More Like The Master

More like the Master, I would ever be,
More of His meekness, more humility;
More zeal to labor, more courage to be true,
More consecration for work He bids me do.

More like the Master in my daily prayer;
More strength to carry crosses I must bear;
More earnest effort to bring His kingdom in;
More of His Spirit, the wanderer to win.

More like the Master I would live and grow;
More of His love to others I would show;
More self-denial, like His in Galilee,
More like the Master I long to ever be.

Take Thou my heart, I would be Thine alone;
Take Thou my heart, and make it all Thine own.
Purge me from sin, O Lord, I now implore,
Wash me and keep me Thine forevermore.
Charles H. Gabriel

Don’t Tickle My Ears! Teach Me The True Gospel.

“For the time will come when they will not endure sound doctrine; but wanting to have their ears tickled, they will accumulate for themselves teachers in accordance to their own desires, and will turn away their ears from the truth and will turn aside to myths.” 2 Timothy 4:3-4 (NASB)
The Gospel is not a message of suppositions, but of truth. It is not a book of question marks, but one of exclamation points. It makes no difference what our respective opinions may be, God said what He meant and meant what He said. But Paul knew the time was fast approaching when Timothy would find it hard to get people to listen to his message from the pure Word of God. At that time there were many who were willing to listen, willing to obey, willing to accept the message of Christ; but the night was approaching–and those who walk in darkness love darkness because their deeds are evil. Many would turn from the Gospel of the crucified Christ, His shed blood and salvation by grace, and would flock to listen to myths and fables.
If you will study conditions around you today, you will find that some ministers have always followed the line of least resistance. A feel-good, social gospel, tickles the ears–but the Gospel of the cross works miracles in the heart. There are millions today who file in and out of fashionable churches; they go there for the specific purpose of having their ears tickled. They prefer speculative opinions which do no good for the soul. They have an insatiable desire of variety; they get their ears tickled, abandoning the good and faithful preacher for the fine speaker.
One of the greatest enemies of the Church is a social gospel, with no cross, no resurrection–lifeless, bloodless, devoid of miracles and salvation. Empty words falling from the lips of learned men who have never come to the knowledge of the Truth.

Because Of God’s Grace

“But by the grace of God I am what I am, and His grace toward me did not prove vain; but I labored even more than all of them, yet not I, but the grace of God with me.” 1 Corinthians 15:10 (NASB
Paul was a dedicated man. He was willing, he was zealous, he was alert, he was active; but he was only a tool in the hands of God. He completely ruled himself out of the picture–and each of us should do the same.
We are what we are by the grace of God. All that we are, all that we ever hope to be; all that we have or ever hope to have; all that we have accomplished or ever hope to accomplish is because of God’s grace.

Don’t Quit

When things go wrong, as they sometimes will,
When the road you’re trudging seems all uphill,
When the funds are low, and the debts are high,
And you want to smile, but you have to sigh,
When care is pressing you down a bit,
Rest if you must, but don’t you quit.

Life is queer with its twists and turns,
As every one of us sometimes learns,
And many a failure turns about,
When he might have won had he stuck it out;
Don’t give up when the pace seems slow,
You may succeed with another blow.

Success is failure turned inside out,
The silver tint of the clouds of doubt,
And you never can tell how close you are,
It may be near when it seems so far.
So stick to the fight when you’re hardest hit,
It’s when things seem worse that you must not quit.
Unknown

Jesus Possessed Every Attribute Of The Father

“Don’t you believe that I am in the Father and the Father is in Me? The words I speak to you I do not speak on My own. The Father who lives in Me does His works. Believe Me that I am in the Father and the Father is in Me. Otherwise, believe because of the works themselves.” John 14:10-11 (HCSB)
Today, much is said about the love of God, and the love of Jesus for sinners–but in many instances the deity of Jesus is denied. Men talk much of the holiness of God and the love of Jesus; but the Word of God clearly teaches that Jesus–the Son of God–is just as holy as Jehovah God is holy, and that God the Father is just as loving as Jesus is loving.
Christ Jesus the Lord was God in flesh. Therefore in holiness, in righteousness, in purity, in love–in all things–God the Eternal Father and Jesus the Son are one (John 10:30). Until we believe, confess, and fully embrace the holiness of Jesus, we cannot possibly have an adequate conception of His love.
Even Judas Iscariot confessed that Jesus was holy. He sold the Lord for the price of a slave, but later returned the thirty pieces of silver to the chief priests and elders, saying, “I have sinned by betraying innocent blood” (Matt.27:4).
One of the two thieves who were crucified with Jesus confessed that the Son of God was sinless: “We are punished justly, because we are getting back what we deserve for the things we did, but this man has done nothing wrong” (Luke 23:41).
Three times Pontius Pilate confessed that Jesus was without fault–therefore holy; In John 18:38 he said to the Jews, “I find no grounds for charging Him.“ And in John 19:4 he again said to the multitude, “I am bringing Him outside to let you know I find no grounds for charging Him.” And in John 19:6, when the Jews continued to demand the crucifixion of Jesus, Pilate said to them, “Take Him and crucify Him yourselves, for I find no grounds for charging Him.”
The Bible makes it clear that Jesus possessed every attribute of Jehovah God. When Philip said, “Lord, show us the Father, “ Jesus replied, “The one who has seen Me has seen the Father” (John 14:8-9). Since Jesus was God manifested in flesh, those who saw Him in person saw God. Today we who see Jesus with the eye of faith see God. To know Christ is to know God, and those who do not know Christ do not know God. To know the meaning of God’s love in its power, purity, and fullness, we must look at Christ, God’s only begotten Son. He was the love of God on display.

