DISCIPLE

Only One Life By C.T. Studd (1860-1931) Two little lines I heard one day, Traveling along life’s busy way; Bringing conviction to my heart, And from my mind would not depart; Only one life, ’twill soon be past,  Only what’s done for Christ will last. Only one life, yes only one, Soon will its fleeting hours be done; Then, in ‘that day’ my Lord to meet, And stand before His Judgement seat; Only one life,’twill soon be past, Only what’s done for Christ will last. Only one life, the still small voice, Gently pleads for a better choice Bidding me selfish aims to leave, And to God’s holy will to cleave; Only one life, ’twill soon be past, Only what’s done for Christ will last. Only one life, a few brief years, Each with its burdens, hopes, and fears; Each with its clays I must fulfill, living for self or in His will; Only one life, ’twill soon be past, Only what’s done ...

by Alan Summers (Scotland) This is a subject that divides Christians. Some believe that a Christian should be involved in politics so that the Christian's view of the world and Christianity's moral values can be brought to bear on the legislative process. Others believe that Christians should not be involved in politics because the aims of Christianity are not political. They feel that since Christians will never command the support of the majority, there is little point in trying to influence a process that can never conform to Christian values. Who is right?      In New Testament times authority was largely in the hands of kings whose authority was based on hereditary right or military power. Rome may have had its Senate and Israel its Sanhedrin, but parliaments elected by the citizens of a country were completely unknown. Hence when we read passages that discuss the Christian's relationship with "the powers that be" (Rom. 13:1), we will not find gu...

by A. W. Tozer The coming of Jesus Christ to the world has been so sentimentalized that it means now something utterly alien to the Bible teaching concerning it. Soft human pity has been substituted for God's mercy in the minds of millions, a pity that has long ago degenerated into self-pity. The blame for man's condition has somehow been shifted to God, and Christ's dying for the world has been twisted into an act of penance on God's part. In the drama of redemption, man is viewed as Miss Cinderella who has  long been oppressed and mistreated, but now through the heroic deeds of earth's noblest Son is about to don her radiant apparel and step forth a queen. This is humanism--romantically tinted with Christianity! excerpt from reading for May 5 in Renewed Day By Day , Christian Publications, Camp Hill, PA

by A. W. Tozer "The thoughts of the wicked are an abomination to the Lord; but the words of the pure are pleasant words." Proverbs 15:26      It is my belief that we Christians are bound in all conscience to discourage the reading of subversive literature and to promote as fully as possible the circulation of good books and magazines.     Just what part evil literature has played in the present moral breakdown throughout all the world will never be known till men are called forth to answer to a holy God for their unholy deeds, but it must be very great indeed!     For thousands of young people the first doubt about God and the Bible came with the reading of some evil book. We must respect the power of ideas, and printed ideas are as powerful as spoken ones. They may have a longer fuse, but their explosive power is just as great.       Our Christian faith teaches us to expect to answer for every...

    All who have a real concern for behaviour in God's house, should see that God's people are preserved from erroneous doctrine. Natural minds reason that error is just another man's opinion and that every man is entitled to his opinion. However, those with a concern for God's house and proper behaviour in it, will never take error to be just another man's opinion. They will see as best they can, that God's people are preserved from erroneous doctrine. "Charge some that they teach no other doctrine."       In 2 Kgs. 4:38, we read of an incident at Gilgal where Elisha said, "Set on the great pot", and it was set on. There was an exercise on the part of the sons of the prophets to make contribution towards the feeding of God's people,, but one of these sons of the prophets, unknown to the others, went out to the field and gathered wild gourds and shred them into the pot. Eventually the cry came: "Death in the pot". That wa...

excerpt from an article by Bruce Davidson in American Thinker , May 2016, reprinted in Psychoheresy Awareness Letter , Nov-Dec 2016.      While “unconditional love” sounds a lot like grace, it is really entitlement. It obliges people to accept others no matter what they do. Those who fail to do so can be accused of neglect or abuse      In their naïve failure to acknowledge evil human proclivities, humanistic psychologists maintained that children who always receive such unconditional love and acceptance grow up happy and whole. The reality is the opposite. They grow up spoiled, with their parents liable to emotional blackmail. In the wider world, this thinking gives rise to the widespread phenomenon of the “cry bully,” who demands things from others on the grounds of putative victimhood.      So the concept of unconditional love provides an open-ended basis for blame and manipulation, since...

At a time when much needed and appreciated, brother Dunlap has given us an excellent word on dealing with criticism, which along with discouragement is one of Satan's most used tools.  How To Deal With Criticism by David Dunlap      One of the greatest tests in the Christian life is how to respond to criticism. If you are going to be a leader, then criticism is part of the job description. You can be a loving Christian, you can be a wonderful godly leader, but you will be criticized no matter what you do. There is no such thing as going forward for God without opposition. Moses faced criticism, John the Baptist faced criticism, and our Lord Jesus Christ faced criticism. If you are going to lead—in fact, if you are going to live—you are going to be criticized. Comedian Bill Cosby once said, “I don’t know the key to success, but the key to failure is trying to please everybody.” A recurring problem in many ...