Various Quotable Quotes            

(Originally selected for a weekly Church Newsletter)
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In each of the letters to churches Jesus makes a promise to overcomers:

Man	His Choice	What he Overcame
Moses	Affliction with the Israelites	Love of pleasure
Micaiah	Refused to prophesy smooth things	Fear of rejection
Daniel	Prayer and lions	Fear of death
Matthew	to leave tax-collecting	Love of money
Paul	to leave Pharisaic privilege	Love of men's praise

"Of all the sights in the church of Christ I know of none more painful than a Christian contented with
a little grace, a little repentance, a little faith, a little knowledge, a little charity, and a little holiness."
J.C.Ryle

Jesus Christ - a fugitive, misunderstood, rejected, laughed at, betrayed, forsaken, unjustly convicted, and executed.
But not in vain! He is alive!

God has more energy than all our puny nuclear warheads, fossil fuel and solar power all put together: yet he numbers the hair on our heads!
Has God the right to tell us what is right and wrong?
A lax and easy-going society will produce about as much moral authority as Father Christmas!
Does God understand electronics and micro biology? It was all his idea long ago.
Is God more than a sentimental "cuddie"?
Magic or miracles? Miracles don't leave us puzzled but praising God!
Is God grey? Many Christians seem lifeless and colourless compared with others.
Is God the ultimate bundle of all the different faiths? He is the One True and only God!
J.B.Phillips. "Your God is too Small"

When we speak of men being far from God, we speak truly. The Lord said to Israel, "Their heart is far from me." There we have the definition of far and near. The words refer not to physical distance, but to likeness. It is dissimilarity that creates the sense of remoteness.
A.W.Tozer

It is perfectly astonishing to note how people are able to talk about salvation without even mentioning any sort of activity on the part of God. All the emphasis is upon what we have to do. Never has human effort been so highly praised. While God is pictured as a goal or One who passively waits and watches, ready to reward us for our wonderful efforts. Salvation is seen as something which man has to win and work out for himself. In truth we are DEAD in trespasses and sins and there is nothing we can do! It is God who takes the initiative; only after God has acted can we respond.
Dr Lloyd-Jones. "The Plight of Man and the Power of God"

Whenever success is made the motive of service, treachery to our Lord is the inevitable result.
The curse of much modern Christian work is its determination to preserve itself.
When a worker jealously guards his secret life with God, the public life will take care of itself.
Oswald Chambers

One man called of God is worth more than 100 who have elected to work for God.
The one essential element in all our Lord's teaching about discipleship is abandonment (of self): the continuing need to reject self-interest.
A disciple is one who not only proclaims God's truth, but one who manifests that he is no longer his own, but he has been bought with a price.
Oswald Chambers

Attitudes displayed in the Parable of the Good Samaritan
1. The Robbers What's yours is mine if I can get it.
2. The Priest What's mine is mine if I can keep it.
3. The Innkeeper What's mine is yours if you can pay for it.
4. The Samaritan What's mine is yours if you need it.
Tear Fund

When all is said and done: there's a lot more said than done!
... or is there?  God always does what he says.

Money is not something that is morally neutral, a resource to be used in good or bad ways depending solely upon our attitude towards it. ... Money has power. spiritual power to seduce and win our hearts. ... God's absolute right of ownership of all the earth has never been respected: the practical cost has always been too high. ... Being aware of God's ownership can free us from a possessive and anxious spirit. Giving frees us to care. It produces an air of expectancy, joy and excitement. So: Receive gladly, Live simply, Hold lightly, Give joyfully.
Richard Foster. "Money, Sex and Power"

The task of the preacher is not to make the Gospel of Jesus, or his discipleship, easy; but to make it clear.

1967 was a turning point. Youth became it - and it became a state of mind and a way of life, whether you were 15 and hoping or 50 and pretending. ... A new mood of rebellion was born - a rebellion with a dream that Youth would overcome one day. But yesterday's youth are now in the driving seat! What of life after the revolution? With a new generation, has one hopelessly unreal illusion been replaced by another in a world of self and sex, of life without a plot, and action without consequence? Has the message of the counter culture years lived and died: only to be replaced yet again by the ever alluring fantasy of money, self, success and pleasure? And they are respectable! If so, the result is fantasy faith. No-cost discipleship, no holiness spirituality and no consequence sins. The church, as well as the world, needs to return to reality and righteousness.
Third Way

The "Gulf" War.
In about 1800 BC Rebekah, the wife of Isaac conceived. The children struggled together within her: and she asked the Lord, "Why?". Most of history is the continual struggle between the privileged few and the repressed majority.

Why Work?
Work is the expenditure of energy (manual and/or mental) in the service of others, which brings fulfilment to the worker, benefit to the community, and glory to God. In seeking to involve the unemployed in constructive activity, the church should act on the distinction between work and employment. All employment is work (we are not paid to do nothing), but not all work is employment. It is not employment that gives people a sense of respect, but significant work. God worked in creation and no one paid him! (However this is not an excuse for exploitation; the labourer is worthy of his hire. Beware of the seeking something for nothing syndrome.)
John Stott

Impressions.
What impression do I like to give? - strong, friendly, successful, wise, righteous, humble, respectable? But is that really me? Am I the same at home, alone, at work or at church? "What a man is on his knees before god, that he is, and nothing more."
Does so much of life have to be involved in image building and pretence?
Jesus is exactly what he said. He appeared so ordinary, yet he was the Son of God on earth. He had no need of the current U.K. £5000m/year on advertising: enticing us to buy what we do not need with what we have not got. Only the Truth can show us the way. God can change us to be honest: like a stick of rock, the same all the way through. ...

The Requisites for Military Success.
1. There must be a cause worth dying for. Strength of purpose.
2. Personnel must be trained and properly equipped.
3. Sufficient and continuous supplies.
4. Accurate intelligence. You must know the enemy.
Gen. MacArthur

How important is the Bible to you?
Surrounded by institutionalised brutality, tortured by cold, hunger, untreated illness and deprived of correspondence with family, the women of our small 'political' zone drew strength and support from 2 Bibles, which had passed from one generation of prisoners to another. The camp administration did not dare to confiscate them for they knew that we would immediately refuse all food - such as it was - and drink, prepared to fast to death if these Bibles were taken away from us.
Irana Ratushinskaya describing her 4 years in a Russian prison.

God has provided for all the world - today.
We cannot maintain a 'good life' and a 'good conscience'.
Either we keep our conscience and reduce our affluence, or we keep our affluence and smother our conscience.

The first evangelists did not simply ask people what they believed about Jesus: they called upon their listeners to forsake all and follow him. To embrace the Kingdom of God meant radical change not only in outlook but in living, not only in thoughts but in actions. ... They made the grace of God credible by a society of love and mutual care which astonished the pagans ... The Word was not only announced but they saw the power of God unto salvation demonstrated.
Jim Wallis and Michael Green

Do not look at Christ in heaven as an ideal to be arrived at; but see him as God's gift to you.
Watchman Nee

The Multi-racial Dream. All one in Christ Jesus.
"I have a dream that one day on the red hills of Georgia the sons of former slaves and the sons of former slave-owners will be able to sit down together at the table of brotherhood.
"I have a dream that one day even the state of Mississippi, a state sweltering with the heat of injustice . . . and oppression, will be transformed into an oasis of freedom and justice.
"I have a dream that my four little children will one day live in a nation where they will not be judged by the colour of their skin but by the content of their character.
"I have a dream . .. and with this faith we will be able to transform the jangling discords of our nation into a beautiful symphony of brotherhood
we will be free one day . ."
Martin Luther King, Washington 28/6/63

Mercy is not getting what we deserve:
Grace is getting what we do not deserve.

Right Foundations.
Self-confidence has to undergo major surgery if we are to be safe in the kingdom of God. Our heavenly Father does not want a family of fearful, insecure children, but he does want our security to be built on his faithfulness and power, not on our ability. When we are trusting in our own strength we may find, like Moses, that we are able to destroy one "Egyptian", but coping with the Red Sea is another matter altogether!
Terry Virgo

Love can forbear, and Love can forgive; but Love can never be reconciled to an unlovely object ... God can never be reconciled to our sin because that can never be changed. We may be reconciled only because it can be transformed by the sacrifice of Christ.

