Thoughts On Christian Sanctity

From: Kristen

 

As Paul once wrote “Oh, what a wretched man that I am!” I can follow suit and say “Oh what a wretched woman I am!” We fall so short of being like Christ. But should we give up? God forbid. My goal is to draw closer to Him every single day. I want to be like Jesus; to serve Him, to worship Him, to relfect Him and to abide with Him.

The following quote inspired me greatly when I read it! Among humbling me and forcing me to take a good look at what I really am, it encouraged me and it drives me to pusue Christ with more zeal and passion than ever before. This quote is “frame-worthy” to me. That’s a phrase I like to use when I have found something that I dearly love and want to set it up as a reminder. The following is my desire, my ultimate goal, and my aim that I press toward. It’s my life’s goal. And I hope this is your goal as well. 

 

“To be like Christ. To displace self from the inner throne, and to enthrone Him; to make not the slightest compromise with the smallest sin. We aim at nothing less than to walk with God all day long, to abide every hour in Christ and He and His words in us, to love God with all the heart and our neighbor as ourselves….It is possible to cast every care on Him daily, and to be at peace amidst pressure, to see the will of God in everything, to put away all bitterness and clamor and evil speaking, daily and hourly. It is possible by unreserved resort to divine power under divine conditions to become strongest through and through at our weakest point.”

 

– Unknown

Being a Block.

From: Grant

Recently my beautiful fiance and I were reading together in Ephesians. We read a passage that I had read many times but this time it had a new meaning to me. Ephesians 2:19 & 20 reads:  “Now therefore ye are no more strangers and foreigners, but fellowcitizens with the saints, and of the household of God. And are built upon the foundation of the apostles and prophets, Jesus Christ himself being the chief corner stone.”

When we read this it smacked me like a pallet of bricks. The church is built upon great Christians (of course the strong and weak alike are all built upon Christ and without Him would have nothing); those that stood out, that went the extra distance for Jesus, that have forsaken everything for Him. The foundation of the modern day Church is built, thanks to Christ, upon the apostles and prophets of old. This is how I want to be. I fall way short of a Paul or Enoch but what a great goal! What an awesome oppurtunity to serve Christ like this. When we are reigning in the millennium with Christ, ruling with him, will the children and adults alike open the books of old and read our names of how we strived to serve Christ in a miraculous way? How great Kristen’s faith was and how it was accounted unto her for righteousness or How Grant slew 1,000 demons with the words of God. Or maybe How Melody was bold enough to lead thousands to Christ in the slums of Iran.

What will be written of you centuries from now? Will there be nothing? Will you slide into Gods kingdom by receiving Christ as your Lord and Savior but then STOP and go no further? Will you gain no crowns to cast at the feet of our Marvelous Savior? Will you hide? Will your name be numbered among the countless others that never obeyed Christ? Or will you be named among the greats? Among Abraham, Peter, Noah and the few others that decided to live a selfless, Christfilled life?

I pray that the Lord will give anyone who has this desire, as well as myself, the boldness and ability to live this type of life. Maybe it wont happen overnight for you but can’t we take it a step at a time, starting with being obedient to what God you to do right now?

Refiner of Silver

From: Kristen

Malachi 3:3 says: “He will sit as a refiner and purifier of silver.”

This verse puzzled some women in a Bible study and they wondered what this statement meant about the character and nature of God. One of the women offered to find out the process of refining silver and get back to the group at their next Bible Study. That week, the woman called a silversmith and made an appointment to watch him at work. She didn’t mention anything about the reason for her interest beyond her curiosity about the process of refining Silver. As she watched the silversmith, he held a piece of silver over the fire and let it heat up. He explained that in refining silver, one needed to hold the silver in the middle of the fire where the flames were hottest as to burn away all the impurities. The woman thought about God holding us in such a hot spot; then she thought again about the verse that says: “He sits as a refiner and purifier of silver.”

She asked the silversmith if it was true that he had to sit there. The man answered that yes, he not only had to sit there holding the silver, but he had to keep his eyes on the silver the entire time it was in the fire. If the silver was left a moment too long in the flames, it would be destroyed.

The woman was silent for a moment. Then she asked the silversmith, “How do you know when the silver is fully refined?” He smiled at her and answered, “Oh, that’s easy — when I see my image in it.”

If today you are feeling the heat of the fire , remember that God has his eye on you and will keep watching you until He sees His image in you. Pass this on right now. This very moment, someone needs to know that God is watching over them. And, whatever they’re going through, they’ll be a better person in the end.

“You can spend life anyway you wish, but you can only spend it once.”

More Than Flowers

From: Kristen

The secular world uses the term “love” to describe and showcase every animalistic passion other than love. With nearly every TV show, Grammy-winning song, or Hollywood blockbuster, we are introduced to “LOVE” by watching fornication, adultery, and homosexuality play out before our eyes. Lust has taken over and has been deemed “love” and we Christians slowly end up forgetting what love truly is.

Love has become overused and overworked and definitely misunderstood. A few entries back, I posted on 1 Corinthians 13 – the famous love chapter in the Bible. When I really studied those verses and put them in that perspective (Love is patient, Christ is patient, am I patient?), it really opened my eyes to the power, the beauty, the wonder, and the depth of love as God created it.

