August Quotes

There can be no participation in Christ’s life without a participation in his death, and we cannot enjoy the benefits of his death unless we are partakers of the power of his life. We must be reconciled to God in order to be holy, and we cannot be reconciled without thereby becoming holy.

-Charles Hodge

No matter how hard Satan tries, he cannot dim the glory of Jesus. People may close their eyes or turn their backs, but neither of those actions reduces Jesus' divine stature. 

-Woodrow Kroll

A Sovereign Protector I have, unseen, yet forever at hand. 

-Augustus M. Toplady

To be a follower of the Crucified means, sooner or later, a personal encounter with the cross. And the cross always entails loss.

-Elisabeth Elliot

“Loving someone requires maintaining a measure of optimism on that person’s behalf. Hope is an attitude that good will eventually come to those who may now be failing. Failure invades every Christian’s life, and it often causes others to give up on the one who fails. Yet, Christians who love continue to hope for the best. This optimism encourages others to keep moving forward. This hope is based not on the Christian, but on Christ. The hope of each Christian is that Christ will preserve him to glory. When a brother falls, it is Christ who picks him up and makes him stand (Rom. 14:4). Christ is the one who promised to finish the work he began".

-(Pratt, R. L., Jr. (2000). I & II Corinthians (Vol. 7). Nashville, TN: Broadman & Holman Publishers.)

Yet, just as the soil patiently endures the frigid hand of frost and snow and bitter cold, the soul's
winter is only a curving bend to the fair meadows of spring. Only through mourning can one know the exhilaration of joy. Beauty is the by-product of burnt, ash-dust. God looks at a field of stinky, dead earth and says, "This is my garden." I have learned never to begrudge winter, for in her wake lie all the trees of Eden.

-Unknown 

But did the clouds rain free, and the earth open beneath me, I would not stir; for I know who planted me here, and as long as He wills me to stand, neither men or devils can move me hence.
~William Wallace

Mercy is never free. Mercy is very expensive. Mercy requires paying the cost of justice, and that is the cost of our Savior’s life. But that mercy is beautiful to behold for those whom God has given eyes to see it. Mercy changes lives. And the offer of mercy can also harden. 

~Tony Reinke

Hold your ground! Should a Christian flee? Should a Christian be afraid? You are not going anywhere—Hold fast your position! You are not changing the things that God has set. You heed God’s lead, not the Enemy’s! The Enemy will not define the terms of your life. The Enemy will not dictate where you go, what you say, what you don’t say, or what you do, or don’t do. God set you here. Stand firm. Don’t move from this position. Be still and watch what your God will do for those who trust in His Almighty Name! 

~Eric Ludy

What we offer unto God? Stubborn, sinful, rebellious rejection. But unto us? A Child is born. A Son is given.

 ~James MacDonald

July Quotes

When something does not go your way, remember faithful prayer accomplishes far more than your frustrated protests.

-James McDonald

It is easier to serve God without a vision, easier to work for God without a call because then you are not bothered by what God requires, common sense is your guide, veneered over with Christian sentiment. You will be more prosperous and successful, more leisure hearted, if you never realize the call of God. But if once you receive a commission from Jesus Christ, the memory of what God wants will always come like a goad, you will no longer be able to work for Him on the common-sense basis. 

-Oswald Chambers

What comes into our minds when we think about God, is the most important thing about us.

-A.W.Tozer

Christians are like the several flowers in a garden that have each of them the dew of Heaven, which, being shaken with the wind, they let fall at each other's roots, whereby they are jointly nourished, and become nourishers of each other.

-John Bunyan 

The world provides no cheerleaders on the pathway to godliness. 

-Kevin DeYoung

A sound theology must be a theology where grace is central to it. 

-R. C. Sproul

Ministry is simply the footprints we leave behind as we run toward Jesus.

-Unknown

The Bible is not only a book of divine revelation; it is also a book of literary grandeur, sublime influence, human interest, amazing accuracy, perfect unity, and everlasting challenge. 

-J. Edwin Orr

Until we discover God’s purpose, there will always be a hole in our soul. And if we let God’s vision die, part of us will die as well.

-Georgia Shaffer

The truth is that the more intimately you know someone, the more clearly you’ll see their flaws. That’s just the way it is. This is why marriages fail, why children are abandoned, why friendships don’t last. You might think you love someone until you see the way they act when they’re out of money or under pressure or hungry, for goodness’ sake. Love is something different. Love is choosing to serve someone and be with someone in spite of their filthy heart. Love is patient and kind, love is deliberate. Love is hard. Love is pain and sacrifice, it’s seeing the darkness in another person and defying the impulse to jump ship.
-Unknown

May Quotes

In prayer, it is better to have a heart without words - than words without a heart.

-John Bunyan

What wings are to a bird, what fruit is to the tree, what the rose is to the thorn, that is praise to a child of God.

-Spurgeon

In true Christianity, there are no short-term commitments and no escape clauses. 

-John Blanchard

In order to receive grace, you must accept Jesus. Not the idea of Jesus, but the actual Jesus; the One who calls you to leave everything behind. The One who says that you must carry your cross, the One who spoke truth in the face of deceit. The Christ who clung unto a world that had let go long ago, Jesus who calls us beloved. If grace is an ocean, you must jump in! 

-T.B. LaBerge

A great white throne: Great, because of the causes that will be decided there ... white, because of its immaculate purity ... a throne, because a King will sit there. 

-F. B. Meyer

Take up the Bible, ask the Holy Spirit for help, lay the promises up in your heart, and fight the good fight — to live by faith in future grace. 

-John Piper

Circumstances don't create character; they reveal character. 

-David Jeremiah

Only men who ken their weakness, find their strength in Christ alone. 

-John Knox

God's plans reach from an eternity past to an eternity to come. Let Him take His own time.

