“What you need to do, is to put your will over completely into the hands of your Lord, surrendering to Him the entire control of it. Say, “Yes, Lord, YES!” to everything, and trust Him to work in you to will, as to bring your whole wishes and affections into conformity with His own sweet, and lovable, and most lovely will. It is wonderful what miracles God works in wills that are utterly surrendered to Him. He turns hard things into easy, and bitter things into sweet. It is not that He puts easy things in the place of the hard, but He actually changes the hard thing into an easy one.”

~ Hannah Whitall Smith

“Let us search and try our ways, and turn again to the Lord.” Lam. 3:40

5 Comments »

“God often takes a course for accomplishing His purposes directly contrary to what our narrow views would prescribe. He brings a death upon our feelings, wishes, and prospects when He is about to give us the desires of our heart.”  ~ John Newton

~ ♦ ~

“Delight thyself also in the Lord; and he shall give thee the desires of thine heart. Commit thy way unto the Lord; trust also in him; and he shall bring it to pass….Rest in the Lord, and wait patiently for him.” Psalm 37: 4-5,7

2 Comments »

Why did God create us? We all know the right answer. We are here for the sole purpose of glorifying God. Unfortunately, “to glorify God” has almost become a meaningless cliche.

How do we glorify God? I was surprised that I didn’t have a simple, practical answer to this question. Until I was given this verse…

“Herein is my Father glorified,
that ye bear much fruit;
so shall ye be my disciples.”
(John 15:8)

That’s it! That’s how I glorify God! By bearing much fruit.

Six Types of Fruit

1. Character: Who I am

“That ye may approve things that are excellent; that ye may be sincere and without offence till the day of Christ; Being filled with the fruits of righteousness, which are by Jesus Christ, unto the glory and praise of God” (Philippians 1:10-11).

2. Conduct: What I do

“But the wisdom that is from above is first pure, then peaceable, gentle, and easy to be intreated, full of mercy and good fruits, without partiality, and without hypocrisy” (James 3:17).

3. Contributions: What I give

“For even in Thessalonica ye sent once and again unto my necessity. Not because I desire a gift: but I desire fruit that may abound to your account” (Philippians 4:16-17).

4. Communication: What I say

“Let us offer the sacrifice of praise to God continually, that is, the fruit of our lips giving thanks to his name” (Hebrews 13:15).

5. Converts: Who I win

“For the hope which is laid up for you in heaven, whereof ye heard before in the word of the truth of the gospel; which is come unto you, as it is in all the world; and bringeth forth fruit, as it doth also in you, since the day ye heard of it, and knew the grace of God in truth” (Colossians 1:6).

6. Children: Who I conceive

“Lo, children are an heritage of the LORD: and the fruit of the womb is his reward” (Psalm 127:3).

Leave a Comment »

Lord, I am no longer my own, but Yours.

Put me to what You will and rank me with whom You will.

Let me be employed by You or laid aside for You,

Exalted for You or brought low by You.

Let me have all things, let me have nothing.

I freely and heartily yield all things to Your pleasure and disposal.

And now, O glorious and blessed God, Father, Son, and Holy Spirit,

You are mine and I am Yours. So be it. Amen.

~ John Wesley

Leave a Comment »

“O God, I have tasted Thy goodness, and it has both satisfied me and made me thirsty for more. I am painfully conscious of my need of further grace. I am ashamed of my lack of desire. O God, the Triune God, I want to want Thee; I long to be filled with longing; I thirst to be made more thirsty still. Show me Thy glory, I pray Thee, that so I may know Thee indeed. Begin in mercy a new work of love within me. Say to my soul, “Rise up, my love, my fair one, and come away.” Then give me grace to rise and follow Thee up from this misty lowland where I have wandered so long.”

~ A. W. Tozer, The Pursuit of God

~ ♦ ~

“Blessed are they which do hunger and thirst after righteousness:
for they shall be filled.“
~ Matthew 5:6

Leave a Comment »

“No one is useless in this world who lightens the burdens of another.”

~ Charles Dickens

~ ♦ ~

“Bear ye one another’s burdens,
and so fulfill the law of Christ.”
~ Galatians 6:2

2 Comments »