The Bottom Line: Encouragement

THE BOTTOM LINE

Mark LaCour

"But encourage one another day after day, as long as it is still called "Today," so that none of you will be hardened by the deceitfulness of sin." ". . . let us consider how to stimulate one another to love and good deeds, not forsaking our own assembling together, as is the habit of some, but encouraging one another; and all the more as you see the day drawing near" (Heb. 3:13-14; 10:24-25).

en•kur•age•ment -- that grace from God through the words or deeds of another that strengthens believers in their faith. Fellowship emphasizes what we own together, and edification what we build together, but encouragement, what we galvanize together. It's a retardant against sin and an accelerant for good deeds. It's what causes a runner to run the distance and a fighter to stay on his feet. A few observations concerning its importance:

First, encouragement is a divine mandate. God commands us to encourage (1 Thess. 5:14) and be encouraged (Rom. 1:12). Those who forsake assembling together become skilled at excusing sin's deceitfulness. The result is a hard heart and a falling away from God (Heb. 3:12). As one writer put it: Either go to church or go to hell. There are no exceptions.

Second, encouragement is a daily essential. Its frequency underscores its necessity. Sin's lies never take a break. A hard heart is 24 hours away. If you wait till church for encouragement you're six days removed from the living God. Every fighter is only as good as his corner, and no corner is going to wait till the end of the round to encourage.

Lastly, encouragement is a driven dynamic. To give encouragement is to impart an energy, a perspective that the discouraged doesn't have but desperately needs. Maybe it's an affirmation of some truth, the praise of some task, a consolation that shoulders sorrow, an acceptance in spite of failure, even a loving kick in the pants. Regardless, it strengthens for the task ahead. Which is why if unbelief is the worst of the poisonous plants, discouragement is the greenhouse it grows in.

A race car driver is only as good as his pit crew. People are going to fall down -- it's natural. Your job, Barnabas (Acts 4:26), is to keep them from staying down. "Therefore, strengthen the hands that are weak and the knees that are feeble, and make straight paths for your feet, so that the limb which is lame may not be put out of joint, but rather be healed." (Heb. 12:12-13).

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Earthly Fame

If thou hast honor and fame, accept it; but let this prayer go up, “My God, bless thou me indeed,for what profit were it, if my name were in a thousand mouths, if thou shouldest spue it out of thy mouth? What matter, though my name were written on marble, if it were not written in the Lamb’s Book of Life? These blessings are only apparently blessings, windy blessings, blessings that mock me. Give me thy blessing: then the honor which comes of thee will make me blessed indeed.” If you happen to have lived in obscurity, and have never entered the lists for honors among your fellow-men, be content to run well your own course and fulfill truly your own vocation. To lack fame is not the most grievous of ills; it is worse to have it like the snow, that whitens the ground in the morning, and disappears in the heat of the day. What matters it to a dead man that men are talking of him?

-C. H. Spurgeon

Worship and Prayer

Perhaps the highest and loftiest acts a Christian can have toward God are worship and prayer. These two acts are uniquely vertical--they are the only things a believer does that are directly toward God and that directly bring him or her into relationship and communion with God. The one exception is the reading of Scripture, but that is a means to bring us to worship and prayer. All other aspects of the Christian life are horizontal--they are outward toward others. Worship and prayer are uniquely God-centered. They deal with God alone and bring us to Him relationally.

Therefore, these ought to be viewed as the most primary acts and responsibilities of the Christian. Nothing is to take precedence over worship and prayer. If neglected, all other aspects of the Christian life will wither. Nothing about the Christian life can survive or thrive without them. Supremely important and the most vital of all is worship and prayer.

If this is true, is it not a wonderful grace that both of these acts--worship and prayer--are not dependent upon anything external? They don't require a group of people, money, education, or politics. You don't have to be especially smart, gifted, and outgoing to worship or pray. You don't have to know someone and get a committee to organize anything.

