The birds are moulting. If only man could moult also -- his mind once a year its errors, his heart once a year its useless passions. - James Allen (1849 - 1925)
One resolution I have made, and try always to keep, is this: "To rise above little things." --John Burroughs (1837-1921)
THE object of a New Year is not that we should have a new year. It is that we should have a new soul and a new nose; new feet, a new backbone, new ears, and new eyes. Unless a particular man made New Year resolutions, he would make no resolutions. Unless a man starts afresh about things, he will certainly do nothing effective. Unless a man starts on the strange assumption that he has never existed before, it is quite certain that he will never exist afterwards. Unless a man be born again, he shall by no means enter into the Kingdom of Heaven. - G.K. Chesterton, 'Daily News.'
Every man naturally persuades himself that he can keep his resolutions, nor is he convinced of his imbecility but by length of time and frequency of experiment. Samuel Johnson (1709-1784)_Prayers and Meditations_
I think in terms of the day's resolutions, not the year's. - Henry Moore (1898 - 1986)
Resolutions, like the good, die young. --Fulton John Sheen (1895-1979) _Thinking Life Through_ [1955]
Good resolutions are simply cheques that men draw on a bank where they have no account.--Oscar Wilde
Sunday 31 December 2017
Quotes New Year's Day 2018
Those who only consider Calvin as theologian do not understand the extent of his genius. The drawing up of our wise edicts, in which he played a large part, does him as much honour as his Institutes ... As long as love of the homeland and liberty s not extinguished among us, the memory of that great man will never cease to be blessed.- Jean-Jaques Rousseau, On the Social Contact, quoted in David B Calhoun, Knowing God and Ourselves, p 325
“I have a peaceful study, as a refuge from the hurries and noise of the world around me; the venerable dead are waiting in my library to entertain me, and relieve me from the nonsense of surviving mortals.” — Samuel Davies
“Only a fool loans books; half the books in my library were loaned.” - Ben Franklin
Never lend books, for no one ever returns them; the only books I have in my library are books that other people have lent me.– Anatole France
An exaggeration is a truth that has lost its temper. -Kahlil Gibran
“I have a peaceful study, as a refuge from the hurries and noise of the world around me; the venerable dead are waiting in my library to entertain me, and relieve me from the nonsense of surviving mortals.” — Samuel Davies
“Only a fool loans books; half the books in my library were loaned.” - Ben Franklin
Never lend books, for no one ever returns them; the only books I have in my library are books that other people have lent me.– Anatole France
An exaggeration is a truth that has lost its temper. -Kahlil Gibran
Friday 29 December 2017
Quotes 30 Dec 17
“The Christian life is a life of non-conformity.”- R. C. Sproul (1939–2017)
“God can’t give us peace and happiness apart from Himself because there is no such thing.”
― C.S. Lewis
In matters of style, swim with the current; in matters of principle, stand like a rock. -Thomas Jefferson
“Ignorance of providence is the ultimate of all miseries; the highest blessedness lies in the knowledge of it.” - John Calvin, Institutes of the Christian Religion
“Men cannot abide with God in spiritual meditations. He loses soul’s company by their want of this insight into his love. They fix their thoughts only on his terrible majesty, severity, and greatness; and so their spirits are not endeared. Would a soul continually eye his everlasting tenderness and compassion, his thoughts of kindness that have been from of old, his present gracious acceptance, it could not bear an hour's absence from him; whereas now, perhaps, it cannot watch with him one hour. Let, then, this be the saints first notion of the Father, – as one full of eternal, free love towards them:”John Owen, The Glory of Christ(P32).
Quotes 29 Dec 17
“If there is no sanctification, it means that there never was any justification.”- R. C. Sproul (1939–2017
Change is the law of life. And those who look only to the past or present are certain to miss the future. -John F. Kennedy
“Each year, month, and day is governed by a new, a special, providence of God.” - John Calvin, Institutes of the Christian Religion,
Owen argues that there is a difference between gospel repentance and legal or bondage repentance. The latter is "full of dread, amazement, terror, self-love, astonishment at the presence of God". The former "consisting of godly sorrow for sin, with its relinquishment, proceeding from faith, love, and abhorrence of sin, on account of Father, Son and Spirit, both law and love, –“ John Owen, The Glory of Christ(page 196) Thorpe
Thou who hast given so much to me, give one thing more-- a grateful heart.--George Herbert (1593-1633)(In George Sweeting's _Who Said That?_ [1995],"Thanks And Praise")
Wednesday 27 December 2017
Quotes 28 Dec 17
“Only once in sacred Scripture is an attribute of God elevated to the third degree. Only once is a characteristic of God mentioned three times in succession. The Bible says that God is holy, holy, holy.”- R. C. Sproul (1939–2017)
“He sustains, nourishes, and cares for everything he has made, even to the least sparrow.” - John Calvin, Institutes of the Christian Religion
"There are Gibeonites outwardly attending the family of God, but do the service of his house as the drudgery of their lives. The principal they yield obedience upon, is a spirit of bondage and to fear, Romans 8:15; the rule they do it by, is the law in its dread and rigour, exacting it of them to the utmost, without mercy and mitigation; the end they do it for, is to fly from the wrath to come, to pacify conscience, and seek righteousness as it were by the works of the law. Thus servilely, painfully, fruitlessly, they seek to serve their own conviction all their days." John Owen, The Glory of Christ(Page 213)
"...it is a very suitable thing, and well pleasing to God, for many people, in different parts of the world, by express agreement, to come into a visible union in extraordinary, speedy, and fervent, and constant prayer...which shall bring one that advancement of Christ's church and kingdom..." - Jonathan Edwards A Call to Extraordinary Prayer: An Humble Attempt
Gratitude is a very rare thing. If any of you try to do good for the sake of getting gratitude, you will find it one of the most profitless trades in the world.If you can do good, expecting to be abused for it, you will get your reward; but if you do good, with an expectation of gratitude in return, you will be bitterly disappointed.--Charles Haddon Spurgeon (1834-1892)_Metropolitan Tabernacle Pulpit_, Volume 51 [1905]
“He sustains, nourishes, and cares for everything he has made, even to the least sparrow.” - John Calvin, Institutes of the Christian Religion
"There are Gibeonites outwardly attending the family of God, but do the service of his house as the drudgery of their lives. The principal they yield obedience upon, is a spirit of bondage and to fear, Romans 8:15; the rule they do it by, is the law in its dread and rigour, exacting it of them to the utmost, without mercy and mitigation; the end they do it for, is to fly from the wrath to come, to pacify conscience, and seek righteousness as it were by the works of the law. Thus servilely, painfully, fruitlessly, they seek to serve their own conviction all their days." John Owen, The Glory of Christ(Page 213)
"...it is a very suitable thing, and well pleasing to God, for many people, in different parts of the world, by express agreement, to come into a visible union in extraordinary, speedy, and fervent, and constant prayer...which shall bring one that advancement of Christ's church and kingdom..." - Jonathan Edwards A Call to Extraordinary Prayer: An Humble Attempt
Gratitude is a very rare thing. If any of you try to do good for the sake of getting gratitude, you will find it one of the most profitless trades in the world.If you can do good, expecting to be abused for it, you will get your reward; but if you do good, with an expectation of gratitude in return, you will be bitterly disappointed.--Charles Haddon Spurgeon (1834-1892)_Metropolitan Tabernacle Pulpit_, Volume 51 [1905]
Tuesday 26 December 2017
Quotes Dec 27
“Nobody was ever saved by a profession of faith. You have to possess faith.”- R. C. Sproul (1939–2017)
Waste not fresh tears over old griefs. -Euripides
The happiest people don't necessarily have the best of everything. They just make the best of everything. -Jayaram
Accept your past with no regrets, handle your present with confidence, and face your future with no fear.- Life Quotes@liife_quote
“The love of God in itself is the eternal purpose and act of his will. This is no more changeable than God himself: if it were, no flesh could be saved; but it does not change, and we are not consumed. What then? Does he love his people in their sinning? Yes; people, – not their sinning. Does he alter his love towards them? Not the purpose of his will, but the dispensations of his grace. He rebukes them, he chastens them, he hides his face from them, smites them, he fills them with a sense of his indignation; but woe, woe would it be to us, should he change in his love, or take away his kindness from us!" John Owen, The Glory of Christ(Page 31)
Waste not fresh tears over old griefs. -Euripides
The happiest people don't necessarily have the best of everything. They just make the best of everything. -Jayaram
Accept your past with no regrets, handle your present with confidence, and face your future with no fear.- Life Quotes@liife_quote
“The love of God in itself is the eternal purpose and act of his will. This is no more changeable than God himself: if it were, no flesh could be saved; but it does not change, and we are not consumed. What then? Does he love his people in their sinning? Yes; people, – not their sinning. Does he alter his love towards them? Not the purpose of his will, but the dispensations of his grace. He rebukes them, he chastens them, he hides his face from them, smites them, he fills them with a sense of his indignation; but woe, woe would it be to us, should he change in his love, or take away his kindness from us!" John Owen, The Glory of Christ(Page 31)
Quotes 26 Dec 17
His birth had to be a virgin birth. If it wasn’t, then the resulting child could only be human. He could not be Immanuel, God with us. —@GuyMRichard
Success is not final, failure is not fatal: it is the courage to continue that counts" - Winston Churchill.
