Inspiring Quotes

“Look upon the face of Him who sees things as they are, that others may look into your eyes and see Him as He is.”  Unknown
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“One minute of seeing is worth a lifetime of argument.”  Unknown
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“Years later I learned that recognizing the Holy Spirit’s voice had saved my life.”  Steve Lightle
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“Obedience is all I have to offer God.”  Steve Lightle
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“The one who has the most hope has the most influence.”  Unknown
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“Lord, make me a crisis man.  Bring those I contact to decision.  Let me not be a milepost on a single road.  Make me a fork that men must turn one way or another on facing the Christ in me.”  Jim Elliot
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“Reflect inward.  Serve outward.  Live Godward.”  Unknown
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“The Truth doesn’t always make you feel good, but it does set you free.”  Alec Rowlands
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“Until we truly believe that separation from God is the worst thing a human can suffer, we will never be able to sacrifice what is required to save them from it.”  Unknown
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“The influence of a Christian leader whose values have been shaped by the Gospel cannot be overestimated.”  Jennifer Gilnett
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“By spending time with our Father in prayer we integrate our lives with His, with what He is doing in us.  Our lives become more coherent.  They feel calmer, more ordered, even in the midst of confusion and pressure.”  Paul Miller
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“We’re all holding on to a rope of some kind for security, but if anyone but God is on the other end, we’re hanging on by a thread!  Hang on to Christ for dear life when the waves break harshly against you. He will be your survival no matter what the storm may destroy.”  Beth Moore
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"The world is not a prison house, but a kind of kindergarten, where millions of bewildered infants are trying to spell God with the wrong blocks."  Edwin Arlington Robinson
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“I’m not much, but I’m all I think about!”  Gerhard Ade
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"Some of the most wonderful things have to be believed to be seen."  Robert Fulghum
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“Your children are the most important house guests you’ll ever have.”  Henri Nouwen
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“I am a historian, I am not a believer, but I must confess as a historian that this penniless preacher from Nazareth is irrevocably the very center of history.  Jesus Christ is easily the most dominant figure in all history.”  H.G. Wells
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"People are bothered by those passages in Scripture which they cannot understand; but as for me, I always noticed that the passages in Scripture which trouble me most are those which I do understand."  Mark Twain
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“You never have to forgive anyone beyond the degree that Jesus went to in order for God the Father to forgive your sins.”  Unknown
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“All that is necessary for the triumph of evil is that good men do nothing.”  Edmund Burke
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“Adversity introduces a man to himself.”  Unknown
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"Not everything that can be counted counts, and not everything that counts can be counted." Albert Einstein
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“We were made by God and for God, and until you figure that out, life isn't going to make sense.”  Rick Warren
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“For me 'twas not the truth you taught,
To you so clear, to me so dim,
But when you came just now, you brought
A sense of Him.”  Unknown
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“Don’t let what you cannot do interfere with what you can do.”  John Wooden
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“The only view God has of me is through the blood of Jesus.”  Unknown
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"I'd rather suffer obediently than prosper disobediently because I know my obedient suffering is as temporary as my disobedient prosperity."  Larry Wright
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“Brother Lawrence, the author, was a man of humble beginnings who discovered the greatest secret of living in the Kingdom of God here on earth. It is the art of ‘practicing the presence of God in one single act that does not end.’” Os Hillman
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"We all know that the divorce rate in this country is 50%. But Ken Boa said that, if couples will do three things during their marriage, the rate drops incredibly. The three things are
1) Pray together,
2) Read scripture together and
3) Worship together
Statistically, the divorce rate for couples who do these three things drops to 1/1600 (that's .06%)!"  Ed Easterlin
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"I said to the man who stood at the gate of the year, 'Give me a light that I may tread safely into the unknown.'  And he replied, 'Go out into the darkness and put your hand into the hand of God. That shall be to you better than light and safer than a known way!'"  King George VI quoted in his Christmas broadcast of 1939
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"The most important question you'll ever answer is 'who/what is your god?'"  Ron Jenson
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"In essentials unity.  In non-essentials liberty.  In all else charity."  Phillip Melancthon
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"The world has yet to see what God can do with and for and through and in a man who is fully and wholly consecrated to Him." Henry Varley
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"The worst moment for the atheist is when he is really thankful and has no one to thank."  G.K. Chesterton
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"That which dominates our imagination and our thoughts will determine our life and character.  Therefore it behooves us to be careful what we are worshiping, for what we are worshiping we are becoming."  Ralph Waldo Emerson
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"Islam is a religion in which God requires you to send your son to die for him. Christianity is a faith in which God sends His Son to die for you."  John Aschcroft
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Act humbly.  Love completely.  Live differently."  Unknown
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"God whispers to us in our pleasures, speaks in our conscience, but shouts in our pains; it is His megaphone to rouse a deaf world."  C.S. Lewis
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An atheist is someone with no invisible means of support.  Unknown
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"Direct my thoughts, words and works. Wash away my sins in the immaculate Blood of the Lamb. And purge my heart by Thy Holy Spirit. Daily frame me more and more into the likeness of Thy Son Jesus Christ."  George Washington
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"Since God is present everywhere, nothing escapes His notice.  Since He knows everything that there is to be known, nothing takes Him by surprise.  Since He exercises total sovereign power, nothing is impossible for Him."  Mel Lorentzen
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"Expect great things from God; attempt great things for God."  William Carey
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"Dear Lord, please give me...
A few friends who understand me and yet remain my friends;
A work to do which has real value, without which the world would feel the poorer;
A mind unafraid to travel, even though the trail be not blazed;
An understanding heart;
A sense of humor;
Time for quiet, silent meditation;
A feeling of the presence of God;
And the patience to wait for the coming of these things, with the wisdom to know them when they come."
Unknown
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IF I HAD MY LIFE TO LIVE OVER - by Erma Bombeck
(Written after she found out she was dying from cancer.)