-William S. Plumer

The burden God places on each of us is to become who we are meant to be. We are most fully ourselves when Christ most fully lives in us and through us. The mother shines brightest with her child in her arms, the father when he forgives his wandering son, and the artist when he or she is drawing attention to grace, by showing the pinprick of light overcoming the darkness in the painting, or the story, or the song. The world knows darkness. Christ came into the world to show us light. I have seen it, have been blinded by it, invaded by it. I will tell its story.

-Andrew Peterson

March Quotes

A real Christian is an odd number, anyway. He feels supreme love for the One whom he has never seen; talks with familiarly every day to

Someone he cannot see; expects to go to heaven on the virtue of Another; empties himself in order to be full; admits he is wrong so he

can be declared right; goes down in order to get up; is strongest when he is weakest; richest when he is poorest and happiest when he feels the worst. He dies so he can live; forsakes in order to have; gives away so he can keep; sees the invisible; hears the inaudible' and knows that which passeth understanding.

- A.W. Tozer

Fairy tales are more than true — not because they tell us dragons exist, but because they tell us dragons can be beaten. 

-G.K. Chesterton

The moment that we take a significant step of obedience, we will be tested.

-Unknown

If we have learned to be silent before the Word, we shall also learn to manage our silence and our speech during the day."

-Bonhoeffer

When Jesus Christ is magnified, Believers are unified.

-Chad Johnson

There is sweet joy in feeling that God knows all and, notwithstanding, loves us still.

-J. Hudson Taylor

Peace is not a gift that passes from Christ the giver to us the receivers. His peace is ours because he is ours, and the peace he is experiencing we are experiencing. Our experience of peace is his peace in us because he is in us. Similarly his strength. Paul says, “Finally, be strong in the Lord and in the strength of his might.” (Ephesians 6:10). Being “in the Lord” is the same as the branch being in the vine. The strength of the Lord is not merely a gift from him to us. When we are strong against the devil and sin, our strength is his strength. He is being strong in us. We are being strong "in the strength of his might."

-John Piper

Walking by faith will cause all of us to recognize that as children of God we are just pilgrims and strangers down here on this earth.

-J. Vernon McGee

If we followed you for a thousand years, we would need your grace just as much the next day, the next moment, as we did the first day we believed.

-prayer by Paul Tripp

It is easier to serve God without a vision, easier to work for God without a call because then you are not bothered by what God requires, common sense is your guide, veneered over with Christian sentiment. You will be more prosperous and successful, more leisure hearted, if you never realize the call of God. But if once you receive a commission from Jesus Christ, the memory of what God wants will always come like a goad, you will no longer be able to work for Him on the common-sense basis.

-Oswald Chambers

February Quotes

If God be glorified, what does it matter where we are? What becomes of us is of small consequence compared with bringing glory to His great name.

-Spurgeon

If you belong to Him, He will shatter you in a million pieces and reconstruct you. He will not share you with the world. He will not allow you to get any fun out of the Vanity Fair.

-Paul Washer

I pray because I can’t help myself. I pray because I’m helpless. I pray because the need flows out of me all the time- waking and sleeping. It doesn’t change God- it changes me. 

-C.S. Lewis

The land of the free begins in the homes of the brave.

-Kirk Cameron

We are indestructable until the Lord calls us home.

-Amanda Daniels

On this day [February 14], in the year AD 298, a Christian pastor was brutally martyred. First, he was beaten with clubs. then stoned, and finally he was beheaded. His crime ...- standing for biblical marriage, that intimacy outside of marriage was sinful, and that marriage was designed by God as between one man and one woman. His name was Valentinus, a man who loved Jesus above all else and who refused to deny the faith. Today, as you enjoy your chocolate and trinkets, remember that the one who is now called St Valentine gave his life in defense of biblical marriage, not rampant promiscuity or perversion. He did not succumb to the politically correct of his day. February 14 is a day that is not rose red, but blood red. 

-James McDonald

Just because you can't, doesn't mean I can't, and just because I can't, doesn't mean you shouldn't.

-Steven Furtick

It is a sign of the times that, in today's public mind, precious little is held sacred except the right to profane living, and nothing is more offensive than moral innocence. 

-Andrew Romanowitz

Your sins aren’t enough to keep your child from God and your strengths aren’t enough to get your child to God.

-Ann Voskamp

If you are more distressed over the sin of the people near you than you are of the sin that is inside you, you won't cry out for grace. 

-Paul David Tripp 

September Quotes

To love at all is to be vulnerable. Love anything and your heart will be wrung and possibly broken. If you want to make sure of keeping it intact you must give it to no one, not even an animal. Wrap it carefully round with hobbies and little luxuries; avoid all entanglements. Lock it up safe in the casket or coffin of your selfishness. But in that casket, safe, dark, motionless, airless, it will change. It will not be broken; it will become unbreakable, impenetrable, irredeemable. To love is to be vulnerable. 

-CS Lewis

Christ clothes us with the cloak of His righteousness, covering our nakedness and shame, and says to us, “Neither do I condemn you.

-R.C. Sproul

What makes a warrior is not his ability to escape fear, but to look death in the face absolutely terrified and still move forward. 

-Unknown

We work for a glorious future which we are not destined to see. We are only morning-stars shining in the dark, but the glorious morn will break.

-David Livingstone

If we are not in Christ, we are born losers. If we are in Christ, we are reborn victors.

-R.J. Rushdoony

God wants to bring us to the end of ourselves so that we would see our need for a relationship with him as well as with others. Every painful thing we experience in relationships is meant to remind us of our need for him. And every good thing we experience is meant to be a metaphor of what we can only find in him.

-Timothy Lane and Paul David Tripp

No half-heartedness and no worldly fear must turn us aside from following the light unflinchingly.

-J.R.R. Tolkien

There are endless treasures of grace waiting for those who will make even the most feeble attempts to pray. The weakest prayers yield grace.

