Quotes (510)

spurgeon!

“Let us go forth therefore unto Him without the camp” – Hebrews 13:13

Jesus, bearing His cross, went forth to suffer without the gate.  The Christian’s reason for leaving the camp of the world’s sin and religion is not because he loves to be singular, but because Jesus did so; and the disciple must follow his Master.  Christ was “not of the world”:  His life and His testimony were a constant protest against conformity with the world.  Never was such overflowing affection for men as you find in Him; but still He was separate from sinners.  In like manner Christ’s people must “go forth unto Him”.  They must take their position “without the camp”, as witness-bearers for the truth.  They must be prepared to tread the straight and narrow path.  They must have bold, unflinching, lion-like hearts, loving Christ first, and His truth next, and Christ and His truth beyond all the world.  Jesus would have His people “go forth without the camp” for their own sanctification.  You cannot grow in grace to any high degree while you are conformed to the world.  The life of separation may be a path of sorrow, but it is the highway of safety; and though the separated life may cost you many pangs, and make every day a battle, yet it is a happy life after all.  No joy can excel that of the soldier of Christ:  Jesus reveals Himself so graciously, and gives such sweet refreshment, that the warrior feels more calm and peace in his daily strife than others in their hours of rest.  The highway of holiness is the highway of communion.  It is thus we shall hope to win the crown if we are enabled by divine grace faithfully to follow Christ “without the camp”.  The crown of glory will follow the cross of separation.  A moment’s shame will be well recompensed by eternal honor; a little while of witness-bearing will seem nothing when we are “forever with the Lord”.

– C.H. Spurgeon

1834 – 1892

Quotes (508)

william-booth “‘Not called!” did you say? “Not heard the call,” I think you should say. Put your ear down to the Bible, and hear Him bid you go and pull sinners out of the fire of sin. Put your ear down to the burdened, agonized heart of humanity, and listen to its pitiful wail for help. Go stand by the gates of hell, and hear the damned entreat you to go to their father’s house and bid their brothers and sisters and servants and masters not to come there. Then look Christ in the face — whose mercy you have professed to obey — and tell Him whether you will join heart and soul and body and circumstances in the march to publish His mercy to the world.

– William Booth

1829 – 1912

HT: The Desert Pastor

Music lyrics quiz: Christian or secular?


kelly-clarkson

Are you ready to take a fun little quiz to see if Christian music is distinguishable from the music of the world? Let’s see if you can tell the difference between the lyrics of songs performed by Christian musicians and that of songs performed by secular musicians.

Grab a pen and a piece of paper and number the paper 1 through 25. Then read the following 25 lyrics and see if you can distinguish between the sacred and the secular. Put a “C” next to the number if you believe the lyrics are from a Christian song, or an “S” next to the number if you believe the lyrics come from a secular song. The answers are at the bottom of this post (so don’t cheat). Each correct answer is worth 4 points (possible total of 100 points). I’d love to hear how you did. And when you’re done, don’t forget to take the three-question pop-quiz on music lyrics found here.

If you intend on taking the quiz, don’t read the comments beforehand because there are some spoilers in the comments.


All lyrics are taken from the internet–as is–grammar and spelling not corrected

Have fun!

1.

He knows just what to do
When it comes to the girls
He writes them poetry
And he picks them flowers
He knows just what to say when it come to the ladies,
Knows how to make a girl smile
How to drive a girl crazy

2.

. . . Can’t you see that He spread love for you
Shed blood for you, cry for and die for you . . .

. . . I surrender all to thee
I want the whole world to see
That you’ve always been, you’ll always be
My best friend
I love you Jesus
Thank you, forgive me for my trespasses
As I forgive those who trespass against me
Thank you

3.

Cause I know that there’s a better place
Than this place I’m livin, how far is heaven
and I just got to have some faith
and just keep on living, how far is heaven
Lord can you tell me, how far is heaven
cause I just gotta know, how far is heaven
yeah Lord, can You tell me, how far is heaven
I just gotta know how far, yeah I just gotta know how far

4.

At times the woman deep inside me
Wanders far from home,
And in my mind I live a life
That chills me to the bone.
A heart, running for arms out of reach,
But who is the stranger my longing seeks?
I don’t know.
But it scares me through and through,
cause I’ve a man at home
Who needs me to be true.

