Quotes Jan 1

A dead thing can go with the stream, but only a living thing can go against it" G K Chesterton

Popular capitalism, which is the economic expression of liberty, is a far more attractive means for diffusing power in our society. Socialists cry "Power to the people" & raise the clenched fist as they say it. We all know what they mean - power over people, power to the State.- Margaret Thatcher@MrsMThatcher

A thorough and clear sight of Jesus my Lord, will make me happy forevermore.-Samuel Rutherford

You have brought me, gracious God, through the year. Accept my thanks. I trust you for what you have withheld as I bless you for what you have given. May goodness & mercy follow me throughout ... life & bring me at last to the house of the Lord, where I shall be with you forever. - F B Meyer

Quotes Dec 31

If we were to understand how dear we are to God, our relation to Him, our value in His eyes, and how He protects us by His faithful promises and gracious presence, we would not tremble at every appearance of danger. - John Flavel@FlavelJohn

he application of collective guilt, running from one generation to another, is a dangerous doctrine which would leave few modern nations unscathed.- Margaret Thatcher@MrsMThatcher

A dead thing can go with the stream, but only a living thing can go against it" - G K Chesterton

Three genders: male, female and mentally ill.- Scary Biscuit@ScaryBiscuit

Quotes Dec 29 HB William E. Gladstone 1809

All the wonders of the Greek civilization heaped together are less wonderful than the single book of Psalms. Greece had all that this world could give her; but the flowers of Paradise blossomed in Palestine alone. --Gladstone, _Place of Ancient Greece_, 1865

Nothing that is morally wrong can be politically right. - William E. Gladstone (1809 - 1898)

Censure and criticism never hurt anybody. If false, they can't hurt you unless you are wanting in manly character; and if true, they show a man his weak points, and forewarn him against failure and trouble. ~ William Gladstone

Men are apt to mistake the strength of their feeling for the strength of their argument. The heated mind resents the chill touch and relentless scrutiny of logic. William Ewart Gladstone

No man ever became great or good except through many and great mistakes.-- Gladstone

Justice delayed is justice denied. --William Ewart Gladstone

Quotes Dec 28

 "As we ourselves have run down the hill with the shepherds, looked at the baby, and heard the shepherds' testimony, have we believed? If we have, that is a happy thing indeed, for it means we are now Christians. That is fine, but then we must ask ourselves: what difference has this looking made in our present lives?" ~ Dr. Francis Schaeffer, No Little People, What Difference Has Looking Made? (A Christmas Study)

The problem with socialism is that you eventually run out of other people's money.-Margaret Thatcher@MrsMThatcher

An obedient wife is the likeliest woman in the world to command her husband.—George Swinnock

Quotes Dec 27

True knowledge of God corresponds to what faith discovers in the written Word.—John Calvin

And Then all countries and nations, even those which are now at most ignorant, shall be full of life knowledge. Great knowledge shall prevail everywhere. It may be hoped that then many of the Negroes and Indians Will be divines and that excellent books Will be published in Africa, in Ethiopia in Tartary, and other now  most barbarous country and not only learned  men but, others, of  more ordinary education shall then be very knowing in religion. Jonathan Edwards, The history of redemption-  (So are we now in his millennium?)

If Jesus be merely an example, He is not a worthy example; for He claimed to be far more.- J. Gresham Machen@jg_machen

Quotes Dec 26

Merry Christmas. Christmas is built upon a beautiful and intentional paradox; that the birth of the homeless should be celebrated in every home.– G.K. Chesterton,

Then shall the many nations of Africa, Home now seem to be in a state but little above the beasts and in many respects much bellow them, revisit kid glorious light and delivered from all the darkness and shall become a civil, Christian, understanding and holding people. Then shall the vast continent of America, which now in great part is covered with barbarous ignorance and cruelty, be everywhere covered with glorious Gospel light and Christian love, and indeed instead of worshipping the devil as now they do, they shall serve God and praises shall be sung everywhere to the Lord Jesus Christ, the blessed saviour of the world. So we may expect it will be in that great and populous part of the world, the East Indies, which are now mostly inhabited by the worshippers of the devil.- Jonathan Edwards, The history of redemption (So are we now in his millennium?)