Crying.
Only babies cry, and sometimes women ... and twice we read that Jesus wept!
Today I cannot see those tears, but I can see them drop.
Martyn Luther had a dream, he cried - his body died, but not the dream.
Anger and hatred thrust its grief on Enniskillen. But why such senseless killing?
Thursday's thin gruel had become lonely by Sunday:
"Is there not a little more ... somewhere?"
A young family cry from the bottom of debt's pit; but who will hear?
Useless, no value, reject. The dole queue and the crushed in spirit cry.
Some were not allowed to see the light of day, prematurely snuffed,
no chance to speak a single word.
6 years had passed and one million British babies loudly cry,
all adding to the din.
"God, are you deaf?"...
A poem written 6/12/88

Jesus and his kingdom are of necessity both radical and tough.
1. Concerned with heart condition. Men are preoccupied with appearance.
2. Jesus' questions were not to win arguments but to reveal truth.
3. The Cross will either cause offence to man's pride and intelligence
       or it will be the pinnacle of God's wisdom, power, glory and grace to man.
Arthur Wallis

I said to the man at the gate of the year, "Give me a light that I may tread safely into the unknown." He replied, "Go out into the darkness and put your hand into the hand of God. He shall be to you better that a light and safer than a known way."

Mary and Martha were people with very different temperaments. They can also represent two type of Christian life: one committed to good works and the other devoted to prayer and meditation. They were long rivals until a preacher admitted that he loved them both: Martha before dinner and Mary after!

To acknowledge that you were wrong yesterday is simply to let the world know that you are wiser today than you were then.

C.H.Spurgeon once asked a student to preach an impromptu sermon.
The student said, "First, Zacchaeus was a man of small stature; and so am I.
Second, Zacchaeus was very much up a tree; and so am I.
And thirdly, Zacchaeus made haste to come down; and so will I."

A pastor was trying to cheer up his gloomy congregation:
"In these days of escalating inflation, isn't it good to know that the wages of sin remain the same!"
Murray Watts. "Rolling in the Aisles"

Simplicity is not being simplistic, which allows for only one easy right answer.
God is far bigger than our understanding: much will always remain a mystery.
God is One and Three. Jesus is both wholly God and wholly man.
God reigns and controls all things and gives man the right to choose.
Salvation is by grace through faith; yet we must work out our own salvation.
To live we must die. I am strongest when weak and richest when I am poor.
The Prince of Peace brings a sword of division.
Christians are given freedom and discipline.
We love the Invisible and know what is beyond understanding.
Richard Foster

We who preach the gospel must not think of ourselves as public relations agents sent to establish good will between Christ and the world. We must not imagine ourselves commissioned to make Christ acceptable to big business or modern education. We are not diplomats but prophets; and our message is not a compromise but an ultimatum! God offers life, not an improved old life. The life he offers is life out of death. It always stands on the far side of the Cross. ... Do not seek to make terms with God, but bow your head and acknowledge God's just sentence against you ... and the same power that raised Christ from the dead will now also raise you to a new life for ever with Christ.
A.W.Tozer

To dwell above with saints I love, one day that will be glory.
To dwell below with saints I know, now, that's a different story!

The Jews are still God's chosen people.
Being chosen in this sense does not mean being saved. There is no back door for the Jews, nor for anyone else. But it does mean being special. God made a promise and a covenant with Abraham for ever. He has never broken it, and he never will.

The violent contrasts between the luxury hotels and the shanty towns of all the great cities of the world would surely call down the strongest denunciations of which the Old Testament prophets were capable.
Tear Times

You cannot worship One whom you do not trust ... worship requires confidence, and also respect. Communion with God is one thing; familiarity is quite another. I've heard all sorts of preachers, some ignorant, some clever. I've heard the eloquent, the witty and the dull: but the ones that have helped me most were the ones who were awestruck in the presence of the God of whom they spoke.
A.W.Tozer. "Worship, The Missing Jewel"

Adam was disobedient and so was unable to fulfil either of the God's commissions, to be fruitful or to subdue the earth. He and his offspring are all sinners and he initiated a continual struggle for power.
Jesus alone was obedient unto death. He restored the life that Adam lost and has borne many sons. As King of kings, Jesus alone reigns over the earth.

Self-righteous criticism of violence, immorality or greed is no answer. If the house is dark when the sun goes down, why blame the house? If the meat is bad and becomes inedible, is the meat to blame because the bacteria are not stopped from breeding by the salt?
John Stott. "Issues Facing Christian today"

T.V. is the most powerful medium ever to affect the thinking and behaviour of men.
Sir Hugh Green

The seduction of wealth is the illusion that it gives us control of our lives.

If in prison with Christ there is freedom.
Without Christ, even in freedom there is imprisonment.
Open Doors

When men are prepared to die for their ideals, but not to kill for them:
only then will they be able to say that they have laid the foundations for peace.
Michel Quoist

A Multiple Choice Question.
Freedom is being able to chose, uncluttered by the pressure of fear or the lure of gain.
When Jesus was being crucified, men teased him, "If you really are the Son of God, come down ..."
He chose not to.
He could have summoned legions of angels to his aid. He chose not to.
"I lay down my life for the sheep, no one takes it from me." It was his choice.
When Jesus began his ministry he said, "Come, follow me." They did.
When Jesus ended his ministry he said, "Go and make disciples." They did.

Our response to the call of God may be:
1. Regular and disciplined prayer.
2. Financial sacrifice.
3. Short term service.
4. Early retirement.
5. Extended Christian service.

One thing is certain, we must begin where we are now. In front of us lie opportunities to express the love of God in a hurt and dying world. It is no good dreaming about what we might do if we were a thousand miles away. Serving begins in our own back-yard.
David Hall and others. "Dirty Hands"

At the start of this century only 14% of the world population lived in urban areas: by the end it will probably have risen to 50%. What are the social, economic and religious implications?

Jesus walking on the earth is far more important than man walking on the moon.
James Irwin, 1971

Jesus, through his moral goodness and brilliant truth brought people into a realization of their own desperate need. He rarely had to point out sin and failure. ... He was neither disrespectful nor in awe of a person's social status. He was not thrown by their personality nor embarrassed by their social standing. He saw them for what they were in the sight of the living God. So, to Jesus, evangelism was entirely straightforward. It was the simple act of offering forgiveness, life and love.
Gerald Coates

Marks of a Disciple.
Willing to serve. Eagre to learn. Easily corrected. Obedient.
Quick to forgive. Open and honest. Endorses God's values. Humble.
Secure, trusts God. Right values for life. Does little things well. Not a gossip.
Good stickability. Uses leisure wisely. 1st aim to please God. Trustworthy.

Discipleship affects our whole life and life-style. We must never restrict it to religious events when we gather for prayer, Bible study or evangelism. It is the sharing of our lives together. Making disciples is not easy!
David Watson

Jesus Christ was secure in the words of his Father when under enemy attack. They were not clever words and concepts that he had read in the latest scroll by some charismatic Jewish leader. "It is written", was his continual answer. And he knew what was written! He placed himself under the authority of the written word of God. When his creation begins to ask questions, and looks for answers beyond the religious paraphernalia of life ... we can only conclude that God has visited this mad world and given it a dose of sanity.
Gerald Coates

World mission may require mastery of language, the adoption of new customs and an exertion of abundant energy. But a man's ministry stands or falls in the end by the quality of their life with God.
Colin Grant

There are enough hours in each day to do all that God wants. The secret lies in knowing how to recognise when an interruption is really an intervention. Who knows, the next knock at the door could be from God.
Ian Coffey

Privilege creates responsibility, revelation demands response. The moment anyone takes a significant step of obedience, he will almost certainly be tested ... Elijah prayed earnestly that it would not rain. God told him to hide by the brook Cherith. He obeyed, and the brook dried up! God had not broken any of his promises. He remained totally faithful. Never despise the educational experience of your 'drying brook'. Let patience have her perfect work. God desires to make us just like his Son.
H.G.Hendricks

An atheist does not look for God for the same reason that a thief does not look for a policeman.

A man was so annoyed by the church clock that always told the wrong time that he hung up a notice on it which read, "Don't blame my hands, the trouble lies deeper!"

Living under the Cross.
Forgiveness acknowledges the reality of evil, wrong and injustice. ...
Forgiveness signals an approach to wrong in terms, not of peace at any price, nor of the destruction of the wrong-doer, but of God's willingness to reshape our future. ...
John Stott

Revolutions are aptly named: they revolve. They turn one lot of sinners out and put another lot of sinners in. The trouble with virtually all forms of revolution is that they can change everything except the human heart. ... however Christ offers a revolution of love that can transform the innermost nature and desires of every single one of us.
David Watson

The Marks of a Radical:
Jesus and his kingdom are of necessity both radical and tough.
1. Focuses on a man's inward state rather than his appearance or piety
2. Vigorously opposes all hypocrisy
3. Searches and is deliberately provocative to reveal true issues
4. Always compels men to face reality
5. Narrow gate is rarely the easy, attractive way
6. Never careless, presumptuous, lazy or indifferent
7. Often unconventional
8. Life, power and authority in great contrast to sterile religion
9. Prostitutes would enter Kingdom before the correct and unrepentant
Arthur Wallis (in appreciation of the life of a man who practised what he preached).

