From Adrien Rogers:
“Friend, you cannot legislate the poor into freedom by legislating the wealthy out of freedom. And what one person receives without working for, another person must work for without receiving. The government can’t give to anybody anything that the government does not first take from somebody. And when half of the people get the idea they don’t have to work because the other half’s going to take care of them, and when the other half get the idea it does no good to work because somebody’s going to get what I work for. That, dear friend, is about the end of any nation.”
-This speaks to my heart in regards to the socialistic turn our country/government has taken. Why do we feel we deserve anything at all? I've been so guilty of this in my own life and beg God to extract such wayward thinking from me!
Great quote about Procrastination from Alexander MacLaren
"No unwelcome tasks become any the less unwelcome by
putting them off till tomorrow. It is only when they are behind
us and done, that we begin to find that there is a sweetness to
be tasted afterwards, and that the remembrance of
unwelcome duties unhesitatingly done is welcome and
pleasant. Accomplished, they are full of blessing, and there is a
smile on their faces as they leave us. Undone, they stand
threatening and disturbing our tranquility, and hindering our
communion with God. If there be lying before you any bit of
work from which you shrink, go straight up to it, and do it at
once. The only way to get rid of it is to do it."
‐Alexander MacLaren (1826‐1910), Scottish preacher
---I found this quote while reading a really awesome article on the difference between being busy and being productive.... I highly recommend it!:
http://www.sovereigngraceministries.org/Reference/Blog/cj-mahaney-biblical-productivity.pdf
A quote from a book I am currently reading by Mark Steele called, Christianish:
"We have done more damage to the world's impression of Jesus by feigning inaccurate perfection than we could ever cause by allowing those who don't follow Jesus to see us wrestling our sins and flaws to the ground." -Mark Steele, Christianish
Interestingly, I have jotted down these quotes over the span of several months, but in my heart, they are tied together and summed up in one dangerous characteristic we are all guilty of, self-awareness. The light bulb went off in my head just yesterday as I was reading from Oswald Chambers: My Upmost for His Highest.
"THIS is what God has been trying to work on in me!"
Chambers says,
"Self-awareness is the first thing that will upset the completeness of our life in God... Anything that disturbs our rest in Him should be rectified at once."
My own self-awareness must be replaced with Christ-awareness. This, I believe, is a discipine learned by being alert to when my heart or mind strays from the Lord to myself, and immediately and intentionally doing a 180 and shifting my focus back to God Almighty. Not excusing my temptation to think of myself for a second, and humbly inviting the Lord to be my all in all. Chambers continues his thought on this into today's devotional. He says,
"Beware of allowing your self-awareness to continue, because slowly and surely it will awaken self-pity, and self-pity is satanic."
Then he says something I am still trying to wrap my head around,
"A child of God is not aware of the will of God because he IS the will of God. When we have deviated even slightly from the will of God, we begin to ask, 'Lord, what is your will?'"
Food for thought.
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