“Being on the moon had a profound spiritual impact upon my life. Before I entered space with the Apollo 15 mission in July of 1971, I was a lukewarm Christian, to say the least! I was even a silent Christian, but I feel the Lord sent me to the moon so I could return to the earth and share his Son, Jesus Christ. The entire space achievement is put in proper perspective when one realizes that God walking on the earth is more important than man walking on the moon. I believe that God walked on the earth 2,000 years ago in the person of Jesus Christ. I have totally yielded my life to the Lord’s service to tell people everywhere about the life-changing message of Christ.” Colonel Jim Irwin, Commander of the Apollo 15 mission and the 8th man to walk on the moon.

“I will not convert. I believe in my religion and Jesus Christ. And why should I be the one to convert and not you?” Asia Bibi boldly asks staring her executioners in the face.”... The only Western leaders to welcome persecuted Christians are so-called far right, racist, nationalist, white supremacist, anti-immigrant, anti-open border, populists like Italy’s Deputy Prime Minister Matteo Salvini, who has offered Asia Bibi asylum in Italy. - NO ROOM IN THE INN FOR ASIA BIBI THIS CHRISTMAS, Jules Gomes

Quotes Dec 25

Without the moral values that are rooted in Christianity... which have formed and have been developed over millennia, people will inevitably lose their human dignity... And we think it is right and natural to preserve moral (Christian) values".- PUTIN: "

GREENFORD (GREAT), a village and a parish in Brentford district, Middlesex. The village stands gear the river Brent and the Paddington canal, 1½ mile N by W of Hanwell r. station, and 4 NW by N of Brent ford; was known to the Saxons as Greneforde; is a long, straggling place; and has a post office, of the game of Greenford, under Hanwell, London W. The parish comprises 2, 009 acres. Real property, £5, 426. Pop., 557. Houses, 114. The property is much subdivided. The manor was given by King Etheldred to Westminster Abbey, and belongs now to the bishop of London. The living is a rectory in the diocese of London. Value, £700. * Patron, King's College, Cambridge. The church is ancient, of flint, and good; and contains some tombs and brasses. A school has £214 from endowment; and other charities have £35.-  John Marius Wilson, Imperial Gazetteer of England and Wales , 1870-2 (This is where we live)

What am I the better if I can dispute that Christ is God, but have no sense of sweetness in my heart that he is a God in covenant with my soul? What will it avail me to evince, by testimonies and arguments, that he hath made satisfaction for sin, if it through my unbelief, the wrath of God abideth on me? ... Will it be any advantage to me, in the issue, to profess and dispute that God works the conversion of a sinner by the irresistible grace of his spirit, if I was never acquainted experimentally with the deadness and utter impotence to good ... which is in my own soul by nature? ... It is the power of truth in the heart alone that will make us cleave unto it indeed in an hour of temptation. Let us, then, not think that we are in anything the better for our conviction of the truths of the great doctrines of the gospel ... unless we find the power of the truths abiding in our all hearts.- John Owen Works, XII:52

Quotes Dec 24 IM William Makepeace Thackeray, d.1863

'Tis not the dying for a faith that's so hard, Mister Harry-- every man of every nation has done that-- 'tis the living up to it that is difficult, as I know to my cost. --W. M. Thackeray, Henry Esmond

The wicked are wicked, no doubt, and they go astray and they fall, and they come by their deserts; but who can tell the mischief which the very virtuous do? (The Newcomes ch. 20) William Makepeace Thackeray

 To endure is greater than to dare; to tire out hostile fortune; to be daunted by no difficulty; to keep heart when all have lost it; to go through intrigue spotless; to forego even ambition when the end is gained - who can say this is not greatness?  - William Makepeace Thackeray, 1811 - 1863

A good laugh is sunshine in a house. --- William Makepeace Thackeray

 'Tis strange what a man may do, and a woman yet think him an angel. --William Makepeace Thackeray (1811-1863) _Henry Esmond_ [1852], Book I, Chapter 7

Quotes dec 22

My love,
she said
that when all's considered
we're only
machines.

