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

I need the opportunity to free my mind of sorrow, personal concerns; to see my world through the mirrored reflection of holiness. I need a time of prayer to leap beyond what is limiting in me as a person, to rediscover what is important and what is trivial, to take counsel with what my tradition stresses as the living faith. I need prayer.- Albert Silverman

Nothing is small or great in God's sight; whatever He wills
becomes great to us, however seemingly trifling, and if once
the voice of conscience tells us that He requires anything of
us, we have no right to measure its importance.0Jean Nicolas Grou (1731-1803), The Hidden Life of the Soul, London: Rivingtons, 1870, p. 217

They tell me I rub the fur the wrong way. I don’t. Let the cat turn around!-Billy Sunday

There is more treasure in books than in all the pirates' loot on Treasure Island and at the bottom of the Spanish Main .. and best of all, you can enjoy these riches every day of your life.- Walter Elias Disney, 1901 - 1966

Any book that helps a child to form a habit of reading, to make reading one of his deep and continuing needs, is good for him. - Maya Angelou

O Church arise, and put your armour on
Hear the call of Christ our Captain.
For now the weak can say that they are strong
In the strength that God has given
With shield of faith, and belt of truth
We’ll stand against the devil’s lies;
An army bold, whose battle cry is Love
Reaching out to those in darkness

Our call to war, to love the captive soul,
But to rage against the captor;
And with the sword that makes the wounded whole
We will fight with faith and valour.
When faced with trials on every side
We know the outcome is secure,
And Christ will have the prize for which He died
An inheritance of nations.

Come see the cross where love and mercy meet,
As the Son of God is stricken;
Then see His foes lie crushed beneath His feet
For the Conqueror has risen!
And as the stone is rolled away
And Christ emerges from the grave,
This victory march continues till the day
Every eye and heart shall see Him.

So, spirit come, put strength in every stride,
Give grace for every hurdle,
That we may run with faith to win the prize
Of a servant good and faithful.
As saints of old still line the way,
Retelling triumphs of His grace,
We hear their call, and hunger for the day
When with Christ we stand in glory.
Keith Getty and Stuart Townend

Conscience is a most important part of our inward man, and plays a most prominent part in our spiritual history. It cannot save us. It never yet led any one to Christ. It is blind, and liable to be misled. It is lame and powerless, and cannot guide us to heaven. Yet conscience is not to be despised. It is the minister's best friend, when he stands up to rebuke sin from the pulpit. It is the mother's best friend, when she tries to restrain her children from evil and quicken them to good. It is the teacher's best friend, when he presses home on boys and girls their moral duties. Happy is he who never stifles his conscience, but strives to keep it tender! Still happier is he who prays to have it enlightened by the Holy Spirit, and sprinkled with Christ's blood.~ J.C. Ryle Expository Thoughts on the Gospels: John, volume 2, [Carlisle, PA: Banner of Truth, 1987], 71, 72.

The Holy Spirit [is] the source of spiritual unity! He is
the Fount of all true joy! ... We as missionaries need the
fullness of this joy. Without it our work will be a burden to
us, and we shall toil on with the hearts of slaves; and the
hearts of slaves are never strong.-Griffith John (1831-1912), "The Holy Spirit in Connection with our Work", in Records of the General Conference of the Protestant Missionaries ofChina, Shanghai: Presbyterian Mission Press, 1878, p. 36,38

I'm glad you've figured out free will or whatever. It's great to be able to figure it out but dangerous to put too much faith in your figuring.=- Flannery O'Connor

The price of apathy towards public affairs is to be ruled by evil men. - Plato