Missing it

      "And they called them and commanded them not to speak at all nor teach in the name of Jesus. But Peter and John answered and said to them, 'Whether it is right in the sight of God to listen to you more than to God, you judge. For we cannot but speak the things which we have seen and heard.

     "So when they had further threatened them, they let them go, finding no way of punishing them, because of the people, since they all glorified God for what had been done."  Acts 4:18-21

        "...much of what is called Christianity today is not the Christianity of the New Testament; it is distinctly different.... Jesus is not the fountainhead of modern Christianity. He is scarcely thought about.  Christian preachers, Sunday School teachers, religious books, all without any apology patronize Jesus Christ and put Him on one side.

       "We have to learn that to stand true to Jesus Christ's point of view means ostracism -- the ostracism that was brought on Him. Most of us know nothing whatever about it.

       "The modern view looks upon human nature as pathetic; men and women are poor ignorant babes in the wood who have lost themselves. Jesus Christ's view is totally different. He does not look on men and women as babes in the wood, but as sinners who need saving, and the modern mind detests His view.

       "Our Lord's teaching is based on something we violently hate, namely His doctrine of sin; we do not believe it unless we have had a radical dealing with God on the line of His teaching.

       "Remember that a disciple is committed to much more than belief in Jesus, he is committed to His Lord's view of the world, of men, of God and of sin." 

--Oswald Chambers Daily Devotional Bible, p. 586

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Finding What Is Important

     "But Peter and the other apostles answered and said: 'We ought to obey God rather than men. The God of our fathers raised up Jesus whom you murdered by hanging on a tree. Him God has exalted to His right hand to be Prince and Savior, to give repentance to Israel and forgiveness of sins. And we are His witnesses to these things, and so also is the Holy Spirit whom God has given to those who obey Him.” Acts 5:29-32

      "Is Jesus Christ’s mind infallible, or is the modern Western mind infallible?
The tendency abroad today is to think ourselves infallible, and the Bible a jumble up of the most extraordinary stuff, good stuff, but we cannot be expected to accept all its views. That means, we believe ourselves more likely to be infallible than Jesus Christ. We would repudiate this statement if made baldly,but we all act as if it were true, we all take for granted that Jesus Christ’s teachings are nonsense; we treat them with respect and reverence, but we do not do anything else with them, we do not carry them out.
     "Today we hold conferences and conventions and give reports and make our programs. None of these things were in the life of Jesus, and yet every minute of His life He realized that He was fulfilling the purpose of His Father (seeJohn 9:4).

     "How did He do it? By maintaining the one relationship, and it is that one relationship He insists on in His disciples, and it is the one we have lost in the rubbish of modern civilization. If we try and live the life Jesus Christ lived, modern civilization will fling us out like waste material; we areno good, we do not add anything to the hard cash of the times we live in, and the sooner we are flung out the better."

--Oswald Chambers Daily Devotional Bible, p. 596

“I did not come to bring peace but a sword” (Matthew 10:34).

    "If you are sensitive to God’s way, your message as His servant will be merciless and insistent, cutting to the very root. Otherwise, there will be no healing. We must drive the message home so forcefully that a person cannot possibly hide, but must apply its truth. Deal with people where they are, until they begin to realize their true need. Then hold high the standard of Jesus for their lives. Their response may be, 'We can never be that.' Then drive it home with, 'Jesus Christ says you must.' “But how can we be?' 'You can’t, unless you have a new Spirit.'” (see Luke 11:13).

   "There must be a sense of need created before your message is of any use. Thousands of people in this world profess to be happy without God. But if we could be truly happy and moral without Jesus, then why did He come? He came because that kind of happiness and peace is only superficial. Jesus Christ came to 'bring … a sword' through every kind of peace that is not based on a personal relationship with Himself."