Links & Quotes

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John Calvin explaining how singing together in church is like praying together. “We do this [sing corporately] openly, that all men mutually, each one from his brother, may receive the confession of faith and be invited and prompted by his example.” —John Calvin

“It is not that we prepare a palace for God, but that He comes into our mortal flesh and we do our ordinary work, in an ordinary setting, amongst ordinary people, as for Him.” —Oswald Chambers

“Let every man remember that to violate the law is to trample on the blood of his father, and to tear the character of his own, and his children’s, liberty. Let reverence for the laws be breathed by every American mother to the lisping babe that prattles on her lap. Let it be taught in schools, in seminaries, and in colleges. Let it be written in primers, spelling books, and in almanacs. Let it be preached from the pulpit, proclaimed in legislative halls, and enforced in courts of justice.” —Abraham Lincoln

This makes me respect Tim Tebow even more―he is organizing Valentine proms for students with special needs.

Have you ever read how Solomon describes his bride in the Song of Songs? The talented folks at The Overview Bible Project have actually put this together, and it is quite…eye-opening! Check it out.

[VIDEO] I like Kid President! Check out his letter to the future―

Links & Quotes

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This is encouraging: Your Prayer Life Is Better That You Think.

“Prayer reminds us of who is in charge. You don’t take your requests to someone with less authority. You take them to someone who outranks you in the solutions department. The same is true in prayer. You don’t pray just to let God know what’s going on. He’s way ahead of you on that one. You pray to transfer ‘my will be done’ to ‘God’s will be done.’ And, since He’s in charge, He knows the best solution. Prayer transfers the burden to God and He lightens your load. Prayer pushes us through life’s slumps, propels us over the humps, and pulls us out of the dumps. Prayer is the oomph we need to get the answers we seek. So, pray…today!” —Max Lucado

Mark Merrill shares 8 creative ways to flirt with your spouse.

I think we can all benefit from this―6 ways to improve your memory.

[VIDEO] Ken Davis shared this hilarious video from John Branyan―

 

Links & Quotes

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“Do not forget the close bond between the inner room and the outside world. The attitude of the inner prayer room must remain with us all day. The object of secret prayer is to unite us to God that we may know His abiding presence with us.” ―Andrew Murray

“There are two ways by which man might have been for ever blessed. The one was by works: ‘This do and thou shalt live; be obedient and receive the reward.’ The other plan was: ‘Receive grace and blessedness as the free gift of God; stand as a guilty sinner having no merit, and as a rebellious sinner deserving the very reverse of goodness, but stand there and receive all thy good things, simply, wholly, and alone of the free love and sovereign mercy of God.’ Now, the Lord has not chosen the system of works.” —Charles Spurgeon

It is appalling to me that people still try to defend abortion. This post talks about the pain that babies experience during the abortion procedure.

Interesting: 11 trends in American marriages and families.

[VIDEO] A very intriguing interview on Meet The Press with Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. in 1965―

Links & Quotes―Sanctity Of Human Life Special Edition

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Tomorrow (January 18) is Sanctity Of Human Life Sunday. Life is the most valuable thing we have!

In the West Michigan area, please support Alpha Family Centers’ efforts to promote life.

Live Action shares 10 reasons why you should march for life.

[VIDEO] One of the biggest perpetrators of the degrading of life is the pornography industry. There is a direct link between porn and human trafficking. Please watch this video all the way to the end―

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“Search the Scriptures. Do not merely read them—search them; look up the parallel passages; collate them; try to get the meaning of the Spirit upon any one truth by looking to all the texts which refer to it. Read the Bible consecutively: do not merely read a verse here and there—that is not fair.” —Charles Spurgeon

“How does the Lord reward His diligent ones? It has been my experience that when I walk arm in arm with Jesus, so in love with Him, rewards break out on all sides. Everything I do or have is blessed: my wife, children, friends, ministry. There comes a life of Christ within that flows like a mighty river. Yes, we’ll have trials and tribulations. But through it all He rewards us with manifestations of His presence. … Those who neglect the Lord soon spin out of control as the devil moves in and takes over. Such a person has a devastated self-image. His or her feelings and thoughts cannot be curbed, and their tongue wags and moves under the power of bitterness and anger.” —David Wilkerson

Small problems can become huge problems if they are not addressed early on. Max Lucado has a great reminder in his post Go After The Small Drips.

Here is a great way to check out lots of books. Frank Viola has a link to a special offer from Leaders Book Summaries.

“If the Holy Spirit is obeyed the stubbornness is blown out, the dynamite of the Holy Ghost blows it out.” ―Oswald Chambers

[VIDEO] John Maxwell reminds us that only mature people can compromise to make relationships successful. Check this out―

Links & Quotes

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“O I would beloved, that the Holy Spirit would make you feel the promise as being spoken to you; out of this vast assembly forget the rest and only think of yourself, for the promises are unto you, meant for you. O grasp them. It is ill to get into a way of reading Scripture for the whole church, read it for yourselves, and specially hear the Master say to you, ‘Let not your heart be troubled: ye believe in God, believe also in Me.’” —Charles Spurgeon

“Freedom from greed comes from faith in God’s future grace.” —John Piper

John Piper has a great reminder in his post What God Can Do In Five Seconds.

