Thursday, December 20, 2018

Now is the Time of Salvation

Whatever a person sows—that they shall also reap! Whatever we love in time—we shall love in eternity! Whatever we think wearisome now—we shall think wearisome then. You must be born again—or heaven itself would be a miserable abode! There is no place in heaven for the worldly-minded and profane.

Friday, August 31, 2018

Oh Death, Where is Your Sting?

The person who has Christ, has life. They can look around them on the temporary things and see change and decay on every side without dismay. They have got treasure in heaven, which neither rust nor moth can corrupt, nor thieves break through and steal.

Monday, August 13, 2018

Concentrating on the Cross of Christ

Let us see now one more proof of the unspeakable importance of the death of Christ. Let us treasure up His gracious sayings. Let us strive to walk in the steps of His holy life. Let us prize His intercession. Let us long for His second coming.

Friday, July 13, 2018

Take Heed of Your Little Sins and Repent!

Keep a jealous watch over your repentance. Keep it up, and let not the fire burn low. Whenever you find a slackness coming over your soul—whenever you feel slow, dull, heavy, cold, and careless about little sins—look to your own heart then, and take heed lest you fall. Say to your soul, “Oh, my soul, what are you doing?

Monday, July 2, 2018

Pondering the Cross of Christ Often

Let us remember what we are, corrupt, evil, and miserable sinners. Let us remember who the Lord Jesus is, the eternal Son of God, the maker of all things. And then let us remember that for our sakes Jesus voluntarily endured the most painful, horrible, and disgraceful death.

Tuesday, June 19, 2018

The Necessity of Difficulties

“It is a melancholy fact, that constant temporal prosperity, as a general rule, is injurious to a believer’s soul. We cannot stand it. Sickness, and losses, and crosses, and anxieties, and disappointments seem absolutely needful to keep us humble, watchful, and spiritual-minded.”
~ J.C. Ryle
Faithfulness and Holiness: The Witness of J.C. Ryle, “Growth”, [Wheaton: Crossway, 2002], 201.

Monday, June 11, 2018

The Central Truth of Christianity

The truth is, that our Lord would have us regard the crucifixion as the central truth of Christianity. Right views of His vicarious death, and the benefits resulting from it, lie at the very foundation of Bible-religion. Never let us forget this. On matters of church government, and the form of worship, men may differ from us, and yet reach heaven in safety. On the matter of Christ’s atoning death, as the way of peace, truth is only one. If we are wrong here, we are ruined forever.
~ J.C. Ryle

Friday, May 25, 2018

The Danger of an Unconverted Minister

Let it be a part of our daily prayers, that our churches may have no ministers excepting those who are really called of God. An unconverted minister is an injury and burden to a church. How can a man speak of truths which he has never tasted? How can he testify of a Savior whom he has never seen by faith, and never laid hold on for his own soul? The pastor after God’s own heart, is a man to whom the Word of God has come. He runs confidently and speaks boldly, because he has been sent.
~ J.C. Ryle
Expository Thoughts on the Gospels: Luke volume 1, [Carlisle, PA: Banner of Truth, 1986], 86. {Luke 3:1-6}

Tuesday, May 22, 2018

The Power of the Resurrection

The resurrection of Christ is one of the foundation-stones of Christianity. It was the seal of the great work that He came on earth to do. It was the crowning proof that the ransom He paid for sinners was accepted, the atonement for sin accomplished, the head of him who had the power of death bruised, and the victory won.
~ J.C. Ryle

Friday, May 18, 2018

Preaching is Essential to Church Health

A preaching ministry is absolutely essential to the health and prosperity of a visible church. The pulpit is the place where the chief victories of the Gospel have always been won, and no Church has ever done much for the advancement of true religion in which the pulpit has been neglected. Would we know whether a minister is a truly apostolical man?s

Tuesday, May 15, 2018

The Best Safeguard Against False Teaching

What is the best safe-guard against false teaching? Beyond all doubt the regular study of the word of God, with prayer for the teaching of the Holy Spirit. The Bible was given to be a lamp to our feet and a light to our path. (Psalm. 119:105.) The man who reads it aright will never be allowed greatly to err. It is neglect of the Bible which makes so many a prey to the first false teacher whom they hear.

