12 Quotes of Christmas: Day 12

'In a world that prizes the new, the progressive, and the evolved, we need to be reminded that Jesus Christ is the same yesterday, today, and forever (Heb. 13:8). And since he remains the same, so does his truth... No one succeeds at the highest level in sports without working out. No one makes it in music without lots of practice. No one excels in scholarship without years of study. And no one makes it far in the school of holiness without hours and days and years in the word.'

(Kevin DeYoung)

12 Quotes of Christmas: Day 11

'You can have wonderfully rich quiet times, but if that doesn’t translate into how you treat other people, then something is wrong. The normal, natural way for Christians to express our love to God is not merely in singing hymns to him, though that is wonderful. It is also in giving ourselves in love to others.'

(Mark Dever)

12 Quotes of Christmas: Day 10

'You cannot judge God by your calendar. God may appear to be slow, but he never forgets his promises. He may seem to be working very slowly or even to be forgetting his promises, but when his promises come true (and they will come true), they always burst the banks of what you imagined... God’s grace virtually never operates on our time frame, on a schedule we consider reasonable.'

(Tim Keller)

12 Quotes of Christmas: Day 9

'Grumbling, of course, is what other people do. What I do is make legitimate observations and justified criticism. And I'm sure that you, dear reader, are the same. Or are we fooling ourselves? Let's put it to the test. Challenge yourself to make only positive comments [this year]. Let's call it the 'Ephesians 4' challenge. Ephesians 4:9 says: 'Do not let any unwholesome talk come out of your mouths, but only what is helpful for building others up according to their needs, that it may benefit those who listen.'

(Tim Chester)

12 Quotes of Christmas: Day 8

Begin and end the day [or year] with Done!

'Beep, beep, beep, beep, thump!

The day's agenda floods your mind and twists your stomach. So much to do. Too much to do.

Whisper, 'It is finished!'

Repeat, 'It is finished!'

Say louder, 'It is finished!'

Whatever you will complete or not today, rest in the only work that will never need to be done again. Rest in the fact that Jesus has done the most impossible job in the world., done it perfectly, and made it available. Take it. Enjoy it. Build your life on it. Let it change your whole view of your life and work. Use His work to put your work into perspective. Believe His work is counted as yours. Despite all that you fear and dread about the next ten hours - a critical boss, a vicious competitor, a looming deadline, a complaining customer, an impossible sales target, unrelenting children, monotonous drudge - you have Christ's perfect work credited to your account. Yes, it is counted as yours, as if you did it. Are you humble enough to receive it?

And as you reset the alarm clock at the end of each day of incomplete lists and unfinished business, rest again in Christ's 'It is finished.'The most important work has been done and covers all our laziness, all our foolishness, all our time wasting, all our bad decisions, all our temper tantrums, all our losses, all our inabilities, all our everything.

Christ offers us His perfect CV and says: 'Take this, and put your name on it. It is yours. Let this satisfy you. Let this fulfil you. Let this 'happify' you. Let this calm your mornings and soothe your evenings. It is finished!'

(David Murray, from The Happy Christian)