What Makes Me Complain?

Over the last forty (40) years I have written a number of quotes, comments, pithy sayings, and poems in the fly-leafs of my bibles. Each Tuesday I am going to share those various entries from my bibles with you. I hope they will be as much of blessing to you as they have been to me. Sometimes I will be able to give credit where credit is due and sometimes I won’t be able to credit the source. I apologize for this to each one who contributed these gems over the last forty (40) years.

TODAY'S TREASURE:

We make the choice to turn from all that we have received and focus on what we still want to have. This is when complaining comes in. I minimize the blessings of life and magnify every negative circumstance encountered when I complain.

Praise Him! He is the God of creation.

Beholding the heavens,

I now understand

God measured them all

with the breadth of His hand.

He fashioned the trillions of stars in the sky

The sun and the moon

He established on high.

All heaven and earth,

which He made in six days,

Show daily and nightly

His merit of praise.

--Milton Vincent, A Gospel Primer for Christians

“…just as Christian came up to the Cross, his burden loosed from off his shoulders, fell from off his back, and began to tumble down the hill, and so it continued to do till it came to the mouth of the sepulchre. There it fell in, and I saw it no more!” 
― John Bunyan, The Pilgrim's Progress

Don't Count On Self-Made Arrangements With God

A few days ago, I had a conversation with a man

who lives in our apartment complex.

A little while into our conversation I asked him if thought about what would happen after he died?

He was somewhat taken back but managed to share with me that He wasn't worried. Naturally I asked him why he wasn't worried.

He said, "That he and God had an 'arrangement' and that he would be OK."

My heart broke. Not broke like when your best girl dumps you. More like grieved because of the ignorance and absolute foolishness in his response.

I grieved because he really believed that he and God really did have an arrangement. 

I tried to share with my friend why that was a very dangerous position to maintain but we were interrupted. My friend left.

I continue to pray for him. I will continue to share the gospel. I will continue to hope that God will be gracious and through His Holy Spirit apply the atoning work of Christ on the cross to his heart.

For the record, God does not make 'arrangements' with sinners. The only arrangement God made was with His Son, Jesus the Christ. He gave a people to His Son knowing His Son would be obedient, even unto death. Christ became sin and died as God required and by doing do appeased God the Father.

If there is an arrangement at all between God and any sinner it would be:

"And as Moses lifted up the serpent in the wilderness, even so must the Son of Man be lifted up, that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have eternal life."(John 3:14-15, NKJV)

 

What's In Your Wallet?

Over the last forty (40) years I have written a number of quotes, comments, pithy sayings, and poems in the fly-leafs of my bibles. Each Tuesday I am going to share those various entries from my bibles with you. I hope they will be as much of blessing to you as they have been to me. Sometimes I will be able to give credit where credit is due and sometimes I won’t be able to credit the source. I apologize for this to each one who contributed these gems over the last forty (40) years.

TODAY'S TREASURE:

"It is sadly surprising what most Christians 
would rather have than their money."

--Evert L. Atkinson,
Pastor, Coal Creek Community Church

Anxiety is Over-rated

Anxiety does not empty tomorrow of its sorrows, but only empties today of its strength.

---- Charles H. Spurgeon

Happy 4th of July!

The Gospel-driven Disciples Blog is closed today!

If God Blessed America (What Would He Do?)

by Gregg Metcalf

Ever since that September day

all you see are signs that say

God Bless America

No one stops to realize

to take time to analyze

only God Bless America

It's heard on everybody's lips

no one stops to think, out it slips

God Bless America

Do they even think at all

is it just some empty call?

God Bless America

If God were to bless America

just what would He do?

Would He send angels from heaven

with the red, white, and blue?

Do you really think we deserve

anything since we are this way

If God were to bless America

tell me, what would He say?  

Would God wink at all our sin

and simply say forget it friend?

But God Bless America

Holiness and righteousness

are things that God will bless

God bless America

If God were to bless America

just what would He do?

Would He send angels from heaven

with the red, white, and blue?

Do you really think we deserve

anything since we are this way

If God were to bless America

tell me, what would He say? 

 

Or will we fall on our face

and repent in disgrace

God bless America

Do we think He won't care

and why do we even dare

to ask God bless America

If God were to bless America

just what would He do?

Would He send angels from heaven

with the red, white, and blue?

Do you really think we deserve

anything since we are this way

If God were to bless America

tell me, what would He say?

 

So, tell me, 

if God blessed America

what would He do?