Tag Archives: Quotes of the Week

Quotes of the Week

Little Sins

Catch the foxes for us,
the little foxes
that spoil the vineyards.
Song of Songs 2:15

A little thorn can cause much suffering. A small cloud may hide the sun. Tiny foxes spoil the vineyards; and little sins do mischief to the tender heart. These small sins burrow in the soul and fill it with what is hateful to Christ, and thus our comfortable fellowship and communion with Him is spoiled. A great sin cannot destroy a Christian, but a little sin can make him miserable.

~Spurgeon

They are not seeking truth but seeking to put forth their own point of view ~ Linda

It cannot end there for a true believer. One with genuine faith cannot hear the Lord’s words and walk away without acting on them. The faithful will be more than shocked, more than amazed, more than admiring–they will be obedient. They are building a structure on solid rock.

* Obeying the words of Christ is equivalent to building on solid rock.

Obedience is the inevitable manifestation of true faith.

The state of mind that refuses obedience is pure and simple unbelief.

Faith obeys. Unbelief rebels.

~Excerpts from The Gospel According to Jesus by John MacArthur

Becoming a Christian is waging a war against yourself.

Are you willing to abandon the sovereignty you exercise over your own life and confess Jesus as Lord?

~From a sermon on Matthew 7:13-17 by John MacArthur

One man with God is a majority though there be a thousand on the other side. ~ Spurgeon

All these quotes came from my readings and what I listened to these past couple weeks. They are for my own benefit and hopefully yours, too.

We drove to Spokane yesterday to do some shopping and when we arrived at the kids house to drop off their items we enjoyed quite the noisy thunderstorm. Every time the thunder rumbled, Addy asked, “What’s that?” One of the times she wanted me to hide with her on the couch with a pillow in front of our faces. It seems JJ can’t sleep well when it’s too quiet. Jamie tried to have him sleep in his own room with the monitor on. He kept waking up. She finally brought him into the living area with music going, Addy making noise and the vacuum going and he fell right to sleep and stayed asleep. Hmm.  I got some extra cuddle time with JJ while we were there, too. When we arrived home our power was out but came back on shortly after 9 PM. Glad that was a short outage. Hope you all have a good weekend.

Little brother content and asleep with all the noise a busy family produces!

 

Quotes of the Week 14

I’ve subscribed to a daily email of Puritan readings from Grace Gems recommended by Dianna at Forgiven. This was one of the readings this week that will be my Quotes of the Week…

From a devotional by John MacDuff, Day 22.

(J.C. Ryle, “Heirs of God” 1878)

“As many as are led by the Spirit of God–they are the sons of God.” Romans 8:14

All true Christians are under the leading and teaching of a power which is Almighty, though unseen–even the power of the Holy Spirit. They no longer turn to their own way, and walk in the light of their own eyes, and follow their own natural heart’s desire. The Spirit leads them. The Spirit guides them. There is a movement in their hearts, lives, and affections, which they feel–though they may not be able to explain; and a movement which is always more or less in the same direction.

They are all led . . .
away from sin,
away from self-righteousness,
away from the world!

This is the road by which the Spirit leads God’s children.
Those whom God adopts as His children–He teaches and trains.
He shows them their own hearts.
He makes them weary of their own ways.

They are all led to Christ.
They are all led to the Bible.
They are all led to prayer.
They are all led to holiness.
This is the beaten path along which the Spirit makes them to travel.
Those whom God adopts–He always sanctifies.
He makes sin very bitter to them.
He makes holiness very sweet.

When they are taken into the wilderness, and taught to see their own emptiness–it is the leading of the Spirit.

It is He who leads them to Mount Sinai, and first shows them the law–that their hearts may be broken.

It is He who leads them to Mount Calvary, and shows them the cross–that their hearts may be bound up and healed.

It is He who leads them to Mount Pisgah, and gives them distinct views of the promised land–that their hearts may be cheered.

Each and all of God’s children is the subject of these leadings.
Each and all is led by the right way, to bring him to a city of habitation.

Settle this down in your heart, and do not let it go: the children of God are a people “led by the Spirit of God,” and always led more or less in the same way. Their experience will tally wonderfully when they compare notes in Heaven.

“I guide you in the way of wisdom and lead you along straight paths.” Proverbs 4:11

“In your unfailing love You will lead the people You have redeemed.
In Your strength You will guide them to Your holy dwelling.” Exodus 15:13

Quotes of the Week 13

Soren Kierkegaard (1813-1855) Excerpts From the Prayers of Kierkegaard

To Will One Thing

“Father in Heaven! What are we without You! What is all that we know, vast accumulation though it be, but a chipped fragment if we do not know You! What is all our striving, could it ever encompass a world, but a half-finished work if we do not know You: You the One, who is one thing and who is all!

