Christianity is a battle--not a dream.- Phillips (1811-1884), speech, April, 1869, Wendell Phillips: the agitator, William Carlos Martyn, New York: Funk & Wagnalls, 1890, p. 368

Sin and departure from God, are the true reasons why people are everywhere laboring and heavy-laden. Sin is the universal disease which infects the whole earth. Sin brought in thorns and thistles at the beginning, and obliged man to earn his bread by the sweat of his brow. Sin is the reason why the "whole creation groans and travails in pain," and the "foundations of the earth are out of course." (Rom. 8:22; Psalm 82:5.) Sin is the cause of all the burdens which now press down mankind. Most people know it not, and weary themselves in vain to explain the state of things around them. But sin is the great root and foundation of all sorrow, whatever proud man may think. How much people ought to hate sin!~ J.C. Ryle, Tract: Christ's Invitation

What are [most] rationalizations based on? One lie. The most pernicious, heinous, Satanic lie of all. They are based on the lie that God really isn’t good after all; that God is neither able nor willing to do for our souls or bodies what they so desperately need done; that therefore God can’t be trusted with our fears and doubts and hopes and hurts. Since God doesn’t care and can’t be trusted, we’ll find satisfaction somewhere else. And so often, we do.- Sam Storms, Sexual Morality, November 6, 2006,www.enjoyinggodministries.com.

It is one of the greatest dangers of the Church in a
democratic country--and one of the greatest temptations for
churches which for their support are dependent on the good will
of their congregations--to present the gospel message in a way
agreeable and inoffensive to those who are to hear it.-Emil Brunner (1889-1966), The Scandal of Christianity, London: SCM Press, 1951, reprint, John Knox Press,
1965, p. 113

All are lunatics, but he who can analyze his delusions is called a philosopher.- Ambrose Bierce.

Speak when you are angry, and you will make the best speech you will ever regret.- Ambrose Bierce

If God has given His Son to die for us, let us beware of doubting His kindness and love in any painful providence of our daily life. Let us never suppose that He can give us anything that is not really for our good. Let us remember the words of Paul, "He who spared not His own Son, but delivered Him up for us all—how shall He not with Him also freely give us all things." (Rom. 8:32.) Let us see in every sorrow and trouble of our earthly pilgrimage, the hand of Him who gave Christ to die for our sins. That hand can never smite us except in love. He who gave us His only begotten Son, will never withhold anything from us that is really for our good. Let us lean back on this thought and be content. Let us say to ourselves in the darkest hour of trial, "This also is ordered by Him who gave Christ to die for my sins. It cannot be wrong. It is done in love. It must be well."~ J.C. RyleTract: Faith!

Trials, we must distinctly understand, are a part of the diet which all true Christians must expect. It is one of the means by which their grace is proved, and by which they find out what there is in themselves. Winter as well as summer--cold as well as heat--clouds as well as sunshine--are all necessary to bring the fruit of the Spirit to ripeness and maturity. We do not naturally like this. We would rather cross the lake with calm weather and favorable winds, with Christ always by our side, and the sun shining down on our faces. But it may not be. It is not in this way that God's children are made "partakers of His holiness." (Heb. 12:10). Abraham, and Jacob, and Moses, and David, and Job were all men of many trials. Let us be content to walk in their footsteps, and to drink of their cup. In our darkest hours we may seem to be left--but we are never really alone.~ J.C. RyleExpository Thoughts on the Gospels: John, volume 1, [Carlisle, PA: Banner of Truth, 1987], 338,339. {John 6:15-21}

If there were no gratified hearers of ill reports, there would be an end of the trade of spreading them.- C.H. Spurgeon, The Treasury of David, Psalm 15.

Often, if there is no risk of loss or painful consequences, one will never know if one has integrity. One will never know if what motivates you is moral conviction or moral convenience until you are forced to suffer loss for standing your ground or keeping your word.- Sam Storms, Integrity, November 6, 2006,www.enjoyinggodministries.com.

