Jesus hath many lovers of His heavenly kingdom, but few
bearers of His Cross. He hath many seekers of comfort, but few
of tribulation. He findeth many companions of His table, but
few of His fasting. All desire to rejoice with Him, few are
willing to undergo anything for His sake. Many follow Jesus
that they may eat of His loaves, but few that they may drink of
the cup of His passion. Many are astonished at His miracles,
few follow after the shame of His Cross. Many love Jesus so
long as no adversities happen to them. Many praise Him and
bless Him, so long as they receive any comforts from Him. But
if Jesus hide Himself and withdraw a little while, they fall
either into complaining or into too great dejection of mind.-Thomas a Kempis (1380-1471), Of the Imitation of Christ [1418], Leipzig: Bernhard Tauchnitz, 1877, II.xi, p. 103

Prayer is one of the best and most powerful means of helping forward the cause of Christ in the world. It is a means within the reach of all who have the Spirit of adoption. Not all believers have money to give to missions. Very few have great intellectual gifts, or extensive influence among men. But all believers can pray for the success of the Gospel, and they ought to pray for it daily. Many and marvelous are the answers to prayer which are recorded for our learning in the Bible. "The effectual fervent prayer of a righteous man avails much." (James 5:16.)
~ J.C. Ryle Expository Thoughts on the Gospels: Luke volume 1, [Carlisle, PA: Banner of Truth, 1986], 345.

"You will have tribulation in this world." John 16:33
The word tribulation is very suggestive. It comes from a root which means 'a flail'. The thresher uses the flail to beat the wheat sheaves, that he may separate the golden wheat from the chaff and straw.
Tribulation is God's threshing--not to destroy us, but to get what is good, heavenly, and spiritual in us--separated from what is wrong, earthly, and fleshly. Nothing less than blows of pain will do this. The golden wheat of goodness in us, is so closely wrapped up in the strong chaff of sin--that only the heavy flail of suffering can produce the separation!
Many of us would never enter the gates of pearl--were it not for this unwelcome messenger, pain! "We must go through many troubles to enter the kingdom of God!" Acts 14:22 - J. R. Miller, "Miller's Year Book--a Year's Daily Readings")

If the Holy Spirit can take over the subconscious with our
consent and cooperation, then we have almighty Power working at
the basis of our lives, then we can do anything we ought to do,
go anywhere we ought to go, and be anything we ought to be.
Life is supplied with a basic adequacy...
The conscious mind determines the actions, the unconscious
mind determines the reactions; and the reactions are just as
important as the actions. Many Christians are Christians in
their actions--they don't lie, steal, commit adultery, or get
drunk; but they react badly to what happens to them--they react
in anger, bad temper, self-pity, jealousy, and envy... When the
depths are held by the Holy Spirit, then the reaction is
Christian.- E. Stanley Jones (1884-1973), Conversion, New York:Abingdon Press, 1959, p. 233,235

To be "born of God" is to be the subject of an inward change of heart, so complete, that it is like passing into a new existence. It is the introduction into the human soul of a seed from heaven, a new principle, a Divine nature, a new will. Certainly it is no outward bodily alteration; but it is no less certain that it is an entire alteration of the inward man. It adds no new faculties to our minds; but it gives an entirely new bent and bias to our old ones. The tastes and opinions of one "born of God," his views of sin, of the world, of the Bible, of God, and of Christ, are so thoroughly new, that he is to all intents and purposes what Paul calls "a new creature."~ J.C. Ryle, The Upper Room, “Victory”, [Carlisle, PA: Banner of Truth, 1970], 137.

