Brennan Manning — To ascertain where you really are with the Lord…

To ascertain where you really are with the Lord, recall what saddened you the past month.  Was it the realization that you do not love Jesus enough?  That you did not seek his face in prayer often enough?  That you did not care for his people enough?  Or did you get depressed over a lack of respect, criticism from an authority figure, your finances, a lack of friends, fears about the future, or your bulging waistline?
Brennan Manning

Matthew 6:16-18 The New King James Version — Moreover, when you fast…

“Moreover, when you fast, do not be like the hypocrites, with a sad countenance.  For they disfigure their faces that they may appear to men to be fasting.  Assuredly, I say to you, they have their reward.  But you, when you fast, anoint your head and wash your face, so that you do not appear to men to be fasting, but to your Father who is in the secret place; and your Father who sees in secret will reward you openly.”
Matthew 6:16-18  The New King James Version

Frederick Buechner — Of the Seven Deadly Sins…

Of the Seven Deadly Sins, anger is possibly the most fun.  To lick your wounds, to smack your lips over grievances long past, to roll over your tongue the prospect of bitter conversations still to come, to savor to the last toothsome morsel both the pain you are given and the pain you are giving back- in many ways it is a feast fit for a king.  The chief drawback is that what you are wolfing down is yourself.  The skeleton at the feast is you.
Frederick Buechner

Chinese story — An old man lived with his son in a fort…

An old man lived with his son in a fort.  One day the son lost his horse.  The neighbors rushed into the house to express their sympathy, but the old man said: “How do you know that this is bad luck?”  A few days later, the horse came back with a number of wild horses.  So the neighbors flocked indoors to congratulate him, but the old man said: “How do you know this is good luck?”  Now that he had so many horses to ride, the son one day rode away on one of the wild horses.  He fell off, breaking his leg.  Again the neighbors knocked at the door to say: “Alas!  Alas!” but the old man said: “Tut!  Tut!  How do you know this is bad luck?”  Sure enough, before many weeks had passed, there was a great war in the Middle Flowery Kingdom, but because the old man’s son was crippled, he did not have to go off to fight.
Chinese story

Unknown — There was a tedious four-day trial…

There was a tedious four-day trial at which a defendant stoutly maintained his innocence.  On the fourth day he suddenly decided to plead guilty.  The judge angrily inquired, “Why didn’t you plead guilty right at the start and save us all this time, trouble, and cost?”  “Honest, Judge,” whined the defendant, “I was convinced I was innocent until I heard all the evidence against me.”
Unknown

Ephesians 4:21-24 The New Living Translation — Since you have heard about Jesus…

Since you have heard about Jesus and have learned the truth that comes from him, throw off your old sinful nature and your former way of life, which is corrupted by lust and deception.  Instead, let the Spirit renew your thoughts and attitudes. Put on your new nature, created to be like God- truly righteous and holy.
Ephesians 4:21-24  The New Living Translation

Jules Feiffer — I used to think I was poor…

I used to think I was poor.  Then they told me I wasn’t poor, I was needy.  Then they told me it was self-defeating to think of myself as needy, that I was culturally deprived.  Then they told me deprived was a bad image, that I was underprivileged.  Then they told me underprivileged was overused, that I was disadvantaged.  I still don’t have a dime, but I do have a great vocabulary.
Jules Feiffer

1 John 2:15 The English Standard Version — Do not love the world…

Do not love the world or the things in the world.  If anyone loves the world, the love of the Father is not in him.  For all that is in the world- the desires of the flesh and the desires of the eyes and pride in possessions- is not from the Father but is from the world.  And the world is passing away along with its desires, but whoever does the will of God abides forever.
1 John 2:15  The English Standard Version

D. A. Carson — We drift toward compromise…

We drift toward compromise and call it tolerance; we drift toward disobedience and call it freedom; we drift toward superstition and call it faith.  We cherish the indiscipline of lost self-control and call it relaxation; we slouch toward prayerlessness and delude ourselves into thinking we have escaped legalism; we slide toward godlessness and convince ourselves we have been liberated.
D. A. Carson