Be prepared for the hostility of the gates of hell. Put on the whole armor of God. The weapons of our warfare have been tried by millions of poor sinners like ourselves, and have never been found to fail. Be patient under the bitterness of the gates of hell. It is all working together for your good. It tends to sanctify. It keeps you awake. It makes you humble. It drives you nearer to the Lord Jesus Christ. It weans you from the world. It helps to make you pray more. Above all, it makes you long for heaven, and say with heart as well as lips, "Come, Lord Jesus."~ J.C. Ryle Tract: The True Church

The greatest good and the most profitable gain come when we are up against a blank wall. Then we learn to pray in plain language.- Arthur Lynip

"Resurrection" is the word that, of all words in the Bible,

wants to tell us in the strongest and most unambiguous way: God

is not a thought, God is not a word, God is not a feeling. God

is the Great One, the True One, the Real and Living One, who

waits to meet us precisely at that point where our thoughts

about him end.- Karl Barth (1886-1968), from "He Himself" in Come Holy Spirit: Sermons, New York: Round Table Press, 1933,reprint, Mowbrays, 1978, p. 162

Anger is never without an argument, but seldom with a good one.- Indira Gandhi, 1917 - 1984

India wants to avoid a war at all costs but it is not a one-sided affair, you cannot shake hands with a clenched fist.- Indira Gandhi, 1917 - 1984

Regarding the debate about faith and works: It's like asking which blade in a pair of scissors is most important.- C. S. Lewis, 1898 - 1963

It is useless to preach the Kingdom when we do not carry

into the centre of life the control of a King. The first duty

of every soul is to find not its freedom but its Master. And

the first charge of every Church is to offer, nay to mediate,

Him.- P. T. Forsyth (1848-1921), Positive Preaching and Modern Mind, New York: A. C. Armstrong & Son, 1907, p.42

It is best to act with confidence, no matter how little right you have to it.- Lillian Hellman, 1905 - 1984

Nobody outside of a baby carriage or a judge's chamber believes in an unprejudiced point of view.- Lillian Hellman, 1905 - 1984

Too often we forget that the great men of faith reached the heights they did only by going through the depths.- Os Guinness

Affliction is one of God's medicines. By it He often teaches lessons which would be learned in no other way. By it He often draws souls away from sin and the world, which would otherwise have perished everlastingly. Health is a great blessing, but sanctified disease is a greater. Prosperity and worldly comfort, are what all naturally desire; but losses and crosses are far better for us, if they lead us to Christ. Thousands at the last day will testify with David, "It is good for me that I have been afflicted." (Psalm. 119:71).~ J.C. Ryle,Expository Thoughts on the Gospels: John, volume 1, [Carlisle, PA: Banner of Truth, 1987], 255,256. {John 4:43-54}

We can never make too much of Christ. Our thoughts about the Church, the ministry, and the sacraments, may easily become too high and extravagant. We can never have too high thoughts about Christ, can never love Him too much, trust Him too implicitly, lay too much weight upon Him, and speak too highly in His praise. He is worthy of all the honor that we can give Him. He will be all in heaven. Let us see to it, that He is all in our hearts on earth.~ J.C. Ryle, Expository Thoughts on the Gospels: John, volume 1, [Carlisle, PA: Banner of Truth, 1987], 174. {John 3:22-36}

Moral guidelines are oppressive and legalistic only to those who still love their sin. For example, the only reason integrity should be a burden to you is if you enjoy being dishonest. Righteous deeds will be bothersome only because you prefer unrighteous ones. Speaking the truth will hurt only because it feels good to lie. Obedience to the righteous commands of God is easy for those whose hearts have been gripped by grace and whose lives are empowered by grace (Dt. 30:11; Mt. 11:29-30; 1 Jn. 5:3).-Sam Storms, Integrity, November 6, 2006,www.enjoyinggodministries.com.

The reason we resist God’s laws and pursue our own sinful strategies is because we believe that we can do better at securing our happiness than God can -Sam Storms,Integrity, November 6, 2006, www.enjoyinggodministries.com. Used by Permission.

