Ability:

"God does not ask about our ability or our inability, but our availability." - Anonymous

"It is not my ability, but my response to God's ability, that counts." - Corrie ten Boom

"Anybody can do their best, but we are helped by the Spirit of God to do better than our best." - Catherine Bramwell Booth

"There is a great deal of unmapped country within us." - George Eliot

"Alas for those who never sing, but die with all their music in them." - Oliver Wendell Holmes

"Do what you can, with what you have, where you are." - Theodore Roosevelt

"No talent can survive the blight of neglect" - Edgar A. Whitney

"The real tragedy in life is not in being limited to one talent, but in the failure to use the one talent." - Edgar W. Work

Acceptance:

"Accept surprises that upset your plans, shatter your dreams, give a completely different turn to your day and who knows? - to your life.  Leave the Father free Himself to weave the pattern of your days." - Dam Helder Camara

"Acceptance says, True, this is my situation at the moment.  I'll look unblinkingly at the reality of it.  But I'll also open my hands to accept willingly whatever the loving Father sends." - Catherine Wood Marshall

"God, give us grace to accept with serenity the things that cannot be changed, courage to change the things that should be changed, and wisdom to distinguish the one from the other." (Karl Paul) Reinhold Niebuhr

Age:

"When men grow virtuous in their old age, they only make a sacrifice to God of the Devil's leavings." - Alexander Pope

America:

Decatur's Law states, "My country, right or wrong."  This the popular, patriotic, telegraphed version of the toast that Commodore Stephen Decatur given at a dinner in his honor in April 1816, in Norfolk, Virginia.  The fuller version is "Our country!  In her intercourse with foreign nations, may she always be in the right; but our country; right or wrong."  John Quincy Adams later added an amendment, ". . . may our country always be successful, but whether successful or otherwise, always right (letter, 8/1/1816)."  Carls Schurz added another amendment, "Our country, right or wrong.  When right, to be kept right.  When wrong, to be put right (speech, 10/17/1899)."  The final word came from G.K. Chesterton in a disclaimer, "'My country, right or wrong.' is a thing no partiot would think of saying except in a deperate case.  It is like saying, 'My mother, drunk or sober.' (Defense of Patriotism in The Defendant, 1901)."

"In 1778 George Washington wrote a letter to a fellow patriot, Thomas Nelson Jr., in which he marveled at how much God was helping the American cause: “The hand of providence has been so conspicuous in all this [the colonies’ victories in the American war for Independence], that he must be worse than an infidel that lacks faith, and more than wicked, that has not gratitude enough to acknowledge his obligations.” In other words, God has helped us so much that anyone who can’t see that and can’t thank Him must be worse than an unbeliever." - Dr. D. James Kennedy, What If America Were A Christian Nation Again?

Only the divine hand of God preserved America from Spanish discovery.  Columbus’ ship was headed directly toward the Carolinas, but during the long voyage, the frightened, restless crew threatened mutiny. They planned to throw Columbus overboard and return to Europe. Suddenly the dry went up that land had been sighted to the southwest. Columbus’ log tells us that they headed towards that land, but what they had seen was merely a cloud on the horizon. Several days later, however, the men were once again ready to overthrow Columbus. Oddly enough, a flock of birds flew over the ship, heading southwest. A second correction was made, diverting the ship from what would have been North Florida; thus Columbus landed in San Salvador (in the Bahamas). For all of his faults, Columbus was motivated by the Lord to make his historic, death-defying voyage. Nonetheless, the colonies the Spanish settled turned out much different from the colonies settled by the Puritans and Pilgrims from England. And to think, if it had not been for the flight of some birds, America would probably have the same culture as that of South and Central America today.

Only the divine hand of God preserved America from French invasion and takeover.  In 1606, fourteen years before the Pilgrims landed at Plymouth, the French made an effort to colonize New England. Under the leadership of Pierre DeMonts, they made three attempts. On the first two their ships were driven from the coast by strong winds, while on the third attempt the chips were destroyed on the treacherous shoals of Cape Cod, and DeMonts was killed.  In 1746 the French swept down from Nova Scotia undet the leadership of Duke D’Anville, with forty men-of-war and thousands of French troops, determined to completely wipe out the English colonists and make New England a French possession.  Receiving intelligence of this coming attack, Reverend Mr. Price in the Old South Church in Boston stood up before the congregation and called for a day of fasting and prayer so God would intervene. As he prayed, the shutters of the church suddenly began to rattle, startling the whole congregation. He stopped praying and realized what a strong wind had begun to blow. So he returned to more earnest prayer. Gradually the wind picked up until it became a raging gale. The Duke D’Anville was not only routed, his fleet was destroyed. Thousands of troops were drowned, and the Duke and his leading general committed suicide.

