That One!!

Stop dimming your worship to match the room.

If they won’t lift their hands, you still can.

If they won’t kneel, you still can.

If they won’t shout, you still can.

Your praise isn’t crowd-dependent.

It’s covenant based.

You don’t need permission to adore Jesus.

You don’t need the atmosphere to be right.

You don’t need everyone else to go first.

You are not called to read the temperature.

You are called to set it.

Worship is not about fitting in.

It’s about pouring out.

Loud.

Quiet.

On your face.

With tears in your eyes.

It’s between you and Him.

And sometimes the breakthrough in the room

is waiting on one person

brave enough

to go first.

Be that one.

[Natalie Breckenridge]

John 4:24 ... God is a Spirit: and they that worship him must worship him in spirit and in truth.

Psalm 29:2 ... Give unto the Lord the glory due unto his name; worship the Lord in the beauty of holiness.

Psalm 150:1 ... Praise ye the Lord. Praise God in his sanctuary: praise him in the firmament of his power. 

Psalm 134:2 ... Lift up your hands in the sanctuary, and bless the Lord. ❤

Swinnock Quotes

The world is a great inn where we are to stay a night; not a home where we are to dwell forever.

He who would not fall into the river of wickedness; must not come near the river's edge.

The more a man knows God, the more he abhors himself.

A little faith will take the soul to Heaven, but great faith will bring Heaven to the soul.

Sin is sweet in the mouth, but bitter in the belly.

Earthly comforts are sweet like honey; but if we feed on them immoderately, they will make us sick.

A holy heart is the garden where the flowers of grace grow.

The wicked man's prosperity is but a golden chain, to bind him to eternal misery.

Time is a most precious commodity; eternity depends on how it is spent.

The devil tempts us that he may ruin us; God tries us that He may crown us.

A holy heart is always a humble heart.

A little sin will damn a soul, if it is not pardoned.

Christ is the only remedy for a sin-sick soul.

Only the soul that sees the ugliness of his sin, will see the beauty of the Savior.

The Christian must look upon himself as a pilgrim, and the world as his road, not his rest.

Sin may please for a moment, but it will pain for an eternity.

Prayer is the key that opens the treasure-house of divine mercy.

A holy heart prefers Christ’s cross, to the world’s crown.

If you would not be condemned with the world, then you must not be conformed to the world.

The more we meditate on Heaven, the less we shall love earth.

[George Swinnock]

Unexpected Mercies

 The history of Israel is a series of surprises and unexpected mercies.

It has been even more so in the works of grace. See what God has done for us in His matchless mercy. After our first parents fell into sin, could any onlooking angel have imagined in all this, that God intended to display the greatness of His mercy, so that where sin abounded, grace should much more abound? Did any seraph ever imagine that the Son of God would come down to be born into this rebellious race? Did it ever enter into their conception, that He would die, the just for the unjust, to bring sinful men to God? Was it ever thought of, that wicked and rebellious men should be adopted into the family of God? This was an honor that we did not expect.

Moreover, God having made us to be His children, did we ever imagine that He would make us His heirs? Yet He says, "Now if we are children, then we are heirs of God and co-heirs with Christ." (Romans 8:17) Did it ever enter into an angel's mind, to conceive that every Christian would be married to Jesus, wedded to Him in bonds of everlasting love? Did it ever enter the dreams of any intelligent being, that God would lift up poor, fallen man to sit with Jesus on His throne in glory? This is astonishing!

When our Lord shall take us up into glory, how amazed we shall be! To talk about that glory now, ravishes us; but to be in it, flooded with it, filled with it, crowned with it--this will be overwhelming! Surely, we shall need stronger bodies and hearts, better than those which we now have more able to endure the far more exceeding and eternal weight of glory!

How is it that we continue to be surprised at what God does for those who love Him? Because our largest conceptions of God, fall short of the infinite reality. Ah, my brother, you do not know the heights and depths, the lengths and breadths of His wondrous love. God is infinite. We are as a tiny shell on the beach; we cannot hold the ocean, and therefore the measureless sea must always be a marvel to us.

Therefore, there must be in God's workings, a great deal yet to come of which poor, short-lived insects like us, can have no idea.

[Charles H. Surgeon]

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Colossians 3:4 ... When Christ, who is our life, shall appear, then shall ye also appear with him in glory.

