Quotes to Inspire

"People who do not know the Lord ask why in the world we waste our lives as missionaries. They forget that they too are expending their lives ... and when the bubble has burst, they will have nothing of eternal significance to show for the years they have wasted."
-- Nate Saint, missionary martyr



“Would that God would make hell so real to us that we cannot rest; Heaven so real that we must have men there.” – Hudson Taylor




"I have but one candle of life to burn, and I would rather burn it out in a land filled with darkness than in a land flooded with light"
-- John Keith Falconer



"Some wish to live within the sound of a chapel bell; I wish to run a rescue mission within a yard of hell."
 -- C.T. Studd



“God had only one Son and he made that Son a missionary.”
 -- David Livingston



"He is no fool who gives up what he cannot keep to gain that which he cannot lose"
-- Jim Elliot


"God isn't looking for people of great faith, but for individuals ready to follow Him"
-- Hudson Taylor


 
When James Calvert went out as a missionary to the cannibals of the Fiji Islands, the ship captain tried to turn him back, saying, "You will lose your life and the lives of those with you if you go among such savages." To that, Calvert replied, "We died before we came here."



"Someone asked, will the heathen who have never heard the Gospel be saved? It is more a question with me whether we -- who have the Gospel and fail to give it to those who have not -- can be saved."
 -- Charles Spurgeon



God uses men who are weak and feeble enough to lean on him."
-- Hudson Taylor, missionary to China



How sweet the name of Jesus sounds

In a believer's ear;
It soothes his sorrows, heals his wounds,
And drives away his fear.
~John Newton



To be able to lead others, a man must be willing to go forward alone.

- Harry Truman

 
Never . . . Never . . . Never . . . Never Give up!

- Winston Churchill

THE ONLY WAY

Out upon the waves and storms of this life
My soul is tossed,
And as the fears and doubts rise higher
I cry out.

The water crashes over me
And all I see,
Is the foaming, angry waves
That surround me.

The darkness comes and seizes me
With all its might.
I stumble for I've lost my way
In this endless night.

When all my soul feels is awful dread,
And despair;
When discouragement clench my heart...
And one more step, I cannot bear.

In my agony and helplessness,
Jesus comes.
Walking on the water
Upon the storms.

His grace and love know no limits
And His mercy's wide...
Wider than the ocean,
And stronger than the tides.

He wraps His arms around me
And reminds me of His love...
His love that took Him to the cross
To pay...
To pay for all my sin
And make me right with God
Jesus, You are the TRUTH,
The only WAY.

And so I bow all of me
Before You God.
A hurting heart,
Held in hands of grace.
And though I do not understand
Your plans for me
I trust You
That You are THE ONLY WAY.

The Reason of Christmas

"She will give birth to a son, and you will give Him the name Jesus, BECAUSE HE WILL SAVE HIS PEOPLE FROM THEIR SINS."

-

Matthew 1:21

Behind the glamour and glitter of Christmas; behind the wrapping paper, Christmas trees, parties, and family reunions; behind the black Friday sales, the Nativity scenes, the busyness and bustle of the holiday season is the true reason of Christmas. The angels announced Jesus’ birth to the shepherds---THEY ANNOUNCED GOOD NEWS. But to understand why it is such good news, we must first understand the bad news. Because if we stripped away everything we depend and cling to, if we ripped the wrapping paper away from our hearts and looked at the truth in God’s Word, concerning our heart’s condition it would not be good for we are desperately lost in our wickedness and sin.

Isaiah 53:6: “All we like sheep have gone astray…each of us has turned to His own way.”

Psalm 14:2-3: “No one seeks God, NOT EVEN ONE.”

Isaiah 59:7-8: “Their feet rush into sin...their thoughts are evil…the way of peace they do not know.”


Imagine you had to go to the doctor and He calls you into his office and tells you to take a seat. “After examining your heart we found some things that cause us GREAT CONCERN. Your heart has a hereditary condition that has poisoned you with self-love; parasites of pride and arrogance have deteriorated your whole being, leaving you completely and utterly infected by sin and hate for God and all that is right. It does not matter what medications you take, lifestyle changes you make, or treatments you undergo you cannot undo the damage that has already been made nor can you be rid of this terrible, TERMINAL soul condition you are in.”