Thursday, May 10, 2018

Healthy Examination of the Soul

Occasional retirement, self-inquiry, meditation, and secret communion with God, are absolutely essential to spiritual health. The man who neglects them is in great danger of a fall. To be always preaching, teaching, speaking, writing, and working public works, is, unquestionably, a sign of zeal. But it is not always a sign of zeal according to knowledge.

Wednesday, May 2, 2018

True Repentance Produces Sorrow for Sin

True repentance goes on to work sorrow for sin. The heart of a repentant person is touched with deep remorse because of their past transgressions. They are cut to the heart to think that they have lived so madly and so wickedly. They mourn over time wasted, over talents misspent, over God dishonored, over their own soul being injured.

Saturday, April 28, 2018

Do Not Neglect the Means of Grace

Would you like to possess more faith? Do you find believing so pleasant, that you would like to believe more? Then take heed that you are diligent in the use of every means of grace—diligent in your private communion with God—diligent in your daily watchfulness over time, temper, and tongue—diligent in your private Bible reading—diligent in your own private prayers.

Friday, April 27, 2018

The Very Moment of Saving Faith

True belief in Christ is the unreserved trust of a heart convinced of sin, in Christ, as an all-sufficient Savior. It is the combined act of the whole person’s head, conscience, heart and will. It is often so weak and feeble at first, that they who have it cannot be persuaded that they have it.

Thursday, April 26, 2018

Diligently Lead Your Children to God

We must labor to do good to our children even from their earliest years. If Satan begins so early to do them harm, we must not be behind him in diligence to lead them to God. How soon in life a child becomes responsible and accountable, is a difficult question to solve.

Tuesday, April 24, 2018

The True Character of a Christian

The man who hears the word of God, and does it, is the true Christian. He hears the call of God to repent and be converted, and he obeys it. He ceases to do evil, and learns to do well. He puts off the old man, and puts on the new. He hears the call of God to believe on Jesus Christ for justification, and he obeys it.

Thursday, April 19, 2018

Examining Our Salvation

Let us search and try our hearts with honest self-examination, and seek to find out whether there is any real work of the Holy Spirit in our inward man. Far be it from me to encourage the slightest approach to hypocrisy, self-conceit, and fanaticism.

Monday, April 16, 2018

Oh To Glory in the Cross of Christ!

What you think now about the cross of Christ, I cannot tell; but I can wish you nothing better than this,—that you may be able to say with the apostle Paul, before you die or meet the Lord, “God forbid that I should glory, save in the cross of our Lord Jesus Christ.”(Gal. 6:14)
~ J.C. Ryle
Old Paths, “The Cross of Christ”, [Carlisle, PA:  Banner of Truth, 1999], 262.

Preachers: Don’t Flatter, Speak Truth

Well would it be for the Church of Christ, if it possessed more plain-speaking ministers, like John the Baptist, in these latter days. A morbid dislike to strong language  an excessive fear of giving offence, a constant flinching from directness and plain speaking are, unhappily, too much the characteristics of the modern Christian pulpit.

Friday, April 13, 2018

Just As I Am, Without One Plea

“When a professing Christian coolly tells me that he has got beyond such hymns as Just As I Am, and that they are ‘below his present experience’, though they suited him when he first took up Christianity, I must think his soul is in a very unhealthy state!”
~ J.C. Ryle

Thursday, April 12, 2018

Pursue Holiness By Starting with Christ

I pity those who try to be holy without Christ! Your labor is all in vain. You are putting money in a bag with holes. You are pouring water into a sieve. You are rolling a huge round stone uphill. You are building up a wall with untempered mortar. Believe me, you are beginning at the wrong end. You must come to Christ first, and He shall give you His sanctifying Spirit. You must learn to say with Paul, “I can do all things through Christ which strengthens me.” (Phil. 4:13)
~ J.C. Ryle
Tract: Christ is All

Tuesday, April 10, 2018

Do You Have an Appetite for the Things of God?

Would you know the reason why such multitudes around you take no interest in religion? Many have no real concern about God, or Christ, or the Bible, or heaven, or hell, or judgment, or eternity.

