Be so thoroughly

"How many a very excellent woman, who is received into church fellowship among the people of God, and thinks herself one of the elect, is to be found full of wrath and bitterness, a slave of mischief and of sin, a tattler, a slanderer, a busybody; entering into other people's houses, and turning every thing like comfort out of the minds of those with whom she comes in contact---and yet she is the servant of God and of the devil too! Nay, my lady this will never answer; the two never can be served thoroughly. Serve your master, whoever he be.

If you do profess to be religious, be so thoroughly; if you make any profession to be a Christian, be one; but if you are no Christian, do not pretend to be. If you love the world, then love it; but cast off the mask, and do not be a hypocrite."

Charles Spurgeon Elijah's Appeal to the Undecided

Punishment & Perfect

“God requires two things of us: punishment for our sins and perfection in our lives. Our sins must be punished, and our lives must be righteous. But we cannot bear our own punishment, and we cannot provide our own righteousness. Therefore, God, out of His immeasurable love for us, provided his own Son to do both. Christ bears our punishment, and Christ performs our righteousness. And When we receive Christ, all of his punishment and all of his righteousness is counted as ours.”

- John Piper, This Momentary Marriage

The God of the gospel

“The gospel shows us that God is far more holy and absolute than the moralists’ god, because he could not be satisfied by our moral efforts, even the best! On the other hand, the gospel shows us that God is farmore loving and gracious than the relativists’ god. They say that God (if he exists) just loves everyone no matter what they do. The true God of the gospel had to suffer and die to save us, while the god of the relativist pays no price to love us.”

- Timothy Keller, “Being the Church in Our Culture” (2006)

He never breaks His promises

"but I will not take my love from him

nor will I ever betray my faithfulness.

I will not violate my covenant

or alter what my lips have uttered."

Psalms 89:33-34

Seeing how small our lives are

"The length of our days is seventy years--

or eighty, if we have the strength;

yet their span is but trouble and sorrow

for they quickly pas,

and we fly away.

Who knows the power of your anger?

For your wrath is as great as the fear that is due you.

Teach us to number our days aright

that we may gain a heart of wisdom.

Psalm 90:10-12

We are blessed

“Why am I so blessed? I am blessed because, in the most painful moment in human history, Jesus willingly subjected himself to the rejection of his Father. He took on my sin and allowed himself to be rejected. In this unthinkable moment of substitution, the Trinity was torn apart as the Father turned away the Son. Here is what you and I have to understand: Jesus was willing to suffer the horrible rejection of his Father so that you and I would never, ever have to experience it ourselves.”

- Paul David Tripp

Why we can rejoice always

"Sometimes he "comes through" for us. But sometimes he doesn't, or so it seems. What's going on when we cast our dependence fully on God and he seems so unresponsive? Here we must be reminded that as we depend on the power of the Holy Spirit, he transforms us according to his plan and timetable-- which are rarely if ever in perfect conformity with our own. The reason he withholds empowerment from us is not that he lacks power or ability to transmit power to us. It's because in His infinite wisdom, sovereignty, mercy and love, he empowers only what is best for us."

"The Bookends of the Christian Life"- by Jerry Bridges and Bob Bevington