Obedience

Laying Bare the Evils of the Age – Horatius Bonar

Someone, then, must undertake the ungracious task of probing and laying bare the evils of the age; for men must not be allowed to congratulate themselves that all is well. If others will not, he will. If others shrink from the obloquy of such a work, he will not. He loves the age too well; he loves his nation too well; he loves his fellow-men too well. They may upbraid him; they may call him a misanthropist, or a prophet of evil; they may ascribe his warnings to the worst of motives, such as pride, or arrogance, or self-esteem, or malice, or envy; but he will give no heed to these unjust insinuations. He will prefer being thus misunderstood and maligned, to allowing men to precipitate themselves upon a ruin which they see not. Rather than that they should perish, he will allow his own good name to be spoken against. He will risk every thing, even the hatred of brethren, rather than withhold the warning.

– Horatius Bonar –

God is our True Friend – François Fénelon

God is our true Friend, who always gives us the counsel and comfort we need. Our danger lies in resisting Him; so it is essential that we acquire the habit of hearkening to His voice, or keeping silence within, and listening so as to lose nothing of what He says to us. We know well enough how to keep outward silence, and to hush our spoken words, but we know little of interior silence. It consists in hushing our idle, restless, wandering imagination, in quieting the promptings of our worldly minds, and in suppressing the crowd of unprofitable thoughts which excite and disturb the soul.

– François Fénelon –
(1651-1715)

Come to the End of Ourselves – AW Tozer

The reason why many are still troubled, still seeking, still making little forward progress is because they haven’t yet come to the end of themselves. We’re still trying to give orders, and interfering with God’s work within us.

– AW Tozer –

Cross the Barriers – Alistair Begg

Jesus said to the apostles: “Go into all the world and preach the good news to all creation.” This truth helps us to realize that it is our responsibility to cross the barriers of class, to cross the barriers of creed, to cross the barriers of culture, irrespective of the cost involved.

– Alistair Begg –

Lives in Absolute Loyalty – G. Campbell Morgan

Do not let us imagine that we can take into our fellowship and enlist under one banner men who simply affirm truth about Jesus, unless in their own lives there is an absolute loyalty to the Lord Christ.

– G. Campbell Morgan –

Living By Aid of the Holy Spirit – John Owen

We are taught in an especial manner to pray that God would give his Holy Spirit unto us, that through his aid and assistance we may live unto God in that holy obedience which he requires at our hands.

– John Owen –
from his book The Holy Spirit, 1664

Praying for Revival – AW Tozer

Have you noticed how much praying for revival has been going on of late—and how little revival has resulted? I believe the problem is that we have been trying to substitute praying for obeying, and it simply will not work. To pray for revival while ignoring the plain precept laid down in Scripture is to waste a lot of words and get nothing for our trouble. Prayer will become effective when we stop using it as a substitute for obedience.

– AW Tozer –