Assimilation, complicity and compromise best describe the modern church's relationship to the world. The Gospel is in direct collision with the world system. Talk of realism, respectability and reasonableness dominate the conversations of contemporary Christianity, but the New Testament speaks of abandonment, insecurity, persecution and exile that come from seeking first the kingdom of God. A Church of comfort, property, privilege, and position stands in sharp contrast with the Bible which describes the people of God as aliens, exiles, pilgrims and strangers.
Jim Wallis

If God spare my life, ere many years pass, I will cause a boy that drives the plough to know more of the scriptures (and thus also of Christ) than you do!
William Tyndale. Spoken to Church leader who had little interest in the Bible. 1523

13 years later, as Tyndale was being burned at the stake he cried, "Lord, open the king of England's eyes."  Within two years Henry VIII ordered The Great Bible to be displayed in every parish in the land so that every man able to read could do so in his own English language.  God was delighted to answer this great martyr's dying prayer - he had put the desire in his heart in the first place.

People spontaneously praise whatever they value: and they urge others to do so too. The Psalmists, in telling everyone to praise God are doing what all men do when they speak about what they care about. ... Meanwhile of course we are merely tuning our instruments ... anticipating the symphony. And like tuning, there may be more duty than delight. The duty exists for the delight. Both are equally certain.
C.S.Lewis

Bishop J.C.Ryle was captain of cricket at Oxford and one of the top three scholars in his year. He went on to serve nearly 40 years as an Anglican clergyman in country parishes and a further 20 years as the first Bishop of Liverpool. He published some 20 books and 200 tracts, (distributing over 12 million of them!). He died in 1900.

He writes, "I have had a deep conviction for many years that practical holiness is not sufficiently attended to by modern Christians. Politics, or controversy, or worldliness have eaten the heart of lively piety in too many of us. ...
The immense importance of 'adorning the doctrine of God our Saviour' and making it lovely and beautiful by our daily habits and tempers has been far too much overlooked ... sound doctrine is useless unless it is accompanied by a holy life."

Ryle has no easy way to holiness to offer us ... but he invariably produces that "hunger and thirst after righteousness" which is the only indispensable condition of being filled. "Sensational and exciting addresses ... meetings that produce a strong religious feeling are very interesting and seem to do good at the time. But is the effect deeply rooted, solid and lasting? Do Christians become more content with their position in life and more free from the restless craving after 'something different'? Are they more pleasant and easier to live with? Can they enjoy a quiet Sunday and the quiet means of grace without noise, heat and excitement? Above all, do they grow in charity?

Wrong views about holiness are generally traceable to wrong views about human corruption. ... The first thing that God does when he makes anyone a new creature in Christ, is to send light into his heart and show him that he is a guilty sinner. ... If a man does not realise the dangerous nature of the soul's disease, you cannot wonder if he is content with false or imperfect remedies.

Sin, in short, is that vast moral disease which affects the whole human race and justly deserves God's wrath and damnation. (see Church of England 9th Article). It is universal to every nation, class, gender, age; and always has been.

A man may break God's law in heart and thought, when there is no overt and visible act of wickedness. There are sins of omission as well as commission. We sin by leaving undone the things we ought to do. Math 25₄₁

A man may commit sin and still be ignorant of it. He may fancy himself innocent when he is guilty. When we make our own imperfect knowledge and conscience the measure of our sinfulness, we are on very dangerous ground.

The sinfulness of man does not begin from without, but from within. It is not the result of bad training in early years. (Environment and upbringing can easily feed the natural sin that is already there). The fairest baby is not so much a little 'angel', but a little 'sinner'. Any parent will see the buds and germs of deceit, evil temper, selfishness, self-will, obstinacy, greediness, envy, and passion which, if indulged and let alone, will shoot up with painful rapidity. Who taught the child these things?

You may see the deceitfulness of sin in the proneness of men to make excuses for it and minimize the guilt. i.e. God is merciful ... he understands ... everyone does it ...

Terribly black must that guilt be for which nothing but the blood of the Son of God could make satisfaction.

We can properly rejoice at Christmas only if we first appreciate why Christmas had to be.
J.C.Ryle (all the above statements)

Justification and Sanctification.

The Lord Jesus has undertaken everything that our souls require: not only to deliver us from the guilt of our sins by his atoning death (justification), but also from the dominion of our sins (sanctification).

Where there is no sanctification there is no regeneration, and where there is no holy life there is no new birth. It is the only certain evidence of that indwelling of the Holy Spirit which is essential to salvation.

Sanctification does not prevent a man having a great deal of inward spiritual conflict; the struggle between the old nature and the new. A true Christian has both peace of conscience and war within. He is humbled and more keenly aware that even his best works are defective.

Sanctification is not talk about religion, nor is it temporary religious feelings. It shows itself in habitual respect to God's Law, the constant endeavour to do Christ's will, and the continuing attention to the passive graces of Christianity (long-suffering, gentleness and meekness).

Justification and Sanctification are alike in that:
a) Both proceed originally from the free grace of God.
b) The root of each is Christ, the giver of both pardon and holiness.
c) Both begin at the same time.

Justification and Sanctification differ in that:
a) In justification our own works have no place at all. Simple faith in Christ is the one needful thing.
In sanctification our own works are of vast importance, and God bids us fight and watch and pray and strive and take pains and labour.
b) Justification is a finished, complete work. Sanctification is eminently a progressive work and admits of continual growth and enlargement as long as a man lives.
c) The righteousness we have by our justification is not our own, but that of our Mediator, Christ. The righteousness we have by our sanctification is our own righteousness, imparted, inherent and wrought in us by the Holy Spirit, but mingled with much infirmity and imperfection.

"Christ, our wisdom, righteousness, sanctification and redemption." 1 Co 1₃₀
J.C.Ryle

What is true, practical holiness?

a) It is the habit of being of one mind with God, according as we mind his mind described in scripture. It is the habit of agreeing in God's judgement, hating what he hates, loving what he loves and measuring everything in this world by the standard of his word (instead of by the futility of our own 'wisdom'). 1 Co 1_18-25
b) A holy man will endeavour to shun every known sin and to keep every known command. He will have a far greater fear of displeasing God than of displeasing the world.
c) A holy man will strive to be like our Lord Jesus Christ. He will therefore:
Draw from Christ all his daily strength.
Bear with and forgive others, even as Christ forgives us.
Be unselfish and continually deny himself in order to serve others.
Be lowly-minded and humble, not seeking his own reputation.
Not retaliate under undeserved insults.
Think more of the godly poor than of kings and men of power.
Continue constant in prayer.
Always be a faithful witness to the truth.
Be temperate, and labour to mortify the desires of the flesh.
Follow after charity and brotherly kindness.
Esteem others better than himself.
Hold all earthly things lightly.

Can holiness save us?
No, not one wit! Our purest works are no better than filthy rags.
Christ alone must be our righteousness.

Why then is holiness important?
"Without holiness no man shall see the Lord." Heb 12₁₄
J.C.Ryle

The early church were united with one purpose, to show the glories of the Lord's Kingdom before he returned again. They shared their goods, their problems, and their blessings as God had shared his life with them. They had no forms or ceremonies, no headquarters or buildings, no official organ or handbook, no films or even guitars. They had no organised Sunday Schools or Women's fellowships, not even a coffee-bar! Their leaders received no regular salary and mostly had no theological training; yet they turned the world upside-down. They healed the sick, raised the dead and won thousands to the faith. Surely our hearts cry, "Lord, do it again." (or is the price too high?)
John Noble. "Forgive us our Denominations"

One day a Chinese evangelist (who was unable to obtain a Bible) fell head first into a hole in the ditch beside the road. After much shouting and struggling he began to pray. Just then it happened that another traveller came by and was able to free him from his plight. Arriving at the next village a new set was formed. All the believers stand on their heads to pray! For he reasoned that earlier God had not answered his prayers, but when he prayed upside-down, God answered - immediately. (Regrettably this is a true story, not a joke)
Open Doors

The greatest task of the church is not solving political problems, nor is to meet social needs but it is a renewed truthful proclamation of Jesus Christ as Lord.  The Gospel will never be fashionable. It humbles the self-righteous and rebukes the self-indulgent. Jesus Christ has no peers, no successors and no rivals.  All must one day bend their knees before him. (And the sooner the better.)
John Stott

Prayer is God moving us into his world to serve his purposes ...
The quickest way to create a guilt complex in most Christians is to start investigating their private prayer-life. Prayer is not a hurried visit to a religious drive-in restaurant for a moral sandwich or a cup of spiritual stimulant, but the fervent communion with God who is never in a hurry. It is the find-or-die outreach of the soul for God.
Jim Graham. 21st CC

Whose Job is it?
This is a story of 4 people named Everybody, Somebody, Anybody and Nobody. There was an important job to be done and Everybody was asked to do it. Everybody was sure that Somebody would do it. Anybody could have done it. But Nobody did it. Somebody got angry about that because it was Everybody's job. Everybody thought Anybody could do it, but Nobody realised that Everybody wouldn't do it. It ended up that Everybody blamed Somebody, when Nobody did what Anybody could have done!

