Monday, June 10, 2013

Short excerpts from a book

When Hudson Taylor opened a bank accout for the China Inland Mission, the application form asked for a asset list. Taylor wrote the following as the sum total of his assets: "Ten Pounds and all the promises of God." 

Our greatest resources are spiritual, not material. They come from another world, not this one.
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After Christ made some radical comments about money, "the Pharisees, who loved money, heard all this and were sneering at Jesus" (Luke 16:14). The Pharisees were the religious conservatives of their day. The lesson for us is that we may believe in Scriptures, defend them, be willing to die for them, and still be money lovers who reject and take offense at the radical teachings of Christ on money and possessions.

Our hymnbooks say a lot about following Jesus. Our pockets say even more. What does it mean when God entrusted Christians with greater wealth than in all human history, yet giving lesser to kingdom purposes rather than ever before? 
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Although God's words calls for our attention, we go right on mindlessly living out of sync with eternity's musical score. We ad-lib our own rendition of the concert, while an audience of angels and saints shudders at our indifference to the Conductor's direction.

With or without us, God is moving. He is accomplishing his kingdom program. He is using the time, energy, and material resources of his disciples all over the world to touch and change lives... The question isn't whether God is moving. The question is whether we will choose to get on board.
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Tolstroy said, "the antagonism between life and conscience may be removed either by a change of life or by a change of conscience."

Many of us have elected to adjust our conscience rather than our lives. Our powers of rationalization are unlimited. They allow us to live in luxury and indifference while others, whom we could help if we chose to, starve and go to hell. If the preceding statement is offensive, isn't the truth it affirms more offensive?
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Though some of Randy Alcorn's words here are harsh, I appreciate them.
They hit me in a way that I have to treat life more seriously and put more attention and resources in the more important things.

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