Men sleep well in the Inn of Decision.
Arabian Proverb
Quote
“Tell me what you say you want, then show me one week of your life and I will tell you if you will get it.”
Patricia Fripp, author and speaker
“Not only must you know what you want, but you must really want what you want, if you are to get what you want.”
David McNally, writer
“A teacher should, above all things, first induce a desire in the pupil for the acquisition he wishes to impart.” – Horace Mann (1796-1859), American educational reformist
“Never let the sense of failure corrupt new action.”
Oswald Chambers
Benjamin Franklin wrote: “Hide not your talents; they for use were made: What’s the use of a sundial hidden in the shade!” – Our talents are our potential, they’re God’s gift to us, and what we do with our talents is our gift back to God.
Don’t stop trying in trying times.
Visiting the past or the future is fun to do, but be careful not to take up residence in either place.
“We cannot do everything at once, but we can do something at once.” – Calvin Coolidge (1872-1933), 30th President of the USA.
Encourage others who work hard in the Lord: Praise the Lord first, and then pat the donkey.
When the eighteenth-century evangelist John Wesley was asked, ‘Why do people seem to be drawn to you, almost like a magnet?’ he replied, “When you set yourself on fire, people love to come and see you burn.”
Evangelism is the gift of being able to walk across the room.
“The closest a person gets to perfection is when they’re filling out a job application form!”
Anon
Imitation is the sincerest form of flattery: So look for excellence and imitate it.
Become bitter or better, the choice is yours.
“In the absence of any other proof, the thumb alone would convince me of God’s existence.”
Sir Isaac Newton (1642-1727), English scientist famous for discovering the law of gravity
To do two things at once is to do neither.
Publilius Syrus (c. 43BC)
Billy Graham, the world famous evangelist, used to say: “I can do something God cannot do! I can remember my sins. God doesn’t.” – God forgives us. He removes our sins and remembers them no more.
Jesus was crucified on the cross so that we could stop crucifying ourselves for the things we do wrong. He has hung up for our hang ups. That’s good news!
The key to lasting friendships is to develop a short memory.
The ‘Law of Association’ dictates that the company you keep will either lift you, lower you, or limit you. – You get to choose which it will be!
Giving with strings attached is called bargaining.
“When we have listened for God’s leading for a time, perhaps a long time, a sense of His desire for our lives starts to take shape in our minds. He sometimes leaves us alone with our thoughts, perhaps for years, causing us to trust Him, and Him alone.”
Patrick Morley.
Patrick Morley, The Man In The Mirror, 1997, USA Zondervan, p.223
The best way to break a bad habit is to drop it!
Where the mind goes the person follows, so be sure that your thoughts are on what you want rather than what you don’t want.
Joyce Meyer
Joyce Meyer, Making Good Habits Breaking Bad Habits, (2013), London: Hodder & Stoughton, p.3
Someone once said to a grumbling Christian: “You Christians seem to have a religion that makes you miserable. You are like a man with a headache. He doesn’t want to get rid of his head, but it hurts him to keep it!”
A balanced diet does not mean you have a chocolate bar in each hand!
“People who rush through life get to the end of it quicker!”
John Mason, writer
The one sure way to go broke is to sit around waiting for a break!
We might be products of our past but we don’t have to be prisoners of it. We do have a choice.
A promise is a word that goes forth into unfilled time. It reaches ahead of its speaker and its recipient, to mark the appointment between them in the future.
Source: The New Bible Dictionary
When Martin Luther (1483-1546), the protestant reformer, was asked at Worms to recant all his writings, he responded with these words: “Unless you prove to me by Scripture and plain reason that I am wrong, I cannot recant. My conscience is captive to the word of God. To go against conscience is neither right nor safe. Here I stand. There is nothing else I can do. God help me. Amen.”
“Responsibility is the price of greatness.”
Sir Winston Churchill
Did you hear about the chap who entered his donkey into the Grand National? ‘He’ll never win’, a friend said. ‘I know,’ he replied, ‘but we only ever learn and grow by association.’
“Make the most of every day because tomorrow is not guaranteed.”