So may you give to the intellect, wisdom to comprehend that one thing; to the heart, sincerity to receive this understanding; to the will, purity that wills only one thing. In prosperity may You grant perseverance to will one thing: amid distractions, collectedness to will one thing; in suffering, patience to will one thing.

You that gives both the beginning and the completion, may You early, at the dawn of day, give to the young the resolution to will one thing. As the day wanes, may You give to the old a renewed remembrance of their first resolution, that the first may be like the last, the last like the first, in possession of a life that has willed only one thing.”

From: Devotional Classics, Edited by Richard J. Foster and James Bryan Smith

Quotes of the Week 12

From Manners and Customs of Bible Times
Fred H. Wight

Ability to separate the Sheep;

When it becomes necessary to separate several flocks of sheep, one shepherd after another will stand up and call out: Tahhoo! Tahhoo! or a similar call of his own choosing. The sheep lift up their heads, and after a general scramble, begin following each one his own shepherd. They are thoroughly familiar with their own shepherd’s tone of voice. Strangers have often used the same call but their attempts to get the sheep to follow them always fail. The words of Jesus are indeed true to Eastern Shepherd life when he said: “The sheep follow him, for they know his voice. A stranger they will not follow, but they will flee from him, for they do not know the voice of strangers.” (John 10:4,5)

I want to be a lamb that only follows my shepherd (Jesus) and knows His true voice amongst all the noise of false voices.

Quotes of the Week ~ 5

“Well, that was life. Gladness and pain…hope and fear…and change. Always change! You could not help it. You had to let go of the old and take the new to your heart…learn to love it and then let it go in turn. Spring, lovely as it was, must yield to summer and summer lose itself to autumn. The birth…the bridal…the death…”

~Anne of Ingleside, L.M. Montgomery.

“Go forth today, by the help of God’s Spirit, vowing and declaring that in life—-come poverty, come wealth, in death—come pain or come what may, you are and ever must be the Lord’s.  For this is written on your heart, ‘We love Him because He first loved us.”

~ Charles Spurgeon

This quote by C.S. Lewis comes from Mere Christianity

Most of us find it very difficult to want “Heaven” at all – except in so far as “Heaven” means meeting again our friends who have died. One reason for this difficulty is that we have not been trained: our whole education tends to fix our minds on this world. Another reason is that when the real want for Heaven is present in us, we do not recognize it. Most people, if they had really learned to look into their own hearts, would know that they do want, and want acutely, something that cannot be had in this world. There are all sorts of things in this world that offer to give it to you, but they never quite keep their promise.”

I added a C.S. Lewis quote this week because yesterday was the anniversary of his death. He died the same day as John F. Kennedy 55 years ago.

On the lighter side…or heavier.

“When you are overweight, no matter how wrinkled your jeans are when you pull them out of the dryer they will be smooth as silk when you put them on!” ~ ellen b.

The photo I chose for the top of this post this week was taken a few years ago when my friend Heidi and I were reunited with our friend Alice (in the middle) from our single years. Alice made the remark that we were “partners in crime” some 35 years previous to the time of this photo. Alice lived in San Francisco and would travel to L.A. to spend time and we would escape to San Francisco and spend time with her. Alice died on Tuesday and we were so shocked and saddened to hear that news. Alice’s death prompted a long phone call between Heidi and me. Keep your friends close…

On the same day that Alice died, we received word that a lifetime family friend passed away, too. George was the youngest member of a family that was dear and close to our family from my parents days in Persia. Our hearts are heavy. Praying for George’s family that they will find comfort and peace with the Lord. I don’t have a photo of George. We saw him recently at our Pop’s funeral. He made the effort to come even though he was ill and suffering. He was also at our mom’s funeral and gave a sweet tribute. Rest in Peace, George.

 

Quotes of the Week ~ 3

Prayer is the never-failing response of the Christian in any case, in every plight. When you cannot use your sword, you may take up the weapon of prayer. Your powder may be damp, your bowstring may be relaxed, but the weapon of prayer need never be out of order. Satan laughs at the javelin, but he trembles at prayer. Swords and spears need to be sharpened, but prayer never rusts; and when we think it most blunt, it cuts the best. Prayer is an open door that no one can shut. Devils may surround you on all sides, but the way upward is always open, and as long as that road is unobstructed, you will not fall into the enemy’s hand.

Source: Spurgeon Morning and Evening

“Gone, they tell me, is youth,
Gone is the strength of my life,
Nothing remains but decline,
Nothing but age and decay.

Not so, I’m God’s little child..
Only beginning to live;
Coming the days of my prime,
Coming the strength of my life,
Coming the vision of God,
Coming my bloom and my power.”
A.C. 1935

Amy Carmichael

Inquire of God not mediums and necromancers who chirp and mutter (Isaiah 8:19)

“Give us, O, Lord, thankful hearts which never forget Your goodness to us. Give us, O Lord, grateful hearts, which do not waste time complaining” ~ Aquinas

My sister and her husband are flying over to spend the weekend with us. Woohoo. I will be scarce on the internet. Hope they bring their cold weather clothing as we are already in the 20’s Thursday evening with the next several nights lows in the 20’s. High tomorrow not to get out of the 30’s! Yikes! Have a good weekend!

