“Reading the Bible is a good preparative for prayer, as prayer is an excellent means to render reading effectual.” —George Whitefield
“God would have remained hidden afar off if Christ’s splendor had not beamed upon us.” —John Calvin
“In selecting men for office, let principle be your guide. Regard not the particular sect [party] of the candidate—look to his character. … It is alleged by men of loose principles or defective views of the subject that religion and morality are not necessary or important qualifications for political stations. But the Scriptures teach a different doctrine. They direct that rulers should be men ‘who rule in the fear of God, able men, such as fear God, men of truth, hating covetousness.’” —Noah Webster
“During the gold rush, the people who made the most money were the ones selling the shovels.” —Russell Brunson
“If evangelical Christianity is to stay alive it must have men again—the right kind of men. It must repudiate the weaklings who dare not speak out, and it must seek in prayer and much humility the coming again of men of the stuff of which prophets and martyrs are made.” —A.W. Tozer
“Heaven will solve our problems, but not, I think, by showing us subtle reconciliations between all our apparently contradictory notions. The notions will all be knocked from under our feet. We shall see that there never was any problem.” —C.S. Lewis
“I believe the biggest reason why families are being redefined today is not because of liberal vs. conservative ideology. It’s because we had to embrace a new ‘community’ when the nuclear family exploded. Traditional families have been broken, yet people still want to be in a ‘family,’ even if it’s temporary. Sadly, this family thing often fails. Whether in a home, a team, a dorm, a company, a gym or a church, we tend to walk away rather than work at difficult relationships. We’re like porcupines—we tend to hurt each other when we get close.” Read more of the outstanding post from Tim Elmore: How Eating Alone Costs More Than You Think.
“According to some research, over half of women who have abortions do so under pressure, while those who resist can face violence and death. …The Center for Disease Control lists homicide as a leading cause of death among pregnant women.” Here are more facts contradicting the pro-abortion crowd’s rhetoric.
“Christ calls us to take risks for kingdom purposes. Almost every message of American consumerism says the opposite: Maximize comfort and security—now, not in heaven. Christ does not join that chorus. To every timid saint, wavering on the edge of some dangerous gospel venture, He says, ‘Fear not, you can only be killed’ (Luke 12:4).” —John Piper
“Impotent dreaming will not do. The religious urge that is not followed by a corresponding act of the will in the direction of that urge is a waste of emotion.” —A.W. Tozer
“We dare not eat our seed. It’s our turn to give ourselves in mission. It’s our turn to take the baton and continue the tradition that began 100 years ago and with God’s help participate in the greatest evangelism the world has ever seen.” —Bill Leach
“Here’s what I know: If you don’t do it, it can’t come back to haunt you. That doesn’t just go for taking nude pictures of yourself. It also goes for speaking angry words, buying something you can’t afford, flirting with a married coworker, gossiping about a friend, drinking alcohol, using drugs, or letting a relationship go too far.” —Mark Atteberry
“James has in his mind a picture of people who use prayer to try to get from God something they desire more than God [James 4:2-4]. He calls these people—men and women—‘adulteresses.’ Why? Because in his mind God is like our Husband who is jealous to be our highest delight. If we then try to make prayer a means of getting from Him something we want more then we want Him, we are like a wife who asks her husband for money to visit another lover.” —John Piper
“The greatest outward troubles and calamities that we meet with…must needs appear very little things to the misery which we have deserved.” —Jonathan Edwards
“Our Enemy is a hedonist at heart. All those fasts and vigils and stakes and crosses are only a facade. Or only like foam on the sea shore. Out at sea, out in His sea, there is pleasure, and more pleasure. He makes no secret of it; at His right hand are ‘pleasures for evermore.’ Ugh! Don’t think He has the least inkling of that high and austere mystery to which we rise in the Miserific Vision. He’s vulgar, Wormwood. He has a bourgeois mind. He has filled His world full of pleasures. There are things for humans to do all day long without His minding in the least—sleeping, washing, eating, drinking, making love, playing, praying, working. Everything has to be twisted before it’s any use to us. We fight under cruel disadvantages. Nothing is naturally on our side.” —C.S. Lewis, Screwtape writing to Wormwood in The Screwtape Letters. (In case you didn’t know, The Screwtape Letters are letters from an older demon [Screwtape] to his young apprentice demon [Wormwood]. So the “Enemy” in their correspondence is God.)
Since I just reviewed Beyond IQ, I have been reading more about the workings of the human brain. This post—How To Rewire Your Brain For Greater Happiness—is interesting. Even though they are quoting scientific findings, everything they have “discovered” was already in the Bible!
Our culture has a sexualized agenda. Just look at how Hollywood portrays us today:
Few happy marriages.
Lots of sex-crazed, inept husbands with strong wives who use or withhold sex as a reward or punishment.
Flawlessly beautiful actors (not a zit to be seen).
No consequences for sex—no pregnancy, STDs or AIDS.
No depression for broken relationships; no anxiety or eating disorders because of the psychological pain.
Sex outside of marriage is normal, and those who abstain are the weird ones.
We cannot stand on our soapboxes and rail against culture.
We cannot just tell them what we’re against, but we’ve got to tell them what we’re for.
