When I first read this quote by D.L. Moody I found myself smiling all over myself. I thought to myself, “That’s me. Jesus has been my best friend for some time now. I take no credit for this. He is the friend. I am simply me. So who is this man who could reap damnation upon me but would rather be my salvation? Yes, I do talk to him and I truly know that he talks to me. Sometimes when he is pointing out some of my strange idiosyncrasies he can be downright hilarious. You can’t say he doesn’t have a sense of humor. And how many times have I declared, “Oh Lord, forgive me”? One thing I know for sure is his love is a wonderful comfort.
Here is another quote about Jesus from Mr. Moody.
Never think that Jesus commanded a trifle, nor dare to trifle with anything He has commanded.
I am constantly warned by my Lord to follow his commandments and any time that I have disobeyed it has been costly to me. I don’t believe God punishes us with this life’s disappointments. If we are honest we know we bring those on ourselves. In his wonderful understanding he simply uses them as well as our good experiences for some decent purpose.
The author: Augustine once wrote this about Christ:
God had one son on earth without sin, but never one without suffering.
Yes, he allows us to experience disappointments, sickness, the death of a loved one but when they come keep in mind that Jesus had those experiences too. The fact is: He came for that purpose; to pay for our sins. Does that not take a load off?
C.S. Lewis put it this way:
When God becomes a Man and lives as a creature among His own creatures in Palestine, then indeed His life is one of supreme self-sacrifice and leads to Calvary. He is also the author of the next quote:
We may note in passing that He was never regarded as a mere
Moral teacher. He did not produce that effect on any of the people who actually met Him. He produced mainly three results; Hatred, Terror or Adoration. There was no trace of people expressing mild admiration.
Not only do we not know God except through Jesus Christ; we do not even know ourselves except through Jesus Christ; author…Blaise Pascal
I do want to offer my wishes for a very Merry Christmas and a happy new year to all my friends here on the den. Let us rejoice. Let us not do ourselves the dishonor of not holding to Jesus Christ as the reason we celebrate the season.
God bless you all:
Lew
