The first and great work of a Christian is about his heart. There it is that God dwells by his Spirit, in his saints; and there it is that sin and Satan reign, in the ungodly. The great duties and the great sins are those of the heart. There is the root of good and evil: the tongue and life are but the fruits and expressions of that which dwells within.
– Richard Baxter –
1615 – 1691
All decays begin in the closet; no heart thrives with out much secret converse with God, and nothing will make amends for the want of it.
– John Berridge –
There are two ways of getting out of a trial. One is to simply try to get rid of the trial, and be thankful when it is over. The other is to recognize the trial as a challenge from God to claim a larger blessing than we have ever had, and to hail it with delight as an opportunity of obtaining a larger measure of Divine grace. Thus even the adversary becomes an auxiliary, and the things that seem to be against us turn out to be for the furtherance of our way. Surely, this is to be more than conquerors through Him who loved us.
– AB Simpson –
Complacency is a deadly foe of all spiritual growth. Acute desire must be present or there will be no manifestation of Christ…
– AW Tozer –
Nowhere can we get to know the holiness of God, and come under His influence and power, except in the inner chamber. It has been well said: “No man can expect to make progress in holiness who is not often and long alone with God.”
– Andrew Murray –
A Pharisee is hard on others and easy on himself, but a spiritual man is easy on others and hard on himself.
– AW Tozer –
The hard judgments and unreasonable expectations of old disciples have often driven back and discouraged young beginners in the school of Christ.
– JC Ryle –
from Expository Thoughts on the Gospels, 1856
I thank God there is in (God’s Word) a height I have never been able to reach, a depth I have never been able to fathom, a length and a breadth I know nothing about. It makes the book all the more fascinating and proves it divine.
– DL Moody –
I have been helped … by praying for others; for by making an errand to God for them, I have gotten something for myself.
– Samuel Rutherford –
1600-1661