True repentance will entirely change you; the bias of your souls will be changed, then you will delight in God, in Christ, in His law, and in His people.
– George Whitefield –
Sanctification
May Jesus Always Be in the Thoughts – Henry Scougal
Oh! that the holy life of the blessed Jesus may be always in my thoughts, and before mine eyes, till I receive a deep sense and impression of those excellent graces that shined so eminently in him; and let me never cease my endeavours, till that new and divine nature prevail in my soul, and Christ be formed within me.
– Henry Scougal –
from The Life of God in the Soul of Man
How to Measure Your Growth in Grace – Oswald Chambers
Measure your growth in grace by your sensitivity to sin.
– Oswald Chambers –
Prayer Develops the Life of God In Us – Oswald Chambers
Prayer is not meant to develop us, but to develop the life of God in us after the new birth.
– Oswald Chambers –
The Greatest Need of My People – Robert Murray M’Cheyne
The greatest need of my people [as their pastor] is my personal holiness.
– Robert Murray M’Cheyne –
Need Time Alone With God – Austen Phelps
It has been said, that no great work in literature or in science was ever wrought by a man who did not love solitude. We may lay it down as an elemental principle of religion, that no large growth in holiness was ever gained, by one who did not take time to be often, and long, alone with God.
– Austen Phelps –
from The Still Hour: Communion with God in Prayer, 1859
Clinging to Christ – John Owen
The first effect of a true love for Christ is our clinging to him. The believer’s soul is knit to Christ’s soul as David’s was to Jonathan’s (1 Samuel 18:1). Love produces a firm clinging to Christ crucified that makes a soul in some sense always present with Christ on the cross.
– John Owen –
from The Holy Spirit, 1674
How You Can Know How Spiritual You Are – Leonard Ravenhill
Not how many meetings you go to.
Not how many gifts you have.
Not how many sermons you preach.
Not how many records you’ve made.
Tell me what time you spend alone with God …
and I’ll tell you how spiritual you are.
– Leonard Ravenhill –
Do You Need Revival In Your Own Life? – Charles Finney
Do you feel its necessity? Are you ready to make the sacrifices essential to promote it? Are you ready to lay aside every weight and every other concern, and enter heart and soul into the promotion of a spiritual awakening in your community? Are you ready to fulfill all the conditions upon which a revival can be had? In view of the solemn judgment, decide as you will wish you had when you stand before Jesus!
– Charles Finney –