Biblical Love Is Demonstrative John 3:16-17 Romans 5:6-8 1 Corinthians 13:4-8 Ruth 1:16-18 John 15:12-13 1 John 3:16-18 1 John 4:7-11 1 Corinthian 13:13 07.31.20

BIBLICAL LOVE IS DEMONSTRATIVE

BREAD

¹⁶ “For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life. ¹⁷ For God did not send his Son into the world to condemn the world, but to save the world through him.”  John 3:16-17 (NIV)

⁶ You see, at just the right time, when we were still powerless, Christ died for the ungodly. ⁷ Very rarely will anyone die for a righteous man, though for a good man someone might possibly dare to die. ⁸ But God demonstrates his own love for us in this: While we were still sinners, Christ died for us.  Romans 5:6-8 (NIV)

⁴ Love is patient, love is kind. It does not envy, it does not boast, it is not proud. ⁵ It is not rude, it is not self-seeking, it is not easily angered, it keeps no record of wrongs. ⁶ Love does not delight in evil but rejoices with the truth. ⁷ It always protects, always trusts, always hopes, always perseveres. ⁸ Love never fails.  1 Corinthians 13:4-8 (NIV)

¹⁶ But Ruth replied, “Don't urge me to leave you or to turn back from you. Where you go I will go, and where you stay I will stay. Your people will be my people and your God my God. ¹⁷ Where you die I will die, and there I will be buried. May the LORD deal with me, be it ever so severely, if anything but death separates you and me.” ¹⁸ When Naomi realized that Ruth was determined to go with her, she stopped urging her.  Ruth 1:16-18 (NIV)

¹² “My command is this: Love each other as I have loved you. ¹³ Greater love has no one than this, that he lay down his life for his friends.”   John 15:12-13 (NIV)

¹⁶ This is how we know what love is: Jesus Christ laid down his life for us. And we ought to lay down our lives for our brothers. ¹⁷ If anyone has material possessions and sees his brother in need but has no pity on him, how can the love of God be in him? ¹⁸ Dear children, let us not love with words or tongue but with actions and in truth.  1 John 3:16-18 (NIV)

⁷ Dear friends, let us love one another, for love comes from God. Everyone who loves has been born of God and knows God. ⁸ Whoever does not love does not know God, because God is love. ⁹ This is how God showed his love among us: He sent his one and only Son into the world that we might live through him. ¹⁰ This is love: not that we loved God, but that he loved us and sent his Son as an atoning sacrifice for our sins. ¹¹ Dear friends, since God so loved us, we also ought to love one another.  1 John 4:7-11 (NIV)

¹³ And now these three remain: faith, hope and love. But the greatest of these is love.  1 Corinthians 13:13 (NIV)

BUTTER

“You can give without loving, but you cannot love without giving.”  Amy Carmichael

“‘The supreme happiness of life,’ Victor Hugo said, ‘is the conviction that we are loved’….Unfortunately, many people go through life feeling unloved – and unlovable…No matter the reason, your feelings aren’t telling you the truth!  God loves you, and if you begin to see yourself the way God sees you, your attitudes will begin to change.  If He didn’t love you, would Christ have been willing to die for you?  But He did!  The Bible says, ‘By this we know love, because He laid down His life for us’ (1 John 3:16).  God loves you.  Hammer that truth into your head and mind every day.  It will make all the difference.”    Billy Graham

“Obedience to God is the most infallible evidence of sincere and supreme love for Him.”   Nathanael Emmons

“Love seeks one thing only:  the good of the one loved.”   Thomas Merton

“Remember that when you leave this earth, you can take with you nothing that you have received -- only what you have given: a full heart enriched by honest service, love, sacrifice and courage.”  St. Francis of Assisi

“To love God, to serve Him because we love Him, is…our highest happiness…Love makes all labor light.  We serve with enthusiasm where we love with sincerity.”   Hannah More

“Our Lord does not care so much for the importance of our works as for the love with which they are done.”   Teresa of Avila

“God is love — thus only He gets to define love.  And He defines love as cross-shaped, cross-formed, stretched out, formed into a reaching givenness that leaves the heart breathtakingly vulnerable.”   Ann Voskamp

“Human love is capable of great things.  What then must be the depth and height and intensity of divine love?”   Lord Shaftesbury