"Time and again, before and during the War for Independence, God seemed to act on America’s behalf. For example, He repeatedly spared the life of the military general who led us to victory, George Washington. Once, in 1755, during the French and Indian Wars, when he was in his early twenties, Washington survived a massacre of sorts outside Pittsburgh by the banks of the Monongahela River. An Indian who lay in concealment leaped up and fired at Washington when he was only three or four paces away. Yet the Indian missed the general. Another Indian shot fifteen bullets at Washington and missed him fifteen times. During the same encounter, Washington had two horses shot out from under him. He had four bullet holes in his coat." Dr. D. James Kennedy, What If America Werre A Christian Nation Again?

"And then came the famous incident at Brooklyn Heights in 1776, when the British army surrounded Washington’s army on land while the British fleet lay offshore. There was no way of escape; the following morning they would be destroyed. Washington determined to try to slip his army away during the night on every rowboat and sloop that he could muster. His officers told him they would be seen from the British frigates and destroyed, but Washington resolved to go ahead. As they started to embark, a fog rolled in from sea, totally concealing them. When the fog lifted in the morning, the British were astounded to find that the American Army had completely disappeared . . . Even more amazing is the fact that a woman in Brooklyn who was a British sympathizer discovered Washington’s plan and hastily sent her servant to reveal it to the British. But by the providence of God, the servant rushed into the Hessian lines. These Hessians, German mercenaries hired by the British, could not understand one word the servant spoke. They kept him until the morning when they had an interpreter who told them, too late, what Washington was going to do – and by this time had already done." - Dr. D. James Kennedy, What If America Were A Christian Nation Again

God's hand of providence preserved the Pilgrims during the voyage, and after they arrived.  The Mayflower itself was a wine cargo boat. The wine had penetrated much into the interior of the ship, which prevented many diseases from afflicting the Pilgrims and strangers on that historic voyage in 1620.  The new world was covered with savage Indians. One of the fiercest of those tribes dwelt near Plymouth and would have most assuredly slaughtered the Pilgrims only days after their arrival. However, three years before their arrival, a pestilence destroyed all the Indians, leaving nothing but the corn they had stored up for winter, the same corn that saved the Pilgrims from utter extinction during the first winter.

Anger:

"No person is able to bear the weight of yeaterday's resentment and tomorrow's problems." - Dr. Ronnie Simpson, Twelve Lessons on Christian Counseling

"Anyone can become angry, but to be angry with the right person, to the right degree, at the right time, for the right purpose and in the right way - this is not easy." - Aristotle

Antichrist:

"What will finally destroy us is not communism or facism, but man acting like God." - Malcolm Muggeridge

Bible:

"The Bible is to the theologian what nature is to the scientist, a body of unorganized, or only partly organized facts.  God has not seen fit to write the Bible in the form of a systematic theology; it remains for us, therefore, to gather together the scattered facts and to build them up into a logical system." - Henry Clarence Thiessen, Lectures in Systematic Theology

"When we recall that only a very small percentage of books survive more than a quarter of a century, that a much smaller percentage last for a century, and that only a very small number live a thousand years, we at once realize that the Bible is a unique book.  An when in addition to this we remember the circumstances under which the Bible has survived, that fact becomes very startling . . . Neither imperial edict nor ecclesiastical restraints have succeeded in exterminating the Bible.  The greater the efforts put forth to accomplish such a destruction the greater thas been the circulation of the Bible.  The latest attempt to rob the Bible of its authority is the effort to degrade it to the level of all the other ancient religious books.  If the Bible must be in circulation, then it has to be shown that it does not possess supernatural authority.  But the Bible continues to have supernatural power, and it is being read by millions of believers around the world and being translated into hundreds of languages.  The fact of the indestructability of the Bible strongly suggests that it is the embodiment of a divine revelation." - Henry Clarence Thiessen, Lectures in Systematic Theology

Boldness:

"There cannot be such a thing as a silent Christian.  If he is silent he is not a Christian.  If he is a Christian he is not silent." - Sanford C. Mills, A Hebrew Christian Looks at Romans

Beauty:

