... my mind as I sat there in that memorial service. The theme of that sermon had been One Day at a Time. And he made three points – one, today is all you have; two, today is all you need; and three, today is all you can handle. Talk about the sufficiency of Christ. What powerful thoughts. What a legacy to leave his friend. We can live with greater intention and purpose if we keep in mind that this day is all we have. This day is all we have. We can only live now. So we must make the most of ...
... to the bank of a flowing river. He saw a little fish drinking away in the river; then all of a sudden the fish stopped and said, “I mustn’t take too much, or there will be none left.” The river replied, “Drink on, little fish: my waters are sufficient for you.” Then Mr. Spurgeon said that he imagined that he was standing beside one of Joseph’s great granaries in Egypt. A little mouse was feeding there. It stopped its meal and said, “I must not eat too much now, or there will not be enough for ...
... in coping ability, the chances are we are really weak, at least weaker than we think. Someone has written, “Half the headaches and many of the heartaches are caused by halos that don’t fit.” Think about it: no-one is all wise, all strong, all good, all sufficient. Few of us qualify for halos. It’s when we think we do or pretend that we do that we begin to be in trouble. The salesman who thinks he has the territory sewed up and begins to take his customers for granted soon loses those customers. His ...
... allow God to lead us through the rough times, and in all things we give God the praise, then people will see the power of God made manifest. Paul prayed that the thorn might be removed from his flesh. He heard God say to him, “My grace is sufficient for you . . . my power is made perfect in weakness.” That’s all Paul needed to become one of the most powerful witnesses for God who ever lived. My friends, that’s all we need as well. 1. Bantam, 1987. Cited by Dr. David E. Leininger, http://lectionary ...
... to make it—are you going to be able to complete your work—support your family—maintain emotional balance. Will there be a place for you to serve when you graduate? Are you going to find a mate with whom to share your life and ministry? God’s grace is sufficient, but more, God will outwit you. He will surprise you all along the way by giving you far more than you can ask, think, or even imagine. Here is a word from Teresa of Avila that we need to hide in our hearts and claim on those dry days, when ...
... and there we would invite to share it with us. Our time of rest and renewal had only begun and here we were in the midst of a hurricane. It wasn’t hard to think of yourself as a victim and you certainly couldn’t imagine you had strength and sufficiency because Hurricane Georges was reigning monarch and I was completely helpless. No control. I had no space of my own – and you have to know – I need my space. I don’t like to have to put up my books when I am reading or a magazine article, I like ...
... truth about himself, and us, and laid bare the innermost need he had for God’s mercy and his utter dependence of God’s goodness. The third thief on the cross wants to rob you this morning: Rob you arrogant of your self-sufficiency. Rob you selfish of your self-centeredness. Rob you contented of your complacency. Rob you humorless of your solemnity. Rob you untouchables of your invulnerability. Rob you of the sickness of your disease and doubts about your future. Rob you atheists of your skepticism ...
... the valley of the shadow of death I will fear no evil." But why, one wants to ask David, are you so unafraid? He answers in the next breath: "Because thou, God, art with me." You see, if I have a growing confidence that God is with me and is sufficient for my needs. I can laugh at tomorrow. Because nothing can come down the street that God and I can't handle together. To believe that is to have the cure for excessive fear. One time a young skater was entered in her first competition. Just before she was to ...
... Lord Jesus Christ and we know that God has performed a miracle, a bringing together of the presence of His Son, Jesus and us, in order that our lives might be made whole again. It’s a miracle. Then, there is a fourth miracle – the miracle of the sufficiency of God’s grace. Now mark this down. Not all of us are going to be healed. And sometimes some of us are going to be given a circumstance that will stay with us forever – a painful circumstance, a suffering malady. Paul called it his “thorn in ...
... . None of them, alone, could have fed all those people. Jesus agreed with this because he asked for God’s help by giving thanks for the bread and, in doing so, he offered up the bread to God to be used for God’s purposes. Rarely are our resources sufficient, in and of themselves, for the tasks that have been placed before us. Rarely does what we bring to the table fill the need all by itself. We need more. We need God’s help. We understand this when the subject is one of healing. We are all aware ...
... . Clearly, in the totality of life we are to receive as well as give. I. To begin with, it is obvious that we must be willing and able to receive because we need it. Much of the time we would like to maintain the illusion that we are quite self-sufficient. We have within ourselves everything we need to live a full, happy, and successful life. So, we don’t need anyone or anything else. Much of the time we’d like to think that, wouldn’t we? But, in our more honest moments we know that is an illusion. We ...
... knew that. They didn't. Therefore, they panicked. So, you see, we become fearful when we doubt that our source of security is not strong enough to sustain us. What is the cure for fear? The cure is to develop confidence that God is with us and is sufficient for our needs. That confidence is called faith. In the middle of that stormy sea, Jesus shouted, "Hush! Be quiet!" And the wind ceased and there was a great calm. After that night the disciples never again feared a storm on the Sea of Galilee if Jesus ...