Lora Clark — The phone rang…

The phone rang.  It was my friend Annette.  She had been going through a rough time.  “I feel so alone,” she said.  “I’ve even lost God and don’t know how to find him.”  I’d felt the same way once, and told Annette how making a gratitude list had helped.  “Write down the numbers one through fifty down the side of a piece of paper,” I explained.  “Then go back and count the things you’re thankful for.  And remember, it’s not the things you’re supposed to be thankful for, but the things you really are thankful for.”  “Okay then, I’ll give it a try,” Annette said, hanging up.  Not long after, the phone rang again.  It was Annette.  “I found him!” she exclaimed joyfully.
Lora Clark

D. L. Moody — One day a lady criticized D. L. Moody…

One day a lady criticized D. L. Moody for his methods of evangelism in attempting to win people to the Lord.  Moody’s reply was “I agree with you.  I don’t like the way I do it either.  Tell me, how do you do it?”  The lady replied, “I don’t do it.”  Moody retorted, “Then I like my way of doing it better than your way of not doing it.”
D. L. Moody

Joni Eareckson Tada — Just think: Every promise God has made…

Just think: Every promise God has ever made finds its fulfillment in Jesus.  God doesn’t just give us grace; he gives us Jesus, the Lord of grace.  If it’s peace, it’s only found in Jesus, the Prince of Peace.  Even life itself is found in the Resurrection and the Life.  Christianity isn’t all that complicated…it’s Jesus.
Joni Eareckson Tada

Mark 16:14-20 The English Standard Version — Afterward he appeared…

Afterward he appeared to the eleven themselves as they were reclining at table, and he rebuked them for their unbelief and hardness of heart, because they had not believed those who saw him after he had risen.  And he said to them, “Go into all the world and proclaim the gospel to the whole creation.  Whoever believes and is baptized will be saved, but whoever does not believe will be condemned.  And these signs will accompany those who believe: in my name they will cast out demons; they will speak in new tongues; they will pick up serpents with their hands; and if they drink any deadly poison, it will not hurt them; they will lay their hands on the sick, and they will recover.”  So then the Lord Jesus, after he had spoken to them, was taken up into heaven and sat down at the right hand of God.  And they went out and preached everywhere, while the Lord worked with them and confirmed the message by accompanying signs.
Mark 16:14-20  The English Standard Version

Luke 24:1-8 The New International Version — On the first day of the week…

On the first day of the week, very early in the morning, the women took the spices they had prepared and went to the tomb.  They found the stone rolled away from the tomb, but when they entered, they did not find the body of the Lord Jesus.  While they were wondering about this, suddenly two men in clothes that gleamed like lightning stood beside them.  In their fright the women bowed down with their faces to the ground, but the men said to them, “Why do you look for the living among the dead?  He is not here; he has risen!  Remember how he told you, while he was still with you in Galilee: ‘The Son of Man must be delivered over to the hands of sinners, be crucified and on the third day be raised again.’ ”  Then they remembered his words.
Luke 24:1-8  The New International Version

Matthew 27:45-54 The English Standard Version — Now from the sixth hour…

Now from the sixth hour there was darkness over all the land until the ninth hour.  And about the ninth hour Jesus cried out with a loud voice, saying, “Eli, Eli, lema sabachthani?” that is, “My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?”  And some of the bystanders, hearing it, said, “This man is calling Elijah.”  And one of them at once ran and took a sponge, filled it with sour wine, and put it on a reed and gave it to him to drink.  But the others said, “Wait, let us see whether Elijah will come to save him.”  And Jesus cried out again with a loud voice and yielded up his spirit.  And behold, the curtain of the temple was torn in two, from top to bottom.  And the earth shook, and the rocks were split.  The tombs also were opened.  And many bodies of the saints who had fallen asleep were raised, and coming out of the tombs after his resurrection they went into the holy city and appeared to many.  When the centurion and those who were with him, keeping watch over Jesus, saw the earthquake and what took place, they were filled with awe and said, “Truly this was the Son of God!”
Matthew 27:45-54  The English Standard Version

