Quote from Dan Smith

Dan Smith was a missionary to China beginning his service in the 1930s.  After recounting several stories about deliverance from poisonous snakes while on the mission field, he said this:

"All stories of snakes aptly tell something of the character of Satan, who is spoken of in scripture as, "that old serpent, which is the Devil, and Satan" (Rev. 20:2).  He wriggles his way into every place.  He is a master of disguise and deceit.  His power is mighty and malignant.  His fangs reach far and strike with lightening speed.  Its poison is fatal.  But his head was bruised by the Son of God, according to the first word addressed to him by God after his striking our first parents, that the Seed of the woman (Christ) "shall bruise thy head."  We can take comfort, then, and have courage.  The sure sentence of God has doomed the Devil to final destruction.  He will attack, threaten, and affright, but the Lord is our Shield and Defender."

~Pilgrim of the Heavenly Way, The Autobiography of Daniel Smith

Preached in San Antonio

Clint Leiter, Advice for Singles

Help in Temptation

This was an extremely helpful message!  It was encouraging in so many ways, especially in looking at the life of Christ and trusting that He has been through the trials that I must also pass through.  He can fully sympathize with me and is not insensitive to what I am struggling with.  It was also convicting seeing Christ overcome trials and temptations far greater than mine, and yet remain without sin.  Why do I cave so easily when I come up against adversity?  Why not struggle more fiercely as He did?  No matter what season of the Christian life you are in, this will prove so valuable.

Do All to the Glory of God

Today I came across this poem, and as a disclaimer I have no idea who the author is.  But it was a good reminder that no task, if done for the glory of God, is mundane.  As long as we are where God wants us to be, doing the work He wants us to do, there is no task too low for a Christian.

"...whatever you do, do all to the Glory of God."   1st Corinthians 10:31

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Jesus Savior, dost thou see

When I'm doing work for Thee?

Common things, not great and grand,

Carrying stones and earth and sand?

I did common work, you know,

Many, many years ago;

And I don't forget.  I see

Everything you do for Me.

~Author Unknown

Four Marriage Tips

High maintenance wives and low tolerance husbands can make for much "distress at the address."   While conflict resolution isn’t always possible in marriage, conflict diminution is.   Here are a few suggestions from the Apostle to husbands:

       First, in order for husbands to understand their wives, they must first undertake to live with them.   Desert lands and house corners (Prov. 21:9) may provide sanctuary when times are rough, but they’ll never produce understanding.   You must live with your wife -- eat her food, sleep in her bed, carry her groceries, put up with her quirks.   Our children will come and go, but our wives are a part of us (Eph. 5:28).

       Second, husbands must understand only their wife.   What makes someone else’s wife mad, sad, or glad is irrelevant.   Another man’s wife might be prettier, smarter, holier, more organized -- but those are not cisterns he drinks from (Prov. 5:15), nor chides his wife to become like.   He accepts her as she is -- not as he thinks she should be or once was.   A woman who marries thinking her husband will change, and a husband who marries thinking his wife never will, are in for an education.

       Third, understanding wives requires knowing they’re wired to think different.   A weaker vessel isn’t an inferior vessel; only a finer one.   Sterling crystal isn’t pewter.   If a husband can’t be gentle in his speaking and patient in his listening, then his prayers will be treated accordingly.   Hindered prayers come from hindered carefulness.

       Lastly, granting honor to wives controls granting answers to prayers.   The initiative in this granting is the husband’s.   He must promote the honoring, which means if there are conflicts, he should promote the reconciliation.   Christ did for His bride.

       How we live with our wives tells others how Christ lives with us -- a true husband who doesn’t live in a desert because of our astronomical maintenance.   He understands our frame, that we are but dust -- a dust cherished enough to die for (Eph. 5:25) and to be made a fellow heir with Him.

