“The prayer of faith springs from a divinely-implanted disposition, there is nothing mysterious in the act of faith. It is simply an assurance which relies upon a sufficient warrant.” –David MacIntyre

“Extreme faith is built upon the greater curiosities, those themes that are deep, taking a lifetime to explore.” –Gordon MacDonald

“Faith is only real in obedience.” –Dietrich Bonhoeffer

“Faith expects from God what is beyond all expectation.” -Andrew Murray

“If we cannot believe God when circumstances seem to be against us, we do not believe Him at all.”         -Charles Spurgeon

“Faith is to rest,

Ministry and industry may have a similar-sounding cadence but they are two very different words from two very different worlds.  Ministry is the humbling of self for the service of others, while industry is the exaltation of self at the expense of others.  Sadly, we are now setting up tables of industry where the basins of water used to occupy the servant’s quarters.  We have traded the towels of humility for the banners of self-exaltation.  This is to the detriment of the body of Christ.  The church was designed for the glory of one Star, but in the vast darkness …

Difficulty in life is not the real difficulty.  It is the uncertainty of time associated with the difficulty that really troubles us.  If you know you are going to wait at the doctor’s office for an extra twenty minutes, you may not like it, but you can handle it.  But if you were to wait without anyone communicating to you that it would take an extra twenty minutes…well, now, that’s the issue.  It’s time, really, and all of its extended uncertainties that cause us to be anxious.

Waiting is the hardest bunch of nothing that I’ve ever had to do.…

Slowly the lights fade and the curtain is drawn open.  The stage is adequately prepared as the ornately-donned actor steps into the spotlight to dramatically pronounce his lines.  With clear and articulate enunciation, he calls the audience to attention. He is good. He is convincing.  He is even mesmerizing.  But he is an actor.  His real identity has been arrested by a role, a part…a character he has learned to play extremely well.  Sometimes in the private chambers of his life he cannot tell where he stops and the performer begins. He has a hard time engaging in real conversations …

An epidemic of apathy has filled the church. Consumed with worldly passions and pursuits, the modern parishioner gets more upset about a red light than he does the red flames of hell.  It’s not that we are lacking in passion, it is just that our passion has become misappropriated.  Instead of channeling our resources, thoughts, energy, zeal, and affection to the building of God’s kingdom, we have sidetracked our lives with the glory of our own empire.

 Self Centeredness and Self-Love

The root of apathy grows in the soil of self-centeredness and produces a harvest of indifference.  Serving God and …