How much does the vine life do towards producing the fruit? Everything. How much does the branch do to help? Nothing. How much must the life of the Holy Spirit do in you? Everything. How much must you do to help? Nothing.Just as Christ in His death and resurrection did everything for your justification, and you did nothing, but simply accepted the benefits of a work finished nineteen centuries before you were born so Christ in you must do everything for your sanctification, and you must do nothing, but simply accept the benefits of a work which He will complete as surely as He has begun it.

"But," you ask," must I not do anything? " No, nothing. " Oh, but now you are going too far. You can't carry things to that length. Of course I must do something. Mustn't I read my Bible and pray; mustn't I witness for Christ; mustn't I surrender everything to Him; mustn't I do good works whenever I get the opportunity?" Do you know what you are like? You are like a branch saying, "It's no good you telling me that I mustn't do anything in order to produce fruit. That's going too far. Of course I must do something. Mustn't I produce fruit?" I should say to that branch, "Yes, of course you must produce fruit, but you'll never produce fruit by trying to. It is not the fruit you need to be concerned about, but the life. If once you have got that, the fruit will come all right." And so I reply to you, Yes, of course you must read your Bible and pray and witness and do good works; of course you must surrender completely to Christ, but don't you see, all these things are part of the fruit. You cannot do them by trying to do them; you can only imitate them; you can only be like a branch tying on artificial fruit, because it does not understand that real fruit must be the result of the vine life within. Leave the fruit for the moment. Apart from Him you can do NOTHING; and prayer and witness and surrender are all included in that "nothing." Every single bit of fruit has to be the result of the life of Christ in you. It is the Life you need to be concerned about; if you have got that, the fruit will surely follow.

-David Tryon

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D. Bryant

"…The cross is not only a past place of objective substitution; it is also a present place of subjective execution---the execution of my self-reliance and my love affair with the praise of man."
- John Piper

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Paul

Let there be in you that lowly mind which was in Christ Jesus and be ye likewise clothed with humility. As one instance of this, be always ready to own any fault you have been in. If you have at any time thought, spoken or acted wrong, be not backward to acknowledge it. Never dream that this will hurt the cause of God; no it will further it. Be therefore open and frank when you are taxed with anything; do not seek either to evade or disguise it; but let it appear just as it is, and you will thereby not hinder but adorn the Gospel." -- John Wesley

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Ed Pugh

Jesus was not killed by atheism and anarchy. He was brought down by law and order allied with religion, which is always a deadly mix. Beware those who claim to know the mind of God and who are prepared to use force, if necessary, to make others conform. Beware those who cannot tell God’s will from their own. Temple police are always a bad sign. When chaplains start wearing guns and hanging out at the sheriff’s office, watch out. Someone is about to have no king but Caesar.

Barbara Brown Taylor, "A Deadly Mix"

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D. Bryant

A man had an illiterate pastor. When someone questioned him about it, the
man said, "Well, I'd rather hear a preacher say, "I seen," who saw
something, than to hear one say "I saw," who ain't saw nothin'."

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Paul

"If we would shut our eyes more often to this world in prayer to gaze upon heaven; then they would not bulge out our sockets with the lust of the eyes as we scan over earth's treasures."

-G.A. Jarquin

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Giancarlo

Sin is not natural for us.

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Jonathan Veldhuis

Probably been posted, but worth reading again.

“Prayer is preoccupation with our needs.

Praise is preoccupation with our blessings

Worship is preoccupation with God himself.”

He quoted a hymn writer that said… “My goal is God Himself, not joy, not peace, not even blessings, but it is Thee my God.”

DS