Wow…so this is where we are at---WE ARE WITHOUT HOPE. We have sinned against a holy God and have turned away from Him…we have become God’s enemies. There is no way for us to fix the situation we are in or change our standing with God. We are headed for Hell where we will pay the penalty of our sins for all eternity…living in complete separation from God.


But the story is not over yet….


This is the reason Christ came…to save us!!!!


The doctor continues after a great pause. “However, you may be saved yet, if someone is willing to do a heart transplant. Their heart must be completely healthy and perfect without any sin or wickedness. They must be willing to die because to give you life they must die in your place.”


You sit there shaking your head in your hopelessness, thinking “Hardly anybody is willing to die for a good person, who would die for me?”


The doctor smiles at this point. “But I have good news for you…someone already volunteered to save you. his blood type is correct and it matches yours and his heart is perfect. He willingly gave up his life so that you can have his heart. And he did it for free…though it cost Him everything.”



This is what the angels announced---GOOD NEWS!!! We had no hope, but what we could not do Christ did. He came to earth as the God-man…lived a perfect life for us…went to the cross…bore the punishment of all our sin…was utterly crushed by His Father…FORSAKEN…He went to Hell for us who would believe in Him and He died.

They laid His body in a tomb, but three days later He rose from the grave! God the Father had accepted His sacrifice; our debt had been paid. The great exchange was finalized: Jesus took all of our sin and had given us all of His righteousness! Now we can have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ. HE IS THE ONLY WAY TO THE FATHER.


Christmas is the celebration of the Good News of Jesus Christ. We were helpless and hopeless because of the bad news that our sins had brought us. But now Jesus has come and He has brought us good news that we can have forgiveness because of the sacrifice that He made at the cross. Now we must believe and confess that Jesus is Lord and Savior, take up our crosses and follow after Him. The way has been made to the Father---the only way is Jesus Christ.


Isaiah 53:3-5: “…BY HIS WOUNDS WE ARE HEALED…”

I Surrender

I surrender all of me
At Your feet I humbly bring,
All my hopes and dreams
For You to take and transform.

Transform my heart to be like You,
To do the things You call me to
To live my life all for You
In full consecration.

JESUS YOU ALONE ARE MY SUPPLY
IN YOU I LIVE---TO ME I DIE.
ONLY YOU WILL SATISFY,
THIS THIRSTING SOUL AND MORTIFY
THE SIN IN ME AND MAKE ME CLEAN;
I SURRENDER...YES, I SURRENDER.

The pain is great
The road is tough,
But Jesus' strength is enough
To sustain me through all of life...I surrender

And when my soul cries out in pain,
I must never forget that Jesus' name
Is my strong tower through any storm
And He will see me through.
I surrender...Yes, I surrender.

JESUS YOU ALONE ARE MY SUPPLY

IN YOU I LIVE---TO ME I DIE.
ONLY YOU WILL SATISFY,
THIS THIRSTING SOUL AND MORTIFY
THE SIN IN ME AND MAKE ME CLEAN;
I SURRENDER...YES, I SURRENDER.

The List

Once upon a time, lived a man who struggled with the weight of guilt. He did everything he could to keep from feeling so guilty, but nothing seemed to work. So in desperation, he went to the house of a wise old man who lived at the edge of town.



The man explained his problem to the wise man and waited for a reply. The wise man gazed at him intently and stroked his pointy beard. “So why do you feel so guilty,” he asked. “What have you done?”


“Sir, I am weighed down by all my sin.”


“Have you turned to Christ to forgive you of your sin?” The wise man asked.


“Oh, certainly I have, Sir, but I still feel guilty. I try to live a life that pleases Christ, but even when I am doing good things my motives are so wicked and sinful.”


“I see. Do you believe that you are saved by grace and not by works?”


“Oh yes, of course I am saved by grace, but I cannot seem to live up to the grace God has given me.”


The wise man smiled at the troubled man. “Oh, I see, there is only one thing that can be done.”


The troubled man listened attentively as the wise man explained his solution. “For the next thirty days you must write down everything you do and say and think. You must keep a detailed record of it all whether it is good or bad. And then at the end of the thirty days I want you to bring the list to me.”