“‘We know that all things work together for good to them that love God.’ The Christian does not merely hold this as a theory, but he knows it as a matter of fact. Everything has worked for good as yet; the poisonous drugs mixed in fit proportions have worked the cure; the sharp cuts of the lancet have cleansed out the proud flesh and facilitated the healing. Every event as yet has worked out the most divinely blessed results; and so, believing that God rules all, that He governs wisely, that He brings good out of evil, the believer’s heart is assured, and he is enabled calmly to meet each trial as it comes. The believer can in the spirit of true resignation pray, ‘Send me what thou wilt, my God, so long as it comes from Thee; never came there an ill portion from Thy table to any of Thy children.’”   C. H. Spurgeon

“God commanded Abraham to sacrifice his son at a place three days distant. The word ‘love’ appears for the first time in the Bible in that command. Of course He didn’t allow him to go through with it. On the third day Abraham retained his son alive.  Two thousand years later on the day Israel celebrated the sparing of sons Jesus of Nazareth was executed by slow torture.  Maybe God wanted Abraham to exhibit a pattern. Maybe He wanted to teach a principle. Or maybe God wanted Abraham to know what it felt like to be God.  Instead of slaying his son Abraham sacrificed a ram. He was able to catch the animal because his horns were entangled in the thicket.  CAUGHT BY A CROWN OF THORNS. There were lots of startling coincidences like that.  It's almost as if the thing were planned…”  Ronnie Stevens

HEART SAVOR

·         God so loved the world that He gave.

·         Christ gave all for us.

·         Love sacrifices for the beloved.

Do Not Lose Heart 2 Corinthians 4:16-18 Luke 18:1-8 Isaiah 40:28-31 Romans 12:11-12 Psalms 103:1-5 2 Corinthians 1:8-11 Romans 15:3 07.29.20

DO NOT LOSE HEART

BREAD

¹⁶ Therefore we do not lose heart. Though outwardly we are wasting away, yet inwardly we are being renewed day by day. ¹⁷ For our light and momentary troubles are achieving for us an eternal glory that far outweighs them all. ¹⁸ So we fix our eyes not on what is seen, but on what is unseen. For what is seen is temporary, but what is unseen is eternal. 2 Corinthians 4:16-18 (NIV)

¹ Then Jesus told his disciples a parable to show them that they should always pray and not give up. ² He said: “In a certain town there was a judge who neither feared God nor cared about men. ³ And there was a widow in that town who kept coming to him with the plea, ‘Grant me justice against my adversary.’  ⁴ “For some time he refused. But finally he said to himself, ‘Even though I don’t fear God or care about men, ⁵ yet because this widow keeps bothering me, I will see that she gets justice, so that she won't eventually wear me out with her coming!’”  ⁶ And the Lord said, “Listen to what the unjust judge says. ⁷ And will not God bring about justice for his chosen ones, who cry out to him day and night? Will he keep putting them off? ⁸ I tell you, he will see that they get justice, and quickly. However, when the Son of Man comes, will he find faith on the earth?”  Luke 18:1-8 (NIV)

²⁸ Do you not know?  Have you not heard?  The LORD is the everlasting God, the Creator of the ends of the earth.  He will not grow tired or weary, and his understanding no one can fathom. ²⁹ He gives strength to the weary and increases the power of the weak. ³⁰ Even youths grow tired and weary, and young men stumble and fall; ³¹ but those who hope in the LORD will renew their strength.  They will soar on wings like eagles; they will run and not grow weary, they will walk and not be faint.  Isaiah 40:28-31 (NIV)

¹¹ Never be lacking in zeal, but keep your spiritual fervor, serving the Lord. ¹² Be joyful in hope, patient in affliction, faithful in prayer.  Romans 12:11-12 (NIV)

¹ Praise the LORD, O my soul; all my inmost being, praise his holy name. ² Praise the LORD, O my soul, and forget not all his benefits-- ³ who forgives all your sins and heals all your diseases, ⁴ who redeems your life from the pit and crowns you with love and compassion, ⁵ who satisfies your desires with good things so that your youth is renewed like the eagle’s.  Psalms 103:1-5 (NIV)