God sometimes strips His people of their nearest and dearest earthly mercies--that they may the more prize, and the better taste--of spiritual and heavenly mercies!
God takes away uncertain riches--that His people may the more prize certain riches!
God takes away natural strength--that His people may the more prize spiritual strength!
God takes away the creature--that His people may more prize their Savior.
Spiritual and heavenly things can alone satisfy the soul. The language of a godly man is this, "Ah, Lord! the good earthly things which I have from You, though they may refresh me--yet they cannot satisfy me without Yourself!"
"Whom have I in heaven but You? And earth has nothing I desire besides You. My flesh and my heart may fail--but God is the strength of my heart and my portion forever!" Psalm 73:25-26- Thomas Brooks, "A Believer's Last Day, His Best Day"

Jesus Christ can so interfere in a human life that it can
look up and say, "Bless the Lord, O my soul, and forget not all
His benefits," even in the midst of sorrow or suffering.-Robert Pierce (1914-1978), founder and president, World Vision, in a private communication from World Vision

Oh, what a blessed and comfortable thing to be known by Christ, known and marked as His friends, His relations, His dear children, His beloved family, His purchased possession! Here we are often cast down, often discouraged, often persecuted, often spoken against, often misunderstood—but let us take courage, our Lord and Master knows all. A day shall come when we shall no longer see through a glass darkly—but face to face—a day when we shall know even as we are now known; for the union between us and our Redeemer, which we so often feel disposed to doubt, shall then be clearly seen, and we shall no more go out to battle.~ J.C. Ryle,The Christian Race & Other Sermons, “The Privileges of the True Christian”, [Moscow, ID: Charles Nolan Publishing, 2002], 107.

How desperately difficult it is to be honest with oneself. It is much easier to be honest with other people.- Edward Benson

God is the author of the Bible, and only the truth it contains will lead people to true happiness. A Christian should read this precious Book every day with earnest prayer and meditation. But like many believers, I preferred to read the works of uninspired men rather than the oracles of the living God. Consequently, I remained a spiritual baby both in knowledge and grace.- George Muller'The Autobiography of George Muller, 1984, p. 21

If anyone thinks that on account of our trials of faith during this year we have been disappointed in our expectations or discouraged in the work, my answer is that the very opposite is true. Such days were expected from the beginning. The chief end for which the institution was established is that the Church would see the hand of God stretched out on our behalf in answer to prayer. Our desire, therefore, is not that we may be without trials of faith, but that the Lord would graciously support us in the trial and that we may not dishonor Him by distrust.- George Muller,The Autobiography of George Muller, 1984, p. 130

It has been a frequent trait in Christian theologians down
the ages to commit themselves whole-heartedly to the
fashionable philosophies of their day, while passing severe
judgments on their predecessors for adopting precisely the same
attitude.-E. L. Mascall (1905-1993), The Secularization of Christianity, London: Darton, Longman Todd, 1966, p.103

Above all, let us pray daily that our own Christianity may at any rate be genuine, sincere, real and true. Our faith may be feeble, our hope dim, our knowledge small, our failures frequent, our faults many. But at all events let us be real and true. Let us be able to say with poor, weak, erring Peter, "You, Lord, who know all things, know that I love You." (John 21:17.)~ J.C. Ryle, Expository Thoughts on the Gospels: John, volume 3, [Carlisle, PA: Banner of Truth, 1987], 5.

Our first priority in times of adversity is to honor and glorify God by trusting Him. We tend to make our first priority the gaining of relief from our feelings of heartache or disappointment or frustration. This is a natural desire, and God has promised to give us grace sufficient for our trials and peace for our anxieties (2 Corinthians 12:9, Philippians 4:6-7). But just as God's will is to take precedence over our will (Jesus Himself said, "Yet not as I will, but as you will" Matthew 26:39), so God's honor is to take precedence over our feelings. We honor God by choosing to trust Him when we don't understand what He is doing or why He has allowed some adverse circumstance to occur. As we seek God's glory, we may be sure that He has purposed our good and that He will not be frustrated in fulfilling that purpose.-Jerry Bridges,Trusting God, 1988, p. 52.

