Sickness, in the very nature of things, can never be anything but trying to our flesh. Our bodies and souls are strangely linked together, and that which vexes and weakens the body can hardly fail to vex the mind and soul. But sickness, we must always remember, is no sign that God is displeased with us; no, more, it is generally sent for the good of our souls. It tends to draw our affections away from this world, and to direct them to things above. It sends us to our Bibles, and teaches us to pray better. It helps to prove our faith and patience, and shows us the real value of our hope in Christ. It reminds us that we are not to live always, and tunes and trains our hearts for our great change. Then let us be patient and cheerful when we are laid aside by illness. Let us believe that the Lord Jesus loves us when we are sick no less than when we are well.~ J.C. Ryle, Expository Thoughts on the Gospels: John, volume 2, [Carlisle, PA: Banner of Truth, 1987], 257-258. {John 11:1-6}

It seemed to me that God had looked over the whole world to find a man who was weak enough to do His work, and when He at last found me, He said, "He is weak enough- he’ll do." All God’s giants have been weak men who did great things for God because they reckoned on His being with them. - J. Hudson Taylor (when someone complimented him on founding the China Inland Mission)

Boredom is the feeling that everything is a waste of time; serenity, that nothing is.- Thomas Szasz

We pilgrims walk the tightrope between earth and heaven, feeling trapped in time, yet with eternity beating in our hearts. Our unsatisfied sense of exile is not to be solved or fixed while here on earth. Our pain and longings make sure we will never be content, but that’s good: it is to our benefit that we do not grow comfortable in a world destined for decay.- Joni Eareckson Tada, Heaven: Your Real Home, Zondervan, www.Zondervan.com, 1995, p. 112.

Sin is not misfortune; sin is not error or ignorance. Sin is a choice against what you know pleases God. If you lose this meaning of sin, you lose the beauty of forgiveness.- Robert H. O’Bannon

It is wonderful how much may be done if we are always doing.- Thomas Jefferson, 1743 - 1826

No man will ever bring out of the Presidency the reputation which carries him into it...To myself, personally, it brings nothing but increasing drudgery and daily loss of friends.- Thomas Jefferson, 1743 - 1826

The man who fears no truths has nothing to fear from lies.- Thomas Jefferson, 1743 - 1826

I would rather be exposed to the inconveniences attending too much liberty, than those attending too small a degree of it.-Thomas Jefferson, 1743 - 1826

God’s people should plan for a voyage of a thousand years, but be prepared to abandon ship tonight.- Joseph Bayly

Oh, innocent victims of Cupid,
Remember this terse little verse;
To let a fool kiss you is stupid,
To let a kiss fool you is worse.- Yip Harburg, 1896 - 1981

Let us observe this. There are few things so little believed and realized as the corruption of human nature. Men imagine that if they saw a perfect person, they would love and admire him. They flatter themselves that it is the inconsistency of professing Christians which they dislike, and not their religion. They forget that when a really perfect man was on earth, in the person of the Son of God, He was hated and put to death. That single fact goes far to prove the truth of [Jonathan] Edwards’ remark – “unconverted men would kill God, if they could get at Him.” - J.C. Ryle,Matthew Commentary, ch. 27

When evil befalls you, it is not you who are in danger, but
the others who do you evil; and if you don't help them, they
will perish in it. Therefore, for the others' sake, and because
of your responsibility to them--repay no one evil for evil. For
has God ever repaid you in such a way?- Dietrich Bonhoeffer (1906-1945), A Testament to Freedom: the essential writings of Dietrich Bonhoeffer, Geffrey B. Kelly, F. Burton Nelson, eds.,
HarperCollins, 1995, p. 286

Because faith makes invisible things real, and visible things unreal, earthly dissatisfaction becomes the road to heavenly satisfaction.- Joni Eareckson Tada, Heaven: Your Real Home, Zondervan, www.Zondervan.com, 1995, p. 98.

Most of the time, we scratched our heads and wondered how the matted mesh of threads in Romans 8:28 could possibly be woven together for our good. On earth, the underside of the tapestry was tangled and unclear; but in heaven, we will stand amazed to see the topside of the tapestry and how God beautifully embroidered each circumstance into a pattern for our good and His glory.-Joni Eareckson Tada,Heaven: Your Real Home, Zondervan, www.Zondervan.com, 1995, p. 45.

Prayer frees us to be controlled by God. To pray is to

change. There is no greater liberating force in the Christian

life than prayer. To enter the gaze of the Holy is never to be

the same. To bathe in the Light in quiet wonder and glad

surrender is to be slowly, permanently transformed. There is a

richer inward orientation, a deep hunger for communion. We feel

as if we are being taken over by a new control Center, and so

we are.- Richard J. Foster, Freedom of Simplicity, HarperCollins, 1989, p. 58

God hath work to do in this world; and to desert it because

of its difficulties and entanglements, is to cast off His

authority... It is not enough that we be just, that we be

righteous, and walk with God in holiness; but we must also

serve our generation, as David did before he fell asleep. God

hath a work to do; and not to help Him, is to oppose Him.-John Owen (1616-1683), Works of John Owen, v. IX, London: Johnson & Hunter, 1851, Sermon XIII, p. 171

Prayer in the sense of petition, asking for things, is a small part of it; confession and penitence are its threshold, adoration its sanctuary, the presence and vision and enjoyment of God its bread and wine.- C. S. Lewis

God has promised forgiveness to your repentance, but He has not promised tomorrow to your procrastination.-Augustine

There is a language in actions. And in some cases the language of action is much more clear and convincing than words.- Jonathan Edwards, Distinguishing Marks of a Work of the Spirit of God, 1741.