Quotes of the Week ~ 2

If that didn’t light your fire your wood’s wet.

Source: This was the quote of the day from church on Sunday from the pastor.

“Prayer is the easiest and the hardest of all things; the simplest and the sublimest; the weakest and the most powerful; its results lie outside the range of human possibilities – they are limited only by the omnipotence of God. Few Christians have anything but a vague idea of the power of prayer; fewer still have any experience of that power. The Church seems almost wholly unaware of the power God puts into her hand; this power is rarely, if ever, used – never used to the full measure of honoring God. It is astounding how poor the use, how little the benefits. Prayer is our most formidable weapon, but the one in which we are the least skilled, the most averse to its use. We do everything else for the heathen save the thing God wants us to do; the only thing which does any good – makes all else we do efficient.”

E. M. Bounds
(1835-1913) Methodist minister and devotional writer who served as a pastor in the American South and became a POW during the Civil War.

Source: I read the quote above in the book Between Heaven and Earth compiled by Ken Gire.

John Piper, The Pleasures of God

“Prayer is the walkie talkie on the battlefield of the world. It calls on God for courage (Eph. 6:19). It calls in for troop deployment and target location (Acts 13: 1-3). It calls in for protection and air cover (Matt. 6:13; Luke 21:36). It calls in for fire power to blast open a way for the Word (Col. 4:3). It calls in for the miracle of healing for the wounded soldiers (James 5:16). It calls in for supplies for the forces (Matt. 6:11; Phil. 4:6). And it calls in for needed reinforcements (Matt. 9:38). This is the place of prayer – on the battlefield of the world. It is a wartime walkie talkie for spiritual warfare, not a domestic intercom to increase comforts of the saints. And one of the reasons it malfunctions in the hands of so many Christian soldiers is that they have gone AWOL.”

Source: Between Heaven and Earth: Prayers and Reflections that Celebrate an Intimate God. Copyright 1997 by Ken Gire.

I’m getting a haircut today which is scary because my hairdresser is still in Seattle and here I am in Colville, 6ish hours away. Here’s hoping the gal I let use sheers on my hair today will see my vision and do a good job on my grey locks.

Quotes of the Week

This is something new I’ll be posting mostly for myself on Fridays. I come across many great quotes during the week that I don’t want to forget about. I’m going to gather them up and publish them every Friday so I’ll have them to come back to. I will add a link (source) above each quote so I can go back to the full article. I’ll also include one of my favorite photos of the week at the top of the post. This weeks photo was taken in Spokane of the Spokane River from the Clinkerdagger Restaurant on Tuesday. More about that day in another post.

Source

Third, we have the opportunity to stand out in the world by choosing to die to ourselves, to lay our lives down for something greater than ourselves. The New Testament tells us to crucify the self the world tells us to be true to. Nothing is more non-conformist and radical and rebellious than seeking conformity with Christ and the death of your old self. Mark Sayers is right:

To be shaped by grace in a culture of self, the most countercultural act one can commit…is to break its only taboo: to commit self-disobedience. To acknowledge that authority does not lie with us, that we ultimately have no autonomy. To admit that we are broken, that we are rebellious against God and His rule. To admit that Christ is ruler. To abandon our rule and to collapse into His arms of grace. To dig deep roots into His love. We don’t just need resilience; we need gospel resilience.

Source

Because it is so perfect, Scripture endures forever (Ps. 19:9). That’s why Jesus said, “Heaven and earth will pass away, but my words will not pass away” (Mark 13:31). It never needs to be updated to accommodate contemporary thinking. It stands forever as authoritative and unyielding. Those who judge it, slander it, or ignore it are in grave peril. Far better to fear God and bow to His revealed will.

Source

Believer, grasp the divine Word with a personal, appropriating faith. Imagine that you hear Jesus say, “I have prayed for you that your faith may not fail.”9 Imagine you see Him walking on the water of your trouble, for He is there, and He is saying, “Do not fear—it is I.” These are sweet words of Christ! May the Holy Spirit make you feel them as if they were spoken to you; forget others for a while—accept the voice of Jesus as addressed to you and say, “Jesus whispers consolation; I cannot refuse it; I will sit under His shadow with great delight.”10

The psalmist wrote, “How blessed [happy] is the man who does not walk in the counsel of the wicked, nor stand in the path of sinners, nor sit in the seat of scoffers! But his delight is in the law of the Lord, and in His law he meditates day and night. And he will be like a tree firmly planted by streams of water, which yields its fruit in its season, and its leaf does not wither; and in whatever he does, he prospers” (Ps. 1:1-3).