Paul J. Meyer
“Fear not that your life will come to an end but that it will never have a beginning.”
John Henry Newman, British theologian.
Many people reach the end of life only to discover, to their regret, that they spent most of it on things that don’t matter.
“Life is not a stress rehearsal.”
attributed to Loretta Laroche
“Many people may listen, but few actually hear.”
Harvey Mackay
Good Luck is not simply happenchance; good luck is what happens when preparation meets opportunity.
“Depend on the rabbit’s foot if you will, but remember it didn’t work for the rabbit.”
attributed to R.E. Shay
Seagull Management: “Seagull managers fly in, make a lot of noise, dump on everybody and then fly out again!”
Ken Blanchard
If you pay peanuts you get monkeys. And if you invest peanuts in training you get the same results.
MARRIAGE
Accept that mistakes happen. Don’t be like the father whose son graduated from military academy: During the marching out parade the proud dad pointed out, “Everyone is out of step except for Johnny!”
Learning from experience is painful; not learning from experience, more so.
Canny investors watch the tide, not the waves.
“Success often costs more than its worth.”
attributed to E. Wigglesworth
“A full vault is poor compensation for an empty life.”
Nido Quebin (motivational speaker, writer, businessman)
A small fire creates little heat.
If you are waiting around for motivation to come along or turn up, forget it. You stand more chance or hitting the jackpot on the lottery. Motivation isn’t something that turns up but something that is turned up. Let me put it like this: If your ‘get-up-and-go’ has ‘got-up-and-gone’ then get up and go after it and motivation will catch up with you along the way.
R. Ian Seymour
“If opportunity doesn’t knock build a door.”
Milton Berle
“The greatest secret of success in life is for a person to be ready when their opportunity comes.”
– Benjamin Disraeli (1804-1881), British Prime Minister
OTHER FAITHS
‘It’s the resurrection that sets Christianity apart from all the other religions of the world. Other religions are basically saying they bring you this prophet; this guru or sage who says: ‘This is the way to find God.’ In that sense they’re all the same. But Christianity comes along and says this person is God and he was raised from the dead to prove it.’
Tim Keller (http://christianityexplored.org/Groups/276317/Home/CE_ORG/Tough_Questions/Tough_Questions.aspx)
There are 2.2 billion Christians in the world today (a third of the world’s population), and it’s estimated there’s a net increase of 70,000 in the number of new Christians being added to the church every single day worldwide. The church is growing faster than ever before and Christianity is gaining more members than any other religion. Indeed, it is growing three times the rate of the population explosion. More Muslims in Iran have come to know Christ over the past ten years than during the previous thousand years. In Africa, 20,000 people a day are becoming Christians. Some estimate that there may be as many as 100 million Christians in China alone.
Source: Nicky Gumbel, 1997, The Heart of Revival, Eastbourne: Kingsway Publications, p.49-50
God’s clocks keep perfect time.
“The rungs of a ladder were not meant to rest upon, but only to support you long enough to enable you to reach for something higher.”
Thomas Henry Huxley (1825-1895), English biologist and author
Success depends upon performance not potential!
“Go to every conference, meeting and seminar you can get to. Why? Because some of them are going to be life changing events but you don’t know which ones they are.”
Jim Rohn
To not pray is the same as saying, ‘I can manage by myself, thank you God.’
Jesus said, “I tell you the truth, if you have faith as small as a mustard seed, you can say to this mountain, ‘Move from here to there’ and it will move. Nothing will be impossible for you.” (Matthew 17:20.) – But God very often makes us wait. He wants us to persevere and get serious in prayer so that we never take His mountain-moving answers for granted. – Explore
Explore Bible notes 18/7/2002
Recent research, commissioned by the Church of England and undertaken by ICM, found that four out of five British adults say they believe in the power of prayer – 80% of the UK adult population admits that they would pray in an emergency or when facing a crisis.
