Quote #10…Richard Baxter 1615-1691 (1)

October 6, 2025

Directions for profitable Reading the Holy Scriptures.

SEEING the diversity of men’s tempers and understandings is so exceedingly great, that it is impossible that any thing should be pleasing and suitable to some, which shall not be disliked and quarrelled with by others; and seeing in the Scriptures there are many things hard to be understood, which the unlearned and unstable wrest to their own destruction (a). And the word is to some the savour of death unto death (b). You have therefore need to be careful in reading it. And as Christ saith, “Take heed how you hear;(c)” so I say, Take heed how you read.
(…to be continued)

(a) Pet. 3:16. (b) Mark 4:24. 2 Cor. 2:16. (c) Luke 8:18.

From A Body of Practical Divinity, or A Christian Directory, Volume 3. 

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Quotes #9…Keith Gordon Green 1977

October 2, 2025

I found it hard to believe, Someone like you cared for me
You put this love in my heart

I tried but could not refuse, You gave me no time to choose
You put this love in my heart

I want to know where the bad feelings go, When I’m depressed and I get down so low
And then I see you coming to me and it’s alright

I want to tell you right now, I’m not afraid to say how
You put this love in my heart

There are sometimes when I doubt, But you always find me out
You put this love in my heart

‘Cause when I see all that you’ve done for me
It’s hard to doubt, I just have to believe
‘Cause you follow up, provin’ all of your love

Well I know The loneliness I had before
Is gone now, I’ll never feel it anymore
‘Cause your love has released me
From all that’s in my past
And I know I can believe you
When you say I’ll never be forsaken
Your love is gonna last

There’s so much more I should say, If I could just find a way
You put this love in my heart

Is all this real or a dream, I feel so good I could scream
You put this love in my heart

I want to know where the bad feelings go
When I’m depressed and I get down so low
And then I see you coming to me and it’s alright
You put this love in my heart
You put this love in my heart
You put this love in my heart

From the Album For him who has ears to hear 1977

You put this love in my heart (from the album)
You put this love in my heart (live in 1977)

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Quotes #8…William Gurnall 1616-1679

September 29, 2025

“I laid me down and slept; I awakened; for the Lord sustained me.” The title of the Psalm tells us when David had this sweet night’s rest; not when he lay on his bed of down in the stately palace at Jerusalem, but when he fled for his life from his unnatural son Absalom, and possibly was forced to lie in the open field under the canopy of heaven. Truly it must be a soft pillow indeed that could make him forget his danger, who then had such a disloyal army at his back hunting of him; yea, so transcendent is the influence of this peace, that it can make the creature lie down as cheerfully to sleep in the grave, as on the softest bed. You will say that child is willing that calls to be put to bed; some of the saints have desired God to lay them at rest in their beds of dust, and that not in a pet and discontent with their present trouble, as Job did, but from a sweet sense of this peace in their bosoms. ‘Now let thy servant depart in peace, for mine eyes have seen thy salvation,” was the swan-like song of old Simeon. He speaks like a merchant that had got all his goods on the ship-board, and now desires the master of the ship to hoist sail, and be gone homewards. Indeed, what should a Christian, this is but a foreigner here, desire to stay any longer for in the world, but to get his full lading in for heaven? And when hath he that, if not when he is assured of his peace with God? This peace of the gospel, and sense of the love of God in the soul, doth so admirably conduce to the enabling of a person in all difficulties, and temptations, and troubles, that ordinarily, before he calls his saints to any hard service, or hot work, he gives them a draught of this cordial wine next their hearts, to cheer them up and embolden them in the conflict.

Quote about Psalm 3:5. Found in C.H.S.’s Treasury of David (Exposition of the Psalms)

A Psalm of David, when he fled from Absalom his son.

3 O Lord, how my adversaries have increased!
Many are rising up against me.
2 Many are saying of my soul,
“There is no deliverance for him in God.” Selah.

