Connie Giordano's Blog – October 2009 Archive (16)

"Faithful ministers of the word are laborious ones..." - John Gill's Exposition of the Entire Bible

"I laboured more abundantly than they all...This is a sober fact as shown by the Acts and Paul's Epistles. He had tremendous energy and used it. Genius is work, Carlyle said. Take Paul as a specimen." - Robertson's Word Pictures

"We must give account how we have spent our time, how we have improved our opportunities, what we have done and how we have done it." - Matthew… Continue

The consideration of God's universal dominion, and the universal acknowledgment of it, should restrain us from all irreverence in His service.



It is a righteous thing with God to withhold the blessings of grace from those that do not attend the means of grace, to deny the green pastures to those that attend not the shepherd's tents.



Many are crossed, and go backward, in their affairs, and this is at the bottom of it - they do not keep close to the worship of God as they… Continue

"Sing lustily and with a good courage. Beware of singing as if you were half dead or half asleep; but lift up your voice with strength. Be no more afraid of your voice now, nor more ashamed of its being heard, than when you sung the songs of Satan." - John Wesley



"Holy joy is that devout affection which should animate all our praises..."

"Spiritual joy is the heart and soul of thankful praise."

- both quotes are from Matthew Henry



What is this half-dead or… Continue

1 Corinthians 3:9 specifically says - "...Ye are God's husbandry." In other words, you are His garden, field, or vineyard. You are His cultivated land, fertile tillage, sown field, or farm.



In the days of the Prophets - Jeremiah and Hosea - the word of the Lord came to the prophets respectively calling the people of Israel and Judah to cultivate the land of their hearts - which for so long had lain untilled due to idolatry and sin.



What type of word do you suppose the Lord… Continue

"A present God is a present blessing." - Adam Clarke

"A lively sense of the divine presence is a mighty stay to the heart in times of distress." - Charles Spurgeon



"We always need the Divine help, but more especially when troubles and trials are at hand." - Adam Clarke

"The nearness of trouble is a weighty motive for divine help; this moves our heavenly Father's heart, and brings down His helping hand." - Charles Spurgeon



"It is God's honour to help when all… Continue

"I am wholly the Lord's; and wholly devoted in the spirit of sacrificial obedience, to the constant, complete, and energetic performance of the Divine will." - Adam Clarke



"Seeking our own interest to the neglect of Jesus Christ is a very great sin, and very common among Christians and ministers. Many prefer their own credit, ease, and safety, before truth, holiness, and duty, the things of their own pleasure and reputation before the things of Christ's kingdom and His honour and… Continue

"For wolves to devour sheep is no wonder, but for sheep to devour one another is monstrous and astonishing." - Encyclopedia of Sermon Illustrations





James 3:14 declares - "But if ye have bitter envying and strife in your hearts, glory not, and lie not against the truth."



Matthew Henry once made this statement - "If we love our neighbor we shall be so far from envying his welfare, or being displeased with it, that we shall share in it and rejoice at it."

Thomas… Continue

"Unkind judgment of others will be judicially returned upon ourselves..." - Jamieson, Fausset, & Brown Commentary

"You shall be judged by the same rule which you apply to others." - Barnes' Notes



Even though Psalm 109:17-19 refers to the wicked man, there is a lesson in this passage of Scripture for all of us. Let's prayerfully study it and see what important warning we can derive from it.



"As he loved cursing, so let it come unto him: as he delighted not in… Continue

"Hard work means prosperity; only a fool idles away his time" (Proverbs 12:11) - The Living Bible

"Hard work brings prosperity; playing around brings poverty" (Proverbs 28:19) - The Living Bible



"Wise people work hard while fools waste time." - Nelson's New Illustrated Bible Commentary



"Prosperity depends on diligent work." - The Expositor's Bible Commentary



"Christianity is meant to hallow life in all its phases - to hallow business, labor, recreation." -… Continue

There are activities in our lives in which we all are involved that we do with our whole heart.



The question is - Do they involve the Lord Jesus Christ or are they in pursuit of the world and its goods?



"Half heart is no heart." - Charles Spurgeon



"The way which the whole heart goes the whole man goes..." - Matthew Henry



"He whose whole heart cries to God will never rise from the throne of grace without a blessing." - Adam Clarke



Let's be… Continue

"Pride is the devil's sin." - Charles Spurgeon



"Pride of heart, by which we have lifted up ourselves, is a sin for which we ought in a special manner to humble ourselves."



"Men will be revenged, will not forgive, because they are proud."



"Men cannot punish pride, but either admire it or fear it, and therefore God will take the punishing of it into His own hands. Let Him alone to deal with proud men."



"Those that are rich in the world are apt to be… Continue

"The bad example of a man in rank and reputation is very mischievous, spreads the contagion far and wide."



"...one scabbed sheep infects a whole flock. A little leaven will quickly spread the ferment through a great lump. Note, Concern for their purity and preservation should engage Christian churches to remove gross and scandalous sinners."



"Pride or self-esteem often lies at the bottom of our immoderate esteem of others, and this makes us as blind to their faults as to… Continue

How can you know that you still have "salt in yourselves"? Keep a diligent watch on your speech - which is flowing from your heart. It will be the barometer - indicating the level of "salt" in your spiritual life. The People's New Testament said - "The disciples of Christ preserve the world from general corruption." One way they do it is by their speech. "Let your speech be always with grace, seasoned with salt..."



"A preacher, or private Christian, who has lost the life of Christ,… Continue

Are you always rushing around - never taking the time to slow down and hear what the Lord has to say? He has a message for you today. He wants you to take time to consider it.



God is calling His people this day to "Stand still."



Who is listening?



What are some of the things that He is wanting to speak? The Scriptures offer us several examples -



1. What the Lord Commands Concerning You And Your Family



Numbers 9:8 says - "And Moses said unto… Continue

There is one word that can be used to describe the Christian's Walk. That word in the Greek is - megas. According to The Strongest Strong's Concordance, it means - great, spatially, large, of quantity or degree, intense, loud, violent, of position, and important. We will examine a few Scriptures that have the word "great" or megas in them and delineate 10 characteristics that should be typical for every believer in Christ.



1. Great Power



Acts 4:33 says - "And with great… Continue

"As the rock, He is 'a God of faithfulness,' upon which men may rely and build in all the storms of life..." - Keil & Delitzsch Commentary On The Old Testament



"God's power and promise are a rock that is higher than we." - Matthew Henry



"How is it that men soon forget the solid, the real, the substantial?...We forget the Rock so soon; We prefer the toy; we want something light, something that can be spoken trippingly on the tongue - an easy fluent nothing. We do not… Continue