Happy Mother's Day!!! to all mothers.

                                                  Helpful Teachers

As we go through our Christian life, we encounter authors, teachers, those gifted by God to help the Body of Christ to grow. We realize that increase or growth only comes from the LORD. But we also realize that God instructs us by means and His means to His end, which is Christlikeness, is to teach us, illuminate the Word to us, by teachers. We need to thank God for genuine teachers equipped by the Spirit of God. The Gospel has always been opposed by false teachers, Satan believed that by killing Christ he was going to get the upper hand, but he allowed his own works to be destroyed. He continues to attack with false teaching and false preaching.

I want to share with you some wonderful points made by men I believe are genuine teachers in the hope that this will help you as it has helped me. May God give light to our hearts to only what is His truth.

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Give us this day our daily bread: No need is too big to bring to the Lord. With one word, He created an earth some eight thousand miles in diameter and a sun of 330,000 times greater in mass than the earth. Certainly then, He can do anything for us! Nor is any need too small to bring to the Lord. He takes care of the minutest details - even the hairs of our head, not allowing even one to fall without His divine will.              Rev. Michael Fintelman

Prayer is the soul's breathing itself into the bosom of its heavenly Father.   Thomas Watson

Pray often, for prayer is a shield to the soul, a sacrifice to God, and a scourge for Satan. John Bunyan

Without Christ we:  would not have come into being without Christ (John 1:2-3)

                                We would vanish out of existence without the moment by moment sustaining 

                                 of Christ (Col. 1:17, Acts 17:25)

                                We would have no true virtue without His work in our soul (1 Cor 3:14)

                                 Therefore we are helpless to bear fruit with Christ      John Piper

Genuine worship realizes the worth of God and our dependence on Him,  John D. Hannah

Therapy has replaced theology in much contemporary preaching the self has acquired center stage, and God, if He is there at all, has been marginalized. The assumption is that theology is not practical for our daily lives. We need to preach the Word if God's people are ever to catch a glimpse of the glory of God it is through the Word that the Spirit reveals to us God.   John MacArthur

To sanctify the Lord of hosts is to acknowledge the glory of His sovereign power, wisdom, and faithfulness. It includes not only a verbal confession, but internal acts of trust, confidence, and entire dependence upon Him. These are our choicest respects toward God and give Him the greatest glory.

John Flavel

We are God's let us therefore live for Him and die for Him. We are God's let His wisdom and will therefore rule all our actions. We are God's let all the parts of our life accordingly strive toward Him as our only lawful goal.   John Calvin

Just so far as any soul increases in spiritual knowledge, in the same degree it grows in grace. Divine illumination is not independent of the Word, but accompanies it. Those Christians, therefore, who are most diligent in attending upon the Word in public and private will be most likely to make progress in piety.   Archibald Alexander

The Christian life is a struggle, It demands entrance through a narrow gate and a daily walk along a narrow path. The Christian way is not a middle way between extremes but a narrow way between precipices. It involves living by faith through self-denial, waging a holy war in the midst of a hostile world.  Joel Beeke

Sin untunes and unframes the heart itself, by entangling its affections. It diverts the heart from the spiritual frame that is required for vigorous communion with God.  John Owen

The following are Marks of true Prayer by: James W. Beeke and Joel R. Beeke

True prayer is a holy art taught by a groaning, wrestling Spirit who often uses the impossibilities and apparent "artlessness" of the believer's entangled and sin-stained life to pencil upon him the image of his worthy Master.

True prayer does not preach to God. It does not lead by the hand, but reaches for His guiding hand.

True prayer is fellowshipping with God. It is a foretaste of heaven' eternal conversation.

True prayer, when neglected, is like an untapped power line, a disconnected computer, a system broken down. Valuable information neither descends or ascends.

True prayer is the believer's greatest weapon in the armory of God.

True prayer is real life.

True prayer is often short, frequent, and repetitive, sometimes hardly getting beyond the simple words, "Lord, Lord...have mercy."

True prayer is bathed in faith. Faithless prayer is fruitless prayer, no matter how sincere it may be. True prayer is the fruit of true faith and true faith is the fruit of true prayer. Faith and prayer are best of friends who build up each other for they have a common goal - the glory of the worthy, Triune God.