We don't have the option to negotiate on what Jesus says. If He says it, we say it. If He doesn't say it, we don't say it. We're loyal to Him. -Mike Bickle

"The reason for the resurrection is that the kingdom of Christ is not to be in heaven entirely. It is to be in this world." —John G. Lake

"Sin is the most expensive thing in the universe. Nothing else can cost so much." Charles Finney

"Fear not because your prayer is stammering, your words feeble, and your language poor. Jesus can understand you." J. C. Ryle

The point of Jesus’ foot washing is that none of his disciples would ever say of any act of service, “That is beneath me.” John 13:15 -John Piper

We must always insist that the house of God be a house a prayer for all nations. -Kevin DeYoung

2017 fall

"You never have to advertise a fire. Everyone comes running when there's a fire. Likewise, if your church is on fire, you will not have to advertise it. The community will already know it." - Leonard Ravenhill

“It is not sin, but grace, that will make me indeed know myself as a sinner, and make the sinner’s place of deepest humility the place I never leave.” — Andrew Murray

"The little estimate we put on prayer is evidence from the little time we give to it." —E. M. Bounds

CHURCH: Where people gather in rural villages, small towns, or huge urban cities all around the globe, to worship the King of Kings. -Brian Houston

“I think the reason we sometimes have the false sense that God is so far away is because that is where we have put him. We have kept him at a distance, and then when we are in need and call on him in prayer, we wonder where he is. He is exactly where we left him” - Ravi Zacharias

"The chief mark of counterfeit holiness is its lack of humility." — Andrew Murray

We are transformed by changing how we think. It begins by knowing who we are in Christ. As our mind is renewed, our emotions are transformed and thus our behavior changes. (Romans 12:2) -Mike Bickle

The spirit of prayer is the awareness that we are speaking into the open ear of our Father. -Corey Russell

"Maturity comes from obedience, not necessarily from age." - Leonard Ravenhill

"Prayer will become effective when we stop using it as a substitute forobedience." AW Tozer

On the subject of Jerusalem, if this is a subject near and dear to the heart of the Father, it would be wise of us to watch and pray before we react and vent. (Note: this is a subject near and dear to God) -David Sliker

A story that testifies to your zeal and dedication is devoid of good news.
A story that glorifies God’s mercy carries a powerful gospel. -Bob Sorge

No one can make us bitter by what they do to us. We only become bitter when we respond wrongly. -Mike Bickle

"All along, let us remember we are not asked to understand, but simply to obey..." — Amy Carmichael

As our rage explodes over sexual bullying, we Americans are discovering we aren't moral relativists after all. Maybe God is moving us toward a massive outpouring of confession, repentance and renewal on many fronts. -Ray Ortlund

Most of the apostles were killed for their faith -- crucified or stoned or drowned or stabbed. Why do we expect to be applauded for ours? -Dr. Micheal Brown

If you want to live in a constant state of worry, obsess over the things you can’t control. -Elijah Waters

“The greatness of a man’s power is the measure of his surrender.” (William Booth)

“The world may frown — Satan may rage — but go on! Live for God. May I die in the field of battle.” (James B. Taylor)

“One of these days some simple soul will pick up the Book of God, read it, and believe it. Then the rest of us will be embarrassed.” (Leonard Ravenhill)

“Satan is so much more in earnest than we are — he buys up the opportunity while we are wondering how much it will cost.” (Amy Carmichael)

“When I really enjoy God I feel my desires of him the more insatiable and my thirstings after holiness the more unquenchable. O’ this pleasing pain. It makes my soul press after God.” (David Brainerd)

“The man whose little sermon is ‘repent’ sets himself against his age, and will for the time being be battered mercilessly by the age whose moral tone he challenges. There is but one end for such a man — ‘off with his head!’ You had better not try to preach repentance until you have pledged your head to heaven.” (Joseph Parker)

“How shall I feel at the judgment, if multitudes of missed opportunities pass before me in full review, and all my excuses prove to be disguises of my cowardice and pride.” (W. E. Sangster)

For the sake of a dying, suffering world count the cost, pay the price, and set the captives free.” (John G. Lake)

“Unless you repent, you will perish.” Luke 13:3 Some of the most important things in the world are the plainest. -John Piper

Pursue friendships with folks who make you really want to be more like Jesus.Walk away from those who make you feel bad for not being more like them. -Joel Richardson

It is never okay to slander leaders , whether in church or government, we don’t honor people because they are honorable, but because we are. -Kristene DiMarco

“How monotonously alike all the great tyrants and conquerors have been; how gloriously different are the saints.” -CS Lewis