'Men live 20 years like a man, then he enters adulthood and spends 30 years like a donkey, working and carrying the load on his back, then when his children leave home, spends 15 years like a dog, looking after the house and eating whatever is given to him, then he gets into retirement, and spends 10 years like a monkey, jumping from house to house or from children to children, doing silly things to amuse the grandchildren'- Peter Mason
I know only one truth: work alone creates happiness.I am sure only of that one thing, and I forget it all the time." -The Journal of Jules Renard by Jules Renard ---Sea
Only the Word made flesh can give any sort of hope in a world as grim and ugly and hard and sordid as ours. --Lynn Harold Hough (1877-1971) (In Frank S. Mead's _12,000 Religious Quotations_ [1996], "The Incarnation")
Success is not final, failure is not fatal: it is the courage to continue that counts" - Winston Churchill.
'Men live 20 years like a man, then he enters adulthood and spends 30 years like a donkey, working and carrying the load on his back, then when his children leave home, spends 15 years like a dog, looking after the house and eating whatever is given to him, then he gets into retirement, and spends 10 years like a monkey, jumping from house to house or from children to children, doing silly things to amuse the grandchildren'- Peter Mason
I know only one truth: work alone creates happiness.I am sure only of that one thing, and I forget it all the time." -The Journal of Jules Renard by Jules Renard ---Sea
Only the Word made flesh can give any sort of hope in a world as grim and ugly and hard and sordid as ours. --Lynn Harold Hough (1877-1971) (In Frank S. Mead's _12,000 Religious Quotations_ [1996], "The Incarnation")
Saturday 23 December 2017
Fourth Sunday in Advent
Jerusalem, lift up thy voice!
Daughter of Zion, now rejoice!
Thy King is come, Whose mighty hand
Henceforth shall reign o'er every land.
Daughter of Zion, now rejoice!
Thy King is come, Whose mighty hand
Henceforth shall reign o'er every land.
He comes to every tribe and race,
A Messenger of truth and grace:
With peace He comes from heaven above
On earth to found His realm of love.
A Messenger of truth and grace:
With peace He comes from heaven above
On earth to found His realm of love.
In God's eternal covenant,
He comes for our salvation sent.
The star of hope moves on before,
And hosts assemble to adore.
He comes for our salvation sent.
The star of hope moves on before,
And hosts assemble to adore.
Let all the world with one accord
Now hail the coming of the Lord:
Praise to the Prince of heavenly birth
Who bringeth peace to all the earth.
Johan Olof Wallin, 1814.
Now hail the coming of the Lord:
Praise to the Prince of heavenly birth
Who bringeth peace to all the earth.
Johan Olof Wallin, 1814.
Friday 22 December 2017
Quotes 22 Dec
“We are not sinners because we sin. We sin because we are sinners.”- R. C. Sproul (1939–2017)
The BBC’s current perspective has shifted. It now has its own religious philosophy – secular humanism – which it advocates and evangelises with all the fervency of any religious fundamentalist.- - David Robertson https://theweeflea.com/2017/12/21/the-bbc-must-remember-its-christian-roots-and-stop-mocking-evangelicals-article-on-premier-christianity/
There is no stopping place for the Christian. If we are not going forward, we are slipping backward.
--Homer Duncan (1913-2006) _Prepare Now For The Second Coming Of Christ_ [1969], "Finishing Touches"
All things are difficult before they are easy. -Thomas Fuller
The man who is truly forgiven and knows it, is a man who forgives. --Martyn Lloyd-Jones (1899-1981) (In Martin H. Manser's _The Westminster Collection of Christian Quotations_ [2001], "Forgiveness")
The BBC’s current perspective has shifted. It now has its own religious philosophy – secular humanism – which it advocates and evangelises with all the fervency of any religious fundamentalist.- - David Robertson https://theweeflea.com/2017/12/21/the-bbc-must-remember-its-christian-roots-and-stop-mocking-evangelicals-article-on-premier-christianity/
There is no stopping place for the Christian. If we are not going forward, we are slipping backward.
--Homer Duncan (1913-2006) _Prepare Now For The Second Coming Of Christ_ [1969], "Finishing Touches"
All things are difficult before they are easy. -Thomas Fuller
The man who is truly forgiven and knows it, is a man who forgives. --Martyn Lloyd-Jones (1899-1981) (In Martin H. Manser's _The Westminster Collection of Christian Quotations_ [2001], "Forgiveness")
Quotes Christmas 2017
The hinge of history is on the door of a Bethlehem stable. - Ralph W.Sockman
The King of glory sends his Son,
To make his entrance on this earth;
Behold the midnight bright as noon,
And heav'nly hosts declare his birth!About the young Redeemer's head,
What wonders, and what glories meet!
An unknown star arose, and led
The eastern sages to his feet.Simeon and Anna both conspire
The infant Saviour to proclaim;
Inward they felt the sacred fire,
And bless'd the babe, and own'd his name.Let pagan hordes blaspheme aloud,
And treat the holy child with scorn;
Our souls adore th' eternal God
Who condescended to be born.