I chained her to my
bedroom wall
for future use
and she cried
Steve Turner, The Conclusion

This is that glory of Christ whereof one view by faith will scatter all fears, answer all the objections, and give relief against all the despondencies, of poor tempted souls; and an anchor it will be to all believers, which they may cast within the veil, to hold them firm and steadfast in all trials, storms and temptations in life and death, - John Owen, Works I. p.359

Oftentimes they go for water to the well, and are not able to draw ... They seek to promises for refreshment, and find no more savour in them than in the white of an egg: but when the same promise are brought to remembrance by the Spirit the Comforter, who is with them and in them, House full of life and power are they.- John Owen, Works XI p.347

Quotes Dec 21

He who has God as his portion is destitute of nothing which is requisite to constitute a happy life.- John Calvin@JohnCalvinDaily

“If you are single today, the portion assigned to you for today is singleness. It is God’s gift. Singleness ought not be viewed as a problem, nor marriage as a right. God grants either as a gift.” - Elisabeth Elliot

“The EU has no intention of giving us a good deal. It is only interested in humiliating us. It is making an example of us to show other EU states what happens when you dare to defy Brussels. We should walk away from this nonsense, with no deal.”-Brendan O’Neill on BBC Ulster

   We speak of these things in a poor, low, broken manner, -- we teach
   them as they are revealed in the Scripture, -- we labour by faith to
   adhere unto them as revealed; but when we come into a steady, direct
   view and consideration of the thing itself, our minds fail, our hearts
   tremble, and we can find no rest but in a holy admiration of what we
   cannot comprehend. Here we are at a loss, and know that we shall be so
   whilst we are in this world; but all the ineffable fruits and benefits
   of this truth are communicated unto them that do believe. John Owen, Meditations and Discourses on the Glory of Christ,p 229

Britain was taken into the EU by stealth. We were told integration would not cost Britain its sovereignty. And yet sovereignty was diluted time and again. The Brexit vote was a reckoning with decades of deception, - Joel Rodrigues.

Quoted 20 Dec

‘Everyone thinks of changing the world but no one thinks of changing himself ‘-Tolstoy

I heard a bird sing
In the dark of December
A magical thing
And sweet to remember.
‘We are nearer to Spring
Than we were in September,’
I heard a bird sing
In the dark of December."
~Oliver Herford, 'I Heard a Bird Sing.'

“The Remainer Theresa May doesn’t understand Brexit at all. She thinks Brexit voters are obsessed with immigration and voted to leave the EU because we hate foreigners. Actually we voted to leave the EU because we believe in sovereignty and democracy.”- Brendan O’Neill on Sky

“If you are single today, the portion assigned to you for today is singleness. It is God’s gift. Singleness ought not be viewed as a problem, nor marriage as a right. God grants either as a gift.” - Elisabeth Elliot

Quoted Dec 19

If we emphasise the word without the Spirit, then we will dry up, if we emphasise the Spirit without the word we will blow(!), up but if we emphasise the Spirit and the word we will grow up. Owen had his own version of this 'he that would utterly separate the Spirit from the word has as good as burnt his Bible'. - Sinclair B Ferguson, Some pastors and teachers. p. p244, Owen Works III:192

He who was eternally in the form of God, -- that is, was essentially
   so, God by nature, equally participant of the same divine nature with
   God the Father; "God over all, blessed for ever;" who humbleth himself
   to behold the things that are in heaven and earth, -- he takes on him
   the nature of man, takes it to be his own, whereby he was no less truly
   a man in time than he was truly God from eternity. And to increase the
   wonder of this mystery, because it was necessary unto the end he
   designed, he so humbled himself in this assumption of our nature, as to
   make himself of no reputation in this world, -- yea, unto that degree,
   that he said of himself that he was a worm, and no man, in comparison
   of them who were of any esteem.- - John Owen, Meditations and Discourses on the Glory of Christ p.229