Many of our problems arise because we listen to ourselves instead of talking (the truth) to ourselves.
Dr Lloyd-Jones

The foundation of understanding is the willingness to listen.

Help save an Endangered Species! (Picture of old missionary in glass case)
Well, what do you know! we had one of those in our fellowship once. We got shot of it though when we discovered it required regular support.

He is Thy best servant, who looks not so much to hear that which himself willeth,
as rather to will that which from Thee he heareth.
Augustine

Our main business in prayer is not to discern what lies dimly in the distance, but to do what clearly lies at hand.
Thomas Carlyle

I crossed the threshold to a fuller life,
I walked in freedom on the other shore;
My pains and sorrows were no more ...
They called it Death.
Death? ... to be at last made one
With him who gave me life?
Please tell them on that other shore
That theirs is grief, but mine no more ...
I call it Life ... Eternal.
P.J.W.

We achieve spirituality when we are out there in the busy streets, among the oppressed and the poor, struggling with them for a free, open society, where the weak shall be strong, and the strong shall be just.
J. Salonga

Jesus never asks us
to go where he has not gone,
to face what he has not faced,
to love anyone he does not love,
or to give anything that he has not given.

God's answer to human destruction is a Baby and a Cross.

Christmas is a joyful day for children.
For parents, peace on earth comes a few days later when the batteries wear out!

God noes not expect us to come to him - we can't. But he came to us!

Try praising your wife; even if it does frighten her at first.
Billy Sunday

Seven days without prayer make one weak!
Trenoweth Chapel

The problem with walking in the middle of the road
is the considerable danger of being knocked flat from either side.
Ken Sharpe

The soul would have no rainbow had the eye no tears.
John Cheney

In the early centuries after Christ, Christianity spread because Christians outlived, outloved and outdied the pagans.
Tertullian

Prayer is never a device for getting what we want from God;
it is always the means of obtaining what God wants for us.
It is necessary to ask, not in order to make up God's mind, but to make up our own.
Lewis MacLachlan

If you think you're too big for a small job, then you're certainly too small for the bigger job.

Jesus of the scars ... we seek you now,
We must have sight of thorn-marks on your brow,
We must have you, O Jesus of the scars.
The other gods were strong, but you were weak.
They rode, but you did stumble to a throne;
But to our wounds, only God's wounds can speak,
And not a god has wounds, but you alone.
Edward Stillito

If you believe that no one was ever corrupted by a book, you have also to believe that no one was ever improved by a book. You have to believe that all art is morally trivial and that consequently, all education is irrelevant.
Irving Kristol

Going to church doesn't make you a Christian any more than going to a McDonald makes you a hamburger.
Keith Green

Confused and unsure if God wanted him to marry his girlfriend, a 20 year-old from Hampshire decided to "put out a fleece". Taking a coin from his pocket, he said to God, "If it lands on heads I'll pop the question, tails and it's off." When the coin landed tails he decided to make it the best of three! He is now happily married to the same lady.
21st CC

God desires our availability rather than our ability.

Pray for them now and at the hour of their birth.
T.S.Elliot

Consider the postage stamp. It's usefulness consists in sticking to one thing till it gets there.
Josh Billings

I asked God for strength that I might achieve,
But I was made weak that I might learn humility.

I asked for health that I might do great things,
But I was given infirmity that I might do better things.

I asked for riches that I might be happy,
But I was given poverty that I might be wise.

I asked for power that I might have the praise of men;
I was given weakness that I might feel the need of God.

I asked for all things that I might enjoy life,
But I was given life that I might enjoy all things.

I got nothing that I asked for,
But everything hoped for.

Almost despite myself, my unspoken prayers were answered.
I am among all men most richly blessed.

A Confederate Soldier

A man found a well marked Bible. It was a King James Version and in the front "Appointed to be read in Churches" was crossed out and replaced with "Appointed to be read Anywhere".

There is never enough time to do everything we want to do; not even enough time to do what needs to be done. Especially with longer daylight evenings. The pressure soon increases. "We become enslaved to the tyranny of the urgent, rather than free to pursue the truly important. ... We need to realise that the work is the Lord's and we are his helpers."  (How did we get the idea that it was the other way round?!)
see 'A Silence and a Shouting' by Eddie Askew. P. 20

What thoughtful rich people call the problem of poverty, thoughtful poor people call the problem of riches.
R.H.Tawney

Preaching is not the performance of an hour, it is the outflow of a life.
E.M.Bounds

The only shadow on the cloudless Easter day of Christ's victory is the poverty of my own devotion, the memory of ineffective hours of unbelief and my own stingy response to God's generosity.
A.E.Whitham

The search for happiness is one of the chief sources of unhappiness.
Eric Hoffer

It is not for us to judge the scriptures, but for the scriptures to judge us.

Progress comes when my weakness is exposed and I am vulnerable to failure. Worthwhile change inevitably means taking risks - when there is no way out (or forward) but to trust Jesus.

The world will ignore or ridicule what it does not respect.
Only when the Church is a threat will there be lively persecution.
Be a risk-taker! There is no insurance cover available in our life with Christ - Only his Word!

Live simply that others may simply live.
David Watson

An elderly man was beaten badly by thugs and left lying in the gutter and in pain. The first passer-by averted his gaze; the second did the same. Nobody wanted to know until a Social Worker on her way home came to the spot. She looked down at the recumbent figure and said, "Tut, tut, whoever did this needs help!"

The greatest problem for the Chinese Church in the 90's is not in relation to the authorities. The big question is how do we care for millions of new Christians? Evangelism is not the problem; the Chinese people are hungry for God. Persecution is not the problem either; we are used to it. But discipling, which is so vital. We just don't have the resources to do it.
A Chinese House- Church Leader

God never sent a messenger with an empty envelope.
Joel Horn

"You Gentiles have taken everything form us," argued a Jew.
"Like what?" said the Christian.
"Like the 10 Commandments for a start."
"We may have taken them," the Christian replied,
"But you can never accuse us of keeping them!"

The deeper that sorrow carves into your being, the more joy you can contain. Joy and sorrow are inseparable.
Kahil Gibran

The holy man will endeavour to shun every known sin and to keep every known command. He will have a greater fear of displeasing God than of displeasing the world. ... You may see the deceitfulness of sin in the proneness of men to make excuses for it. ... The holy man will both need and draw from Christ all his daily strength.
J.C.Ryle

The world is increasingly deaf to a church that has sold out to materialism.  It is only when the world is confronted with a church that is wholly dependant upon God, perhaps because it has voluntarily or involuntarily accepted material poverty for the sake of the countless poor that God is trying to reach, that any impact will be made. Affluence and spiritual complacency often go together.

Today there is no shortage of pious words, affirmations of faith, discussions about hunger, or expressions of spirituality. But the world is still waiting for the demonstration, in hard, costly and practical terms, of what we proclaim with our lips.

I was hungry and you formed a committee to investigate my hunger.
I was homeless, and you filed a report on my plight.
I was sick and you held a seminar on the underprivileged.
You have investigated all the aspects of my plight.
And yet I am still hungry, homeless and sick.
David Watson

One minute's obedience to Christ is worth infinitely more than striving, even to the point of exhaustion ...

We happily respond to the reassuring words of Jesus, "Fear not little flock, for it is your Father's good pleasure to give you the Kingdom"; but we may easily ignore the next verse, "Sell your possessions and give alms." When we fail to take the challenge of Jesus seriously, we may wonder why the kingdom of God is not coming in power that Jesus apparently promised. We say, "Yes, but ..."
God still requires of us a biblical radicalism which refuses to be conformed to this world.
David Watson

The Christian is an odd number. He has supreme love for one he has never seen, expects to go to heaven on the virtue of another, he is strongest when weak, richest when poor, confident in uncertainty. He dies so that he can live, forsakes all but is given all things; he sees the invisible, hears the inaudible and knows what is beyond knowledge.
A.W.Tozer

It is more important to know where you are going than to get there quickly.
21st CC

The work of praying is prerequisite to all other work in the kingdom of God, for the simple reason that it is by prayer that we couple the power of heaven to our helplessness.
Ole Hallesby

The Christian must learn the lesson from Jesus that although one may possess little in the way of solutions, that little can become much in God's hands.
Roy McCloughry

Many who visit Mother Teresa and her Missionaries of Charity are surprised that every lunch-time they leave their life-sustaining work in dispensaries in the home for the dying. Why? To pray!
They have learned that to work without prayer is to achieve only what is humanly possible, and their desire is to be involved in divine possibilities.
Jane Hatfield

Faith makes a Christian,
Life proves him,
Trials confirm him,
and Death finally crowns him.