The church must be reminded that it is not the master or the servant of the state, but rather the conscience of the state. It must be the guide and the critic of the state, and never its tool. If the church does not recapture its prophetic zeal, it will become an irrelevant social club without moral or spiritual authority -MLK

Find the direction the Sovereign God is moving, and then move in that direction with Him. (Jonathan Edwards)

There is only 1 missionary for every 420,000 Muslims. -Wadi Project

"The Sermon on the Mount is the clearest description of what a Christian community should look like and reflect." —Stuart Greaves

Sometimes, when the Lord commissions you to do something you’re humanly not capable of doing, things actually get worse rather than better. And, like Moses you say to God, “Why did you ever send me?” (Exodus 5:22). Get ready, God is about to be glorified! -Scott Volk

Are we beholding the Jesus of the Bible, or the Jesus of our insecurities and assumptions that we project onto Him as we struggle?

To behold the Jesus of the Bible is to lay hold of the secret of enjoyable prayer, extravagant love, and exhilarating faith.

The Jesus we behold determines the Christian we will be. -David Sliker

Compassion is not an option for a follower of the Messiah since we are called to “clothe ourselves with compassion” (Colossians 3:12). ‘Wearing compassion’ should be as natural for us as wearing clothing. -Scott Volk

You are looking for a map of your life but all God gives us is a compass. We must trust the Person over the plan. -David Perkins

The world does not need cool Christians who are culturally saturated. It needs exiles with the scent of heaven and the aroma of Christ. -John Piper

"Behold the tabernacle of God is with men, and He will dwell with them, they will be His people and God Himself will be with them” Revelation 21:3

The bodies of 20 Coptic Christians beheaded by ISIS in 2015, have been recovered on a Libyan beach. Rest in peace martyrs. -Iraqi Christian HRC

Bonhoeffer, for all of his foresight concerning the dark cloud descending over Germany, was no doom prophet. He was a true shepherd. -Joel Richardson

"Courage is fear that has said its prayers." —Karle Wilson Baker

The tragedy of our day will be wasted imaginations. Our distractions and perversions have turned space made for brilliance into wastelands. -Beth Moore

"The more I learn about the sin in my own heart, the more I want to know God's grace." AW Tozer

You are as much serving God in training your own children, as you would be if you lead an army to battle for the Lord. -Spurgeon

If we view other ministries as our competitors rather than coworkers, it’s a tell-tale sign we are building our own kingdom and not God’s.

If we can’t rejoice when other ministries and churches are prospering, it’s a tell-tale sign that we are building our kingdom and not God’s! -Scott Volk

God doesn't tell Moses, "Tell them, 'I am what you want.'" He says, "Tell them, 'I am what I am.’" -Timothy Keller

Whatever subject I preach, I do not stop until I reach the Savior, the Lord Jesus, for in Him are all things. -Spurgeon

"I saw the cross as the revelation of my value. Heaven gave up everything to have me." —Todd White

There is no letting light into the dark cellar of doubt, except through the window of the Word of God. -Spurgeon

2017 summer

Salvation is far more than being delivered from sin and death; it’s about enjoying Jesus forever. -Mike Bickle

"I pray because the need flows out of me all the time, waking and sleeping. It doesn't change God, it changes me." —C. S. Lewis

When a brother is caught in a transgression, be Shem, not Ham. -Jordan Scott

The burning God of holy fire and jealous love will have a Bride that is equally yoked to His burning heart of pure and wholehearted desire. -David Sliker

The agenda of the Holy Spirit in the last days is to produce extravagant lovers of God who express mature love under unprecedented pressure. -David Sliker

The unprecedented pressure of the last days will be caused by man in sin and God in mercy. Man's goal: preservation God's goal: repentance

-David Sliker

Some Last Words from Muhammad: "May Allah curse the Jews and Christians..."

Some Last Words from Jesus: "Father, forgive them..."

-Gabe Caliguiri

The more you see your own flaws and sins the more precious, electrifying, and amazing God's grace appears to you. -Timothy Keller

Churches today spend most of their money on Sunday - the early church spent its money on mission and people. -Bob Roberts Jr.

