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

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

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

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

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

You are not a reservoir with a limited amount of resources; you are a channel attached to unlimited divine resources. - Unknown

Life is a voyage in which we choose neither vessel nor weather, but much can be done in the management of the sails and the guidance of the helm.-Unknown

The attentive reader will notice two items about the New
Testament, as he comes to the end of it. For one thing, there
is no book of church order, laying down a code of rules for the
worship and organization of the communities: [there is] no book
corresponding to the Book of Leviticus. The other thing is that
the writings are all meant for communities, not for
individuals: they reflect and presuppose the life of a society
or fellowship. Even the private notes of Paul to Philemon and
of the presbyter John to Gaius are addressed to these
individuals as members of the church;- James Moffatt (1870-1944), A New Translation of the Bible: Containing the Old and New Testaments, London:
Hodder and Stoughton, 1935, New York: Harper, 1935,Introduction, p. xxxv

The evils of riches, to the Christian, are the evils of distraction (the distraction that keeps men from thinking about God), the evils of a false dependence on the created order, and a would-be security that fails to take account o the inevitable fragility of human destiny on this earth.- D. L. Munby

You campaign in poetry. You govern in prose. - Mario Cuomo

Ecclesia semper reformanda est ("he church must always be reforming) - Jodocus van Lodenstein, Dutch Puritan

Remember the rights of the savage, as we call him. Remember that the happiness of his humble home, remember that the sanctity of life in the hill villages of Afghanistan, among the winter snows, is as inviolable in the eye of Almighty God as can be your own. Those hill tribes had committed no real offence against us. We, in the pursuit of our political objects, chose to establish military positions in their country. If they resisted, would not you have done the same? ... The meaning of the burning of the village is, that the women and the children were driven forth to perish in the snows of winter ... Is that not a fact – for such, I fear, it must be reckoned to be – which does appeal to your hearts as women ... which does rouse in you a sentiment of horror and grief, to think that the name of England, under no political necessity, but for a war as frivolous as ever was waged in the history of man, should be associated with consequences such as these?- William Ewart Gladstone:on the Second Afghan War

Conscience warns us as a friend before it punishes us as a judge.-King Stanislas I

We see in the risen Christ the end for which man was made,
and the assurance that the end is within reach.- Brooke Foss Westcott (1825-1901), The Revelation of the Risen Lord, London: Macmillan, 1881, p. xiv

Not praying is a clear proof that a person is not yet a
true Christian. They cannot really feel their sins. They cannot
love God. They cannot feel themselves a debtor to Christ. They
cannot long after holiness. They cannot desire heaven. They
have yet to be born again. They have yet to be made a new
creature. They may boast confidently of election, grace, faith,
hope and knowledge, and deceive ignorant people. But you may
rest assured it is all vain talk if they do not pray. - J. C. Ryle (1816-1900), A Call to Prayer, published in the 1850's as a pamphlet, p. 1

He has hedged me in and put me where I am. He has Placed me, Not Misplaced me. He knows exactly where I am and how to care for me.-Joni, A Lifetime of Wisdom

Let Christ stay throughout the meal. Don't dismiss Him with the blessing.-Unknown

"In the presence of God and of Christ Jesus, who will judge the living and the dead . . . I charge you!" 2 Timothy 4:1
Life is very serious! We are always standing before God who is our Judge. Our commonest days--are judgment days.
We should learn to do everything "in the presence of God". This makes every word and act serious.
If only we were more conscious of God and of eternity--we would live better!- J. R. Miller, "Paul's Message for Today" 1904

Fix your affections upon the things that are above, and this will enable you to mortify sin. Heavenly things are blessed and suitable objects--God Himself, in His beauty and glory; the Lord Jesus Christ, who is 'altogether lovely,' the 'chief of ten thousand'; grace and glory; and the blessed promises of the gospel.
Were our affections filled, taken up, and possessed with these things, as it is our duty that they should be--and it is our happiness when they are--what access could sin, with its painted pleasures, with its sugared poisons, with its envenomed baits, have into our souls? How should we loathe all sin's proposals, and say unto them, "Away with you, you abominable thing!" For what are the vain, transitory pleasures of sin--in comparison to the heavenly glories which are proposed unto us?-John Owen