Seth Godin suggests another story for “failure” in his post Failure Imagined (24 Variations).

History buffs will love this―The Real Story Of George Washington’s Christmas Attack At Trenton.

“My grand point in preaching is to break the hard heart, and to heal the broken one” —John Newton

[VIDEO] John Maxwell and Nick Vujicic on the uniqueness that is you―

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“Let us thirst to know Him of Whom even His enemies said, ‘Never man spake like this Man,’ and His unrighteous judge said, ‘I find no fault in Him.’ Above all, let us long to know Christ in His Person. This year endeavor to make a better acquaintance with the Crucified One. … This year seek to penetrate into His very heart, and to search those deep far-reaching caverns of His unknown love, that love which can never find a rival, and can never know a parallel.” —Charles Spurgeon

“Beware of insulting God by being a pious prude instead of a pure person.” —Oswald Chambers

“To pray well is the better half of study.” ―Martin Luther

“Of all marvelous things, perhaps there is nothing that angels behold with such supreme astonishment as a proud man.” —Charles Caleb Colton

[Video] John Maxwell on humility—

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[VIDEO] I loved watching Stuart Scott on ESPN SportsCenter. This video is a great tribute to his life.

“When you die, it does not mean that you lose to cancer. You beat cancer by how you live, why you live, and in the manner in which you live.” —Stuart Scott

“Hang this text up in your house; read it every day; take it before God in prayer every time you bend the knee, and you shall find it to be like the widow’s cruse, which failed not, and like her handful of meal, which wasted not: it shall be unto you till the last of December what now it is when we begin to feed upon it in January.” —Charles Spurgeon, commenting on Hebrews 2:18

“This verse is full of encouragement for imperfect sinners like us, and full of motivation for holiness. It means that you can have assurance that you stand perfected and completed in the eyes of your heavenly Father not because you are perfect now, but precisely because you are not perfect now but are ‘being sanctified,’ ‘being made holy’—that, by faith in God’s promises, you are moving away from your lingering imperfection toward more and more holiness.” —John Piper, commenting on Hebrews 10:14

Seth Godin has a great way to help anyone gain a huge advantage over his/her peers in his post Doing Calculus With Roman Numerals.

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“God make you—you that do little for Him—to humble yourselves before Him, and to begin the next year with this determination, that knowing the terrors of the Lord, you will persuade men, and labour, and strive to bring sinners to the Cross of Christ.” —Charles Spurgeon

Something to think about as you read your Bible: Don’t Just Read The Bible For Yourself.

I agree with Seth Godin, in his post In Search Of Arrogance, that people should think of you as arrogant every once in awhile.

Wow…

Family government

“Be sure that the ins and outs of your individuality are no mystery to Him; and one day they will no longer be a mystery to you.” —C.S. Lewis

“God knows you better than you know you and has reached this verdict: He loves you still! No discovery will disillusion Him. No rebellion will dissuade Him. He loves you with an everlasting love. God’s love—never failing, never ending.” —Max Lucado

“God never hastens and He never tarries. He works His plans out in His own way, and we either lie like clogs on His hands or we assist Him by being as clay in the hands of the potter.” —Oswald Chambers

[VIDEO] Ken Davis always makes me laugh—

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“When we meet with our kinsfolk and acquaintances, let it be our prayer to God that our communion may be not only pleasant, but profitable; that we may not merely pass away time and spend a pleasant hour, but may advance a day’s march nearer heaven, and acquire greater fitness for our eternal rest.” —Charles Spurgeon

“When Scripture says that Christ died ‘for’ us, I think the word is usually υπερ (on behalf of), not αντι (instead of). I think the ideas of sacrifice, ransom, championship (over death), substitution et cetera are all images to suggest the reality (not otherwise comprehensible to us) of the atonement. To fix on any one of them as if it contained and limited the truth like a scientific definition would in my opinion be a mistake.” —C.S. Lewis

“Christ will really help us in our fight. He really will help you. He is on your side. He didn’t come to destroy sin because sin is fun. He came to destroy sin because it is fatal. It is a deceptive work of the devil and will destroy us if we don’t fight it. He came to help us, not hurt us.” —John Piper

A really cool timeline of the events surrounding Christ’s birth.

“You will not experience the real presence of Jesus until you have within you a growing hatred for sin—a piercing conviction for your failures and a deepening sense of your exceeding sinfulness. Those without Christ’s presence become less and less convicted by sin. The further they withdraw from His presence, the bolder, more arrogant and more comfortable in compromise they grow.” —David Wilkerson

Have you seen Unbroken or read the book? This post—Unbroken Uncut—is very interesting.

This is a disgusting twist of Scripture that perverts God’s Word to make it sound like those who are pro-abortion are the evildoers.

“You will never forgive anyone more than God has already forgiven you.” —Max Lucado

[VIDEO] A sweet video of a 10-year-old boy who finds out he is going to be a big brother—