-Paul Washer

Treat a man as he is and he will remain as he is. Treat a man as he can and should be and he shall become as he can and should be.

-Johann von Goethe

By judging others we blind ourselves to our own evil and to the grace which others are just as entitled to as we are.

-Dietrich Bonhoeffer

Don’t ignore the Spirit’s attempts to engage you, my friend. The conviction, the stirring, is the call of your Father, drawing you back to Himself, inviting you to put an end to your running, to start what needs to happen for things to get turned back around. 

-Priscilla Shirer

The truth is that the more intimately you know someone, the more clearly you’ll see their flaws. That’s just the way it is. This is why marriages fail, why children are abandoned, why friendships don’t last. You might think you love someone until you see the way they act when they’re out of money or under pressure or hungry, for goodness’ sake. Love is something different. Love is choosing to serve someone and be with someone in spite of their filthy heart. Love is patient and kind, love is deliberate. Love is hard. Love is pain and sacrifice, it’s seeing the darkness in another person and defying the impulse to jump ship. 

-Unknown

The high noon of God’s glory will be the second coming of Christ. And that is where the sun will stay forever. 

-John Piper

Great men are forged in fire. It is the privilege of lesser men to light the flame.

-movie quote, unknown

If you know why you believe what you believe, then leadership is inevitable. 

 -Dr. Jeff Meyers

July Quotes

Jesus is coming back for HIS church, not yours.

-Unknown

In the end, we will remember not the words of our enemies, but the silence of our friends.

-Martin Luther King Jr.

We are who we are, not because we are who we are, but we are who we are because we live in Christ.

-Unknown

God is always doing 10,000 things in your life, and you may be aware of three of them.

-John Piper

God's training is for NOW, not presently. 

His purpose is for THIS MINUTE, not for something in the future. 

We have nothing to do with the afterwards of obedience; 

we get it wrong when we think of the afterwards. 

What men call training and preparation, God calls the end... 

If we realize that obedience is the end, 

then EACH MOMENT IS PRECIOUS. 

-Oswald Chambers

If you remove the snow from the hillside in the late winter, you will find sweet flowers growing there, beneath the cold drifts, unhurt by the storm and by the snowy blankets that have covered them. Just so, should we keep our hearts tender and sensitive beneath life's fiercest winter blasts, and through the longest years of suffering, and even of injustice and wrong treatment. That is true, victorious living.

-J.R. Miller

Those who worry about the loss of time entailed by such small, external acts of helpfulness are usually taking their own work too seriously. We must be ready to allow ourselves to be interrupted by God, who will thwart our plans and frustrate our ways time and again, even daily, by sending people across our path with their demands and requests. 

-Dietrich Bonhoeffer

Cheerfully and gratefully I lay myself and all I am or own at the feet of Him who redeemed me with His precious blood, engaging to follow Him, bearing the cross He lays upon me. This is the least I can do, and I do it while my heart lies broken and bleeding at His feet. 

-Elizabeth Prentiss

Wherever we see the Word of God purely preached and heard, there a church of God exists, even if it swarms with many faults.

-John Calvin

Becoming a mentor has got to be something that comes up within you—it’s got to be God’s work. It can’t be our work because we’ll give answers that aren’t God’s answers.

-Patty Webb

In my many years of pastoring, counseling, and traveling, I’ve found an all-too-common and dangerous theme among Christians: no one lays down the law better than the one who thinks they’re keeping it themselves.

-Paul Tripp

Ah, I have kept Him waiting when I ought not, but He has waited even then. Always waiting – so patient with my foolishness, my weakness, my fear. Our fellowship is with God, and fellowship is friendship, and friendship means that partnership which, on His part, is the accommodating of His strength to my weakness. 

-G. Campbell Morgan

If He loved me yesterday, He loves me today. My unmoving mansion of rest is my blessed Lord. Even when prospects are few and hopes are squashed and joy is waning, I have lost nothing of what I have in God. He is "my refuge" to which I continually return. I am a pilgrim in the world, but at home in my God. In the earth I wander, but in God I dwell in a quiet dwelling place.

-Charles Spurgeon

Wherever we see the Word of God purely preached and heard, there a church of God exists, even if it swarms with many faults.

-John Calvin

Friendship is held to be the severest test of character. It is easy, we think, to be loyal to a family and clan, whose blood is in your own veins.

-Charles Alexander Eastman

A man never discloses his own character so clearly as when he describes another's.

-Leo C. Rosten

March Quotes

Better suffer anything than do wrong.

-C.H. Spurgeon

Do you want honest, upright, able men to guide our country's future? Those men are sitting in high chairs today in your dining room.

-Jenny Chancy

There are far, far better things ahead than any we leave behind.

–C.S. Lewis

God never witholds from His child that which His love and wisdom call good. God's refusals are always merciful -- "severe mercies" at times but mercies all the same. God never denies us our hearts desire except to give us something better.

-Elizabeth Elliott

If God is for us, then the opposition, which inevitably comes against us, is ultimately of no account. 

-Alistair Begg

Why would we want fame, when God promises us glory? Why would we be seeking the wealth of the world when the wealth of heaven is ours? Why would we run for a crown that will perish with time, when we're called to win a crown that is imperishable?

 -Paul Washer

He comes to the dry and thirsty land of the human heart in its wild and desperate struggles for survival. He comes to the wilderness of our lives, and a furrow at a time he reclaims the land, restoring something of the Paradise that has been lost. He comes to the weary heart to give it rest. To the lonely heart to give it friendship. To the wounded heart to give it healing. To the sad heart to give it joy. And if no joy, at least the companionship of someone who has known what it's like to be sad, wounded, lonely and weary. 

-Ken Gire

True faith rests upon the character of God and asks no further proof than the moral perfections of the One who cannot lie.

