These Three Remain...

" We are so utterly ordinary, so commonplace, while we profess to know a Power the twentieth century does not reckon with. But we are "harmless," and therefore unharmed. We are spiritual pacifists, non-militants, conscientious objectors in this battle-to-the death with principalities and powers in high places. Meekness must be had for contract with men, but brash, outspoken boldness is required to take part in the comradeship of the Cross. We are "sideliners"- coaching and criticizing the real wrestlers while content to sit by and leave the enemies of God unchallenged. The world cannot hate us, we are too much like its own. Oh that God would make us dangerous!"

~Jim Elliot

Be dangerous--a living testimony to God's power through weak human flesh!

Happy Independence Day everyone! May God bless America!

“[July 4th] ought to be commemorated as the day of deliverance by solemn acts of devotion to God Almighty.” ~John Adams

“ God governs in the affairs of man. And if a sparrow cannot fall to the ground without his notice, is it probable that an empire can rise without His aid? We have been assured in the Sacred Writings that except the Lord build the house, they labor in vain that build it. I firmly believe this. I also believe that, without His concurring aid, we shall succeed in this political building no better than the builders of Babel.” ~Benjamin Franklin

“It cannot be emphasized too clearly and too often that this nation was founded, not by religionists, but by Christians; not on religion, but on the gospel of Jesus Christ. For this very reason, peoples of other faiths have been afforded asylum, prosperity, and freedom of worship here.” ~Patrick Henry

“God who gave us life gave us liberty. And can the liberties of a nation be thought secure when we have removed their only firm basis, a conviction in the minds of the people that these liberties are a gift from God? That they are not to be violated but with His wrath? Indeed I tremble for my country when I reflect that God is just, and that His justice cannot sleep forever.” ~Thomas Jefferson (emphasis mine)

Hello all!
I just wanted to share this quote with you all (from my devotional book) that stood out to me:

"Wherever you are, be all there. Live to the hilt every situation you believe to be the will of God."
- Jim Elliot, Christian missionary and martyr

Isn't that a great thought? What a good reminder to stay focused on God's will in every situation...to make sure that we're not so self-focused that we are blinded to what we know God would will in the situation. I especially like the phrase "live to the hilt". Doesn't that put the image of a Christian warrior fighting the spiritual battle into your mind? Living to the hilt; using the "sword of the Spirit" (Ephesians 6), God's Word, for every situation. Doesn't that just challenge you? Challenge you to "live to the hilt every situation" instead of just trying to simply "make it through"? It also reminds me of a song I heard on the radio...I don't know who it was by. It went something like...I think of all the years I spent just passing through. I'd like to take that time and give it all to You! Something to that effect, anyway. That kind of adds on to Kallie's post "Is God your all?". Do you give God all your time? I don't mean that you should stay at your bed praying every second of the day, but have you thought about how much of you is given to Him? I guess what I'm trying to say is, yes, God wants us to have leisure time, I'm not trying to discourage that in the least, but are we always seeking our own pursuits in every second of extra time, or do we take the time to look around us and be aware of others and their needs and desires as Jesus did?
Anyway, I know I got a bit off topic there, but I really enjoy being able to share my thoughts with you! Let me know what you think!

Hello everyone...this is a quote that my mom gave to me a while back; I don't know what book it's from, but it's so true (yet hard to follow), isn't it?

"If we wish to gain contentment, we might try such rules as these:

1. Allow thyself to complain of nothing, not even of the weather.
2. Never picture thyself under any circumstances in which thou art not.
3. Never compare thine own lot with that of another.
4. Never allow thyself to dwell on the wish that this or that had been, or were, otherwise than it was, or is. God Almighty loves thee better and more wisely than thou dost thyself.
5. Never dwell on the morrow. Remember that it is God's, not thine. The heaviest part of sorrow often is to look forward to it. 'The Lord will provide.' "

-E.B. Pusey