Isaiah 64:3 ...  When thou didst terrible things which we looked not for, thou camest down, the mountains flowed down at thy presence.

Ephesians 3:20 ... Now unto him that is able to do exceeding abundantly above all that we ask or think, according to the power that worketh in us, ❤

On Our Way!!

He whose daily life is a fixing his eyes on Jesus, has Heaven on his way to Heaven!

[Henry Law]

Philippians 3:20 ... For our conversation is in heaven; from whence also we look for the Saviour, the Lord Jesus Christ: ❤

Don't Look Back!!

Fire was falling, mercy was moving, and deliverance had already been given. God had taken Lot and his family by the hand and pulled them out of a place that was moments away from judgment. The command was simple, clear, and urgent: do not look back. Yet, in one moment, one glance, one longing for what God had already called her out of, everything was lost. 

Luke 17:32 reminds us that Jesus himself gave the warning in the gospels: remember Lot's wife. Two words, not 'remember Sodom' or 'remember Lot,' but 'remember Lot's wife,' because her body left Sodom, but her heart did not. She was delivered physically, but she was still attached spiritually, and many are in that same place today. 

God brought you out of addiction, out of relationships, out of bondage, out of the sin that was slowly destroying your soul. He broke chains you could not break yourself, silenced voices that tormented you, and set you free, putting your feet on solid ground. But now, the enemy whispers, 'Just look back, just a small visit, just entertain it, just once.' But what you look back to, you will eventually walk back into, and what you walk back into can destroy you.

Genesis 19:26 says, 'But his wife looked back from behind, and she became a pillar of salt, a monument, a witness, a warning to every generation that would come after her.' God's grace delivered her, but her longing betrayed her. Here's the truth clearly: grace is not permission to return to what God saved you from; grace is the power to walk away and never go back. Many today want a watered-down message that makes room for the flesh, a message that says holiness is optional, a message that says you can live however you want and still walk in the fullness of God. But God's word has not changed. 

1 Peter 1:5-16 says, 'Be ye holy, for I am holy.' Holiness is not punishment; holiness is protection. It keeps you free, keeps your vision clear, and keeps your heart from hardening. The same God who calls you to holiness gives you his Spirit to help you walk in it. You were never meant to overcome the flesh alone. 

Galatians 5:16 says, 'Walk in the Spirit, and you will not fulfill the lust of the flesh.' Notice it didn't say you might not; it says you shall not, because the Spirit gives you power the flesh never had. The enemy wants you to believe you're missing something, but the truth is, you were dying there. God didn't bring you out to watch you go back; he brought you out to bring you into life, freedom, purity, and purpose. Sodom was behind her, safety was ahead of her, but she chose to look back. 

Jesus said, remember her, because in these last days, many who have been delivered will be tempted to return to old chains, old identities, old sin. But here's the truth: you are not who you were, you are not where you were, and there is nothing behind you worth losing your soul over. The fire is falling, mercy is still leading, but don't look back. 

[End Times Prophecy]

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You Will Be Damned if You Live in Sin!

We preach salvation by grace alone, but we do not preach the salvation of those who still continue to live in sin. The children of God are a holy people, washed, purged, sanctified, and made zealous for good works. He who talks about faith but has no works to prove that his faith is a living faith is simply lying. It is faith that saves us, not works but the faith that saves us, always produces a holy life. 

God-given faith always renews the heart, changes the character, and influences the desires and motives. One who merely professes to be a Christian but lives continually in unrepentant sin shows by his life that he is not a genuine believer. The New Testament consistently affirms that saving faith always produces holiness. (James 2:17; 1 John 2:3-6) Persistent, willful, unrepentant sin demonstrates that one's profession is false. 

No doubt about it, sirs. You may be baptized and re-baptized, you may attend to sacraments, and you may believe an orthodox creed; but you will be damned if you live in sin! You may become a deacon, or an elder, or a minister but there is no salvation for any man who still harbors his sins. "The wages of sin is death" (Romans 6:23) death to professors as well as to non-professors.  If you hug your sins in secret and will not part with them then God will reveal those sins in public and condemn you according to the strict justice of His Word. 

[Charles H. Spurgeon] 

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1 John 2:16-17 ... For all that is in the world, the lust of the flesh, and the lust of the eyes, and the pride of life, is not of the Father, but is of the world.  And the world passeth away, and the lust thereof: but he that doeth the will of God abideth for ever.

