Everyone wants to be amused

“The church used to be a lightning bolt, now it’s a cruise ship. We are not marching to Zion – we are sailing there with ease. In the apostolic church it says they were all amazed – and now in our churches everybody wants to be amused. The church began in the upper room with a bunch of men agonizing, and it’s ending in the supper room with a bunch of people organizing. We mistake rattle for revival, and commotion for creation, and action for unction.”
–Leonard Ravenhill via Truth Matters

Read Full Post »

When praise isn’t really praiseworthy

“Then they believed his words; they sang his praise. ” (Psalm 106:12, ESV)

Sounds great, right?  The children of Israel stopped to praise God after His great deliverance at the Red Sea (see Exodus 15).  The only problem is, when they had their backs up against the wall and Moses told them to trust God, they were moaning and rebelling.  Then God delivered them miraculously.  They sang a brief song of praise and then they went back to grumbling and rebelling.

Spurgeon writes, “This is mentioned, not to their credit, but to their shame,  since those who do not believe the Lord’s word till they see it performed are not believers at all. … Their song was very excellent, … but sweet as it was, it was quite short, and when it was ended they fell to murmuring.”

Do you believe only after God answers prayer?  Is your sporadic praise of God bookended by more frequent murmuring and complaining?

Read Full Post »

Where have 80 million Bibles been published?

The answer may surprise you. And they can’t keep up with the demand.  Click here.

Read Full Post »

If you only read one post today, read this

Zach posts this story which reminds us of God’s love and compassion.

Read Full Post »

Who is really great?

The world’s idea of greatness is to rule, but Christian greatness consists in serving. The world’s ambition is to receive honor and attention, but the desire of the Christian should be to give rather than receive, and to attend on others rather than be attended on himself. In short, the man who lays himself out most to serve his fellow men, and to be useful in his day and generation, is the greatest man in the eyes of Christ.

~ J.C. Ryle, Expository Thoughts on the Gospels: Mark, [Carlisle, PA: Banner of Truth, 1985], 187.

(HT: Ryle quotes)

 

Read Full Post »