-A.W.Tozer

Lord, I give up all my own purposes and plans, all my own desires and hopes and ambitions, and accept Thy will for my life. I give myself, my life, my all utterly to Thee, to be Thine forever. I hand over to Thy keeping all my friendships; all the people whom I love are to take a second place in my heart. Fill me and seal me with Thy Holy Spirit. Work out Thy whole will in my life, at any cost, now and forever. 

-Betty Stam

Psalm 56:3 says, “When I am afraid, I put my trust in you.” 

Notice: it does not say, “I never struggle with fear.” Fear strikes, and the battle begins. So the Bible does not assume that true believers will have no anxieties. Instead, the Bible tells us how to fight when they strike. 

-John Piper

Godly households are the greatest martial assets of the Kingdom of God. Establishing and maintaining them is a matter of spiritual warfare. 

-Andrew C. Romanowitz

The day is gone from us--and is with You. We leave it in Your hands. Whatever we have done that was not according to Your will--may You graciously forgive. The things that pleased You--may You bless. 

-J.R. Miller

Look for yourself and you will find in the long run only hatred, loneliness, despair, rage, ruin and decay. But look for Christ and you will find Him, and with Him everything else thrown in.

-C.S. Lewis

How do you pick up the threads of an old life? How do you go on, when in your heart, you begin to understand, there is no going back? There are some things that time cannot mend.

-J.R.R. Tolkien

May your convictions be deep, your love real, your desires earnest.

-C.H. Spurgeon

January Quotes

We need to stay sound in doctrine, to stay safe in our morals. 

-Unknown

No matter happens, or what someone does to you, God's plan for your life can never be ruined...because God is in control.

-Unknown

When you’re in the furnace, you’re beyond the reach of those who are trying to harm you. You’re tried by fire, but you come out as pure gold.

-Dr. Bob Jones Senior

There is nothing like Christianity to make all men equal, to level such distinctions—but it levels by lifting to a lofty tableland, accessible only to humility. Only he who is humble can rise. 

-George MacDonald

There are some things you can only say to the Lord because he's the only one that can bear that much reality. 

-Jerram Barrs

God created the world out of nothing, and as long as we are nothing, He can make something out of us.

-Martin Luther

We are sinfully lost people and we have a scandalously merciful Savior.

-Unknown

Silence is pure and holy. It draws people together because only those who are comfortable with each other can sit without speaking.

-Nicholas Sparks

Good leaders must first become good servants. 

-Robert Greenleaf

Accountability is more than going to a brother or sister in the Lord and confessing failure. Accountability is going to them in the middle of a battle, before we’ve fallen, and asking for their help. 

-Paul Speed

A true friend unbosoms freely, advises justly, assists readily, adventures boldly, takes all patiently, defends courageously, and continues a friend unchangeably.

-William Penn

As our knowledge of [God] and his infinite, transcendent value increases, we find that our esteem of ourselves as one of his beloved ones will grow as well.

-Johnson

We develop patience as we trust that God denies us what we think is good only because He has something better for us--both now and in the future.

-Joshua Harris

The evidence … the raw-bone, Biblical evidence that there was one time in your life that you repented unto salvation, is that you continue repenting until today, and continue growing in repentance.

-Paul Washer

You do not know what you are going to do; the only thing you know is that God knows what He’s doing.

-Oswald Chambers

Jonathan: "The Lord has given"

[Warning: This is a Very Long Post. ;)]

Jonathan is a character who has often captured my attention, and I have noticed him even moreso in the last two times I've read through the Bible.

One of the first times we're introduced to Jonathan, we find him in the third verse of 1 Samuel 13. After reigning for two years Saul, Jonathan's father--the king over Israel, gathered his men together to fight the Philistines. Saul commanded 2000 men and Jonanathan, 1000. Jonathan and his men raided and defeated one of the groups of Philistines encamping in the area of Geba. Here we see Jonathan old enough to command an army of men, and at the same time courageous enough to actually conquer the Lord's enemies. His father, on the other hand, handled a group of trembling Israelites who were unsure of whether or not to follow him all the way. Saul then offers a sacrifice unlawfully, out of fear of the Philistines, impatience in waiting for Samuel, and fear of losing more of his men; he finds out his "army" has dwindled to 600. Once again Jonathan's name is mentioned in that he and his father faithfully remain with the remaining men in Geba (the area Jonathan conquered). Jonathan is also one of the privileged few (the other being Saul) who owned any sort of weapon, for the Philistines monopolized the metal resources and metal-working craftsmen.

Chapter 14 tells us of Jonathan's initiative to again attack the Philistines and conquer some of the land entrusted to the Israelites through God's covenant of the Promised Land. He takes only his armor-bearer and tells no one of his plans or whereabouts, especially not his father. His companion encourages Jonathan to do all that was in his heart, saying "Behold, I am with you heart and soul" (his armor-bearer made a great companion, too, by the way; what Jonathan received in friendship, he gave back in return to others). Using his strategy and walking in the Lord's victory (the same victory God would have given Saul if he had been obedient), Jonathan and his armor-bearer kill about 20 of the "uncircumcised" [Philistines] while Saul and his men hide in the holes, caves, tombs, and rocks of the land. God intervenes on Jonathan's behalf and sends an earthquake, causing further panic among the Philistines. Saul, finding out the commotion in the Philistine camp and finally noticing that his son and his son's armor-bearer were gone, rallies his men and takes them to battle. The Israelite deserters who were among the Philistines turn and once again follow Saul and Jonathan, and men who had hidden themselves away in the caves and tombs also rejoin their king. The Lord turns the Philistines against each other and saves Israel.