1 John 3:8-9 ... He that committeth sin is of the devil; for the devil sinneth from the beginning. For this purpose the Son of God was manifested, that he might destroy the works of the devil.  Whosoever is born of God doth not commit sin; for his seed remaineth in him: and he cannot sin, because he is born of God.

Titus 1:16 ... They profess that they know God; but in works they deny him, being abominable, and disobedient, and unto every good work reprobate. ❤

Brave!!

Lord, you make me brave, providing courage I don't naturally possess, giving me strength to face what terrifies me, enabling me to do what feels impossible.

I'm not brave on my own, fear is my default, anxiety is familiar, and left to myself I'd avoid, hide, or run from most of what You're asking me to do.

Teach me that bravery isn't the absence of fear but moving forward despite it, that You are making me brave doesn't mean I stop feeling afraid but that I act anyway.

You make me brave by being with me, by going ahead of me, by promising Your presence in whatever I'm facing, turning cowardice into courage through Your nearness.

Help me stop waiting to feel brave before I act and start trusting that You make me brave as I step forward, that courage comes in the doing, not before it.

Remind me that every brave thing I've ever done was because You made me brave, that it was Your strength in me, not mine, that got me through what I feared.

Give me courage for what's ahead today, bravery I don't feel yet, strength to face what scares me, knowing You make me brave when I need to be.

Let me live today as someone made brave by God, facing fears, taking risks, stepping forward, not because I'm naturally courageous but because You make me so.

Home - Faithful Grace

Psalm 27:14 ... Wait on the Lord: be of good courage, and he shall strengthen thine heart: wait, I say, on the Lord. ❤

The Ten-Cent Store Jesus ...

Unfortunately, the ten-cent-store Jesus being preached now by many is not the Jesus that will come to judge the world.

This harmless, plastic, painted Jesus who has no spine, nor justice, nor wrath but is a soft and pliant friend to everybody; if He is the only Christ, then we might as well close our Bibles, bar our doors and make a bakery or garage out of our church buildings!

The popular Christ being preached today is not the Christ of the Bible, nor the Christ who will be our final Judge.

Jesus Christ our Lord, the Judge with the flaming eyes is the one with whom we must deal. We cannot escape it.

[A. W. Tozer]

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Revelation 1:14-16 ... His head and his hairs were white like wool, as white as snow; and his eyes were as a flame of fire; And his feet like unto fine brass, as if they burned in a furnace; and his voice as the sound of many waters. And he had in his right hand seven stars: and out of his mouth went a sharp twoedged sword: and his countenance was as the sun shineth in his strength. 

Revelation 6:15-17 ... And the kings of the earth, and the great men, and the rich men, and the chief captains, and the mighty men, and every bondman, and every free man, hid themselves in the dens and in the rocks of the mountains; And said to the mountains and rocks, Fall on us, and hide us from the face of him that sitteth on the throne, and from the wrath of the Lamb: For the great day of his wrath is come; and who shall be able to stand? ❤

Refinement

 Refinement is not rejection.

It’s preparation.

We pray for growth.

We pray for influence.

We pray for impact.

But we don’t always pray for the fire.

Fire exposes impurities.

Fire burns off what can’t stay.

Fire reveals what’s real.

Gold doesn’t fear heat.

It becomes purer because of it.

If this season feels intense…

If the pressure feels higher…

If the testing feels deeper…

Maybe it’s not punishment.

Maybe it’s refinement.

God doesn’t waste fire.

He uses it.

And when this season is over,

you won’t look the same.

You’ll be stronger.

Clearer.

More anchored.

More surrendered.

[David Baugh]

Job 23:10 ... But he knoweth the way that I take: when he hath tried me, I shall come forth as gold.

1 Peter 1:7 ... That the trial of your faith, being much more precious than of gold that perisheth, though it be tried with fire, might be found unto praise and honour and glory at the appearing of Jesus Christ: ❤

Doggie Still Went!!

Dear friend, if you have been praying for a long time for the salvation of one who is near and dear to you, and your prayer has not been answered, and that person has even gone from bad to worse than I want you to never give up praying. Remember that Jesus can save any man, while he is yet out of Hell. No case is absolutely hopeless, while Jesus lives.