He is no fool, who gives what he cannot keep, to gain what he cannot loose.
Jim Elliot  (he gained the martyr's crown by the hand of the Auca Indians in 1956)

The crocodile is said to be the one creature that grows all its life-time.
So must Christians! Not to become like a Croc', but to be like Jesus.

Ratbags need daily atonement.

The Tate Family
Old man Dictate, who wants to run everything.
Cousin Rotate, who wants to change everything - again.
Agitate and Irritate are always stirring up trouble.
Hesitate and Vegetate always want to leave it till next year.
Cogitate and Meditate, being Cornish, do things "drekkly"!
Aunt Imitate wants everything to be like it was in her old church.
Young Devastate is a voice of doom.
Miss Facilitate is always most helpful.
Dr Amputate has regretfully cut himself off completely.
St Mary's Church, Middleton (slightly modified)

Send me anywhere - only go with me.
Lay any burden on me - only sustain me.
Sever any tie - except the tie that binds me to thyself.
Dr Livingstone

There are two freedoms.
The false, where man is free to do what he likes;
and the true, where he is free (and desires) to do what he ought.
Charles Kingsley

The meek may inherit the earth, but not its mineral rights. (not yet anyway!)
John Paul Getty

The only thing we learn from history seems to be that we learn nothing from history.

We are not citizens of this world trying to make our way to heaven;
we are citizens of heaven trying to make our way through this world.

War or Peace in the Middle East and the Soviet Republics and ... ?
What is God s Plan ?

God does have a plan!
and it may be for war -- however shocking we may think that might be.

It was God who sent the plagues on Egypt and killed all the first-born.
They had refused His plan to set Israel free.
So God brought "judgement on all the gods of Egypt". Exd 12₁₂
We have exploited and enslaved the Third World with debt and consistently denied them their freedom.

When the northern tribes of Israel became rich, proud, secure, careless and complacent, 'God withheld rain, ... He sent mildew on their crops, ... He killed their young men with the sword ... " etc (Amos 4).
"I hate, I despise your religious feasts ... but you do not grieve over the ruin of Joseph." Amos 5₂₁ 6₆
What notice have we taken of God s clear warnings in the last few years?

150 years later Habbakuk moaned to God about the state of the nation -- they persistently insulted Almighty God and even sacrificed children to Molech. 'Why don t you do something?", he said. "I shall," said God, "but you will not believe me when I tell you what it is! I am raising up the Babylonians, that ruthless and impetuous people." Hab 1 Jer 32₃₅. God kept his word! Every day in the UK we sacrifice 465 babies to the idol of social convenience.

God will not be mocked for ever.
"How long, Sovereign Lord, holy and true, until you judge the inhabitants of the earth .. . ?" Rev 6₁₀

(The Gulf War started as promised by the USA 2 days later on 15/1/91)
(Now, nearly 10 years later the West has yet to pay for the wages of sin. God has not forgotten, nor will he overlook our pride)

One arrogant farmer in the USA wrote a letter to his local newspaper. "In the Spring I ploughed my fields on a Sunday, then I harrowed and drilled them on Sunday, I sprayed on Sunday and finally harvested a bumper crop on Sunday." Underneath his published letter the editor wrote, "God does not always settle his accounts in October."

Full Assurance by May B. Knot
The Protestant Work Ethic by Daly Grind
The German Charismatic Movement by Hans Reising
Pray Continually by Neil A Lot
Salt of the Earth by Pastor Pepper
Intercession by Frank and Ernest Pleading
Praise in the U.S.A. by Hal E. Looyah

A husband is a man who after emptying the ashtray, manages to look as if he had just finished cleaning the whole house.
James Simpson

This elderly Romanian preacher who knew about prison atrocities said,
"My days in prison were golden days."
Brother Caraman

In the Third World the daily Children's death toll is
5,400 from Measles
4,900 from Tetanus
1,800 from Whooping cough
200 from TB Polio or Diptheria
All 12,300 children could live if immunised at the cost of just £1/child.
Life has never been so cheap!
Tear Fund Sunday

Prayer without work is as bad as work without prayer.
To read without reflecting is like eating without digesting.
Dorothy Wise

Women do 2/3rds of the world's work for 10% of its income.
They own 1% of its assets and produce 100% of its people.
United Nations

God wisely designed our bodies so that we can neither pat our own backs nor kick ourselves too easily.

The world will be impressed not when we claim to have hold of God,
but when it sees that God has got hold of us.
Andrew Knock

The probability of being killed by a terrorist is 1 in 420,000
of being killed by accident (mostly road) is 1 in 30
of being killed in a British mother's womb is 1 in 5

How many Charismatics does it take to change a light bulb?
Answer 5
1 to change the bulb and 4 to share the experience!

Jesus Christ bore the judgement we deserve in order to give us the salvation we do not deserve.
The essence of sin is man substituting himself for God, the essence of salvation is God substituting himself for man.
Man asserts himself against God and puts himself where only God deserves to be;
God sacrifices himself for man and puts himself where only man deserves to be.
Man claims prerogatives which belong to God alone; God accepts penalties which belong to man alone.
Rebecca Pippert. "Hope has its Reasons"

When I give to the poor they call me a saint;
when I ask why the poor have no food they call me a communist.
Dom Helder Camera

We have greater affinity with the affluent and influential than with the downtrodden and the oppressed. We have accepted a largely middle-class culture, with its worldly values and selfish ambitions; and have conveniently ignored the utterly radical teaching of Jesus concerning money, possessions and social standing within the kingdom of God.
David Watson

If we are going to be the body of Christ, shouldn't we do as he did? He didn't commute from heaven to earth to minister to us. Nor did he set up a mission compound which would make him immune to our problems. No, he became flesh and lived among us.
John Perkins

You never really know a man until you stand in his shoes and walk around in them.
Harper Lee

Many people have come and done things for us;
but very few have come and done things with us.

An optimist is one who when treed by a lion, enjoys the scenery.
Walter Winchell

A politician is one who approaches every question with an open mouth.
Adlai Stevenson

Hither have I come leaning upon the Cross;
But now the crown!
Miyauchi

O Cross, how is it that I shall sing thy praise?
Thou art like precious warmth on winter days!
Nagata

I live in light and love; by God's grace given;
Yet is my hungry heart homesick for heaven!
Takamoto

Today there is no respite from the pain, except the dream
Of playing on the hills when spring comes back again!
Mumei

(Each of these 4 Poems was written by Lepers from a Japanese Leprosy Hospital)

In the year 303 the Roman emperor Diocletian announced the extinction of the Christian church:
and then to celebrate the destruction of the Bible he struck a medal. But God had other plans!

In the 18th century Voltaire prophesied that the Bible would become a museum piece within 50 years of his death.
It is ironic that Voltaire's own house would subsequently be used by the Geneva Bible Society as their first depot!
Jesus said, "My words will never pass away."

True conversion will always challenge the guardians of the existing social order (and often the Church order too) because it is not something just added to life already lived, but is a death and a new birth! There are no neutral zones left untouched.
The Beatitudes give blessing on those who have what most try to avoid,
and a dire warning to those who have what most earnestly seek!
Jim Wallis

Ideas are funny things - they don't work unless you do.!
Even if you are on the right track, you'll get run over if you just sit there!
Some people are like blisters - they don't show up 'til all the work's done!
Faith make things possible - it doesn't make them easy!
21 CC

Smart is when you believe only half of what you hear.
Brilliant is when you know which half to believe.
Orben

Long is the way, and very steep the slope,
Strengthen me once again, O God of Hope.

Far, very far, the summit doth appear;
But thou art near my God, but thou art near.

And wilt thou give me with my daily food,
Powers of endurance, courage, fortitude?

Thy way is perfect; only let that way
Be clear before my feet from day to day.

Thou art my Portion, saith my soul to thee,
O what a Portion is my God to me!

Amy Carmichael

The task of the evangelist is not to make the gospel easy, but to make it clear.
He will refute every ideological prescription and every self-effort. Only in Christ is it possible. Evangelism does not pass on knowledge or impart a transient experience, but calls for and expects a radical change in life-style and behaviour.
Jim Wallis

The blessing of God is not me having a good time,
but seeing the gracious plan of God being fulfilled, whatever the cost.

In the Philippines there is a small caterpillar whose fuzzy hairs leave a burning welt on the skin. However, there is an effective remedy for the burn - the Samrid itself! You scoop up the offending creature on a leaf and squash it between your fingers without touching it. Then, removing the body with a stick, you use the body fluids to rub on the burn. This gives instant relief.
The word "madagat" describes the power of the Samrid to heal as well as the power to sting.
The word of God is living, powerful and sharp as a two-edged sword, a magadat, ... If you don't open it up, it holds nothing but judgement; but if you read it and believe it, there is medicine inside that removes judgement like nothing else will.
Wycliffe Bible Translators

The Christian is more formed from his trials than from his enjoyments.
W. Jay

Brother Andrew was writing a new book on Prayer. He proposed to include several short chapters on the prayer life of such men as Moses, Nehemiah, David, Saul and Jeremiah. But King Saul would have only one page and it would be completely blank! His publisher rejected the idea thinking that it might convict too many people.