5.

It’s hard to stand
On shifting sand
It’s hard to shine
In the shadows of the night
You can’t be free
If you don’t reach for help
And you can’t love
If you don’t love yourself

6.

On my way down
I’m not ready to lay, I’m not ready to fade
I’m not ready to die
Not ready to lay, I’m not ready to fade
I’m not ready to die

I’m taken home – and you’re still here
Just clear your mind – and dry your tears
We’ll take our voices – with our hands
We’ll Make like knives – we’ll make demands

7.

Oh, wherever you are and wherever you’ve been
Now is the time to begin
So give to the needy, and pray for the grieving
Even when you don’t think that you can
‘Cause all that you do is bound to come back to you
So think of your fellow man
And make peace with God, and make peace with yourself
‘Cause in the end, there’s nobody else

Turn up the music
Turn it up loud
Take a few chances and let it all out
‘Cause you won’t regret it
Looking back from where you have been
‘Cause it’s not who you knew
And it’s not what you did
It’s how you live

8.

You can all call me crazy
For the things that I might say
You can laugh all you want to
I know there will come a day
When we all will come together
And learn to set aside our hate
And we can learn to love our neighbor
Just like we would love ourselves

We’ve got to come together
‘Cause in the end we can make it — alright
We’ve got to brave the weather
Through all of the storms
We’ve got to come together
‘Cause in the end we can make it — alright
We’ve got to learn to love
We’ve got to learn to love

9.

Who’s to blame for the life that tragedies claim no matter what you say it won’t
take away the pain, that I feel inside I’m tired of all the lies don’t nobody know
why it’s the blind leadin’ the blind.
Guess that’s the way that the story goes, will it ever make sense somebody’s
gotta know, there’s gotta be more to life than this, there’s got to be more to everything
I thought exists

10.

Every time I try to find you
Every road comes back around
Just another hoop to jump through
Another mile of covered ground . . . .

So lay down the sword
And put away the doctrine
Love a little more
Love a little more
Cuz everybody’s broken

11.

For the life of me I cannot remember
What made us think that we were wise and
We’d never compromise
For the life of me I cannot believe
We’d ever die for these sins
We were merely freshman

12.

I see you holding your grudges
I see you gunning them down
I see you silencing your sisters
And I love you still
And I love you (still)

13.

One, Two, Three, Four.
Without Jah, Gonna Say, What
you sayin up here.
Without Jah, But know it sucks
boy. So something’s here.
Now. Jump. Nothing to nothing.
Who say you know you say.
What you say is without jah.
Jah. A lift off, a lift off.
Jah. Jah. You know you love it
when you say Jah. Jah.
Without Jah, Without Jah.
You know it’s time for
lift off.

14.

The Son of God is in our face
Offering us eternal grace
If you want it you’ve got to believe
‘Cause being free is a state of mind
We’ll one day leave this all behind
Just put your faith in God and one day you’ll see it

15.

You got something I like about you
You seem to be a lot like me
I’ve got ticket to adventure for two
Could be your golden opportunity.
The travel agent, she set up the itinerary,
First class, you can see the moon from a window seat
An agent guided tour of the galaxy,
Tips included, if you want them come with me
Chorus: I wanna know, is there life on Pluto?
Wanna go with me?
We can go in a UFO!
I wanna know, is there life on Pluto?
Wanna go with me?
We can go in a UFO!

16.

I met a girl named Tara
And she lived in the heart of America
She like black caddies
Listened to puff daddy
Danced until her legs were sore

She worked around the corner
At a diner with the grouchy owner
And her boyfriend Shady, dates another girl named Katie
He loves her definitely maybe . . .

. . . And she’s staring at his picture hanging in her locker
She’s telling all the girls about all the things that he bought her
I saw what really happened all those times he went for water
When we were at the movie theater watching Harry Potter
He had his hands on
Every single girl he laid his eyes on
Hate to break it to you, he’s a pylon
And even when he kissed her
He was looking over, staring at her sister

17.