⁸ We do not want you to be uninformed, brothers, about the hardships we suffered in the province of Asia. We were under great pressure, far beyond our ability to endure, so that we despaired even of life. ⁹ Indeed, in our hearts we felt the sentence of death. But this happened that we might not rely on ourselves but on God, who raises the dead. ¹⁰ He has delivered us from such a deadly peril, and he will deliver us. On him we have set our hope that he will continue to deliver us, ¹¹ as you help us by your prayers. Then many will give thanks on our behalf for the gracious favor granted us in answer to the prayers of many.  2 Corinthians 1:8-11 (NIV)

¹³ May the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace as you trust in him, so that you may overflow with hope by the power of the Holy Spirit.  Romans 15:13 (NIV)

BUTTER

“At any given time, things can look very discouraging. Our vantage point is always very limited. Depending on when and where we’re living, it can appear as if satanic evil is going to defeat God’s good. But don’t lose heart. Don’t forget the storyline. There’s a bigger story playing out than just the one we’re watching.”  Jon Bloom

“Indeed, we are treasures in fragile jars of clay. We do not lose heart, because in comparison to ‘the weight of glory’ that awaits us in the New Heaven and the New Earth, even our permanent afflictions are made temporary, and are heaviest burdens are lightened. For the things that we see and experience now—things like diving accidents and car crashes and wheelchairs—are temporary. And the things that we do not yet see or experience—things like renewed bodies and perfect souls and youthfulness that is renewed and will soar like the wings of an eagle—these things are eternal (2 Corinthians 4:7-18, 12:7-10; Isaiah 40:28-31).”   Scott Sauls

“In the wait, whatever you lose, don’t lose heart — you never lose what lasts forever. You’ve got to believe it: whatever is being lost momentarily, more is being gained eternally.  In the wait, if you shift the way you see — and see that the wait could make you into the person you’ve been waiting to become.  If you’re waiting on God — do what waiters do: serve.  In serving, you are served a feast of what you’re longing for.  Because the One who loves you steadfastly, stood fast at the cross for you, so now stand fast for Him.”   Ann Voskamp

“God has willed that we should seek him and find his living word in the witness of a brother, in the mouth of a man. Therefore, a Christian needs another Christian who speaks God’s word to him. He needs him again and again when he becomes uncertain and discouraged, for by himself he cannot help himself without belying the truth. He needs his brother man as a bearer and proclaimer of the divine word of salvation.”  Dietrich Bonhoeffer

“If we are consistent men and women who take God at His word, who believe that prayer changes things, who will pray without ceasing, who will not lose heart at our praying, who day after day will pray no matter what seems to be happening around us, who keep trusting God, then there will come a time when God will say, ‘I can answer that believer's prayer because that's a person who can handle the answer.’”   David Jeremiah 

“Be not discouraged, weak Christians, if you meet with hardship from the world, and find reproaches for your services; the Lord will reward you.  He will not despise the day of small things.”  Thomas Brooks

“Watch over thy child, O Lord, as his days increase; bless and guide him wherever he may be, keeping him unspotted from the world. Strengthen him when he stands; comfort him when discouraged or sorrowful; raise him up if he fall; and in his heart may thy peace which passeth understanding abide all the days of his life; through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.”    Thomas Cranmer

“God knows what the end will be, and He promises that He, who began a good work in us, will complete it until the day of Jesus Christ.  Regardless of what the enemy threats might be, regardless of how discouraged you may feel, God knows if we stay faithful, we stay focused. God has called each of us to do great work.  You have been called to the kingdom for such a time as this.  Do you know what that is?  Are you focused on it?  Are you trusting in the One that began this work in you who says He will complete it?  And we focus on Jesus, the Author and Finisher of our faith.  That’s how we know we can do this great work. We can stay focused, and we can believe that God will do what He said He will. And when some try to dishearten you, stay firm.  His word is true, and His word is true to us today.”  Cathe Laurie

“Are you fighting with the adversary today?  Are Satan, the world, and the flesh, all against you?  Be not discouraged nor dismayed.  Fight on!  For God Himself is with you; Jehovah Nissi is your banner, and Jehovah Rophi is the healer of your wounds.  Fear not, you shall overcome, for who can defeat Omnipotence?  Fight on, ‘looking unto Jesus;’ and though long and stern be the conflict, sweet will be the victory, and glorious the promised reward.”   Charles H. Spurgeon

