"Pride is the devil's sin." - Charles Spurgeon

"Pride of heart, by which we have lifted up ourselves, is a sin for which we ought in a special manner to humble ourselves."

"Men will be revenged, will not forgive, because they are proud."

"Men cannot punish pride, but either admire it or fear it, and therefore God will take the punishing of it into His own hands. Let Him alone to deal with proud men."

"Those that are rich in the world are apt to be high-minded."

"What men are proud of, be it ever so mean, is to them a crown..."

"Pride is a sin that hardens the heart in all other sin and renders the means of repentance and reformation ineffectual."
- all of the above quotes are from Matthew Henry

"Prosperity is apt to make men proud, and to lift them above themselves; and to forget what they have been, and what they may be; and to neglect observing the judgment of God on others, and to take warning by them." - John...

There are activities in our lives in which we all are involved that we do with our whole heart.

The question is - Do they involve the Lord Jesus Christ or are they in pursuit of the world and its goods?

"Half heart is no heart." - Charles Spurgeon

"The way which the whole heart goes the whole man goes..." - Matthew Henry

"He whose whole heart cries to God will never rise from the throne of grace without a blessing." - Adam Clarke

Let's be real here!

Just how many Christians are "following hard" after God with all of their hearts? Are you one of them?

The Scriptures repeatedly mention the words - "with my whole heart" - in the context of going after God.

In your Christian walk, is this the manner in which you approach Him on a daily basis?

Are believers worldwide showing Him that He is their one and only pursuit and affection?

We are admonished in the Word to praise Him with our whole...

"Hard work means prosperity; only a fool idles away his time" (Proverbs 12:11) - The Living Bible
"Hard work brings prosperity; playing around brings poverty" (Proverbs 28:19) - The Living Bible

"Wise people work hard while fools waste time." - Nelson's New Illustrated Bible Commentary

"Prosperity depends on diligent work." - The Expositor's Bible Commentary

"Christianity is meant to hallow life in all its phases - to hallow business, labor, recreation." - Biblical Illustrator - Old Testament

"Keep thy shop and thy shop will keep thee."

"Men over-build themselves or over-buy themselves, keep greater company, or a better table, or more servants, than they can afford, suffer what they have to go to decay and do not make the most of it; or being bound for others, their estates are sunk, their families reduced, and all for want of judgment." - Both Quotes from the Matthew Henry Commentary

Are you a person who loves to waste time...

"Unkind judgment of others will be judicially returned upon ourselves..." - Jamieson, Fausset, & Brown Commentary
"You shall be judged by the same rule which you apply to others." - Barnes' Notes

Even though Psalm 109:17-19 refers to the wicked man, there is a lesson in this passage of Scripture for all of us. Let's prayerfully study it and see what important warning we can derive from it.

"As he loved cursing, so let it come unto him: as he delighted not in blessing, so let it be far from him. As he clothed himself with cursing like as with his garment, so let it come into his bowels like water, and like oil into his bones. Let it be unto him as the garment which covereth him, and for a girdle wherewith he is girded continually."

This man "loved" cursing or to curse others. This is not referring to the use of vulgar or foul language, but rather to the instances when a person utters slanderous and abusive statements against another or defames,...

"For wolves to devour sheep is no wonder, but for sheep to devour one another is monstrous and astonishing." - Encyclopedia of Sermon Illustrations


James 3:14 declares - "But if ye have bitter envying and strife in your hearts, glory not, and lie not against the truth."

Matthew Henry once made this statement - "If we love our neighbor we shall be so far from envying his welfare, or being displeased with it, that we shall share in it and rejoice at it."
Thomas Manton remarked - "There are two sins which were Christ's secret enemies, covetousness and envy. Covetousness sold Christ and envy delivered Him."
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The Apostle James in Verse 13 of Chapter 3 mentioned the "wise man...endued with knowledge." Nonetheless, in Verses 15-17, he begins a discussion of two kinds of Wisdom - that which is "earthly," "sensual," and "devilish" versus that which is "pure," "peaceable," and willing to yield.

The...

"I am wholly the Lord's; and wholly devoted in the spirit of sacrificial obedience, to the constant, complete, and energetic performance of the Divine will." - Adam Clarke

"Seeking our own interest to the neglect of Jesus Christ is a very great sin, and very common among Christians and ministers. Many prefer their own credit, ease, and safety, before truth, holiness, and duty, the things of their own pleasure and reputation before the things of Christ's kingdom and His honour and interest in the world." - Matthew Henry

"Christ has a yoke for our necks...and this yoke He expects we should take upon us and draw in...Servants are said to be under the yoke... and subjects... To take Christ's yoke upon us, is to put ourselves into the relation to servants and subjects to Him, and then to conduct ourselves accordingly, in a conscientious obedience to all His commands, and a cheerful submission to all His disposals: it is to obey the gospel of Christ, to yield ourselves...

"A present God is a present blessing." - Adam Clarke
"A lively sense of the divine presence is a mighty stay to the heart in times of distress." - Charles Spurgeon

"We always need the Divine help, but more especially when troubles and trials are at hand." - Adam Clarke
"The nearness of trouble is a weighty motive for divine help; this moves our heavenly Father's heart, and brings down His helping hand." - Charles Spurgeon

"It is God's honour to help when all other helps and succours fail." - Matthew Henry
"There is an awfulness about absolute friendlessness which is crushing to the human mind, for man was not made to be alone, and is like a dismembered limb when he has to endure heart-loneliness." - Charles Spurgeon

What would be considered a "Double Extremity" in your life? Wouldn't it be having the nearness of trouble with no helper in sight?

That is exactly how David felt when he penned the words under the inspiration of the Holy...

1 Corinthians 3:9 specifically says - "...Ye are God's husbandry." In other words, you are His garden, field, or vineyard. You are His cultivated land, fertile tillage, sown field, or farm.

In the days of the Prophets - Jeremiah and Hosea - the word of the Lord came to the prophets respectively calling the people of Israel and Judah to cultivate the land of their hearts - which for so long had lain untilled due to idolatry and sin.

What type of word do you suppose the Lord would have for the Church today?

In Jeremiah 4:3, Jeremiah challenged the people of God with these words - "For thus saith the LORD to the men of Judah and Jerusalem, Break up your fallow ground, and sow not among thorns."

In Hosea 10:12, Hosea challenged the people with these words - "Sow to yourselves in righteousness, reap in mercy; break up your fallow ground: for it is time to seek the LORD, till He come and rain righteousness upon you."

Both were a call to Israel...