We sometimes meet with amazing instances where prayer is answered at last. I have read of a woman who prayed long for her unsaved husband. She used to attend a certain meeting-house in the north of England, but her husband never went with her. He was a drinking, swearing man, and she had much anguish of heart about him. She never ceased to pray, and yet she never saw any result. She went to the meetinghouse alone, and her dog always went with her. This faithful animal would curl himself up under her seat and lie quiet during the service.

When she was dead, her husband was still unsaved, but doggie still went to the meetinghouse. Curiosity made him follow the dog one Sunday. The dog led him down the aisle to the seat of his dear old mistress. The man sat on that seat, and the dog curled himself up as usual. God guided the minister that day; the Word came with power, and that man wept until he found the Savior.

Never give up hope for your loved ones; for the Lord may even use a dog to bring them to Jesus, when you are dead and gone. Never give up praying, hoping, and expecting.

Others have been converted to God under very extraordinary circumstances. Two vile fellows planned to rob the house of a minister, who was accustomed on Sunday evenings to gather people together in his parlor, and preach the gospel to them. The thieves thought that if they could get into the house with the people during the evening and hide themselves away then they could rob the house easily during the night; and so, they snuck into the room next to that in which the Word was being preached. But they never robbed that house, for through the godly minister's sermon, the Lord Jesus conquered their hearts, and they came forth to confess their sin, and to become followers of the Savior!

Let the same truth be fully believed as to yourselves. O my dear reader, you may think you have gone too far into sin to be saved, but you have not. You may imagine that your case is altogether hopeless; but you are just the sort of person that Jesus saves.

[Charles H. Spurgeon]

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1 Timothy 1:15 ...  This is a faithful saying, and worthy of all acceptation, that Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners; of whom I am chief.

Luke 5:32 ...  I came not to call the righteous, but sinners to repentance. ❤

Secret, Subtle, and Insinuating!!

The pride of the wicked is the principal reason why they will not seek after the knowledge of God. Pride renders God a disagreeable and undesirable object of contemplation, to the wicked.

Pride consists in an unduly exalted opinion of oneself. It is, therefore, impatient of a rival, hates a superior, and cannot endure a master!

In proportion as pride prevails in the heart, it makes us wish to see no God above us,

to acknowledge no law but our own wills, to follow no rule but our own inclinations. Thus, pride led Satan to rebel against his Creator; and our first parents to desire to be as gods.

Since such are the effects of pride, it is evident that nothing can be more painful to a proud heart, than the thoughts of such a being as God one who is infinitely powerful, just, and holy; one who can neither be resisted, deceived, nor deluded; one who disposes, according to His own sovereign pleasure, of all creatures and events;  one who, in an especial manner, hates pride, and is determined to abase and punish it! Such a being, the proud man can contemplate only with feelings of dread, aversion, and abhorrence! The proud man must look upon God as his natural enemy; his great enemy, whom he has to fear!

But the knowledge of God directly tends to bring this infinite, irresistible, irreconcilable Enemy fully to the view of the proud man. It teaches proud man that he has a superior, a master from whose authority he cannot escape, whose power he cannot resist, and whose will, he must obey or be crushed before Him and be rendered miserable forever! It shows proud man what he hates to see that, in despite of his opposition God's counsel shall stand, that God will do all His pleasure, and that in all things, God is above them.

These truths torture the proud unhumbled hearts of the wicked, and hence they hate that knowledge of God which teaches these truths and will not seek it. On the contrary, they wish to remain ignorant of such a being, and to banish all thoughts of Him from their minds!

They endeavor to believe that God is altogether such a one as themselves. How foolish, how absurd, how ruinous, how blindly destructive of itself does pride appear! By attempting to soar, pride only plunges itself in the mire! And while endeavoring to erect a throne for itself pride undermines the ground on which it stands and digs its own grave!

Pride plunged Satan from Heaven into Hell, banished our first parents from paradise, and will, in a similar manner, eternally ruin all who indulge in it!

Unrepented pride keeps us in ignorance of God, shuts us out from His favor, prevents us from resembling Him, deprives us in this world, of communion with Him, and will bar the door of Heaven forever against us, and close upon us the gates of Hell.

O then, my friends, beware, above all things, beware of pride! Beware, lest you indulge it imperceptibly, for it is the most secret, subtle, and insinuating of all sins!

[Edward Payson]

Psalm 10:4 ... The wicked, through the pride of his countenance, will not seek after God: God is not in all his thoughts.

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