“I would have gone to bed when I was sick instead of pretending the earth would go into a holding pattern if I weren't there for the day. I would have talked less and listened more.
I would have sat on the lawn with my children and not worried about grass stains.
Instead of wishing away nine months of pregnancy, I'd have cherished every moment and realized that the wonderment growing inside me was the only chance in life to assist God in a miracle. When my kids kissed me impetuously, I would never have said, "Later.  Now go get washed up for dinner." There would have been more "I love you's." More "I'm sorry's"...But mostly, given another shot at life, I would seize every minute...look at it and really see it... live it...and never give it back. Let's cherish the relationships we have with those who DO love us.  Let's think about what God HAS blessed us with. And what we are doing each day to promote ourselves mentally, physically, emotionally as well as spiritually. Life is too short to let it pass you by. We only have one shot at this, and then it's gone. I hope you all have a blessed day.”
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"I do not have forever to prepare for eternity."  (Note found scribbled in the old Bible of a lady who passed away in her 90s)
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Delivering the commencement address at Harvard in 1978, Alexander Solzhenitsyn gave what has been called “the most important message in the second half of this century on the state of western society and the U.S. in particular.”  As he saw them then, these were the symptoms of our national illness:

  • A decline of moral courage in political leadership;
  • The unbridled pursuit of material wealth;
  • An obsession over individual rights;
  • Superficiality in the press;
  • A herd mentality in the academic and intellectual world;
  • The glut of information and entertainment.

In this nation of plenty, the world’s wealthiest land, Solzhenitsyn said that America’s problem is simply this -- its people are spiritually starved.
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"Planning is a tool God may cause you to use, but it never can become a substitute for God.  Your relationship with God is far more important to Him than any planning you will ever do.  Our biggest problem with planning is that we plan and carry out things in our own wisdom that only God has a right to determine.  We cannot know the when, or where or how of God's will until He tells us.  Do you see why you need to know God's plans and purposes?  Your plans and purposes must be God's plans and purposes or you will not experience God working through you.  God reveals His purposes so you will know what He plans to do.  Then you can join Him.  His plans and purposes will stand.  They will be accomplished.  The Lord foils and thwarts the plans of the nations and the purposes of the peoples.  ...Planning is not all wrong.  Just be very careful not to plan more than God intends for you to plan.  Let God interrupt or redirect your plans any time He wants.  Remain in a close relationship with Him so you can always hear His voice when He wants to speak to you."
Experiencing God, Page 80
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"The great thing is to be found at one's post as a child of God, living each day as though it were our last, but planning as though our world might last a hundred years."  C.S. Lewis
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The Bible in Fifty Words (Anonymous)
God made, Adam bit, Noah arked, Abraham split, Joseph ruled, Jacob fooled, Bush talked, Moses balked; Pharaoh plagued, people walked. Sea divided, tablets guided, Promise landed. Saul freaked, David peeked, prophets warned, Jesus born. God walked, love talked, anger crucified, hope died. Love rose, Spirit flamed, Word spread, God remained.
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“Modern religion is the end trail of modern mythology … But there are people who interpret the Bible literally.  Literally!  I choose not to believe that’s the way.  And that’s what makes America cool, you know?”  Bruce Willis
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“Preach the Gospel to yourself every day.”  Martin Luther
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“Hell is God’s greatest example of free will.  To the sinner who enters hell, God says, ‘I’m going to give you what you’ve wanted your entire life, that is, to rule your own life and be separate from me.’”  St. Augustine
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“It's not the pace of life that concerns me; it's the sudden stop at the end.”  Unknown
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"A witness talks about what he has seen, felt and experienced.  He communicates the reality of Christ's presence in the brokenness of his life.  He communicates from the platform of his victories and defeats, his joys and sorrows.  It's pretty difficult to communicate what you haven't experienced." Joseph C. Aldrich
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"Have you ever met a person and instantly concluded, ‘Oh, he'd never be interested in the gospel,’ only to discover how wrong you were?  If so, you're in good company.  The disciples crossed the Samaritan woman off their list because a mere glance betrayed her immoral lifestyle and her race.  But Christ shows us we must never look at a person superficially.  Instead, we must ask ourselves: Why are they doing what they do?  Are they looking for the right thing, but in all the wrong places?"  Rebecca Manley Pippert
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"When we let fear for our own psychological and social comfort hold us back from sharing the gospel, we are saying that we are the center of our own world.  We are more concerned for ourselves than for others, more concerned about preserving our image than about obeying our Lord's command.  All of us, from time to time, will be ashamed to testify.  But the Holy Spirit will always be there to give us the love, and the self-discipline to overcome."  John Guest
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"No friendship should depend on how the other person responds to the gospel.  Unfortunately, many non-Christians today are suspicious of all Christians because of a previous contact with a friendly religious person who had ulterior motives.  Some non-Christians refuse to listen to a single word about our Lord until they're sure we'll be their friends regardless-even if they reject Jesus Christ.  We must love each person for himself."  Paul E. Little
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"Your friend or loved one may surprise you and eagerly accept Christ as Savior upon first hearing.  Or he or she may not respond at first opportunity.  Continue to pray, thanking God in faith that He will answer according to His expressed will.  Continue to show that you love him unconditionally. Conscientiously model the positive, victorious Christian life through your attitudes, actions and words.  As the Lord leads, talk about Jesus again in your conversations, without hesitancy or embarrassment."  Bill Bright
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“I am not a religious man.  I’ve made some mistakes in life.  Dutchie is my third wife, I have children by my first two marriages, and I’ve paid a lot of alimony in my time.  But I’ve always believed in Almighty God.  I’ve always believed that if you live your life as a decent person, the umpire in the end will say you did it right.”  Harry Cary, sportscaster
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“I’d like to die with my boots on if possible.  There is one wild thought that I have had increasingly of late.  I’d like to spend a year with my son Skip on one side of me and my grandson Chip on the other side of me.  That would be the real way to go out.”  Harry Cary, sportscaster
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Psalm 23, v. 1.1