If we want proof of God's love for us, then we must look first at the Cross where God offered up His Son as a sacrifice for our sins. Calvary is the one objective, absolute, irrefutable proof of God's love for us.-Jerry Bridges,Trusting God, 1988, p. 138.

Until our Master summons us, not a hair on our head can perish, not a moment of our life be snatched from us. When He sends for us, it should seem by the message that the child is wanted at home.-Anthony Thorold

To be at peace with the world, the flesh, and the devil, is to be at enmity with God, and in the broad way that leads to destruction. We have no choice or option. The promises to the Seven Churches in Revelation are only "to him that overcomes." We must fight or be lost. We must conquer or die eternally. We must put on the whole armor of God. "He who has no sword, let him sell his garment and buy one" (Eph. 6:11; Luke 22:36).~ J.C. Ryle , The Upper Room, “Victory”, [Carlisle, PA: Banner of Truth, 1970], 144, 145.

There's plenty of intelligence in the world, but the courage to do things differently is in short supply.- Marilyn vos Savant

Be able to notice all the confusion between fact and opinion that appears in the news.- Marilyn vos Savant

[Affliction] brings out graces that cannot be seen in a time of health. It is the treading of the grapes that brings out the sweet juices of the vine; so it is affliction that draws forth submission, weanedness from the world, and complete rest in God. Use afflictions while you have them.- Robert Murray McCheyne, Comfort in Sorrow, Christian Focus, 2002, p. 25

We are all strings in the concert of His joy.- Jacob Boehme

The way to think about self-denial is to deny yourself only a lesser good for a greater good... In other words, Jesus wants us to think about sacrifice in a way that rules out all self-pity.-John Piper, Desiring God 1996, p. 202

Pleasure-seeking, as we learn from experience, is a barren business; happiness is never found till we have the grace to stop looking for it and to give our attention to persons and matters external to ourselves.-J. I. Packer

Revenge indeed seems often sweet to men, but oh, it is only sugared poison, only sweetened gall. Forgiving enduring love alone is sweet and blissful and enjoys peace and the consciousness of God’s favor. By forgiving it gives away and annihilates the injury. It treats the injurer as if he had not injured and therefore feels no more the smart and sting that he had inflicted.- William Arnot, The Parables of our Lord, 1884.

Some of us think at times that we could cry, "My God, my God, why hast Thou forsaken me?"  There are seasons when the brightness of our Father's smile is eclipsed by clouds and darkness; but let us remember that God never does really forsake us.  It is only a seeming forsaking with us, but in Christ's case it was a real forsaking.  We grieve at a little withdrawal of our Father's love; but the real turning away of God's face from His Son, who shall calculate how deep the agony which it caused Him?  In our case, our cry is often dictated by unbelief; in His case, it was the utterance of a dreadful fact, for God had really turned away from Him for a season.  O thou poor, distressed soul, who once lived in the sunshine of God's face, but art now in darkness, remember that He has not really forsaken thee.  God in the clouds is as much our God as when He shines forth in all the luster of His grace; but since even the thought that He has forsaken us gives us agony, what must the woe of the Savior have been when He exclaimed, "My God, my God, why hast Thou forsaken me?"-C. H. Spurgeon

To all the crofters of Lorgill. Take notice that you are hereby duly warned that you will be rqdy to leave Lorgill at 12 o'clock on the 4th August with all your baggage but no stock and proceed to Loch Snizort, where you will board the ship Midlothian that will take you to Nova Scotia, where you are to receive a free grant of land from Her Majesty's government. Take further notice that any crofter disobeying the order will be immediately arrested and taken to prison. All persons over the age of seventy and who have no relatives to look after them will be taken care of in the county poorhouse. This order is final and no appeal to the government will be considered. God save the Queen.- Proclamation on Skye, 3rd August 1830 (Any moral difference between this and the slave trade?)

