Lord be with us this day,
Within us to purify us;
Above us to draw us up;
Beneath us to sustain us;
Before us to lead us;
Behind us to restrain us;
Around us to protect us.
– St Patrick
Category: PASSION Quotes
In the Hands of the Father
We are in the hands of a Father, who is at this moment doing for us precisely the thing which we ourselves should ask at his hands,
if we knew, as he does, what is best for us.
– Charles Simeon as quoted in Charles Simeon by Derek Prime
God Will Be Glorified in Men
Our great comfort is, that God reigneth,
and that he will ultimately be glorified in men,
whether they will or not.
He can not only work without them, but against them,
or even by them against their own designs.
– Charles Simeon as quoted in Charles Simeon by Derek Prime
The Celebrations in Eternity
The celebrations in eternity that are recorded in Scripture are not about human position, power, or achievement. They are about God’s position, God’s power, God’s faithfulness, and God’s grace. They celebrate God’s victory over evil and the eternal life God gives us. These celebrations remind us of what is essential and truly important, and they welcome us to live in light of these values today…
In a world that idolizes power, position, fame, and material wealth, we constantly need our sense of what is important clarified and reoriented. The celebrations of eternity provide for us a check of our internal importance meter and call us to live and work in light of what is truly eternally important. They remind us not to let things that are meant to point to Jesus become the things that replace Jesus in the here and now.
– Paul David Tripp in Forever
The Destructive Force of Self-Glory
There is no more destructive force in a relationship than self-glory. When I make everything all about me – all about the things I want, the things I feel, and the things I need – I will be endlessly demanding and dissatisfied. When I am in the center of my world, I won’t so much love you as I will work to co-opt you into the service of my little kingdom of one. I will be much more concerned about my agenda for you than about God’s will for you. I will judge you, not by the laws of God’s kingdom, but by the laws of my kingdom. If you help me get what I want, I will be kind to you, but if you get in the way of what I want, I will do what is necessary to get you back in line with the purposes of my kingdom of one.
– Paul David Tripp in Forever
Who Is the Center?
A relationship in which both parties have inserted themselves into the center of their worlds so that everything is all about them will be one of constant conflict, hurt, discouragement, frustration, and anger. Eternity reminds us that life has not and will not work according to our plan, for the world is moving according to the plan of Another. Eternity humbles us with the inescapable reality that we have been born into a universe that, by its very nature, is a celebration of Another.
– Paul David Tripp in Forever
Grace Leading to Grace
What does it look like to live life in a manner worthy of the gospel? It looks like dying with Christ to one’s self and being raised in Christ to walk in the newness of life with our brothers and sisters. It means living grace-filled lives that grant patience and mercy and gentleness for the spiritual journeys of others and a respect for the differences and idiosyncrasies we all bring to the Lord’s table.
– Matt Chandler reflecting on Philippians 1:27 in
To Live Is Christ, To Die Is Gain
Fearless Faith
Fearless faith results from holding on to Christ as our treasure. Gospel courage comes from gospel preciousness. If we truly believed that our reward in heaven far surpasses all the comfort and convenience and collections of the world, we, too, would be willing to consider them all as loss.
– Matt Chandler in To Live Is Christ, To Die Is Gain
God’s Purpose in Our Affliction
In the midst of facing various afflictions, I found the following Spurgeon devotional from this morning to be helpful:
“Shew me wherefore thou contendest with me.”—Job 10:2.
PERHAPS, O tried soul, the Lord is doing this to develop thy graces. There are some of thy graces which would never be discovered if it were not for thy trials. Dost thou not know that thy faith never looks so grand in summer weather as it does in winter? Love is too often like a glow-worm, showing but little light except it be in the midst of surrounding darkness. Hope itself is like a star—not to be seen in the sunshine of prosperity, and only to be discovered in the night of adversity. Afflictions are often the black foils in which God doth set the jewels of His children’s graces, to make them shine the better. It was but a little while ago that on thy knees thou wast saying, “Lord, I fear I have no faith: let me know that I have faith.” Was not this really, though perhaps unconsciously, praying for trials?—for how canst thou know that thou hast faith until thy faith is exercised? Depend upon it, God often sends us trials that our graces may be discovered, and that we may be certified of their existence. Besides, it is not merely discovery, real growth in grace is the result of sanctified trials. God often takes away our comforts and our privileges in order to make us better Christians. He trains His soldiers, not in tents of ease and luxury, but by turning them out and using them to forced marches and hard service. He makes them ford through streams, and swim through rivers, and climb mountains, and walk many a long mile with heavy knapsacks of sorrow on their backs. Well, Christian, may not this account for the troubles through which thou art passing? Is not the Lord bringing out your graces, and making them grow? Is not this the reason why He is contending with you?
“Trials make the promise sweet;
Trials give new life to prayer;
Trials bring me to His feet,
Lay me low, and keep me there.”
Along these same lines, I’d also recommend Crawford Loritts’ sermon “Jesus’ Transforming Power on Behalf of the Afflicted” that I listened to yesterday:
Searching for Hope
Separated from God, who was to be the source of their hope, Adam and Eve and the generations they birthed began to search for hope horizontally. So we look for hope in the temporary situations, locations, relationships, and possessions of the broken world. We hook ourselves to things that give temporary hope, or no hope at all, going back again and again until we become enslaved and addicted. In searching for hope horizontally, we are shopping for God replacements. But just like wooden idols that cannot see, hear, or speak, these God replacements have no capacity whatsoever to deliver. They quickly leave us empty, always craving for more….
How different would your life and mine be if we remembered that everything that exists in the created world is meant to be a finger pointing us to the only place where hope can be found?
– Paul David Tripp in Forever
Brian J. Mikul 