Thinking how it might have been
If you had never
Walked into my life
I would have been nothing
Without you where would I be

Every moment used to feel
Like living through a
Cold and starless night
But everything’s changing
Everything is feeling right . . .

. . . How could I have been so blind
When you were always here
So near to me
And there is no other
Who knows me the way
I feel you do

And you were waiting all the time
For me to come around
And finally see
All the love I was missing
There you were right beside me
Always beside me . . .

. . . You made it so easy
Your love brought out
The best in me

18.

I’ve got it all, but I feel so deprived
I go up, I come down and I’m emptier inside
Tell me what is this thing that I feel like I’m missing
And why can’t I let it go

There’s gotta be more to life…
Than chasing down every temporary high to satisfy me
Cause the more that I’m…
Trippin’ out thinkin’ there must be more to life
Well it’s life, but I’m sure… There’s gotta be more

(Than wanting more)

I’ve got the time and I’m wasting it slowly
Here in this moment I’m half-way out the door
Onto the next thing, I’m searching for something that’s missing

I’m wanting more

I’m always waiting on something other than this
Why am I feelin’ like there’s something I missed….
Always… Always…

More to life
There’s gotta be more to life (more to life)
There’s gotta be more to life (more)
More to my life

19.

Throw up your rawkfist if you´re feelin it when I
drop this. Show ’em how we blow the spot, Let’s
make it hot, Let’s shock ’em with the bodyrock
’til the party stops. it´s time to take it up a
notch, and keep it locked, for all the headbangers
in the parking lot. Here we come, if you´re ready
or not. No time to talk. Cause we on the clock
bringin that Uhh, Uhh, to your block. Let me show
ya where we’re comin from, it don´t stop, from
L.A. to New York. Show me what you got now!

Throw up your rawkfist if you´re feelin it when I
drop this. Uhh, Uhh, that´s the sound when the
rock hits. Oh, you never know, I might let go.
Just roll, roll. Get ready, Get set. Throw up your
rawkfist if you´re feelin it when I drop this.
Uhh, Uhh, that´s the sound when the rock hits. Oh,
you never know, I might let go. Just roll, roll.
Get ready, Get set.

20.

Hey DJ won’t ya play that song
And we’ll keep dancing till the break of dawn
Keep it live like the way it should
Ain’t nobody gett’n crazy so you know it’s all good
B-boys, fly-girls one time
Friend of yours is a friend of mine
Don’t bother stopping till this jam is through
If you been here before then you know how we do

We came to rock the party all night long
So party people won’t ya sing that song
We came to rock the party all night long
And keep it live till the break of dawn

We gotz to play what we feel
Then I can say I am real
Don’t wanna be caught mess’n around
Cuz a party ain’t a party when it gets shut down
Off the hook, with the cutz, that’s right
Feel’n loose cuz it sounds so tight
Rock da spot till the very end
Make sure that you’re there when we do it again

We came to rock the party all night long
So party people won’t ya sing that song
We came to rock the party all night long
And keep it live till the break of dawn

21.

hands up
holler back now
we don’t claim any know-how
we givin’ God all that
wherever we go, that’s
where the party’s at

wherever we go, the dumb get wise
and the crime rates drop
and the markets rise
it’s a curious thing
but it’s just our thing

22.

Time and time was spent
finding out the truth.
We believed in our undying youth.
Nothing ever more modeled after you.

Now everybody knows,
And anyone can see,
The way the story goes,
And what you did to me.
Tasted once before.
Unlock sacred doors.
Shut to our requests.
Say you did your best.
You said you were our friend.
The lies were common place.
What happened to forgiveness?
I’ll never see your face again.

Feel the burn.
Watch us burn.

23.

Draw me close to You
Never let me go
I lay it all down again
To hear You say that I’m Your friend

You are my desire
No one else will do
‘Cause nothing else could take Your place
To feel the warmth of Your embrace
Help me find the way
Bring me back to You

You’re all I want
You’re all I’ve ever needed
You’re all I want
Help me know You are near

24.