Christians receive the saving work of Calvary, but often fail to embrace the God of Calvary in loving dialogue and relationship. Christians come into the free gift of salvation thru the Cross yet few enter joyous relationship with the One who dreamed up the Cross. -Allen Hood

Absalom’s following was much larger than David’s. You can’t discern who has God’s favor by looking at the size of their following. -Bob Sorge

The death of God’s Son is the only adequate gauge of what God thinks of my sin. —Don Carson

God gave us lightning so we’d have an inkling of what He means when He tells us about the atmosphere He lives in. -Bob Sorge

We have no more power to vote God’s moral laws in and out of existence than we have power to revoke the law of gravity. -Randy Alcorn

Jesus doesn't want to be invited into your life. Your life is a wreck. Instead he invites you into his life. - Russell Moore

Mary of Bethany had no concern for being radical, she wanted to hear, and in hearing responded reasonably to His matchless worth. -Matt Candler

Until Jesus returns, we who are His body are to imitate Him, embracing the cross, sharing His suffering. -Joel Richardson

"Prayer makes it safe for God to give us many of the things we most desire. It is the way...we finally treat God as God.” —Tim Keller

"Single women endeavoring the Great Commission are all over the Middle East while single men are home playing call of duty." -Jordan Scott

"The great tragedy of life is not unanswered prayer, but unoffered prayer." — F. B. Meyer

Tell me one attribute of God that is not manifest in Jesus; and your ignorance shall be the reason why you have not seen it so - Spurgeon

What kind of scarlet blood Does this--Do you not know?-- Soaks garments, dark with mud, And makes them white as snow?

-John Piper

A mystery which our minds cannot comprehend ought to be reverently adored. —Calvin

"God has promised to supply all our needs. What we don’t have now, we don’t need now." —Elisabeth Elliot

The more vile a man has been, the more should we love him when believing in Christ, because Christ will be more glorified on his behalf. -George Whitefield

The certainty of God’s judgment actually is good news if we view it in the right perspective. 

The alternative – the prospect of God forever tolerating wickedness and never bringing recompense for injustice – is far more dreadful. The intended lesson from this brief study, however, is that the gospel is good because it is true. It is a note of clarity in the midst of a chorus of lies; it is a ray of light shining in the dark landscape of this present evil age. The gospel is good because it shatters the walls of falsehood imprisoning the lost through the liberty of reality – whether that reality first manifests itself to us in the extravagance of mercy or the severity of judgment. In other words, the gospel is good because it is from God and it is about God (cf. Gal. 1:11-12). God alone ultimately defines the goodness of the news we herald – not the subjective response of the hearer, not whether it feels palatable to the audience. -Stephen Venable (full article here)

“The night I sailed for China, my life, on the human side, was broken, and it never was mended again. But He has been enough.”-Amy Carmichael

Religion: I obey God in order to get things from God. Gospel: I obey God to get God –to see his beauty only.

-Tim Keller

"Thus there will be three effects of nearness to Jesus—humility, happiness, and holiness." – Charles Spurgeon

When David considered how great God’s mercy was toward him, it inspired him to praise Him and ask for even more mercy. Psalm 86:13,16 -Bob Sorge

"God had only one Son, and He was a missionary." -David Livingstone

"Millions have never heard of Jesus. We ought not ask, Can I prove that I ought to go? but can I prove that I ought NOT to go?" -Spurgeon

The more I pray, the less I complain. The inverse is also true-The more I complain, the less I pray. The takeaway: Don't Complain, Just Pray. -Billy Humphrey

2017 Elisabet One Year

In Jesus we see that God actually experiences the pain of the fire as we do. He is God with us, in love and understanding, in our anguish. -Tim Keller

"It took 7000 men working for 6 years to build the tallest building in the world in Dubai. It took Jesus one afternoon to create all the stars" -Stephen Venable

"Why did the waves and winds obey Jesus? Because they recognized the voice of the One who created them." -Stephen Venable

"We can best help others with their fears and distress when we have been through our own and found God faithful.” —Tim Keller

When in doubt, say something encouraging. I'm not sure I've ever regretted building people up. -Joshua Hawkins

I believe that the greatest discipleship we can give as leaders in the church and parents in the home is letting the ones around us see us pray. -Corey Russell

God’s house is the house of prayer; God’s work is the work of prayer. -EM Bounds

The greatest crisis in America is how the church of Jesus thinks and feels about Jesus" -Stephen Venable 

God turns suffering into glory, crucifixion into resurrection, weakness into strength, losses into redemption. -Bob Sorge

"If a commission by an earthly king is considered a honor, how can a commission by a Heavenly King be considered a sacrifice?" –Livingstone

A day is coming when a Jewish man will rule the earth from Jerusalem and all the nations will flourish under His leadership. -Joshua Hawkins

"Faith does not eliminate questions. But faith knows where to take them." —Elisabeth Elliot

"Time does not distance me from my sins. It's the blood of Christ applied to my repentant heart." —Nayomi Thomas

"Every Christian a missionary; every non-Christian a mission field." -Winkie Pratney

God does His best work for the world through prayer. -EM Bounds

Want to know how powerful Jesus is? He is able to raise you up on the last day and make you to stand in His presence. -Bob Sorge

