Quotes of the Night

I had a few quotes from tonight's reading that I felt worthy of sharing. Please feel free to comment on them or post your own additions. :-)

"How often we wear ourselves out praying for more patience, faith, joy, or peace. All of these are the supernatural response of a Spirit-filled believer! It is not fruits. It is fruit. A more appropriate prayer is, "Lord, purify me and make me a fit vessel for Your presence. Then fill me to overflowing with Your precious Holy Spirit." Beth Moore (A Woman's Heart, God's Dwelling Place)

"Once we place our trust in Christ, we are drafted into a fierce spiritual battle. Often kingdom life is likened to a Caribbean cruise in a luxury liner. People change into their leisure clothes, grab their suntan lotion, and saunter down to the docks. What a shock it is when they find that living in the kingdom is really more like enlisting in the navy and doing battle with a vicious enemy."

"We have been given the keys to the kingdom, the authority and power over the enemy, but if we do not exercise that power, it is of no use. The kingdom of darkness is organized to distract us, to prevent us from doing God's bidding. Through the glitter of materialism and power, sexual immorality, and the promise of self-fulfillment, Satan diverts our attention from the Kingdom of God."

The previous quotes were from John Wimber (Power Evangelism)

"An angel from heaven appeared to Jesus and strengthened him"

How many times have I skimmed over this passage? I knew about the angel who strengthened Jesus after spending 40 days fasting in the desert. How did I miss this angel? I actually went back to my last 3 Bibles to see if I had highlighted the passage and just forgotten it. Nope. Somehow, as many times as I have read this passage, I missed it.

This verse appears between 2 I am very familiar with.

"Father, if you are willing, take this cup from me, yet not my will, but yours be done." and

"And being in anguish, he prayed more earnestly, and his sweat was like drops of blood falling to the ground."

It took an angelic visit to strengthen Jesus enough to go on. And even then, He was in anguish to the point of shedding blood like sweat. For some reason, this verse changes how I look at the passage.

Am I the only one who has overlooked this gem of a verse? Does it impact anyone else strongly?

Luke 22:43