Quotes Dec 18

God's heart is full of love, whilst the face of providence is full of frowns. - John Flavel, Works IV 426, The Mystery of Providence.p.133

The illustrations and metaphors of scripture for Christian progress are generally horticultural and not in any sense mechanical. Consequently the development and growth of Christian grace and piety are not something, to be anticipated with mechanical regularity. Like a plant the Christian grows not my constant equal stages of development , 'but but by sudden gusts and motions ... so the growth of believers consists principally in some intense, vigorous actings of grace on great occasions. - Sinclair B Ferguson, Some pastors and teachers, p.269 quoting John Owen, Works III 397

He who was eternally in the form of God, -- that is, was essentially
   so, God by nature, equally participant of the same divine nature with
   God the Father; "God over all, blessed for ever;" who humbleth himself
   to behold the things that are in heaven and earth, -- he takes on him
   the nature of man, takes it to be his own, whereby he was no less truly
   a man in time than he was truly God from eternity. And to increase the
   wonder of this mystery, because it was necessary unto the end he
   designed, he so humbled himself in this assumption of our nature, as to
   make himself of no reputation in this world, -- yea, unto that degree,
   that he said of himself that he was a worm, and no man, in comparison
   of them who were of any esteem.- - John Owen, Meditations and Discourses on the Glory of Christ p.229

Quotes Dec 17

“If we cannot get bacon, let us bless God that there are still some cabbages in the garden.”- Charles Spurgeon

God rest ye merry gentlethings
Let gender not dismay,
Remember Christ our Saviour
Created you this way.
To self-identify is king
A plant-pot you may be
Oh-o good tidings of di-versity – versity
Oh-o tidings of di-vers-sity!
Cranmer's Blog

(Calvin) believed that the fallen human mind is 'a perpetual factory of idols' and therefore deeply resistance to the iconoclasm grace. - Sinclair B Ferguson, Some pastors and teachers, p.67

But had we the tongue of men and angels, we were not able in any just
   measure to express the glory of this condescension; for it is the most
   ineffable effect of the divine wisdom of the Father and of the love of
   the Son, -- the highest evidence of the care of God towards mankind.
   What can be equal unto it? what can be like it? It is the glory of
   Christian religion, and the animating soul of all evangelical truth.
   This carrieth the mystery of the wisdom of God above the reason or
   understanding of men and angels, to be the object of faith and
   admiration only. A mystery it is that becomes the greatness of God,
   with his infinite distance from the whole creation, -- which renders it
   unbecoming him that all his ways and works should be comprehensible by
   any of his creatures, - John Owen, Meditations and Discourses on the Glory of Christp 229

Quotes Dec 15

Prayer the church's banquet, angel's age,
God's breath in man returning to his birth,
The soul in paraphrase, heart in pilgrimage,
The Christian plummet sounding heav'n and earth
Engine against th' Almighty, sinner's tow'r,
Reversed thunder, Christ-side-piercing spear,
The six-days world transposing in an hour,
A kind of tune, which all things hear and fear;
Softness, and peace, and joy, and love, and bliss,
Exalted manna, gladness of the best,
Heaven in ordinary, man well drest,
The milky way, the bird of Paradise,
Church-bells beyond the stars heard, the soul's blood,
The land of spices; something understood.
GEORGE HERBERT , Prayer

“A second referendum would be a losers’ vote. It would be the political class saying to voters: ‘You gave the wrong answer, you idiots, and now you must get it right.’ It wouldn’t be a democratic act — it would be an attempt to thwart a democratic act.” -Brendan O’Neill on Sky

"Maintaining a certain level of comfort is the agenda of an enormous amount of American evangelicalism but…. It needs to be said loud and clear that in the kingdom of God there ‘ain't no comfort zone and never will be." ~ J.I. Packer