The basis for our security in salvation is not ultimately our righteousness or obedience but God's promise, God’s power, God’s purpose, and most of all God’s passionate love for us in Christ. God is committed to preserving us in faith, for if we were to stumble so as to fully and finally fall away, God stands more to lose than we do.- Sam Storms, A Defense of the Perseverance of the Saints – Part II, November 6, 2006,

Christ chargeth me to believe His daylight at midnight.- Samuel Rutherford

Better that we should err in action than wholly refuse to perform. The storm is so much better than the calm, as it declares the presence of a living principle. Stagnation is something worse than death. It is corruption also.- Simms.

If I were but sure that I should live to see the coming of the Lord, it would be the joyfulest tidings in the world. O that I might see His kingdom come! It is the characteristic of His saints to love His appearing, and to look for that blessed hope. `The Spirit and the bride say, Come.' "Even so, come, Lord Jesus."- Richard Baxter.

God brings men into deep waters, not to drown them, but to cleanse them.- Aughey.

Little minds are tamed and subdued by misfortunes; but great minds rise above them.- Washington Irving.

The brightest crowns that are worn in heaven have been tried and smelted and polished and glorified through the furnace of tribulation.- Chapin.

So we’re not to ask, “What did Jesus do?” so we could copy what he did. But we’re to ask, “What has Jesus done?” because he has done all for our salvation. The gospel is Christ’s life, suffering, death, resurrection, ascension and session at God’s right hand. There’s nothing in that gospel that we could do.– unk.

Socialism is a philosophy of failure, the creed of ignorance, and the gospel of envy, its inherent virtue is the equal sharing of misery. -Sir Winston Churchill, KG, OM, CH, TD, FRS, PC (Can). (Prime Minister 1940-1945, 1951-1955)

I am a Conservative to preserve all that is good in our constitution, a Radical to remove all that is bad. I seek to preserve property and to respect order, and I equally decry the appeal to the passions of the many or the prejudices of the few.- 
Benjamin Disraeli KG, PC, FRS, Earl of Beaconsfield. (Prime Minister 1868, 1874-1880)

We must never flatter ourselves that God cannot be angry. He is indeed a God of infinite grace and compassion. But it is also written, that He is "a consuming fire." (Heb. 12:29.) His spirit will not always strive with men. (Gen. 6:3.) There will be a day when His patience will come to an end, and when He will arise to dreadfully judge the earth. Happy will they be who are found hidden in the ark, in the day of the Lord's anger! Of all wrath, none can be conceived so dreadful as "the wrath of the Lamb." ~ J.C. Ryle Expository Thoughts on the Gospels: Luke volume 2 , [Carlisle, PA: Banner of Truth, 1998], 328.

Public opinion is a compound of folly, weakness, prejudice, wrong feeling, right feeling, obstinacy, and newspaper paragraphs.- 
Sir Robert Peel, Bt. (Prime Minister 1834-1835, 1841-1846)

"No one should be shaken by these afflictions; for you yourselves know that we are appointed to this." 1 Thessalonians 3:3
Man is born to trouble--as the sparks fly upward. Affliction does not comes not forth from the dust--neither does trouble spring out of the ground. Trouble is the natural consequence of sin--and all trouble springs from this bitter root. But God makes our trouble--our medicine, and uses it for our present and everlasting welfare.
Our troubles are not the inflictions of an angry God--but the chastisements of a loving Father! He foresaw what we would be, and what would be necessary for us--and consequently He has appointed . . . the number, the nature, and the length of our troubles.
Every Christian has his 'cup of trials'--it is mixed by his Father's wisdom, and put into his hand by his Father's providence. He should therefore take it, endeavor to acquiesce in it, and say with Jesus, "The cup that My heavenly Father gives me--shall I not drink it?" Every trouble . . . comes from God's appointment, is intended to do us good, and will be overruled for our real welfare!
Every trial is labeled "LOVE"--if only we could but read the writing! And in every affliction God calls to us, saying, "Come near unto Me, My son--that I may bless you!"
Let us, then, draw near unto God, and show our trouble to Him!
Let us entreat him to sanctify it to us, that it may . . . wean us from earth, consecrate us to Jesus, and fit us for heaven!
All is love--which comes from the God of love!
"He is unchangeable; who can oppose Him? He does what He desires. He will certainly accomplish what He has decreed for me." Job 23:13-14 - James Smith, "Our Father and Comforter"

