“Love not the world, neither the things that are in the world…..” 1 John 2:15

True Christian living in the world, is like a ship sailing on the ocean. It is not the ship being in the water which will sink it–but the water getting into the ship! So, in like manner, the Christian is not ruined by living in the world, which he must do while he remains in the body–but by the world living in him.

The world in the heart has ruined millions of immortal souls!

How careful is the mariner to guard against leakage, lest the water entering into the vessel should, by imperceptible degrees, cause the vessel to sink; and ought not the Christian to watch and pray, lest Satan and the world should find some unguarded inlet to his heart?
—From “Golden Thoughts”, 1879

Keep thy heart with all diligence; for out of it are the issues of life.– Proverbs 4:23

….Well done, thou good and faithful servant; thou hast been faithful over a few things; I will make thee ruler over many things: enter thou into the joy of thy lord. Matthew 25:21

No higher praise can be given to any life—than to say it has been faithful. No one could ask for a nobler epitaph than the simple words, “He was faithful.” This will be the commendation given in the great account, to those who have made the most of their talents: “You have been faithful with a few things!” Faithfulness should therefore be the aim in all our living.

It is not great things that God expects or requires of us—unless He has given us great gifts and opportunities. All that He requires of us, is faithfulness. He gives us certain talents, puts us in certain relations, assigns to us certain duties—and then asks us to be faithful—nothing more. The man with the plain gifts and the small opportunities, is not expected to do the great things which are required of the man with the brilliant talents and the large opportunities. We should get this truth fixed deeply in our mind—that God asks of nothing more—than simple faithfulness.

Faithfulness is not the same in any two people. In the man who has five talents, there must be a great deal more outcome to measure up to the standard of faithfulness, than in the man who has but two talents.

Faithfulness is simply being true to God—and making the most of one’s life. Of those who have received little—only little is required; where much has been received—much is required. Never does God expect anything impossible or unreasonable from anyone. If we are simply faithful—we shall please God.

Jesus said of Mary, after her act of love, when men murmured at her, “She has done what she could!” Mark 14:7. What had she done? Very little, we would say. She loved Jesus truly and deeply. Then she brought a flask of precious ointment and broke the flask, pouring the sacred nard upon her Lord’s tired feet—those feet which soon were to be nailed to the cross.

What good did it do? We know it wonderfully comforted the Savior’s sorrowful heart. Amid almost universal hatred, and maddening enmity—here was one who sincerely loved Him. While other hands were weaving a crown of thorns for His brow, and others still were forging cruel nails to drive through His feet—Mary’s hands were pouring ointment on His head, and bathing His feet with the nard. Who will say that Mary’s act did no good? It seemed a little thing—but we cannot fathom how her sweet, pure, loyal love—blessed our suffering Savior in His bitter anguish.–J. R. Miller

I beseech you therefore, brethren, by the mercies of God, that ye present your bodies a living sacrifice, holy, acceptable unto God, which is your reasonable service.
Romans 12:1

America’s most recent Medal of Honor winner, Sergeant Dakota Meyer, was responsible for rescuing nearly three dozen comrades during a 2009 battle in Afghanistan. Over a six-hour period, he made five different trips into harm’s way to rescue wounded and fallen fellow soldiers. After the conflict, reflecting on what he had done, then-Corporal Meyer stated, “I didn’t think I was going to die. I knew I was.”

That attitude–setting out expecting to die–is a heroic one when it comes to military conflict. But it has a parallel in the spiritual realm that is expected of every Christian: death to self when we choose to follow Christ as His disciple. Paul expresses the idea best in Romans 12:1 when he talks about presenting ourselves as a living sacrifice to God. We live, yet we live as those who have died to self, sin, and the system of this world.

The very first act of stewardship we must carry out is dedicating all we have and all we are to God for His glory. It’s what good stewards do–giving up everything to live for the Master.(Turning Point)

Consecration is resolution that is not afraid of sacrifice.
Anonymous

“A wise man will hear.” (Prov. 1:5)

The essential difference between the wise man and the fool in the book of Proverbs is that the wise man will hear and the fool won’t.

It isn’t a question of the fool’s mental capacity. Actually he may have unusual intellectual ability. But he just cannot be told anything. He labors under the fatal delusion that his knowledge is infinite and his judgments are infallible. If his friends try to counsel him, they receive scorn for their efforts. They watch him trying to escape the inevitable results of sinful and stupid actions, but they are helpless to avert the crash. And so he goes on from one crisis to another. Now his finances are a disaster. Now his personal life is in shambles. Now his business totters on the edge of chaos. But he rationalizes that life is giving him a bad deal. It never occurs to him that he is his own worst enemy. He is generous in dispensing advice to others, oblivious of his inability to run his own life. A compulsive talker, he holds forth with the aplomb of an oracle.

The wise man is made of better stuff. He realizes that everyone’s mental wires have been somewhat crossed by the Fall. He knows that others can sometimes see aspects of a problem that he has overlooked. He is willing to acknowledge that his memory may be faulty at times. He is teachable, welcoming any input that will help him make the right decisions. Actually he solicits the advice of others because he knows that “in the multitude of counselors there is safety” (Prov. 11:14). Like everyone else, he sometimes makes mistakes. But he has this saving virtue that he learns from his mistakes and makes every failure a springboard to success. He is grateful for a deserved rebuke and is willing to say, “I was wrong. I am sorry.” Wise children submit to parental discipline; fools rebel. Wise young people obey the scriptural precepts concerning moral purity; fools do their own thing. Wise adults judge everything by whether it is well-pleasing to the Lord; fools act according to what pleases themselves.

And so it is that the wise grow wiser, and the fools are stuck fast in the rut of their own folly. (By William MacDonald)