The message of the world to the Church: Just shut up and go feed the poor.
The message of the world to the Jews: Just roll over and die. -Joel Richardson

“Great is the Lord, greatly to be praised, his greatness is unsearchable.” Psalm 145:3 Not meaning don’t search, but you’ll never finish. -John Piper

Don’t fear the storm that’s trying to take you out; fear the One who has all authority over that storm. (Mark 4:41) - Bob Sorge

Jesus’ description of what happened in faithful Christian ministry: “I saw Satan fall like lightning from heaven.” Luke 10:18 -John Piper

Jesus doesn't just change what you do; He changes what you want to do. -Ravi Zacharias

David's life was a witness that weakness does not disqualify us from experiencing God's power. —Mike Bickle

Understanding the priorities of Jesus for our relationship with Him help us to deeply enjoy His leadership rather than complain against it. -Dave Sliker

If we never have headaches through rebuking our children, we shall have plenty of heartaches when they grow up - Spurgeon

The preacher is commissioned to pray as well as to preach. His mission is incomplete if he does not do both well. -EM Bounds

Our hearts are like a bucket of water on a cold day-they will freeze over unless we regularly smash the ice that is forming. -Tim Keller

When we resent God’s grace to others, like Jonah or the prodigal son’s older brother, we spurn His grace to us. -Randy Alcorn

"How mighty must that gospel be, which, when it gained an entrance into the heart of Paul, could never be driven out of it!" – CH Spurgeon

2017 Spring

The Lamb that was slain will be the wonder of eternity. -Robert M McCheyne

All our libraries and studies are mere emptiness compared with our prayer closets. -EM Bounds

Let's simplify the discussion. The difference between true Christianity and true Islam is the difference between Jesus and Muhammad. -Dr. Micheal Brown

"A father of the fatherless and a judge for the widows, is God in His holy habitation" Psalm 68:5

“To be a Christian means to forgive the inexcusable because God has forgiven the inexcusable in you.” -CS Lewis

When the disciples asked Jesus to be taught in prayer, they thought He was going to pull out a list. Instead He introduced them to a Person -Corey Russell

Eschatology matters. When people get the end wrong they misunderstand their mission in the present. -Richard Caldwell

“You are my hiding place and my shield. . . My flesh trembles for fear of you.” Psalm 119:114, 120. Good trembling in a safe place. -John Piper

So much of our theology isn't fueled by the hope of scripture, but by what didn't happen or disappointments.  -Bill Johnson

Anyone who tells you we need revival and not the return of Jesus simply doesn't understand the Gospel. -Joel Richardson

The quiet cancer seeking to kill the church, the great evil of our time, is covetousness, the forgotten arch-nemesis of the saints of God. Modern Christians identify and war against so many enemies of the faith yet often forget that "the root of all evil" is the "love of money". -David Sliker

"We ought to act with God in the greatest simplicity, speak to Him frankly and plainly." —Brother Lawrence

There is no prison strong enough to hold an apostle sent out by God. So if a sent one is in prison, God is up to something. -Bob Sorge

I think maybe one of the bravest things we could do these days is fight to keep a tender heart. -Beth Moore

"Parents do their children grievous wrong when they do not suffer them to go with them to the house of prayer." – Charles Spurgeon

Our history of loving God and people is the only thing we bring from this life to the age to come. -Mike Bickle

“To have found God and still to pursue Him is the soul’s paradox of love.” -AW Tozer

The aim of every ministry must be to ensure "...that in all things He may have the preeminence." (Colossians 1:18) -Derek Kistner

You’re free of bitterness when the man who banished you and hunted your life dies, and you write a song of lament for his death. -Bob Sorge

He who cannot obey is not fit to rule: he who has never learned to submit will make a tyrant when he obtains the power - Spurgeon

"Men of low degree are only vanity and men of rank are a lie; in the balances they go up; they are together lighter than breath." Psalm 62:9

True holiness isn’t cold and deadening—it’s warm, inviting, and irresistible. Those who think otherwise have only seen its caricatures. -Randy Alcorn

We shall not benefit from reading the Old Testament unless we look for and meditate on the glory of Christ in its pages. -John Owen

The easiest and yet most neglected way to get to know God more is to read His story - the Bible - and actually talk to Him about it. -Joshua Hawkins

Sin is what happens when you want something more than Jesus... -Rolland Baker

"There isn't a square inch in the domain of our human existence over which Christ who is Sovereign over all, doesn't cry Mine!” -A. Kuyper

Unforgiveness wants that other person to loose you from a prison to which they don’t have the keys. -Bob Sorge

Non-retaliation doesn't bring justice or peace. It offers mercy, repentance before the Day of the Lord, the ultimate day of retaliation. -Joel Richardson