https://www.churchofengland.org/media-centre/news/2013/03/four-out-of-five-believe-in-the-power-of-prayer.aspx (accessed 3/2013)
Jesus says: “You did not choose me, but I chose you” (John 15:16). The Bible teaches that it is God who predestines and chooses the elect; it is God who calls those whom He has chosen. We see this in Ephesians chapter 1 (v5, 11) where we read: “He predestined us to be adopted as his sons [and daughters] through Jesus Christ, in accordance with his pleasure and will… In him we were also chosen, having been predestined according to the plan of him who works out everything in conformity with the purpose of his will.” Essentially, the Bible teaches that God predetermines that certain individuals will be saved, and there are a great many Scriptures referring to the elect, believers in Christ being chosen. In fact, the concordance in one of my Bibles gives 281 entries for the words predestination, elect and chosen. Predestination, then, is the biblical doctrine that God in His sovereignty chooses certain individuals to be saved.
God’s election of sinners for salvation is part of his sovereignty over everything (Ephesians 1:11). And whenever we pray, we are acknowledging that God is in control; whenever we pray for someone to be saved, we’re (at least unconsciously) recognising that God is in control of saving people.
But God choosing people can seem to undermine evangelism (God will save those he has chosen anyway), undermine our humility (we’re the chosen ones), and undermine our holiness (we’re saved anyway). Paul helps us with each objection.
First, God uses our evangelism to save his elect (read Acts 18:9-10). Since he has chosen many, our evangelism is the joyful privilege of finding his elect with his gospel, like miners digging for gold in a pit.
Second, election keeps us humble because we were chosen “before the creation of the world” – we’re not saved because we turned out to be cleverer or more deserving. Since he first chose us, we can only ever be humble.
Third, we were chosen “to be holy and blameless in his sight” (Ephesians 1:4). Saved through Jesus, we’ll want to be like Jesus – holy.
Richard Coekin
Explore Bible notes, 4/10/2016
“Let the problems of yesterday die with the dusk and the opportunities of tomorrow will rise with the dawn.”
Anon
Don’t fix the blame; fix the problem!
The squeakiest wheel needs the most oil.
“It never costs as much to fix the problem, as it does to not to fix the problem.”
Jeffrey Gitomer
“On the plains of hesitation bleach the bones of countless thousands who, on the threshold of victory, hesitated and, while hesitating, died!”
Mary Kay Ash, entrepreneur
Tortoises only make progress when they stick their necks out; the same can often be said about humans!
“I believe that one of the most powerful forces in the world is the will of a man who believes in himself, who dares to aim high, who goes confidently after the things he wants from life.”
Rich DeVos, co-founder of Amway Corporation
We can’t do everything but, friends, we must not to nothing!
S CCESS can’t be spelt without U.
Success is a matter of choice not chance!
Some people stop to think but others stop thinking.
Think about it: in just two days, tomorrow will be yesterday.
Winning is having the ability to hang on after others have given up and let go.
Papa whale gave this wise advice to his son: “Remember, when you spout off are you are most prone to being harpooned.”
“Work is a consequence of the creation, not the fall, and is intended by God as a means to a partnership with him, the service of others and self-fulfilment.”
John Stott
John Stott, I Believe in Preaching , p.312
“Well done is better than well said!”
Benjamin Franklin
We don’t even know for sure what will happen in the next five minutes, let alone a year or more from now. God wants us to trust Him and to lean and rely on Him for absolutely everything. That doesn’t mean we do nothing while God does everything for us, but it does mean that we trust Him more than we trust ourselves or anyone or anything else.
Joyce Meyer
If you can’t sleep, then get up and do something instead of lying there worrying. It’s the worry that gets you, not the lack of sleep.
Dale Carnegie
“Trials are medicines which our gracious and wise physician prescribes, because we need them; and he proportions the frequency and weight of them to what the case requires. Let us trust in his skill, and thank him for his prescription.”
John Newton (1725-1807) Church minister and hymnist
Quit living as if the purpose of life is to arrive safely at death. Set God-sized goals. Pursue God-ordained passions. Go after a dream that is destined to fail without divine intervention.
Keep asking questions. Keep making mistakes. Keep seeking God.
Stop pointing out problems and become part of the solution.
Stop repeating the past and start creating the future.
