Some people try to escape (the Ten Commandments') force by limiting the definition of neighbor. But when Jesus was asked, 'Who is my neighbor?' He told the parable of the good Samaritan, which teaches that every person we meet is our neighbor (Luke 10:29-37). No man anywhere, no matter who he is or what he is like, no matter what language he speaks, what skin color he has, or what social or cultural group he belongs to, is excluded from being my neighbor. This is an absolute standard which we must practice, not just a vague emotional reaction. If we do not practice this, we are sinning and swill be judged.
Ffrancis A. Schaeffer

WHY THIS SPEAKS TO ME:

What Schaeffer is saying here is that the absolute truth in what he is saying - a truth which is impossible for me to achieve in my own strength - Hey, birds of a feather do flock together - becomes complete reality when I realize and allow God the Holy Spirit to change me and to live His life through and in me. In Jesus, as I wait for and allow God the Holy Spirit to live Jesus in and through me, red, yellow, black, and white really are precious, not only in His sight, but literally in mine as well.

Having set Lieutenant William Bligh and his supporters adrift 'in an overcrowded lifeboat (which they miraculously navigated 3,700 miles to Timor), the mutineers aboard the Bounty began quarreling about what to do next. Fletcher Christian returned to Tahiti where he left some of the mutineers, kidnapped some women, took some slaves, and traveled 1,000 miles to uninhabited Pitcairn Island. There the little group quickly unraveled. They distilled whiskey from a native plant. Drunkenness and fighting marked their colony. Disease and murder eventually took the lives of all the men except for one, Alexander Smith, who found himself the only man on the island, surrounded by an assortment of women and children.
Then an amazing change occurred. Smith found the Bounty's neglected Bible. As he read it, he took its message to heart, then began instructing the little community. He taught the colonists the Scriptures and helped them obey its instructions. The message of Christ so transformed their lives that 20 years later, in 1808, when the ship Topaz landed on the island, it found a happy society of Christians, living in prosperity and peace, free from crime, disease, murder - and mutiny.
Taken From: 'On This Day'

WHY THIS SPEAKS TO ME:

Great stuff!

There are two major obstacles to prayer. The first obstacle arises when the devil prompts you to think, 'I am not yet prepared to pray. I should wait for another half-hour or another day until I have become more prepared or until I have finished taking care of this or that.' Meanwhile, the devil distracts you for half an hour, so that you no longer think about prayer for the rest of the day. From one day to the next, you are hindered and rushed with other business. This common obstacle shows us how maliciously the devil tries to trick us . . .
The second obstacle arises when we ask ourselves, 'How can you pray to God and say the Lord's Prayer? You are too unworthy and sin every day. Wait until you are more devout. You might be in the mood to pray now, but wait until you have confessed your sin taken the Lord's Supper so that you can pray more fervently and approach God with confidence. Only then can you really pray the Lord's Prayer from your heart.' This serious obstacle crushes us like a heavy stone. Despite our feelings of unworthiness, our hearts must struggle to remove this obstacle so that we can freely approach God and call upon him.

The Importance that Luther placed on prayer can be seen from his commentary on John 16:23-24: "And in that day you will ask Me nothing. Most assuredly, I say to you, whatever you ask the Father in My name He will give you. Until now you have asked nothing in My name. Ask, and you will receive, that your joy may be full." NKJV -

Study what Christ commands in this passage and put it into practice. Don't consider prayer as something that you do voluntarily, as if it wouldn't be a sin if you neglected to pray. Don't act as if it's enough for others to pray. But now you know that Christ earnestly commands prayer. If you don't pray, you risk the greatest disgrace and the highest penalty. Christ's command here is similar to the commandment that prohibits worshiping any other gods and blaspheming God's name. Those who never pray should know that they aren't Christians and don't belong in God's kingdom. Now don't you think that God has good reason to be angry with idolaters, murderers, thieves, blasphemers, and others who despise his Word? Don't you think he's right to punish these sins? Why, then, aren't you afraid of God's anger when you disrespect his command and confidently act as if you aren't obligated to pray? So this passage should serve as a strong encouragement to pray diligently. Prayer is our comfort, strength, and salvation. It's our first line of defense against all of our enemies.
Martin Luther

WHY THIS SPEAKS TO ME:

Strong, strong words from Brother Martin! Why does it always seem easier to act than to pray? Lord, please forgive my prayerlessness!

Oh, brothers, could you and I pass this day through the heavens, and see what is now going on in the sanctuary above - . . . could you see the Lamb with the scars of his deep wounds in the very midst of the throne . . . could you see the many angels round about the throne . . . and were one of these angels to tell you, 'This is He that undertook the cause of lost sinners; He undertook to be the second Adam - the man in their stead; and lo! there He is upon the throne of heaven - consider Him . . . Do you think His sufferings and obedience will have been enough?' - Yes, yes, every soul exclaims, Lord, it is enough! . . . Yes, though the sins of all the world were on my one wicked head, still I could not doubt that His work is complete, and that I am quite safe when I believe in Him.
Robert Murray McCheyne

WHY THIS SPEAKS TO ME;

In the end, it all starts and ends with what we do with Jesus. There really 'is no other name under heaven given among men by which we are saved.'(Acts 4:12 NIV) He really 'does save completely those who come to Him.'(Heb.7:25 NIV) He really has 'entered heaven itelf, now to appear for us in God's presence' (Heb. 9:24 NIV) In Jesus is life eternal; without Him is death.