The Lord is my Programmer:
I shall not crash.
He installed His software on the hard disk of my heart.
All of His commands are user-friendly.
His directory moves me to the right choices
For His name's sake.
Even though I scroll through the problems of life,
I will fear no bugs for He is my backup;
His password protects me;
He prepares a menu before me
In the presence of my enemies;
His help is only a click away.
Surely goodness and mercy will follow me all the days of my life,
And my file will be merged with His
And saved forever.
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“Jesus never told the world to go to the church; He told the church to go to the world.”  Rev. Bruce Larson
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“This is the apostolic message:  Jesus Christ!  That simple.  And that infinitely profound.  (By the way, I’ve learned that only simple things are profound.  Complicated things are just complicated.)”  Dr. Richard D. Halverson, the late U.S. Senate Chaplain

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“The Word was God!  This Jewish carpenter was and is God’s Word.  He is what God has to say to the world.” Dr. Richard D. Halverson, the late U.S. Senate Chaplain
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“Jesus Christ is everything God is, everything God says, everything God promises, and everything God plans.  Jesus Christ is God’s everything.  And it is He and He alone who brings each of us individually and collectively into fulfillment.” Dr. Richard D. Halverson, the late U.S. Senate Chaplain
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“You and I were made to be Christ’s, and we’re never ourselves until we’re Christ’s.  We will never reach our potential until we belong to Christ.” Dr. Richard D. Halverson, the late U.S. Senate Chaplain
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“The fundamental problem in history is alienation.  Jesus Christ is the essential solution in bringing reconciliation.” Dr. Richard D. Halverson, the late U.S. Senate Chaplain
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“There are only two forces in the world, the sword and the spirit. In the long run the sword will always be conquered by the spirit.”  Napoleon
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"Alexander, Caesar, Charlemagne, and myself founded empires; but upon what foundation did we rest the creations of our genius? Upon force!  But Jesus Christ founded His upon love; and at this hour millions of men would die for Him."  Napoleon

“I know men, and I tell you that Jesus Christ is no mere man.  Between Him and every other person in the world, there is no possible term of comparison.  Alexander, Caesar, Charlemagne and I have founded empires.  But on what did we rest the creation of our genius?  Upon force.  Jesus Christ founded His empire upon love, and at this hour millions of men would die for Him.”  Napoleon
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"I die before my time, and my body shall be given back to the earth and devoured by worms.  What an abysmal gulf between my deep miseries and the eternal Kingdom of Christ.  I marvel that whereas the ambitious dreams of myself and of Alexander and of Caesar should have vanished into thin air, a Judean peasant -- Jesus -- should be able to stretch his hands across the centuries and control the destinies of men and nations."  Napoleon
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“One truth stands firm. All that happens in world history rests on something spiritual.”  Albert Schweitzer
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“If you’re too busy to study God’s Word and pray, you’re too busy with unnecessary activities.  It’s time to rearrange your priorities.”  Ron Blanc
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“I have so much to do tomorrow that I must get up an hour earlier to pray.”  Martin Luther
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“The greatest things you’ll ever discover in life are the truth about yourself and the truth about God.  Both are in His Word.”  Pastor Ron Blanc
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“Prayer is the spontaneous product of a life involved with God.”  Ron Blanc
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“Our word sincere is derived from two Latin words, sine and cere, which mean ‘without’ and ‘wax.’  In making furniture, wax was used to fill in pitchpockets and to conceal mars in the wood or mistakes of the carpenter.  Skillfully treated with wax, the blemish was covered, looking well for sale but later, hard usage or heat brought out the wax cover-up.  A merchant of integrity would write on his products sincere cere (‘without wax’), guaranteeing genuineness.  Sincerity is at the heart of Christian character.”  John Corts, President/COO, Billy Graham Evangelistic Association
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“People prefer to believe what they prefer to be true.”  Sir Frances Bacon
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FEARLESS FAITH
This true story happened just a few years ago at USC.  There was a professor of philosophy who was a deeply committed atheist.  His primary goal for one required class was to spend the entire semester attempting to prove that God could not exist.  His students were afraid to argue with him because of his razor-sharp logic.  For twenty years he'd taught this class, and no one had ever had the courage to confront him.  Some had argued in class at times, but no one had tackled him head-on because he had a reputation.  And an attitude.

On the last day of every semester, he'd say to his class of 300, "If there's anyone here who still believes in God, stand up!"  In twenty years no one ever had.  They knew what he was going to do next.