HEART SAVOR

• ·         We do not lose heart by fixing our eyes on Jesus the Author and Perfecter of our faith.
• ·         “No good thing does He withhold from those whose walk in blameless.”  Psalms 84:11B
• ·         “He will not let your foot slip.”  Psalms 121:3A  

Christian Beware Of Ease Proverbs 30:7-9 Deuteronomy 6:10-12 Deuteronomy 8:10-14 Hosea 13:4-6 Luke 12:16-21 Revelation 3:15-20 1 Peter 5:8 07.27.20

CHRISTIAN BEWARE OF EASE

⁷ “Two things I ask of you, O LORD; do not refuse me before I die: ⁸ Keep falsehood and lies far from me; give me neither poverty nor riches, but give me only my daily bread. ⁹ Otherwise, I may have too much and disown you and say, ‘Who is the LORD?’ Or I may become poor and steal, and so dishonor the name of my God.  Proverbs 30:7-9 (NIV)

¹⁰ When the LORD your God brings you into the land he swore to your fathers, to Abraham, Isaac and Jacob, to give you--a land with large, flourishing cities you did not build, ¹¹ houses filled with all kinds of good things you did not provide, wells you did not dig, and vineyards and olive groves you did not plant--then when you eat and are satisfied, ¹² be careful that you do not forget the LORD, who brought you out of Egypt, out of the land of slavery.  Deuteronomy 6:10-12 (NIV)

¹⁰ When you have eaten and are satisfied, praise the LORD your God for the good land he has given you. ¹¹ Be careful that you do not forget the LORD your God, failing to observe his commands, his laws and his decrees that I am giving you this day. ¹² Otherwise, when you eat and are satisfied, when you build fine houses and settle down, ¹³ and when your herds and flocks grow large and your silver and gold increase and all you have is multiplied, ¹⁴ then your heart will become proud and you will forget the LORD your God, who brought you out of Egypt, out of the land of slavery.  Deuteronomy 8:10-14 (NIV)

⁴ “But I am the LORD your God, [who brought you] out of Egypt. You shall acknowledge no God but me, no Savior except me. ⁵ I cared for you in the desert, in the land of burning heat.  ⁶ When I fed them, they were satisfied; when they were satisfied, they became proud; then they forgot me.   Hosea 13:4-6 (NIV)

¹⁶ And he told them this parable: “The ground of a certain rich man produced a good crop. ¹⁷ He thought to himself, ‘What shall I do? I have no place to store my crops.’  ¹⁸ Then he said, ‘This is what I’ll do. I will tear down my barns and build bigger ones, and there I will store all my grain and my goods.’ ¹⁹ And I’ll say to myself, ‘You have plenty of good things laid up for many years. Take life easy; eat, drink and be merry.’  ²⁰ But God said to him, ‘You fool! This very night your life will be demanded from you. Then who will get what you have prepared for yourself?’  ²¹ This is how it will be with anyone who stores up things for himself but is not rich toward God.”  Luke 12:16-21 (NIV)

¹⁵ “I know your deeds, that you are neither cold nor hot. I wish you were either one or the other! ¹⁶ So, because you are lukewarm--neither hot nor cold--I am about to spit you out of my mouth. ¹⁷ You say, ‘I am rich; I have acquired wealth and do not need a thing.’ But you do not realize that you are wretched, pitiful, poor, blind and naked. ¹⁸ I counsel you to buy from me gold refined in the fire, so you can become rich; and white clothes to wear, so you can cover your shameful nakedness; and salve to put on your eyes, so you can see. ¹⁹ Those whom I love I rebuke and discipline. So be earnest, and repent. ²⁰ Here I am! I stand at the door and knock. If anyone hears my voice and opens the door, I will come in and eat with him, and he with me.”   Revelation 3:15-20 (NIV)

⁸ Be self-controlled and alert. Your enemy the devil prowls around like a roaring lion looking for someone to devour. 1 Peter 5:8 (NIV)

BUTTER

“How often have we seen the Christian rendered obedient to the Lord’s will by the absence of bread and the presence of difficulty. When rich and increased in goods, many professors carry their heads much too loftily and speak exceeding boastfully. Like David, they flatter themselves: ‘My mountain stands firm; I shall never be moved.’”    C. H. Spurgeon revised by Alistair Begg