We can never make too much of Christ. Our thoughts about the Church, the ministry, and the sacraments, may easily become too high and extravagant. We can never have too high thoughts about Christ, can never love Him too much, trust Him too implicitly, lay too much weight upon Him, and speak too highly in His praise. He is worthy of all the honor that we can give Him. He will be all in heaven. Let us see to it, that He is all in our hearts on earth.~ J.C. Ryle,Expository Thoughts on the Gospels: John, volume 1, [Carlisle, PA: Banner of Truth, 1987], 174. {John 3:22-36}

Salt, when dissolved in water, may disappear, but it does

not cease to exist. We can be sure of its presence by tasting

the water. Likewise, the indwelling Christ, though unseen, will

be made evident to others from the love which he imparts to us.-Sadhu Sundar Singh (1889-1929), Reality and Religion: meditations on God, man, and nature, London: Macmillan, 1924, p. 24-25

I pick my favourite quotations and store them in my mind as ready armour, offensive or defensive, amid the struggle of this turbulent existence. - Robert Burns, 1759 - 1796

A quotation in a speech, article, or book is like a rifle in the hands of an infantryman. It speaks with authority. - Brendan Behan, 1923 - 1964

Who delivered up Jesus to die? Not Judas, for money; not Pilate, for fear; not the Jews, for envy; but the Father, for love (see Romans 8:32)! -Octavius Winslow

People do not drift toward holiness. Apart from grace-

driven effort, people do not gravitate toward godliness,

prayer, obedience to Scripture, faith, and delight in the Lord.

We drift toward compromise and call it tolerance; we drift

toward disobedience and call it freedom; we drift toward

superstition and call it faith. We cherish the indiscipline of

lost self-control and call it relaxation; we slouch toward

prayerlessness and delude ourselves into thinking we have

escaped legalism; we slide toward godlessness and convince

ourselves we have been liberated.-D. A. Carson (b. 1946), For the Love of God: A Daily Companion for Discovering the Riches of God's Word, v. II [1999], reprint, Good News Publishers, 2006,

But when self-confidence is removed — when the soul is stripped by conviction — when the light of the spirit reveals the loathsome state of the heart — when the power of the creature fades, how precious is Jesus! As the drowning mariner clutches the floating’ spar — as the dying man looks to some great physician — as the criminal values his pardon, so do we then esteem the deliverer of our souls as the Prince of the kings of the earth.~Charles Spurgeon

Courage can't see around corners, but goes around them anyway.- Mignon McLaughlin, 1913 - 1983

Every society honors its live conformists and its dead troublemakers.-Mignon McLaughlin, 1913 - 1983

Hope is the feeling we have that the feeling we have is not permanent.- Mignon McLaughlin, 1913 - 1983

In adversity we usually want God to do a removing job when He wants to do an improving job.-Author Unknown

If a man is not made for God, why is he happy only in God? If man is made for God, why is he opposed to God?- Blaise Pascal

Oh, how greatly has the man advanced who has learned not to be his own, not to be governed by his own reason, but to surrender his mind to God!-John Calvin

While much is too strange to be believed, nothing is too strange to have happened.- Thomas Hardy, 1840 - 1928

Take courage, fainting Christians: you are encompassed with a great cloud of witnesses! The race that you are running has been run by millions before; you think that no one ever had such trials as yourself—but every step that you are journeying has been safely walked by others; the valley of the shadow of death has been securely passed by a multitude of trembling, doubting ones like yourself. They had their fears and anxieties, like you—but they were not cast away. The world, the flesh and the devil can never overwhelm the weakest person who will set their face towards God. These millions journeyed on in bitterness and tears like your own, and yet not one perished—they all reached their eternal home.~ J.C. Ryle,The Christian Race & Other Sermons, “The Christian Race”, [Moscow, ID: Charles Nolan Publishing, 2002], 129.

Obstinacy can bring only a penalty and no reward.- John Maynard Keynes, 1883 - 1946

There is no harm in being sometimes wrong — especially if one is promptly found out.- John Maynard Keynes, 1883 - 1946