"Some Russians are still convinced that the Garden of Eden must have been in the Soviet Union. It's the only place a man and a woman could be naked, with only an apple to eat, and think that they were in paradise."

"If we all decided that we had enough food, that our houses were big enough, that our cars were not too old, and that our clothes were sufficient, then our economic system would collapse."

"The end of the world will mark a turning point in everyone's life!"

A woman had just commissioned an artist to paint her portrait.
"I want you to do me justice," she said.
"Madam," replied the artist, "It is not justice that you need, but mercy!"

The Graciousness of Uncertainty
"Naturally we are inclined to be so calculating that we look on uncertainty as a bad thing ... The nature of the spiritual life is that we are certain in our uncertainty, consequently we do not make our nests anywhere. Certainty is a mark of the commonsense life; gracious uncertainty is the mark of the spiritual life. To be certain of God means that we are uncertain in all our ways; we do not know what a day may bring forth. This is generally said with a sigh of sadness; it should be rather an expression of breathless expectation. We are uncertain of the next step, but we are certain of God. Immediately we abandon to God and do the duty that lies nearest, he packs our life with surprises all the time. When we become advocates of a creed, something dies; we do not believe God, we only believe about him ... But when we are rightly related to God, life is full of spontaneous, joyful uncertainty and expectancy."
Oswald Chambers

25 Years of Legal Abortion
When the U.K. passed the Abortion Bill in 1967 it set the pattern for much of the rest of the world.
We were "world leaders" - to our eternal shame of the annual destruction of over 25 million lives.
In the period 1967 to 1991 in the UK we have killed babies.
As always, the main question is WHAT DOES GOD THINK ABOUT IT?

"The Problem with the Universe"
The paradox of the human condition is that it contains both the good and the bad, the generous and the self-centred, the honest and the devious. We see how much genuine kindness there is and that in every community one finds quiet heroism and self-sacrifice. Most of us try to have warm relationships at home, to be productive, responsible citizens and workers. ... We want to believe that the essential "us" is who we are at our best moments. We would like to believe that we are what we try to project to the world: nice, respectable, competent people who have it all together. Fortunately, or unfortunately, life does not let us get away with this charade. Sooner or later we are confronted with our darker side. ...
G.K.Chesterton was asked to write a letter to the London Times on the question, "What is the problem with the Universe?".
He replied, "I am. Sincerely, G.K.C."

This book is written for people who live their lives in the lag between promise and performance."
Rebecca Manley Pippert

A little girl had been to Sunday School for the first time. Her mother asked her how it compared with day school. "Oh, I like it much better. There are no exams, and you end up going to heaven instead of High School!"
But there was One who took an exam for us. It was a very stiff, practical exam. And thankfully, He passed with the highest possible honours.
Phil Mason

The Cross is the only point where God and sinful man may be reconciled and the way to life be opened. But how can we stop ourselves being self-centred? ... Jesus called his message 'Good News' because help is at hand. He knew that the fatal disease within human nature could be cured only by the Divine Surgeon. Our only hope of a remedy is if God operates!
... We slide into presuming that help is easy.
... We assume God has no problem forgiving us.
... But only in the Cross is there any means of deliverance.
Man asserts himself against God and puts himself where only God deserves to be;
God sacrifices himself for man and puts himself where only man deserves to be.
Oswald Chambers, Rebecca Pippert and John Stott

VOTING FORM

J. CHRIST	X
JOE BLOGGS
A.N. OTHER

CHOOSE JESUS CHRIST
The only one who keeps his word
The only you can trust.

Trenoweth Methodist Chapel (prior to 1992 General Election)

"Prepare for the Coming of the Messiah" so reads the large signs erected in Israel by members of a large Hasidic movement.
Israeli Jews like to tell the old fable of a Russian Jew who goes to his rabbi in search of a job. The rabbi instructs the man to stand at the village gate each day and wait until the Messiah comes. For this the rabbi offers the man a ruble a month (pre the recent devaluation). "The pay is low," the man complains. "Yes," says the rabbi, "but the job security is excellent."
Time Magazine

During a long service a small but clear voice was heard to say, "Mummy, is it still Sunday?"
Phil Mason

Be careful of your thoughts; they may become words at any moment.
Iara Gassen

There is no Christian solution of the problems presented by self-will; but there is a Christian cure and if that is effective, the problem is abolished. So when a man wanted Jesus to divide an inheritance, that is to arbitrate between two self-centred claims, he refused. He did not settle the dispute; but he did tell them how to avoid continuing the dispute. "Take heed and keep yourselves from covertness."
William Temple

Why the Cross?
From the parable of the prodigal son there are some who conclude that the younger son is saved without a saviour so there is no need for the cross. Many others believe that if any man seeks forgiveness, then God is merciful and will easily forgive. This false conclusion would mean that the incarnation, the cross and the resurrection are all quite unnecessary. This is the human wisdom of which Paul writes, "God has made foolish the wisdom of the world ..." and he preached instead "Christ crucified ... who has become for us the wisdom from God - that is, our righteousness, holiness and redemption. ... So that our faith might not rest on men's wisdom, but on God's power." 1 Co 1_20-29

What seems to many men to be a good idea has no validity in heaven. God revealed from the beginning that forgiveness could only be achieved by the offering of a perfect sacrifice, and never by an imperfect human hope.

Heb 9₂₂ "Without the shedding of blood there is no forgiveness of sins."

Heb 9₂₈ "Christ was sacrificed once to take away the sins of the world."

Would God himself have left the glory of heaven and come to earth if it was not necessary?
Would Christ have suffered rejection, pain, humiliation and death if it was not necessary?
It was necessary - and by our sin, we make it so.

If you heard that your life had been valued
And a price had been paid on the nail,
Would you ask what was traded, how much and who paid it,
Who was he, and what was his name?

If you heard that his name was called Jesus,
Would you say that the price was too dear?
He was held to the cross, not by nails but by love;
It was you broke his heart, not the spear!

Would you say you are worth what it cost him?
You say no, but the price stays the same.
If it don't make you cry, knock it off, pass it by,
But remember the day when you throw it away
That he paid what he thought you were worth!
Part of the Song by Graham Kendrick "Paid on the Nail"

Satan and all his angels are a limited company.

George Washington said, "The best way to get peace is to be ready for war."  That principle has failed so miserably that many people today advocate replacing the last word with "peace". It is a noble thought, but it reminds me of an old story.
One day an elderly Jewish pedlar returned home covered with blood and with his clothing torn. "What happened?" he was asked. He told a sad story of having been set upon by a pack of wild dogs as he walked through the forest bordering his home village. "You silly man! Why didn't you recite the passage: 'And no dog shall as much as flash his tongue at any Jew'?" (Exd 11₇) The pedlar replied, "I did; I even said it three times. But it seems that those dogs don't know the Bible!"
Anon. Quoted in the Jerusalem Post 14/3/92

Christ still prefers the company of people who need to repent to that of those who think that they are a cut above that!
Donald Macphail

Paint Christ not dead but risen, with his foot set in scorn on the split rock with which they sought to hold him down. Paint him the Conqueror over death! Paint him the Lord of Life! Paint him as what he is, the irresistible Victor who, tested to the uttermost, has proved himself in very deed, mighty to save.
Tommoso Campanella to the Italian painters of his day. (1630)

If I am afraid to speak the truth, lest I loose affection, or lest the one concerned should say,"You do not understand," or because I fear to lose my reputation for kindness. If I put my own good name before the other's highest good, then I know nothing of Calvary love.

If I am content to heal hurt slightly, saying,"Peace, peace, where there is no peace"; if I forget the poignant word, "let love be without dissimulation" and blunt the edge of truth, speaking not right things but smooth things, then I know nothing of Calvary love.
Amy Carmichael

"The wrath of God is being revealed from heaven against all the godlessness and wickedness of men ..." Romans 1₁₈

Isaiah (9₈-10₄) prophesies four times to his generation - and to ours.  "For all this, his anger is not turned away ..." Why?

1) Men were arrogant. Bricks have fallen but we will rebuild them with dressed stone.
2) Lying Leaders. They did not seek the Lord. False expectations and failed promises.
3) Covetous. Profit is what matters, my gain, my happiness, my success ... me.
4) Unjust Exploitation. It does not matter who has to pay, or when!