“There are two kinds of beauty; there is a beauty which God gives at birth, and which withers as a flower. And there is a beauty which God grants when by His grace men are born again. That kind of beauty never vanishes but blooms eternally.” - Abraham Kuyper

Child Rearing:

"When it comes to rearing children, every society is only twenty years away from barbarism.  Twenty years is all we have to accomplish the task of civilizing the infants who are born into the midst of each year.  These savages know noting of our language, our culture, our religion, our values, our customs of interpersonal relations.  The infant is totally ignorant about communism, facism, democracy, civil liberties, the rights of the minority as contrasted with the pejoratives of the majority, respect, decency, customs, conventions, and manners.  The barbarian must be tamed, if civilization is to survive." - Dr. Albert Siegel, The Standard Observer

"Every baby starts life as a little savage.  He is completely selfish and self-centered.  He wants what he wants when he wants it; his bottle, his mother's attention, his playmates' toys, his uncle's watch, or whatever.  Deny him these and he seethes with rage and aggressiveness which would be murderous were he not so helpless.  He's dirty, he has no morals, no knowledge, no developed skills.  This means that all children, not just certain children, but all children are born delinquent.  If permitted to continue in their self-centered world of infancy, given free reign to their impulsive actions to satisfy each want, every child would grow up a criminal, a thief, a killer, a rapist." - The Minnesota Crime Commission

Vance Havner was a fan of the discipline style taught in the book of Proverbs.  Havner introduced a message at the 1982 Moody Bible Insitute Founder's Week Conference with a poem that sums up the folly of our ignorance of Solomon's wisdom on the subject:

Church:

"Some people go to church three times in their lives: when they're born, when they're married and when they die - hatched, matched and dispatched.  The first time they throw water, the second time rice, and the third time dirt." - Dr. Adrian Rogers

"Growing churches love, and loving churches grow." - Dr. Adrian Rogers

"Your Absence from church is a vote to close its doors." - Dr. R.G. Lee (paraphrased)

Compromise:

"A deal in which two people get what neither of them wanted." - Mary Winchester

"A man who trims himself to suit everybody will soon whittle himself away." - Charles Schwab

Contentment:

Hayden Planetarium in New York City ran an advertisement in the New York newspapers inviting those who would like to make the first journey to another planet to submit an application.  Within a matter of days, over 18,000 people applied.  These applications were then given to a panel of psychologists, who upon reviewing them concluded that the vast majority of those who had applied wanted to start a new life on another planet because they were so discouraged by life on this one.

Present Tense

Death:

"What an argument for the truth of religion, - what an illustration of its sustaining power, - what a source of comfort to those who are about to die, - to reflect that religion does not leave the believer when he most needs its support and consolation; that it can sustain us in the severest trial of our condition here; that it can illuminate what seems to us of all places most dark, cheerless, dismal, repulsive - 'the valley of the shadow of death.'" - Albert Barnes

"They shall not die prematurely; they shall be immortal till their work is done; and when their time shall come to die then their deaths shall be precious." - Charles Haddon Spurgeon, Treasury of David

"Every man must do two things alone; he must do his own believing and his own dying." - Martin Luther

"If you knew what you would die of, you would die of fear; if you knew why you were dying, you would die of joy." - Martin Luther

Discouragement:

"Before any great achievement, some measure of the same depression is usual . . . Such was my experience when I first became a pastor in London.  My success appalled me; and the thought of the career which it seemed to open up, so far from elating me, cast me into the lowest depth, out of which I uttered my miserere and found no room for gloria in excelsis.  Who was I that I should continue to lead such a great multitude?  I would betake me to my village obscurity, or immigrate to America, and find a solitary nest in the backwoods, where I might be sufficient for the things that would be demanded of me.  It was just then the curtain was rising on my lifework . . . This depression comes over me whenever the Lord is preparing a larger blessing for my ministry." - Charles Haddon Spurgeon

Election:

"God makes choices.  So do we.  The Holy Spirit makes perfectly clear that divine election is based solidly on God's foreknowledge.  Our lives are conditioned by the fact that we live in a space, time, and matter universe.  We express our mode of being in three tenses of time - 'I was, I am, I will be.'  God is not thus confined.  He lives and moves and has His being in eternity.  He expresses His mode of being, however, as existing in the eternal present tense - 'I AM' (Exo. 3:14) . . . God gathers all time into the present tense.  Thus, the exact moment we choose Christ is the exact moment He chooses us.  As far as God is concerned, the two acts are simultaneous . . . We cannot say that God has endowed us with a will and then say that we cannot exercise our will in relation to our decision for Christ.  God created people, not puppets, and people have wills of their own." - John Phillips, Exploring I, II Thessalonians