~The Bottom Line, by Mark LaCour

Maximum Growth

Tonight while praying with a friend, she said something that was really helpful to me.  She said "you have put us in this place, with these people, to produce the most growth possible at this point in our lives."  Of course I've thought about growth before and recognized that there are different degrees.  But this time it was made so fresh and real.  Thinking about God orchestrating circumstances and moving people in and out of my life in order to produce maximum growth is so precious to me.  It's such a testimony of His sovereignty.  And it creates such conviction when I'm not content with how things are.  If I could grow more as a married person, I would be married right now.  If I could grow more with pleasant coworkers, no more homework, and no spiritual struggles, then that's what my life would look like.  But God in His sovereignty has decided that I will grow more as a single girl with unpleasant coworkers, loads of homework, and a different spiritual struggle for each day of the week.  He decides how to fashion the right environment for my growth.  It is my responsibility to be content and to be eager for opportunities to continue growing.

Recovering Biblical Womanhood - Paul Washer

Psalm 92:12 & 13

"The righteous flourish like the palm tree and grow like a cedar in Lebanon. They are planted in the house of the Lord; they flourish in the courts of our God. They still bear fruit in old age; they are ever full of sap and green." I read these verses tonight and thought about what an important thing it is to always be seeking to grow and flourish. We should not fall so easily into complacency or stagnancy. Even for those who are "old" Christians, it is important that they still bear fruit.

A Command and a Promise

My cousin Nathan Rages preached this message in Kirksville today and joy was just radiating off of him. It was obvious that he delights himself in the Lord! His exhortation was to obey the command in the beginning of the verse, then reap the benefits of the promise at the end of verse.

The Compassion of God

Yesterday in my reading I was covering Psalm 78. This Psalm begins as if an older, wiser man was telling the younger generation a story. He begins with the glory and might of the Lord, telling how He "established a testimony in Jacob and appointed a law in Israel." (verse 5) He goes on to tell of the shortcomings of Israel in spite of God's goodness to them. They forgot His works, they sinned against Him repeatedly, they were terribly ungrateful, and they spoke against God. After a rather depressing start to the Psalm, a real blessing came to me when I reached a special phrase in verse 38. It says "Yet He, being compassionate, atoned for their iniquity and did not destroy them..." It was a perfect reminder of two very important things. First it was a reminder of what every Christian deserves. We deserve to be eternally punished for our iniquity by an infinite stream of destruction. We had offended a righteous God by repeating offenses without remorse. Here is the second reminder: He chose to be compassionate! He took totally undeserving sinners and looked on them with compassion. That compassion compelled Him to send His only and dearly beloved Son to atone for our iniquity. The depth of that compassion and mercy should never cease to overwhelm us. It should compel us to spend the rest of our lives serving a merciful, compassionate God. It should also drive us to tell the coming generations of the unmerited mercy that we have received at the hand of God.

The Living God

While browsing on the national geographic website I saw this photo of a Buddhist man carving an idol for himself. These verses came to my mind..."What profit is the idol when its maker has carved it, or an image, a teacher of falsehood? For its maker trusts in his own handiwork when he fashions speechless idols. Woe to him who says to a piece of wood, 'Awake!' To a mute stone, 'Arise!' And that is your teacher? Behold, it is overlaid with gold and silver, and there is no breath at all inside it." Habakkuk 2:18-19 "Beaten silver is brought from Tarshish, and gold from Uphaz, the work of a craftsman and of the hands of a goldsmith; violet and purple are their clothing; they are all the work of skilled men. But the Lord is the true God; He is the living God and the everlasting King." Jeremiah 10:9-10 What a privilege it is that we are no longer in darkness and idolatry, but know and serve the living God!

"More," by Stephen Gates

"Self Control", Sermon Excerpt

"Show me a man who is unwilling to exercise self-control and I’ll show you a man who is striding towards ruin. Self-control is a matter of the will. You purpose you will or you will not. That’s the distinction between self control or lack of it. Young people, the sooner you can learn this lesson, the better. It’s a valuable lesson that I would have to rank in the top five maybe of lessons of life to learn: Someones gonna be in charge, someones gonna give the orders. Is it going to be your body or is going to be your spirit? That is the essence of self-control and if it’s your body, then I say you’re on the road to ruin.