He'd continue, "..... because anyone who believes in God is a fool.  If God existed, he could stop this piece of chalk from hitting the floor and breaking.  Such a simple task to prove he’s God, and yet he can't do it."  And every year he'd drop the chalk on the tile, shattering it into a hundred pieces.  The students could do nothing but stop and stare.

Most were convinced God did not exist.  Oh, a few Christians had been in his class, but for twenty years they'd been too afraid to stand up.

Well, a few years ago there was a freshman who happened to enroll in the class.  He was a Christian and had heard the lore about this prof.  He was required to take this class for his major.  And he was sore afraid.

For three months that semester he prayed each morning that he'd have the courage to stand no matter what the professor said or what the class thought.  Nothing could ever shatter his faith, he hoped.

Finally, the day came.  True to form, the professor said, "If there's anyone here who still believes in God, stand up!"  The professor and the class of 300 looked on in total shock as the young freshman rose at the back of the room.

The professor shouted, "YOU FOOL!  If nothing I've said all semester has convinced you that God doesn't exist, then you are a fool!  If God existed, he could keep this chalk from breaking when it hits the ground!"  Whereupon he released the chalk.

But as he did, it slipped from his grasp, rolled off his shirt cuff onto his trousers, down his leg and trickled off his shoe onto the tile floor, simply rolling away, unbroken.  The professor's jaw dropped as he stared at the chalk which remained in one piece.  He looked up at the freshman, then literally ran from the lecture hall!

The courageous, young believer walked to the front of the room and for the next half hour told his classmates about his faith in Jesus Christ.  All 300 remained and listened to a breathless, yet believable account of God's love for each of them and of His saving power through His Son Jesus.

"That if you confess with your mouth, ‘Jesus is Lord,’ and believe in your heart that God raised Him from the dead, you will be saved.  For it is with your heart that you believe and are justified, and it is with your mouth that you confess and are saved.  As the Scripture says, ‘Anyone who trusts in Him will never be put to shame.’  For there is no difference between Jew and Gentile -- the same Lord is Lord of all and richly blesses all who call on Him, for ‘Everyone who calls on the name of the Lord will be saved.”  Romans 10:9-13

"But He knows the way that I take, when He has tested me, I will come forth as gold."  Job 23:10

May God give each of us the courage of this young Trojan who, like Stephen in Acts 7, was willing to take his stand for Jesus Christ.
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“The circumstances and events of life, and the people around me do not make me the way I am.  They only reveal the way I am.”  Sam and Mary Glynn Peeples, Family Life Seminar
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“The number one cause of stress is unfulfilled expectations.  Expecting people or things to light up our lives merely sets us up for disappointment, anger, jealousy, fear, worry and hurt feelings.  We allow people and things to compete for the position in our lives that only God can fill.  If you have negative feelings, just realize that you’re plugged into something or someone other than Jesus Christ.”  Gary Smalley
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Re the Biblical model for greatness, “The only way to touch this world is to lay your life down for this world.  Jesus knew who He was, Whom He was living to please, and what was motivating Him.  He knew what He was about.  He was not a victim.  A victim is when someone does something bad to you, but a servant is one who willingly does humbling things for others.  You learn servanthood in your relationships, primarily in marriage.  Commit yourself to being a servant like Jesus, to be used by God to transform your world  (Phil. 3:12-14).  Setbacks don’t set you back permanently.  Ask yourself:  (1) How do I balance being a servant with being taken advantage of?  (2) What crown of being served do I need to lay down, and what towel of serving do I need to pick up?”  Robert Flores at PAO/San Diego 2-19-97
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Re prodigal son parable in Luke 15:11-32, “Christianity doesn’t make a very good religion because it has nothing to do with our seeking God but everything to do with God seeking us!”  Luke 15:20  “(When you’re home with the Father), “you’re in a safe place, a forgiving place, a loving place.”  Robert Flores at PAO/San Diego 2-19-97
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"When Christianity began in the Middle East, it was a relationship.  When it spread to Greece, it became a theology.  When Rome took it over, it became a system.  When it spread to Europe, it became  an art form.  And when it spread to America, it became a business.”  Author unknown
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A man's mind may be likened to a garden, which may be intelligently cultivated or allowed to run wild; but whether cultivated or neglected, it must, and will, bring forth."  James Allen
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“It’s so easy to blame God.  Insurance companies do it all the time.”  Rev. Bill Mays
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“Having a position of power does not bring inner security and fulfillment.  That comes only be developing a personal relationship with God which for me is personified by Jesus Christ.  Inner security and fulfillment comes by faith -- not by wielding power in the town where power is king.”  Secretary of State James Baker, 1990 National Prayer Breakfast
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“My survey consisted of four questions:

  • What three accomplishments do you consider to be the most important in your life?
  • If you knew you were going to die tomorrow, what two or three values would you want to be remembered for?
  • Who have been your mentors, and what did they teach you?
  • Name an unsung hero whose values you admire.”