Free Will:

"When God created other wills in the universe besides His own, He sovereignly limited Himself, within certain parameters known and controlled only by Himself, and determined by the character, calling, and capacity of those created beings. All of the factors implied by such wills, including the possibility that they might be used in defiance of His will, were foreknown to Him. In other words, God has set up certain rules by and within which these other wills can operate. He has to respect those wills otherwise, in the case of the human race, for instance, He would not have created people, but puppets." - John Phillips, Exploring I, II Thessalonians

“God cannot give a creature a will of its own and, at the same time, withhold free will from that creature.” - John Phillips, Exploring I, II Thessalonians

Generosity:

"Give according to your means, or God will make your means according to your giving." - John Hall

Genuineness:

The story of Dr. Will H. Houghton is a testament to genuine Christian living.  He pastored the Calvary Baptist Church in New York City and later became the president of Chicago's Moody Bible Institute till his death in 1946.  When Dr. Houghton became the pastor of the Baptist Tabernacle in Atlanta, GA a curious man in the city hired a private detective to follow Dr. Houghton and report on his conduct.  After several weeks the detective reported to the man that Dr. Houghton's lifestyle matched his preaching.  As a result the man became a Christian.

Government:

"A government big enough to give you everything you want, is big enough to take away everything you have." - Thomas Jefferson

"Friend, you cannot legislate the poor into freedom.  And what one person received without working for, another person must work for without receiving.  The government can't give to anybody anything that the government does not first take from somebody.  And when half of the people get the idea they don't have to work because the other half's going to take care of them, and when the other half get the idea it does no good to work because somebody's going to get what I work for.  That, dear friend, is about the end of any nation." - Dr. Adrian Rogers

Hypocrisy:

"An inconsistent life cannot arrest the wanderer, or startle the sleeper into wide awakeness about his soul." - F.B. Meyer

"To attempt to improve the world's ways, while we profit by association with it, is vanity; the world will attach very little weight to such reproof and such testimony . . . It is vain to speak of approaching judgment while finding our place, our portion and our enjoyment in the very scene which is to be judged." - C.H. Mackintosh

"When the testimony of the life does not agree with the testimony of the lips the latter always goes unheeded." - W.H. Griffith Thomas

"He who shouts by the mile, but lives by the inch should be kicked by the foot." - Dr. Steve Ward

Inactivity:

"Every morning in Africa, a gazelle wakes up.  It knows that it must run faster than the fastest lion or it will be killed.  Every morning a lion wakes up.  It knows that it must outrun the slowest gazelle or it will starve to death.  It doesn't matter whether you are a lion or a gazelle: when the sun comes up you had better be running." - African Parable 

Leadership:

"It is not the critic who counts; not the man who points out how the strong man stumbles, or where the doer of deeds could have done them better.  The credit belongs to the man who is actually in the arena, whose face is marred by dust and sweat and blood; who strives valiantly; who errs, and comes short again and again, because there is no effort without error and shortcoming; but who does actually strive to do the deeds; who knows the great enthusiasms, the great devotions; who spends himself in a worthy cause; who at the best knows in the end the triumph of high achievement; and who at the worst, if he fails, at least fails while daring greatly.  Far better is it to dare mighty things, to win glorious triumphs, even though checkered by failure, than to take rank with those poor spirits who nether enjoy much nor suffer much, because they live in the gray twilight that knows not victory nor defeat." - Theodore Roosevelt

"We need wise leadership today, but still more wise following.  An army of captains and colonels never won a battle." - A.T. Roberson, Word Pictures in the New Testament, Vol. 4

Lordship:

"It is the folly of our day that we think we can have none of His kingship in this life, yet have some claim to part of His kingdom in the next.  But for those who reject the rule of the Lord Jesus now, there is only the fearful expectation of the fury of the wrath of God, the Judge of heaven and earth." - Thomas Vincent (1634-1678)

In the book of Acts, Jesus is referred to as Savior twice, but 92 times as Lord.  In the entire New Testament He is referred to approximately 10 times as Savior and approximately 700 times as Lord.  When the two titles are mentioned together, Lord always precedes Savior.