3 But You, O Lord, are a shield about me,
My glory, and the One who lifts my head.
4 I was crying to the Lord with my voice,
And He answered me from His holy mountain. Selah.
5 I lay down and slept;
I awoke, for the Lord sustains me.
6 I will not be afraid of ten thousands of people
Who have set themselves against me round about.

7 Arise, O Lord; save me, O my God!
For You have smitten all my enemies on the cheek;
You have shattered the teeth of the wicked.
8 Salvation belongs to the Lord;
Your blessing be upon Your people! Selah.

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Voddie Baucham 1969-September 25, 2025

September 25, 2025

A servant of God is now with the Lord. I appreciate this man and what he did to help my understanding of our great God. Here is just one of his many hopeful sermons:

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Posted by Chris

Quotes #7….John Bunyan 1628-1688

September 25, 2025

“I tell thee, friend, there are some promises that the Lord hath helped me to lay hold of Jesus Christ through and by, that I would not have out of the Bible for as much gold and silver as can lie between York and London piled up to the stars.”

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Quotes #6…Reverand Paul Ford (Karl Malden) Early 1900s’

September 22, 2025

“Death comes unexpectedly.  And the God Jehovah will execute his vengeance on ye who despise his dying love and trample his benefits underfoot.  The unconverted soul, the foolish children of man do miserably delude themselves in the false confidence of their own strength and wisdom.
Now the great King of heaven and earth will abolish and annihilate this pride, will crush the hardened wretch of the polluted infinite abomination and rain on him a deluge of fire and brimstone…”

This is the first half of the second worse sermon ever preached.

Here is the full two minute sixteen second video of the second worse sermon ever preached.

This is the sermon that Reverand Paul Ford (Played by Karl Malden) “preached” in the fictional town of Beldingsville, Vermont where the movie Pollyanna (1960) was set. When I first saw it, I called it “the second worst sermon ever preached.” What is the law without the gospel after all?

Preacher Ford is a legalist who thinks that he can bully his congregation into good behavior (and maybe salvation) by preaching sermons that are all law and no gospel. Any sermon like this one, devoid of the greatest message given to the world through Jesus Christ our Lord, is an abomination to the purposes of God. There, I have given the legalist his own medicine.

One of the central themes of the movie, Pollyanna, is the power of optimism. Would I rather Preacher Ford give a sermon containing only optimism, completely ignoring the law? Absolutely not! I would consider a sermon like that possibly “The third worse sermon of all time.” A sermon like that would sound like something done by Joel Osteen, Robert Schuller, or Norman Vincent Peale. Most of those sermons weaken the gospel message by understating the seriousness of the law. This creates a misunderstanding of the power of the gospel. If a person doesn’t understand the importance of the law, a person doesn’t understand why we need the gospel. Sermons that don’t attempt to balance the truths of the law and gospel distort the truth found in the Bible.

CR

Note: I have highlighted the movie Pollyanna on this blog before. I enjoy the movie because the acting is great and it captures some truths found in a small town, both good and bad. They have done a good job of capturing the time period as well. It is a secular movie because it does not include the gospel message even though there are Christian themes within.

Here is my previous post about this movie from 12 years ago.

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Posted by Chris

If you like debates…

September 18, 2025

If you like debates, you have probably found places where you can occasional watch one. One of the places I keep an eye on is the You Tube channel called “Standing for Truth.” I do not like debates that are not civil or where name calling is allowed. Usually, in a debate, when name calling starts the debate is over and it becomes hard to hear any constructive debate on real differences.

Although the normal moderator is a young man, Donny Budinsky, he has moderated many debates and he does a good job keeping discussions civil. Debate formats are discussed before each debate so that there are no questions about how the debate will take place. Nearly 100% of the debates on on themes that deal with faith or personal beliefs. I started watching Donny’s channel for some of the debates he had on the subject of Creation/Evolution. Since then, I have watched multiple debates on many different subjects.

