December 1, 2003
A person who wholly follows the Lord is one who believes that the promises of God are trustworthy, that He is with His people, and that they are well able to overcome.
Watchman Nee
Website
December 2, 2003
Faith is different from proof; the latter is human, the former is a Gift from God.
Blaise Pascal
Biography
December 3, 2003
This is the month, and this the happy morn, Wherein the Son of Heaven's eternal King, Of wedded maid and virgin mother born, Our great redemption from above did bring, For so the holy sages once did sing, That He our deadly forfeit should release, And with His Father work us a perpetual peace.
John Milton
Website December 4, 2003
We can be assured that each step deeper into the Lord's Presence will reveal areas in our hearts which need to be cleansed. Do not be afraid. When the Spirit shows you areas of sin, it is not to condemn you, but to cleanse you.
Francis Frangipane
Ministries of Francis Frangipane
December 5, 2003
Faith is often strengthened right at the place of disappointment.
Rodney McBride
December 6, 2003
{The soul} must forget about {understanding}, and abandon itself into the arms of love, and His Majesty will teach it what to do next; almost its whole work is to realize its unworthiness to receive such great good and to occupy itself in thanksgiving.
Teresa of Avila
Biography
December 7, 2003
Sometimes it seems as though we spend our lives waiting. Day dreaming about an upcoming vacation, worrying over a medical test, preparing for the birth of grandchild-our days are filled with anticipation and anxiety over what the future holds. As Christians, we too spend our lives waiting. But we are waiting for something much bigger than a trip, bigger even than retirement or a wedding: We are waiting for the return of Jesus in glory. Advent heightens this sense of waiting, because it marks not only our anticipation of Jesus' final coming, but also our remembrance of his arrival into our world more than 2,000 years ago.
Anonymous
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They Worshiped Him: A Christmas Play with Carols By Gail K. Keffer They Worshipped Him revisits the nativity story from the perspective of the people who were actually there. In this dramatic retelling, we glimpse the innermost thoughts and feelings of some of the very common people whose lives were forever changed by a most extraordinary event. What did the shepherds feel? What did others think of them? Were they perceived as "eccentric"? And what about the wisemen who followed the star? Did they have an entire entourage, or did people treat them like three dottering old men? And what about Mary and Joseph; how did this unusual pregnancy affect them? They Worshipped Him answers many of these questions while reminding us of the biblical characters humanity. |
December 8, 2003
So I go to church, not because of any legalistic or moralistic reasons, but because I am a hungry sheep who needs to be fed; and for the same reason that I wear a wedding ring: a public witness of a private commitment
Madeleine L'Engle
Website
December 9, 2003
The greatest thing is to be found at one's post as a child of God, living each day as though it were our last, but planning as though our world might last a hundred years.
(Clive Staples) C. S. Lewis
Into The Wardrobe
December 10, 2002
For many of us, sadly, the spirit of Christmas is "hurry". And yet, eventually, the hour comes when the rushing ends and the race against the calendar mercifully comes to a close. It is only now perhaps that we truly recognize the spirit of Christmas. It is not a matter of days or weeks, but of centuries-nearly twenty of them now since that holy night in Bethlehem. Regarded in this manner, the pre-Christmas rush may do us greater service than we realize. With all its temporal confusion, it may just help us to see that by contrast, Christmas itself is eternal.
Burton Hills
December 11, 2002
To be used of God. Is there anything more encouraging, more fulfilling? Perhaps not, but there is something more basic: to meet with God. To linger in His presence, to shut out the noise of the city and, in quietness, give Him the praise He deserves. Before we engage ourselves in His work, let's meet Him in His Word... in prayer... in worship.
Charles (Chuck) Swindoll
Insight For Living
December 12, 2002
All God's plans have the mark of the cross on them, and all His plans have death to self in them.... But men's plans ignore the offense of the cross or despise it. Men's plans have no profound, stern or self-immolating denial in them. Their gain is of the world. How much of these destructive elements, esteemed by men, does the devil bring into the church, until all the high, unworldly and holy aims, and heavenly objects of the church are retired and forgotten?