Richard G. Capen, Jr., former publisher of The Miami Herald and U.S. Ambassador to Spain
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“The very simplest life form...would be comprised of 239 protein molecules, each of these containing an average of 445 amino acids of at least 20 different types and all 445 precisely slotted into position.  The probability that such a simple creature would come together by chance (and none so simple has been found yet to exist) would be:  1 x 10(137,915).”  Dr. Hugh Ross, Genesis One:  A Scientific Perspective
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Jay Carty once had a cup of coffee as a player with the Lakers.  He’s 6’8” but prefers to say he’s only “5-20.”  Jay says, “Jesus Christ and God are the only proper names that are also swear words.  You never hear anybody blow a putt and scream, “John Doe!”  That’s because God and Jesus Christ are the only names satan wants to pervert.
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God gets a lot of bad press.  In the last L.A. riot a looter came out of a record store, loaded with CD's, and a reporter asked him, "What'd you take?”  The thief: "I took some gospel music, man.  I just love Jesus."
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“Some people hide their life under a bushel.  And they should!”  A.W. Pink
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“When we glorify God, we give others the right opinion about Him.”  Rich Sherman (I Peter 2:12)
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“The litmus test of love for God is obedience, and the test of obedience is doing it when you don’t feel like it.  (John 14:21)”  Sue Wright
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“Until a man knows he’s lost, he can’t be saved.”  Ron Dunn
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“Let me write the songs of a culture, and I don’t care who writes its laws.”  Andrew Fletcher
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“God is God!  He ain’t applying for the job!”  Miles McPherson, at Pro Athletes Outreach conference in Orlando, Feb. 1996
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“Trials, obstacles and defeats are the very things that build your faith.”  George Muller, missionary
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“Contentment and satisfaction do not come from having it all.  They don’t even come from doing the right things.  They come, according to Solomon, from a proper perspective of who God is.”  Kurt D. Bruner, Traveling Light, Moody Press, 1995
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Ella, a missionary for fifty-two years while serving pygmies in Africa with no modern conveniences and 120-plus degree heat, gave her prescription for being perfectly content all those years:  (1) Never allow yourself to complain about anything, not even the weather.  (2) Never picture yourself in any other circumstances or someplace else.  (3) Never compare your lot with someone else’s.  (4) Never allow yourself to wish this or that had been otherwise.  (5) Never dwell on tomorrow.  Remember that tomorrow is God’s, not ours.
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“‘Why are we here?  What is the purpose of life?’  Many ideas are competing for the answers to these questions.  People ask Ann Landers, so she makes a trip to the wisdom bank but discovers that she’s overdrawn.  Everybody knows the questions, but today you’ve come to a place where you can find some answers.”  Tom Shrader
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“A timeless God doesn’t produce dated material.”  Tom Shrader
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“I once asked a guy, ‘Are you a Christian?’  ‘No,’ he replied, ‘not in the Biblical sense.”  Tom Shrader
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“The greatest indicator of your spiritual status is how you respond when you sin.”  Tom Shrader
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“The issue is not whether you go through the Bible; it’s whether the Bible goes through you!”  Dr. Howard Hendricks
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“Of course, everybody has to die, but I thought an exception would be made in my case.”  Famous last words by author William Saroyan
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“In 1636 a small group of Puritans from a Cambridge college named Emmanuel founded an institution in Cambridge, Massachusetts, naming it after fellow alum John Harvard.  Founded with the motto ‘Christo et Ecclesiae,’ Harvard College declared among its rules that ‘Every one shall consider the main End of his life and studies to know God and Jesus Christ which is Eternal life:  John 17:3.’”  David Bobb
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“God has put enough into this world to make faith in Him a very reasonable thing; but He has left enough out of this world to make it impossible to live by sheer reason alone.”  Ravi Zacharias
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“We today believe in Marx, Freud and Darwin.  We believe that everything is O.K. as long as you don’t hurt anybody, to the best of your definition of hurt and ... of knowledge.  We believe in sex before, during and after marriage.  We believe in the therapy of sin, and we believe that taboos are taboo.  We believe that everything is getting better despite evidence to the contrary.  The evidence must be investigated, and you can prove anything with evidence.  We believe in horoscopes, UFO’s and bent spoons.  Jesus was a good man, just like Buddha, Mohammed and ourselves.  He was a good moral teacher, although we believe His good morals are actually bad.  We believe that all religions are basically the same; at least the ones that we have read.  They all teach love and goodness.  They only differ on matters of creation, sin, heaven, hell, God and salvation.  We believe that after death comes nothing because when you ask the dead what happens, they say nothing.  If this is not the end and the dead have lied, then we believe in compulsory heaven for all; except perhaps Hitler, Stalin and Genghis Kahn.  We believe in Masters and Johnson.  What’s selected is average, what’s average is normal, and what’s normal is good.  We believe in unilateral disarmament.  We believe there are direct links between warfare and bloodshed.  The Americans should beat their guns into tractors, and the Russians would be sure to follow.  We believe that man is basically good.  It’s only his behavior that lets him down.  His behavior is the fault of society.  Society is the fault of conditions, and conditions are the fault of society.  We believe that there is no absolute truth except the truth that there is no absolute truth.  We believe in the rejection of creeds and the flowering of independent thought.”  English journalist Steve Turner, quoted in A Shattered Vision by Ravi Zacharias.
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“Philip Nary was the late sixteenth-century Italian saint whose inner joy and humor drew all classes and types of people to him for counsel.  One day Nary was visited by a student of philosophy who was full of himself, bubbling with ambitious plans for his life.  Like the wise counselor that he was, Nary restricted his part of the conversation to an occasional question.  The student hurried on to tell Nary that he was now engaged in getting his Ph.D. in philosophy.  ‘What then?’ Philip asked.  Then he would go on to get a doctorate in both civil and common law.  He’d inherit his family’s large estate and would marry brilliantly and have a fine family of his own.  ‘What then?’  Well, then he would win a name for himself in the courts and he’d achieve many honors, perhaps even be elected an auditor.  ‘What then?’ the old counselor/saint continued to ask him.  Well, then he supposed he’d grow old surrounded by an illustrious family and die like everyone else.  And, Philip Nary asked once more, ‘What then?’”  Bill Vaswig, pastor, Issaquah, WA
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Doug Burleigh 5/3/94:
1.  Steven Covey in The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People,:  “begin with the end in mind.”  For one who follows Christ, that end is The Great Commandment -- to love God totally and others as yourself.  Ask yourself daily, “Who am I seeking to please?”  Be willing to pay the price to do the right thing.  Shortcuts are plentiful and tempting.
2.  St. Francis of Assisi:  “Preach Christ, and if necessary, use words.”  Former Dallas Cowboys Coach Jimmy Johnson:  “To talk the talk, you’ve got to walk the walk.”  We have the great privilege of communicating the love of God through our lifestyle.
3.  Hate sin, but love sinners.  Jesus did that when He walked on earth.  I tend to do the opposite, i.e., love sin and hate sinners!
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“If you want to live life fully, prepare now for your death.”  Unknown