Isaac Watts (1674-1748)
Take Christ out of Christmas, and December becomes the bleakest and most colorless month of the year.--A. F. Wells
To perceive Christmas through it`s wrapping becomes more difficult every year. -- E. B. White (The second tree from the corner)
Christmas is not for sophomores who live under the illusion that they read all of Darwin, or for the intelligentsia. . . or for the self-wise who think Marx is wiser than Mark. It is only for the very learned, the great scientists, the profound theologians who are heirs of the wise men who discovered Wisdom.
At the other end of the spectrum are the simple who know nature better than books, who have insights deeper than the impure and a vision which sees in the night. These are the heirs of the shepherds who find their way to the Shepherd of their souls. --Fulton John Sheen (1895-1979) _Christmas Inspirations_ [1984], Chapter 34
At the other end of the spectrum are the simple who know nature better than books, who have insights deeper than the impure and a vision which sees in the night. These are the heirs of the shepherds who find their way to the Shepherd of their souls. --Fulton John Sheen (1895-1979) _Christmas Inspirations_ [1984], Chapter 34
Thursday 21 December 2017
Quotes 22 Dec 17
“The grounds of your justification are the perfect works of Jesus Christ. We’re saved by works, but they’re not our own.”- R. C. Sproul (1939–2017)
... when the BBC started in 1927 it did not broadcast on a Sunday before 12:30pm. This was not to enable people to have a long lie in, but to attend church. For the rest of Sunday the BBC would only broadcast religious services, classical music and other ‘serious’ items.- David Robertson https://theweeflea.com/2017/12/21/the-bbc-must-remember-its-christian-roots-and-stop-mocking-evangelicals-article-on-premier-christianity/
The moment you come into this world you begin to go
out of it; your first breath is linked with your last.
--Martyn Lloyd-Jones (1899-1981)
_Romans: The Final Perseverance Of The Saints_ [1975]
I have learned to kiss the waves that slam me against the rock of ages. -Spurgeon
“There is more glory given unto God by coming unto Christ in believing, than in keeping the whole law; inasmuch as he has more eminently manifested the holy properties of his nature in the way of salvation by Christ, than in giving of the law. There is therefore no man who under gospel invitations, refuses to come and to close with Christ by believing, but secretly, through the power of darkness, blindness, and unbelief, he hates God, dislikes all his ways, would not have his glory exulted or manifested, choosing rather to die in enmity against him than to give glory to him. Do not deceive yourselves; it is not an indifferent thing whether you will come in unto Christ upon his invitations or no, – a thing that you may put off from one season unto another: your present refusal of it is as high an act of enmity against God as your nature is capable of.”John Owen, The Glory of Christ (Page 44)
... when the BBC started in 1927 it did not broadcast on a Sunday before 12:30pm. This was not to enable people to have a long lie in, but to attend church. For the rest of Sunday the BBC would only broadcast religious services, classical music and other ‘serious’ items.- David Robertson https://theweeflea.com/2017/12/21/the-bbc-must-remember-its-christian-roots-and-stop-mocking-evangelicals-article-on-premier-christianity/
The moment you come into this world you begin to go
out of it; your first breath is linked with your last.
--Martyn Lloyd-Jones (1899-1981)
_Romans: The Final Perseverance Of The Saints_ [1975]
I have learned to kiss the waves that slam me against the rock of ages. -Spurgeon
“There is more glory given unto God by coming unto Christ in believing, than in keeping the whole law; inasmuch as he has more eminently manifested the holy properties of his nature in the way of salvation by Christ, than in giving of the law. There is therefore no man who under gospel invitations, refuses to come and to close with Christ by believing, but secretly, through the power of darkness, blindness, and unbelief, he hates God, dislikes all his ways, would not have his glory exulted or manifested, choosing rather to die in enmity against him than to give glory to him. Do not deceive yourselves; it is not an indifferent thing whether you will come in unto Christ upon his invitations or no, – a thing that you may put off from one season unto another: your present refusal of it is as high an act of enmity against God as your nature is capable of.”John Owen, The Glory of Christ (Page 44)
Quotes 21 Dec 17
“You can’t open your eyes in this universe without seeing a theater of divine revelation.”- R. C. Sproul (1939–2017)
Mary had a little lamb,
Eternally begot.
For contra Arius, there was
No time when he was not. - Fred Sanders @FredFredSanders
Faithful servants never retire. They serve faithfully
as long as they're alive. You can retire from your
career, but you will never retire from serving God.
--Rick Warren (1954- )
_The Purpose Driven Life_ [2002], "How Real Servants Act"
Is sloppiness in speech caused by ignorance or apathy?
I don't know and I don't care.
--William Safire (1929-2009)
The Internet, in particular, offers immense
possibilities for encounter and solidarity,
this is something truly good, a gift from God.
--Pope Francis (1936- )
_CNN.Com_ [January 23, 2014],
"Pope: The Internet Is A 'Gift From God.
'But Watch Out For The Trolls"
Tuesday 19 December 2017
Quotes 20 Dec 17
There is not one piece of cosmic dust that is outside the scope of God's sovereign providence. —@RCSproul #GodUsedRC
A person who thinks only about building walls, wherever they may be, and not of building bridges,
is not Christian. This is not the gospel. --Pope Francis (1936- ) (Remarks made to reporters traveling back to the Vatican at the conclusion of a trip to Cuba and Mexico.) _CNN.Com_ [February 18, 2016], "Pope Suggests Trump 'Is Not Christian'"
“But there is no more sacred truth than this, that where Christ is present with believers, – where he is not withdrawn for a season from them, where they live in the view of his glory by faith as it is proposed unto them in the gospel, – he will give unto them, at his own seasons, such intimations of his love, such supplies of his Spirit, such holy joys and rejoicings, such repose of soul in assurance, as shall refresh their souls, fill them with joy, satisfy them with spiritual delight, and quicken them unto all acts of holy communion with himself.” John Owen, The Glory of Christ(Page 399)
The steps of faith fall on the seeming void, but find the rock beneath. - John Greenleaf Whittier Poetry_
Moses spent forty years thinking he was somebody; forty years learning he was nobody; and forty years discovering what God can do with a nobody. -Dwight L. Moody
A person who thinks only about building walls, wherever they may be, and not of building bridges,
is not Christian. This is not the gospel. --Pope Francis (1936- ) (Remarks made to reporters traveling back to the Vatican at the conclusion of a trip to Cuba and Mexico.) _CNN.Com_ [February 18, 2016], "Pope Suggests Trump 'Is Not Christian'"
“But there is no more sacred truth than this, that where Christ is present with believers, – where he is not withdrawn for a season from them, where they live in the view of his glory by faith as it is proposed unto them in the gospel, – he will give unto them, at his own seasons, such intimations of his love, such supplies of his Spirit, such holy joys and rejoicings, such repose of soul in assurance, as shall refresh their souls, fill them with joy, satisfy them with spiritual delight, and quicken them unto all acts of holy communion with himself.” John Owen, The Glory of Christ(Page 399)
The steps of faith fall on the seeming void, but find the rock beneath. - John Greenleaf Whittier Poetry_
Moses spent forty years thinking he was somebody; forty years learning he was nobody; and forty years discovering what God can do with a nobody. -Dwight L. Moody
Quotes for 19 Dec 17
A brave man hazards life, but not his conscience. --Schiller, _The Death of Wallenstein_, 1799
Several of the gang members were standing around
in the hallway giggling. "Hey, Nicky, what's the
matter, baby, you got religion?" I looked up and
one of the girls stepped forward in front of us.