Christ forever sees us! Christ always knows us! Christ daily reads and observes our acts, words and thoughts! The recollection of this should alarm the wicked and drive them from their sins! Their wickedness is not hidden, and will one day be fearfully exposed, except they repent. It should frighten hypocrites out of their hypocrisy. They may deceive man, but they are not deceiving Christ. It should quicken and comfort all sincere believers. They should remember that a loving Master is looking at them, and should do all as in His sight. Above all, they should feel that, however mocked and slandered by the world, they are fairly and justly measured by their Savior's eye. They can say, "You, Lord, who know all things, know that I love You." (John 21:17)~ J.C. Ryle, Expository Thoughts on the Gospels: Luke volume 1, [Carlisle, PA: Banner of Truth, 1986], 145. {Luke 5: 17-26}

[Forgiveness] recognises the wrongdoer as a person. He has
done wrong, and about this there is no pretence. But that is
not the whole truth about him. He is still of infinite value as
a person, since every person is unique and irreplaceable by any
other. Since he has so greatly injured himself by doing wrong,
he is in special need of help, and help that can be rendered
only by the one to whom he has done the wrong.- Stephen Neill (1900-1984), A Genuinely Human Existence: Towards a Christian Psychology, Garden City, N.Y. : Doubleday, 1959, p. 210

God says to the believer, as the king of Israel said to the king of Syria, "I am yours--and all that I have!" This is a hive of divine comfort! All that is in God--is ours! His wisdom is ours to teach us! His love is ours to pity us! His Spirit is ours to comfort us! His mercy is ours to save us! When God says to the soul, "I am yours," He can say no more! "For this God is our God for ever and ever!" Psalm 48:14- Thomas Watson, "The Christian's Charter"

"For this God is our God for ever and ever!" The degree of our faith is the degree of our prayer.

The strength of our hope is the strength of our prayer.

The warmth of our charity is the warmth of our prayer.-Carlo Carretto

In prosperity our friends know us; in adversity we know our friends.-- John Churton Collins

Prayer has everything to do with moulding the soul into the
image of God, and has everything to do with enhancing and
enlarging the measure of Divine grace. It has everything to do
with enriching, broadening and maturing the soul's experience
of God. That man cannot possibly be called a Christian, who
does not pray.- E. M. Bounds (1835-1913), The Necessity of Prayer [1907], Lulu, 2007, p. 26

Prayer pursues joy in fellowship with Jesus and in the power to share His life with others. And prayer pursues God’s glory by treating Him as the inexhaustible reservoir of hope and help. In prayer we admit our poverty and God’s prosperity, our bankruptcy and His bounty, our misery and His mercy. Therefore, prayer highly exalts and glorifies God precisely by pursuing everything we long for in Him and not in ourselves. - John Piper,Desiring God, 1996, p. 156,

O the depth of the evil of sin! If ever you will see how

great and horrid an evil sin is, measure it in your thoughts,

either by the infinite holiness and excellency of God, who is

wrong'd by it; or by the infinite sufferings of Christ, who

died to satisfy for it; and then you will have deeper

apprehensions of the evil of sin.- John Flavel (1628-1691), The Whole Works of the Reverend Mr. John Flavel, v. I, Paisley: A. Weir and A. McLean, 1770, p. 199

Let us remember this in our private devotions. It must not satisfy us to say good words, if our heart and our lips do not go together. What does it profit us to be fluent and lengthy, if our imaginations are roving far away while we are upon our knees? It profits us nothing at all. God sees what we are really doing, and rejects our offering. Heart-prayers are the prayers He loves to hear. Heart-prayers are the only prayers that He will answer. Our petitions may be weak, and stammering, and poor in our eyes. They may be presented with no fine words, or well-chosen language, and might seem almost unintelligible, if they were written down. But if they come from a right heart, God understands them. Such prayers are His delight.~ J.C. Ryle, Expository Thoughts on the Gospels: Mark, [Carlisle, PA: Banner of Truth, 1985], 137. {Mark 7:1-13}

Ill habits gather by unseen degrees,

As brooks make rivers, rivers run to seas.- John Dryden, 1631 - 1700

The path of least resistance makes all rivers, and some men, crooked.- Napoleon Hill, 1883 - 1970

Courage can be a form of tenaciousness, a refusal to quit because you’re tired, hurt, humiliated or emotionally broken. Courage is the ability to face what life throws in your path on a daily basis.- Nina Lesowitz