Love:

"True love is always under control.  Christ commands, 'Love your enemies.'  You can't sit around whomping up good feelings for your enemies.  It doesn't come that way.  But if you give an enemy something to eat or give him something to drink, soon something begins to happen to your feelings.  When you invest yourself in another, you begin to feel differently toward him.  Where your treasure is, there will your heart be also." - Jay E. Adams, The Christian Counselor's Manual

Opposition:

"Success in God's work always solicits opposition of some kind from God's enemies.  And the greater the success in God's service, the greater will be the opposition from God's enemies; for opposition from God's enemies comes in proportion to our performance for God.  The more we do for God, the more we will experience opposition from the enemies of God.  The more dedicated we are in God's work, the more we will be harrassed by the enemies of God's work.  If you are not experiencing much opposition, you are probably not doing much for God." - John G. Butler, Nehemiah The Wall Builder, Bible Biography Series # 17

Opportunity:

"When one door of happiness closes, another opens; but often we look so long at the closed door that we do not see the one that has been opened for us." - Helen Adams Keller

"I expect to pass through life but once.  If threfore there be any kindness I can show, or any good thing that I can do to any fellow being, let me do it now, and not defer or neglect it, as I shall not pass this way again." - William Penn

"Now is the watchword of the wise." Charles Haddon Spurgeon.

Patience:

Patriotism:

"America cannot fall - because she is already fallen!" - Leonard Ravenhill, Why Revival Tarries

Perseverance:

"It is always too soon to quit." - Dr. V. Raymond Edman, late president of Wheaton College (Illinois)

"By perseverance the snail reached the ark." - Charles Haddon Spurgeon

"All the days, even of the best and greatest saints, are not eminent days, some slide on silently." - Matthew Henry

Pessimism:

There was once a farmer who was continually optimistic – seldom discouraged, down, or blue. He was located beside another farmer who was terribly pessimistic. The optimistic farmer tried to change his neighbors perception in life by often bringing good things to his attention. The optimistic farmer would see the sun coming up and shout over his tractor, “Look at that beautiful sun and clear sky!” The negative neighbor would reply, “Yeah – it’ll probably scorch the crops!” When clouds would gather the optimistic farmer would rejoice that God was watering their crops for them and giving their corn a drink today. The pessimistic farmer's reply was, “Uh huh, but if it doesn’t stop ‘fore long it’ll flood and wash everything away.” The optimistic farmer decided to put his neighbor to the ultimate test. He bought the smartest bird dog in the world and taught him to do amazing things. While hunting one day, the two farmers were sitting in the boat behind a duck blind. When the ducks came in, both men fired and down fell the ducks. “Go get ‘em boy”, the optimistic farmer ordered and the bird dog leaped out of the boat, walked on top of the water, and picked up the birds one by one. “Well, what do you think of that?”, the optimist asked his pessimistic friend. Without a smile the pessimist answered, “He can’t swim, can he?”

Pharisaism:

"It is part of the nature of fanaticism that it loses sight of the totality of evil and rushes like a bull at the red cloth instead of at the man who holds it." - Dietrich Bonhoeffer

"Old Pharisees never die; they just multiply" - Unknown

"Old Pharisees never die; you just wish they would." - Unknown

Cartoon of a Pharisee witnessing - "Have you heard of the 4,973 spiritual laws."

"A fanatic is one who can't change his mind and won't change the subject." - Sir Winston Churchill

Prayer:

"Prayer is not overcoming God's reluctance; it is laying hold of His willingness." - Richard Trench (1807-1866)

"Our praying, however, needs to be pressed and pursued with an energy that never tires, a persistency which will not be denied, and a courage which never fails." - E.M. Bounds

"Whole days and WEEKS have I spent prostrate on the ground in silent or vocal prayer." - George Whitefield

In commenting on David's opposition against Absalom in Psalm 3:4, David described the nature of his prayer as, "I cried unto the LORD with my voice . . ."  Charles Spurgeon added, "Good men often find that, even in secret, they pray better than they do when they utter no vocal sound."  God knew what David was thinking and feeling, but we learn this lesson about prayer: sometimes you need to literally say it.