Saturday, the world will celebrate love. But sadly, most everyone will celebrate it in a way very far from 1 Corinthians 13. The very same couples who are short with each other in times of stress, who belittle the other frequently, and who are selfish instead of selfless – they will buy their lover a box of sweet chocolate, pick up a dozen roses, hand them a stuffed animal, and present them with a card full of words that touch the heart. But then on February 15, all thoughts of love and sacrifice are forgotten. The holiday is over and it’s back to the real world. Thoughtful acts of kindness and romance are shoved into the closet, only to be let out when “I feel like it.” A gentle touch or a tender word is used every now and then, instead of making it a lifestyle – the way Jesus instructed us to. Jesus said that the world will know we are His if we have love one to another. Now, that’s not to say we have to drain our bank account constantly buying perfume, chocolates, and teddy bears. Jesus didn’t tell us to show our love by handing them flowers, He told us to show our love by the giving of ourselves…not our money. Since I seriously grasped this concept, I have been trying to build this kind of love within me. I’m not going to lie, it’s been hard. I’m prone to be selfish and look after myself, protecting myself and not giving when I may be hurt. But God’s love gives when it does not recieve. God’s love doesn’t worry about getting hurt or being unappreciated. God’s love lays down its life – not only in death, but in everyday life. Tough stuff! At this time in my life, I’m working to build that kind of love for my family, preparing myself to love my husband and, one day, my own children the same way God loves us. So far, I’ll be honest, I haven’t done all that well. But practice makes perfect and today is a brand new day.

So let us start loving. A love that is shown by selflessness, by laying down our lives. It’s the kind of love, as Eric and Leslie Ludy sing, that shows itself far more than flowers could ever show. That’s the kind of love I want to showcase in my life.

More Than Flowers

Vs 1
What will it be like to spend life at your side?
I’m eager to say I do and share my life with you
I want our love to be something sweet and heavenly
Moving angels to tears with its simple purity

I want our love to shine
Be the romance of all time
One that lives love louder
‘Cause it’s shown with more than flowers

Chorus
I want you to see me living out my love for you daily
I want you to hear me adoring you with every word I speak
I want you to catch me serving you in ways you’re not supposed to see
It’s then you’ll know
Far more than flowers could ever show

Vs 2
What will it be like to never say goodbye?
To hold you every night?
To love you with my life?
I want our love to be a taste of eternity
A picture of God’s grace
A reflection of His face

I want our love to glow
Demonstrate and show
God’s eternal power shown with more than flowers

Chorus
I want you to see me living out my love for you daily
I want you to hear me adoring you with every word I speak
I want you to catch me serving you in ways you’re not supposed to see
It’s then you’ll know
Far more than flowers could ever show

Valentine

From Grant,

Song of Solomon 8:7 Many waters cannot quench love, neither can floods drown it: if a man would give all the substance of his house for love, it would utterly be contemned.

Who can take this love away in which I have for my dear lady? No one can (except God)! I would happly destroy all of my gain and wealth for her. I would do anything for her, even lay down my life for her and this love for her is still so young and new.

So then with this said, how much more does Christ love me than this. We can not imagine the love that he has for us. God utterly destroyed his son so that we, mere humans could be with him for all eternity and live a victorious life over evil and death. He gave everything for us and nothing physical or spiritual can quench his love for us. This Valentine’s day and everyday for now on I will give everything for and to him! He is calling and waiting for us to come to him, to love him, and to want to be with him.

God’s Valentine

From: Kristen

Love is…Christ is…am I?

From: Kristen

Last night at our Bible study, one of the men of our Church brought out a very interesting view of 1 Corinthians 13 – “The Love Chapter” as it is most commonly referred to. He said, “anytime you see the word love or charity, place Christ’s name there and read through it again. After you finish, place your own name in the place of love.” It struck a chord with me and reminded me of Amy Carmichael’s “Calvary Love” quotations. We are to love with the same love as Jesus Himself. We are to live as He lived, talk as He talked, go as He went, and love as He loves.

Let us love….

1 Corinthians 13:4-8
Charity suffereth long, and is kind; charity envieth not; charity vaunteth not itself, is not puffed up,
Doth not behave itself unseemly, seeketh not her own, is not easily provoked, thinketh no evil;
Rejoiceth not in iniquity, but rejoiceth in the truth;
Beareth all things, believeth all things, hopeth all things, endureth all things.
Charity never faileth:

Love is patient. Christ is patient. …Am I patient?

Love is kind. Christ is kind. …Am I kind?

Love does not envy. Christ does not envy. …Do I envy?

Love is not proud. Christ is not proud. …Am I proud?

Love is not arrogant. Christ is not arrogant. …Am I arrogant?

Love is not hateful. Christ is not hateful. …Am I hateful?

Love is not selfish. Christ is not selfish. …Am I selfish?

Love is not easily angered. Christ is not easily angered. …Am I easily angered?

