Beautiful Freedom

Lord of immortality, before whom angels bow and archangels veil their faces, enable me to serve Thee with reverence and godly fear. Thou who art Spirit and requirest truth in the inward parts, help me to worship Thee in spirit and in truth. Thou who art righteous, let me not harbour sin in my heart, or indulge a worldly temper, or seek satisfaction in things that perish. I hasten towards an hour when earthly pursuits and possessions will appear vain, when it will be indifferent whether I have been rich or poor, successful or disappointed, admired or despised. But it will be of eternal moment that I have mourned for sin, hungered and thirsted after righteousness, loved the Lord Jesus in sincerity, gloried in His cross. May these objects engross my chief solicitude! Produce in me those principles and dispositions that make Thy service perfect freedom. Expel from my mind all sinful fear and shame, so that with firmness and courage I may confess the Redeemer before men, go for

BIG GOD: What Happens When We Trust Him by Britt Merrick Faith is trust. It is a confidence in the power and goodness of God that leads us to make good decisions and allows us to surrender our lives to Him. As we strive to mature spiritually and lead lives pleasing to God, we all want more faith. Hebrews 6:12 says that we are to be imitators of those who through faith and patience inherit the promises. One of the best ways to grow in faith is to imitate the lives of people who have shown great faith. Hebrews 11 guides us through the lives of men and women like Abel, Enoch, Noah, Abraham, Sarah, Moses, Rahab, David and others who have done just that. Real people with real lives and real problems, who had faith in a great God and trusted Him at pivotal moments in their lives. By drawing on some of the greatest lives of faith in the Bible, readers will come to see that God was worthy of these men’s and women’s trust and faith during biblical times in the same way that He is wort

 “Take heed to yourselves, lest you live in those sins which you preach against in others, and lest you be guilty of that which you daily condemn.” – Richard Baxter “Preach all your sermons over to yourself. Remember that your own heart must ever be your first congregation.” – F.B. Meyer “Beware of entrance into controversy unless faithfulness to Christ makes it imperative.” – George Henderson “...the work of preaching is the highest and the greatest and the most glorious calling to which anyone can ever be called.” – Martyn Lloyd-Jones “The primary task of the church and of the Christian ministry is the preaching of the Word of God.” – Martyn Lloyd-Jones “It was said of George Fox “In his preaching he wore out clothes, horses, critics, persecutors, and eventually himself.” “He with whom the ministry is a secondary thing, may be a correct, a learned, an elegant, even an oratorical, but will never be a powerful preacher.” – J. W. Alexander “I preached as never sur

“And God saw the light, that it was good: and God divided the light from the darkness.” Genesis 1:4 Light might well be good since it sprang from that fiat of goodness, “Let there be light.” We who enjoy it should be more grateful for it than we are, and see more of God in it and by it. Light physical is said by Solomon to be sweet, but gospel light is infinitely more precious, for it reveals eternal things, and ministers to our immortal natures. When the Holy Spirit gives us spiritual light, and opens our eyes to behold the glory of God in the face of Jesus Christ, we behold sin in its true colours, and ourselves in our real position; we see the Most Holy God as he reveals himself, the plan of mercy as he propounds it, and the world to come as the Word describes it. Spiritual light has many beams and prismatic colours, but whether they be knowledge, joy, holiness, or life, all are divinely good. If the light received be thus good, what must the essential light be, and how gloriou

Do you wish to be great? Then begin by being. Do you desire to construct a vast and lofty fabric? Think first about the foundations of humility. The higher your structure is to be, the deeper must be its foundation. Saint Augustine My Prayer for this new year is a Firm Foundation...   How firm a foundation, ye saints of the Lord, Is laid for your faith in His excellent word! What more can He say than to you He hath said— To you who for refuge to Jesus have fled? “Fear not, I am with thee, oh, be not dismayed, For I am thy God, and will still give thee aid; I’ll strengthen thee, help thee, and cause thee to stand, Upheld by My gracious, omnipotent hand. “When through the deep waters I call thee to go, The rivers of sorrow shall not overflow; For I will be with thee thy trouble to bless, And sanctify to thee thy deepest distress. “When through fiery trials thy pathway shall lie, My grace, all-sufficient, shall be thy supply; The flame shall not harm thee; I only des