The next scene is written after Jonathan and his armor-bearer's attack, but it fits chronologically after Jonathan leaves the Israelite camp, and perhaps it reveals more about his father than it does him. Saul, vowing revenge on his enemies, lays a curse on anyone who eats food until his enemies are avenged. Jonathan, of course, did not hear this vow, as he was absent, so in his travels through the forest, he finds and eats honeycomb, encouraging the people to do the same as it provided him with much needed strength and energy. The people inform him of his father's curse, and he rightly places the blame of a smaller victory on his father, saying that if the people had eaten of the spoil of the battles, they would not have lacked strength and the victory might have been greater. Later the people sin grievously, taking the spoil of the next Philistine attack and slaughtering the animals on the field and eating them with the blood (eating raw meat without draining the blood was forbidden by God). As a continued consequence of Saul's foolish oath, God does not answer Saul when he attempts to inquire of God as to whether they should attack another group of Philistines. Saul again immediately pronounces a rash oath because God would not answer him, claiming that someone had sinned and whoever it was that person would die, even if it were Jonathan. By casting lots, they find out that it was indeed Jonathan who was "guilty". Saul was committed to fulfilling his vow, too proud to go back on his word, and unable to realize the extent of his own sin, so he says Jonathan must die. However, Jonathan's leadership and faithfulness had won the hearts of the people, and the Israelites step in and ransom him from his father's decision. And they contribute the salvation of Israel to Jonathan, saying that as the Lord lived "not one hair of his head [would] fall to the ground for he has worked with God this day."

Moving ahead several chapters, through the anointing of David for the kingship and his defeat of Goliath, we once again are told of Jonathan in 1 Samuel 18. And here we find the ever familar story of David and Jonathan's friendship. After David kills Goliath, Saul calls him to the court and inquires who his father is. We only have two lines of conversation between Saul and David, and yet chapter 18 verse 1 tells us that "as soon as he [David] had finished speaking to Saul, the soul of Jonathan was knit to the soul of David, and Jonathan loved him as his own soul." Jonathan's friendship is remarkable, not only because of who he was (a king's son--and David was a shepherd boy from one of the least of the tribes), but because of what it required of him (a recognition that he would not be heir to the throne, and a covenantal loyalty to a man that his father hated). In his covenant with David, which included giving to David his outer robe, armor, sword, bow, and belt, Jonathan demonstrated, either consciously or unconsiously, that he was giving up all right to the throne and reliquishing the position of prince of Israel to the anointed one that God had chosen.

Jonathan, in taking on the friendship of one who would reign in the place of his father, now takes on an even more precarious position. King Saul, unable to destroy David through his own methods for the Lord gave David success wherever he went, tells Jonathan and all his servants to kill David. "But Jonathan, Saul's son, delighted much in David." (1 Samuel 19:1) So rather than obeying his father, he takes on the risk of warning his friend of his father's intentions. Not only does he provide protection for David, but he also creates a plan in order to figure out what his father was thinking about David. Working as an advocate on his friend's behalf, Jonathan reminds Saul of all the good David had done for him in fighting Saul's battles and defeating Saul's enemies. And Saul temporarily listens to the wise rational of his son. So then Jonathan reports back to David and brings David back into his father's court.

Because of the evil spirit that continually haunts Saul, he soon begins his pursuit of David again. David, in hiding, returns to Jonathan pleading to know what he might have done to cause Saul to want to kill him. Again the two friends form a plan together resulting in David remaining in hiding, and Jonathan finding out what Saul's plans are. David and Jonathan once again pledge their loyalty to each other. David, in his complete trust of Jonathan, asked Jonathan to kill David himself if Jonathan thought he was deserving of death. Jonathan vows to David that he will tell David if his father is well-disposed towards him or if Saul is still desiring his death. Jonathan also requests that if everything turns badly, that David would demonstrate steadfast love to Jonathan's descendants. And again, David and Jonathan swear their covenantal love for each other. 1 Samuel 20 recounts Jonathan's use of the feast days, a young boy, and a bow and arrow to demonstrate to David the message he had learned from his father: Saul was indeed still seeking David's death. Not only did Saul demonstrate his hatred of David, but he also cursed his son for having sided with David and tried to kill him. The chapter ends this way after Jonathan brings this message back to David:

David rose from beside the stone heap and fell on his face to the ground and bowed three times. And they kissed one another and wept with one another, David weeping the most. Then Jonathan said to David, "Go in peace, because we have sworn both of us in the name of the Lord, saying, 'The Lord shall be between me and you, and between my offspring and your offspring, forever.'" And he rose and departed, and Jonathan went into the city. 

David is continually pursued by Saul and his men. He finds food from a priest, but is betrayed by Saul's chief herdsmen, Doeg the Edomite. He flees to Gath and pretends to be insane for fear that the Philistine king would kill him. He resides in a cave and all the distressed and bitter men come to him--he leads them and they follow him. He sought refuge for his father and mother in Moab, and then lives in the forest. Saul discovers where he is and continues the pursuit. He rescues a city from the Philistines but cannot stay there for the Lord reveals to him that the city would give him up to Saul. The Bible tells us that the men who followed him were staunchly faithful to their leader. They went wherever they could go and they went wherever David went.

Pursued continually by Jonathan's father, David finds rest in the wilderness. Not likely physical rest, but mental and emotional rest from one who had pledged his loyalty to him. Jonathan came to him in the wilderness. He met David where he was, and he brought encouragement and refreshment to him.

And Jonathan, Saul's son, rose and went to David at Horesh, and strengthened his hand in God. And he said to him, "Do not fear, for the hand of Saul my father shall not find you. You shall be king over Israel, and I shall be next to you....And the two of them made a covenant before the Lord. David remianed at Horesh, and Jonathan went home. (1 Samuel 23:16-18)

In the desert, David found relief. Jonathan tells David not to fear his father. He reminds him that David will be king, and in that reminder is the humble acknowledgement that the prince of Israel would not be on the throne. Jonathan willingly submitted to God's sovereignty as it had been revealed to him and gave his support to David in the next best way that he could. Jonathan reminded David of God's promises.