Stop playing it safe and start taking risks.
Expand your horizons. Accumulate experiences. Enjoy the journey.
Find every excuse you can to celebrate everything you can.
Live like today is the first day and last day of your life.
Don’t let what’s wrong with you keep you from worshipping what’s right with God.
Burn sinful bridges. Blaze new trails.
Don’t let fear dictate your decisions. Take a flying leap of faith.
Quit holding out. Quit holding back.
Go all in with God. Go all out for God.
Mark Batterson
Source: Mark Batterson, All In, 2013, Michigan USA, Zondervan, p.85-86
“Have faith in your faith and doubt your doubts.”
Dr Robert H. Schuller (US pastor, writer and television presenter)
The nicest thing we can do for our Heavenly Father is to be kind to one of his children.
St. Teresa of Avila
Wise leaders lead from their strengths, they follow what’s known as the 70-25-5 principle: Give 70 percent of your time to your areas of developing your strengths. Effective leaders who maximise their potential spend the majority of their time on what they do well, rather than spending it on what they do not do so well. Give 25 percent of your time to new things; areas that you want to improve. If you want progress and get better you have to keep updating, changing and improving. Dedicate 25 percent of your time to new things that are connected to your areas of strength and you will excel in leading. Give 5 percent of your time to the areas of your weakness. No one can completely eradicate working in their areas of weakness. The key to effective leadership is to delegate to others who are gifted in the areas that you are not particularly good at. That way you free yourself up to focus on the areas of your God-given strengths, and where you are most productive. – John Maxwell
Cited in The UCB Word For Today, 20/7/2015
Why does God allow evil and suffering? This is a valid and frequently asked question, and the only honest response is that no one knows for certain; because no one has all the answers. ‘Like the bailiff who said, “Do you swear to tell the truth, the whole truth and nothing but the truth, so help you God?” And the man answered, “Sir, if I knew the whole truth and nothing but the truth I would be God!” That much is true. But we are not God, are we, and so none of us has all the answers.’
Rick Warren
Rick Warren, God’s Power To Change Your Life, 2006, Grand Rapids, Michigan: Zondervan, p.186
“Failure is only the opportunity to begin again more intelligently.”
Henry Ford (1863-1947), founder of the Ford Motor Company
A smile costs nothing, but gives you much. It enriches those who receive, without making poorer those who give. It takes but a moment, but the memory of it lasts forever. None is so rich or mighty that he can get along without it, and none is so poor but that he can be made rich by it. A smile creates happiness in the home, fosters goodwill in business and is the countersign of friendship. It brings rest to the weary, cheer to the discouraged, sunshine to the sad and is nature’s best antidote for trouble. Yet it cannot be bought, begged, borrowed or stolen, for it is something of no value until it is given away. Some people are too tired to give you a smile. Give them one of yours, as none needs a smile so much as they who have no more to give!
Anon.
Becoming a believer is not dependent on human wisdom or strength. It does not rely on your background or your family connections or where in the world you were born. It is not dependent on a feeling you had at an evangelistic meeting, or your good deeds, or your current experience of living a successful Christian life (however you try to measure success). No. God chose! … All the initiative in becoming a believer was down to God. God decreed, ‘That person will become a believer,’ and by whatever mechanism he chose for us to hear and respond to the good news, we did. He set his grace upon us when we were his enemies, and that grace invincibly came through for us.
Marcus Honeysett
Source: Marcus Honeysett, Finding Joy, p.102
Indeed, Paul warns us: “Whoever eats the bread or drinks the cup of the Lord in an unworthy manner will be guilty of sinning against the body and blood of the Lord. Everyone ought to examine themselves before they eat of the bread and drink from the cup. For those who eats and drinks without discerning the body of the Lord eats and drink judgment on themselves” (1 Corinthians 11:27-29 NIV). Commentators have made several suggestions as to what Paul actually meant by ‘unworthy manner’. It may be a warning against rushing into the ceremony without thinking of its meaning; or to forget the sacrifice of Christ on our behalf; or to come to Communion with un-confessed sin, or even to allow the sacrament to become a cold, lifeless, formal ritual… just going through the motions!
