My goal is GOD HIMSELF. Not joy, not peace, not even blessing but HIMSELF...my GOD.
Leonard RavenhillRead
Some women will spend thirty minutes to an hour preparing for church externally (putting on special clothes and makeup, etc.). What would happen if we all spent the same amount of time preparing internally for church—with prayer and meditation?
Interpretation
The quote highlights the importance of inner preparation over outer appearances when attending church.
Leonard Ravenhill emphasizes that while many dedicate significant time to their external presentation before attending church, it would be far more beneficial if equal or greater effort were invested in preparing one's spirit and mindset through prayer and meditation. This reflection urges individuals to prioritize inner growth and spiritual readiness over superficial appearances, thereby fostering a more meaningful religious experience.
In practice
During a sermon about spiritual growth, one could quote this to encourage attendees to focus on their inner life.
My goal is GOD HIMSELF. Not joy, not peace, not even blessing but HIMSELF...my GOD.
Prayer is not a preparation for the battle; it is the battle!
Everyone recognizes that Stephen was Spirit-filled when he was performing wonders. Yet, he was just as Spirit-filled when he was being stoned to death.
I find it most intriguing to contemplate the fact that while men are considering what place to give Jesus Christ in history, He has already decided what place to give them in eternity.
The tragedy in our colleges and seminaries right now is that we turn men out who know the word of God. That is never going to turn the world._x000D_ The question is not whether they know the Word of God...._x000D_ The question is......Do they know the God of the Word?
The church that is man-managed instead of God-governed is doomed to failure. A ministry that is college-trained but not Spirit-filled works no miracles.
There is no such thing as an attention span. There is only the quality of what you are viewing. This whole idea of an attention span is, I think, a misnomer. People have an infinite attention span if you are entertaining them.
By philosophy the mind of man comes to itself, and from henceforth rests on itself without foreign aid, and is completely master of itself, as the dancer of his feet, or the boxer of his hands.
The spirit of democracy... requires change of the heart... requires the inculcation of the spirit of brotherhood.
No man knows how bad he is till he has tried very hard to be good...Only those who try to resist temptation know how strong it is.
I have taken care of everything in the course of my life, only not for death, and now I have to die completely unprepared.
Today I live on an island, in a house that is sad, hard, severe, that I built for myself, solitary on a sheer rock over the sea: a house that is the spectre, the secret image of prison. The image of my nostalgia. Maybe I never desired, not even then, to escape from jail. Man is not meant to live freely in freedom, but to be free inside a prison.
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