Instead of comparing our lot with that of those who are more fortunate than we are, we should compare it with the lot of the great majority of our fellow men. It then appears that we are among the privileged.- Helen Keller

We might well pray for God to invade and conquer us, for
until He does, we remain in peril from a thousand foes. We bear
within us the seeds of our own disintegration... The strength
of our flesh is an ever present danger to our souls.
Deliverance can come to us only by the defeat of our old life.
Safety and peace come only after we have been forced to our
knees... So He conquers us and by that benign conquest saves us
for Himself -A. W. Tozer (1897-1963), The Divine Conquest, Harrisburg, Penn.: Christian Publications, Inc., 1950, Revell, 1950, p. 57

The nature of true repentance is clearly and unmistakably laid down in holy Scripture. It begins with knowledge of sin. It goes on to work sorrow for sin. It leads to confession of sin before God. It shows itself before man by a thorough breaking off from sin. It results in producing a habit of deep hatred for all sin. Above all, it is inseparably connected with lively faith in the Lord Jesus Christ. Repentance like this is the characteristic of all true Christians.~ J.C. Ryle Expository Thoughts on the Gospels: Luke volume 2 , [Carlisle, PA: Banner of Truth, 1998], 109.

Christians fight in the army as soldiers, but the church does not do so; Christians work in the tax office as civil servants, but the church does not do so; Christians should be involved in the political process as citizens (and, as with soldiers and civil servants, their behaviour there is shaped by their Christianity), but the church is not to be so engaged.  The church is rather to preach the good news of Christ's death and resurrection.- CARL TRUEMAN, Reformation 21

Cover, Lord, what has been: govern what shall be. Oh,
perfect that which Thou hast begun, that I suffer not shipwreck
in the haven.-Theodore Beza (1519-1605), his last words, quoted in Last Hours of Eminent Christians, Henry Clissold,London: Rivingtons, 1829, p. 169