“Do not pray for easy lives; pray to be stronger people! Do not pray for tasks equal to your powers; pray for powers equal to your tasks.”  Phillips Brooks

“In these days of easy-going Christianity, is it not well to remind ourselves that it really does cost to be a man or woman whom God can use?  One cannot obtain a Christlike character for nothing; one cannot do a Christlike work save at great price.  ‘Can ye drink of the cup that I drink of, and be baptized with the baptism wherewith I am baptized?’”   Dr. & Mrs. Howard Taylor

“Losses in business are often sanctified to our soul’s enriching. If the chosen soul will not come to the Lord full-handed, it shall come empty. If God, in His grace, finds no other means of making us honor Him among men, He will cast us into the deep; if we fail to honor Him on the pinnacle of riches, He will bring us into the valley of poverty. Yet do not faint, heir of sorrow, when you are rebuked in this fashion; rather, recognize the loving hand that chastens and say, ‘I will arise and go to my Father.’”  C. H. Spurgeon revised by Alistair Begg

“Temptation comes in attractive packages. Satan makes bad things look good. He makes wicked things look appealing and makes deadly things look like they’ll be the best experience you’ve ever had.  He’s a liar. And he’ll do whatever he needs to do to pull you down.”  Greg Laurie

“Popularity and adulation can be far more dangerous for the Christian than persecution.   Unfortunately, it is easy when all goes well to lose our sense of balance and our perspective.  We must learn like Paul ‘how to abound’ and ‘how to be abased.’”  Billy Graham 

“God refines us in the fire. The flames in our life sanctify us and draw us to God in ways that nothing else can. We emerge with a stronger faith and an unrivalled dependence on him. But the process isn’t easy. The furnace contains treasures I can’t find elsewhere.”   Vaneetha Risner

“You can learn a lot about a man by what he groans after. Some men groan after wealth—they worship money; some groan continually under the troubles of life—they are merely impatient. But the man who sighs after God, who is uneasy until he is made like Christ—that is the blessed man. May God help us to groan for the coming of the Lord and the resurrection that He will bring to us.”  C. H. Spurgeon revised by Alistair Begg

“If you would grow into the beauty of the Master, you must accept the conflicts, and fight the battles. You can live easy if you will, by declining every struggle — but you will then get little out of life which is truly noble and worthy. The best things all come after the battle — you must fight your way across the field to get them. Heaven is only for those who overcome. No one gets the crown — without the conflict!”   J R Miller

“Never tire of doing what is right.  Live a life acutely aware of the brevity of it.  We are indeed but a mist.  And we will have all eternity to be in bliss.  Seek not to pander the flesh but to promote self-discipline, placing a priority of love on those in your spheres – especially those in your own household.  We often miss so many God given opportunities when indulging our worldly wants.  Denial of the flesh – choosing God’s will over my own - is never easy, often misunderstood but always worth it.  His way is higher, better, more beneficial and pleasing to the soul though often unutterably difficult.  In the end, it produces a life of righteousness and peace for those who have been trained by it.”  BHY

“Gratitude, in spite of all circumstance turns our broken and beat up hearts back to the safe place of faith in the Giver.  It’s not easy, but it’s worth it.”   Ann Voskamp

“The Lord taught me how to sigh in pain, how to weep in gladness, and how to trust during days of hope deferred.  It was not an easy road to walk. It still isn’t easy, and it isn’t safe.  Rather, it is a confounding country full of myths and mirages. Here, faith resembles denial, settledness looks like surrender, and hope is the scariest creature of all. If you are with me here in this land, you know all about discouragement.  But look up, friend. The path before us is paved with secret riches.  To embrace it is to embrace the terrifying tension of God’s inaugurated but unfinished Kingdom: the already and the not yet, the treasure in the field, costing us everything but giving us even more.  It is the place where I thank God for my son, who is enough, and in the next breath, I beg God for more.  The road ahead is dangerous but not barren.  There is sustenance here, because Christ Himself is here, and He goes before us.  He walked this path already, this Man of Sorrows, and endured all that we must endure and more.  But He did it all for the joy set before Him.  In the land of unanswered prayer, we follow His lead.  He does not hover above us on the winds of false expectations.  Rather, He stands next to us with His own humble scars, beckoning us forward.”  Jason Hague

HEART SAVOR

·         It is often in the plenty that we are in the greatest need.