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One ship sails east.  One ship sails west.  Regardless of how the winds blow, it’s the set of the sail, and not the gale, that determines the way we go.
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John Powell in WHY AM I AFRAID TO TELL YOU WHO I AM?
5 levels of communication:

Level 5 -- Cliche' conversation.  The most superficial -- How are you?  How's  the family?  Where ya been?  Most men speak on this level.

Level 4 – Just the facts.  “News, sports and weather.”  We tell people what so-and-so said or did.  We’re reporters, not newsmakers or commentators.

Level 3 -- Ideas and judgments.  People are able but not willing to communicate these.  If we try, and run into confrontation, we easily run for cover.

Level 2 -- Feelings.  What lies behind my ideas, judgments and convictions.  Less than 10% of Americans communicate at this level.

Level 1 -- Peak/intimate communication.  All deep, authentic friendships, especially married, must be based on absolute openness and honesty.  More than communication, it's communion.  It's for no one else's ears.

What level do you communicate on?  Phil 1:8  Paul feels deeply for the church.
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“Unless we change direction, we’re likely to end up where we’re headed.”  Chinese proverb
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“We value healing for pain more than pardon for our sins.  ... We’re proud people who want explanation for what’s going on in our lives.  ... When the glow of life fades and we feel pain, we’ll be driven to the face of Christ, wanting Him and nothing more.  ... Accept the circumstances of life, learn from God and experience His inscrutable peace.”  Pastor Bill Mays, 2/27/94
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“It’s not important who you are.  It’s more important whose you are.”  Unknown
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“He who provides for his life but takes no care for eternity is wise for a moment but a fool forever.”  Unknown
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“If this century teaches any clear lesson, it is Chesterton’s:  When people stop believing in God, they do not believe in nothing; they believe in anything.  After decades of remorseless secular schooling, recent polls show that 55 percent of all Americans now believe in astrology, up from some 30 percent twenty years ago.”  George Gilder
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Cartoonist Hank Ketchum’s Dennis the Menace showed Dennis kneeling by his bed, eyes toward heaven, hands folded, praying, “God, I’m here to turn myself in.”
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"... I believe ... the key debate of the 90's (will be) how can we restore our core values and instill in our children the knowledge that they’re responsible for the choices they make?  God willing, we will do it."  Gary Bauer, Family Research Council
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"Mankind is at a crossroads.  Down one path is despair and utter hopelessness.  Down the other, total destruction.  Let us hope your generation has the wisdom to choose correctly."  Woody Allen to graduates