We have no right to judge where we should be put, or to have preconceived notions as to what God is fitting us for. God engineers everything; wherever He puts us our one great aim is to pour out a wholehearted devotion to Him in that particular work. "Whatsoever thy hand findeth to do, do it with thy might."
Oswald Chambers

WHY THIS SPEAKS TO ME:

The 'book answer' here is just what Mr. Chambers shares with us - every minute of every day everything a Christian does should be done to the best of their ability to the glory of God. But lets just be real honest, even through God's grace, its a whole lot easier for your basic believer to give themselves wholeheartedly to God and His cause for a project that THEY consider to be life-priority number one, rather than a cause that comes in around fifth place in their wants and desires list. To be totally submitted to God means going to God every day and saying, 'God, what's important to You today? Where do You want to spend me today?' That is death-to-life life. That kind of submission only occurs as we allow Him to 'occur' it in us and through us.

When darkness long has veil'd my mind,
And smiling day once more appears;
Then, my Redeemer, then I find
The folly of my doubts and fears.

Oh! let me then at length be taught
What I am still so slow to learn;
That God is love, and changes not,
Nor knows the shadow of a turn.

Sweet truth, and easy to repeat!
But when my faith is sharply try'd,
I find myself a learner yet,
Unskilful, weak, and apt to slide.

But, O my Lord, one look from thee
Subdues the disobedient will;
Drives doubt and discontent away,
And thy rebellious worm is still.
William Cowper

WHY THIS SPEAKS TO ME:

It is only when, when we are and because we are totally focused on Him that we are aware of His focus on us, that we realize as well that this divine focus and attention is changing us and making us like Christ - 'But, O my Lord, one look from thee subdues the disobedient will. . .' As we obediently and consistently gaze upon Him, He redemptively and effectively changes us. Another poet puts it this way: 'Turn your eyes upon Jesus, look full in His wonderful face, and the things of earth will grow strangely dim, in the light of His glory and grace,' It starts with our decision to 'seek His face.'

We are often distressed by church members who ask, 'Can I be a Christian and do this? Why cannot I do that? . . . What they are really asking is, 'How much like the world can I live and be a Christian? How near the precipice can I walk without going over? How far away from the Lord can I be and still get to heaven?' Why do they not ask, 'How far from the world can I live? How near the Lord? How much like Him?' Such people prefer the Borderline to Beulah Land.
Vance Havner

WHY THIS SPEAKS TO ME:

What God wants to do in me is to cause me to so fall in love with Him that all that matters in my life will be His face and His smile. What God wants to do in me is to cause me to wholeheartedly agree with and join with the psalmist in saying: 'As the deer pants for streams of water, so my soul pants for you, O God. My soul thirsts for God, for the living God. When can I go and meet with God?' (Ps. 42:1-2 NIV) When I am truly in love, my focus, desire, thoughts, and dreams will be upon the object of my affection. Fence-striders are not in love and are about 10 seconds from falling off. God means for our relationship with Him to be passionate.

(People) become Christians in proportion as they cease to be interested in themselves, and become absorbed in their Lord.

WHY THIS SPEAKS TO ME:

Classic, right-between-the-eyes, bullet statement of what it means - from beginning to end - to have a right relationship with Jesus. Lord, every day, draw me closer, draw me closer, draw me closer to you.

Purity of heart is to will one thing.

WHY THIS SPOKE TO ME:

In the 32nd chapter of the Book of Jeremiah God inspires His prophet to state that the day was coming when He would 'give His people singleness of heart and action, so that they will always fear me for their own good and the good of their children after them.' (Jeremiah 32:38-39) In Jesus we are 'His people' so this promise is ours, as well. I may intellectually realize and accept that green beans are good for me - but if I don't like their taste, knowing that they are good for me probably won't help. But if I love green beans, well then the problem is solved. The good news of the gospel is not just that in Jesus I know what is right, but in Jesus through the power of His indwelling Holy Spirit I am made to want to do what is right and to allow the Spirit to work in and through me to cause me to do what is right. I find that the more I walk with God the more His way seems not only the right way but the only way. I believe this is what God truly wants from His children - performance will follow when this is in place.

O heavenly Father, infinite, fathomless depth of never-ceasing love, save me from myself, from the disorderly workings of my fallen, long-corrupted nature, and let my eyes see, my heart and spirit feel and find, Your salvation in Christ Jesus. O God, who made me for yourself, to show forth Your goodness in me, I humbly beseech You to manifest the life-giving power of Your holy nature within me; help me to such a true and living faith in You, such strength of hunger and thirst after the birth, life, and Spirit of Your holy Jesus in my soul, that all that is within me may be turned from every inward thought or outward work that is not You, Your holy Jesus, and a heavenly work in my soul. Amen.