When Christians take counsel together, their purpose should not be to ascertain what is the mind of the majority, but what is the mind of the Holy Spirit- something which may be quite different.- Margaret Hilda Thatcher

I believe that pluralistic secularism, in the long run, is a more deadly poison than straightforward persecution. - Francis Schaeffer

In passing, we should note this curious mark of our own age: the only-absolute allowed is the absolute insistence that there is no absolute. -Francis Schaeffer

A man who wants to lead the orchestra must turn his back on the crowd.- Max Luc

When a train goes through a tunnel and it gets dark, you don't throw away the ticket and jump off. You sit still and trust the engineer.- Corrie Ten Boom, 1892 - 1987

Christ would have lived, and taught, and preached, and prophesied, and wrought miracles in vain, if he had not crowned all by dying for our sins as our substitute! His death was our life. His death was the payment of our debt to God. Without his death we should have been of all creatures most miserable.-J. C. Ryle

An error is the more dangerous in proportion to the degree of truth which it contains. -Henri Frederic Amiel

Cleverness is serviceable for everything, sufficient for nothing. -Henri Frederic Amiel

Conquering any difficulty always gives one a secret joy, for it means pushing back a boundary-line and adding to one's liberty. -Henri Frederic Amiel

Every life is a profession of faith, and exercises an inevitable and silent influence. -Henri Frederic Amiel

Everything you need for better future and success has already been written. And guess what? All you have to do is go to the library. -Henri Frederic Amiel

I'm not interested in age. People who tell me their age are silly. You're as old as you feel. -Henri Frederic Amiel

The dark night of the soul always gives way to the brightness of the noonday light of the presence of God. - R.C. Sproul

Men are idolaters, and want something to look at and kiss and hug, or throw themselves down before; they always did, they always will; and if you don't make it of wood, you must make it of words. --Oliver Wendell Holmes, Sr. (1809-1894) _The Poet at the Breakfast Table_ [1872]

A sound mind in a sound body, is a short but full description of a happy state in this world. --John Locke (1632-1704) _Some Thoughts Concerning Education_ [1693], Section 1

Measure your growth in grace by your sensitiveness to sin. --Oswald Chambers (1874-1917) _Disciples Indeed_ [1955]

We have but a very few sins which we can observe and detect, compared
with those which are hidden to ourselves and unseen by our fellow
creatures. I doubt not it is true of all of us who are here, that in
every hour of our existence in which we are active, we commit tens of
thousands of unholinesses for which conscience has never reproved us,
because we have never seen them to be wrong, seeing we have not studied
God's laws as we ought to have done. .... Let all of us who know our
sins, offer this prayer after all our confessions: "Lord, I have
confessed as many as I know, but I must add an etcetera after them, and
say, 'Cleanse thou me from secret faults.'~ Rev. C. H. Spurgeon 1834-92, Sermon (No. 116) Delivered on Sabbath Morning, February 8, 1857, at the Music Hall, Royal Surrey Gardens.