Prayer and worship can be done anytime, anywhere, and by any Christian, regardless of their abilities, financial status, education, or people skills. All that is needed is one thing--a heart for prayer and worship. The two greatest ministries there are can be done without a newsletter, a ministry staff or an office. They can be done quietly from an apartment or bedroom. Nothing to do except draw near and stay there. Get alone and get with God. He has promised the one who goes to the prayer closet that "He is in secret and sees in secret."

Why are so many people who are wanting to be involved in "ministry", only pursuing outward ministries? Young men want a ministry of preaching, evangelism, music, missions, and service, yet the ministry of private worship and prayer are greatly neglected. Not many at all feel "called" to that ministry. The reason is because worship and prayer are not before men--they are not done publicly, to be seen by men. They are not busy activities, but are done in stillness and in private. Yet these two acts in the Christian life take more discipline, more calling, and more grace than anything else that could be done.

It is much easier to preach, evangelize, take mission trips, and do other ministry than it is to pray. But the highest, loftiest, and most difficult ministry of all is private prayer. And it is probably the most needed today.

I have been a Christian almost 38 years. I have heard many people say, "I believe I am called to preach or pastor;" "I know God has called me to be a missionary;" "I am called to lead music in worship." But there are few who view prayer as a life's work and calling, and who give up time with people and public ministry to be away and alone in the secret place to pray.

The priority of private worship and prayer are greatly neglected today. People would rather be with people and be active than be still before God. But at the end of life, when we enter into old age, there will be many activities we cannot do any more and will have to give up--

write or use a computer when you always could before, go to church meetings when you always could before, preach and teach when you did it for forty years, travel and do missions when you were so active and healthy, write books or tracts when your mind was still clear, do outward acts of service when your body worked correctly.

In other words, when all ability to do outward activities have ceased and you must sit all day or lay on a bed with illness, there are only two activities you can do until you die-- prayer and worship.

So if these two are 1) the primary acts toward God; 2) the most needed and most neglected; 3) can be done without needing anything except a heart for them; 4) can be done until you die;

If this is true, why not do them more now? Who among us is called to make prayer their priority in 2011? Among all the young people and college students, who says, "I want a life of prayer--I will give up outward ministry positions, live at home and rent a cheap room, work part-time, and pray most of my time?"

Who feels called to a ministry of prayer before a calling to missions? Who will give up the spot light of public ministry to be hidden away with God?

When the Christian life begins, a new convert can worship and pray; when a couple doesn't have any "ministry", they can have a ministry of prayer; when you are financially broke, you can pray for others; when life is nearing its end, your body is broken, and all you can do is sit or lay on a bed, still you can pray and worship God.

When Leonard Ravenhill had to jump from a burning hotel in 1951 in Chicago, he had seven major breaks in his body--feet, legs, arms, and back; his preaching trip to many countries was cancelled, all outward activity was stopped, busyness was gone and everything ceased. For a year, he could do nothing but lay in bed in pain. Then one night, he read Luke's gospel about the woman who came to Jesus and never said a word--she just washed his feet with her tears and dried them with her hair. She worshipped. Ravenhill then realized he could do something in that bed--his heart could go up to Jesus in prayer and his heart could worship God when he had nothing else to do and no ability to do anything else.

These two things he did for a year from his bed. It changed him forever. Worship and prayer became his priority.

I wonder this coming year if it can become a priority for any of us? Time is passing, life is passing, and many of us may be wasting time on outward things that don't count for eternity--may we give ourselves now to two things we can do when we are ninety in a nursing home or on a sick bed--worship and prayer.

So here's a call to all younger people-- if you are desiring to serve God and don't know what He wants you to do, choose a ministry of prayer. You already know He has told you to pray and develop your prayer life. You are thinking about if God wants you in ministry full time and what ministry he want you to do--preaching, teaching, mission? Give yourself to prayer. Ask Christ, "Lord, teach me to pray." Just give yourself to a ministry of prayer. Don't tell others; don't talk about it, or write and blog about it, and don't have motives for others to know it. Just do it. Make prayer your priority and your ministry.