Monday, April 9, 2018

The Mighty Privileges of Faith in Christ

It is by faith, simple faith in Christ as our Savior and Redeemer, that people’s souls are made free. It is by receiving Christ, trusting Christ, committing ourselves to Christ, placing our whole weight on Christ–it is by this, and by no other plan, that spiritual liberty is made our own.

Sunday, April 8, 2018

The Chain of Repentance

The nature of true repentance is clearly and unmistakably laid down in holy Scripture. It begins with knowledge of sin. It goes on to work sorrow for sin. It leads to confession of sin before God.

Wednesday, April 4, 2018

Applying Doctrine To Head and Heart

Let us beware of resting our hopes of salvation on mere intellectual knowledge. We live in days when there is great danger of doing so. Education makes children acquainted with many things in religion, of which their parents were once utterly ignorant.

Tuesday, April 3, 2018

We Can’t Have Enough of Christ!

“The New Testament begins with the life, death, and resurrection of our Lord Jesus Christ. No part of the Bible is so important as this, and no part is so full and complete. Four distinct Gospels tell us the story of Christ’s doing and dying.

Monday, April 2, 2018

Practicing What You Hear

The person who hears Christian teaching, and practices what they hear, is like “a wise man who built his house on a rock.” They do not content themselves with listening to exhortations to repent, believe in Christ, and live a holy life. They actually repent. They actually believe. They actually cease to do evil, learn to do well, abhor that which is sinful, and cleave to that which is good. They are a doer as well as a hearer. (James 1:22)
~ J.C. Ryle
Expository Thoughts on the Gospels: Matthew, [Carlisle, PA: Banner of Truth, 1986], 71. {Matthew 7:21-29}

Thursday, March 29, 2018

The Dissatisfaction of Money

“Money, in truth, is one of the most unsatisfying of possessions. It takes away some cares, no doubt; but it brings with it quite as many cares as it takes away. There is trouble in the getting of it.

Wednesday, March 28, 2018

The Tragedy of a Useless Religion

There are multitudes of people, I believe, who go to church or chapel every Sunday merely as a form. Their fathers or mothers went, and so they go; it is the fashion of the country to go, and so they go; it is the custom to attend a religious service and hear a sermon, and so they go. But as to real, vital, saving religion–they neither know nor care anything about it.

Tuesday, March 27, 2018

Ascertaining Your Own Spiritual State

Leave no stone unturned in order to ascertain your own spiritual state. Be not content with vague hopes and trusts. Rest not on warm feelings and temporary desires after God. Give diligence to make your calling and election sure.

Monday, March 26, 2018

Protect Your Assurance in Christ

Do not forget that assurance is a thing that may be lost. Oh! it is a most delicate plant. It needs daily, hourly watching, watering, tending, cherishing. So take care. David lost it.

Saturday, March 24, 2018

Is Your Heart Right in the Sight of God?

The heart is the main thing in true religion. I make no excuse for asking the special attention of my readers, while I try to say a few things about the heart. The head is not the principal thing. You may know the whole truth as it is in Jesus, and consent that it is good.

Thursday, March 22, 2018

Are You A Christian in Name Only?

“When a man is a Christian in name only, and not in reality – in outward things only, and not in his inward feelings – in profession only, and not in practice – when his Christianity in short is a mere matter of form, or fashion, or custom, without any influence on his heart or life – in such a case as this the man has what I call a ‘formal religion.’ He possesses indeed the form, or shell, or surface of religion, but he does not possess its substance or its power.”
~ J.C. Ryle
Practical Religion, “Formality”, 262, 263.

Wednesday, March 21, 2018

Discerning the False Teacher

“What more common than to hear it said of some false teacher in this day:
‘He is so good, so devoted, so kind, so zealous, so laborious, so humble, so self-denying, so charitable, so earnest, so fervent, so clever, so evidently sincere, there can be no danger and no harm in hearing him. Besides he preaches so much real Gospel: no one can preach a better sermon than he does sometimes! I never can and never will believe he is unsound.’