WHY THIS SPEAKS TO ME:

These days in my life over and over and over again in so many ways at so many times and in so many places God repeats and reminds me that anything and everything that He expects from me and in me He will do for me. But, not just that, He also reminds me that only He can do for me, in me, to me and through me what He expects from me - my only task, in fact the only thing that I can do, is to be more and more aware of my helplessness and my sinfulness and to call more persistently and wait more fervently for Him to 'save me from myself' and to 'manifest the life-giving power of His Holy nature within me.' I wonder if the essence of the holiness-experience from the human perspective is not the continued willingness to eyeball our sin and helplessness and to call on God and wait on Him to save us - and not necessarily perforance. God will take care of my performance. I think this is what submission is all about and I think, ultimately, it is submission that keeps us in step with God.

If the Lord is to be Lord, worship must have a priority in our lives. The first commandment of Jesus is, 'Love the Lord your God with all your heart, and with all your soul, and with all your mind, and with all your strength' (Mark 12:30). The divine priority is worship first, service second. Our lives are to be punctuated with praise, thanksgiving, and adoration. Service flows out of worship. Service as a substitute for worship is idolatry. Activity is the enemy of adoration . . . One grave temptation we all face is to run around answering calls to service without ministering to the Lord himself.
Richard J. Foster

WHY THIS SPEAKS TO ME:

A basic mistake, I think, that people make concerning God sometimes is the idea that what we do for Him - speaking for Him; building churches for Him; using our talents for Him, etc. - is what He wants from us first and foremost and, while we are at it, He really wants us to do these things good because we are on His team and He needs us to do good so that He can do good and if we don't do good then, somehow, He won't do good. I must confess that I thought this way for a long time. And I want to be fair. There is a world to be won for Jesus; there's a cross to be planted; there's a devil to be defeated. And I need and want to be at my best for my Lord. All these things are true - to a point. What we forget, is, God has already done the winning, the planting, and the defeating. In the death and resurrection of Jesus Christ the old, sinful world passed away and God's new order has arrived - we humans just can't see it yet. We still see death and destruction and disease and disaster. But if we will, through God's grace, discipline ourselves through the power of faithful worship - building our lives around the concept of blind-faith-praise - 'God, I don't see it yet, and may never will, but I believe that in Jesus it is - right now -well with my soul' - we are setting ourselves up for episodes even in this life where God will not only assure us of His total control but sometimes He will do this in ways where we can see His glory 'up close and personal. 'Ps. 50:3 - 'He who sacrifices thank offerings honors me, and he prepares the way so that I may show him the salvation of God' NIV. Praise is affirmation. When I praise God what I am really doing is telling God to His face that, yes, I believe Him when He says that He has won - both in the overall eternal scheme of things and in the specific concern with which I am dealing. God likes that and I am finding that the more I affirm Him the more He shows Himself to me.

Commenting on Psalm 42:2: 'My soul thirsts for God, for the living God. When shall I come and appear before God?' ESV -

No man is made to be satisfied from himself. For the stilling of our own hearts, for the satisfying of our own nature, for strengthening and joy of our being we need to go beyond ourselves and to fix upon something external to ourselves . . . If a person's life is to be strong and happy, he must get the foundation of his strength somewhere else than in his own soul . . .
We are made, next, to need, not things, but living beings. "My soul thirstest" -for what? An abstraction, a possession, riches, a thing? No! "My soul thirsteth for God, for the living God." Yes, hearts want hearts. The converse of Christ's saying is equally true; He said, "God is a Spirit, and they that worship Him must worship Him in spirit"; man has a spirit, and must have Spirit to worship, to lean upon, to live by, or be inefficient and unsatisfactory. Oh, lay this to heart, my brother! - no things can satisfy a living soul.
Alexander Maclaren

WHY THIS SPOKE TO ME:

This concept of Christ - and a right relationship with Him - being our soul's only source of satisfaction is not a particularly hard thought to grasp - or even to preach, teach, or sing. But my word, how hard it is to do and live many times because, let's be honest, there's alot of bright and shiney things in this world and, if I'm not careful, bright and shiney is my favorite color. I've got to remeber what the sainted Augustine said so many years ago (Mounts paraphrase) - The soul of man IS made for God and it cannot find its rest or peace or meaning until it finds it in the God who created it.

All that we may rightly expect from God, and ask God for, is to be found in Jesus Christ. The God of Jesus Christ has nothing to do with what God, as we imagine God, could do or ought to do. If we are to learn what God promises, and what God fulfils, we must persevere in quiet meditation on the life, sayings, deeds, sufferings, and death of Jesus. It is certain that we may always live close to God and in the light of God's presence (in Jesus), and that such living is an entirely new life for us; that nothing is then impossible for us, because all things are possible with God; that no earthly power can touch us without God's will, and that danger and distress can only drive us closer to god. It is certain that we can claim nothing for ourselves, and may yet pray for everything; it is certain that our joy is hidden in suffering, and our life in death; it is certain that in all this we are in a fellowship that sustains us. In Jesus God has said Yes and Amen to it all, and that Yes and Amen is the firm ground on which we stand.
Dietrich Bonhoeffer

WHY THIS SPEAKS TO ME:

The power of this statement speaks for itself!