The church is the great lost and found department.- Robert Short

Graham J Weeks M.R.Pharm.S
http://christianquoter.blogspot.com/ My blog
http://www.christiansquoting.org.uk 10201 quotes 654 topics 2452 authors
http://christiansquoting-dailyquotes.blogspot.com/ Daily quotes
http://iuhuru.com/category/columnists/graham-weeks/ - my weekly column
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http://www.ipc-ealing.co.uk/ Our church
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Question reality. Question authority.
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To be of no church is dangerous. Religion, of which the rewards are
distant and which is animated only by Faith and Hope, will glide by
degrees out of the mind unless it be invigorated and reimpressed by
external ordinances, by stated calls to worship, and the salutary
influence of example."
-- Samuel Johnson: Milton (Lives of the Poets)

A church family will help keep you from backsliding.
None of us are immune to temptation. Given the
right situation, you and I are capable of any sin.
God knows this, so he has assigned us as individuals
the responsibility of keeping each other on track.
The Bible says, "Encourage one another daily . . .
so that none of you may be hardened by sin's
deceitfulness" (Hebrews 3:13).
--Rick Warren (1954- )
_The Purpose Driven Life_ [2002], Chapter 17

Action may not always bring happiness; but there is no happiness without action.-Benjamin Disraeli, 1804 - 1881

The greatest good you can do for another is not just to share your riches but to reveal to him his own.-Benjamin Disraeli, 1804 - 1881

No success in public life can compensate for failure in the home.-Benjamin Disraeli, 1804 - 1881

The word of the Lord God of Hosts is not a plea or a request: it is a summons. ~ R. J. Rushdoony

There are two kings and two kingdoms in Scotland. There is King James, the head of the commonwealth, and there is Jesus Christ, the King of the Church, whose subject King James VI is, and of whose kingdom he is not a king nor a lord nor a head, but a member. Sir, those whom Christ hath called and commanded to watch over His church have power and authority from Him to govern His spiritual kingdom both jointly and severally, and which no Christian king should control or discharge, but fortify and assist, otherwise they are not faithful subjects of Christ and members of His church. Sir, when you were in your swaddling clothes, Christ Jesus reigned freely in this land in spite of all His enemies. His officers and ministers convened and assembled for the ruling and welfare of His church, which was ever for your welfare, defence, preservation, when those same enemies were seeking your destruction and cutting off. - Andrew Melville to King James VI of Scotland

12% of all paper used in the UK is used by the government - Douglas MacWilliams, heard on BBC Radio 4's Today 30. 10. 10.

The secret of success is honesty and fair dealing - fake that and you've got it made - Groucho Marx

That [the future] is not for us to decide. All we have to decide is what to do with the time that is given us. - Gandalf in The Lord of the Rings

When God gives a promise, He always tries our faith. Just as the roots of trees take firmer hold when they are contending with the wind, so faith takes a firmer hold when it struggles with adverse appearances.-Robert Murray McCheyne, Comfort in Sorrow, Christian Focus, 2002, p. 40,

I would be true, for there are those who trust me;
I would be pure, for there are those who care;
I would be strong- for there is much to suffer;
I would be brave, for there is much to dare.
I would be friend of all- the foe, the friendless;
I would be giving, and forget the gift.
I would be humble, for I know my weakness;
I would look up- and laugh- and love- and lift.
Howard Arnold Walter

The English Established Church... will more readily pardon an attack on 38 of its 39 articles than on 1/39 of its income. - Karl Marx, Capital