Monday, March 19, 2018

The First Mark of Conversion

“A habit of prayer is one of the surest marks of a true Christian. All the children of God on earth are alike in this respect. From the moment there is any life and reality about their religion, they pray. Just as the first sign of the life of an infant when born into the world is the act of breathing, so the first act of men and women when they are born again is praying.”
~ J.C. Ryle
A Call to Prayer, [Carlisle, PA: Banner of Truth, 2002], 5.

Monday, March 12, 2018

Test All Ministers By the Word of God

Let us beware of attaching an excessive importance to ministers of religion because of their office. Ordination and office confer no exemption from error. The greatest heresies have been sown, and the greatest practical abuses introduced into the church by ordained men.

Sunday, March 11, 2018

Pray For the Success of the Gospel

Prayer is one of the best and most powerful means of helping forward the cause of Christ in the world. It is a means within the reach of all who have the Spirit of adoption. Not all believers have money to give to missions.

Saturday, March 10, 2018

There Is Not Enough Private Prayer!

There are few professing Christians, it may be feared, who strive to imitate Christ in the matter of private devotion. There is abundance of hearing, reading, talking, professing, visiting, contributing to the poor, subscribing to societies and teaching at schools.

Friday, March 9, 2018

Evidences of A Converted Heart

“Sense of sin and deep hatred of it, faith in Christ and love to Him, delight in holiness and longing after more of it, love for God’s people and distaste for the things of the world, – these are the signs and evidences which always accompany conversion.”
~ J.C. Ryle
Practical Religion, “Self-Inquiry”, 11.

Thursday, March 8, 2018

The Christian Duty of Forgiving

There are few Christian duties which are so frequently and strongly dwelt upon in the New Testament as this of forgiveness. It fills a prominent place in the Lord’s prayer. The only profession we make in all that prayer, is that of forgiving “those who trespass against us.”It is a test of being forgiven ourselves.

Wednesday, March 7, 2018

Are You Converted?

Are we converted ourselves? This is the one point to which our attention ought to be directed. Our experience may not tally with that of other believers. But that is not the question. Do we feel sin, hate it, and flee from it?

Tuesday, March 6, 2018

Training Your Child Means Watching Over Their Soul

“Precious, no doubt, are these little ones in your eyes; but if you truly love them, then often think about their souls. Nothing should concern you as greatly as their eternal destiny. No part of them should be so dear to you as that part which will never die.

Monday, March 5, 2018

The Key to Your Salvation

“You may be saved, and reach heaven without many things which men reckon of great importance — without riches, without learning, without books, without worldly comforts, without health, without house, without land, without friends — but without Regeneration you will never be saved at all.”
~ J.C. Ryle

Friday, March 2, 2018

Christ Builds the Church, not man

“Great is the wisdom wherewith the Lord Jesus Christ builds His Church! All is done at the right time, and in the right way. Each stone in its turn is put in its right place.

Thursday, March 1, 2018

No Salvation Without Faith

Faith in the Lord Jesus is the very key of salvation. He that has it has life, and he that has it not has not life. Nothing whatever beside this faith is necessary to our complete justification; but nothing whatever, except this faith, will give us an interest in Christ.

Wednesday, February 28, 2018

Training Your Child To Know The Bible

“You cannot make your children love the Bible, I admit. No one but the Holy Spirit can give us a heart to delight in the Word. But you can make sure that your children are acquainted with the Bible; and remember that they can never become acquainted with that blessed book too soon, or too well.

Tuesday, February 27, 2018

Admitting Your Belief in God’s Election

Once admit that we are all naturally dead in trespasses and sins, and have no power to turn to God—once admit that all spiritual life in the heart of man must begin with God—once admit that He who created the world by saying,

Monday, February 26, 2018

The Two Essentials at Conversion

“It ought always to be remembered that there are two distinct things which the Lord Jesus Christ does for every sinner whom He undertakes to save.

Sunday, February 25, 2018

Humbling Approaching the Lord’s Supper

“Right reception of the Lord’s Supper has a ‘humbling’ effect on the soul. The sight of the bread and wine as emblems of Christ’s body and blood, reminds us how sinful sin must be, if nothing less than the death of God’s own Son could make satisfaction for it, or redeem us from its guilt. Never should we be so ‘clothed with humility,’ as when we receive the Lord’s Supper.”
~ J.C. Ryle
Practical Religion, “Going to the Table”, [Carlisle, PA: Banner of Truth, 1998], 152.

