Remembering that I'll be dead soon is the most important tool I've ever encountered to help me make the big choices in life. Because almost everything - all external expectations, all pride, all fear of embarrassment or failure - these things just fall away in the face of death, leaving only what is truly important.- Steve jobs 2005

Christ is He who has the keys of death and hell. Christ is the anointed Priest, who alone can absolve sinners. Christ is the fountain of living waters, in whom alone we can be cleansed. Christ is the Prince and Savior, who alone can give repentance and remission of sins. In Him all fullness dwells. He is the way, the door, the light, the life, the Shepherd, the altar of refuge. He that has the Son has life--and he that has not the Son has not life. May we all strive to understand this. No doubt men may easily think too little of God the Father, and God the Spirit, but no man ever thought too much of Christ.~ J.C. Ryle, Expository Thoughts on the Gospels: Matthew, [Carlisle, PA: Banner of Truth, 1986], 409.

The plain truth is, that "sincerity and earnestness" are becoming the idol of many Christians in these latter days. People seem to think it matters little what opinions a man holds in religion, so long as he is "earnest and sincere", and you are thought uncharitable if you doubt his soundness in the faith! Against this idolatry of mere "earnestness" I enter my solemn protest. I charge every reader to remember that God's written Word is the only rule of faith, and to believe nothing to be true and soul-saving in religion which cannot be proved by plain texts of Scripture. I entreat him to read the Bible and make it his only test of truth and error, right and wrong.~ J.C. Ryle, The Upper Room, “Our Profession”, [Carlisle, PA: Banner of Truth, 1970], 232, 233.

Church greatness consists in being greatly serviceable.- Richard Baxter

Assuredly there is but one way in which to achieve what is

not merely difficult but utterly against human nature: to love

those who hate us, to repay their evil deeds with benefits, to

return blessings for reproaches. It is that we remember not to

consider men's evil intention but to look upon the image of God

in them, which cancels and effaces their transgressions, and

with its beauty and dignity allures us to love and embrace

them.- John Calvin (1509-1564), The Institutes of the Christian Religion, v. I [1559], tr. John Allen,Presbyterian Board of Publication and Sabbath-School Work, 1921, III.vii.6, p. 625

They say there is a young lady in [New Haven] who is

beloved of that Great Being, who made and rules the

world, and that there are certain seasons in which

this Great Being, in some way or other invisible,

comes to her and fills her mind with exceeding sweet

delight; and that she hardly cares for any thing,

except to meditate on him--that she expects after a

while to be received up where he is, to be raised up

out of the world and caught up into heaven; being

assured that he loves her too well to let her remain

at a distance from him always.

There she is to dwell with him, and to be ravished

with his love and delight for ever. Therefore, if

you present all the world before her, with the

richest of its treasures, she disregards it and

cares not for it, and is unmindful of any pain

or affliction.

She has a strange sweetness in her mind, and

singular purity in her affections; is most just and

conscientious in all her conduct; and you could not

persuade her to do any thing wrong or sinful, if

you would give her all the world, lest she should

offend this Great Being.

She is of a wonderful sweetness, calmness, and

universal benevolence of mind; especially after this

Great God has manifested himself to her mind. She

will sometimes go about from place to place, singing

sweetly; and seems to be always full of joy and

pleasure; and no one knows for what.

She loves to be alone, walking in the fields and

groves, and seems to have some one invisible always

conversing with her. -Jonathan Edwards (1703-1758) (In Sereno Dwight's _ The Works of President Edwards_ Volume 1, [1830]. Note: The young lady described by Jonathan Edwards was Sarah Pierrepont, who became his wife in 1727.)

The way to Heaven is ascending; we must be content

to travel up hill, though it be hard and tiresome,

and contrary to the natural bias of our flesh. -Jonathan Edwards (1703-1758) _The Christian Pilgrim_

The heart is like a viper: hissing, and spitting

poison at God. -Jonathan Edwards (1703-1758) _The Freedom Of The Will_ [1754]

Let us rest our souls on the comfortable thought that the mind of Christ is always the same. If we are true believers, let us know that He looks at our graces more than at our faults, that He pities our infirmities, and that He will not deal with us according to our sins. Never had a master such poor, weak servants as believers are to Christ--but never had servants such a compassionate and tender Master as Christ is to believers!