Edward McKendree (E. M.) Bounds
Public Domain Texts
December 13, 2003
At the heart of the nativity narratives in both Matthew and Luke, is a simple fact: amid the struggle of a people who had longed for 500 years for God to act in the world in new ways, God came to be with them in a way that totally identified himself with us, as human beings. Amid the most unlikely of circumstances, to the most unlikely of people, God became man for the salvation of all people.©2003
Dennis Bratcher
The Christian Resource Institute
December 14, 2003
Many who say "Our Father" on Sunday spend the rest of the week acting like orphans.
Anonymous
December 15, 2003
In the early Church there was nothing of the uncertainty which we find among Christians now. They knew what they were, and it was on the authenticated facts concerning Christ that they rested this certainty. No one then thought of saying, I believe, but I am not sure whether I am born of God; for they took for granted that whosoever believeth that Jesus is the Christ is born of God. They did not analyze their own faith to ascertain how far it was of the right quantity and quality. They never thought of themselves at all, but only of Him who, though rich, for their sakes had become poor.
Horatius Bonar
Biography
December 16, 2003
If we truly love people, we will desire for them far more than it is within our power to give them, and this will lead us to prayer: Intercession is a way of loving others.
Richard J. Foster
Brief Biography and List of Works
December 17, 2003
If we could condense all the truths of Christmas into only three words, these would be the words: "God with us." We tend to focus our attention at Christmas on the infancy of Christ. The greater truth of the holiday is His deity. More astonishing than a baby in the manger is the truth that this promised baby is the omnipotent Creator of the heavens and the earth!
John F. MacArthur, Jr.
Bible Bulletin Board
December 18, 2003
Whether we think of, or speak to, God, whether we act or suffer for him, all is prayer, when we have no other object than his love, and the desire of pleasing him.
John Wesley
Wesley Centre
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Assist Me to Proclaim: The Life and Hymns of Charles Wesley By John R. Tyson Charles Wesley (1707-1788) was the cofounder of Methodism and the author of more than 9,000 hymns and sacred poems, including such favorites as "Hark! the Herald Angels Sing," "O for a Thousand Tongues to Sing," and "Christ the Lord Is Risen Today." John Tyson here traces the remarkable life of this influential man from cradle to grave, using rare---including previously unpublished---hymns, letters, and journal materials. As the younger brother of John Wesley, Charles was a vital partner in the Methodist revival. While often standing in the shadow of his more famous brother, Charles Wesley was arguably the founder of the Oxford Holy Club, and he actually experienced evangelical conversion three days prior to John. In Assist Me to Proclaim Tyson explores, among other things, behind-the-scenes questions about the brothers' sometimes-stormy relationship. Notwithstanding all his accomplishments as an evangelist and itinerant preacher, Charles is chiefly remembered for his startling facility at writing hymns that show God at work in almost every instance of life. His remarkable legacy endures around the world, as hundreds of Charles Wesley hymns are still sung in churches everywhere today. Assist Me to Proclaim draws a picture of a man whose fidelity to both the Church of England and the original vision of Methodism energized his remarkable abilities as a revivalist and hymn writer. Readers also get a glimpse into Wesley's heart and mind through the window of his hymn texts. This is a biography that any student of church history or hymnody will welcome. John R. Tyson is professor of theology at Houghton College, Houghton, New York. He is the author of several books, including Invitation to Christian Spirituality, Charles Wesley: A Reader and In the Midst of Early Methodism, a "Saddlebag Selection" award winner. |
December 19, 2003
The law breaks the hard heart, but the gospel melts it. A stone duly broken, may be still a hard stone; but the gospel melts.
Ralph Erskine
Ministry Profile
December 20, 2003
Lord Jesus, Master of both the light and the darkness, send your Holy Spirit upon our preparations for Christmas. We who have so much to do seek quiet spaces to hear your voice each day. We who are anxious over many things look forward to your coming among us. We who are blessed in so many ways long for the complete joy of your kingdom. We whose hearts are heavy seek the joy of your presence. We are your people, walking in darkness, yet seeking the light. To you we say, "Come Lord Jesus!"