Have you ever noticed that to the Left, political ideology is a
religion, while to the rest of us, religion is the antidote to their
political ideology?
The bedrock of the Left's political philosophy is the principle that the state is dominant over man. That forms the basis for Marxism, Socialism, Nazism, or any of the other -isms proven over the past century to be a failure. Religion, particularly Christianity, teaches that only God is superior to man.
Therefore, the Left cannot accept religion and must denigrate those who do. In the alternative, they must substitute allegiance to and worship at the altar of a statist ideology with particular emphasis on unfettered abortion rights, with the same fervor and belief as do those who believe in the direct relationship between God and man.
The United States, founded on the tenet that the state serves the citizen, whose rights come from God, has become the most successful nation in the history of mankind. In order for the Left to change the United States into a socialist paradise, they must overthrow the founding principle of the country. - Steve McCann, Have You Ever Noticed?
http://www.americanthinker.com/2010/08/have_you_ever_noticed.html

No candle which God lights was ever meant to burn alone.- J. C. Ryle

Character, like a photograph, develops in darkness.- Yousuf Karsh, 1908 - 2002

Without Christ I was like a fish out of water. With Christ I am in the ocean of love.- Sadhu Singh

Without realizing what was happening, most of us gradually
came to take for granted the premises underlying this
philosophy of optimism. We proceeded to live these
propositions, though we would not have stated them as blandly
as I set them forth here:
Man is inherently good.
Individual man can carve out his own salvation with the
help of education and society through progressively better
government.
Reality and values worth searching for lie in the material
world that science is steadily teaching us to analyze,
catalogue, and measure. While we would not deny the existence
of inner values, we relegate them to second place.
The purpose of life is happiness, [which] we define in
terms of enjoyable activity, friends, and the accumulation of
material objects.
The pain and evil of life--such as ignorance, poverty,
selfishness, hatred, greed, lust for power--are caused by
factors in the external world; therefore, the cure lies in the
reforming of human institutions and the bettering of
environmental conditions.
As science and technology remove poverty and lift from us
the burden of physical existence, we shall automatically become
finer persons, seeing for ourselves the value of living the
Golden Rule.
In time, the rest of the world will appreciate the
demonstration that the American way of life is best. They will
then seek for themselves the good life of freedom and
prosperity. This will be the greatest impetus toward an end of
global conflict.
The way to get along with people is to beware of religious
dictums and dogma. The ideal is to be a nice person and to live
by the Creed of Tolerance. Thus we offend few people. We live
and let live. This is the American Way.-Catherine Marshall (1914-1983), Beyond Our Selves, New York: McGraw-Hill, 1961, p. 5-6

21 Jul 10

While the local church is not the total body of Christ, it
must be seen to be [that body's] particular expression in its
worship, ministry, and mission. It has authority to preach the
gospel and administer the sacraments, but does not possess that
authority in isolation, only as part of the total catholic
Church. The authority of the local church can never, therefore,
be absolute or autonomous, for, if it [asserts such authority],
it denies that it is a part of the larger body and confuses the
Church of God with its particular expression in the local
church. It therefore requires a structure which allows it to
act with the authority of the Church of God, because it must be
Christ to its local community--while, at the same time,
demonstrating that it possesses such authority only because it
is part of the total Church of God whose authority is derived
from its organic relationship with Christ, its Head.-lan P. M. Cundy (b. 1945), "The Church as Community", in The People of God, Ian Cundy, ed., vol. 2 of Obeying Christ in a Changing World, John Stott, gen. ed., 3 vol., London: Fountain, 1977, p. 36

To succeed, jump as quickly at opportunities as you do at conclusions.- Benjamin Franklin, 1706 - 1790

Don't be afraid to take a big step if one is indicated. You can't cross a chasm in two small jumps. - David Lloyd George, 1863 - 1945

Love recognizes no barriers. It jumps hurdles, leaps fences, penetrates walls to arrive at it destination full of hope. - Maya Angelou