a bigger picture.

"The Lord works from the inside out. The world works from the outside in. The world would take people out of the slums. Christ takes the slums out of people, and then they take themselves out of the slums. The world would mold men by changing their environment. Christ changes men, who then change their environment. The world would shape human behavior, but Christ can change human nature."

Ezra Taft Benson

Love the poor, the orphan, the widow, the starving, the broken, the wounded, the neighbor, but not so as to change or influence merely their circumstances and behavior: labor in prayerful love for Christ to change the heart.

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all or nothing.

"You cannot play with the animal in you without becoming wholly animal, play with falsehood without forfeiting your right to truth, play with cruelty without losing your sense of mind. He who wants to keep his garden tidy doesn't reserve a plot for weeds."

Dag Hammerskjold

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be patient. fight on.

Some day, in the years to come, you will be wrestling with the great temptation, or trembling under the great sorrow of your life. But the real struggle is here, now...Now it is being decided whether, in the day of your supreme sorrow or temptation, you shall miserably fail or gloriously conquer. Character cannot be made except by a steady, long continued process.

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this i call to mind

"my soul is bereft of peace;

i have forgotten what happiness is;

so i say, 'my endurance has perished;

so has my hope from the LORD.'

remember my affliction

and my wanderings,

the wormwood and the gall!

my soul continually remembers it

and is bowed down within me.

but this i call to mind,

and therefore i have hope:

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you've won again

You've Won Again

Words and Music by Taylor Reavely (c) 2011

If I would tell the story

Of Your great love for me

I'd have to start before I'd

Ever come to be

Before the world the founded

You'd written down my name

You'd made a plan to save me

Defeat death and the grave

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be still

Be still, my soul

Be quiet and wait

In silence rest

For God shall save

You troubled heart

Why do you weep

Do you know God

Do you know peace

Be still

And know that I am God

Be silent

For hope is not lost

Be quiet

And still I hear your cry

Be still

For I am on your side

Amid the waves

Amid the flood

Your hand is stretched

And Your promise good

Oh I believe

But help my unbelief

And let me hear You

Hear You speak

So why do I worry

And why do I fear

‘Cause I am so noisy

I cannot hear

Your voice in the whisper

“Do not be afraid

For I am still faithful

And mighty to save”

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shaken

Fighting to see the light

With a mask over my eyes

My world seems oh so frail

Behind this shallow veil

There is something still

At odds against my will

Warring to do right

On a battlefield of night

Quietly a thorn is growing in the recess of my heart

Jesus, please remove it and remind me who You are

That I may see Your beauty and the wonder of Your grace

And remember why I’m fighting for the One who took my place

You are my Salvation

I am not forsaken

You are my Foundation

I will not be shaken.

Fighting for the King

I give my everything

But all I am is Yours’

To You I look for more

Grace in every station

I place my expectation

Trusting You to conquer

My feeble heart grows stronger

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my seared conscience

1 Timothy 4:2 ... "Whose consciences are seared."

"Get and keep a tender conscience. Be sensible of the least sin. Some men's consciences are like the stomach of the ostrich that can digest iron: they can swallow the most notorious sins without regret. A good conscience is very delicate. It feels the least touch of known sin, and is grieved at the thought of grieving God's Spirit. It will choose the greatest of suffering before the least of sinning. However, the jeering Ishmaels of the world are ready to reproach and laugh it to scorn for its precise scruples. Daily train all your graces for battle. Live in a military posture, both defensive and offensive. Stand constantly by your weapons. Admit no peace with sin. The soldier of Christ must never lay down his arms. Satan never ceases his wiles and stratagems. He will tell you that sin is pleasant. Ask yourself if the gripping of conscience is also pleasant? Ask yourself if it is pleasant to be in hell, and be under the wrath of God? Ask yourself if the pleasures of sin for a season compare with the rivers of God's pleasures? How do they compare to a weight of glory, an incorruptible crown, and a heavenly kingdom? God alone is enough, but without him, nothing is enough for your happiness. His love, grace, and the comforts of his Spirit will certainly sweeten your way to heaven. Sometimes you will experience joy unutterable and full of glory. God is a good master and in his service is a perfect freedom. Your work is its own reward. With these thoughts, put to flight the armies of the enemy. Shield yourself with these against the fiery darts the tempter shall pour upon you. Do not even take a moment to parley with the tempter. As soon as your lusts begin to grow inordinate, do not stay a moment; delay is unutterably dangerous. A house on fire needs immediate attention."

John Gibbon, Puritan Sermons 1659-1689, 1:96-100

Taken from:
Voices from the Past: Puritan Devotional Readings
Edited by Richard Rushing
Published by Banner of Truth
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