She pulled her halter up and exposed her bare
breasts for us to see. "You go in there,
honey, and you can kiss this goodbye."
I realize now they were jealous. They felt we were
going to share our love with God and they wanted it
all for themselves. This was all they knew about
love. It was all I knew about love. But at the
moment it made no difference. I pushed her away
spitting on the floor and said, "You make me sick."
Nothing else mattered at the moment except the fact
that I wanted to be a follower of Jesus
Christ--whoever He was. --Nicky Cruz (1938- ) _Run Baby Run_ [1968], "The Encounter"
Simone De Beauvoir, in 1949 attacked the idea that biology meant gender. She drew a distinction between gender (society’s ideas about what a man and woman should be) and sex or biology. There is no reason, feminists from Beauvoir onward would argue, for sex to be destiny. This really was a question of mind over matter, or imagination over genitalia.
For feminists, women were constrained by their bodies and biology. So, real freedom meant being able to imagine one’s way out of that constraint.
What might work for a fearsome feminist like Simone de Beauvoir, might not work for 14-year-old Tracy from Tadcaster, understandably worried that her mind and her hormones are not in sync.- Gavin Ashenden https://ashenden.org/2017/08/03/sanity-or-the-freedom-to-become-trapped/
Temptation is the voice of the suppressed evil; consciences is the voice of the repressed good. --J. A. Hadfield, _Psychology and Morals_, 1923
Conscience: the Inner voice which warns you that someone may be looking.--H. L. Mencken, _A Little Book in C Major_, 1916
Several of the gang members were standing around
in the hallway giggling. "Hey, Nicky, what's the
matter, baby, you got religion?" I looked up and
one of the girls stepped forward in front of us.
She pulled her halter up and exposed her bare
breasts for us to see. "You go in there,
honey, and you can kiss this goodbye."
I realize now they were jealous. They felt we were
going to share our love with God and they wanted it
all for themselves. This was all they knew about
love. It was all I knew about love. But at the
moment it made no difference. I pushed her away
spitting on the floor and said, "You make me sick."
Nothing else mattered at the moment except the fact
that I wanted to be a follower of Jesus
Christ--whoever He was. --Nicky Cruz (1938- ) _Run Baby Run_ [1968], "The Encounter"
Simone De Beauvoir, in 1949 attacked the idea that biology meant gender. She drew a distinction between gender (society’s ideas about what a man and woman should be) and sex or biology. There is no reason, feminists from Beauvoir onward would argue, for sex to be destiny. This really was a question of mind over matter, or imagination over genitalia.
For feminists, women were constrained by their bodies and biology. So, real freedom meant being able to imagine one’s way out of that constraint.
What might work for a fearsome feminist like Simone de Beauvoir, might not work for 14-year-old Tracy from Tadcaster, understandably worried that her mind and her hormones are not in sync.- Gavin Ashenden https://ashenden.org/2017/08/03/sanity-or-the-freedom-to-become-trapped/
Temptation is the voice of the suppressed evil; consciences is the voice of the repressed good. --J. A. Hadfield, _Psychology and Morals_, 1923
Conscience: the Inner voice which warns you that someone may be looking.--H. L. Mencken, _A Little Book in C Major_, 1916
Sunday 17 December 2017
Quotes Dec 18
A peace above all earthly dignities,
A still and quiet conscience. --Shakespeare, _Henry VIII_
In our days when some politicians prostitute public office or else ally themselves with evil forces, they justify their wickedness on the ground that "they did nothing against the law."The only law for them becomes civil law, and their individual interpretation of it; never do they think of the moral law in their conscience, or the Ten Commandments. -Fulton John Sheen (1895-1979) _Way To Inner Peace_ [1955]
...in 1916 Ford organised a gala patriotic pageant, centred on a gigantic melting pot, in which a large stream of immigrant workers descended into the pot from backstage, clad in outlandish bard and flaunting signs proclaiming their fatherlands. Simultaneously from either side of the pot another stream of men emerged, each prosperously dressed in an identical suit of clothes and each carrying a little American flag.- Samuel P Huntington, Who Are We?, p134
Always remember that you are absolutely unique. Just like everyone else. --Margaret Mead (1901-1978) (In John Peers' _1,000 Logical Laws_ [1979], "Meade's Maxim")
In God's economy there is no such field. No
duplicates, no replacements, and no reruns ever
appear in the human race. Every man, woman, and
child is a special expression of His creative
handiwork. The psalmist said, "I am fearfully and wonderfully
made." This distinctiveness assures us that the
Lord wanted each of us to be unique. We don't have
to envy others. We can accept ourselves as we are
because God has created us in His image with
specific qualities all our own.
Feelings of inadequacy come to all of us. But the
Lord never intended that we struggle through life
with a burden of inferiority. Thank Him that you're
one of a kind; then serve Him as only you can.
--Dennis J. De Haan _Our Daily Bread_ [July 15, 1986], "You Are Special!"
Thursday 14 December 2017
Quotes 15 Dec 17
Remember, Christ's blood speaks when thou canst not. It can plead for thee, and that powerfully, when thou art not able to speak a word for thyself. —John Flavel
It is true that many scientists are not philosophically minded and have hitherto shown much skill and
ingenuity but little wisdom. --Max Born (1882-1970) _Natural Philosophy Of Cause And Chance_ [1964]
Enjoy life today because yesterday is gone and tomorrow is never promised.- e Quotes @liife_quote
We have too many men of science, too few men of God. We have grasped the mystery of the atom and rejected the Sermon on the Mount. The world has achieved brilliance without wisdom, power without conscience. Ours is a world of nuclear giants and ethical infants. We know more about war than we know about peace, more about killing than we know about living. --Omar N. Bradley (1893-1981) (Armistice Day speech to the Boston Chamber of Commerce, November 11, 1948
England had a Puritan Revolution without creating a Puritan society, America Created a Puritan society without enduring a Puritan revolution.- Samuel P Huntington, Who Are We?, p65
It is true that many scientists are not philosophically minded and have hitherto shown much skill and
ingenuity but little wisdom. --Max Born (1882-1970) _Natural Philosophy Of Cause And Chance_ [1964]
Enjoy life today because yesterday is gone and tomorrow is never promised.- e Quotes @liife_quote
We have too many men of science, too few men of God. We have grasped the mystery of the atom and rejected the Sermon on the Mount. The world has achieved brilliance without wisdom, power without conscience. Ours is a world of nuclear giants and ethical infants. We know more about war than we know about peace, more about killing than we know about living. --Omar N. Bradley (1893-1981) (Armistice Day speech to the Boston Chamber of Commerce, November 11, 1948
England had a Puritan Revolution without creating a Puritan society, America Created a Puritan society without enduring a Puritan revolution.- Samuel P Huntington, Who Are We?, p65
Wednesday 13 December 2017
Quotes 14 Dec 17
God promises that those who seek him will lack no good thing. If something is good for you, God will give it to you.- Desiring God@desiringGod
“As long as you are proud you cannot know God. A proud man is always looking down on thing and people: and, of course, as long as you are looking down you cannot see something that is above you.”- C. S. Lewis @CSLewisDaily
Of all the phrases of the Apostles’ Creed, the one which is most open to misunderstanding is: “I believe in the holy Catholic Church.” Many Protestants, feeling that in some way this portion of the Apostles’ Creed refers to the Roman Catholic Church, are ashamed to repeat it. Let us say, as we begin, that not only does “the holy Catholic Church” have no reference to Roman Catholicism, but it is the very antithesis of it.- Early Tract by Francis Schaeffer originally a message brought by the Rev. Francis A. Schaeffer on 12 November 1944.