... 't believe a person will always live perfectly even if he's saved; but I do believe a saved person will try to live perfectly. My friend, your salvation is not only determined by how much you love God, but also how much you hate sin. God's grace is sufficient grace. Paul had a thorn in the flesh, as you well know. He asked the Lord three times to take that thorn in the flesh away from him. God did not do it because God had a greater plan for Paul; He wanted to learn something about his grace; and ...
... you think you are the strongest, you are really the weakest. Now I want you to listen carefully. There is plenty of room for confidence in the Christian life, but there is no room for pride. The Lord said to Paul in 2 Cor. 12:9, "My grace is sufficient for you, for My strength is made perfect in weakness." But then Paul added in verse 10, "For when I am weak, then I am strong." It was when Paul recognized his weakness that he realized his strength. As you study the great men of God throughout history, you ...
... for God to be his light by night, his rainfall by day. Running after his rejected sheep, God left behind the 99 in the desert. Why? So they, too, could feel how much they really needed God in their lives. No one controls God. No one is that self-sufficient. Scott, walking on that railroad track in northern Idaho, did not walk that track on his own. He was pushed out there by the woman who did not want him around. Scott's mother was finding him a bother and a distraction. When he cried about his father she ...
... small way to justice in the world by that act. Whereas when we say the phrase "God Made My Day" what we are really voicing is a statement of faith about whom is behind it all, about whom is behind it all, about who gives us the strength, the grace sufficient to meet each day, and about who made life so that when we reach out to others we begin to find what God intends us to have all along, fullness of life. This is the day that the Lord has made; let us rejoice and be glad!
... brought only one person to a saving knowledge of Jesus Christ, and that person was a mere boy. What possible good could a young boy make in the kingdom of God? The pastor judged his life a failure, but the God who is our sole and sufficient resource used that pastor's ministry to touch the heart of the young David Livingstone, who in turn, touched the lives of thousands for Jesus Christ! As Paul so aptly wrote to the Corinthian church, "We have this treasure in earthen vessels to show that the transcendent ...
... souls with him, but the third always remained silent and did not ask Anthony anything. After a long time, Abba Anthony said to him, "You often come to see me, but you never ask me anything." The other replied, "It is enough to see you, Father." Our Lamb is sufficient, he is enough - we need no other! The Lamb Gets the Vote! I had a couple of cats, I and 2 Timothy, that I liked a lot, as a child. We enjoyed a parakeet named Ike who enlivened our home with his high-pitched, squeeking voice, crying, "I like ...
... soared just in the last five years! Our security becomes almost independent of God. That is the very point when we get into trouble. Prosperity, not hard times, is the great enemy of faith. Look next to the latter part of verse seven. David in his self- sufficiency drifts from God's presence. He becomes aware of the awful absence of God. "Thou didst hide thy face; I was dismayed." Have you ever felt the absence of God? Sometimes it is because we have drifted away from God, but not always. Sometimes life can ...
... times I pleaded with the Lord to take it away from me." Have you ever been at a point where, even if you could pray, all you were able to pray was: "God, have mercy"? Listen to how God answers Paul's prayer. God says, "My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness." That verb "made perfect" can also be translated as "carried out" or "completed." God's power is completed in our weakness. And then we find, as the apostle Paul wrote in Philippians 4: 13, that "I can do everything ...
... any and all circumstances I have learned the secret of facing plenty and hunger, abundance and want. I can do all things in him who strengthens me. I have learned the secret." What's the secret, Paul? I think it is to be found in that phrase, "My grace is sufficient for you." That is what those covenants with Noah and Moses way back there were all about. That is what they promised. Not that life would be easy, but when it is not easy, when life is hard, grace will be there. That is what the Pilgrims in New ...
... of God - the centrality of God - put that first, and then everything else that you need will be yours as well.” Angels came and ministered to him. That is a beautiful way of saying that God was there, God was real, and God’s grace and strength were sufficient. I remember a poem that says it. Listen: “At the heart of the cyclone, tearing the sky, and flinging the clouds and the towers by is a place of central calm. So, here in the roar of mortal things, I have a place where my spirit sings… in the ...
... don’t have boots, so there are not straps to pull on. Yet, I still pose the question: Is it possible to be too dependent upon God? I ask it in this extreme simply to make my point. It may very well be that when and where human power is sufficient, divine power will not be put forth. Now another way to talk about the same truth is to say that Christ has great respect for us as humans, as instruments of His work and He uses us as those instruments. A quick glance at the Gospels confirms it. Men had ...
... or to refuse to listen and reject. (D. T. Niles, That They May Have Life pp. 18- 1 9) No wonder the New Testament writer said: “There’s no other name given under heaven whereby men must be saved, save that of Jesus Christ.” He is our sufficient provision. Note also that He is a sustaining provision. Not only today and everyday, but sustaining for eternity. Not only saving us from our sins, but growing us up into the image and likeness of God -His own image - the stature of the fullness of Jesus Christ ...
... with the Lord to take it away from me.” (vs. 8) Pleaded. Begged. What do you do when God doesn’t fix your most grievous problem? That’s the time when you pray for God to reveal Himself in your troubles. “But he said to me, ‘My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness.’” (vs. 9) When we give up on our own strength and rely totally on God to help us endure our troubles, that’s the point when we discover the true nature of God’s character and the true faithfulness ...