Luke 22:47-54 The New International Version — While he was still speaking…

While he was still speaking a crowd came up, and the man who was called Judas, one of the Twelve, was leading them.  He approached Jesus to kiss him, but Jesus asked him, “Judas, are you betraying the Son of Man with a kiss?”  When Jesus’ followers saw what was going to happen, they said, “Lord, should we strike with our swords?”  And one of them struck the servant of the high priest, cutting off his right ear.  But Jesus answered, “No more of this!”  And he touched the man’s ear and healed him.  Then Jesus said to the chief priests, the officers of the temple guard, and the elders, who had come for him, “Am I leading a rebellion, that you have come with swords and clubs?  Every day I was with you in the temple courts, and you did not lay a hand on me.  But this is your hour- when darkness reigns.”  Then seizing him, they led him away and took him into the house of the high priest.  Peter followed at a distance.
Luke 22:47-54  The New International Version

Mark 14:22-25 The King James Version — And as they did eat…

And as they did eat, Jesus took bread, and blessed, and brake it, and gave to them, and said, Take, eat: this is my body.  And he took the cup, and when he had given thanks, he gave it to them: and they all drank of it.  And he said unto them, This is my blood of the new testament, which is shed for many.  Verily I say unto you, I will drink no more the fruit of the vine, until that day that I drink it new in the kingdom of God.
Mark 14:22-25  The King James Version

Jerry Bridges — From our limited vantage point…

From our limited vantage point, our lives are marked by an endless series of contingencies.  We frequently find ourselves, instead of acting as we planned, reacting to an unexpected turn of events.  We make plans but are often forced to change those plans.  But there are no contingencies with God.  Our unexpected, forced change of plans is a part of His plan.  God is never surprised; never caught off guard; never frustrated by unexpected developments.  God does as He pleases and that which pleases Him is always for His glory and our good.
Jerry Bridges

Isaiah 58:7-9 The New Living Translation — “Share your food with the hungry…

“Share your food with the hungry, and give shelter to the homeless.  Give clothes to those who need them, and do not hide from relatives who need your help.  Then your salvation will come like the dawn, and your wounds will quickly heal.  Your godliness will lead you forward, and the glory of the LORD will protect you from behind.  Then when you call, the LORD will answer.  ‘Yes, I am here,’ he will quickly reply.”
Isaiah 58:7-9  The New Living Translation

Watchman-Examiner —

Vital Christian experience comes from knowing Jesus as the living Saviour.  Two irreligious young men were discussing the resurrection, telling each other why it was impossible for them to accept the doctrine.  Then a deacon of a near-by church walked by, and in a joking way one of the young fellows called to him, “Say, Deacon, tell us why you believe that Jesus rose again.”  “Well,” he answered, “one reason is that I was talking with Him for half an hour this very morning.”  We may all experience proof of the resurrection of Christ in the acknowledging of His living presence in our lives.  No one who knows Jesus personally questions the resurrection.
Watchman-Examiner

Junior King’s Business — A little girl whose baby brother had just died…

A little girl whose baby brother had just died asked her mother where baby had gone.  “To be with Jesus,” replied the mother.  A few days later, talking to a friend, the mother said, “I am so grieved to have lost my baby.”  The little girl heard her, and, remembering what her mother had told her, looked up into her face and asked, “Mother, is a thing lost when you know where it is?”  “No, of course not.”  “Well, then, how can baby be lost when he has gone to be with Jesus?”  Her mother never forgot this.  It was the truth.
Junior King’s Business

Ephesians 1:7-10 The New International Version — In him we have redemption…

In him we have redemption through his blood, the forgiveness of sins, in accordance with the riches of God’s grace that he lavished on us with all wisdom and understanding. And he made known to us the mystery of his will according to his good pleasure, which he purposed in Christ, to be put into effect when the times will have reached their fulfillment- to bring all things in heaven and on earth together under one head, even Christ.
Ephesians 1:7-10  The New International Version

Max Lucado — Fear. His modus operandi…

Fear.  His modus operandi is to manipulate you with the mysterious, to taunt you with the unknown.  Fear of death, fear of failure, fear of God, fear of tomorrow- his arsenal is vast.  His goal?  To create cowardly, joyless Christians.  He doesn’t want you to make that journey to the mountain.  He figures if he can rattle you enough, you will take your eyes off the peaks and settle for a dull existence in the flat lands.
Max Lucado