Saturday, February 24, 2018

Four Marks of Fruit-Bearing Christianity

The Christianity which I call fruit-bearing, that which shows its Divine origin by its blessed effects on mankind – the Christianity which you may safely defy unbelievers to explain away – that Christianity is a very different thing. Let me show you some of its leading marks and features.

Wednesday, February 21, 2018

This Present Danger: Worldliness

The three great spiritual enemies of man are the world, the flesh, and the devil. It is hard to say which does most harm to the soul. The last day alone will settle that point. But I venture boldly to say, that at no former period has “the world” been so dangerous, and so successful in injuring Christ’s Church, as it is just now.

Tuesday, February 20, 2018

Becoming Familiar With Repentance

“He that desires to be a true Christian must be experimentally acquainted with repentance and remission of sins. These are the principle things in saving religion. To belong to a pure church, and to hear the gospel, and receive the sacraments are the great privileges: but are we converted? Are we justified? If not, we are dead before God.

Monday, February 19, 2018

Practice Your Bible Reading

“It is poor work to read the Bible from mere curiosity, and for speculative purposes, in order to fill your head and store your mind with opinions, while you do not allow the book to influence your heart and life. That Bible is read best which is practiced most.”
~ J.C. Ryle
Practical Religion, “Bible Reading”, [Carlisle, PA: Banner of Truth, 1998], 132.

Saturday, February 17, 2018

One Option: Overcome!

To be at peace with the world, the flesh, and the devil, is to be at enmity with God, and in the broad way that leads to destruction. We have no choice or option. The promises to the Seven Churches in Revelation are only “to him that overcomes.” We must fight or be lost. We must conquer or die eternally. We must put on the whole armor of God. “He who has no sword, let him sell his garment and buy one” (Eph. 6:11Luke 22:36).
~ J.C. Ryle
The Upper Room, “Victory”, [Carlisle, PA: Banner of Truth, 1970], 144, 145.

Thursday, February 15, 2018

Zealous Man Burns for One Thing

“Zeal in religion is a burning desire to please God, to do His will, and to advance His glory in the world in every possible way. It is a desire which no man feels by nature,—which the Spirit puts in the heart of every believer when he is converted,—but which some believers feel so much more strongly than others that they alone deserve to be called ‘zealous’ men.

Tuesday, February 13, 2018

The Personal Bible Reading of J.C. Ryle

“Before his conversion Ryle hardly ever opened his Bible, but after he became a Christian he formed the habit of daily Bible study, which continued without a break for more than a half a century. He rose early each morning so that he could study the Word without interruption. Words and verses of special significance to him were carefully underlined in his large black-bound Bible.

Monday, February 12, 2018

Grace is the Main Thing

“Let the religion which we aim to possess be a religion in which grace is the main thing. Let it not content us to be able to speak eloquently, or preach powerfully, or reason ably, or argue cleverly, or profess loudly, or talk fluently.

Sunday, February 11, 2018

Head Knowledge Christianity

“Let us beware of an unsanctified knowledge of Christianity. It is a dangerous possession, but a fearfully common one in these latter days. We may know the Bible intellectually, and have no doubt about the truth of its contents.

Saturday, February 10, 2018

The Great Shepherd Will Guide You

Let us remember this as we look forward to the days yet to come: We know not what our days may be – bright or dark, many or few – but we know that we are in the hands of Him who does all things well.

Thursday, February 8, 2018

Calculate Your Profession of Christ

“Profession [in the early church] was a very serious matter, and entailed very serious consequences. It often brought on a man persecution, loss of property, imprisonment, and even death. The consequence was that few persons ever made a Christian profession in the early Church unless they were thoroughly in earnest, truly converted, and really believers.

Wednesday, February 7, 2018

The Converting Power of the Holy Spirit

I have learned by mournful experience that the last thing a man finds out and understands, is his own state in the sight of God. Well says the Holy Spirit, that we are all by nature “blind,” and “deaf,” and “dumb,” and “asleep,” and “beside ourselves,” and “dead!”