If ‘Christ crucified’ has not his rightful place in your sermons, and ‘sin’ is not exposed as it should be, and your people are not plainly told what they out to believe, and be, and do—your preaching is of no use. - JC Ryle
"In Christ, suffering is the road to glory, the cross points to a crown, and the timber of the cross becomes a tree of life." –Herman Bavinck
“As long as you are proud you cannot know God. A proud man is always looking down on thing and people: and, of course, as long as you are looking down you cannot see something that is above you.”- C. S. Lewis @CSLewisDaily
Of all the phrases of the Apostles’ Creed, the one which is most open to misunderstanding is: “I believe in the holy Catholic Church.” Many Protestants, feeling that in some way this portion of the Apostles’ Creed refers to the Roman Catholic Church, are ashamed to repeat it. Let us say, as we begin, that not only does “the holy Catholic Church” have no reference to Roman Catholicism, but it is the very antithesis of it.- Early Tract by Francis Schaeffer originally a message brought by the Rev. Francis A. Schaeffer on 12 November 1944.
If ‘Christ crucified’ has not his rightful place in your sermons, and ‘sin’ is not exposed as it should be, and your people are not plainly told what they out to believe, and be, and do—your preaching is of no use. - JC Ryle
"In Christ, suffering is the road to glory, the cross points to a crown, and the timber of the cross becomes a tree of life." –Herman Bavinck
Tuesday 12 December 2017
Quotes 13 Dec 17
Socialistic economic planning, regulation, and intervention pave the way to totalitarianism by
building a power structure that will inevitably be seized by the most power-hungry and unscrupulous.
--attributed to Friedrich Von Hayek and/or Friedrich Adolf Krummacher
The crisis of liberalism is bigger than Trump. It represents the exhaustion of an intellectual
impulse that ran out of gas in the 20th -- the previous -- century. Maybe the Left should recast
itself as a purely religious or ethical project since Achilles heel of liberalism is a Marxist
tainted economic model that nobody even pretends works. They've been focused on pure redistribution for years. There is no Marxist way to make money. There are only Marxist ways to spend money. Under the circumstances someone should decide to be the new Marx. The old one is getting long in the tooth. Their greatest strengths are fostering a sense of belonging, a life-purpose and a kind of ethics, an appeal compromised by the necessity to graft this belief system to a centralized state. The only thing that still works on the Left is its impersonation of Judaeo-Christianity; even that is weakened by its crazy insistence on atheism, which should be optional, since religion is the only thing the Left has to sell. The reason the Left has been losing ground to Islam is it doesn't work as an economic system yet it hasn't paid enough attention to being a religion.
-- Richard Fernandez, The Big Pretend https://pjmedia.com/richardfernandez/2016/11/19/the-big-pretend/?singlepage=true
Eccentricity is not--as dull people would have us believe--a form of madness. It is often a kind of
innocent pride, and the man of genius and the aristocrat are frequently regarded as eccentrics because genius and aristocrat are entirely unafraid of and uninfluenced by the opinions and vagaries of the crowd. --Edith Sitwell (1887-1964) _Taken Care Of: The Autobiography of Edith Sitwell_ [1965
If with a truly penitent heart and lively faith we receive that Holy Sacrament, then we spiritually eat the flesh of Christ, and drink his blood; then we dwell in Christ and Christ in us, we are one with Christ, and Christ with us.- Thomas Cranmer on the Lord's Supper (BCP 1552)
On 8 Dec 1917 '‘Allenby walked into the Old City, in deliberate contrast to Kaiser Wilhelm who had ridden a white horse in triumph into the city before the war.’ Wilhelm rode his charger into Jerusalem in 1898, trying to forge closer ties with the Ottoman Empire against England, France and Russia. ‘Allenby let it be known that he would have been ashamed to ride a horse along the route that his Saviour had ridden on an ass. It is perfectly plausible that this was a genuine sentiment. It was also brilliant propaganda.’" - Cambridge History of the First World War: Volume 3, edited by Jay Winter
building a power structure that will inevitably be seized by the most power-hungry and unscrupulous.
--attributed to Friedrich Von Hayek and/or Friedrich Adolf Krummacher
The crisis of liberalism is bigger than Trump. It represents the exhaustion of an intellectual
impulse that ran out of gas in the 20th -- the previous -- century. Maybe the Left should recast
itself as a purely religious or ethical project since Achilles heel of liberalism is a Marxist
tainted economic model that nobody even pretends works. They've been focused on pure redistribution for years. There is no Marxist way to make money. There are only Marxist ways to spend money. Under the circumstances someone should decide to be the new Marx. The old one is getting long in the tooth. Their greatest strengths are fostering a sense of belonging, a life-purpose and a kind of ethics, an appeal compromised by the necessity to graft this belief system to a centralized state. The only thing that still works on the Left is its impersonation of Judaeo-Christianity; even that is weakened by its crazy insistence on atheism, which should be optional, since religion is the only thing the Left has to sell. The reason the Left has been losing ground to Islam is it doesn't work as an economic system yet it hasn't paid enough attention to being a religion.
-- Richard Fernandez, The Big Pretend https://pjmedia.com/richardfernandez/2016/11/19/the-big-pretend/?singlepage=true
Eccentricity is not--as dull people would have us believe--a form of madness. It is often a kind of
innocent pride, and the man of genius and the aristocrat are frequently regarded as eccentrics because genius and aristocrat are entirely unafraid of and uninfluenced by the opinions and vagaries of the crowd. --Edith Sitwell (1887-1964) _Taken Care Of: The Autobiography of Edith Sitwell_ [1965
If with a truly penitent heart and lively faith we receive that Holy Sacrament, then we spiritually eat the flesh of Christ, and drink his blood; then we dwell in Christ and Christ in us, we are one with Christ, and Christ with us.- Thomas Cranmer on the Lord's Supper (BCP 1552)
On 8 Dec 1917 '‘Allenby walked into the Old City, in deliberate contrast to Kaiser Wilhelm who had ridden a white horse in triumph into the city before the war.’ Wilhelm rode his charger into Jerusalem in 1898, trying to forge closer ties with the Ottoman Empire against England, France and Russia. ‘Allenby let it be known that he would have been ashamed to ride a horse along the route that his Saviour had ridden on an ass. It is perfectly plausible that this was a genuine sentiment. It was also brilliant propaganda.’" - Cambridge History of the First World War: Volume 3, edited by Jay Winter
Quotes 12 Dec 17
A person may sometimes have a clear conscience simply becausehis head is empty.--Ralph W. Sockman, _How to Believe_, 1953
It is not uncommon to hear someone being instructed
to "let their conscience be their guide." But this
is not always good advice. It is possible to follow
one's conscience and do the wrong thing.