Secondly, here's an invitation. For any brother or couple who want to have a time of prayer together any day of the week, I invite you to pray with me. I will pray with you. It's easy to have a prayer meeting by phone or on Skype.

Worship and prayer shape everything we are and everything we do. 2011 is a good year for these to become more than they have ever been in our lives.

-- Mack Tomlinson

Calvinist vs Arminian Ultimate Fighting

[Charles Simeon:] Sir, I understand that you are called an Arminian; and I have been sometimes called a Calvinist; and therefore I suppose we are to draw daggers. But before I consent to begin the combat, with your permission I will ask you a few questions. Pray, Sir, do you feel yourself a depraved creature, so depraved that you would never have thought of turning to God, if God had not first put it into your heart?

[John Wesley:] Yes, I do indeed.

[S:] And do you utterly despair of recommending yourself to God by anything you can do; and look for salvation solely through the blood and righteousness of Christ?

[W:] Yes, solely through Christ.

[S:] But, Sir, supposing you were at first saved by Christ, are you not somehow or other to save yourself afterwards by your own works?

[W:] No, I must be saved by Christ from first to last.

[S:] Allowing, then, that you were first turned by the grace of God, are you not in some way or other to keep yourself by your own power?

[W:] No.

[S:] What then, are you to be upheld every hour and every moment by God, as much as an infant in its mother’s arms?

[W:] Yes, altogether.

[S:] And is all your hope in the grace and mercy of God to preserve you unto His heavenly kingdom?

[W:] Yes, I have no hope but in Him.

[S:] Then, Sir, with your leave I will put up my dagger again; for this is all my Calvinism; this is my election, my justification by faith, my final perseverance: it is in substance all that I hold, and as I hold it; and therefore, if you please, instead of searching out terms and phrases to be a ground of contention between us, we will cordially unite in those things wherein we agree.

[Quoted in Memoirs of the Life of Charles Simeon, p 107]

Quotes by A.W. Tozer

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"I say that a Christian congregation can survive and often appear to prosper in the community by the exercise of human talent and without any touch from the Holy Spirit! All that religious activity and the dear people will not know anything better until the great and terrible day when our self-employed talents are burned with fire and only that which was wrought by the Holy Ghost will stand forever!" -Tragedy in the Church: The Missing Gifts, page 30.


"We must do something about the cross, and one of two things only we can do--flee it or die upon it." - The Root of the Righteous, page 63.


"Christianity today is man-centered, not God-centered. God is made to wait patiently, even respectfully, on the whims of men. The image of God currently popular is that of a distracted Father, struggling in heartbroken desperation to get people to accept a Saviour of whom they feel no need and in whom they have very little interest. To persuade these self-sufficent souls to respond to His generous offers God will do almost anything, even using salesmanship methods and talking down to them in the chummiest way imaginable. This view of things is, of course, a kind of religious romanticism which, while it often uses flattering and sometimes embarrasing terms in praise of God, manages nevertheless to make man the star of the show." - Man: The Dwelling Place of God, page 27.

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One of God’s Great "Don’ts"

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Cease from anger and forsake wrath, Do not fret-it only causes harm. Psalm 37:8

Fretting means getting ourselves "out of joint" mentally or spiritually. It is one thing to say, "Do not fret," but something very different to have such a nature that you find yourself unable to fret. It’s easy to say, "Rest in the Lord, and wait patiently for Him" ( Psalm 37:7 ) until our own little world is turned upside down and we are forced to live in confusion and agony like so many other people. Is it possible to "rest in the Lord" then? If this "Do not" doesn’t work there, then it will not work anywhere. This "Do not" must work during our days of difficulty and uncertainty, as well as our peaceful days, or it will never work. And if it will not work in your particular case, it will not work for anyone else. Resting in the Lord is not dependent on your external circumstances at all, but on your relationship with God Himself.

Worrying always results in sin. We tend to think that a little anxiety and worry are simply an indication of how wise we really are, yet it is actually a much better indication of just how wicked we are. Fretting rises from our determination to have our own way. Our Lord never worried and was never anxious, because His purpose was never to accomplish His own plans but to fulfill God’s plans. Fretting is wickedness for a child of God.