Tuesday, February 6, 2018

Book Review: The Lost Sermons of C.H. Spurgeon His Earliest Outlines and Sermons Between 1851 and 1854 Volume 2

J.C. Ryle on Charles Spurgeon

"I am not a bit ashamed to say that I often read the sermons of Mr. Spurgeon. Now when you read Mr. Spurgeon's sermons, note how clearly and perspicuously he divides a sermon, and fills each division with beautiful and simple ideas. How easily you grasp his meaning! How thoroughly he brings before you certain great truths, that hang to you like hooks of steel, and which, once planted in your memory, you never forget!" -J.C. Ryle, 
Simplicity in Preaching

Persecutors: Ready to Reckon with Christ?

Let those who persecute God’s people in the present day take heed what they are doing. Let them know that all who injure, or ridicule, or mock, or slander others on account of their religion, commit a great sin.

Sunday, February 4, 2018

Be Thoroughly Aquainted With Your Bible

Let us learn the high authority of the Bible, and the immense value of a knowledge of its contents. Let us read it, search into it, pray over it, diligently, perseveringly, unweariedly. Let us strive to be so thoroughly acquainted with its pages, that its text may abide in our memories, and stand ready at our right hand in the day of need.

Saturday, February 3, 2018

Keeping Ministers In Their Place

No higher honor can be imagined than that of being Christ’s ambassadors, and proclaiming in Christ’s name the forgiveness of sins to a lost world. But let us ever beware of investing the ministerial office with one jot more of power and authority than Christ conferred upon it.

Tuesday, January 30, 2018

The Act of Coming to Christ

“Coming to Christ is coming to Him with the heart by simple faith. Believing on Christ is coming to Him, and coming to Christ is believing on Him. It is the act of the soul which takes place when a man, feeling his own sins, and despairing of all other hope, commits himself to Christ for salvation, ventures on Him, trust Him, and casts himself wholly on Him.”
~ J.C. Ryle
Old Paths, “Christ’s Invitation”, [Carlisle, PA: Banner of Truth, 1999], 365.

Monday, January 29, 2018

Know Your Doctrine

“Learn to know what you mean when you talk of believing the doctrines of Christianity. Be able to give a reason of your hope. Be able to say what you think true, and what you think false in religion. And never, never forget that the only foundation of soundness of faith, is a thorough textual knowledge of the Bible.”
~ J.C. Ryle
Tract: Never Perish

Thursday, January 25, 2018

You Can Deceive Others, But Not Christ

Let us be real, true, and sincere in our religion, whatever else we are. The sinfulness of hypocrisy is very great, but its folly is greater still. It is not hard to deceive ministers, relatives, and friends.

Tuesday, January 23, 2018

God’s Glorious Plan of Salvation

How glorious and soul-satisfying is the description the Bible gives us of God’s plan of salvation, and the way by which our sins can be forgiven!

Saturday, January 20, 2018

Beware of the Beginnings of Backsliding

If we know any thing of true saving religion, let us ever beware of the beginnings of backsliding. It is like the letting out of water, first a drop and then a torrent. Once out of the way of holiness, there is no saying to what we may come.

Friday, January 19, 2018

Diligently Growing in Grace

All that believers have is undoubtedly of grace. Their repentance, faith, and holiness, are all the gift of God. But the degree to which a believer attains in grace, is ever set before us as closely connected with his own diligence in the use of means, and his own faithfulness in living fully up to the light and knowledge which he possesses.

Thursday, January 18, 2018

Cast Your Anchor on the Bible

Let the Bible, the whole Bible, and nothing but the Bible, be the rule of our faith and practice. Holding this principle we travel upon the king’s highway. The road may sometimes seem narrow, and our faith may be severely tried, but we shall not be allowed greatly to err.

Wednesday, January 17, 2018

You Are Never a Loser With Christ

We may rest assured that no person shall ever be a real loser by following Christ. The believer may seem to suffer loss for a time, when they first begin the life of a decided Christian. They may be cast down by the afflictions that are brought upon them on account of their religion.

Tuesday, January 16, 2018

Watch Out! It May Be Too Late

We may settle it in our minds, that there will be an entire change of opinion one day as to the necessity of decided Christianity. At present, we must all be aware, the vast majority of professing Christians care nothing at all about it. They have no sense of sin.