Six times in his pastoral epistles, Paul mentions
the conscience. He writes about a good conscience
and a pure conscience, but he also says that it is
possible to have one's conscience "corrupted"
(Titus 1:15) or defiled.
Paul describes that defiled conscience as having
been "seared as with a hot iron" (1 Timothy 4:2).
The writer of Hebrews actually speaks of an "evil
conscience" (Hebrews 10:22).
The conscience is one of our God-given internal
faculties, a critical witness within us that tells us
we ought to do what we believe to be right and
not to do what we believe to be wrong. The conscience, however, does not instruct us as to
what is right or wrong; it prods us to do what we
have been taught is right.It is therefore possible to be led astray by our
conscience if we are deceived about what is right
and what is wrong. It is important to understand
that our conscience must be informed by the Word
of God, by what it says is right and what it says
is wrong.Without being shaped by the absolute standard of
God's Word, our conscience is an unreliable guide
for life because it is easily deceived and subject
to emotions and moods.--David Jeremiah (1941- )
_The Spiritual Warfare Answer Book_ [2016],
"What Is The Importance Of A Clear Conscience?"
"While other worldviews lead us to sit in the midst of life's joys, foreseeing the coming sorrows, Christianity empowers its people to sit in the midst of this world's sorrows, tasting the coming joy." -- @timkellernyc
God says, . . . "Sorrow and pain are serving my ends; for by them I will slay sin, and save my children." --George MacDonald (1824-1905) _The Seaboard Parish_
Advertising tries to stimulate our sensuous desires, converting luxuries into necessities, but it only
intensifies man's inner misery. The business world is bent on creating hungers which its wares never satisfy, and thus it adds to the frustrations and broken minds of our times. --Fulton John Sheen (1895-1979) _Lift Up Your Heart_ [1942]
It is not uncommon to hear someone being instructed
to "let their conscience be their guide." But this
is not always good advice. It is possible to follow
one's conscience and do the wrong thing.
Six times in his pastoral epistles, Paul mentions
the conscience. He writes about a good conscience
and a pure conscience, but he also says that it is
possible to have one's conscience "corrupted"
(Titus 1:15) or defiled.
Paul describes that defiled conscience as having
been "seared as with a hot iron" (1 Timothy 4:2).
The writer of Hebrews actually speaks of an "evil
conscience" (Hebrews 10:22).
The conscience is one of our God-given internal
faculties, a critical witness within us that tells us
we ought to do what we believe to be right and
not to do what we believe to be wrong. The conscience, however, does not instruct us as to
what is right or wrong; it prods us to do what we
have been taught is right.It is therefore possible to be led astray by our
conscience if we are deceived about what is right
and what is wrong. It is important to understand
that our conscience must be informed by the Word
of God, by what it says is right and what it says
is wrong.Without being shaped by the absolute standard of
God's Word, our conscience is an unreliable guide
for life because it is easily deceived and subject
to emotions and moods.--David Jeremiah (1941- )
_The Spiritual Warfare Answer Book_ [2016],
"What Is The Importance Of A Clear Conscience?"
"While other worldviews lead us to sit in the midst of life's joys, foreseeing the coming sorrows, Christianity empowers its people to sit in the midst of this world's sorrows, tasting the coming joy." -- @timkellernyc
God says, . . . "Sorrow and pain are serving my ends; for by them I will slay sin, and save my children." --George MacDonald (1824-1905) _The Seaboard Parish_
Advertising tries to stimulate our sensuous desires, converting luxuries into necessities, but it only
intensifies man's inner misery. The business world is bent on creating hungers which its wares never satisfy, and thus it adds to the frustrations and broken minds of our times. --Fulton John Sheen (1895-1979) _Lift Up Your Heart_ [1942]
Sunday 10 December 2017
Quotes 11 Dec 17
The possession of unlimited power will make a despot of almost any man. There is a possible Nero in the gentlest human creature that walks. --Thomas Bailey Aldrich (1836-1907) _Ponkapog Papers [1903], "Leaves From A Notebook"
" Our call is first to be the bride [of Christ] faithful, but that is not the total call. The call is not only to be the bride faithful, but to be the bride in love." ~ Dr. Francis Schaeffer, The Church Before the Watching World
"As long as you live, beware of a religion in which there is not much cross. You live in a time when the warning is sadly needful. Beware, I say again, of a religion without the cross. - J C Ryle, Old Paths
One of the great myths of life is that childhood passes quickly. In fact, because time moves more
slowly in Kid World--five times more slowly in a classroom on a hot afternoon, eight times more slowly on any car journey of more than five miles (rising to eighty-six times more slowly when driving across Nebraska or Pennsylvania lengthwise), and so slowly during the last week before birthdays, Christmases, and summer vacations as to be functionally immeasurable--it goes on for decades when measured in adult terms. It is adult life that is over in a twinkling. -Bill Bryson (1951- ) _The Life And Times Of The Thunderbolt Kid_ [2006], Chapter 2
The area (middle belt of Nigeria before colonialism ) became a virtual slave farm. - TOYIN FALOLA Colonialism and Violence in Nigeria – 2009, quoted in Helon Habila, The Chibok Girls, 2017
" Our call is first to be the bride [of Christ] faithful, but that is not the total call. The call is not only to be the bride faithful, but to be the bride in love." ~ Dr. Francis Schaeffer, The Church Before the Watching World
"As long as you live, beware of a religion in which there is not much cross. You live in a time when the warning is sadly needful. Beware, I say again, of a religion without the cross. - J C Ryle, Old Paths
One of the great myths of life is that childhood passes quickly. In fact, because time moves more
slowly in Kid World--five times more slowly in a classroom on a hot afternoon, eight times more slowly on any car journey of more than five miles (rising to eighty-six times more slowly when driving across Nebraska or Pennsylvania lengthwise), and so slowly during the last week before birthdays, Christmases, and summer vacations as to be functionally immeasurable--it goes on for decades when measured in adult terms. It is adult life that is over in a twinkling. -Bill Bryson (1951- ) _The Life And Times Of The Thunderbolt Kid_ [2006], Chapter 2
The area (middle belt of Nigeria before colonialism ) became a virtual slave farm. - TOYIN FALOLA Colonialism and Violence in Nigeria – 2009, quoted in Helon Habila, The Chibok Girls, 2017
Second Sunday in Advent 2017
The advent of our God
Our prayers must now employ,
And we must meet Him on His road
With hymns of holy joy.
The everlasting Son
Incarnate deigns to be;
Himself a servant's form puts on
To set His people free.
Daughter of Zion, rise
To meet thy lowly King,
Nor let thy faithless heart despise
The peace He comes to bring.
As Judge, on clouds of light,
He soon will come again,
And all His scattered saints unite
With Him in heaven to reign.
Before the dawning day
Let sin's dark deeds be gone;
The old man all be put away,
The new man all put on.
All glory to the Son
Who comes to set us free,
With Father, Spirit, ever One,
Through all eternity.
Charles Coffin, Paris Breviary, 1736 (Instantis adventum Dei); translated by John Chandler in Hymns of the Primitive Church, 1837.