Love does not keep a record of wrongs. Christ does not keep a record of wrongs. …Do I keep a record of wrong?

Love finds no joy in sin. Christ finds no joy in sin. …Do I find joy in sin?

Love delights in the truth. Christ delights in the truth. …Do I delight in the truth?

Love can bear anything. Christ can bear anything. …Can I bear anything?

Love never loses faith. Christ never loses faith. …Do I lose faith?

Love is always hopeful. Christ is always hopeful. …Am I always hopeful?

Love endures all things. Christ endures all things. …Do I endure all things?

Love never fails. Christ never fails. …Do I fail?

1 Corinthians 13:4-8
Love never gives up. Love cares more for others than for self. Love doesn’t want what it doesn’t have. Love doesn’t strut, Doesn’t have a swelled head, Doesn’t force itself on others, Isn’t always “me first,” Doesn’t fly off the handle, Doesn’t keep score of the sins of others, Doesn’t revel when others grovel, Takes pleasure in the flowering of truth, Puts up with anything, Trusts God always, Always looks for the best, Never looks back, But keeps going to the end. Love never dies.
— From The Message Bible

1 Corinthians 13:4-8
Love endures long and is patient and kind; love never is envious nor boils over with jealousy, is not boastful or vainglorious, does not display itself haughtily.
It is not conceited (arrogant and inflated with pride); it is not rude (unmannerly) and does not act unbecomingly. Love (God’s love in us) does not insist on its own rights or its own way, for it is not self-seeking; it is not touchy or fretful or resentful; it takes no account of the evil done to it [it pays no attention to a suffered wrong].
It does not rejoice at injustice and unrighteousness, but rejoices when right and truth prevail.
Love bears up under anything and everything that comes, is ever ready to believe the best of every person, its hopes are fadeless under all circumstances, and it endures everything [without weakening].
Love never fails [never fades out or becomes obsolete or comes to an end].
— From The Amplified Bible

The Strong Gospel

From Grant,

I am a man interested in God, Life, & Love. I want more of God everyday. I am intent on being a strong Christian example for men of all generations, that pounds sin and Satan daily, but also show God’s merciful love. I want my life to be a living example of Christ’s love and power.

Recently, I’ve been studying some ministers and getting really tired of this weak, watered down gospel that they are preaching. My God’s truth is in no way weak or watered down. We have minsters that won’t even mention sin and hell or tell the lost that that is where they are going if they don’t believe in Christ. They are allowing members of their churches to drink, fornicate, lie, and all kinds of evilness without even trying to direct them to Christ or repentance. There are preachers who their biggest concern is whether or not they will make $2,000,000 or $4,000,000 this year rather than the thousands of people that die and go straight to Hell everyday.

The time is here that we must let the truth of Jesus Christ and eternity be heard and this is exactly what I aspire to do with my life.

So I’m a Quote person…

From: Kristen

I am a self-admitted quote fanatic! **I’m admitting it right now** I love great, inspiring quotes from saints in the past and present. I love being inspired. I love being encouraged. I love setting my sights on eternal things instead of having them locked on this miserable culture I presently live in. Not to brag in the slightest, but my chief goal is to be the best Christian I can be for the glory of Christ. I don’t want to just exist, I want to LIVE. Not “live” by getting drunk on weekends or having one romantic fling after the next, but live in a such a way that the light of Christ shines in my eyes and His love pours through my skin. That’s real living. I could go on and on about this subject, that you will soon see is a very big passion of mine, but I’ll save it for another post. So I suppose, as a start of this new blog, I will share with you lovely readers some of my favorite quotes that push me towards my Savior. Who knows? Maybe they will inspire you as well. 🙂

We are made for larger ends than earth can compass. O let us be true to our exalted destiny! – Catherine Booth

…Those who catch the vision are ready to follow the Lamb wherever He leads, and as they follow, in this spirit of joyful adventure, their path becomes clear before them and they are given power to fulfill their high calling. They are those who have the courage to break through conventionalities, who care not at all what the world thinks of them, because they are entirely taken up with the tremendous reality of Christ. – Bishop Bardley

Comrades, let us be resolute. Let us, by whatever name we are called, be Soldiers, Nazarites, Priests. Some will praise us, some will blame us; let us not care too much about either praise or blame. Let us live looking up, looking on, standing true by the grace of Him who has called us. – Amy Carmichael

The greatest old or new testament saints were on a level hat is quite within our reach. The same spiritual power that enabled them to become our spiritual heroes, is also available to us. – Edward Meyrick Goulburn

Carnal Christians profess Christ as their Redeemer, but their actions and decisions are for the sake of their own interests and for who they are in themselves, rather than for God’s interests and for who He is. Their minds are still the workshops of the devil, for he can persuade countless numbers of professing Christians to try and be Christians without Christ. – Ian Thomas

Tell me in the light of the Cross, isn’t it a scandal that you and I live today as we do? – Alan Redpath

There are some who would have Christ cheap. They would have Him without the Cross. But the price will not come down. – Samuel Rutherford

“You cannot love without risk of pain. In fact, love at its highest looks and feels like a bloodied cross.” – Dr. Andrew Selle