That which is infinite is as much above what is great as it is above what is small. Thus God, being infinitely great, He is as much above kings as He is above beggars; He is as much above the highest angel as He is above the meanest worm.- Jonathan Edwards

When an unskillful servant gathers many herbs, flowers, and
seeds in a garden, you gather them out that are useful, and
cast the rest out of sight. Christ deals so with our
performances. All the ingredients of self that are in them on
any account He takes away, and adds incense to what remains,
and presents it to God. This is the cause that the saints at
the last day, when they meet their own duties and performances,
they know them not, they are so changed from what they were
when they went out of their hand. "Lord, when saw we Thee naked
or hungry?" So God accepts a little, and Christ makes our
little a great deal.-John Owen (1616-1683), An Exposition upon Psalm CXXX [1668], in Works of John Owen, v. VI, New York: R. Carter amp Bros., 1851, p. 603

We came equals into this world, and equals shall we go out of it.- George Mason, 1725 - 1792

A few years' experience will convince us that those things which at the time they happened we regarded as our greatest misfortunes have proved our greatest blessings.- George Mason, 1725 - 1792

When the same man, or set of men, holds the sword and the purse, there is an end of liberty.- George Mason, 1725 - 1792

Freedom of religion, you see, means much more than freedom of worship. Freedom of religion means you can practice your faith in public; you can educate your children in the faith, you can evangelize. Imagine that in any Muslim country today! Freedom of worship, however, is something less. It means you can worship how you please, so long as you keep it private. Citizens of the former Soviet Union could do that. And China has that law today.- Chuck Colson

I had come to like and admire George (Bush). I was asked recently which of the political leaders I had met had the most integrity. I listed George near the top. Some people were aghast... thinking I was joking. He had genuine integrity and as much political courage as any leader I ever met. He was, in a bizarre sense... a true idealist.- Tony Blair

Once, near the end, he asked me whether I thought God wanted him to make the deal that would seal the peace process. I wanted to say yes, but I hesitated; though I was sure God would want peace, God is not a negotiator. Tony Blair on
IAN PAISLEY AND NORTHERN IRELAND PEACE DEAL

The sympathy of Jesus never wearies or slumbers, it never chills or
forgets. It entwines with our every cross—attaches to our every
burden—and frosts with sparkling light, each darkling cloud. - O. Winslow

Most of the verses written about praise in God's Word were voiced by people faced with crushing heartaches, injustice, treachery, slander, and scores of other difficult situations. ~ Joni Eareckson Tada

Some forms of homosexuality today are of a similar nature, in that they are not just homosexuality but a philosophic expression. One must have understanding for the real homophile's problem. But much modern homosexuality is an expression of the current denial of antithesis. It has led in this case to an obliteration of the distinction between man and woman. So the male and the female as complementary partners are finished. This is a form of homosexuality which is a part of the movement below the line of despair. In much of modern thinking all antithesis and all the order of God's creation is to be fought against — including the male-female distinctions. The pressure toward unisex is largely rooted here. -
Francis A. Schaeffer- THE GOD WHO IS THERE, (DOWNERS GROVE, IL: INTERVARSITY PRESS, 1968), P57.

If our words be not sharpened, and pierce not as nails, they will hardly be felt by stony hearts. To speak slightly and coldly of heavenly things is nearly as bad as to say nothing of them at all. - Richard Baxter

The Christian is the real radical of our generation, for he
stands against the monolithic, modern concept of truth as
relative. But too often, instead of being the radical, standing
against the shifting sands of relativism, he subsides into
merely maintaining the status quo. If it is true that evil is
evil, that God hates it to the point of the cross, and that
there is a moral law fixed in what God is in Himself, then
Christians should be the first into the field against what is
wrong.- Francis A. Schaeffer (1912-1984), The God Who is There [1968], in The Francis A. Schaeffer Trilogy, Good News Publishers, 1990, p. 118

Whatever you can do or dream you can, begin it. Boldness has genius, power and magic in it.- Johann von Goethe

Realize that you must lead a dying life; the more a man dies to himself, the more he begins to live unto God.-Thomas Kempis

The advantages of afflictions, when the Lord is pleased to employ them for the good of his people, are many and great. –John Newton

Hope is not wishful thinking, nor fanciful imagination. Hope is the realism of the man of faith who knows that there is a line of meaningful development from the past, through the present, into the future. Hopelessness is the true condition of hell.-Joshua Haberman

