True Patriotism

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“Allow me to say that it excites both my wonder and concern, that a Christian minister such as yourself, should think it worth his while to attempt political reforms.  When I look around upon the present state of the nation, such an attempt appears to me, to be no less vain and foolish, that it would be to paint the cabin-while the ship is sinking!  Or to decorate the parlor–while the house is on fire!

When our Lord Jesus was upon earth, He refused to get involved in disputes or politics, ‘Friend, who appointed Me a judge or arbitrator over you?’ (Luke 12:14)  ‘My kingdom is not of this world!  If My kingdom were of this world, My servants would fight!’ (John 18:36)  God’s children belong to a kingdom which is not of this world; they are strangers and pilgrims upon earth, and a part of the Scriptural character is, that they are the ‘quiet in the land’ (Psalm 35:19).

Satan has many contrivances to amuse people, and to divert their thoughts from their real danger!

My dear sir, my prayer to God for you is–that He may induce you to employ he talents He has given you, in pointing out sin as the great cause and source of every existing evil; and to engage those who love and fear Him, (instead of wasting time in political speculations, for which very few of them are competent,) to sigh and cry for our abounding abominations, and to stand in the breach, by prayer, that God’s wrath may yet be averted, and our national mercies prolonged!  This, I think, is true patriotism–the best way in which people in private life may serve their country. ” ~John Newton, excerpt from a letter, era 1725-1807

…and tell us what you think.

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Proud of My Humility?

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“The degree of humility is to be judged of by the degree of abasement, and the degree of the cause for abasement: but he that is truly and eminently humble never thinks his humility great. The cause why he should be abased appears so great, and the abasement of the frame of his heart so greatly short of it, that he takes much more notice of his pride than his humility.” ~Jonathan Edwards, The Religious Affections, 1746

…and tell us what you think.

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Rebel without a cause?

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Those who never rebelled against God or at some point in their lives shaken their fists in the face of heaven, have never encountered God at all.  ~Catherine Marshall, Christy, 1967

…and tell us what you think.

Diminishing God?

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A man can no more diminish God’s glory by refusing to worship Him than a lunatic can put out the sun by scribbling the word, ‘darkness’ on the walls of his cell. ~C.S. Lewis, The Problem of Pain

…and tell us what you think.

God gave you a brain…

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“I do not feel obliged to believe that the same God who has endowed us with sense, reason, and intellect has intended us to forgo their use.”

- Galileo Galilei

…and tell us what you think.

The definition of “Obstacle”

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“Obstacles are those frightful things you see when you take your eyes off your goal.”

- Henry Ford (1863-1947)

…and tell us what you think.

What you worship

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A person will worship something, have no doubt about that. We may think our tribute is paid in secret in the dark recesses of our hearts, but it will out. That which dominates our imaginations and our thoughts will determine our lives, and our character. Therefore, it behooves us to be careful what we worship, for what we are worshipping we are becoming.

~Ralph Waldo Emerson

…and tell us what you think.

Thou Shalt Not Touch

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A man from Yemen was here in the states, working on an assembly line in a food-processing plant and sending money home for his family. When his wife back home gave birth to a baby, news spread quickly throughout the man’s assembly line. Soon his supervisor, who was a woman, came over to offer her congratulations and extended her hand for a handshake. The Yemenese man shrank away, avoiding any touch. Offended, the supervisor asked the managers to implement discipline for the man’s public disrespect. However, a mediator spoke with the man and discovered his conviction: that to even touch any woman aside from his wife was unfaithfulness to his wife.

…and tell us what you think.

Hide and Seek

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“We have been snared in the coils of a spurious logic which insists that if we have found Him [God], we need no longer seek Him.”

~A. W. Tozer, The Pursuit of God

…and tell us what you think.