[All Scripture is from the Holman Christian Standard Bible]

A Mighty God And A Glorious Savior

“Who died for us, so that whether we are awake or asleep, we will live together with Him.” 1 Thessalonians 5:10 (NASB)
God has honored and crowned His creation, dressed him with dignity, given him the opportunity to make choices, and enabled him to reason and think. He gave His Son that we might have a way to the Almighty. Without God life would be an endless vacuum with no incentive or purpose. Life without God would be a cheat. God has made life a challenge, a thrill of conquest. He gives strength far beyond ourselves. He encourages the downcast heart.
Isaiah, the mighty statesman of the Old Testament, said: “The steadfast of mind You will keep in perfect peace, because He trusts in You” (Isaiah 26:3). – W. E. Thorne, A Bit Of Honey

His Life Is Our Life

“I am The vine, you are the branches; he who abides in Me and I in him, he bears much fruit, for apart from Me you can do nothing.” John 14:5 (NASB)
“We are in Christ by grace; but we need to realize and accentuate the union by meditation and prayer. Waiting more absolutely for His impulses in intercession and action. Being silent for Him to speak. Drawing on Him by the constant appeal of faith which becomes as natural as breathing. Looking away to Him for His commendation. Seeking only His verdict on what may have been said and done. So closely joined to Him, that He may produce in and through us whatever fruit He will for the refreshment of men and the glory of God.” – F. B. Meyer

Patience To Wait – Faith To Endure

For with patience to wait
and faith to endure,
Your life will be blessed
and your future secure,
For God is but testing
your faith and your love
Before He appoints you
to rise far above
All the small things
that sorely distress you,
For God’s only intention is
to strengthen and bless you.

Helen Steiner Rice

Stand Firm In The Face Of Persecution

“. . . they will lay hands on you and will persecute you, delivering you to the synagogues and prisons, bringing you before kings and governors for My name’s sake. It will lead to an opportunity for your testimony. So make up your minds not to prepare beforehand to defend yourselves; for I will give you utterance and wisdom which none of your opponents will be able to resist or refute. But you will be betrayed even by parents and brothers and relatives and friends, and they will put some of you to death, and you will be hated because of My name.” Luke 21:12-17 (NASB)
Jesus made it clear that to be one of His disciples was to invite persecution. He warned them that they would be arrested and taken before the authorities for questioning. Ironically, this persecution would present the disciples with the opportunity to witness to their persecutors. And most important of all, God would not be far away. God would be there, through His Spirit, giving them the words to say.
Later, Peter and John found themselves in such a position. Arrested and forced to stand before the Sanhedrin to answer questions, Peter and John served as witnesses to the power of Jesus and proclaimed that He was indeed the Messiah, crucified yet raised from the dead. When commanded to stop speaking of Jesus and to forsake their faith in Him, they spoke boldly, “Whether it is right in the sight of God to give heed to you rather than to God, you be the judge; for we cannot stop speaking about what we have seen and heard.” (Acts 4:19-20)
The apostle Paul wrote to Timothy, “Indeed, all who desire to live godly in Christ Jesus will be persecuted” (2 Tim. 3:12). What was true in Paul’s day still holds true today. Contemporary disciples will face various kinds of persecution if they seek to live a godly life.
The sufferings of the disciples would be a testimony, proving to Jew and Gentile the depth, the reality of their faith, the power of God which strengthened them. Today, when faced with persecution, Christian patience shows the mighty influence of the grace of God. It testifies for God more effectively than words.

“God always gives His best to those who leave the choice with Him.” – Jim Elliot