We’ve got to give them the compelling truth for the beauty, joy, and fulfillment of sex God’s way.
The Gospel—the Good News—is an invitation, not an ultimatum. We’ve got to share with others what’s good about God’s counter culture way concerning sex!
“I think our present outlook might be like that of a small boy who, on being told that the sexual act was the highest bodily pleasure should immediately ask whether you ate chocolates at the same time. On receiving the answer ‘No,’ he might regard absence of chocolates as the chief characteristic of sexuality. In vain would you tell him that the reason why lovers in their carnal raptures don’t bother about chocolates is that they have something better to think of. The boy knows chocolate: he does not know the positive thing that excludes it.” —C.S. Lewis
All Hollywood knows is the “chocolate” of people acting on their immediate feelings, with no understanding of long-term consequences.
Better sex comes from doing things God’s way = one man and one women married for life.
Proverbs 5 presents the advantages of being married and being intimate with just one person. I especially love this passage—
Drink water from your own well—share your love only with your wife.Why spill the water of your springs in the streets, having sex with just anyone?You should reserve it for yourselves. Never share it with strangers. Let your wife be a fountain of blessing for you. Rejoice in the wife of your youth.She is a loving deer, a graceful doe. Let her breasts satisfy you always. May you always be captivated by her love.Why be captivated, my son, by an immoral woman, or fondle the breasts of a promiscuous woman? (verses 15-20)
This is better sex because it’s pure:
No sharing sexually transmitted diseases from previous partners.
No comparison to how you are in bed compared to previous partners.
No psychological fall-out.
Intimacy without reservation.
A release of dopamine (the feel-good hormone) unlike you’ll ever get with “casual” sex.
And most importantly: A relationship God can—and does!—bless.
Hollywood knows nothing about real love and a truly satisfying, fulfilling sex life. But God does! That’s why the Apostle Paul tells us, “Therefore honor God with your body” (1 Corinthians 6:20), because God created your body and knows how it can get the highest, purest pleasure.
This is a part of a lengthy quote from Richard Baxter about a husband’s responsibility to maintain marital love: “Take more notice of the good, that is in your wives, than of the evil. Let not the observation of their faults make you forget or overlook their virtues. Love is kindled by the sight of love or goodness.” Check out the full quote.
“You ask ‘for what’ God wants you. Isn’t the primary answer that He wants you. We’re not told that the lost sheep was sought out for anything except itself [Matthew 18:12-14; Luke 15:3-7]. Of course, He may have a special job for you: and the certain job is that of becoming more and more His.” —C.S. Lewis
Dave Bruskas has a wonderful post on the Resurgence website (please read the full article by clicking here) called 4 Ways A Pastor Can Love His Wife Well.
Here’s one of the best quotes—
“A pastor’s first flock is his home, and his favorite first flock member is his wife.”
Think of it this way: Marriage is a picture of the relationship Christ wants to have with the Church. So He is described as loving her unconditionally, giving everything up for her, making her His sole focus. So the way you can love your wife best is to love her like Jesus loves His bride.
So, my dear pastor:
Don’t expend all your energy on others so that you don’t have any energy left when you get home.
Don’t use your most creative forms of communication for your Sunday sermons, and give your wife your leftovers.
Don’t get all “talked out” with parishioners so that you’re too tired to talk when you get home.
Your ministry to your wife pleases God. Only when that relationship is working can God bless your other ministry efforts.
These are links to articles and quotes I found interesting today.
“C.S. Lewis wrote that the most dangerous ideas in a society aren’t the ones argued, but the ones assumed. For most of us—myself included—it’s tempting to take up arms and jump in the trenches every time a loud and headline-grabbing controversy breaks. But if Lewis was right, it’s not the moments of intense crossfire that are the most culturally significant. They come and go. But it is those times, like the Grammy Awards, when culture doesn’t react, that really signal where we are” (John Stonestreet). Read John′s full commentary: Why The Grammys Mattered More Than Miley
Listen to the podcast of this post by clicking on the player below, and you can also subscribe on Apple, Spotify, or Audible.
Martin Luther said:
“There is no more lovely, friendly, and charming relationship, communion, or company than a good marriage.”
Unfortunately our culture has watered-down and diminished the value of marriage. Far too often marriage is seen as something which diminishes life, instead of enhancing it.
Perhaps this is because we have been viewing marriage with the wrong math.
Marriage is NOT ½ + ½ = 1
That makes sense mathematically, but it’s inaccurate. God didn’t create us a half-people.God created us whole and complete. So our spouse is not our better half, he/she is our better whole.
Not coincidentally, X (chi) is the first Greek letter of the name Christ. When Christ is at the center of a marriage, and when the husband and wife are more in love with Him than they are with their spouse, then a wholeness exists in the marriage.
1 X 1 = 1 is the type of marriage that glorifies God.
1 X 1 =1 is the type of marriage that is so lovely, friendly, and charming.
If you are single, keep yourself pure so you can bring your “oneness” as a gift to your future spouse. If you are married, keep the X—Jesus Christ—at the center of your marriage.
Murray Vassar has another great cartoon. Click the picture or here to see the rest…
Craig T. Owens 