Sermons on Christian Character (Page 15)

“Don’t say you don’t have enough time. You have exactly the same number of hours per day that were given to Helen Keller, Louis Pasteur, Michelangelo, Mother Teresa, Leonardo da Vinci, Thomas Jefferson, and Albert Einstein.” (H. Jackson Brown, Jr.)

The word “diligently” means “to sharpen, to pierce through, to give a sharp edge, like sharpening a knife.” It is an intensely strong command with the idea of an assertive teaching process in a family setting.

Edification – “oikodome: architecture, a structure; confirmation, building up, edify, edification, edifying” (Strongs)

“The predictions of things to come that relate to the state of the Church amongst the old Prophets, Daniel is most distinct in order of time and easiest to be understood. Daniel is in the greatest credit amongst the Jews, and to reject his prophecies, is to reject the Christian religion.” (Sir Isaac Newton, Observations Upon the Prophecies of Daniel, 1733)

“The wicked have only accomplices, the voluptuous have only companions in debauchery; self-seekers have only associates; politicians have only their factions; the generality of idle men has only connections; princes have only courtiers; virtuous men alone possess friends.” (Voltaire)

We can conclude that whatever God wants from us, whatever He asks us to give, whatever He commands us to do, it is not about Him; it is for us and our best interest.

While our bodies live in this world, and therefore we must interact with the world, we do so conformed to the image of Christ and not the world.