Surely we cannot love Him too well. We may come short in many things. We may fail in knowledge, courage, faith, and patience. We may stumble many times. But one thing let us always do. Let us love the Lord Jesus with heart, soul, mind, and strength. Whatever others do, let us "remain true to Him," and cleave to Him with purpose of heart. Happy is he who can say with Peter, however humbled and ashamed, "Lord, you know that I love you." (John 21:15.)~ J.C. Ryle, Expository Thoughts on the Gospels: Luke volume 2 , [Carlisle, PA: Banner of Truth, 1998], 405, 406

Many are willing that Christ should be something, but few will consent that Christ should be everything.- Alexander Moody Stuart

The fault of the social gospel of modernism is not that it would remedy social ills, but that it would accomplish this in a way which stands diametrically opposed to Christianity. Brushing aside the obvious truth that society can never be better than are the individuals which constitutes it, it would improve the individual by improving society. It would rescue men from sin's consequences such as... poverty and disease, rather than have them redeemed from sin itself by the blood of Christ. It would save the individual by what is termed the regeneration of society, not by the new birth supernaturally wrought by the Holy Spirit. It would by human effort get men out of the slums instead of getting the slums out of men by the grace of God. It neglects the profound truth so well expressed by that great evangelistic preacher, Charles Haddon Spurgeon, 'Take a thief to heaven, and the first thing he will do is pick the pockets of the angels.'- R. B. Kuiper

All that believers have is undoubtedly of grace. Their repentance, faith, and holiness, are all the gift of God. But the degree to which a believer attains in grace, is ever set before us as closely connected with his own diligence in the use of means, and his own faithfulness in living fully up to the light and knowledge which he possesses. Indolence and laziness are always discouraged in God's word. Labor and pains in hearing, reading, and prayer, are always represented as bringing their own reward. "The soul of the diligent shall be made fat." (Prov. 13:4.) "An idle soul shall suffer hunger." (Prov. 19:15.)~ J.C. Ryle, Expository Thoughts on the Gospels: Mark, [Carlisle, PA: Banner of Truth, 1985], 71.

Christ was all anguish that I might be all joy, cast off that I might be brought in, trodden down as an enemy that I might be welcomed as a friend, surrendered to hell's worst that I might attain heaven's best, stripped that I might be clothed, wounded that I might be healed, athirst that I might drink, tormented that I might be comforted, made a shame that I might inherit glory, entered darkness that I might have eternal light. My Savior wept that all tears might be wiped from my eyes, groaned that I might have endless song, endured all pain that I might have unfading health, bore a thorned crown that I might have a glory-diadem, bowed his head that I might uplift mine, experienced reproach that I might receive welcome, closed his eyes in death that I might gaze on unclouded brightness, expired that I might for ever live.- The Valley of Vision, ed. Arthur Bennett, 1975, p. 42, by permission Banner of Truth, Carlisle, PA.

Let us count it no strange thing, if we have sufferings in this present time. It is a season of probation; we are yet at school. We are learning patience, gentleness, and meekness, which we could hardly learn if we had our good things now. But there is an eternal holiday yet to begin. For this let us wait quietly. It will make amends for all. "Our light affliction which is for the moment, works for us more and more exceedingly an eternal weight of glory." (2 Cor. 4:17.) ~ J.C. Ryle, Expository Thoughts on the Gospels: Matthew, [Carlisle, PA: Banner of Truth, 1986], 161.

The apprenticeship of difficulty is one which the greatest of men have had to serve.- Samuel Smiles, 1812 - 1904

Straight through all the apparently tangled course of human history runs the accomplishment of God's eternal plan.- J. Gresham Machen (1881-1937), The Christian View of Man, The Macmillan Company, 1937, p. 80

Christianity is a religion built upon facts. Let us never lose sight of this. The first preachers did not go up and down the world, proclaiming an elaborate, artificial system of abstruse doctrines and deep principles. They made it their first business to tell men great plain facts. They went about telling a sin-laden world, that the Son of God had come down to earth, and lived for us, died for us, and risen again. The Gospel, at its first publication, was far more simple than many make it now. It was neither more nor less than the history of Christ.~ J.C. Ryle, Expository Thoughts on the Gospels: Luke volume 1, [Carlisle, PA: Banner of Truth, 1986], 2.

Divisions in the church always breed atheism in the world. - Thomas Manton

God is perfectly good. All the perfection we can arrive at in this life is sincerity. We may resemble God a little, but not equal him; he is infinitely perfect.- Thomas Watson

This life was not intended to be the place of our perfection, but the preparation for it. - Richard Baxter

I have never once feared the devil, but I tremble every time I enter the pulpit. - John Knox

Nothing can altogether overthrow and destroy [the church]. Its members may be persecuted, oppressed, imprisoned, beaten, beheaded, burned; but the true church is never altogether extinguished; it rises again from its afflictions; it lives on through fire and water. When crushed in one land it springs up in another. The Pharaohs, the Herods, the Neros, have labored in vain to put down this church; they slay their thousands, and then pass away and go to their own place. The true Church outlives them all, and sees them buried each in his turn. It is an anvil that has broken many a hammer in this world, and will break many a hammer still; it is a bush which is often burning, and yet is not consumed.- J.C. Ryle

