"Dr. Trumbull learned that the flow of that life was dependent upon two simple conditions. After having received the Lord Jesus as personal Saviour there is first, surrender, an absolute and unconditional surrender to the Saviour as Lord and Master of one's life, irrespective of the cost; and second, the quiet act of faith, apart from any feeling or immediate evidence that God does set the trusting soul wholly free from the law of sin."
— V. Raymond Edman
Source: They Found the Secret (1960), chapter on Charles G. Trumbull, p. 123
Obedience, Price, Glory
Views: 491
"Our Lord's first obedience was to the will of His Father, not to the needs of men; the saving of men was the natural outcome of His obedience to the Father. If I am devoted to the cause of humanity only, I will soon be exhausted and come to the place where my love will falter; but if I love Jesus Christ personally and passionately, I can serve humanity though men treat me as a door-mat."
— Oswald Chambers
Source: My Utmost for His Highest, "Service of Passionate Devotion"
Mission, love, failure
Views: 526
"Furthermore, we must remember that the person to whom we are talking, however far from the Christian faith he may be, is an image-bearer of God. He has great value and our communication to him must be in genuine love. Love is not an easy thing; it is not just an emotional urge, but an attempt to move over and sit in the other person's place and see how his problems look to him. Love is a genuine concern for the individual. As Jesus Christ reminds us, we are to love him 'as ourselves'. This is the place to begin."
— Francis Schaeffer
Source: The God Who Is There (London: Hodder & Stoughton / Chicago: Inter-Varsity Press, 1968), Section IV "Speaking Historic Christianity into the Twentieth-Century Climate," ch. 1 "Finding the Point of Tension"
Missionary work, questions, answers, and the human heart
Views: 611
""I love humanity," he said, "but I wonder at myself. The more I love humanity in general, the less I love man in particular. ... But it has always happened that the more I detest men individually the more ardent becomes my love for humanity.""
— Fyodor Dostoevsky
Source: The Brothers Karamazov, Book II, ch. 4 "A Lady of Little Faith" (Zossima quoting a doctor; tr. Constance Garnett)
Love, humility, image, reality
Views: 526
"Christian unity is good in itself, good for ourselves, good for the brethren, good for our converts, good for the outside world; and for certain it is pleasant; for a loving heart must have pleasure and give pleasure in associating with others of like nature. A church united for years in earnest service of the Lord is a well of goodness and joy to all those who dwell round about it."
— Charles H. Spurgeon
Source: The Treasury of David, Psalm 133 (Exposition)
Saints, of one mind, in unity, in prayer
Views: 475
"But we drag our heels. We're not sure God can be trusted. We ask, "What is this He's asking? What does He have in mind? Where is He taking me?" We come to a dead halt and question our feelings, examine our ability to do the thing or our inclination to comply. To comply! With the Lord of the Universe! The King of Kings, Lord of Lords, the Ancient of Days! … Lord, let my love for You be of the kind that, hearing Your word of command, springs at once to obedient action."