God's kindness, tolerance and patience is not to lull us into complacency,
or the false idea that God has but one attribute and that is his love.
It is intended to lead us towards repentance, to receive the mercy of God in forgiveness:
     and to be born again by the power of God to live a new life. Ro 2₄

The love of God being revealed is staggering; and so also is the wrath of God!
This generation will live to see both as never before.

Samuel Johnson wrote to one man who had submitted a manuscript,
"It is both good and original; but he part that is good is not original and the part that is original is not good!"

There is only one thing in the world worse than being talked about, and that is not being talked about.
Oscar Wilde

Boys will be boys; and so will a lot of middle-aged men.
Ken Hubbard

Television is ... medium. So called because it is neither rare nor well done.
Ernie Kovacs

T.V. is a device that permits people who haven't anything to do, to watch people who can't do anything
Fred Allen

It is not how many years we live, but what we do with them.
Evangeline Booth

Time is too slow for those who wait, too swift for those who fear, too long for those who grieve, too short for those who rejoice; but for those who believe, time is eternity.

When I handle a religious cheque, I want to know what experience there is in the bank to back it.
Lionel Blue

There is a great difference between an affair and a marriage, and the former cannot be a trial run for the latter. The real commitment comes when you hear the doors closing behind you for good.
Lionel Blue

A committee is a collection of the unfit chosen from amongst the unwilling, by the incompetent, to do the unnecessary.
Christian Crackers

A committee is a group that keeps the minutes but loses the hours.
Milton Berle

A committee is a group of people who individually can do nothing and collectively decide that nothing can be done.
Fred Allen

Computers will never replace human beings entirely. Someone has to complain about errors.

You watch the guy who drives ahead and the guy who drives behind.
You watch to the left and you watch to the right and drive with a calm, clear mind.
But the guy you really have to watch on the highway you will find,
Is guy behind the guy ahead and ahead of the guy behind
Wortley

Self-pity is a prison without walls, a sign pointing nowhere.
Some people never look up until they are flat on their backs.
H.E.Martz

A curt reply to a bishop who had suggested that the incumbent should move.
"Dear Bishop, I REMAIN yours faithfully, ..."
Christian Crackers

I am convinced that if the devil cannot make us lazy, he will make us so busy here and there that the best is sacrificed for the good.
Vance Havner

One elderly gentleman gives this prescription for a long and healthy life.
"Go to bed on the same day that you get up."

God often gives in one brief moment that which he has for a long time denied.
Thomas A. Kempis

Character, like embroidery, is made stitch by stitch.

A religion small enough for our understanding would not be big enough for our needs.

Why not go out on a limb? Isn't that where the fruit is?
Frank Scully

Success is getting up just one more time than you fall

Before we can eradicate poverty, we must learn to hate it
Nehru

Having no shoes, I complained, until I met a man with no feet
C.S.Lewis

Theology teaches us what ends are desirable and what means are lawful;
while politics teaches us what means are successful.
D.L.Moody

God sends no one away empty except those that full of themselves.

Our world has narrowed into a neighbourhood
before it has managed to broaden into a brotherhood.
Lyndon Johnson

Witnessing isn't a once a week activity.
You don't go witnessing, you are a witness wherever you go.
Dan Greene

An actor and an old lady were both asked to recite the 23rd Psalm.
Afterwards the actor said to the lady, "It's perfectly obvious that while I know the Psalm, you know the Shepherd."

If a crisis does not become a process, it will become an abscess.

I am not what I ought to be. I am not what I would like to be.
I an not what I hope to be. But I am not what I was,
and by the grace of God, I am what I am.
John Newton

Luck is a matter of preparation meeting opportunity.
Oprah Winfrey

Old age is like everything else. To make a success of it, you've got to start young.
Fred Astaire

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

A great deal of what we see depends on what we are looking for.

If you look like your passport photo, you're too ill to travel.
Will Kommen

Your don't get ulcers from what you eat. You get them from what's eating you.
Vicki Baum

There's no such thing as a non-working mother.
Hester Mundis

I don't know the key to success, but the key to failure is trying to please everyone.
Bill Crosby

Education's purpose is to replace an empty mind with an open one.
Malcolm Forbes

The only place where success comes before work is in a dictionary.
Vidal Sassoon

We are what we repeatedly do. Excellence, then, is not an act, but a habit.
Aristotle

You may see from history that in a time of instability, the Jews do not do well. Things go wrong, and the cause is usually the Jews! And so, if they are rich, you rob them; and if they are poor, you kick them. It is simple.
Howard Spring. "Time and the Hour" 1937

Your will be done, O God of Life,
On earth as it is in wild heaven;
Where those in poverty are freed and fed,
Where martyrs sing and mourners dance,
Where debts are off and death is dead
And power is safe with the Lamb of God.
Garth Hewitt. 'Prayer for the day' BBC4 10/5/97

The past is history. The future is mystery. Today is a gift, that's why we call it the present.

I found my humble afflictions were dignified by his immeasurable grace.
Lyndon Bowring

I have served the Lord for so long now that I can hardly tell the difference between a blessing and a trial.
90 year-old American lady

If you believe what you like in the Gospel and reject what you don't like, it is not the Gospel you believe but yourself.
Augustine of Hippo

"Lord, build me a son who ll be strong enough to know when he is weak and brave enough to face himself when he is afraid; one who is proud and unbending in defeat, yet humble and gentle in victory. Build me a son whose wishbone will not be where his backbone should be; a son who will first know You and then know himself, for that is the true foundation of all knowledge. Lead him, I pray, not in the path of ease and comfort, but under the stress and spur of difficulties and challenge. There let him learn to stand in the storm, yet have compassion for those who fall. Build me a son whose heart is clear and whose goals are high; who ll master himself before he seeks to master other men; one who ll learn to laugh, yet never forget how to weep; to reach into the future, yet never forget the past. And after all these things are his, add, I pray, enough of a sense of humour that, though serious, he may never take himself too seriously. And above all, Lord, give him enough humility to know that true greatness requires simplicity, true wisdom requires an open mind and true strength requires meekness. Only when this has been accomplished will I his father dare to whisper, ‘I have not lived in vain ."
General Douglas MacArthur

On his deathbed.   "I go to change my place, but not my company."
Dr Preston

Had I but served my God as diligently as I have served the King.
Cardinal Wolsey (1530)

If you cannot mould yourself as you would wish, how can you expect other people to be entirely to your liking?
Thomas à Kempis

Education makes a people easy to lead, but difficult to drive;
easy to govern, but impossible to enslave.    (Let's hope he's right)
Lord Brougham

He came to pay a debt he did not owe,
Because we owed a debt we could not pay.

?

Instead of saying, "Look what the world has come to",
Christians can say, "Look who has come to the world!"
Selwyn Hughes

Snoopy, the cherished PEANUTS cartoon pet, sat droopy-eyed at the entrance of his dog house. He lamented, "Yesterday I was a dog. Today I'm a dog. Tomorrow I'll probably still be a dog. SIGH. There's so little hope for advancement!"

The average pencil is seven inches of lead, and a half inch of eraser - just in case you thought optimism was dead.

The condition of any empire can be ascertained by the quality of its coins.

The New is in the Old contained: the Old is in the New explained.
The Old commences what the New completes.
Dr W.G.Scroggie

An intersection is a place where you stop and either find your way or lose it.
The Cross is the most important intersection in any man's life.
Daily Devotions 14/5/00

Love can always wait to give; lust can never wait to get.
Selwyn Hughes

Heavenly Father we ask your forgiveness.
      We know what your Word says, ‘Woe on those who call evil good',
      but that's exactly what we have done and we confess that:
We have ridicules the absolute truth of your Word and called it pluralism.
We have endorsed perversion and called it alternative lifestyle.
We have exploited the poor and called it the lottery.
We have neglected the needy and called it self-preservation.
We have killed the unborn and called it choice.
We have neglected to discipline our children and called it self-expression.
We have abused power and called it political savvy.
We have coveted our neighbour's possessions and called it ambition.
We have polluted the air with profanity and pornography and called it freedom of expression.
We have ridiculed the time-honoured values of our forefathers and called it enlightenment.
Search us, O God, know our hearts today; cleanse us from every sin
      and set us free in the name of your Son, the Living Saviour, Jesus Christ. Amen.

Rev Joe Wright when opening the Kansas Senate.  Adapted by Care Trust.

Genesis is the beginning of Revelation.

If you are not part of the answer, then you are part of the problem.

Rafi Eitan, Mossad

"We, the German Füührer and Chancellor, and the British Prime Minister, have had a further meeting today and are agreed in recognizing that the question of Anglo-German relations is of the first importance for our two countries and for Europe.

We regard the agreement signed last night and the Anglo-German Naval Agreement as symbolic of the desire of our two peoples never to go to war with one another again.

We are resolved that the method of consultation shall be the method adopted to deal with any other questions that may concern our two countries, and we are determined to continue our efforts to remove possible sources of difference, and thus to contribute to assure the peace of Europe."