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"It is not Christian men who shape the world with their ideas, but it is Christ who shapes men in conformity with Himself."  Dietrich Bonhoeffer
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"The more you obey the Word of God, the more you prepare yourself to be used by God."  Dr. Howard Hendricks
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"Pressure never develops people.  It simply reveals what they're made of.  People who build on the sand are blown away when the storms come.  The storms of life reveal whether you're building your life on the Rock or on the sand."  Howard Hendricks
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"If I could do only one thing for you, I'd get you on an intensive Bible memory program.  Program your mind with the Word of God.  The greatest mistake of my life is that I haven't committed more of this Book to memory."  Howard Hendricks
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"When Jesus said, 'I am the Truth,' He made every other route to the Father a lie."  Howard Hendricks (John 14:6)
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"God never asks you to do anything for Him until He's told you what He's done for you.  The problem with human sacrifices is that they keep crawling off the altar."  Howard Hendricks (Rom. 12:1-2)
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"God is only impressed with how much like Jesus Christ you're becoming."  Howard Hendricks (Rom. 8:29)
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"Jesus thinks I'm terrific.  In fact, if God carries a wallet, my picture's in it!"  Tony Campolo
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"Fifty people over 95 were asked, 'If you had it to do over again, what would you do differently?'  There were generally three responses.  'I would reflect more.'  'I would risk more.'  I would do more things that would live on after I die.'  REFLECT -- I would pay attention to more things that I should've but didn't.  What's really more important?  RISK -- I would risk more, win or lose.  It creates a sense of excitement.  Risk is the basis of friendship.  I’d rather fail in a cause that ultimately wins -- than win in a cause that ultimately fails.  LASTING -- I would do something that would live on after I’ve died.  If you have a choice between a title and a testimony, take the testimony.  How's this for an epitaph:  'Barnabas was good, kind, just.  Because of him, many were won to Christ.'"  Tony Campolo
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"The cardinal time management question is this:  Are you doing anything with your time that has the potential to last forever?"
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"Sin always takes you farther than you want to go, keeps you longer than you want to stay and costs you more than you want to pay."  Larry Wright
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"It was the best of times, it was the worst of times.  It was the age of wisdom, it was the age of foolishness.  It was the epoch of belief, it was the epoch of incredulity.  It was the season of Light, it was the season of Darkness.  It was the spring of hope, it was the winter of despair.  We had everything before us, we had nothing before us.  We were all going direct to Heaven, we were all going direct the other way."  Dickens, A Tale of Two Cities
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Emotional Love Language by Dr. Gary Chapman
1. Words I Cor. 8:1
2. Gifts Prov. 18:16
3. Service I John 3:18
4. Meaningful time Mark 3:14 (undivided, uninterrupted attention)
5. Physical touch Mar 10:13-16 (four hugs/day to survive, 8 to maintain, 12 to flourish)
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"If you want to open a woman's spirit:  get tender, find out why she's closed, be willing to admit you're wrong, touch her, ask for her forgiveness."  Gary Smalley
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"Use the Salt Principle:  try not to say anything of importance to your children until you have their attention.  Create curiosity."  Gary Smalley
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"The world doesn't care what Christians don't do."  Larry Wright
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“The world is not really interested in what you’ve done for God, but it is mildly curious about what God’s done for you.”  Unknown
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"It's fun being a pagan, but it doesn't last forever."  Steve Brown
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"Every time you speak to ten people, remember that seven of them have a broken heart."  Steve Brown
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"Life is such a precious gift.  What would it be if we did not know the Giver?"  Mark Cutshall
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Paul:  "That I may know Him and the power of His resurrection and the fellowship of His sufferings."  (Phil. 3:10)  Ravi Zacharias:  "If you want wisdom, go to someone who’s been deeply hurt.  If their faith has survived, that’s the person to talk to."
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“Sow a thought and you reap an act, sow an act and you reap a habit, sow a habit and you reap a character, sow a character and you reap a destiny.”  Samuel Smiles
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"I'm of the opinion that the chief danger of the coming century will be religion without the Holy Spirit, Christianity without Christ, forgiveness without repentance, politics without God and heaven without hell."  William Booth, founder of Salvation Army, before 1900
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"We ought to be Christians in large type, so that it would not be necessary (for others) to be long in our society, or to regard us through spectacles, in order to detect our true discipleship.  The message of our lives should resemble the big ads which can be read on the street-boards by all who pass by."  F.B. Meyer
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“Only two things are eternal:  God's Word and souls.  Courage and determination will cast us into these two eternal pursuits.  That's all that's worthwhile; all else is passing away.”  Author Unknown
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“You can tell a man's priorities by looking at his date book, checkbook and Bible.”  Unknown
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"I simply argue that the cross should be raised at the center of the marketplace as well as on the steeple of the church.  I am recovering the claim that Jesus was not crucified in a cathedral between two candles, but on a cross between two thieves; on the town's garbage heap; at a crossroads so cosmopolitan they had to write his title in Hebrew and Latin and Greek...at the kind of place where cynics talk smut, and thieves curse, and soldiers gamble.  Because that is where He died, and that is what He died for, and that is what He died about, that is where churchmen ought to be and what churchmen ought to be about."  George McLeod
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“The holiest moment of the church service is the moment when God's people, strengthened by preaching and sacrament, go out of the church door into the world to be the church.  We don't go to church; we are the church.”  Ernest Southcott
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"The Christian's task is to make the Lord Jesus visible, intelligible and desirable."  Len Jones
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"You are to influence them (the world), not let them influence you."  Jer. 15:19
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"A billion minutes ago Jesus was alive and walking in Galilee.  A billion dollars was only 10.3 hours ago in Washington, D.C."  Walter Pearson
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"A Clairol Christian:  nobody knows for sure but God."  Chuck Swindoll
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"Attempt something so impossible that unless God is in it, it's doomed to failure."  Evangelist John Haggai
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"Give me a Bible and a candle and shut me up in a dungeon, and I will tell you what the world is doing."  Decil Dichard
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"For promotion and power come from nowhere on earth, but only from God.  He promotes one and deposes another."  Psalm 75:6, 7
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“Prepare for finals:  Read your Bible.”
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"God grant me the serenity to accept things I cannot change, courage to change the things I can, and the wisdom to know the difference."  Reinhold Niebuhr
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”There is absolutely nothing I can do to earn God's favor; Jesus Christ has already done it all.”  Unknown
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"The most important thoughts you ever think are thoughts you think about God."  Craig Reynolds
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"Character is what you are in the dark."  Dwight L. Moody
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“Repentance -- a change of mind; new mind about God.
Conversion -- a change of life; new life for God.
Regeneration -- a change of nature; new heart for God.
Justification -- a change of state; new standing for God.
Adoption -- a change of family; new relationship toward God.
Sanctification -- a change of service; separation unto God.
Glorification -- a change of place; new condition with God.”
Found on the flyleaf of D.L. Moody’s Bible
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PRINCIPLES LEARNED FROM DANIEL
1. The more time we spend with God, the more teachable we become.
2. The more questions we ask of God, the more dependent we become on Him.
3. The more Truth we discover, the more profound it becomes.
Chuck Swindoll
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"I hope you've run long enough to come to the end of your options and have come back to Him."  Chuck Swindoll
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"There's a secret, smoldering desire within to be rewarded, applauded and somehow exalted.  Do you want your reward now?  Then be a hypocrite.  But if your focus is on Christ, you wait.  It's coming."  Chuck Swindoll
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"The burdens of officer stagger the imagination and convert vanity to prayer."  Adlai Stevenson
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"Perhaps one of the best ways to evaluate anyone's spiritual 'success' is to ask their family."  Larry Burkett
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"It is vain for you to rise up early, to retire late, to eat the bread of painful labors; for He gives to His beloved even in his sleep."  Psalm 127:2
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“The only part of the Bible you truly believe is the part you obey.”  Unknown
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“Close your eyes, and you'll see everything you actually possess.”  Author Unknown
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"There is no wisdom, no insight, no plan that can succeed against the Lord."  Prov. 21:30
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"The more you talk, the more likely you are to sin.  If you are wise, you will keep quiet."  Prov. 10:19
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"It is the Lord's blessing that makes you wealthy.  Hard work can make you no richer."  Prov. 10:22
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"Someone who is sure of himself does not talk all the time.  People who stay calm have real insight.  After all, even a fool may be thought wise and intelligent if he stays quiet and keeps his mouth shut."   Prov. 17:27-28
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"Smart people keep quiet about what they know.  But stupid people advertise their ignorance."  Prov. 12:23