"For our momentary light affliction is producing for us an absolutely incomparable eternal weight of glory!" 2 Corinthians 4:17
Oh Christians! under your greatest troubles--lie your greatest treasures!
"It is good for me to be afflicted--that I might learn Your statutes!" Psalm 119:71
By the greatest affliction--God teaches us the greatest instruction. When a believer lies under God's hand which afflicts him--he lies in God's heart which loves him!
Afflictions are good--but not pleasant.
Sin is pleasant--but not good.
There is more evil in a drop of sin--than there is in a sea of afflictions!
God by affliction, separates the sin He hates so deadly--from the soul He loves so dearly!
The believer studies more how to adorn the cross--than how to avoid the cross! Tell me, oh believer, is not Christ with His cross--better than the world with its crown?
"God disciplines us for our good--that we may share in His holiness." Hebrews 12:10
Suppose, Christian, that the furnace is hot, seven times hotter--it is but to make you seven times more holy! Fiery trials--make golden Christians! Sin has brought many a believer unto suffering--and suffering has kept many a believer from sinning! It is better to be preserved in brine--than to rot in honey!
"I know, O Lord, that Your laws are righteous, and in faithfulness You have afflicted me!" Psalm 119:75
William Dyer, Fiery Trials--Make Golden Christians!."Christ's Famous Titles"

The greatest gift is a passion for reading. It is cheap, it consoles, it distracts, it excites, it gives you knowledge of the world and experience of a wide kind. It is a moral illumination. - Elizabeth Hardwick, 1916 - 2007

No entertainment is so cheap as reading, nor any pleasure so lasting. - Lady Mary Wortley Montagu, 1689 - 1762

Reading is to the mind what exercise is to the body. - Richard Steele, 1672 - 1729

The guidance of the Spirit is generally by gentle suggestions or drawings, and not in violent pushes; and it requires great childlikeness of heart to be faithful to it. The secret of being made willing lies in a definite giving up of our will. As soon as we put our will on to God's side, He immediately takes possession of it and begins to work in us to will and to do of His good pleasure.-Hannah Whitall Smith (1832-1911), Christian's Secret of a Holy Life, M. E. Dieter, ed., Grand Rapids, Mich.: Zondervan 1994, p. 134

The proof of who we are in Christ isn't how many folks have come to the Lord through us. It isn't how much we've contributed to the Lord's work. It isn't how sweetly we've sung his praises. It is, pure and simple, how we have loved each other. -Gayle Roper

Whenever pain is so borne as to be prevented from breeding bitterness or any other evil fruit, a contribution is made to rescuing God's creation from the devil's grip.-Leonard Hodgson

Don't say you don't have enough time. You have exactly the same number of hours per day that were given to Helen Keller, Louis Pasteur, Michelangelo, Leonardo da Vinci, Thomas Jefferson and Albert Einstein - Jackson Brown Jr.

It's clear that most children suffer too much mother and too little father. - Gloria Steinem

Read the scripture, not only as an history, but as a love-letter sent to you from God which may affect your hearts.- Thomas Watson

I wish you could convince yourself that God is often nearer to us, and more effectually present with us, in sickness than in health. -Brother Lawrence

We are in the habit of saying that Christ saved us by dying for us on the Cross. In an important sense, this is true. We never could have been saved, if He had not died for us. But we are actually saved by our relation to a living, loving, personal Savior—into whose hands we commit all the interests of our lives; and who becomes our friend, our helper, our keeper, our burden bearer—our all in all. Christian faith is not merely laying our sins on the Lamb of God and trusting to His one great sacrifice; it is the laying of ourselves on the living, loving heart of one whose friendship becomes thenceforward the sweetest joy of our lives!
"The life I now live in the flesh, I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave Himself for me!" Galatians 2:20 - J. R. Miller, A Living, Loving, Personal Savior
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