You told me not to worry About what lies ahead
So I am gonna focus on today instead
Making every moment count and counting
Every single blessing
I’m gonna set my mind on the
Here and now
This is what I want my life to be about

And this is how…

I’m gonna live for today
I’m gonna follow in Your way
I’m gonna let my little light shine
Like there’s no tomorrow
I won’t worry about the past
I know my future is intact
So I’ll choose to live my life one way
I’m gonna live for today

My oh so crazy life
It’s got me spinnin’ round & round
Hanging upside down
Takin’ one step at a time
Holding your hand all the way
And it’ll be okay

25.

I raise my hands, bow my head
I’m finding more and more truth in the words written in red
They tell me that there’s more to life than just what i can see

I can’t quote the book
The chapter or the verse
You can’t tell me it all ends
In a slow ride in a hearse
You know I’m more and more convinced
The longer that I live
Yeah, this can’t be
No, this can’t be
No, this can’t be all there is

Continue reading

Quotes (506)

dl-moody.jpg It was quite refreshing one night to find in the inquiry room a young man who thought he was not worth saving, he was so vile and wicked. There was hope for him because he was so desperately in earnest about his soul. He thought he was worthless. He had a sight of himself in God’s looking glass and had a very poor opinion of himself. One can always tell when a man is a great way from God–for he is always talking about himself, and how good he is. But the moment he sees God by the eye of faith, he is down on his knees, and, like Job, he cries, “Behold, I am vile.” All his goodness flees away.

– D.L. Moody

1837 – 1899

Sam and Esther: The least of these.

Reminiscent of the helplessness I felt watching the video of Africa’s Witch Children, this video broke me. I never wept so much over the suffering of the children in Africa, and at the same time been so angered at my own gluttony, selfishness, and daily ungratefulness. Lord forgive me.

My prayers for God to use me and my family in Africa will now be taking on a whole new fervency.

HT: Musings of a Missionary Girl by way of The Desert Pastor

Qutoes (505)

yahannan.jpg When God changes the heart and spirit, the physical changes also. If you want to meet the needs of the poor in this world, there is no better place to start than by preaching the Gospel. It has done more to lift up the downtrodden, the hungry, and the needy than all the social programs ever imagined by secular humanists.

– K.P. Yohannan

You deserve the best?

I’m not sure which “church” this comes from, but they offer the following necessities (emphasis theirs):

– Text messaging: Interactive communication during the service.

– Youth dramas and kids’ choir presentations.

– Video message enhancements.

– Refreshing atmosphere.

– Get out in plenty of time for lunch.

– Message that brings out the best in you.

– Inspiration and encouragement that will see you throughout your week.

best-1best-2

HT: Fish With Trish

An Atheist admits what we’ve known all along.

evolution-out-of-business Atheist Michael Ruse from Saving Darwinism from the Darwinians from the May 13, 2000 National Post said the following:

Evolution is promoted by its practitioners as more than mere science. Evolution is promulgated as an ideology, a secular religion–a full-fledged alternative to Christianity, with meaning and morality. I am an ardent evolutionist and an ex-Christian, but I must admit that in this one complaint . . .the literalists are absolutely right. Evolution is a religion. This was true of evolution in the beginning, and it is true of evolution still today.

As cited from Acts & Facts November 2008, page 13

Sermon of the week: “Sound Doctrine; Sound Words” by Phil Johnson.

Your sermon of the week is the one you’ve all been waiting for: Sound Doctrine; Sound Words by Phil Johnson of Grace Life Pulpit and Pyromaniacs. Its subtitle should be The Pornification of the Pulpit. This sermon is from this month’s Shepherds’ Conference.

In this controversial sermon, Phil Johnson steps up and takes on the crass, crude, gutter-mouth ways of many in the modern church today, with special attention to Mark “The Cussing Pastor” Driscoll. You don’t want to miss this message. His text for this message is Titus 2:7-8.

It’s about time someone spoke out on the juvenile and profane potty-humor, profanity, and lust-filled stories that have replaced sound, doctrinal, exposition of the Bible in many churches today. I stand up and applaud Phil Johnson for having the courage to speak out and even take on the modern evangelical’s Golden Calf from Mars Hill Church.

This is a great follow-up to last Wednesday’s sermon of the week (also by Phil Johnson) entitled Programs, Get Your Programs: Exposing the Flaws of the Fad-Driven Church.