If you are interested in seeing some of the subjects of the debates on the channel, you can click on “Standing for Truth.” The channel has almost 150 playlists, most of them with multiple videos. Of course, most debates take a good deal of time to digest so they aren’t for everyone. The last one I watched dealt with the different views of two believers on the subject “Is Compatibilism Biblical?” It is an interesting discussion on Calvinism that lasts almost three hours:

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Quotes #5…William S. Plumer 1867

September 15, 2025

“It is easy for God to destroy his foes…..Behold Pharaoh, his wise men, his hosts, and his horses plouting and plunging, and sinking like lead in the Red Sea. Here is the end of one of the greatest plots ever formed against God’s chosen. Of thirty Roman emperors, governors of provinces, and others high in office, who distinguished themselves by their zeal and bitterness in persecuting the early Christians, one became speedily deranged after some atrocious cruelty, one was slain by his own son, one became blind, the eyes of one started out of his head, one was drowned, one was strangled, one died in miserable captivity, one fell dead in a manner that will not bear recital, one died of so loathsome a disease that several of his physicians were put to death because they could not abide the stench that filled his room, two committed suicide, a third attempted it, but had to call for help to finish the work, five were assassinated by their own people or servants, five others died the most miserable and excruciating deaths, several of them having an untold complication of diseases, and eight of them were killed in battle, or having after been taken prisoners. Among those was Julian the apostate (Flavius Claudius Julianus) . In the days of his prosperity he is said to have pointed a dagger to heaven defying the Son of God, whom he commonly called the Galilean. But when he was wounded in battle he saw that all was over with him, and he gathered in his clotted blood, and threw it into the air, exclaiming, ‘Thou has conquered, O Thou Galilean.*’ Voltaire has told us the agonies of Charles IX of France, which drove the blood through the pores of the skin of that miserable monarch, after his cruelties and treachery to the Huguenots.”

Quote on Psalm 2:5,9 in C.H.S.’s Treasury of David (Exposition of the Psalms)

*Battle of Samarra in 363 AD

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Quotes…#4 Adam Clarke 1762–1832

September 10, 2025

“‘That walketh not in the counsel of the ungodly.’ Mark certain circumstances of their differing characters and conduct. The ungodly man is unconcerned about religion; he is neither zealous for his own salvation nor for that of others; and he counsels and advises those with whom he converses to adopt his plan, and not trouble themselves about praying, reading, repentance, etc., etc.; ‘there is no need for such things; live an honest life, make no fuss about religion, and you will fare well enough at last.’ Now, ‘blessed is the man who walks not in this man’s counsel,’ who does not come into his measures nor act according to his plan…”

Quoted about Psalm 1:1 in C.H.S.’s Treasury of David (Expositions of the Psalms)

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Quotes…#3 Anne Herring 1978

September 7, 2025

“So why should I worry? Why should I fret?

‘Cause I’ve got a Mansion Builder

Who ain’t through with me yet.”

—————————————

Refrain from the song “Mansion Builder”

THE SONG

This part of the song is based on John 14:2:

2 In my Father’s house are many mansions: if it were not so, I would have told you. I go to prepare a place for you. (King James Version)

2 In My Father’s house are many dwelling places; if it were not so, I would have told you; for I go to prepare a place for you.  (New American Standard Version)

Many translators feel that, In light of the ancient Greek, mansions is better translated “dwelling places.” The noun mone (connected to the verb meno, “stay” or “remain”) means “a place to stay.” 

Some feel that “In light of God’s nature, it is better to translate it mansions. Whatever dwelling place God has for us in heaven, it will be as glorious as a mansion.” (1)

(1) Enduring Word Commentary on John 14:2

Note: I’ll be happy for any space I’m given in heaven. My plan is to spend a good amount of time at the place mentioned in Revelation: 22:

1 “Then he showed me a river of the water of life, clear as crystal, coming from the throne of God and of the Lamb, 2 in the middle of its street. On either side of the river was the tree of life, bearing twelve kinds of fruit, yielding its fruit every month; and the leaves of the tree were for the healing of the nations.”

cr

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