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God: "I looked for someone to take a stand for me, and stand in the gap" (Ezekiel 22:30)

All is shadow here below! The world is a shadow; and it passes away! The creature is a shadow; and the loveliest and the fondest may be the first to die! Health is a shadow; fading, and in a moment gone! Wealth is a shadow; today upon the summit of affluence, tomorrow at its base, plunged into poverty and dependence! Human friendships and creature affections are but shadows; sweet and pleasant while they last, but, with a worm feeding at the root of all created good, the sheltering gourd soon withers, exposing us to the sun's burning heat by day, and to the frost's cold chill by night! Oh, yes! “Passing Away” is indelibly inscribed upon everything here below! Yet how slow are we to realize the solemn lesson: “What shadows we are, and what shadows we pursue!” Unconverted reader, what is your life but a vapor that passes away?and what are its pursuits but shadows; unreal, unsatisfying, evanescent? Your rank, your wealth, your honors, your pleasures, are but phantoms which appear but for a little while, and then are lost in the deeper shadow of the grave, and the still deeper and longer shadow of eternity! Oh, turn from these dreams and hallucinations, and, as a rational, accountable, immortal being, on your way to judgment, fix your mind upon your solemn, endless future! You are going to die! And, oh, when that dread hour comes, so real and appalling, how will your past life appear?
Octavius Winslow

Your children are the product of two things. The first – shaping influence, is their physical make-up and their life experience. The second – Godward orientation, determines how they interact with that experience. Parenting involves 1) providing the best shaping influences you can and 2) the careful shepherding of your children’s responses to those influences.
Tedd Tripp

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    Page 19 19 Now we may not physically smell Christ today, but we can spiritually sense His presence among us. And the fragrance of His presence is a mark of the Lord’s nearness. “The house was filled with the fragrance.” As Paul wrote, “But thanks be to God, who always leads us in triumphal procession in Christ and through us spreads everywhere the fragrance of the knowledge of Him” (2 Corinthians 2:14). 3) Judas regarded Mary’s act to be wasteful. Listen to the protest of Judas. According to the other accounts of this story, the Twelve reacted the same way that Judas did. What did they say? Three words: Why this waste? “Why this waste? You could have helped the poor with this small fortune.” Mary’s stunning act of devotion exposed their hearts. There are few things that are as close to God’s heart as helping the poor and the oppressed. Read your Old Testament. It’s spilling over with God’s concern for the plight of the poor. But as pre-eminently important as caring for the poor is, Jesus Christ Himself is more important. Christ is more important than any ministry, no matter how good or noble. It is possible to worship the god of “ministry” in place of Jesus Christ. This is the second time in Scripture where Mary is being accused. And again, she doesn’t defend herself. Jesus rises to her defense a second time: “Leave her alone,” He says. “She has done a good work upon me.” The Lord was simply saying, “I am worthy. I won’t be with you much longer. So I am worth the value of this perfume.” The disciples regarded it as waste. But it was neither a waste to the Lord nor to Mary. What is waste? It’s giving more than is necessary. What Judas was really saying was, “The Lord isn’t worth it.” The Most Valuable Thing Let me ask you a question: What is the most valuable thing in your life? Besides your loved ones, what is most valuable to you? I’ll tell you what I believe to be the most valuable commodity for most people. It’s something that many of us look back on with regrets. It’s something that many people, especially as they grow older, feel that they have wasted. Do you know what it is? It’s your time. One of the most profound discussions I’ve ever had occurred in Portland, Oregon a few years ago. I held a three-day conference in that city. While I was there, a brother who attended the conference asked to speak to me privately. So we set up a time, and we met after one of the sessions.

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