Pressed into living a Christ-life outpoured. âAnnie Johnson Flint
Pressed into living a Christ-life outpoured. âAnnie Johnson Flint
I have been watching the One Minute Apologist videos from Bobby Conway for quite awhile, and find them very helpful. Recently I finished a reading plan in YouVersion based on Bobbyâs book The Fi5th Gospel. Here are a few quotes that especially caught my attention.
âIf I am the only Gospel people will ever experience are they experiencing the true Gospel?â
âAt no other time in human history has God so plainly and blatantly revealed Himself than at Calvary. At no point has He so graphically uncovered His heart for mankind. It was there, on a hill outside Jerusalem, the Messiah bled for us, suffering hellish agony and sin-induced banishment, all the while enduring the brutal wrath of a holy and righteous God.â
âThe exclamation point to this graphic love letter to us was the resurrectionâJesusâ conquering moment of triumph over sin, satan, and the grave. This is what Christians are all about right? Itâs how we are saved. Take away the Cross and weâre no different from any other religious idea. Itâs Jesus Christ, His death and resurrection. Strip away all the modern church fluff and this is what you find at the core of our faith. Itâs essential. Nonnegotiable. Undeniable. Itâs what makes us who we are. Itâs what makes Christians âChristian.â And itâs why Jesus is the answer to all of lifeâs deepest issues.â
âThe sacrifice [God] requires isnât death on a cross, but rather death to our pride and fear of what other might think. God just wants us to be proud of Jesus and what He has done for us. He wants us to be unashamed of His Son.â
âThough we were originally created in Godâs image, Godâs reflection in us was marred in the Garden of Eden when Adam and Eve sinned. And though His image wasnât completely erased, it was defaced and tarnished. When you trusted in Christ, the Holy Spirit began a beautiful work of âimage restorationâ in you; masterfully remaking you to more accurately reflect Godâs virtue. He began sculpting, forming, and transforming your character to better display Christ to the world. You become His image-bearer, and His ongoing work in your life distinguishes you from the world. This is a lifelong process, by the way, and one God is committed to completing.â
âNone of us will ever perfectly represent Godâs character. As long as weâre on this earth, weâll have imperfections. And itâs these imperfections that some unbelievers are quick (and happy) to point out and expose. But there is value in listening to what others say, of taking an honest look in the mirror, of stepping into an unbelieverâs shoes to see what they perceive about Jesus and His bride. Think of it as a spiritual awareness-building exercise.â
I thoroughly enjoyed reading Useful Maxims by Brian Ridolfi (check out my review of his book by clicking here). Here are 20 of Brianâs useful maxims that caught my highlighter.
Watch for more maxims soon. Or follow me on Twitter and Tumblr to read some of Brian Ridolfiâs maxims.
âItâs not easy to overcome recurring sexual temptation. Thatâs because sexual sin is, at the most basic level, an illegitimate way of fulfilling a deep and legitimate human need: the need for love and intimacy.â âFocus On The Family
âHere is the secret of the power of faith to break the enslaving force of sinful attractions. If the heart is satisfied with all that God is for us in Jesus, the power of sin to lure us away from the wisdom of Christ is broken.â âJohn Piper
In The Seven Laws Of Love, Dave Willis gives us some highly practical, biblically-based counsel for investing in all of our relationships. Normally when I share quotes from books, I share all of them at once, but for this book I felt like it would be good to share these quotes a bit more slowly, to give you time to read them and apply them.
The seven laws Dave identifies are:
From law #4, here are some quotes on how love conquers fearâ
âFear may be something natural, but love represents something supernatural. Love has the power to set a positive course for your life and chase away your fears in the process.â
âWe do have the power to shape the future, but unless you actually own a time machine, worrying about the past is a complete waste of your time and energy. If you want to live a life of love and the freedom it brings, youâve got to make peace with your past. We should learn from our past and build on our past but not ever dwell on our past. Just like the rearview mirror in your car, looking at the past gives us perspective; but if youâre staring at it all the time, youâre going to cause a wreck. We need to embrace the moment we are in. Donât let regrets from yesterday or worries about tomorrow rob you of the peace and blessings God has for you today!â
âThe truth is that your past has helped shape your character, but it has nothing to do with your identity. Your identity comes from God alone, and He loves you unconditionally.â
âDonât get trapped trying to recreate the good old days when your best days are still to come.â
âThere isnât enough room in your heart for both fear and faith, so each day you must decide which one gets to stay.â
âYour character should always be stronger than your circumstances.â
âYour struggles always lead to strength.â
Check out my review of The Seven Laws Of Love by clicking here.