The Apostle Paul he didn’t sugar-coat it. Has anyone written more New Testament Scripture than the Apostle Paul? He was responsible for forming and expositing the doctrines, and yet he leaves the possibility open that if he does not discipline his body and make it his slave, he’s going to be, in the end, cast away regardless of how much preaching he’s done to others. That is a weighty statement.

2nd Timothy 3 describes those who are without self control, lovers of pleasure rather than lovers of God, and in the end they perish. They might hold to a form of godliness, but there’s no power in it; we’re talking about self-control here. It’s such an imperative that Jesus said, “If you’re going to be my disciple you’re going to have to daily deny yourself.” The sins of the flesh kill their thousands, but lack of self-control kills ten-thousands. Lack of self control is like a fountain head from which all other sins flow out of."

~Clint Leiter

What Jesus is to Me

Jesus my Redeemer,

My Treasure above all things,

My Father, Brother, Savior,

My Lord, my Love, my King,

My Refuge and my Stronghold,

My Help, My Hiding Place,

My Joy and my Sustainer,

My source of Hope and Grace,

My Promised One, Defender,

My Messiah, Prince of Peace,

My Lion and Protector,

My Perfect Righteousness,

My Way, My Truth, My Life,

My Shepherd, El Shaddai,

My Priest, My Shield, My Light,

My Friend, the Crucified.

Jesus' Notes of Encouragement

Tonight I read this little excerpt from a book about Amy Carmichael. I am sharing this with you all for two reasons. The first is because at the recent conference in Denton, TX a message was preached by Ryan Fullerton about the "worth of sinful men." (greatly impacting, do whatever you can to find it and listen!) The message was meant to show the great value of lost souls and to compel Christians to seek out the lost, treat them as Christ would have, and show them the Gospel through Christian love. That was Amy Carmichael's life-work.

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"In Amy's Bible, on a card pasted inside the front cover, are these words: 'These children are dear to Me. Be a mother to them, and more than a mother. Watch over them tenderly, be just and kind. If thy heart is not large enough to embrace them, I will enlarge it after a pattern of My own. If these young children are docile and obedient, bless Me for it; if they are froward, call upon Me for help; if they weary thee, I will be thy consolation; if thou sink under thy burden, I will be thy Reward.' The words are followed by a picture of the Shepherd, reaching for a lamb while a vulture hovers overhead."

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The second reason I share this is because I absolutely love that the card sounds as if Jesus wrote it Himself. I can picture Him quietly making His way to Amy's room and slipping the card under her door while she slept, so that she would find it there in the morning. Of course that didn't happen; she wrote it herself because He had revealed His vision to her and showed her the India Mission work from His perspective. But isn't that just how it feels when you receive something like that from the Lord? Some new lesson or fresh perspective, especially when it comes from His Word. It's like He wrote it just for you and left it where He knew you'd find it.

Matthew Henry's Daily Thoughts, April 27th

"We are likely to seek and find when we seek with affection and seek in tears. But many believers complain of the clouds and darkness they are under, which are methods of grace for humbling their souls, mortifying their sins, and endearing Christ to them. A sight of angels and their smiles will not suffice without a sight of Jesus, and God's smiles in Him. None know, but those who have tasted it, the sorrows of a deserted soul, which has had comfortable evidences of the love of God in Christ, and hopes of heaven, but has now lost them, and walks in darkness; such a wounded spirit who can bear? Christ, in manifesting himself to those that seek him, often outdoes their expectations. See how Mary's heart was in earnest to find Jesus. Christ's way of making Himself known to His people is by His word; His word applied to their souls, speaking to them in particular."

