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(Ray Stedman) commenting on Malachi 3:8-10: These verses are often wrenched from the Old Testament context and used to establish a legalistic pattern of bringing all offerings into the church as the storehouse. That is a distortion

(Ray Stedman) We exist to advance Glod's cause. It is quite possible to perform all manner of religious obligations within the church, to spend every spare dollar and every  waking minute on ministry activities , and yet never advance God's cause a single step. Why?  Because many of us, in our various religious activities, are doing nothing but using religion to fulfill our own self-centered goals.

(Ray Stedman) No matter how bad things get in the world, a faithful remnant always remains, and God's searchlight always finds them

(Ray Stedman) The fact is, you can take away all the props of the church- its buildings and staff, its committees and commissions,its programs and budgets, it philosophy of ministry and church growth strategy, its experts and consultants- and if you have nothing left but some committed people who have learned  to focus on God, you have not lost a thing

(Ray Stedman) It is significant, I think, that the last word of the Old Testament is the word curse. The word is not a prediction. It is a warning. Now compare the last word of the Old Testament with the last word of the New Trestament, leaving out the final salutation. It is the name Jesus, " Come Lord Jesus". That is God's answer to the curse, isn' it?

(Charles Stanley) The closest mission field is your own family

(A. Rogers) Some golden daybreak, Jesus will come. His coming will be like the sunrise for your soul and for this world. The entire world waits for the sunrise, whether they know it or not

(A. Rogers)  There is no fun and games in a Christless grave. The demon choir of the damned will sing in the caverns of hell as they moan forever and ever and ever

( A . Rogers) The coming of the Lord will be a day of retribution, a day of restoration. a day of release, and a day of reward

(A. Rogers) God is not interested in making  you happy so much as He is making you holy

(A Rogers) You will be wise to let God keep the books

(Wiersbe) Every discouraged servant of God need to read and ponder 1 Cor 4:1-5.

(Wiersbe) Nobody can afford to argue with God the way the Israelites did when they heard Malachi, because God will always have the last word

(John Zuhldorf)  Commenting on a  Catholic bishop's letter to his diocese reminding them that cohabitation is a sin: " In this age of " I'm OK, you're OK", a bishop risk being called mean and uncompassionate if he does anything other than remain silent or wring his hands. So how do you defend doctrines that many think of as offensive without committing what many believe is the ultimate sin-offending people?"

(Joseph Stowell)  God is not a God of half-finished projects. He  completes our sorrows with the intended outcomes of His glory, the gain of His kingdom, and our ultimate good. When He knows that the only way to accomplish strategic eternal purposes is through the suffering of His church and His followers, He empowers them through the pain and then rewards and refreshes them afterward in His own way and time. A friend of mine is fond of saying, " God never wastes our sorrows." The light at the end of our cross-bearing tunnel is the assured  reality of His character, resolve, and power to work it all to His good and  glorious pruposes. We don't need to know the outcome;we only need to know the reliability of the One we are following into the storm. Those who follow Christ never pay a price-not really. They invest the weight of their cross in the glory of the King and the gain of His everlasting Kingdom