"Too often our prayers are vague and general.  'Lord bless the missionaries!'  How much better it would be if we would pray for specific needs.  By doing so, we would know when God answered and we could praise Him for it." - Dr. Warren Wiersbe, Be Complete

"It has well been said that the purpose of prayer is not to get man's will done in heaven, but to get God's will done on earth.  Prayer is not telling God what to do or what to give.  Prayer is asking God for that which He wants to do and give, according to His will." - Dr. Warren Wiersbe, Be Complete

"You can do more than pray after you've prayed, but you can't do more than pray until you have prayed." - John Bunyan

"It is possible to love men, through God, by prayer alone." - Missionary Hudson Taylor

“Prayer can place us in a village in Africa or in a hut on the Amazon. It can put us in a peasant’s cottage or in a royal palace. It can set us along side a suffering saint or raise a roadblock in the path of a scoundrel. It can do its work in the heart of a seeker at the close of a service. It can change the course of empires. It can put to rout spiritual forces of wickedness in high places, and it can bind evil spirits and set their captives free. Prayer links us with the throne of the universe. It connects us with the mind, heart, and will of God. Why this should be is a mystery. Prayer is one of the forces of the universe, as real as the forces of gravity, electricity, and magnetism. God always takes into account the factor of prayer when He is resolving the total equation of the universe.” – John Phillips, Exploring I, II Thesslonians

"The Cinderella of the church of today is the prayer meeting.  This handmaid of the Lord is unloved and unwooed because she is not dripping with the pearls of intellectualism, not glamorous with the skills of philosophy; neither is she enchanting with the tierra of psychology.  She wears the homespuns of sincereity and humility and so is not afraid to kneel!" - Leonard Ravenhill, Why Revival Tarries

"We may preach and perish, but we cannot pray and perish." - Leonard Ravenhill, Why Revival Tarries

"Poverty-stricken as the church is today in many things, she is most stricken here, in the place of prayer.  We have many organizers, but few agonizers; many players and payers, few pray-ers; many singers, few clingers; lots of pastors, few wrestlers; many fears, few tears; much fashion, little passion; many interferers, few intercessors; many writers, but few fighters.  Failing here, we fail everywhere." - Leonard Ravenhill, Why Revival Tarries

"We do not hear much about confession of sin in our prayers today.  When prayer is the subject today, it seems the emphasis is more on getting things than on improving character." - John G. Butler, Daniel The Man of Loyalty, Bible Biography Series # 21

"When God intends great mercy for His people, the first thing He does is set them a-praying." - Matthew Henry

Preaching:

"Paul did not ask for the prison doors to be opened, but that doors of ministry might be opened (I Cor. 16:9, Acts 14:27).  It was more important to Paul that he be a faithful minister than a free man." - Dr. Warren Wiersbe, Be Complete

“This should be the aim of the preacher: to get his hearers to look away from himself to another. He is not to testify of himself, nor about himself, but he is to preach Christ.” - Arthur W. Pink

In commenting on the wise preacher, Matthew Henry said the following, "He chose the most profitable way of preaching, by proverbs or short sentences, which would be more easily apprehended and remembered than long and laboured periods. He did not content himself with a few parables, or wise sayings, and repeat them again and again, but he furnished himself with many proverbs, a great variety of grave discourses, that he might have something to say on every occasion. He did not give them such observations as were obvious and trite, but he sought out such as were surprising and uncommon; he dug into the mines of knowledge, and did not merely pick up what lay on the surface. He did not deliver his heads and observations at random, as they came to mind, but methodized them, and set them on order that they might appear in more strength and lustre.”

“. . . many who talk the most about witnessing today talk the most about themselves. We have heard these men speak and we have read what they have written; and the obvious thing about their speaking and writing is the great and obnoxious emphasis that they give to themselves, not to Jesus Christ. They are the hero of every story (and their messages are mostly stories – many of which are far-fetched) and the center of all the action. Christ is mostly a postscript they add on at the end to press for decisions so that they can boast of how many decisions they have won to Christ. But the object of testifying for Christ is not to exalt the one doing the witnessing but to exalt Christ in order to lead men to Him.” - John G. Butler, John The Baptist, The Herald of Christ, Bible Biography Series # 7

When John Bunyan was arrested for preaching illegally he was told that he would be released from prison if he would stop preaching.  He replied, "If I am out of prison today, I will preach the Gospel again tomorrow, by the help of God."