"Taste and see that the Lord is good." Psalm 34:1

Building a Godly Life

"Godly life is not built in a day, a year, or a single event, but by the daily practice of prayer and renewing the mind in the Word of God." ~Paul Washer

We Have An Anchor

"We are in this world as a ship at sea, tossed up and down, and in danger of being cast away. We need an anchor to keep us sure and steady. Gospel hope is our anchor in the storms of this world. It is sure and steadfast, or it could not keep us so." ~Matthew Henry

Running the Race

"But you are a chosen race, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, a people for his own possession, that you may proclaim the excellence of him who called you out of darkness into his marvelous light." 1st Peter 2:9

As the traveler, the racer, the warrior, and the laborer, gathered in their long and loose garments, that they might be ready in their business, so let Christians do by their minds and affections. Be sober, be watchful against all spiritual dangers and enemies, and be temperate in all behavior. Be sober-minded in opinion, as well as in practice, and humble in your judgment of yourselves. The best Christians have need to be exhorted to sobriety. These excellent Christians are put in mind of it; it is required of a bishop, of aged men, the young women are to be taught it, and the young men are directed to be sober-minded (Titus 2:4-6). A Christian's work is not over as soon as he has got into a state of grace; he must still hope and strive for more grace. When he has entered the strait gate, he must still walk in the narrow way, and gird up the loins of his mind for that purpose. A strong and perfect trust in the grace of God is agreeable with best endeavors in our duty. Holiness is the desire and duty of every Christian. It must be in all affairs, in every condition, and towards all people. We must especially watch and pray against the sins to which we are inclined. The written word of God is the surest rule of a Christian's life, and by this rule we are commanded to be holy every way. God makes those holy whom he saves.

~Matthew Henry's Daily Thoughts

Make It Your Aim to Fear God - Tim Conway

Ways We Waste Our Marriage

I recently listened to this message by Don Currin which was preached at the February Bentley Camp and it is so good! Even though I'm single there were a lot of lessons learned from it, and a lot of these things can be applied to other relationships besides marriage. I can only imagine how helpful it would be to those of you who are already married. Please make time to listen to it....you won't regret it.

http://www.sermonaudio.com/sermoninfo.asp?SID=213111351128

Perspective on Prosperity

While reading this week I came upon Psalm 1:3 which says..."He (the righteous man) is like a tree planted by streams of water that yields its fruit in its season, and its leaf does not wither. In all that he does, he prospers." For some reason this was much more impacting than it has ever been for me. In all that he does? That statement sounds too good to be true! But then I began to think about what prosperity really is. Webster's dictionary defines prosperity as "the condition of being successful or thriving." It adds that this is usually economical, but not always. When most of us hear the word "prosperity" we do think economics. We picture someone with plenty of money in the savings, two nice cars in the garage, a comfortable home, a booming business, etc. But why don't we think on a deeper level? Why don't we think of prosperity in terms of spiritual thriving? That is what this verse is talking about. Here is spiritual prosperity: 1) Draw all nourishment from the stream of living water, 2) Continue to yield up your fruit in season, and 3) Separate yourself from anything that might cause you to wither. Abiding by these things will cause your soul to thrive and God will bless you with spiritual, eternal prosperity.

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Blessed state! and happy he
Who is like that planted tree;
Living waters bathe its root,
Bends its bough with golden fruit.

When the seedling from its bed
First lifts up its timid head,
Ministry of thine must give,
All on which its life can live.

Showers from thee must bid it thrive,
Breath of thine must oft revive;
Life from thee its bloom supplies,-
Left by thee it fades and dies.

Thine, O Lord, the power and praise!
Which a sight like this displays;
Power of thine must plant it there,
Praise of thee it should declare.

~M. B. Barton

Count it All Joy...

"Count it all joy, my brothers, when you meet trials of various kinds..." James 1:2

"Philosophy may instruct men to be calm under their troubles, but Christianity teaches them to be joyful because such exercises proceed from love and not fury in God. In them we are conformable to Christ our head, and they become marks of our adoption. By suffering in the ways of righteousness, we are serving the interests of our Lord's kingdom among men, and edifying the body of Christ; and our trials will brighten our graces now and our crown at the last." ~Matthew Henry