Only speak when your words are better than your silence.
There is a school of thought that suggests circumcision was replaced by baptism in the New Testament but baptism is not a replacement so much as an advancement; an advancement in the grace of God so that Jews could be initiated into the Christian faith. You see, without the New Covenant sign of baptism there would have been no turning point for Old Covenant people and… ‘One might hesitatingly suggest that the fact that women could receive baptism as well and as easily as men has something to do with it – now there is a gospel liberty for women which the Old Covenant did not bestow.’
Many in our society think Christianity is irrelevant and the church insignificant but at a recent Christian conference one the main speakers, Krish Kandiah, reminded us of some things…
- Do you know who provides half of the parent and toddler support groups in the United Kingdom? – Is it Sure Start? – No, it’s the church actually!
- Do you know who provides the biggest network of debt counselling across the United Kingdom with 190 drop in centres helping over 19,000 people last year alone? – Is it Martin-money-saving-expert-Lewis? – No, it’s the church actually!
- Do you know who will feed 100,000 hungry people this year in the UK? – Is it the Red Cross? – No, it’s the church actually!
- Do you know who brought hospitals, schools, universities and democracy into our country? – Was it the Vikings? – No, it’s the church actually!
- Who invented Aston Villa, Birmingham City, Bolton Wanderers, Everton, Fulham, Liverpool, Manchester City, Queens Park Rangers, Southampton and Tottenham Hotspur football clubs? – Was it the Football Association? – No, it’s the church actually!
- When the doctors, the police and the social workers move out of an area and go and live somewhere safe, who is it that moves in? – Is it Richard Dawkins and the militant atheists? – No, it’s the church actually!
- Who is it that is the hope of the world? – Is it the United Nations? – No, it’s the church actually!
Krish Kandiah, (day 1) Spring Harvest Minehead, Week 2, 2012
Many of the world’s greatest thinkers believe that God not only exists, but that He created the universe and its inhabitants. So the next time someone tells you that only simple, uneducated people believe in God – don’t buy it. Dr Robert Jastrow, founder and director of the Goddard Institute for Space Studies at NASA, writes in his blockbuster book, God and the Astronomers: ‘The astronomical evidence supports the Biblical view of the origin of the world…The details differ, but the essential elements in the astronomical and Biblical accounts of Genesis are the same…Science has proved that the universe exploded into being at a certain moment… What cause produced this effect? Who or what put the matter or energy into the universe? Science cannot answer these questions… and for the scientist who has lived by his faith in the power of reason, the story ends like a bad dream. He has scaled the mountain of ignorance… is about to conquer the highest peak, and as he pulls himself over the final rock he’s greeted by a band of theologians who’ve been sitting there for centuries.’
Source: The UCB Word For Today devotional, 2/10/2016
God is depending in you. I read this challenging comment recently: “God is depending on you. That may come as a bit of a surprise but God is waiting for you and depending on you to do his work. He is depending on you to be generous with your time and abilities and money for others. He is depending on you to give of your time and resources in order to help the person in need. He is depending on you to spend time with the sick and the lonely. He is depending on you to use your money so that others may come to know Christ. And He is depending on you to use your abilities in the ministry of your local congregation. God is depending on you to show hospitality and demonstrate His love to others.”
Anon
Forgiveness is the FREE gospel offer. Repentance is the COSTLY gospel demand.
“The service we render to others is really the rent we pay for our room on this earth.”
Sir Wilfred T. Grenfell (1865-1940), English physician and missionary
Once we have been baptised we are to never quite dry off. We are meant to leave wet footprints behind us wherever we go.
As Christians, we should be aware that there is cosmic conflict going on all of the time; it’s spiritual warfare: a world of trouble; a battle between good and evil, between Christ and the devil. Jesus told his followers: ‘In this world you will have trouble. But take heart! I have overcome the world’ (John 16v33): He warned us that troubles, battles and skirmishes would continue… but, friends, the good news is that the war has already been won and Christians are on the winning side. The war is won and victory has been declared but it has not yet been fully established.