to make it happen and a comfy seat to sit in while they watch the sage on the stage preach one more sermon, and enjoy one more musical performance by the worship team, religious tradition has assembled a mass of spectators to watch a special few do the work of the Lord.

Meanwhile, broken, sick and downtrodden people are falling to the wayside every day, ignorant of the Love of the Father, blinded to the Truth of who they really are".

Janice goes on to say, "It is time to discuss what being a true follower of Jesus Christ looks like and dig into executable tactics on how to do just that".

So, here we go. Get in, sit down, buckle up and enjoy the ride.

The book can be bought at here. 

The link will be part of our posts this month for all those who may be interested.

Note: This is not an ad and TWWJ gets no direct or indirect renumeration/fees.

Sunday Quotes

How many observe Christ's birthday! How few, His precepts! - Benjamin Franklin
This year, or this month, or, more likely, this very day, we have failed to practise ourselves the kind of behaviour we expect from other people. - C.S. Lewis
I believe there are too many practitioners in the church who are not believers.- C.S. Lewis
Every man should keep a fair-sized cemetery in which to bury the faults of his friends.- Henry Ward Beecher
Beware of no man more than of yourself; we carry our worst enemies within us.- Charles Spurgeon
Sincerity makes the very least person to be of more value than the most talented hypocrite.- Charles Spurgeon
Experience tells us that each man most keenly and unerringly detects in others the vice with which he is most familiar himself.- Frederick W. Robertson
Steal the hog, and give the feet for alms.- George Herbert
The Pharisees broke Moses' tables into pieces, and, gathering up the fragments, took to themselves what part of duty they pleased, and left the rest alone.- Jeremy Taylor
More than once Jesus deliberately addressed certain issues that quickly diminished the number of onlookers. It was commitment that thinned the ranks. - Chuck Swindoll
Those who please all men at all times ought deservedly to look on themselves with suspicion. - Johann Albrecht Bengel

No devil is so dangerous as the religious devil.- Joseph Hall
Next to hypocrisy in religion, there is nothing worse than hypocrisy in friendship.- Joseph Hall
Testimonies are wonderful. But, so often our lives don’t fit our testimonies.- Leonard Ravenhill

Street Food and Hunger: A Short Story

Jesus looked at them and said, “With man this is impossible, but with God all things are possible.” - Matthew 19:26

God works. And He does not do things with a wave of a magic wand, but through people like you and me. We all can be used for good, in some way, big or small.

Let me relate a short story of a simple act of kindness and love, which I happened to have witnessed.

"Every place in the world has two common things: street food and hunger.

One day, a person, call him X (since I do not know his name), saw some enticing street food being cooked. It was a rainy day and the smell of the food, hot on the stove, was more than he could resist. He walked over to get some packed for himself. As he was waiting with the rest of the customers, he noticed a small girl, maybe 6 or 8 years old, dirty, filthy and obviously hungry. She went from person to person begging for some food. Most people ignored her; the shop worker scolded her half heartedly; he had seen enough hungry folks to know she was ravenous.

One customer broke off a morsel of her food and offered it to the girl who politely refused.

The little girl waited for a while, maybe in hope, but then finally gave up, resigned to her fate. She went to the water stand and drank lots of water filling her stomach. Water was free. 

Seeing all this, this gentleman X who had had his food packed, was moved enough to pay for a plate of food and told the shop worker to give it to her. The worker, himself poor, showed his happiness. He did not wait to be thanked. He simply walked away.

When we witness such acts of unselfishness, caring and love, regardless of how someone is -  dressed or filthy, we realize that that God in Heaven is looking down at each one of the 8 Billion people in this world, to care and to provide. Such acts of humility and empathy prove that God has still not given up on man. God has not given up on me.

“There are people in the world so hungry, that God cannot appear to them except in the form of bread.” — Mahatma Gandhi.