Monday, January 15, 2018

The Ultimate Question Regarding Christ

Everyone who believes on the Son of God, and trusts their soul to Him, is at once pardoned, forgiven, justified, counted righteous, reckoned innocent, and freed from all liability to condemnation. Their sins, however many, are at once cleansed away by Christ’s precious blood.

Saturday, January 13, 2018

Christian Songs of Praise

“The best public worship is that which produces the best private Christianity. The best Church Services for the congregation are those which make its individual members most holy at home and alone.

The State of the Heart Via the Tongue

Let it be a settled principle again in our religion, that when a person’s general conversation is ungodly, their heart is graceless and unconverted. Let us not give way to the vulgar notion, that no one can know anything of the state of another’s heart, and that although people are living wickedly, they have got good hearts at the bottom.

Friday, January 12, 2018

The Best of Men Are Men at Best

“The best of men are only men at their very best. Patriarchs, prophets, and apostles, – martyrs, fathers, reformers, puritans, – all are sinners, who need a Savior: holy, useful, honorable in their place – but sinners after all.”
~ J.C. Ryle

Tuesday, January 9, 2018

The State of the ‘Almost Christian’

There are many whom I must call “almost Christians,” for I know no other expression in the Bible, which so exactly describes their state. They have many things about them which are right, good and praiseworthy in the sight of God. They are regular and moral in their lives.

No Repentance in the Grave

“The Bible teaches plainly that what we are when we die, whether converted or unconverted, whether believers or unbelievers, whether godly or ungodly, so shall we rise again when the last trumpet sounds.

Monday, January 8, 2018

Sunday, January 7, 2018

The Key to Understanding the Bible

Christ’s sacrifice and death for sinners, and Christ’s kingdom and future glory, are the light we must bring to bear on any book of Scripture we read. Christ’s cross and Christ’s crown are the clue we must hold fast, if we would find our way through Scripture difficulties.

Saturday, January 6, 2018

Jesus Stands Ready to Save You

If you are determined to have the world and the things of the world, its pleasures and its rewards, its follies and its sins; if you must have your own way, and cannot give up anything for Christ and your soul; if this be your case, there is but one end before you.

Friday, January 5, 2018

Christ’s Shadow in the Old Testament

Let it be a rule with us, in the reading of our Bibles, to study the types and ordinances of the Mosaic law with prayerful attention. They are all full of Christ. The altar–the scape-goat–the daily burnt-offering–the day of atonement, are all so many sign-posts pointing to the great sacrifice offered by our Lord on Calvary.

Thursday, January 4, 2018

Useless Doctrine

“Doctrine is useless if it is not accompanied by a holy life. It is worse than useless; it does positive harm. Something of ‘the image of Christ’ must be seen and observed by others in our private life, and habits, and character, and doings.”
~ J.C. Ryle
“Introduction”, 93, 96.

Wednesday, January 3, 2018

Declaring War On Your Besetting Sins

There are particular besetting sins, of which each separate Christian can alone furnish an account; every single person has some weak point, each person has a thin, weak spot in their wall of defense against the devil, each person has a traitor in their camp ready to open the gates to Satan, and they who are wise will never rest until they have discovered where this weak point is.

Tuesday, January 2, 2018

Let Nothing Get Between You and Christ

A true Christian will strive to do his duty in whatever station or position he finds himself, and to do it well. Whether statesman, or merchant, or banker, or lawyer, or doctor, or tradesman, or farmer, he will try to do his work so that no one can find occasion for fault in him. But he will not allow it to get between him and Christ. If he finds his business beginning to eat up his Sundays, his Bible-reading, his private prayer time, and to bring clouds between him and heaven, he will say, “Stand back! There is a limit. This is as far as you can go, and no further. I cannot sell my soul for position, fame, or gold.”

Monday, January 1, 2018

Are You Ready For The New Year?

I ASK you a plain question at the beginning of a new year: Are you ready?

It is a solemn thing to part company with the old year. It is a still more solemn thing to begin a new one. It is like entering a dark passage: we know not what we may meet before the end. All before us is uncertain: we know not what a day may bring forth, much less what may happen in a year. Reader, are you ready?

Ref Tagger