That's the last we hear of Jonathan before he dies in battle alongside his brothers and his father. And that's the last we hear of his support and encouragement to one who so desperately needed it. But his loyalty left behind a memory not to be forgotten, and his life left an example completely opposite to that of his father's.

Saul's rebellion and disobedience brought consequences that reached further than he would ever know. King Saul is finally defeated by the Philistines, killing himself in order to avoid death by his enemies. And Jonathan dies, too. A man who walked in integrity, lived in victory, loved through loyalty, and advocated for justice. He provided leadership to the Israelites, brought refreshment to a hunted king, jeopardized his royal position by going against his mentally unstable father, and gave his life (literally) in humble surrender to the Lord's will, paving the way for the next king of Israel to reign--an event he would not even live to see.

And in return for that?

David remembered his covenant with Jonathan and showed kindness and grace to his descendants.

For Jonathan's sake.

The Dark Before the Dawn

“The Dark Before the Dawn”

In dark Gethsemane that agonizing night
Darkness prevailed, suppressing the light
His closest companions, to safety they fled
As in their stead, the Savior was led

To the anguish of the cross, as a Lamb
Stumbled the innocent Son of Man
Fear gripped mortal men’s hearts
As Satan threw his fiery darts

The spiritual war remained fierce
As the King—His hands and feet—were pierced
“Father, forgive them” the Sufferer cried
Releasing men from bondage, He died

Man’s deceit, rebellion, and injustice reigned
The Righteous One was crushed, His Life was claimed
Broken hearts, grief, sorrow, and pain
His promises, His words, forgotten once again

In the heavenlies, the battle raged
As men on earth, took and laid
The Healer’s body, broken and bruised
The Master of earth, by sons of men, abused

His followers weary and wounded
The ache of sin and death was not unfounded
Three nights He was cursed for hopeless men
Their hearts, like the torn veil, were ripped. Again.

The sting of death hung over the Almighty’s grave
His enemies rejoiced…yes, the ones He forgave
The Branch of Jesse, now a broken reed
Hope was shattered, the darkness oppressive indeed

The faithful women still wounded and weary
Made their way to the tomb that held Satan’s fury
Their hearts aching, broken, and sore
Still wounded from the pain of the nights before

But at that grave at the break of dawn
They found the stone and the Savior’s body gone
“Remember His words. He is risen indeed!
There is healing and atonement for your deepest need.”

There was hope and there was healing
For the pain and thick darkness they were feeling
The suffering Savior lives to intercede
The Throne of grace is where we, and He, kneel to plead

The broken-hearted will be healed
For the Sun of Righteousness is now revealed
The weary and hurting now rise
And on eagles’ wings the fainthearted fly

Though the spiritual battle still rages
In the Word of God, it’s written on its pages
That victory, justice, and hope will prevail
For the Sovereign One’s glory shall not fail

And through the darkness, the light we see
The banner of truth and love that provides victory
Christ Jesus conquered death and has made us His own
His hope and joy through pain—“I will never leave you alone”

So to the truth of the cross and the grave we must cling
For the High Priest intimately knows our suffering
Sin, pain, and affliction in this transient life is certain
But our Comforter’s open arms meet us behind the temple curtain

So, my fellow soldiers, though the injustice and pain we fight
Victory is ours already—from darkness comes the morning bright
Stand fast in the truth. Hold on to your Lord
The inheritance of the faithful saints is your reward

The battle for justice was not given to the strong
For in our strength, it’s impossible to right the wrong
Yet our weakness is where Sufficient Grace begins
And in the Healer’s strength, the wounded warriors win

-Kaleigh Stroink (age 21)

December Quotes

Pray that this year you may be holy, humble, zealous, and patient and have closer communion with Christ. Pray that you may be an example and blessing to others, and that you may live more for the glory of your Master… Let January open with joy in the Lord, and December close with gladness in Jesus.

-Charles H. Spurgeon

Men of iron are forged in fire.

-Unknown

We became very close. Sitting together in silence sometimes, he would say the thought that was stirring in my mind. So it should be, but rarely is, between friends, and between man and wife. 

-Richard Wurmbrand

The attitude in your heart will determine the atmosphere of your home, 

which in turn will affect the actions of everyone in your home. 

-Nancy Campbell

If I take offence easily; if I am content to continue in cold unfriendliness, though friendship be possible, then I know nothing of Calvary love. 

-Amy Carmichael

When a painter starts a portrait, all you see is a blur of colour. It takes time for the sitter to emerge. Everyone admires the portrait of Mona Lisa, but it took Leonardo forty years to finish. The ascent of a mountain is hard going before you can enjoy the view from the summit. 

-Richard Wurmbrand

Satan's power and knowledge are limited; his doom is sure. He's not worthy of our time, obsession, and emotions. Instead we live with both of our eyes fixed firmly on Jesus, who has delivered us from the devil's wrath and given us a sure hope that we will one day be rid of him for ever.

-Mike McKinley

Demanding respect is the quickest and most efficient way to lose it. Rendering respect is the biblical way to give, and, in the giving, to receive back what was given in another form.

-Douglas Wilson

But if we have the peace of God, the world cannot take that from us. It cannot give it. It cannot destroy it. We have to get it from above the world. It is peace that Christ gives. 'Great peace have they which love Your law, and nothing shall offend them.' Christ says, 'Blessed is he, whosoever shall not be offended in Me.' Now, if you will notice, wherever there is a Bible-taught Christian, one who has the Bible well-marked, and daily feeds on the Word by prayerful meditation, he will not be easily offended.

-D.L. Moody

The key to battling pride is not found in struggling against thinking too highly of ourselves or in striving to think of ourselves as lowly. The key is found in simply not thinking about ourselves at all, but setting our minds on Christ and the needs of others. 

-Paul Washer

The Christian does not think God will love us because we are good, but that God will make us good because He loves us.