·         When we walk the difficult through the power of the Spirit we become “oaks of righteousness, plantings of the Lord for the display of His splendor.”  Isaiah 61

·         There are treasures in the darkness that are not disclosed in the ease.  Sadly, we are much too busy in the frivolous wasteland of plenty.

Out Of The Iron Smelting Furnace 1 Kings 8:46-51 Romans 1:28-32 1 Corinthians 6:9-11 Romans 5:6-11 2 Corinthians 5:17-21 07.24.20

OUT OF THE IRON SMELTING FURNACE

BREAD

⁴⁶ “When they sin against you--for there is no one who does not sin--and you become angry with them and give them over to the enemy, who takes them captive to his own land, far away or near; ⁴⁷ and if they have a change of heart in the land where they are held captive, and repent and plead with you in the land of their conquerors and say, ‘We have sinned, we have done wrong, we have acted wickedly’; ⁴⁸ and if they turn back to you with all their heart and soul in the land of their enemies who took them captive, and pray to you toward the land you gave their fathers, toward the city you have chosen and the temple I have built for your Name; ⁴⁹ then from heaven, your dwelling place, hear their prayer and their plea, and uphold their cause. ⁵⁰ And forgive your people, who have sinned against you; forgive all the offenses they have committed against you, and cause their conquerors to show them mercy; ⁵¹ for they are your people and your inheritance, whom you brought out of Egypt, out of that iron-smelting furnace.”  1 Kings 8:46-51 (NIV)

²⁸ Furthermore, since they did not think it worthwhile to retain the knowledge of God, he gave them over to a depraved mind, to do what ought not to be done. ²⁹ They have become filled with every kind of wickedness, evil, greed and depravity. They are full of envy, murder, strife, deceit and malice. They are gossips, ³⁰ slanderers, God-haters, insolent, arrogant and boastful; they invent ways of doing evil; they disobey their parents; ³¹ they are senseless, faithless, heartless, ruthless. ³² Although they know God's righteous decree that those who do such things deserve death, they not only continue to do these very things but also approve of those who practice them.  Romans 1:28-32 (NIV)

⁹ Do you not know that the wicked will not inherit the kingdom of God? Do not be deceived: Neither the sexually immoral nor idolaters nor adulterers nor male prostitutes nor homosexual offenders ¹⁰ nor thieves nor the greedy nor drunkards nor slanderers nor swindlers will inherit the kingdom of God. ¹¹ And that is what some of you were. But you were washed, you were sanctified, you were justified in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ and by the Spirit of our God. 1 Corinthians 6:9-11 (NIV)

⁶ You see, at just the right time, when we were still powerless, Christ died for the ungodly. ⁷ Very rarely will anyone die for a righteous man, though for a good man someone might possibly dare to die. ⁸ But God demonstrates his own love for us in this: While we were still sinners, Christ died for us. ⁹ Since we have now been justified by his blood, how much more shall we be saved from God’s wrath through him! ¹⁰ For if, when we were God’s enemies, we were reconciled to him through the death of his Son, how much more, having been reconciled, shall we be saved through his life! ¹¹ Not only is this so, but we also rejoice in God through our Lord Jesus Christ, through whom we have now received reconciliation.  Romans 5:6-11 (NIV)

¹⁷ Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation; the old has gone, the new has come! ¹⁸ All this is from God, who reconciled us to himself through Christ and gave us the ministry of reconciliation: ¹⁹ that God was reconciling the world to himself in Christ, not counting men’s sins against them. And he has committed to us the message of reconciliation. ²⁰ We are therefore Christ's ambassadors, as though God were making his appeal through us. We implore you on Christ's behalf: Be reconciled to God. ²¹ God made him who had no sin to be sin for us, so that in him we might become the righteousness of God.  2 Corinthians 5:17-21 (NIV)

BUTTER

“We are able to think, choose, create, love and worship; but we are also able to hate, covet, fight and kill.   Human beings are the inventors of hospitals for the care of the sick, of universities for the acquisition of wisdom, and of churches for the worship of God.  But they have also invented torture chambers, concentration camps, and nuclear arsenals.  This is the paradox of our humanness.  We are both noble and ignoble, both rational and irrational, both moral and immoral, both creative and destructive, both loving and selfish, both Godlike and bestial.”   John Stott