The Virtuous Woman

A virtuous woman is a woman of spirit, who has the command of her own spirit and knows how to manage her affairs, one that is pious and industrious, and a help meet for a man. A virtuous woman is a woman of resolution, who, having espoused good principles, is firm and steady to them, and will not be frightened with winds and clouds from any part of her duty. The difficulty of meeting with such a one: "Who can find her?" This intimates that good women are very scarce, and many that seem to be so do not prove so; he that thinks he has found a virtuous woman may be deceived. But he that designs to marry ought to seek diligently for such a one, to have this principally in his eye, in all his enquiries, and to take heed that he be not biased by beauty or elegance, wealth or parentage, dressing well or dancing well; for all these may be and yet the woman not be virtuous, and there is many a woman truly virtuous who yet is not recommended by these advantages. The unspeakable worth of such a one, and the value which he that has such a wife ought to put upon her, showing it by his thankfulness to God and his kindness and respect to her, whom he must never think he can do too much for. Her price is far above rubies, and all the rich ornaments with which vain women adorn themselves. The more rare such good wives are, the more they are to be valued.

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Well girls, here is the standard we are to live up to, according to Matthew Henry. It's a high one, and only the Lord's help can cause anyone to attain it.

Spiritual Warfare

Today I was thinking about spiritual warfare comparing it to earthly warfare. In earthly warfare it is possible to lose many battles, yet still win the war. This is made possible not simply by winning more battles, but instead by winning the right battles. In spiritual warfare even though a battle may seem lost, it may not be. Imagine that you have prayed and hoped for something that did not come to pass. Does that mean that a battle has been lost? Imagine that a dear Christian was martyred for their faith. Is that a battle lost? I don't believe so. If God is sovereign, in complete control, and does all things well, then there is no true loss. He cannot lose a battle! How wonderful it is to have a God on our side who is incapable of losing. In fact, because of Him, the war is as good as won.

• For the Lord your God is he who goes with you to fight for you against your enemies, to give you the victory. Deuteronomy 20:4
• Who is this King of Glory? The Lord, strong and mighty, the Lord, mighty in battle! Psalm 24:8
• He redeems my soul in safety from the battle that I wage, for many are arrayed against me. Psalm 55:18
• The horse is made ready for the day of battle, but the victory belongs to the Lord. Proverbs 21:31
• The sound of tumult is on the mountains as of a great multitude! The sound of an uproar of kingdoms, of nations gathering together! The Lord of hosts is mustering a host for battle. Isaiah 13:4
• From [Judah] shall come the corner stone, from him the tent peg, from him the battle bow, from him every ruler--all of them together. They shall be like mighty men in battle, trampling the foe in the mud of the streets; they shall fight because the Lord is with them, and they shall put to shame the riders on horses. Zechariah 10:4&5
• For though we walk in the flesh, we are not waging war according to the flesh. For the weapons of our warfare are not of the flesh but have divine power to destroy strongholds. 2nd Corinthians 10:3&4
• For everyone who has been born of God overcomes the world. And this is the victory that has overcome the world--our faith. 1st John 5:4

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Some famous quotes that can be applied to spiritual warfare:

• You can't simultaneously prevent and prepare for war. ~Einstein
• It is fatal to enter any war without the will to win it. ~General Douglas MacArthur
• The art of war is simple enough. Find out where the enemy is. Get at him as soon as you can. Strike him as hard as you can, and keep moving. ~Ulysses S. Grant
• Victory at all costs, victory in spite of all terror, victory however long and hard the road may be; for without victory there is no survival. ~Winston Churchill

Year-End Provision for Heart Cry

http://vimeo.com/19031755

This is an amazing account of what the Lord did for Heart Cry Missionary Society on the last day of year 2010. Please pray for their efforts and the missionaries they support.

A Living and Holy Sacrifice

Eternity Minded

"All that pleases is but for a moment; all that grieves is but for a moment; nothing is important but that which is eternal." ~Unknown

Elisabeth Elliot Quote

"Faith does not eliminate questions, but Faith knows where to take them."

The Unconditional Love of Christ

Power of Resurrection

"That power which brought such a world as this out of confusion, emptiness, and darkness, at the beginning of time, can, at the end of time, bring our vile bodies out of the grave, though it is "a land of gloom like thick darkness, like deep shadow without any order" (Job 10:22), and can make them glorious bodies." ~Matthew Henry