-C. S. Lewis

But no good hope dies without leaving a child behind it—a younger and fresher hope. The year’s fruit must fall that the next year’s may come, and the winter is only way to the spring.

-George MacDonald

May the God of endurance and encouragement grant you to live in such harmony with one another, in accord with Christ Jesus, that together you may with one voice glorify the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ.

May the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace in believing, so that by the power of the Holy Spirit you may abound in hope. 

(Romans 13:5-6,13 ESV)

The City on the Hill: Does the Light Still Shine?

This article was first written for the ICBF blog in April 2015. I hope the reposting of it here today reminds us of important truths and encourages us to forbear willingly with one another.

Did you hear of the city on the hill?
Said one old man to the other
It once shined bright and it would be shining still
But they all started turning on each other
You see, the poets thought the dancers were shallow
And the soldiers thought the poets were weak
And the elders saw the young ones as foolish
And the rich man never heard the poor man speak

And one by one, they ran away
With their made-up minds to leave it all behind
And the light began to fade in the city on the hill
The city on the hill


Each one thought that they knew better
But they were different by design
Instead of standing strong together
They let their differences divide

And one by one, they ran away
With their made-up minds to leave it all behind
And the light began to fade in the city on the hill
The city on the hill
(“The City on the Hill” by Casting Crowns)

I heard these lyrics awhile back, and I was struck by the message they portrayed. This song addresses the subject that divides friends, families, and churches at a terrifying rate. You see, we forget that God created different individuals with different personalities and gave them different gifts and impressed on them different personal convictions. And in our pride, we sometimes see our way as the only right way, not realizing that the very gifts God gave us were exactly as different as necessary to make the body of Christ complete. We can easily point out a person’s weaknesses once we’ve known them long enough, and when we’ve known them even longer, their weaknesses seem to overpower their strengths.

I’m going to take an educated guess and suppose that these song lyrics were based off of Matthew 5:14-16 because it’s almost a direct implication to Christ’s words in this passage. And if that’s not where the lyrics come from, the passage still fits.

You are the light of the world. A city set on a hill cannot be hidden. Nor do people light a lamp and put it under a basket, but on a stand, and it gives light to all in the house. (ESV)

This is part of Jesus’ Sermon on the Mount. He calls His followers the light of the world. And the city on a hill cannot hide its light. It stands at a higher elevation and shines to those down below. One doesn’t light a lamp and hide it. A light is no use when covered and hidden away, but instead it is placed on a stand, higher up to spread its rays around to those who need it.

This city on a hill in Matthew was referring to the disciples first, and then, through the disciples, churches, families, and individuals carry on the light of the Gospel to those who live in darkness. One way believers accomplish that today is by using their gifts and by living in unity with fellow believers.

The lyrics of “City On the Hill” begin with one man sharing with another the story of a city: a city full of light and goodness. But it was quickly destroyed when the citizens turned on one another. Despising each person’s differences, the once peaceful people caused the city to crumble inward. Their united front was broken, and, in division, they tore into each other, shattering the harmony. They saw, not each other’s strengths, but the weaknesses that mirrored some of their own ways of life.

Not knowing that unity created strength, the people ran from the brokenness, from their differences, thus quenching the light which had for so long shone on the hill. They would not be dissuaded. Fear had bound its chains tightly, and pride had kept them there. So they ran down the hill, instead of facing the pain and humility that healing could bring. And because they were set on a hill, the change was noticed by many. A city set on a hill cannot be hid.

Each thought they knew better than the other. The poets thought the dancers were shallow./The soldiers thought the poets were weak./The elders saw the young ones as foolish./And the rich man never heard the poor man speak. They let their differences divide them, oblivious to the knowledge that they were different by Divine design.

The body of believers today is that city set on a hill. We have the true light, and when we hold a united front, the glory of God shines out to those around. We aren’t perfect, but the pure light of Christ shines through the weakness of our flesh and portrays a redeemed brokenness, rather than an unresolved brokenness that divides relationships.

We’re called to be one body by the grace and strength of God. We cannot do without one another. If we run away in pride or fear, the light will diminish. Therefore, we are called to stand by faith and live in unity with other members of Christ’s body. But we’re all created differently, and while walking in the liberty of grace, we’re called to live in unity to display the Lordship of Christ—for He is our Head.

Perhaps one of the best descriptions of spiritual gifts comes from Romans 12. Paul lists seven gifts, warning the church not to let pride take control, but to use discernment in exercising their strengths. Jesus’ followers are nothing in and of themselves, and the knowledge of this keeps pride and fear at bay, knowing that only our Head enables us to live out our strengths for His glory. We are to be as one body, functioning together as one whole unit. Each individual carries different strengths, specifically assigned to him by the grace of God, but we all have the same function as the body of Christ: reflecting our Head in all we say and do.

Listed here are the spiritual gifts given to believers in this age. (I currently believe that some spiritual gifts given to believers at the time of the apostles have ceased. Therefore, I’m listing them as they would apply to us today.) I believe there are a few more throughout Scripture, but I’m detailing some of the main ones.

The preacher gifting is one that often desires to see a person make things right with God. Their passion is to see people’s lives align rightly with Scripture, and if that means confronting sin, then they aren’t afraid to do so. They want to see people released from sin’s chains. They might not be preachers in the sense of leading a congregation, but they love to declare the truth of God’s Word, and their joy comes from seeing people walking in that truth.

The servant is one who loves to meet the practical needs of those around them. Their strength lies in doing good for other people and being concerned with a person’s well-being. The servant would give what they don’t have if it would only fill a gap in someone else’s life. They enable others to use their strength more fully, by taking on practical tasks. They like to use their time, resources, and money to fulfill needs, and they receive joy knowing that God worked through them to help another person.