“ Calvin’s attachment to Christmas ran deeper than mere preservation of tradition. For the Frenchman, Christmas and Easter formed the two most holy days of the year, and he set aside his regular practice of preaching through the books of the Bible, known as lectio continua, to hold sermons on the Nativity and the Passion of Christ. Some of Calvin’s most moving words from the pulpit flowed from his preaching at Christmas.“

Quotes 14 Dec

Separate me from my wife and children, ruin my reputation, destroy my life and my family – the authorities are capable of doing all of these things. However, no one in this world can force me to renounce my faith; no one can make me change my life; and no one can raise me from the dead...   Jesus is the Christ, son of the eternal, living God. He died for sinners and rose to life for us. He is my king and the king of the whole earth yesterday, today, and forever. I am his servant, and I am imprisoned because of this. I will resist in meekness those who resist God, and I will joyfully violate all laws that violate God’s laws.  - Wang Yi, imprisoned in China 2018

In 1897 the first Zionist Congress was held in Basle... Herzl wrote in his diary: "if I were to sum up the Basel Congress in one word - which I shall not do openly - it would be this: at Basle I have founded the Jewish state. If I were to say this today, I would be met by universal laughter. In five years, perhaps, and certainly in 50 everyone will see it." On May 14 1948, over three months before the 50 years Herzl's prophecy had run their course, the Jewish state of Israel was proclaimed. - H L Ellison, The Christian Approach to the Jew, P. 30

There is a state of perfect peace with God to be attained under imperfect obedience.  –John Owen

Quotes 13 Dec

While there is a devil and a wicked man in the world, never expect a charter of exemption from trouble—Thomas Watson

Depend upon it, however, let men rebel against this truth as they will, that God has determined the end from the beginning. He has left no screw loose in the machine, He has left nothing to chance or accident.-  Charles Spurgeon@CHSpurgeon

Christianity has occasionally calmed the brutal German lust for battle, but it cannot destroy that savage ecstasy....When once the restraining talisman, the Cross, is broken...the old stone gods will leap to life among forgotten ruins, and Thor will crash down his mighty hammer on the Gothic cathedrals. - Heinrich Heine, in Robert Carr, The Paths of Dictatorship

I bequeath all my property to my wife on the condition that she remarry immediately. Then there will be at least one man to regret my death.- Heinrich Heine

Matrimony - the high sea for which no compass has yet been invented. Heine (1797-1856)

IM Robert Browning Dec 12 1812-

And gain is gain, however small.- Robert Browning (1812-1889) In "Correct Quotes for DOS," WordStar International, 1991.

There are those who believe something, and therefore will tolerate nothing; and on the other hand, those who tolerate everything, because they believe nothing. -R. Browning

Stung by the splendour of a sudden thought. Robert Browning (1812-1889) "A Death in the Desert."

Ah, but a man's reach should exceed his grasp,
Or what's a heaven for?"
Robert Browning 1812-89 (Andrea del Sarto (1855) L.97

Grow old along with me!
The best is yet to be,
The last of life, for which the first was made:
Our times are in his hand
Who saith, "A whole I planned,
Youth shows but half; trust God: see all, nor be afraid!
Robert Browning (1812 - 1889) "'Rabbi Ben Ezra"

Quotes Dec 11

"Success is the ability to go from failure to failure
without losing your enthusiasm.
 ~Winston Churchill

This is the choice before us: either try to
revolutionize the world and break under it, or
revolutionize ourselves and remake the world.
     --Fulton John Sheen (1895-1979)
      _Crossways_ [1984]

“The power of Kings and Magistrates is only derivative, transferr'd and committed to them in trust from the People, in whom the power yet remaines fundamentally, and cannot be tak'n from them, without a violation of thier natural birthright.”- John Milton,

If Jesus rose from the dead, then you have to accept all that he said; if he didn’t rise from the dead, then why worry about any of what he said? The issue on which everything hangs is not whether or not you like his teaching but whether or not he rose from the dead.- Timothy Keller@timkellernyc

