“Too long have we been waiting for one another to begin! The time of waiting is past! The hour of God has struck! War is declared! In God’s Holy Name let us arise and build! ‘The God of Heaven, He will fight for us’, as we for Him. We will not build on the sand, but on the bedrock of the sayings of Christ, and the gates and minions of hell shall not prevail against us. Should such men as we fear? Before the world, aye, before the sleepy, lukewarm, faithless, namby-pamby Christian world, we will dare to trust our God, we will venture our all for Him, we will live and we will die for Him, and we will do it with His joy unspeakable singing aloud in our hearts. We will a thousand times sooner die trusting only our God, than live trusting in man. And when we come to this position the battle is already won, and the end of the glorious campaign in sight. We will have the real Holiness of God, not the sickly stuff of talk and dainty words and pretty thoughts; we will have a Masculine Holiness, one of daring faith and works for Jesus Christ.” -C.T. Studd
Today’s Quote-CT Studd
From the Radical Study
Jesus,
Whatever You say, I believe You. Whatever You do, I trust You. Wherever You lead, I will follow You. I devote myself to You above all others. I give up all my desires and pursuits for Yours. There is no cost to great for being Your disciple. I abandon everything that I may come after You. For You alone are worthy. Amen
Seven Habits of Highly Evangelistic Christians
Thom Rainer, President and CEO of Lifeway, argues that the secret to being an evangelistic church “is really no secret at all. Ultimately evangelistic churches see more persons become Christians through the passionate efforts of highly evangelistic Christians.”
And what characterizes these highly evangelistic Christians? Read on (bold type added for clarity).
1. They are people of prayer. They realize that only God can convict and convert, and they are totally dependent upon Him in prayer. Most of the highly evangelistic Christians spend at least an hour in prayer each day.
2. They have a theology that compels them to evangelize. They believe in the urgency of the gospel message. They believe that Christ is the only way of salvation. They believe that anyone without Christ is doomed for a literal hell.
3. They are people who spend time in the Word. The more time they spend in the Bible, they more likely they are to see the lostness of humanity and the love of God in Christ to save those who are lost.
4. They are compassionate people. Their heart breaks for those who don’t have a personal relationship with Jesus Christ. They have learned to love the world by becoming more like Christ who has the greatest love for the world.
5. They love the communities where God has placed them. They are immersed in the culture because they desire for the light of Christ to shine through them in their communities.
6. They are intentional about evangelism. They pray for opportunities to share the gospel. They look for those opportunities. And they see many so-called casual encounters as appointments set by God.
7. They are accountable to someone for their evangelistic activities. They know that many good activities can replace Great Commission activities if they are not careful. Good can replace the best. So they make certain that someone holds them accountable each week either formally or informally for their evangelistic efforts.
How are you doing? I know the last characteristic isn’t present in my life right now. Be sure to read the whole article.
Taken from Kevin DeYoung’s posting.
Who were you carrying the stone for?”
This is Taken from Elisabeth Elliot taken from her book These Strange Ashes:
One day Jesus said to his disciples: “I’d like you to carry a stone for me.” He didn’t give any explanation. So the disciples looked around for a stone to carry, and Peter, being the practical sort, sought out the smallest stone he could possibly find. After all, Jesus didn’t give any regulation for weight and size! So he put it in his pocket. Jesus then said: “Follow Me.” He led them on a journey. About noontime Jesus had everyone sit down. He waved his hands and all the stones turned to bread. He said, “Now it’s time for lunch.” In a few seconds, Peter’s lunch was over. When lunch was done Jesus told them to stand up. He said again, “I’d like you to carry a stone for me.” This time Peter said, “Aha! Now I get it!” So he looked around and saw a small boulder. He hoisted it on his back and it was painful, it made him stagger. But he said, “I can’t wait for supper.” Jesus then said: “Follow Me.” He led them on a journey, with Peter barely being able to keep up. Around supper time Jesus led them to the side of a river. He said, “Now everyone throw your stones into the water.” They did. Then he said, “Follow Me,” and began to walk. Peter and the others looked at him dumbfounded. Jesus sighed and said, “Don’t you remember what I asked you to do? Who were you carrying the stone for?”
What are Some Common Misconceptions when it Comes to the Gospel?
Here is some information from the Dare2Share website on: dare2share
What are Some Common Misconceptions when it Comes to the Gospel?
Misconception #1: You have to say a prayer to be saved.
Saying a prayer never saved anyone! It is our faith and trust in Jesus Christ that saves us. Saying a prayer is simply a way to verbally express to God the faith that we have in our hearts. There is no Biblical reference to Jesus ever leading anyone through a prayer for salvation. As a matter of fact, we don’t see any of the Christians in the New Testament ever leading someone else through a salvation prayer. It’s fine to lead someone through a simple prayer to God. Just make sure they understand that saying a prayer doesn’t save them. Their faith in Jesus saves them.
Misconception #2: You have to be water baptized to be saved.
Water baptism is an outward sign of an inward change. It is a picture of our new identity in Christ. Although there are a few verses that are misinterpreted by some that say it is necessary for salvation (Acts 2:38, Mark 16:16, etc.), there are over 200 verses in the New Testament that make it clear that salvation is a matter of faith alone in Christ alone. If baptism were necessary for salvation then it would have to appear as a requirement for salvation every single time the word “faith” or “believe” or “repent” does. As a matter of fact, in Acts 10:44-47 some people trust in Christ as a result of Peter’s preaching. Notice what he says in verse 47, “Can anyone keep these people from being baptized with water? They have received the Holy Spirit just as we have.” They received the Spirit before they were baptized. According to Ephesians 1:13 we receive the Spirit as soon as we believe. In other words, they were saved before they were ever water baptized.
Misconception #3: Eternal life is a license to sin.
The natural response to a free gift is gratefulness. The better and bigger the gift, the more grateful one tends to be. In the same way, when we are given the best gift ever, the gift of eternal life, our natural response should be a life of thankful service for God (Romans 12:1).
Yes, there are times when all of us have abused the grace of God and sinned. In the words of the great preacher, Dr. Martin Lloyd Jones,
“The true test of gospel preaching is whether or not it can be abused.”
Grace that cannot be taken advantage of is not grace. When we abuse God’s grace (and we all do from time-to-time), we miss out on the full blessing of God in our lives. We are cheating ourselves of present contentment in our earthly lives and future rewards in the heavenly life to come.