Quotes that caused me to think

The following are some of the things that I have been thinking about lately. Things I have heard through the teaching at FBC, Norco.  Things that have caused me to “set my mind on things that are above, not on things that are on earth.”

“You cannot say that you take the gospel seriously if you do not share it. Christians love the gospel, live the gospel and share the gospel.” paraphrase of Matt Cobb’s teaching

“I cannot understand the gospel on my own, therefore there is no room for boasting….” Matt Cobb

“The church is the community of all true believers of all time bound together through the redemptive work of Jesus Christ.” Jeff Mooney

“Your identity is in Christ; you cannot look to the world to define you.” Jeff Mooney

“Grace trains you to say NO to ungodliness.” Titus 2:11-14

“Repentance is knowing, responding, renouncing, and trusting that sin is not better than Christ.” Jeff Mooney

“The heart of her husband trusts in her, and he will have no lack of gain. She does him good, and not harm, all the days of her life.” Prov. 31:11-12 (memory verse from Bible study)

“The value of God’s word in our lives is directly linked to righteousness.” Darren Meisel

“Sin deadens your senses. The common denominator of all sin is lack of trust in God.” Jeff Mooney

“The vitality of the Christian life is found in the reality of Christ’s work.”

“The biggest hindrances to gospel-living in America are indulgence and diversion.”

“How would Jesus think?” (Noting that I cannot always do the things that Jesus did….like heal a leper, but I can learn to think in terms of glorifying my Father in all situations.) Nik Brownell

“The heart is an idol factory.” Luther

“We must speak, sing, and discuss the gospel with each other daily! Why? to strengthen us, focus us, motivate us, and give us joy!” paraphrased from sermon

“The elemental spirits of this world have no value in stopping the indulgence of the flesh”  Only by faith in Jesus Christ. He alone is the answer to my sin problem.  from study in Colossians in Sunday School

“Do not resist the struggles of ministering to people.”  comment made in Sunday school as we discussed Paul’s willingness to struggle so that the gospel might go forward.

I will stop here.  Typing all this up has made me grateful for the Holy Spirit, the Word of God, the teachers at Norco, the family of believers at Norco and worldwide, and the nursery workers that make it possible for me to hear the word.

I hope you are blessed by these thoughts too.

www.bondedtogether.wordpress.com

Richard Wurmbrand

Richard Wurmbrand speaks about about a sister in prison. If you don’t know who he is, he is the original founder of Voice of the Martyrs. He is now in heaven enjoying the fullness of salvation.

Following World War II, he was put into prison where he suffered horrific abuse for several years because he would not agree with the Communist leaders that God did not exist and that religion was invalid. Though they tried to brainwash and “reeducate” him, he clung to Christ and survived prison. He is an example of the power of Christ to sustain someone. Without Christ, the treatment that he and other Christians sustained at the hands of evil people, would have made them into bitter and angry people. Instead he describes a sister who truly embraced her circumstances and lived like someone who had hope for eternity and purpose for this life.

And notice his soft-spoken gentle and joyful manner, and be amazed and full of hope that the same Christ who was able to protect this precious man will protect you too through the difficult things you encounter.  I know that none of us have been beaten lately, but we do have troubles and fears and sometimes those are overwhelming and it’s helpful to see the testimony of God’s sustaining power in circumstances that are very severe compared to our own.

Here he is.   (His voice is so low and his accent so thick that I had to hold my laptop up to my head to be able to understand him!  Though I was silly looking, it was worth hearing his re-telling of how one sister shared the gospel to a prison guard and God saved him!)

The Fantastic News

Now that that the stage has been set, let’s examine what Christ has given to us as a result of going to the cross, where He endured very intense human rejection and physical pain…AND, more importantly, in one amazing strike from the Father took the full eternal damnation for all who would follow Him, an INCONCEIVABLY fatal and crushing blow.

List below what Christ has given you…emphasis on given. While it is correct in saying that the gift is in exchange for your life, but looking at the previous list, we can see that we traded something very stained and unworthy for something very precious and beautiful. Amazing!!!!

Who am I now in Christ?
Eph. 2:4-9, Eph. 1:3-14, Eph. 2:13-22, 2 Cor. 5:16-18, Rom. 3:24-25, Rom. 5:1-11, Rom. 6:4-11, Rom. 8:1-4, Titus 3:4-7

Tomorrow I will publish the list that 29 women composed after examining the above Scripture.