“Sin is the sickness of the soul.  It is deforming, weakening, disturbing, wasting, and killing, but, we bless God, not incurable.  Jesus Christ is the great Physician of souls.  Wise and good people should be like physicians to everyone around them; Christ was so.  Souls that are sick with sin need this Physician, for their disease is dangerous; nature will not help itself.  No mortal can help us; we have such need of Christ that we are eternally ruined without Him.”  Matthew Henry

“The only ground on which God can forgive our sin and reinstate us to His favor is through the Cross of Christ.  There is no other way!  Forgiveness, which is so easy for us to accept, cost the agony at Calvary.  We should never take the forgiveness of sin, the gift of the Holy Spirit, and our sanctification in simple faith, and then forget the enormous cost to God that made all of this ours.  Forgiveness is the divine miracle of grace.  The cost to God was the Cross of Christ.  To forgive sin, while remaining a holy God, this price had to be paid.  Never accept a view of the fatherhood of God if it blots out the atonement.  The revealed truth of God is that without the atonement He cannot forgive – He would contradict His nature if He did.  The only way we can be forgiven is by being brought back to God through the atonement of the Cross.  God’s forgiveness is possible only in the supernatural realm……Once you realize all that it cost God to forgive you, you will be held as in a vise, constrained by the love of God.”  Oswald Chambers

“Be killing sin or it will be killing you.”   John Owen

“When captivity is led captive, the Eternal God is the refuge of his people...Our sins which pursued us so hotly have been drowned in the depths of the Savior's Blood. They sank to the bottom like stones, the depths have covered them, there is not one, no, not one of them left, and we, standing upon the shore in safety, can shout in triumph over our drowned sins, 'Sing unto the Lord for he hath triumphed gloriously, and all our iniquities hath he cast into the midst of the sea.”  Charles Spurgeon

“No sin is small.”   Jeremy Taylor

“Measure your growth in grace by your sensitiveness to sin.”   Oswald Chambers

“God looked on Christ as if Christ had been sin; not as if He had taken up the sins of His people, or as if they were laid on Him, though that were true, but as if He Himself had positively been that noxious—that God-hating—that soul-damning thing, called sin. When the Judge of all the earth said, ‘Where is Sin?’ Christ presented himself…what a grim picture that is, to conceive of sin gathered up into one mass—murder, lust and stealing, and adultery…and the Father looked on Christ as if He were that mass of sin. He was not sin, but the Father looked on upon Him as made sin for us. Christ stands in our place, assumes our guilt, takes on our iniquity and God treats Him as if He had been sin…How can any punishment fall on that man who ceases to possess sin, because his sin was cast upon Christ and Christ has suffered in his place? Oh, glorious triumph of faith to be able to say, whenever I feel the guilt of sin, whenever conscience pricks me, ‘Yes, it is true but my Lord is answerable for it all, for He has taken it all upon Himself and suffered in my place.”  Charles Spurgeon, The King’s Highway

“What if believing meant there’s no way you could stop telling the Good News because it’s more sensational than gossip that parades as news?  What if shying away from the word sin so as not to offend, offends a Holy God — and what if being culturally correct leads a whole generation a wrong shy of heaven? What if breaking this addiction of talking about problems could break new ground of talking about our Provider?  That we couldn’t stop sharing about how we’ve been saved, rescued, redeemed, revived?”   Ann Voskamp

“If we know what redemption means, let us not withhold our hymns of thanksgiving. We have been redeemed from the power of our corruptions, lifted from the depth of sin in which we were naturally plunged. We have been led to the cross of Christ—our shackles of guilt have been removed. We are no longer slaves, but children of the living God, and can anticipate the time when we will be presented before the throne without spot or wrinkle or any such thing.”  C. H. Spurgeon revised by Alistair Begg

“It is by grace that we are saved.  It is by this same grace that we are sanctified.  It is all Jesus.  It is always all Jesus.  Nothing to the cross I bring only to the cross I cling.”  BHY

HEART SAVOR

·         We are all born sinners in need of a Savior and praise Jesus we have One.

·         Jesus took us out of the iron smelting furnace of sin and bondage and liberated us – we are no longer slaves but free.

·         Christ did for us what we were powerless to do for ourselves.