Our prayers must now employ,
And we must meet Him on His road
With hymns of holy joy.
The everlasting Son
Incarnate deigns to be;
Himself a servant's form puts on
To set His people free.
Daughter of Zion, rise
To meet thy lowly King,
Nor let thy faithless heart despise
The peace He comes to bring.
As Judge, on clouds of light,
He soon will come again,
And all His scattered saints unite
With Him in heaven to reign.
Before the dawning day
Let sin's dark deeds be gone;
The old man all be put away,
The new man all put on.
All glory to the Son
Who comes to set us free,
With Father, Spirit, ever One,
Through all eternity.
Charles Coffin, Paris Breviary, 1736 (Instantis adventum Dei); translated by John Chandler in Hymns of the Primitive Church, 1837.
Quotes 9 Dec 17
The three hardest tasks in the world are neither physical feats nor intellectual achievements, but
moral acts: to return love for hate, to include the excluded, and to say, "I was wrong." --Sydney J. Harris (1917-1986) _Pieces of Eight_ [1982]
We have not passed that subtle line between childhood and adulthood until we move from the passive voice to the active voice--that is, until we have stopped saying "It got lost," and say "I lost it."
--Sydney J. Harris (1917-1986) _On The Contrary_ [1964], Chapter 7
Is Christ sweeter and better than the sweetest food, better than all the things of the world? -J. Edwards
A Christian is somebody whose eyes have been opened, who admits that Jesus is not what you expected, but he’s what you need.- Tim Keller@DailyKeller
I am persuaded that the doctrine of predestination is one of the softest pillows upon which the Christian can lay his head--and one of the "strongest staffs" upon which he may lean, in his pilgrimage along this rough road.- (Charles Spurgeon)
moral acts: to return love for hate, to include the excluded, and to say, "I was wrong." --Sydney J. Harris (1917-1986) _Pieces of Eight_ [1982]
We have not passed that subtle line between childhood and adulthood until we move from the passive voice to the active voice--that is, until we have stopped saying "It got lost," and say "I lost it."
--Sydney J. Harris (1917-1986) _On The Contrary_ [1964], Chapter 7
Is Christ sweeter and better than the sweetest food, better than all the things of the world? -J. Edwards
A Christian is somebody whose eyes have been opened, who admits that Jesus is not what you expected, but he’s what you need.- Tim Keller@DailyKeller
I am persuaded that the doctrine of predestination is one of the softest pillows upon which the Christian can lay his head--and one of the "strongest staffs" upon which he may lean, in his pilgrimage along this rough road.- (Charles Spurgeon)
Thursday 7 December 2017
Quotes 8 Dec 17
No-one looking in the mirror sees their own biases.- GJW
He who asks is a fool for five minutes, but he who does not ask remains a fool forever. -Chinese Proverb
Conscience itself, which is ordained, as the urine of the body, to shew the estate of the whole, and therefore is accordingly called good or evil as the man’s state is, this is apt in such distempers to change and turn colour, and look to a man’s own view as foul as the state of a very hypocrite.”- Thomas Goodwin Works III, p. 254.
He who has begun is half done. Dare to be wise; begin! --Horace (65-8 BC) _Epistles_; Book 1, Epistle 2, Line 40
Be content to act, and leave the talking to others. --Baltasar Gracian (1601-1658) _The Art of Worldly Wisdom_ [1647]
He who asks is a fool for five minutes, but he who does not ask remains a fool forever. -Chinese Proverb
Conscience itself, which is ordained, as the urine of the body, to shew the estate of the whole, and therefore is accordingly called good or evil as the man’s state is, this is apt in such distempers to change and turn colour, and look to a man’s own view as foul as the state of a very hypocrite.”- Thomas Goodwin Works III, p. 254.
He who has begun is half done. Dare to be wise; begin! --Horace (65-8 BC) _Epistles_; Book 1, Epistle 2, Line 40
Be content to act, and leave the talking to others. --Baltasar Gracian (1601-1658) _The Art of Worldly Wisdom_ [1647]
Wednesday 6 December 2017
Quotes 7 Dec 17
A man can be so busy making a living that he forgets to make a life.--William Barclay (1907-1978)(In Martin H. Manser's _The Westminster Collection of Christian Quotations_ [2001], "Action")
God will always answer our prayers; but he will answer them in his way, and his way will be the way of perfect love.Often if he answered our prayer, as we at the moment desire, it would be the worst thing possible for us, for in our ignorance we often ask for gifts which would be our ruin. --William Barclay (1907-1978)(In Martin H. Manser's _The Westminster Collection of Christian Quotations_ [2001], "Prayer")
“The beard of reputation once shorn is hard to grow again.” Spurgeon (Lectures to My Students 1:9)
Wife: [Watching breaking news on the TV] Yet another powerful man exposed for sexual harassing!
Husband: Is it a Democrat or a Republican? I need to calibrate my outrage.--Steve Sack (1953- )(Political cartoon; November 22, 2017)
No sin can be little, because it is committed against the great God of heaven and earth.To commit little sins--the sinner must find a little god! - (John Bunyan)
God will always answer our prayers; but he will answer them in his way, and his way will be the way of perfect love.Often if he answered our prayer, as we at the moment desire, it would be the worst thing possible for us, for in our ignorance we often ask for gifts which would be our ruin. --William Barclay (1907-1978)(In Martin H. Manser's _The Westminster Collection of Christian Quotations_ [2001], "Prayer")
“The beard of reputation once shorn is hard to grow again.” Spurgeon (Lectures to My Students 1:9)
Wife: [Watching breaking news on the TV] Yet another powerful man exposed for sexual harassing!
Husband: Is it a Democrat or a Republican? I need to calibrate my outrage.--Steve Sack (1953- )(Political cartoon; November 22, 2017)
No sin can be little, because it is committed against the great God of heaven and earth.To commit little sins--the sinner must find a little god! - (John Bunyan)
Quotes 6 Dec 17
The years as they pass plunder us of one thing after another. --Horace (65-8 BC) _Epistles_, Book II [c. 14 BC], Epistle II, Line 55
I had an interest in death from an early age. It fascinated me. When I heard "Humpty Dumpty sat on a wall," I thought, "Did he fall or was he pushed?" --P. D. James (1920-2014) _Paris Review_ [1995]
Life is what happens to you while you're busy making other plans. -John Lennon
Everything is funny, as long as it's happening to somebody else. -Will Rogers
Talent is God-given. Be humble. Fame is man-given. Be grateful. Conceit is self-given. Be careful.— John Wooden (1910–2010)
I had an interest in death from an early age. It fascinated me. When I heard "Humpty Dumpty sat on a wall," I thought, "Did he fall or was he pushed?" --P. D. James (1920-2014) _Paris Review_ [1995]
Life is what happens to you while you're busy making other plans. -John Lennon
Everything is funny, as long as it's happening to somebody else. -Will Rogers
Talent is God-given. Be humble. Fame is man-given. Be grateful. Conceit is self-given. Be careful.— John Wooden (1910–2010)
Monday 4 December 2017
Quotes 5 Dec 17
"We confess that this Word of God was not sent nor delivered by the will of men, but that holy men of God spoke, being moved by the Holy Spirit..." - Belgic Confession Article 3
No great thing is created suddenly. -Epictetus
Christianity is deeply counter cultural. It offends us because it tells us that we are not our own, that we belong to God. It tells us that we are not good, that our biggest need is not food, water, money, relationships, success or acceptance by society… our greatest need is forgiveness from the God who made us. Christianity is a two–fingered salute to your ego.- Tim Farron, Theos Annual Lecture 'What Kind of Liberal Society Do We Want?'