Have you been propping up that foolish soul of yours with the idea that your circumstances are too much for God to handle? Set all your opinions and speculations aside and "abide under the shadow of the Almighty" ( Psalm 91:1 ). Deliberately tell God that you will not fret about whatever concerns you. All our fretting and worrying is caused by planning without God.

-Oswald Chambers

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The Strictest Discipline

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If your right hand causes you to sin, cut it off and cast it from you; for it is more profitable for you that one of your members perish, than for your whole body to be cast into hell —Matthew 5:30

Jesus did not say that everyone must cut off his right hand, but that "if your right hand causes you to sin" in your walk with Him, then it is better to "cut it off." There are many things that are perfectly legitimate, but if you are going to concentrate on God you cannot do them. Your right hand is one of the best things you have, but Jesus says that if it hinders you in following His precepts, then "cut it off." The principle taught here is the strictest discipline or lesson that ever hit humankind.

When God changes you through regeneration, giving you new life through spiritual rebirth, your life initially has the characteristic of being maimed. There are a hundred and one things that you dare not do— things that would be sin for you, and would be recognized as sin by those who really know you. But the unspiritual people around you will say, "What’s so wrong with doing that? How absurd you are!"

There has never yet been a saint who has not lived a maimed life initially. Yet it is better to enter into life maimed but lovely in God’s sight than to appear lovely to man’s eyes but lame to God’s. At first, Jesus Christ through His Spirit has to restrain you from doing a great many things that may be perfectly right for everyone else but not right for you. Yet, see that you don’t use your restrictions to criticize someone else.

The Christian life is a maimed life initially, but inMatthew 5:48 Jesus gave us the picture of a perfectly well-rounded life— "You shall be perfect, just as your Father in heaven is perfect."

-Oswald Chambers-"My Utmost For His Highest"

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Word of the day

Regeneration

[ree-jehn’-uh-ray‘-shun]

(Latin regenerare, “to reproduce”)

The doctrine of spiritual renewal, otherwise known as being born-again. According to Titus 3:3-7, in his mercy God saves us by washing away our old nature through the power of the Holy Spirit, so that being justified by his grace we might become heirs according to the hope of eternal life, as verse 7 states. There is some controversy as to when regeneration happens in the ordo salutis (order of salvation). Calvinists assert that regeneration happens before faith; Arminians believe it happens after faith evidences itself.

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Word of the day

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Sanctification

[saynk’-tuh-fih-kay‘-shun]

(Latin sanctifare, “to consecrate” or “make holy,” from Greek hagiazo, “to purify”)

Refers to the state or process of being set apart for special use. In Christian theology, is in reference to the change brought about by God in the believer which began at the point of salvation (justification) and continues throughout the life of the believer until the final state of glorification. The word (hagiasmos=sanctifcation/holiness) occurs several times in the NT (e.g., Rom. 6:19,22; 1 Cor. 1:30; 1 Thess. 4:3,4,7; 2 Thess. 2:13; 1 Peter 1:2).

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Gold refined by fire

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“There is no one who has left house or brothers or sisters or mother or father or children or lands, for my sake and for the gospel, who will not receive a hundredfold now in this time, houses and brothers and sisters and mothers and children and lands, with persecutions, and in the age to come eternal life.”

Beloved, do not be surprised at the fiery trial when it comes upon you to test you, as though something strange were happening to you.—Now for a little while, if necessary, you have been grieved by various trials, so that the tested genuineness of your faith—more precious than gold that perishes though it is tested by fire—may be found to result in praise and glory and honor at the revelation of Jesus Christ.

And after you have suffered a little while, the God of all grace, who has called you to his eternal glory in Christ, will himself restore, confirm, strengthen, and establish you.—“In the world you will have tribulation. But take heart; I have overcome the world.”

Rev. 3:18; Mark 10:29, 30; 1 Pet. 4:12; 1 Pet. 1:6, 7; 1 Pet. 5:10; John 16:33

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Paul Washer - Are You a True Disciple?