The man felt puzzled and confused. “Why must I keep a list? It grieves my heart already without keeping track of everything I do.”


“Just do as I say.”


The man shook his head and walked away, but because he was so troubled by the feelings of guilt and sorrow he decided to try it just in case it helped relieve his pain. The days passed ever so slowly. He kept a detailed record of it all just as the wise man had said. Some days He felt almost elated because he felt that surely he was improving, but then just as soon as his elation reached it’s peak he would sink again realizing his heart was gloating in pride. His list seemed to go on forever.


Finally thirty days passed, and one thing the man knew for sure: keeping a list had not made him feel any better or less guilty. If anything it had made things worse. So he returned to the wise man more sorrowful than before.


“Here is my list,” he said as he handed the wise man a thick stack of papers. “But I don’t think it has cured my feelings of guilt.


“Well, is this everything?” the wise man asked.


“Yes it is everything,” the man answered. “My guilt feels heavier than ever now."


The wise man walked over to his fireplace and knelt by the hearth. The man almost gasped in shock as the wise, old man held the list into the fire. The man looked on in horror as the old man’s hand blistered from the angry flames.


“What, what are you doing? Your hand! And my list--- it took me hours to work on the list. Why would you do this?”


The wise man did not answer, but instead took the ash shovel on the hearth and scooped up the ashes from the papers into a bowl. He motioned for the man to follow him as he walked out of his house and over to a river not far away. He took the ashes and threw them into the rushing water which quickly swept the ashes away. The man was dumbfounded as he watched on in disbelief.


The wise man turned back to the troubled man and smiled. “Where has your guilt gone now?”


The man shook his head, “It’s been swept away, my list has been swept away,” he paused. “Your hand is burned.”


“Your list could not have been taken away without a price, and you could not pay it, so I did.”


“My dear friend, what I have done is only a picture of what Christ has already done. He has taken your sin upon Himself and paid its penalty, and now your guilt is swept away. Christ paid the price. So now go your way and stop thinking about your guilt for it is no more---just like your list is gone forever. Instead think about Jesus and how much he loves you and how gracious He is in saving you.”

ONLY THREE MONTHS...

...Dear Lord, I only have three months on this patrol to testify to the Gospel of your grace; I only have such a short time to make much of Your name by living out my faith before my fellow Coasties. You have placed me here for a reason and it was not to complain and wish away the days I'll be out at sea; It was not to dread each moment and wish it is all over. No, You have placed me here as Your witness to share the hope you have given me---to share the glorious gospel with those arround me. So Lord Jesus, enable me to do Your will: give me words to speak---to tell of Your amazing grace; give me eyes to see---to see the opportunities You will set before me to share my faith; give me a heart of compassion---so that I can be Christ to these lost sinners; and give me boldness to say what needs to be said, to stand up for what it right, to testify to the truth of Your Word, to live out my faith in humility, to be committed to prayer, dedicated to God's Word, and fully relying upon Christ to supply my every need. I am nothing Lord Jesus, You are my everything---You are my all in all. I cannot do anything that pleases You apart from You so please enable me to do Your work. May You recieve all the glory and praise, may Your name be exalted over all, and may You be the supreme joy in my life every single day.

I only have three months...Lord Jesus, may I not waste this time You have given me...may I make the most of this great opportunity.

Dear Friends and Family, please keep me in Your prayers that I would not waste this patrol.

A Most Awesome Thanksgiving!

November 26, 2010

Yesterday, I had a most wonderful Thanksgiving on board my boat. I missed being with family, but God blessed me with good friends to celebrate the day with. I give thanks to my Mighty God who has placed me upon the Midgett as His servant and ambassador. Oh how I love Him all because He first loved me!

So me and my friends started the morning off by watching The Passion of Jesus Christ. My friend Jackie who committed her life to Jesus recently (praise Jesus!), wanted to watch it and a lot of others on board joined us on the mess deck. I also enjoyed some reading, and I was so happy to call my family and talk to everybody! I also got to help in the kitchen, making Thanksgiving dinner...it was so fun! We made apple pie and turkey with all the trimmings. I wish I could put up pics, but my laptop that has those capabilities is at the doctor's right now)-: Soon!!!

But it was an amazing day and I thank God for blesssing me so tremendously!!!