Those who go to Heaven ride on a pass and enter into blessings that they never earned, but all who go to hell pay their own way.
From Ephesians 2:8-9: “For by grace you have been saved through faith, and this is not your own doing; it is the gift of God—not the result of works, so that no one may boast.”
John R. Rice (1895-1980) was an American pastor and Christian evangelist.
Gratitude is the fairest blossom which springs from the soul.
Hope is sweet-minded and sweet-eyed. It draws pictures; it weaves fancies; it fills the future with delight.
Henry Ward Beecher (1813-1887) was an American pastor and abolitionist.
Prayer is to the spiritual life what the beating of the pulse and the drawing of the breath are to the life of the body.
From James 5:16: “Therefore confess your sins to one another and pray for one another, so that you may be healed. The prayer of the righteous is powerful and effective.”
John Henry Newman (1801-1890) was an English theologian, philosopher, and writer.
Your life is a reflection of your thoughts. If you change your thinking, you change your life.
Virtually everything you do is the result of habit. The good news is that all habits are learned, and they can therefore be unlearned.
Brian Tracy (born 1944) is a Canadian-born motivational speaker and author.
The things that matter the most in this world, they can never be held in our hand.
From Matthew 6:29-31: “Do not store up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moth and rust consume and where thieves break in and steal, but store up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where neither moth nor rust consumes and where thieves do not break in and steal. For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also.”
Gloria Gaither (born 1942) is a Christian singer, songwriter, and speaker. She performed with the Bill Gaither Trio from 1965 to 1991.
Water is a picture of the Spirit of Jesus working in us. He’s not working to save us, mind you; that work is done. He’s working to change us.
From John 7:37-38: “On the last day of the festival, the great day, while Jesus was standing there, he cried out, ‘Let anyone who is thirsty come to me, and let the one who believes in me drink. As the scripture has said, ‘Out of the believer’s heart shall flow rivers of living water.'”
Max Lucado (born 1955) is an American pastor and Christian author.
The season of Advent means there is something on the horizon the likes of which we have never seen before. What is possible is to not see it, to miss it, to turn just as it brushes past you. And you begin to grasp what it was you missed, like Moses in the cleft of the rock, watching God’s [back] fade in the distance. So stay. Sit. Linger. Tarry. Ponder. Wait. Behold. Wonder. There will be time enough for running. For rushing. For worrying. For pushing. For now, stay. Wait. Something is on the horizon.
From Isaiah 9:6-7: “For a child has been born for us, a son given to us; authority rests upon His shoulders, and He is named Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace. Great will be His authority, and there shall be endless peace for the throne of David and his kingdom. He will establish and uphold it with justice and with righteousness from this time onward and forevermore. The zeal of the Lord of hosts will do this.”
Jan L. Richardson (born 1967) is an American writer, artist, and ordained minister. Her reflections come from her Night Visions: Searching the Shadows of Advent and Christmas.
We are always looking for justice; the teaching of the Sermon on the Mount is–Never look for justice, but never cease to give it.
From Matthew 5:39-41: “But I say to you: Do not resist an evildoer. But if anyone strikes you on the right cheek, turn the other also, and if anyone wants to sue you and take your shirt, give your coat as well, and if anyone forces you to go one mile, go also the second mile.”
Oswald Chambers (1874-1917) was a Scottish evangelist and Christian teacher. Following his death from an illness while in Egypt during World War I, his wife took on the task of transcribing the detailed notes she had written from his lectures and sermons. Gertrude Hobbs Chambers’ efforts resulted in the publication in 1924 of MY UTMOST FOR HIS HIGHEST. I frequently read from this devotional, and it has greatly deepened my faith and understanding of God’s Word.
An unschooled man who knows how to meditate upon the Lord has learned far more than the man with the highest education who does not know how to meditate.
From Psalm 77:12: “I will meditate on all your work and muse on your mighty deeds.”
Charles Stanley (1932-2023) was an American pastor and Christian writer. He was dedicated to leading a teaching ministry.
We shall not benefit from reading the Old Testament unless we look for and meditate on the glory of Christ in its pages.
From 2 Corinthians 3:9: “For if there was glory in the ministry of condemnation, much more does the ministry of justification abound in glory!”
John Owen (1616-1683) was an English Puritan church leader and theologian.
Big Sky Buckeye 