"My good friends, for the second time in our history, a British Prime Minister has returned from Germany bringing peace with honour. I believe it is peace for our time... Go home and get a nice quiet sleep."

[But God, who knows the hearts of men, says that war will continue to the end. And God is right whatever man dreams. Dan 9₂₆ Math 24₇]

Neville Chamberlain at 10 Downing St, 30th Sept 1938. The day after the Munich Conference.

Riding the elevator to the fortieth floor of a skyscraper at a breathtaking speed, a little fellow with eyes wide asked his father, "Daddy, does God know we're coming?"

A Scotish visitor to the Holy Land was outraged at the cost of a boat trip on Galilee. He was told it was the equivalent of £35.
"Do you realise," he said, "I can hire a boat for a week on Loch Lomond for that?"
"Ah, but sir," the guide explained, "these are the waters on which Christ himself walked."
"No wonder he walked!" said the Scotsman.

from 'Hot under the Collar'  by Murray Watts.

"Merry Christmas, Charlie Brown," said Lucy.  "Since it's this time of the season, I think we ought to bury past differences and try to be kind." Charlie Brown asks, "Why does it just have to be this time of the season? Why can't it be all year long?" Lucy looks at him and exclaims, "What are you, some kind of fanatic?"

Peanuts

The American Fathers devised the system of electing a President by Electoral College because of their fears about a true Democracy being hijacked a majority to the detriment of a minority. Over 200 years ago Professor Alexander Tyler, a Scottish historian wrote, "A democracy cannot exist as a permanent form of government. It can only exist until the voters discover that they can vote themselves money from the public treasury. From that moment on, the majority always votes for the candidates promising the most money from the public treasury, with the result that a democracy always collapses over loose fiscal policy followed by a dictatorship."

Alexander Tyler

Who am 1?   I am your constant companion. I am your greatest helper or your heaviest burden. I will push you onwards or drag you down to failure. I am completely at your command. Half the things you do, you might as well turn over to me and I ll do them quickly and correctly. I m easily managed, but you must be firm with me. Show me exactly how you want something done and, after a few lessons, I ll do it automatically. I m the servant of all great men and, alas, of all failures as well. Those who are great, I have made great. Those who are failures, I have made failures. I work with the precision of a scientist and the passion of a patriot. You may run me for profit or run me for ruin; it makes no difference to me. Take me, train me, be firm with me and I will put the world at your feet. But be easy with me and I ll destroy you. Who am 1?

Habit

Jesus had a particular care for the little, the least, the last and the lost. 'Social inclusion' was not invented by Tony Blair.  

Bishop Bill

Post Office cleck to lady posting a parcel that contained a Bible. "Anything breakable madam?"  "Only the 10 Commandments," she replied.

Kenneth Edwards

"Let mutual love continue. do not neglect to show hospitality to strangers, for by doing that some have entertained angels without knowing it."  Gen 9_8-10

A certain coastal town was proud of its lifeboat crew. Whenever there was a ship in distress the crew would immediately leave their work and go and render whatever aid they could. In order to show their appreciation for their dedication, the town built a new lifeboat station. They held community events to raise funds to furnish it with the latest equipment. However, as time went on, the furnishings became thick carpeting, plush chairs, a checkerboard, a kitchen. Soon it was more of a social hall than a lifeboat station and when the alarm sounded, fewer members of the crew responded. This can happen to the church too. We must not forget about our mission to share our faith in Jesus Christ. We are not the only ones who need God's forgiveness.

Anon

The Lord frustrates our plans, shatters our purposes, lets us see the wreck of all our hopes, and whispers to us, "It's not your work I wanted, but you."

Footprints in the Sand.  by Ron Newhouse

What you tolerate you cannot change.

Fiona Castle

"Cancer is a Word, not a Sentence"

Title of book by Fiona Castle

You cannot be anything if you want to be everything.

Solomon Schechter

A committed pre-school teacher whose heart particularly went out to "disadvantaged children" begun to despair over some who seemed so lost, so limited--and in some cases, so neglected at home. Then her mother died. She was very close to her mother. Following the funeral school was about what she expected. She kept her hurt carefully hidden and continued like the competent professional she was.

But then it happened. She had come around the corner to discover Rachel picking flowers from the pot in the hall. Rachel was the most distant, most disruptive child in the class. In a stern, trembling voice the teacher demanded, "Rachel, what are you doing?" Rachel held out her little hand full of flowers. "Miss, you used to be like a mother to us. Would these flowers help you to be like a mother again?

Anon

A hunter observed an eagle landing on an ice-crusted limb floating in a river rushing down toward a waterfall. At any moment, the eagle could have turned loose of that icy perch and soared into the blue sky. But it did not turn loose. It remained too long, so that the eagle's talons froze onto the limb and it could not let go.

At first the eagle had the limb, but now the limb had the eagle, and it perished. There is a point in our drive for a better life when we are forced to make a decision--whether we have it or it has us. In a survey done by USA Today, it indicated that the more people earn, the less they give proportionally to help others? It should work the other way, shouldn't it? It seems that in their drive to earn more--the earning became the controlling element. The eagle once had the limb but now the limb has the eagle.

Anon

You may get to the very top of the ladder and find it has not been leaning against the right wall.

A. Raine

We read of man's achievements on the sports page.   We read of his failures on the front page

An Irish priest

One night a burglar was turning over a vicarage looking for valuables. Disturbed by the incumbent, the burglar cried, "Don't move!  Where's the money?" The Vicar replied, "Well let's turn the light on and we will look together!"

Anon

An old American is talking to his grandson about his reaction to a recent tragedy, said, "It is as though there are two wolves fighting in my heart.  One is the wolf of anger and vengeance; the other is of compassion and hope." The grandson asks, "Which wolf is going to win?" The wise old man relies, "The one I feed."

Anon

In pre WWII Germany, they first came for the communists, and I didn't speak up because I wasn't a communist. Then they came for the Jews, and I didn't speak up because I wasn't a Jew. Then they came for the trade unionists, and I didn't speak up because I wasn't a trade unionist. Then they came for the Catholics and I didn't speak up because I wasn't a Catholic. Then they came for me -- and by that time there was nobody left to speak up.

Martin Niemoller

If the Arabs put down their weapons today there would be no more violence.

If the Jews put down their weapons today there would be no more Israel.

Anon

No God - No peace

Know God - know peace

Trenoweth Methodist Chapel

Little boy asks his Aunty, "How big is heaven?"   She replied, "Big enough."

Marvyn King

If you believe what you like in the Gospel and reject what you don't like, it is not the Gospel you believe but yourself.

Augustine of Hippo   354-430

Most people are not bothered by those passages of Scripture that they don't understand, but the passages which bother me are those I do understand.

Mark Twain

The Scriptures were not given to increase our knowledge, but to change our lives.

D.L.Moody

God writes with a pen that never blots, speaks with a tongue that never slips and acts with a hand that never fails.

C.H.Spurgeon

Study the Bible to be wise; believe it to be safe; practice it to be holy.

Anon

I have done nothing; the Word has done and accomplished everything.

Martin Luther

Europeans live in a purely secular political system, where religion does not play an important role.

Giscard d'Estaing

Patience, Practice and Perseverance.

Not Known

Grace, Grit and Gumption.

(Title of a book by Geraint Fielder)

Did Adam have a Belly-button?

(Title of a book by Ken Ham)

Will Speed get you to Eternity?

Not Known

If you don't live as a Christian, you canot die as a Christian.

Kate Graves

Calvary was not a hopeless end, but the means of an endless hope.

Anon

Men who fear God have no need to fear men.

Anon

I walked a mile with Pleasure,
She chattered all the way;
But left me none the wiser
For all she had to say.

I walked a mile with Sorrow,
And ne'er a word said she;
But, oh, the things I learned from her
When sorrow walked with me.

Mrs Cowman  Streams in the Desert

Broadly speaking, human beings may be divided into three classes: those who are billed to death, those who are worried to death and those who are bored to death.

Winston Churchill

A lie gets halfway around the world before the truth has a chance to get its pants on.

Winston Churchill

An appeaser is one who feeds a crocodile, hoping it will eat him last.

Winston Churchill

A fanatic is someone who can't change his mind, and won't change the subject.

Winston Churchill

The greatest lesson in life is to know that even fools are right sometimes.

Winston Churchill

Sir Winston Churchill upon being told, "Must you fall asleep while I'm speaking?" "No, it's purely voluntary."Winston Churchill

If you're going through hell, keep going.Winston Churchill

There are no secrets to success. It is the result of preparation, hard work, and learning from failure. Colin L. Powell

Pluralism = all views equal

Syncretism = all religions equal

Universalism = all men equal

Fundamentalism = No other name whereby men must be saved.