Watch for more quotes from the other laws of love explained in this book throughout this week.
In The Seven Laws Of Love, Dave Willis gives us some highly practical, biblically-based counsel for investing in all of our relationships. Normally when I share quotes from books, I share all of them at once, but for this book I felt like it would be good to share these quotes a bit more slowly, to give you time to read them and apply them.
The seven laws Dave identifies are:
From law #2, here are some quotes on selfless sacrificeâ
âThatâs the beautiful irony of love. The only way we can truly keep it is to give it away.â
âFirst Lieutenant Alonzo Cushing was a twenty-two-year-old officer in the Union Army during the Civil War when he made the ultimate sacrifice. The young West Point graduate was in charge of six cannons and more than one hundred men during the Battle of Gettysburg. His small force found itself trapped in the middle of the battlefield during the Confederate Armyâs infamous assault known as Pickettâs Charge. The full force of the rebels was closing in on Cushing and his men. The young officer had already been shot twice and was critically wounded. He had every right to retreat to safety, but he recognized the magnitude of the moment. Instead, he ordered the cannons moved to the front lines, and he limped forward to lead a counterattack. His courage and tenacity inspired the men around him, and they fought back valiantly before Cushing was shot again. The final shot proved to be fatal. The sacrifice of one young man turned the tide of a battle, which turned the tide of war, which ultimately held a nation together.â
âWe donât make our sacrifices for recognition; we make our sacrifices for love. When love moves you to sacrifice, you can rest assured that lives will be changed and eternity will be impacted.â
âMany people believe they have put their faith in Jesus, but they also believe they have to earn what He did for them on the Cross. Hereâs the good news: when Jesus was hanging on that Cross, dying to save you, He did not use His dying words to say, âEarn this.â Do you know what He said instead? He said, âIt is finished!â Did you catch that? It is finished. That means done, complete, sealed, finished! Thatâs Godâs gift of grace. Jesus has done all the work already. You couldnât possibly earn it even if you tried with everything you had, and God never expected you to.â
Check out my review of The Seven Laws Of Love by clicking here.
Watch for more quotes from the other laws of love explained in this book throughout the next few days.
âOften it is simply the answers to our prayers that cause many of the difficulties in the Christian life.
âWe pray for patience, and our Father sends demanding people our way who test us to the limit, âbecauseâŚsuffering produces perseveranceâ (Romans 5:3). …
âWe pray to be unselfish, and God gives us opportunities to sacrifice by placing other peopleâs needs first and by laying down our lives for other believers. …
âWe pray to the Lord, as His apostles did, saying, âIncrease our faith!â (Luke 17:5). Then our money seems to take wings and fly away; our children become critically ill; an employee becomes careless, slow, and wasteful; or some other new trial comes upon us, requiring more faith than we have ever before experienced.
âWe pray for a Christlike life that exhibits the humility of a lamb. Then we are asked to perform some lowly task, or we are unjustly accused and given no opportunity to explain….
âWe pray for gentleness and quickly face a storm of temptation to be harsh and irritable.
âWe pray for quietness, and suddenly every nerve is tested to its limit with tremendous tension so that we may learn that when He sends His peace, no one can disturb it.
âWe pray for love for others, and God sends unique suffering by sending people our way who are difficult to love and who say things that get on our nerves and tear at our heart. …
âThe way to peace and victory is to accept every circumstance and every trial as being straight from the hand of our loving Father.â âLettie Cowman
âWe sometimes think that when God commands us to do something and we obey, everything will be smooth sailing. We think Heâll be grateful for our obedience so He will place us on a four-lane freeway to blessing. Abraham obeyed Godâs Word, but the fact is, one act of obedience doesnât add up to a walk of obedience.
âAbraham had a promise from God, but along the way he had to go through the Negev desert, over snow-covered mountains, through another desert, and past the warring people of Canaan. Then he ended up in the midst of a famine in Egypt. Iâm glad God didnât tell Abraham about the path he would be walking!
âThis particular path was like no other Abraham had walked. Yet, through it all, he was never in any danger. Nobody could touch him. God was his shield and protector every day. And because of his faith, Abraham was becoming a friend to God.â âDavid Wilkerson