we are tempted to fight back. But these “fiery darts”

Austin Gardner • February 8, 2023

Today's gleanings

Spurgeon used to say, “Satan never kicks a dead horse!”

 Warren W. Wiersbe, The Strategy of Satan: How to Detect and Defeat Him (Wheaton, IL: Tyndale House Publishers, 1996), 127.
*************************



Satan is the accuser, and he attacks us by reminding us of our sins.

 Warren W. Wiersbe, The Strategy of Satan: How to Detect and Defeat Him (Wheaton, IL: Tyndale House Publishers, 1996), 130.


*************************


Because we know we have been accepted by God and are righteous in Jesus Christ, we need not fear or fret when Satan throws his accusations at us. Often Satan will use people—including Christians—to slander and accuse us; and we are tempted to fight back. But these “fiery darts” (KJV) must not be allowed to penetrate and hit the vital organs. Rest on the finished work of Christ; realize that you are “accepted in the beloved” (Ephesians 1:6, kjv); and know that God’s righteousness, imputed to you, will never be removed.


 Warren W. Wiersbe, The Strategy of Satan: How to Detect and Defeat Him (Wheaton, IL: Tyndale House Publishers, 1996), 130–131.


*************************


Next to the revelation of the Father’s love, there is no more important lesson in the whole school of prayer than this: Everyone that asks receives.

*************************


how easily we are inclined to rest in prayer as a religious duty without expecting an answer.

*************************



Ask and you will receive; everyone that asks receives. This is the fixed eternal law of the kingdom. So if you ask and do not receive, it must be because there is something wrong or lacking in your prayer.


*************************


One of the marks of the weakened state of the Christian life these days is that there are so many who rest content without specific answers to prayer.


*************************


In prayer and its answer the interchange of love between the Father and His child takes place.


*************************


Do not allow the experiences of your unbelief to be the measure of what your faith expects.

*************************



Live as a child of God, and you may pray as a child with complete certainty of an answer.


*************************


He will find that father-like giving is the divine response to childlike living.


*************************


But the Lord does not demand a perfect fulfillment of the law, only a childlike, wholehearted surrender to Him in obedience and truth. Nothing more and nothing less.


*************************


God loves you not because you are clever, not because you are good, but because He is your Father.


 Andrew Murray, Teach Me to Pray (Grand Rapids, MI: Bethany House, 2002).


*************************


John Sung believed that prayer was the most important work of the believer. He defined faith as watching God work while on your knees.

 Ruth A. Tucker, From Jerusalem to Irian Jaya: A Biographical History of Christian Missions, Second Edition (Grand Rapids, MI: Zondervan, 2004), 435.


*************************


“that the growth of any movement is in direct proportion to its ability to mobilize its entire membership for continuous evangelism,”


 Ruth A. Tucker, From Jerusalem to Irian Jaya: A Biographical History of Christian Missions, Second Edition (Grand Rapids, MI: Zondervan, 2004), 443.


*************************


They have not realized they were liberated to serve. So they continue to fight for their own benefit rather than for the benefit of others.


 John Bevere, The Bait of Satan, 20th Anniversary Edition (Lake Mary, FL: Charisma House, 2014), 126.


*************************


A PERSON WHO CANNOT FORGIVE HAS FORGOTTEN HOW GREAT A DEBT GOD HAS FORGIVEN THEM.


 John Bevere, The Bait of Satan, 20th Anniversary Edition (Lake Mary, FL: Charisma House, 2014), 134.


*************************


“When we go through hard times, God doesn’t promise answers. He promises Himself.”


 R. Larry Moyer, Show Me How to Preach Evangelistic Sermons, Show Me How Series (Grand Rapids, MI: Kregel Academic & Professional, 2012), 71.


By Austin Gardner July 10, 2026
The Jewish Diaspora Prepared the Way Long Before Paul Arrived
Illustration showing the four common missionary mistakes—leaving too soon, staying too long, giving
By Austin Gardner July 10, 2026
Discover the four common mistakes that keep indigenous churches from maturing and learn how biblical wisdom, patience, and grace build lasting national leadership.
Missionary mentoring and publicly honoring a national church leader, illustrating how modeling, resp
By Austin Gardner July 9, 2026
Learn how missionaries multiply lasting ministry by modeling Christlike leadership, respecting national leaders, and entrusting them with real responsibility.
Missionary handing responsibility to national church leaders through planned absences, business meet
By Austin Gardner July 8, 2026
Learn how planned absences, shared leadership, and biblical responsibility help build self-governing indigenous churches that thrive for generations.
National believers learning biblical habits through local church leadership, generosity, faithful se
By Austin Gardner July 7, 2026
Teach new believers the biblical habits that build healthy indigenous churches through stewardship, leadership, responsibility, and grace from the very beginning.
Missionaries planting a self-governing, self-supporting, and self-propagating indigenous church as l
By Austin Gardner July 6, 2026
Discover the two biblical principles that build self-governing, self-supporting, and self-propagating indigenous churches that thrive without missionary dependence.
By Austin Gardner July 5, 2026
A Work That Outlives the Worker
An American missionary shares the gospel with a family in the Andes, illustrating how God has used A
By Austin Gardner July 4, 2026
Discover why the greatest gift America has shared with the world is the gospel and how God has used ordinary believers to reach the nations.
A church sends believers into the world to carry the gospel, illustrating that the church exists to
By Austin Gardner July 3, 2026
Discover why the church exists to send laborers, not just fill seats, and how every believer can help fulfill Christ's mission to reach the world.
By Austin Gardner July 2, 2026
How to Really Pray for Missionaries: A Six-Part Series Part 6 — Pray for the Word to Run Freely