Humility

"Pride can degrade the highest of angels into devils…. As much as you have pride within you, you have the fallen angel alive in you." Andrew Murray

More quotes on Humility by Andrew Murray

"Humility is nothing but the disappearance of self in the vision that God is all."

"And let each failure and short coming simply urge us to turn humbly and weakly to the meek and lowly Lamb of God." 

"In despair, he must learn to die to himself."

"When God can have His rightful place in us, He will lift us up ."

"Let us look on every brother and sister who tries and vexes us as God's means of Grace. Let us look on him or her as God's instrument for our purification, for our exercise of the humility of Jesus."

All the quotes above are free on PDF: Humility_by_Andrew_Murray. Humility - Kindle edition by Andrew Murray @ Amazon.com., Humility: Andrew Murray: 9780883681107: Amazon.com: Books

Murray says humility begins here. Luke 18:13, "But the tax collector, standing far off, would not even lift up his eyes to heaven, but beat his breast, saying, 'God, be merciful to me, the sinner!'"

Japan warned over threats to press freedom

“A significant number of journalists I met feel intense pressure from the government, abetted by management, to conform their reporting to official policy preferences,” David Kaye, Special Rapporteur on freedom of opinion and expression

"The Abe administration's threats to media independence, the turnover in media personnel in recent months and the increase of self-censorship within leading media outlets are endangering the underpinnings of democracy in Japan." Reporters Without Borders

Read more: Japan warned over threats to press freedom - FT.com, How Japan came to rank worse than Tanzania on press freedom - LA Times, World Press Freedom Day: Japan latest to crack down on reporters, Japan’s New Fascism | National Review, The Religious Cult Secretly Running Japan - The Daily Beast

It could be the church next. Acts 18:19, "One night the Lord spoke to Paul in a vision: 'Do not be afraid; keep on speaking, do not be silent….'"

On Preaching by Timothy Keller

“While the difference between a bad sermon and a good sermon is mainly the responsibility of the preacher, the difference between good preaching and great preaching lies mainly in the work of the Holy Spirit. . . . We should do the work it takes to make our communication good and leave it up to God how and how often he makes it great for the listener.” Tim Keller

On Preaching: By Dr. Timothy Keller at Reformed Theological Seminary: Lecture 1 - YouTube,  

Lecture 2, 

Lecture 3, 

Lecture 4, 

and Gospel Coalition "Preaching to the Heart"

1 Corinthians 2:2, " For I decided to know nothing among you except Jesus Christ and him crucified."

More quotes on preaching by Keller: 20 Quotes from Tim Keller’s New Book on Preaching

21 Thoughts on Preaching | TGC

"I will not let you go unless you bless me."

"Nothing in my hands I bring,
Only to Thy cross I cling."
Augustus Toplady

 For true blessing, we must wrestle, not with man, but with God, bringing nothing in our hands, but only clinging to His cross. 

Listen to these sermons on Genesis 32, Jacob Wrestling with the Lord.
★　Alone With God, Sinclair Ferguson, The Gospel Coalition
★　The Man Who Wrestled with God, Martyn Loyd-Jones,  MLJ Trust
★　The Theology of the Cross and Walking with a Limp, Tim Keller - YouTube

Genesis 32:26, 'Then he said, "Let me go, for the day has broken." But Jacob said, "I will not let you go unless you bless me."' Through out his life, Jacob had been struggling to gain the blessing by his own means. Now he clinging to the Lord.

The Amish

A great documentary on an Amish family touched by Christ's amazing grace. The Amish BBC Documentary - Things you Might not Know - YouTube

Ephesians 2:8-9, "For by grace you have been saved through faith. And this is not your own doing; it is the gift of God, not a result of works, so that no one may boast." 

And more grace, Amish Grace - YouTube, Mother of Amish school shooter shares amazing story of forgiveness - CBS