Doctrine divides!

standing-alone “Doctrine divides!”

Whenever you hear this it’s usually followed up with we all worship the same God” and can’t we all get along?”

Whenever the mantra “doctrine divides” is employed, it’s always with a negative connotation. But have you stopped to ponder why?

Allow me to submit for your consideration, that “doctrine divides” is actually a good thing–a positive thing. It’s true that “doctrine divides,” and here’s what it divides:

The ones just wanting to be fed from the ones willing to take up their cross.

The false conversions from the true conversions.

The ones under law from the ones under grace.

The swine from the pearls.

The profane from the holy.

The tares from the wheat.

The goats from the sheep.

The wolves from the flock.

The hirelings from the shepherds.

The “other gospels” from the one true Gospel.

The false christs from the one true Christ.

The darkness from the Light.

The lies from the Truth.

The myths from the facts.

The wicked from the righteous.

The wide gate from the narrow gate.

The broad road from the narrow road.

and

The many paths from the only Way.

Doctrine divides; doctrine divides; thank God Almighty, doctrine divides!

The Pilgrim

Rudeness, vulgarity, and profanity. The ‘next big thing’ in church.

This announcement video is actually from a church. Thank you Mark “The Cussing Pastor” Driscoll for blazing new trails in the area of crude and carnal speech in church. The trickle-down effect of your example is bearing much fruit.

Don’t worry, Josh (on the right) and the folks at The Journey Church had a vestige of decency to bleep out the cussing.

HT:  Slice of Laodicea & A Little Leaven

Apparently Josh is a motivational youth speaker (imagine that) who literally believes that in our words we hold the power of life and death (see this video). This really makes me wonder what he was thinking when he said the things he said in the above video. Oh, and Josh also has an opinion on homosexuality (see this video). I bet you’ll never guess what a hip, cool, relevant, and culturally vulgar youth speaker thinks about homosexuality.

This guy reminds me of Ignatius the fictional youth pastor.


Letting the right hand know what the left hand is doing.

humility

The following is an excerpt from a thought-provoking article from Daily Discernment entitled Right Hand Publicity Inc.:

Since leaving a “church” where corruption was fully in bloom, I have become fascinated with the anatomy of how a church becomes corrupted. It happens much the way cancer happens.

It is estimated that 90% of the population has “cancer” at any given time. Cancer is merely cells that have divided incorrectly resulting in two dysfunctional cells. In those with healthy immune systems, those errant cells are recognized and destroyed. In those with broken immune systems, the cancer cells go unrecognized and unaddressed are allowed to keep dividing until they eventually form a tumor and metastasize, killing the body.

So by the time someone is diagnosed with cancer, they have actually had it for many months or even years, but the symptoms were not seen on the surface.

So too, when a church is discovered to be corrupt, it can be traced back months and years to a time when the actual break down in the system of accountability. When confronting sin and exercising church discipline stops, the cancer starts to grow, and it is only a matter of time before the body is dead, and just becomes a social club, civic organization or entertainment arena.

So while there are endless examples out there of full blown apostasy, let’s look at a more subtle example of outright sin that gets skipped over. Usually because this kind of thing is now ubiquitous in the “church” as it has become deaf to God’s wisdom and replaced it with the wisdom of the world.

To read the entire article from Ginger Taylor, click here.

Quotes (500)

j-gresham-machenMen tell us that our preaching should be positive and not negative, that we can preach the truth without attacking error. But if we follow that advice we shall have to close our Bible and desert its teachings. The New Testament is a polemic book almost from beginning to end . . . . It is when men have felt compelled to take a stand against error that they have risen to the really great heights in the celebration of the truth.

– J. Gresham Machen

1887 – 1937

Sola Scriptura (64)

bible-page.jpg Beware that you do not forget the LORD your God by not keeping His commandments and His ordinances and His statutes which I am commanding you today; otherwise, when you have eaten and are satisfied, and have built good houses and lived in them, and when your herds and your flocks multiply, and your silver and gold multiply, and all that you have multiplies, then your heart will become proud and you will forget the LORD your God who brought you out from the land of Egypt, out of the house of slavery.

– Deuteronomy 8:11-14