"I'm firmly convinced that if we would clean up the pulpits of America, we'd go a long way cleaning up America." - Dr. Adrian Rogers

"People hardly noticed the donkey [that carried Jesus in His triumphal entry]; they looked at Jesus.  So they cheered for Christ and not the donkey, but what a privilege!" - Dr. Adrian Rogers (emphasis mine)

"A young preacher used to preach 'Thou shalt not.'  Then he began to preach 'Thou shalt.'  Finally he began to preach 'Thou.'" - Dr. Adrian Rogers

"One does not need to be spiritual to preach, that is, to make and deliver sermons of homiletical perfection and exegetical exactitude.  By a combination of memory, knowledge, ambition, personality, plus well-lined bookshelves, selfconfidence and a sense of having arrived - brother, the pulpit is almost yours anywhere these days." - Leonard Ravenhill, Why Revival Tarries

". . . ministers who do not spend two hours a day in prayer are not worth a dime a dozen, degrees or no degrees." - Leonard Ravenhill, Why Revival Tarries

"Preachers who should be fishers for men are now too often fishing for complements from men." - Leonard Ravenhill, Why Revival Tarries

"Present-day preaching, with its pale interpretation of divine truths, causes us to mistake action for unction, commotion for creation, and rattles for revivals." - Leonard Ravenhill, Why Revival Tarries

Preparedness:

"There is no such thing as bad weather, only bad clothing." - Norwegian Proverb

Promises:

"God's commandments are not always accompanied by reasons, but always by promises, expressed or understood.  To give reasons would excite discussion; but to give a promise shows that the reason, though hidden is all sufficient.  We can understand the promise, though the reason might baffle and confuse us.  The reason is intellectual, metaphysical, spiritual; but a promise is practical, positive, literal." - F.B. Meyer

Provision:

“God does nothing by halves, and he will never cease to help us until we cease to need.” - Charles Haddon Spurgeon, Treasury of David, Vol. 1

“There is as much difference between heavenly comforts and earthly, as between a banquet that is eaten, and one that is painted on a wall.” - Thomas Watson

Regret:

The City of Regret: I had not planned to take a trip this year, yet I found myself packing anyway. And off I went, dreading it. I was on another guilt trip.  I booked my reservation on I Wish I Had Airlines. I didn’t check my bags – everyone carries their baggage on this airline – and had to drag it to what seemed like miles to Regret City Airport. I could see that people from all over the world were there with me, limping along under the weight of bags they had packed themselves.  I caught a cab to Last Resort Hotel, the driver taking the whole trip backward, looking over his shoulder. There I found the ball room where my event was to be held: The Annual Pity Party. As I checked in I saw that all my colleagues were on the guest list:

Responsibility:

"As always, victory finds a hundred fathers, but defeat is an orphan." - Count Galeazzo Ciano, diary, Sept. 9, 1942

Revival:

"One of the features of a true movement of the Holy Spirit in Revival is that He does not depend on one human personality in His workings . . . Another oustanding feature of true revival is that the movement does not depend on money, organization, or advertising . . . [in the Wales revival] There were no hymn books, no song leaders, no committees, no choirs, no great preachers, no offerings, no organization . . . THE REVIVAL FINANCES AND ADVERTISES ITSELF.  THERE ARE NO BILLS, NO HIRED HALLS, NO SALARIES." - James A. Stewart, Invasion of Wales By the Spirit Through Evan Roberts

"So evident was it that the movement was a divine work that outstanding British Christian leaders came and stood in awe and bowed in adoration to God.  Although famous preachers such as Gypsy Rodney Smith, F.B. Meyer, G. Campbell Morgan, General Booth, and many others visited the scene of blessing, in the majority of cases they only prayed or said a few words.  Sometimes they sat quietly in the meetings while young people, and even chldren prayed, sang, and testified in the Spirit.  These great men of God recognized the fact that here was not a great revival come through great preachers, nor through great preaching but that it was a supernatural work altogether apart from either.  They felt that their very personalities would hinder the meetings.  And why should great Christian leaders preach sermons when here before them they saw their sermons fulfilled!  Here was the answer to the agony of their prayers for the blessing upon the church of God and the salvation of lost souls.  And besides - they could not have taken part unless the Holy Spirit had invited them to do so!" - James A. Stewart, Invasion of Wales by the Spirit Through Evan Roberts

Tabernacle:

"The only building ever constructed on this earth which was perfect from its very beginning and outset in every detail, and never again needed attention, addition or alteration, was the tabernacle in the wilderness . . . It is probably the most comprehensive, detailed revelation of Jesus the Son of God, and the plan of salvation in the entire Old Testament." - Dr. M.R. DeHaan, M.D., The Tabernacle

Tears:

"Tears relieve the burning brain as a shower the electric clouds.  Tears discharge the insupportable agony of the heart, as an overflow lessens the pressure of the flood against the dam.  Tears are the material out of which heaven weaves its brightest rainbows.  Tears are transmuted into the jewels of better life, as the wounds in the oyster turn to pearls." - F.B. Meyer

Trials:

Wireless battery powered electronics often have instructions that teach that before recharging a battery you should completely discharge it.  Often rechargeable batteries that are recharged prematurely develop an artificial "memory" and won't fully charge again.  Our trials are similar.  They fully discharge us completely so our limits and full potetial can be known and explored.  Our fullest potetial recharge is only possible after a full and complete discharge has been excercised.