Expiation

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[ek’-spee-ay‘-shun]

(Latin ex- as an intensive prefix + Latin piare, “to atone”)

Meaning “to atone, or make reparations for.” In Christian theology the term refers to the penal substitution of Christ on behalf of his people. Specifically it emphasizes the removal of guilt through the payment for the penalty of sin. This notion is coupled with the concept of propitiation, which refers to the appeasement or averting of God’s wrath and justice. Both concepts are seen together as two sides of the same coin.

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The Lord Is My Strength and My Song

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Isaiah 12

12:1 You will say in that day:
“I will give thanks to you, O Lord,
for though you were angry with me,
your anger turned away,
that you might comfort me.

2 “Behold, God is my salvation;
I will trust, and will not be afraid;
for the Lord God is my strength and my song,
and he has become my salvation.”

3 With joy you will draw water from the wells of salvation. 4 And you will say in that day:

“Give thanks to the Lord,
call upon his name,
make known his deeds among the peoples,
proclaim that his name is exalted.

5 “Sing praises to the Lord, for he has done gloriously;
let this be made known in all the earth.
6 Shout, and sing for joy, O inhabitant of Zion,
for great in your midst is the Holy One of Israel.”

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Does the bible teach that there are two peoples of God, Israel and the Church?

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Not only does the bible not teach that there are two distinct peoples of God, Israel and the Church, but it is very explicitly opposed to this idea. For one thing, the Church existed in the Old Testament, long before the outpouring of the Spirit on the Day of Pentecost (see Acts 7:38); and furthermore, the clear teaching of the New Testament is that the modern day Church is really just the expansion of God's people Israel. According to Paul, being an Israelite has never been based merely on outward ethnicity (Rom. 2:28-29; 9:6-8); but those who have been called according to God's promise are Abraham's true seed (Rom. 9:8). Hence, all who have faith are Abraham's children, and the true Israel of God (Rom. 4:11-17; Galatians 3:6-9, 26-29; 4:21-31; 6:16; Phil. 3:3; 1 Pet. 2:9-10; Rev. 2:9).

When Paul deals extensively with the whole question of the place of Jews and Gentiles in the people of God, in Romans 11, he shows that there is just one people, symbolized by one good olive tree; unbelieving ethnic Jews may be broken off of that tree of true Israel and believing Gentiles may be grafted in; but there is still one tree, one body, one people of God. Thus, Paul teaches elsewhere that there is no difference between Jew and Gentile in Christ (Gal. 3:26-29; Col. 3:11), but that all believers are members of the same body, citizens of the one commonwealth of Israel, inheritors of all the promises made to Abraham (Eph. 2:11-22; 3:6; Gal. 4:26-31; Phil. 3:20; Heb. 12:22-23). In short, there is and always has been one people of God, and that people includes all those who are grafted in to God's “good olive tree” to become Abraham's children by faith, whether ethnic Jews or Gentiles.

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Does the bible teach that in the end times there will be a restored Jewish state and a restored temple?

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In the Old Testament, the bible does indeed prophesy that Israel will be restored and a more glorious temple will be rebuilt (e.g. Amos 9:11-12; Ezekiel 40-48). The preliminary fulfillment of this prophecy came with the return from exile, and the rebuilding of the temple under Nehemiah and Ezra; however, this was just a taste, or down payment, of the ultimate fulfillment.

When Jesus came to this earth, his incarnation truly brought the presence of God to the world of men, as the tabernacle and temple had been designed to do; and hence, John says that he “tabernacled” among us (John 1:14). Thus, when he purged the temple, he prophesied that the temple would be destroyed and rebuilt after three days; but he was speaking of his own body, which is the true temple (John 2:13-22). After this ultimate temple-rebuilding, which occurred in the resurrection of Jesus, there was no longer a need for the typological temple of stone in Jerusalem, so Jesus prophesied its destruction, which happened in 70 AD (Matthew 24:1-2). Today, the prophecy of the restored temple and the restored Jewish people is being fulfilled, not in a temple of stone, for that has been destroyed in the presence of the body of Christ, which is the ultimate Temple of God, but in the spiritual body of Christ, the Church, which has become the “Israel of God” (see Gal. 6:16; and also Romans 2:28-29; 4:11-17; 9:6-8; Galatians 3:6-9, 26-29; 4:21-31; Ephesians 2:11-22; 3:6; Phil. 3:3; 1 Pet. 2:9-10; Rev. 2:9), and which God is now making into a holy Temple, built upon Christ the Cornerstone (see 1 Cor 6:19-20; Eph. 2:19-22; 1 Tim. 3:15; Rev. 3:12).