Henri J. M. Nouwen
Nouwen Centre
December 21, 2003
His sermons were over their heads. His opinionated views alienated his colleagues. Coworkers found him boastful, even arrogant. A physical disability drove him to over-function in ministry. The first two congregations he pastored rejected his leadership, and, unable to still their internal strife and bickering, he went on to a third. By some measures of success, his ministry was a failure. This was no mythical pastor. This was the Apostle Paul.
Claire Schenot Burkat
Brief Biography
December 22, 2003
Let our hearts admit, "I am poor and weak. Satan is too subtle, too cunning, too powerful; he watches constantly for advantages over my soul. The world presses in upon me with all sorts of pressures, pleas, and pretenses. My own corruption is violent, tumultuous, enticing, and entangling. As it conceives sin, it wars within me and against me. Occasions and opportunities for temptation are innumerable. No wonder I do not know how deeply involved I have been with sin. Therefore, on God alone will I rely for my keeping. I will continually look to Him
John Owen
Biography-Website
December 23, 2003
You say, 'If I had a little more, I should be very satisfied.' You make a mistake. If you are not content with what you have, you would not be satisfied if it were doubled.
Charles Haddon Spurgeon
The Spurgeon Archive
December 24, 2003
Love came down on Christmas Day so many years ago and brought the greatest happiness the world would ever know... Peace came down on Christmas Day to fill the hearts of men with all the sweet tranquility each Christmas brings again...Joy came down on Christmas Day as angels came to earth heralding the miracle of our Messiah's birth.
Anonymous
December 25, 2003
God grant you the light in Christmas, which is faith; the warmth of Christmas, which is love; the radiance of Christmas, which is purity; the righteousness of Christmas, which is justice; the belief in Christmas, which is truth; the all of Christmas, which is Christ.
Wilda English
December 26, 2003
When therefore the first spark of a desire after God arises in thy soul, cherish it with all thy care, give all thy heart into it; it is nothing less than a touch of the divine loadstone, that is to draw thee out of the vanity of time, into the riches of eternity. Get up therefore, and follow it as gladly as the wise men of the east followed the star from heaven that appeared to them. It will do for thee as the star did for them, it will lead thee to the birth of Jesus, not in a stable at Bethlehem in Judea, but to the birth of Jesus in the dark centre of thine own soul.
William Law
Biography and Works
December 27, 2003
This independent, self-sufficient approach to life is the fundamental sin of so many of us...It is the refusal of grace. It is the failure to acknowledge Abba as the Divine Almsgiver. It is Adam and Eve reaching for the apple all over again. But, luckily, self-sufficiency can take us only so far. Sooner or later we run up against a brick wall. We get a sudden glimpse into our existential self-deficiency. We finish eating the apple and discover, a few hours later, that we are hungry again. We gradually realize where we actually are and where we truly belong.
Albert Haase
December 28, 2003
Resolution One: I will live for God. Resolution Two: If no one else does, I still will.
Jonathan Edwards
The Works of Jonathan Edwards
December 29, 2003
No matter what the ruin of any life may be there is always a place to start. There is a place where you must begin. You need to apologize to someone. You need to go to somebody and straighten something out. You need to stop some practice that is wrong. You need to open yourself up to counsel. You need to seek advice. You need to get some guidance. There is always a first step. That is where you must begin.
And whatever you pray, pray that God will give you the grace, the strength and the determination to take that step. Then, the process of recovery has begun.
Ray C. Stedman
Homepage
December 30, 2003
A believer longs after God - to come into His presence - to feel His love - to feel near to Him in secret - to feel in the crowd that he is nearer than all the creatures. Ah! dear brethren, have you ever tasted this blessedness? There is greater rest and solace to be found in the presence of God for one hour, than in an eternity of the presence of man.
Robert Murray M'Cheyne
Online Information
December 31, 2003
The New Year is a time to learn to rely more heavily on the grace of God. Now I've met a few self-made men and women and so have you, but so often these people seem proud, self-centered and driven. There is another way: beginning to trust in God's help. One secret from the Apostle Paul: "I can do everything through Him who gives me strength," he said. (Phil 4:13, NIV) And God's strength saw him through pain, joy, and accomplishment.
Anonymous
November 2003 / January 2004
