But God forbid that I should glory, save in the cross of our Lord Jesus Christ—.Galatians 6:14   Paul had what we all need–a burning desire to proclaim the glories of the cross to a lost and dying world. In spite of all the difficulties he faced, he never allowed anything to dim his vision of the cross. Neither should we. Keeping our focus on the cross will feed our faith, fuel our faithfulness, and fix our faults.   Turn your eyes away from the vanities of the world and set your sights on the cross. See the two arms stretched out in both directions, east and west, embracing all the peoples of the earth. See the foot of the cross descending below the grave, down to the very gates of hell, making a way for the lowest of men. Behold the cross ascending upward, beyond the sun, moon, and stars, until it reaches the very throne of God and sheds its light throughtout the heavenly city. Then, there you will hear the heavenly choir singing in perfect unison the “new song” about the old rugged cross.   If the cross is our theme for eternity it certainly should be at the center of our thoughts ever wakening moment here below. All else pales in comparison. Let us then glory only in the cross of our Lord Jesus Christ. We have nothing else of which to boast.

“The blood of Jesus Christ his Son cleanseth us from all sin.” 1 John 1:7

The blood of Jesus is everything. It is the central doctrine of our faith, the present and eternal life of our souls. There is no pardon, no salvation, no heaven but by blood–the blood of the Lord Jesus. Were we to relinquish every other revealed truth, and concentrate upon this one our supreme and lasting study, resolving all our knowledge of the Bible into an ‘experimental and personal acquaintance’ with ATONING BLOOD–as, like a purple thread, it runs from Genesis to Revelation, it would not be a too exaggerated view of this vital and momentous subject. The blood is everything to us–it is everything to God. He provided it, is satisfied with it, beholds it, and when He sees it on the soul, that soul becomes a living and a lovely soul in His sight. May our meditation on atoning blood exalt our views of its dignity, increase in us its power, and endear to our hearts the preciousness of Him who shed it! (Octavius Winslow)

“Beloved, think it not strange concerning the fiery trial which is to try you, as though some strange thing happened unto you.” 1 Peter 4:12

Has something bad happened to you and you said, “Oh me. What did I do? I must have done something terrible. Otherwise, this wouldn’t have happened!”

And before you knew it, you fell headlong into a pity party of morbid introspection – taking yourself apart piece by piece to see where you went wrong. If you’re like most people, you have.

But have you ever thought that maybe you’ve done absolutely nothing wrong, but God is simply testing your faith? This is an important truth for you to understand, because if you don’t, you may get discouraged. The seeds of doubt and discouragement sprout in the soil of ignorance.

–Adrian Rogers

“Beloved, think it not strange concerning the fiery trial which is to try you, as though some strange thing happened unto you.” 1 Peter 4:12

Has something bad happened to you and you said, “Oh me. What did I do? I must have done something terrible. Otherwise, this wouldn’t have happened!”

And before you knew it, you fell headlong into a pity party of morbid introspection – taking yourself apart piece by piece to see where you went wrong. If you’re like most people, you have.

But have you ever thought that maybe you’ve done absolutely nothing wrong, but God is simply testing your faith? This is an important truth for you to understand, because if you don’t, you may get discouraged. The seeds of doubt and discouragement sprout in the soil of ignorance.

–Adrian Rogers

Therefore to him that knoweth to do good, and doeth it not, to him it is sin. (James 4:17). Speaking in reference to this verse, Dr. Warren Vanhetloo wrote:

” Is God more concerned about what we are or what we do? Does He judge our character more than He does conduct? Can we genuinely separate character from conduct? Most of us are more concerned about how we fit into our culture, what our friends expect of us, what might happen if we disobey civil law, etc. A believer is to be conscious of these, but his primary concern ought to be what he is and what he does as God judges it.

God gives clear contrasts in Galatians 5. Now the works of the flesh are manifest, which are these: adultery, fornication, uncleanness, lasciviousness, idolatry, witchcraft, hatred, variance, emulations, wrath, strife, seditions, heresies, envying, murders, drunkenness, revelings, and such like (5:19-21). But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, longsuffering, gentleness, goodness, faith, meekness, temperance, and such (5:22-23). The fruits of the Spirit are inner qualities, conditions that undergird our thinking and speech and actions.” Dr. Vanhetloo then commented on the first two graces mentioned in this list:

“Love is an inner concern to seek the best for others. Love sees failures, not to criticize, but to wonder how to aid and improve the needs of others. Love is willing to give to do good to any and all, deserving or not deserving, both to those who appreciate what we attempt to do and those who react against our efforts to do them good. Notice that love is always in action. It is always defined by something outward which results from an inward concern. Jesus taught a love lesson in His story of the Good Samaritan. What we do not only shows what we inwardly feel, it also manifests that the inner love is genuine.

Joy is different from levity. Christians have a true inner, constant attitude of rejoicing and appreciation. We also, like the unsaved, can laugh at a joke, be entertained by stories and music, make merry with our friends, etc., but such mirth is not the same as the deep-seated satisfaction we have as dwellers in Jesus, constantly rejoicing in His provision, His guidance, His mercy to usward. Nothing can change or dampen that joy, but we can fail to manifest it. We need to be conscious of our inner joyfulness and also to consider whether or not we are thought to be characteristically joyful or complaining in the eyes of others.

And so with all the fruits of the Spirit and characteristics of the new life we have in Jesus. The inner reality should not be subdued. The true inner life we have in our Savior should predominate in all our thinking and speaking. Others who live with us or contact us ought to realize that we are different because we have been changed by divine action, not by human self-improvement. Everything we say and do can be used by God for His purposes. All we say and do has influence on others. What we are in Christ should not be hidden under a bushel. We are to be living witnesses of His grace. We can be different because we are different, and we should be different. We have a new life in Christ and we are now to grow in Him and show forth His graces.”