Quotes (12/19)

And He has said to me, “My grace is sufficient for you, for power is perfected in weakness.” -2Cor 12.9

Out of weakness were made strong. -Heb 11.34

One solitary life

He never wrote a book. He never held an office. He never had a family or owned a home. He never set foot inside a big city. He never traveled two hundred miles from the place he was born. He did none of the things that usually accompany greatness.

While He was still a young man, the tide of popular opinion turned against him. His friends deserted him. He was turned over to his enemies, and went through a mockery of a trial. He was nailed to a cross between two thieves. While he was dying, his executioners gambled for the only piece of property he had – his coat. When he was dead, he was laid in a borrowed grave.

Nineteen centuries have come and gone, and today he is the central figure of the human race. I am well within the mark when I say that all the armies that ever marched, and all the navies that ever sailed, and all the parliaments that ever sat, and all the kings that ever reigned – put together -have not affected the life of man on this earth as powerfully as this One Solitary Life.  -James Allen Francis

“The Church, through her resurrection and ascension with Christ, is already legally on the throne. Through the use of her weapons of prayer and faith, she holds in this present moment the balance of power in world affairs. In spite of all of her lamentable weaknesses, appalling failures, and indefensible shortcomings, the Church is the mightiest force for civilization and enlightened social consciousness in the world today.” – Paul Billheimer, Destined for the Throne (I’d like to reproduce the whole book here! See my review.)

“From all eternity, all that precedes the Marriage Supper of the Lamb is preliminary and preparatory. Only thereafter will God’s program for the eternal ages begin to unfold. God will not be ready, so to speak, to enter upon His ultimate and supreme enterprise for the ages until the Bride is on the throne with her divine Lover and Lord. Up until then, the entire universe under the Son’s regulation and control is being manipulated by God for one purpose – to prepare and train the Bride.” – Billheimer.

“Prayer is the power of the Church; and could I speak as loud as the trumpet which is to wake the dead, I would thus call upon the Church, in all branches and in all lands: ‘Awake! awake! put on thy strength, O Zion! put on thy beautiful garments, O Jerusalem! Arise, shine, for thy light is come, and the glory of the Lord is risen upon thee.’ Patriarchs, prophets, apostles. martyrs, reformers, were mighty in prayer. ‘” – Dr. N. Murray

“The Church exists for nothing else but to draw men into Christ, to make them little Christs. If they are not doing that, all the cathedrals, clergy, missions, sermons, even the Bible itself, are simply a waste of time. God became Man for no other purpose.” -C.S. Lewis

“The God of Israel is sometimes a God who hides Himself, but never a God who absents Himself; sometimes in the dark, but never at a distance.” – Matthew Henry

“Worry works! 90% of the things I worry about never happen!” – heard on Twitter

“Mercy is the grace of the forgiven. The man who has not accepted his own forgiveness cannot extend forgiveness to his brother.” -Frances J. Roberts

“I owe everything to the gift of Pentecost. For fifty days the facts of the Gospel were complete, but no conversions were recorded. Pentecost registered three thousand souls. It is by fire that a holy passion is kindled in the soul whereby we live the life of God. The soul’s safety is in its heat. Truth without enthusiasm, morality without emotion, ritual without soul, make for a Church without power… Destitute of the Fire of God, nothing else counts; possessing Fire, nothing else matters.” – Samuel Chadwick

“The church’s concern for and identification with the poor are sure signs of its faithfulness to the Kingdom and are often signs of fundamental renewal.” – Howard A. Synder

“I quickly found that the American church is a difficult place to fit in if you want to live out NT Christianity. The goals of American Christianity are often a nice marriage, children who don’t swear, and good church attendance.” -Crazy Love, Francis Chan

“Keep me, Lord, from fainting In this fierce fight, When the foe is rising, Clothe me with Thy might.” – Evan Roberts

In Matthew 14, Jesus ordered his disciples into a boat that was headed for a storm. The Bible says he constrained them to get into a ship. It was headed for troubled waters; it would be tossed about like a bobbing cork. Where was Jesus? He was up in the mountains overlooking the sea; he was there, praying for them not to fail in the test he knew they must go through. – David Wilkerson, devotional

“Our insistence in proving that we are right is nearly always an indication that there has been some point of disobedience.” – Oswald Chambers

“Preach that those who do not fall out with their sins may fall out with thee.” – Martin Luther

“He could have added fortune to fame, but caring for neither, he found happiness and honor in being helpful to the world.” -epitaph of George Washington Carver. -Woodbridge, More Than Conquerers, via TGIF devotional.

“Never be afraid to try something new. Remember, amateurs built the Ark. Professionals built the Titanic.” – Author unknown

David Wilkerson devotional:

Christ is the treasure chest in the field. And in him, I’ve found all that I’ll ever need. No more trying to find purpose in ministry. No more looking for fulfillment in family or friends. No more needing to build something for God, or to be a success, or to feel useful. No more keeping up with the crowd, or trying to prove something. No more searching for ways to please people. No more trying to think or reason my way out of difficulties.

I’ve found what I’m looking for. My treasure, my pearl, is Christ. And all that the Owner asks of me is, “David, I love you. Let me adopt you. I’ve already signed the papers with my own Son’s blood. You’re now a joint heir with him of everything I possess.”

What a bargain. I give up my filthy rags of self-reliance and good works. I lay aside my worn-out shoes of striving. I leave behind my sleepless nights on the streets of doubt and fear. And in return, I get adopted by a King. This is what happens when you seek the pearl, the treasure, till you find him. Jesus offers you everything he is. He brings you joy, peace, purpose, holiness. And he becomes your everything—your waking, your sleeping, your morning, afternoon and evening.