One of the clearest and most monumental Old Testament prophecies regarding the restoration of the tabernacle may be found in Amos 9:11-12; and in Acts 15:14-17, James clearly teaches that this passage is being fulfilled in the spreading of the gospel to the Gentiles; so in sum yes, the bible prophesies of a restored Jewish nation and temple, but then goes on to teach that this prophecy was fulfilled in Jesus' becoming the true and final Temple of God, and subsequently in his making his people a holy temple in the Lord, where God's presence might dwell among them, even today.

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Tozer on the Gifts of the Spirit

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“For a generation certain evangelical teachers have told us that the gifts of the Spirit ceased at the death of the apostles or at the completion of the New Testament. This, of course, is a doctrine without a syllable of Biblical authority back of it. The result of this erroneous teaching is that spiritually gifted persons are ominously few among us. This frightening hour calls aloud for men with the gift of prophetic insight. Instead we have men who conduct surveys, polls and panel discussions. We need men with the gift of knowledge. In their place we have men with scholarship—nothing more. Thus, we may be preparing ourselves for the tragic hour when God may set us aside as so-called evangelicals and raise up another movement to keep New Testament Christianity alive in the earth.

The truth of the matter is that the Scriptures plainly imply the imperative of possessing the gifts of the Spirit. But I must also add a word of caution. The various spiritual gifts are not equally valuable, as Paul so carefully explains. Certain brethren have magnified one gift out of seventeen out of all proportion. Among these brethren there have been and are many godly souls, but the general moral results of this teaching have nevertheless not been good. In practice it has resulted in much shameless exhibitionism, a tendency to depend upon experiences instead of upon Christ and often a lack of ability to distinguish the works of the flesh from the operations of the Spirit. Those who deny that the gifts are for us today and those who insist upon making a hobby of one gift are both wrong, and we are all suffering the consequences of their error.”

-A.W. Tozer

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John Newton on Walking with Jesus

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Walking with Jesus

(Letters of John Newton)

When I speak of walking with Jesus, my idea is helped by considering how it was with His first disciples--they lived in His presence! While He stayed in a place--they stayed; and when He moved--they went with Him. Having Him thus always near, always in view--the sight of Him undoubtedly gave a composure to their whole behavior; and was a check upon their eyes, their tongues, and their actions!

When they had hard questions upon their minds--they did not puzzle themselves with vain reasonings. When they were in need--they looked to Him for a supply. When they had difficulties and dangers--they little doubted of deliverance, knowing that He was with them.

Just so, I need a faith that shall have such an abiding, experimental conviction of His nearness and presence--as if I actually saw Him! "Lord, increase my faith!"

Surely, if He were now upon earth, and I expected a visit from Him this afternoon--my heart would bound at the thought! With what a mixture of joy and fear would I open the door to receive Him! How cautious would I be--not to do or say anything that might grieve Him, and shorten His stay with me! And how gladly, if He gave me permission to speak, would I catch the opportunity of telling Him all my concerns! Surely I would be unwilling to let Him go--until He had healed the wounds in my soul, and renewed my spiritual strength; until He had taught me better how to serve Him, and promised to support me in His service. And if I heard Him say, with an audible voice, "Though they fight against you--they shall not prevail, for I am always with you to deliver you!" I would bid adieu to fear!