Those who are gifted in teaching desire to explain God’s truths. They go down deep, pulling up the treasures from God’s Word. They study and find the little details and explain things to people. The teacher pours his time into studying just to see the light in people’s eyes when they suddenly understand a truth. They have the heavy responsibility of declaring truth and making Christ known to themselves and others. They passionately pursue studying Scripture, and their joy comes from presenting knowledge in and understandable way to those around them.

The exhorter is an encourager. They give hope to the discouraged, and strength to the wavering. They love to tell people that God is greater than any difficulty. Encouragers exude love and compassion, and they take the time to help people see the good in a bad situation. They want a person to pick up their life and press forward in the strength of the Lord. They find joy in lifting spirits and giving people hope.

The gift of giving is one that often manifests itself in financial means. These kinds of people love to invest their money in the work of God. They can never give too much, and they desire people to find material needs fulfilled by their giving. The giver will give you the shirt off his back just to relieve a physical need because they love sharing what God has blessed them with. They find joy knowing that God uses their abilities to diminish someone’s empty resources.

The ruler is an organizer. They run around with the to-do lists. They put chaos into order and take charge in emergencies. They administrate and oversee things so the to-do lists end up with a nice row of checkmarks. The ruler’s strength lies in directing people to schedule and organize things, so everything is done on time and in the right way. The rulers have their sights set to the goal, and they take joy in seeing God’s work completed in a precise and accurate manner.

The mercy-givers empathize with others. They are emotionally empathetic with people. They cry with those who are crying, and they genuinely rejoice with those who are rejoicing. They can feel the internal emotions of a person even if they’ve never been in the situation. They are the ones who are often willing to walk with a person through the healing process. Mercy-givers take joy in bearing others’ burdens.

These are all huge strengths, and everyone has some of them as their main strengths. They are good things, God-given things. Each carries the weight of a specific mission with it. Each one includes a passion that weighs on a person’s heart until they fulfill it. Each one is different. And when you put them all together in a group, the body of Christ is supposed to work as a physical body would—in harmony with one another, and all with the goal of bring benefit and glory to the Head.

The problem comes when people turn inward and start attacking their own members. The mercy-giver says the preacher has no compassion. The ruler says the giver has no organization or restraint. The exhorter says the teacher wears people out with details. And the preacher wonders how crying with someone could ever possibly teach them truth. The person who serves tells the giver that handing out money doesn’t fix the unmet practical needs. The teacher complains that the encourager has no sense of reality. The giver is confused as to how preaching at someone shows love to them. And when a person’s gifting helps an individual, the other members are jealous that their gift wasn’t needed. They started turning on each other. Each one thought that they knew better/But they were different by design/Instead of standing strong together/They let their differences divide.
The body of Christ requires every gift and every individual in the church of Christ to work together with its strengths and weaknesses. They need each other, for without the balance, each gift would swing to an unbiblical extreme. The preacher needs the balance of the mercy-giver. The strength of serving must be balanced with the responsibility of the ruler. The teacher needs the encourager. The Exhorter needs the reality of the preacher and teacher. The giver needs to balance out with serving. The ruler needs the compassion of the mercy-giver. And the strength of mercy needs to balance with the truth of the preacher. The weakness of one is the strength for the other. To run and hide from the weaknesses is to put out the light of city on the hill. To run is to live in pride instead of accepting that others might have something you lack. To run is to ignore the gifts the Sovereign God gave and reject the command to shine the light.

We can’t do without each other. If we could, that would mean we were fully capable of meeting all needs with our gift alone. And that’s impossible. There are all different characters, personalities, struggles, and strengths; it’s the body of believers who need to demonstrate unity through diversity. Strengths were given to benefit believers and glorify Christ. Weaknesses were given to curb pride and show us the sufficiency of Christ.

The world is searching still. It is rooted deep in people to know they need others, and even unbelievers want companionship. Let’s show the brotherhood of Christ to the unbelievers by standing strong instead of running, showing the diversity of unity when we meet the weakness of another with our strength, and accepting the strength of another when we cannot do it all. Tearing into one another, despising the gifts of one another, and fearing the unknown isn’t compatible with a God who created differences. Differences were never meant to divide, but to bring broken people together. We’re all broken in some way, and sometimes it’s the gift of another that provides the strength we need.

The body is to resemble the Head. It’s to be small likeness of the future Kingdom which will live in complete harmony under the King of Kings. But the light of brotherly unity is fading quickly all over the world. Doctrinal issues, personal convictions, deep struggles, and differing interests divide people sooner than they build them up. Is our city going to shine? Have we made up our minds to stay? Or are people going to see a darkening city with the citizens running in fear and pride? Are we going to face the unknown and work through it or disappear into the darkness? Does the light still shine in the city on the hill? The city is our God-given home, and if that light goes out, there may not be another to light it immediately. The light from one city creates the strength for the next city to keep on shining. One person’s strength gives strength to another. It’s up to all the believers across the world to carry the light. United we stand and divided we fall.

And the world is searching still
But it was the rhythm of the dancers
That gave the poets life
It was the spirit of the poets
That gave the soldiers strength to fight
It was the fire of the young ones
It was the wisdom of the old
It was the story of the poor man
That needed to be told
­(“The City on the Hill” by Casting Crowns)

Behold, how good and pleasant it is when brothers dwell in unity!

(Psalm 133:1)

We are to grow up in every way

Into him who is the head, into Christ,

from whom the whole body, joined and held together

by every join with which it is equipped,

when each part is working properly,

makes the body grow so that it 

builds itself up in love.

(Ephesians 4:15-16)

Arise, shine, for your light has come,

and the glory of the Lord has risen upon you.

For behold, darkness shall cover the earth, 

and thick darkness the peoples;

but the Lord will arise upon you,

and his glory will be seen upon you.

And nations shall come to your light,

and kings to the brightness of your rising.

(Isaiah 60:1-3)