Avoid fruits and nuts. You are what you eat. -Jim Davis
Delay is preferable to error. -Thomas Jefferson
No great thing is created suddenly. -Epictetus
Christianity is deeply counter cultural. It offends us because it tells us that we are not our own, that we belong to God. It tells us that we are not good, that our biggest need is not food, water, money, relationships, success or acceptance by society… our greatest need is forgiveness from the God who made us. Christianity is a two–fingered salute to your ego.- Tim Farron, Theos Annual Lecture 'What Kind of Liberal Society Do We Want?'
Avoid fruits and nuts. You are what you eat. -Jim Davis
Delay is preferable to error. -Thomas Jefferson
Quotes 4 Dec 17
Cheese, wine, and a friend must be old to be good. -Cuban Proverb
All you need is love. But a little chocolate now and then doesn't hurt. -Charles Schulz
When love is in our hearts, we are patient with
those who make life hard for us.
--Charles Livingston Allen (1913-2005)
_The Greatest Of These Is Love_ [1986], "It's Love Or Nothing"
To be a Christian means to forgive the inexcusable,
because God has forgiven the inexcusable in you.
--C. S. Lewis (1898-1963)
(Quoted in "Our Daily Bread"; January 26, 2017)
There are two kinds of statistics: the kind you look
up and the kind you make up.
--Rex Stout (1886-1975)
_Death Of A Doxy_ [1966], Chapter 9
All you need is love. But a little chocolate now and then doesn't hurt. -Charles Schulz
When love is in our hearts, we are patient with
those who make life hard for us.
--Charles Livingston Allen (1913-2005)
_The Greatest Of These Is Love_ [1986], "It's Love Or Nothing"
To be a Christian means to forgive the inexcusable,
because God has forgiven the inexcusable in you.
--C. S. Lewis (1898-1963)
(Quoted in "Our Daily Bread"; January 26, 2017)
There are two kinds of statistics: the kind you look
up and the kind you make up.
--Rex Stout (1886-1975)
_Death Of A Doxy_ [1966], Chapter 9
Saturday 2 December 2017
First Sunday in Advent
... one of the essential paradoxes of Advent: that while we wait for God,we are with God all along, that while we need to be reassured of God's arrival, or the arrival of our homecoming, we are already at home. While we wait, we have to trust, to have faith, but it is God's grace that gives us that faith. As with all spiritual knowledge, two things are true, and equally true, at once. The mind can't grasp paradox; it is the knowledge of the soul.-Michelle Blake The Tentmaker, 1999, p. 153 (in Ch. 16)
A prison cell, in which one waits, hopes...and is completely dependent on the fact that the door of freedom has to be opened from the outside, is not a bad picture of Advent. -- Dietrich Bonhoeffer ,in a letter:, 1944
Quotes 2 Dec 17
"the presence of the Holy Spirit with believers as a comforter, sent by Christ for those aims and purposes for which he is promised, is better and more profitable for believers than any corporal presence of Christ can be, now he has fulfilled the one sacrifice for sins which he was to offer."John Owen, The Glory of Christ(Page 226)
When Gilbert Keith Chesterton, one of the great
Victorians, wrote his autobiography at the end of
a long and useful life, he set himself the task of
defining in a single sentence the most important
lesson he had learned. And he concluded that
the critical thing was whether one took things
for granted or took them with gratitude. --James Reston (1909-1995) _Sketches In The Sand_ [1967]
Let never day nor night unhallow'd pass,
But still remember what the Lord hath done.
--William Shakespeare (1564-1616)
_King Henry VI_, Part II [1590-1591]; Act II, Scene I
Look to your health; and if you have it, praise God,
and value it next to a good conscience; for health
is the second blessing that we mortals are capable
of; a blessing that money cannot buy.
--Izaak Walton (1593-1683)
_The Compleat Angler_ [1653-1655], Chapter 21
God isn't asking you to be thankful. He's asking you
to give thanks. There's a big difference.
One response involves emotions, the other your choices,
your decisions about a situation, your intent, your
"step of faith."
--Joni Eareckson-Tada (1949- )
_A Place of Healing_ [2010],
"How Do I Regain My Perspective?"
When Gilbert Keith Chesterton, one of the great
Victorians, wrote his autobiography at the end of
a long and useful life, he set himself the task of
defining in a single sentence the most important
lesson he had learned. And he concluded that
the critical thing was whether one took things
for granted or took them with gratitude. --James Reston (1909-1995) _Sketches In The Sand_ [1967]
Let never day nor night unhallow'd pass,
But still remember what the Lord hath done.
--William Shakespeare (1564-1616)
_King Henry VI_, Part II [1590-1591]; Act II, Scene I
Look to your health; and if you have it, praise God,
and value it next to a good conscience; for health
is the second blessing that we mortals are capable
of; a blessing that money cannot buy.
--Izaak Walton (1593-1683)
_The Compleat Angler_ [1653-1655], Chapter 21
God isn't asking you to be thankful. He's asking you
to give thanks. There's a big difference.
One response involves emotions, the other your choices,
your decisions about a situation, your intent, your
"step of faith."
--Joni Eareckson-Tada (1949- )
_A Place of Healing_ [2010],
"How Do I Regain My Perspective?"
Friday 1 December 2017
Quotes 1 Dec 17
“I told you that the Spirit as a sanctifier comes with power, to conquer an unbelieving heart; the Spirit as a comforter comes with sweetness, to be received in a believing heart” - John Owen, The Glory of Christ (page 233)
Tyranny is always better organised than freedom.- Charles Peguy
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A good argument does not prevail against a bad argument when no one is interested in following arguments and the culture is shaped by taste not truth. #sadreality- Gavin Beers
'Entitlement breeds envy, greed and restlessness. Gratitude waters the garden of our heart with wonder, joy and faith. The grass is not greener next door – it’s greener where we water it! If we want two good indications of how much we are really trusting God, we should pay attention to our levels of anxiety and anger when things don’t go our way, and to the steadiness of our stream of thanksgiving, whatever the circumstances.’ -Dominic Leo Muir
Thanksgiving is the chief exercise in godliness in which we ought to engage during the whole of our life. - John Calvin @JohnCalvinDaily
Tyranny is always better organised than freedom.- Charles Peguy
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A good argument does not prevail against a bad argument when no one is interested in following arguments and the culture is shaped by taste not truth. #sadreality- Gavin Beers
'Entitlement breeds envy, greed and restlessness. Gratitude waters the garden of our heart with wonder, joy and faith. The grass is not greener next door – it’s greener where we water it! If we want two good indications of how much we are really trusting God, we should pay attention to our levels of anxiety and anger when things don’t go our way, and to the steadiness of our stream of thanksgiving, whatever the circumstances.’ -Dominic Leo Muir
Thanksgiving is the chief exercise in godliness in which we ought to engage during the whole of our life. - John Calvin @JohnCalvinDaily
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