Quotes Dec 10

“There is but one just use of power, and it is to serve people. Help us to remember it, Lord. Amen.” ~ George H.W. Bush

I am persuaded that love and humility are the highest attainments in the school of Christ and the brightest evidences that He is indeed our Master. (John Newton)

Christ was wrapped in swaddling clothes the we might be wrapped in Christ. - Chris Roberts, sermon 9 Dec 2018

Quotes Dec 8

An older Christian in my life had more peace than me about a hard situation today.
I said, “You have more faith than me.”
He responded, “No, I have more experience with a faithful God.” - howertonjosh@howertonjosh

“My life is dominated by the notion of God...I am a believer – in both God’s presence and His absence...In the end, with all respect, I haven’t the stomach for atheism...It feels like a dead end to me, unhelpful and bad for the business of writing.”
- Nick Cave on God.

When I behold Thy works on high,
The moon that rules the night,
And stars that well adorn the sky,
Those glorious worlds of light;
Lord, what is man, or all his race,
Who dwells so far below,
That Thou shouldst visit him with grace,
And love his nature so? -
Isaac Watts@Wondrous_Cross

The only person whose opinion counts, the creator God of the universe, looks at me and he finds me more valuable than all the jewels in the earth. How can we worry about being snubbed now? How can we care that much about what we look like in the mirror? -Timothy Keller@timkellernyc

“There is but one just use of power, and it is to serve people. Help us to remember it, Lord. Amen.” ~ George H.W. Bush

Quotes Dec 7

“There are some in this country who fear that in going into Europe we shall in some way sacrifice independence and sovereignty. These fears, I need hardly say, are completely unjustified.” Edward Heath, prime ministerial TV broadcast, January 1973.

I learned ... that one can never go back, that one should not ever try to go back - that the essence of life is going forward. Life is really a one-way street, isn't it? Agatha Christie

To care passionately for another human creature brings always more sorrow than joy, but one would not be without that experience.   - Agatha Christie, 1890 - 1976

Most successes are unhappy. That's why they are successes - they have to reassure themselves about themselves by achieving something that the world will notice. - Agatha Christie (1890-1976)Remembered Death, 1945.

Quotes Dec 6

'What we love
is what captures us.
Whoever has our love
has the whole of us;
love causes us
to give ourselves away,
as nothing else can.
Our love is like the rudder of a ship -
where it is turned,
there the ship goes.' -John Owen

Infants do not induce, or cooperate in, their own procreation and birth; no more can those who are 'dead in trespasses and sins' prompt the quickening operation of God's Spirit within them . J I Packer

The New Testament word for repentance means changing one's mind so that one's views, values, goals, and ways are changed and one's whole life is lived differently. The change is radical, both inwardly and outwardly; mind and judgement, will and affections, behaviour and lifestyle, motives and purposes, are all involved. Repenting means starting a new life.
J. I. Packer, Concise Theology, PG. 162.

The natural response to denials of Satan's existence is to ask, Who then runs his business.-- J.I. PACKER

Quotes Dec 5

"For what accords better and more aptly with faith than to acknowledge ourselves divested of all virtue that we may be clothed by God, devoid of all goodness that we may be filled by Him, the slaves of sin that He may give us freedom, blind that He may enlighten, lame that He may cure, and feeble that He may sustain us; to strip ourselves of all grounds of glorying that He alone may shine forth glorious, and we be glorified in Him?" -- John Calvin, Letter to the King of France.