But, alas, my unbelieving heart! Are not these things true, even at present? Is He not as near and as kind? Have I not the same reasons and the same encouragement to set Him always before me--and to tell Him . . .
all my needs,
all my fears, and
all my troubles--
as if I saw Him with my bodily eyes!

"Be sure of this: I am with you always--even to the end of the age!" Matthew 28:20

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“The latter glory of this house shall be greater than the former. . . . And in this place I will give peace."

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“The house that is to be built for the Lord must be exceedingly magnificent, of fame and glory throughout all lands.”—The glory of the Lord filled the Lord's house.

“Destroy this temple, and in three days I will raise it up.” . . . But he was speaking about the temple of his body.—Indeed, in this case, what once had glory has come to have no glory at all, because of the glory that surpasses it.—And the Word became flesh and dwelt among us, and we have seen his glory, glory as of the only Son from the Father, full of grace and truth.—In these last days [God] has spoken to us by his Son, whom he appointed the heir of all things, through whom also he created the world.

“Glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace among those with whom he is pleased!”—Prince of Peace.—For he himself is our peace.—And the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.

Hag. 2:9; 1 Chron. 22:5; 2 Chron. 7:2; John 2:19, 21; 2 Cor. 3:10; John 1:14; Heb. 1:2; Luke 2:14; Isa. 9:6; Eph. 2:14; Phi. 4:7

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John Newton on Greatness In the Kingdom of God

"One man, like Mr. Whitefield, is raised up to preach the gospel with success through a considerable part of the earth. Another is called to the humbler service of sweeping the streets, or cleaning this great minister's shoes. Now, if the latter is thankful and content in his poor station,--if he can look without envy, yea, with much love on the man that is honoured,--if he can rejoice in the good that is done, or pray for the success of those whom the Lord sends,--I see not why he may not be as great a man in the sight of God as he who is followed and admired by thousands."

"Upon a supposition of degrees of glory, I should think it probable, the best Christian will have the highest place; and I am inclined to think that if you and I were to travel in search of the best Christian in the land, or were qualified to distinguish who deserved the title, it is more than two to one we should not find the person in a pulpit, or any public office of life. Perhaps some old woman at her wheel, or some bed-rid person, hid from the knowledge of the world, in a mud-walled cottage, would strike our attention more than any of the doctors or reverends with whom we are acquainted."

"Let us not measure men, much less ourselves, by gifts or services. One grain of grace is worth abundance of gifts. To be self-abased, to be filled with a spirit of love, and peace, and gentleness; to be dead to the world; to have the heart deeply affected with a sense of the glory and grace of Jesus, to have our will bowed to the will of God; these are the great things, more valuable, if compared in the balance of the sanctuary, than to be an instrument of converting a province or a nation."

-John Newton

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If then you have been raised with Christ

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seek the things that are above, where Christ is, seated at the right hand of God. Set your minds on things that are above, not on things that are on earth. For you have died, and your life is hidden with Christ in God. When Christ who is your life appears, then you also will appear with him in glory.

Put to death therefore what is earthly in you: sexual immorality, impurity, passion, evil desire, and covetousness, which is idolatry. On account of these the wrath of God is coming. In these you too once walked, when you were living in them. But now you must put them all away: anger, wrath, malice, slander, and obscene talk from your mouth. Do not lie to one another, seeing that you have put off the old self with its practices and have put on the new self, which is being renewed in knowledge after the image of its creator. Here there is not Greek and Jew, circumcised and uncircumcised, barbarian, Scythian, slave, free; but Christ is all, and in all.

Put on then, as God’s chosen ones, holy and beloved, compassionate hearts, kindness, humility, meekness, and patience, bearing with one another and, if one has a complaint against another, forgiving each other; as the Lord has forgiven you, so you also must forgive. And above all these put on love, which binds everything together in perfect harmony. And let the peace of Christ rule in your hearts, to which indeed you were called in one body. And be thankful. Let the word of Christ dwell in you richly, teaching and admonishing one another in all wisdom, singing psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, with thankfulness in your hearts to God. And whatever you do, in word or deed, do everything in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God the Father through him. (Colossians 3 ESV)

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