A church is not just bricks and mortar or corporations or theology. It is people who, as a result of being filled with the Holy Spirit, are spoken of in the Bible as living stones that emit light all around.
It is very important to know what the foundation is because otherwise we will not know which church is going through. Let me give you an illustration on that.
With different people it is different things. There are many who come so far in their Christian experience, but they reach a point of decision, perhaps on a seemingly small issue, and they cannot go beyond it.
A short time after the descent of the Holy Spirit, and immediately after a season of earnest prayer, Peter and John, going up to the temple to worship, saw at the gate of the temple a cripple, forty years of age, whose life, from his birth, had been one of pain and infirmity.
In 11 Peter 3:11, the question is asked, “What manner of persons ought you to be?” This chapter of 11 Peter is the last letter from the apostle Peter. In the first chapter, he tells us that very soon he is going to die.
In the full assurance of his faith, the aged disciple exhorted his brethren to steadfastness of purpose in the Christian life. “Give diligence,” he pleaded, “to make your calling and election sure:…
There are few parents who realize how important it is to give to their children the influence of a godly example. Yet this is far more potent than precept. No other means is so effective in training them in right lines.
What a grand theme this is for contemplation,—the righteousness of God and our Saviour Jesus Christ! Contemplating Christ and His righteousness, leaves no room for self-righteousness, for the glorifying of self.
The father and the mother, as teachers in the home school, should consecrate hands, tongue, brain, and every power of the being to God, in order that they may fulfill their high and holy mission.
All heaven is interested in our children, and parents grieve the Spirit of God when they fail to bring them up in the nurture and admonition of the Lord. Parents, be kind to your children, but be firm. Let them see that you mean all that you tell them.