Ah, we poor people, to be so cold and sluggish in the face of the great joy that has clearly been prepared for us! This great benefaction exceeds by far all the other works of creation; and yet our faith in it is found to be so weak, although it is preached and sung to us by angels, who are heavenly theologians and who were so glad for our sake! Their song is very, very beautiful and describes the entire Christian religion. For giving glory to God in the highest heaven is the supreme worship. This they wish and bring to us in the Christ.- Martin Luther

We all know that Prime Ministers are wedded to the truth, but like other married couples they sometimes live apart.- Saki (Hector Hugh Munro), 1870 - 1916

People talk vaguely about the innocence of a little child, but they take mighty good care not to let it out of their sight for twenty minutes.- Saki (Hector Hugh Munro), 1870 - 1916

In any great organization it is far, far safer to be wrong with the majority than to be right alone. - John Kenneth Galbraith, U. S. economist, Guardian (London), July 28, 1989

Donovan stopped and waited until the old man turned

to look at him. . . .

"They should have tried a shaped charge--it would

have directed the blast away from the payload."

Li paused. "You seem to know something about bombs."

"I was in the Marine Corps--in ordnance removal."

"You made bombs?"

"I made them; I took them apart."

"That must have taken a great deal of courage."

"We called it 'controlled insanity.' Some days

required more control, others more insanity."

Li thought for a moment. "Which do you possess more

of now?" -Tim Downs (1954- ) _Plague Maker_ [2006], Chapter 11

"Would you prefer to be thin?"

GKC: "No. My weight gives us a subject with which to start these questions and answer sessions." -'Cleveland Press,' March 3, 1921.

"Could you speak louder please"

GKC: "Good sister, don't worry. You aren't missing a thing." -Chesterton as Seen by His Contemporaries,' by Cyril Clemens.

The historian has a habit of saying of people in the past: “I think they may well be considered worthy of praise, allowing for the ideas of their time.” There will never be really good history until the historian says, “I think they were worthy of praise, allowing for the ideas of my time. ~GKC: ‘Illustrated London News,’ 15 August, 1925.

The smallest things become great when God requires them of us; they are small only in themselves; they are always great when they are done for God, and when they serve to unite us with Him eternally.- Francois Fenelon

If some countries have too much history, we have too much geography. - Mackenzie King, 1874 - 1950

But in each variant of Socialism that appeared from about 1900 onwards the aim of establishing liberty and equality was more and more openly abandoned. The new movements which appeared in the

middle years of the century ... had the conscious aim of perpetuating unfreedom and inequality.

These new movements, of course, grew out of the old ones and tended to keep their names and pay lip-service to their ideology. But the purpose of all of them was to arrest progress and freeze

history at a chosen moment. The familiar pendulum swing was to happen once more, and then stop. As

usual, the High were to be turned out by the Middle, who would then become the High. ... What kind of people would control this world had been equally obvious. The new aristocracy was made

up for the most part of bureaucrats, scientists, technicians, trade-union organizers, publicity

experts, sociologists, teachers, journalists, and professional politicians. These people, whose

origins lay in the salaried middle class and the upper grades of the working class, had been shaped

and brought together by the barren world of monopoly industry and centralized government. As

compared with their opposite numbers in past ages, they were less avaricious, less tempted by

luxury, hungrier for pure power, and, above all, more conscious of what they were doing and more

intent on crushing opposition. -Chapter I, Ignorance is Strength, THE THEORY AND PRACTICE OF OLIGARCHICAL COLLECTIVISM by Emmanuel Goldstein (The 'Book within a Book' from George Orwell's Nineteen Eighty-Four)

http://www.newspeakdictionary.com/go-goldstein.html

They say crime is illness. Now if that were true, there could be no moral act whatsoever. If man is

not free to choose evil, he is not free to choose good . . . . Everyone must remember the story of

the murderer who said in court: “You can’t blame me, it was my heredity and environment that caused

me to kill” and the judge who replied, “It is my heredity and environment that sentences you to hang

by the neck until dead.” -“The Death of Christian Culture” by Dr. John Senior. Quoted by Ann Barnhardt, "There Must Be A Reckoning (Part 2)" http://barnhardt.biz/index.cfm

We all want progress, but if you're on the wrong road, progress means

doing an about-turn and walking back to the right road; in that case,

the man who turns back soonest is the most progressive. - C. S. Lewis