A church that does not say the historic creeds on a regular basis is like a nation that does not remember her 'War of independence' or her 'fFight for Freedom'. She has forgotten where she has come from. She has forgotten who she is. She has despised her mother. For the great historic creeds are the wisdom of her mother passed down through the centuries and across the millennia. Ignorance can be excuse to a point, but not ingratitude. Our mother Kirk has left us with a rich inheritance and we would do well to guard the good deposit with thanksgiving. -Jonathan Gibson and Mark Earngey, Worshipping in the tradition. Principles from the past for the present.  in Reformation Worship,P63

If necessary, the ministers of the word are admonished not to go too much beyond the school of their text in their preaching. Rather they should as much as possible take all their ugh teaching, admonishment,exhortaton, rebuke, and comfort from the present text . -Martin Micronius, On the preaching of the word, ch 8 in Reformation Worship,P517

Quotes Dec 4

"[Man,] In his own naturalistic theories, with the uniformity of cause and effect in a closed system, with an evolutionary concept of a mechanical, chance parade from the atom to man, man has lost his unique identity. As he looks out upon the world, as he faces the machine, he cannot tell himself from what he faces. He cannot distinguish himself from other things."~ Dr. Francis Schaeffer, Genesis in Space and Time

.. 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:, 1943

Advent is the time of promise; it is not yet the time of fulfilment. We are still in the midst of everything and in the logical inexorability and relentlessness of destiny. To eyes that do not see, it still seems as though the final dice are being cast down here in these valleys, on these battlefields, in these camps and prisons and bomb shelters. Those who are awake sense the working of the other powers and can await the coming of their hour.
Space is still filled with the noise of destruction and annihilation, the shouts of self-assurance and arrogance, the weeping of despair and helplessness. But round about the horizon the eternal realities stand silent in their age-old longing. There shines on them already the first mild light of the radiant fulfilment to come. From afar sound the first notes as of pipes and voices, not yet discernable as a song or melody. It is all far off still, and only just announced and foretold. But it is happening, today.- Alfred Delp, in a Nazi prison shortly before he was hanged for "treason."

Quotes Dec 3

For whomever the Lord has adopted and deemed worthy of his fellowship ought to prepare themselves for a hard , toilsome, and unquiet life, crammed with very many and various kinds of evils. It is the heavenly Father's will s to exercise them as to put his own children to a definite test. Beginning with Christ, his firstborn, he follows his plan with all his children. -Calvin Letters,I:230

God is himself a father and knows what is best for his children. - Calvin to Viret on the death of Jacques Calvin's son, Letters I:231

1 I greet thee, who my sure Redeemer art,
my only trust and Savior of my heart,
who pain didst undergo for my poor sake;
I pray thee from our hearts all cares to take.

2 Thou art the King of mercy and of grace,
reigning omnipotent in every place:
so come, O King, and our whole being sway;
shine on us with the light of thy pure day.

3 Thou art the life, by which alone we live,
and all our substance and our strength receive;
sustain us by thy faith and by thy power,
and give us strength in every trying hour.

4 Thou hast the true and perfect gentleness,
no harshness hast thou and no bitterness:
O grant to us the grace we find in thee,
that we may dwell in perfect unity.

5 Our hope is in no other save in thee;
our faith is built upon thy promise free;
Lord, give us peace, and make us calm and sure,
that in thy strength we evermore endure.
Attributed to Calvin, Sinclair B Ferguson, Some pastors and teachers, p.19

Quotes Dec 1

Muslim leaders had been tolerant and even gracious to Christians, rebuilding the church of Edessa after it was damaged by an earthquake in 679. But in the late seventh century things began to change. Peter Francopan: The silk roads P. 88

All the 101 members of the supreme military leadership, all but ten were arrested; of the 91 detained, all but nine were shot. These included three of the five marshals all the Soviet Union and two of its admirals, as well as the entire senior air force personnel, every head of every military district, and almost every divisional commander. The Red Army was brought to its knees - Peter Francopan: The silk roads P. 362 on Stalin's purges  pre-war.

Lord, I offer my heart to thee, promptly and sincerely. -Calvin's motto quoted in Sinclair B Ferguson, Some pastors and teachers, p.10

By the time he (Calvin0 WAS 26 he was a man on the run; he had become a pilgrim and would live the rest of his life as a refugee. -Sinclair B Ferguson, Some pastors and teachers, p.11