The lodgepole pine is an unusual evergreen that is seen in great numbers in Yellowstone Park. The cones of the pine may hang on the tree for years, and years and even when they fall, they do not open. These cones do not open unless they come in contact with intense heat. But God has a reason for this. When a forest fire rages throughout parks and forests all the trees are destroyed. At the same time, however, the heat of the fire opens the cones of the lodgepole pine; and these trees are often the first to grow in an area that has been burned with fire.

The hammer is a useful tool.  However, if the nail had feeling, intelligence and a voice, it would tell a very diffrent story.  The nail only knows the hammer as an opponent - a brutal, merciless enemy who lives to pound it into submission, to beat it down out of sight.  That is the nail's view of the hammer, and it is accurate except for one thing: the nail forgets that both it and the hammer are servants of the same workman.

Engineers must take into account three loads, or what they would call "stresses" while designing a bridge.  These are: the dead load, the live load, and the wind load.  The dead load is the weight of the bridge itself.  The live load is the weight of the bridge and the daily traffic it supports.  The wind load is the dead load weight, plus the live load weight, plus the pressure of any storms that may beat on the bridge.  Among Christians, some cannot even carry their own load, while some carry their own weight just fine.  Some are gifted, and can carry their weight and others.  The most mature believers carry their weight, plus the weight of others plus the weight of unexpected, unforseen storms.

"A shipwrecked man managed to reach an uninhabited island. There, to protect himself against the elements and to safeguard the few possessions he had salvaged, he painstakingly built a little hut from which he constantly and prayerfully scanned the horizon for the approach of a ship. Returning one evening after a search for food, he was terrified to find the hut completely engulfed in flames. Yet by divine mercy this hard affliction was changed into a mighty advantage. Early the following morning he awoke to find a ship anchored off the island. When the captain stepped ashore, he explained, 'We saw your smoke signal and came.' Everything that marooned man owned had to be destroyed before he could be rescued.” – Walter A. Maier, Decision magazine

Tribulation:

"No passage can be found to alleviate to any degree whatsoever the severity of this time that shall come upon the earth." - J. Dwight Pentecost, Things to Come

Unity:

"We are to be brothers without being twins." - Dr. Adrian Rogers

Womanhood:

"If you educate a man you educate a person, but if you educate a woman you educate a family." - Ruby Manikan

"When a woman behaves like a man, why doesn't she behave like a nice man?" - Edith Evans

"Whether women are better than men I cannot say - but I can say they are certainly no worse." - Golda Meir

"A man of quality is never threatened by a woman of equality." - Jill Briscoe

Work:

“I Thank thee, O Lord, my God, that thou hast given me my lot with those who sit in the house of learning, and not with those who sit at the street corners; for I am early to work and they are early to work; I am early to work on the things of the Torah, and they are early to work on things of no moment. I weary myself, and they weary themselves; I weary myself and profit thereby, and they weary themselves to no profit. I run, and they run; I run towards the life of the age to come, and they run towards the pit of destruction.” - An Old Rabbi's Prayer

Worry:

"Worry is wasting today's time to clutter up tomorrow's opportunities with yesterday's troubles." - Source Unknown

"Worry often gives a small thing a big shadow." - Swedish Proverb

"Anxiety comes from strain, and strain is caused by too complete a dependance on ourselves, on our devices, our own plans, our on idea of what we are able to do." - Thomas Merton

"The beginning of anxiety is the end of faith and the beginning of faith is the end of anxiety." - George Muller

"Anxiety does not empty tomorrow of its sorrow - only today of its strength." - Charles Haddon Spurgeon

"What may be, may not be." - Scottish Proverb

"Anxiety is not only a pain which we must ask God to assuage, but also a weakness we must ask Him to pardon - for He's told us to take no care for the morrow." - Clive Staples (C.S.) Lewis

"Worry is an intrusion into God's providence." - John Edmund Haggai

"Anxiety is the intrest paid on trouble before it's due." - William Ralph Inge

Youth:

“A young person’s peers quickly become the most important opinion-makers in his life, and peer pressure, once established, is very strong.” – John Phillips