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"Anyone who loves knowledge wants to be told when he is wrong.  It is stupid to hate being corrected."  Prov. 12:1
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"Stupid people always think they are right.  Smart people will ignore an insult."  Prov. 12:15
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"A good wife is her husband's pride and joy."  Prov. 12:4
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"Righteousness is the road to life."  Prov. 12:28
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"For the reverence and fear of God are basic to all wisdom.  Knowing God results in every other kind of understanding."  Prov. 9:10
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"'Let not the wise man boast of his wisdom or the strong man boast of his strength or the rich man boast of his riches, but let him who boasts about this:  that he understands and knows me, that I am the Lord who exercises kindness, justice and righteousness on earth, for in these I delight,' declares the Lord.”  Jeremiah 9:23, 24
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“Confession may be good for the soul, but it's bad for the reputation.”  Lord Thomas Dewar
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“When I try, I fail. When I trust, God succeeds.”  Chuck Swindoll
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"Your eyes can be on your circumstances, others, yourself or the Lord.  If your eyes aren't on the Lord, you'll fail; it's only a matter of time."  Chuck Swindoll

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The world's system (Rom. 12:1) is:
1. Fortune.  Get rich!
2. Fame.  Be popular!
3. Power.  Gain control!
4. Pleasure.  Find satisfaction!
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SUBMISSION

1. God's leading is often surprising.  Don't analyze it.
2. Beginning is often the hardest.  Don't quit.
3. God's promises often hinge on obedience.  Don't ignore your part.
4. God's provisions are often just enough.  Don't fail to thank Him.
Chuck Swindoll
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LESSONS FROM ELIJAH AND THE PROPHETS OF BAAL

1. When we're sure we're in the will of God, we're invincible.
2. Divided allegiance is as easy as open idolatry.  Non-commitment is like being lukewarm.
3. In the final analysis our most effective weapon is prayer.
4. Never underestimate the power of one totally dedicated life.
Chuck Swindoll
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"Make it clear.  Make it simple.  Emphasize the essentials.  Forget about impressing.  Leave some things unsaid."  Chuck Swindoll
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"Mean more than you say."  Charles Jehlinger, Acting Coach
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TO BE GOD'S POTENT PEOPLE:

1. Face the fact that you aren't perfect.
2. Put your faith in Jesus Christ alone.
3. Go public with your faith in Jesus Christ.
4. Be willing to risk swimming against the stream.
5. Be a humble model for others who need to know Christ.
Someone is watching you, curious to see if you're serious about Christ.
Rev. John Huffman, Jr.
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THE DAILY GRIND OF LIFE; THAT'S WHERE IT'S AT:

1. God's solutions are often strange and simple.  Be open.
2. God's promotions are usually sudden and surprising.  Be ready.
3. God's selections are always sovereign and sure.  Be faithful.
Chuck Swindoll
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ARE YOU COUNTING ON THE LORD TO DIRECT YOUR STEPS THRU A FUTURE THAT OFFERS NO TANGIBLE MAP?  BEFORE YOU JUMP:

1. Be sure it's the Lord who's speaking.
2. Be sure the decision doesn't contradict Scripture.
3. Be sure your motive is unselfish and pure.
4. Be sure the "leap" won't injure others or your testimony.
Chuck Swindoll
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"But these things I plan won't happen right away.  Slowly, steadily, surely, the time approaches when the vision will be fulfilled.  If it seems slow, do not despair, for these things will surely come to pass.  Just be patient!  They will not be overdue a single day."  Hab. 2:3
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GOD CALLS YOU TO:

1. "Love your enemies, and pray for those who persecute you."  Matthew 5:44
2. "...continue in kindness."  Romans 11:22b
3. "...agree with one another so that there may be no divisions among you..."  I Corinthians 1:10b
4. "...serve one another in love."  Galatians 5:13c
5. "Be completely humble and gentle; be patient, bearing with one another in love."  Ephesians 4:2
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"By what a man is overcome, by this he is enslaved."  II Peter 2:19b
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"Rest in the Lord and wait patiently for Him."  Psalms 37:7
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FOOTPRINTS IN THE SAND

One night I dreamed I was walking along the beach with the Lord, and across the sky flashed scenes from my life.  For each scene I noticed two sets of footprints in the sand.  One belonged to me, and the other to the Lord.  When the last scene of my life flashed before me, I looked back at the footprints in the sand.  I noticed that many times along the path of life there was only one set of footprints.  I also noticed that it happened at the very lowest and saddest times in my life.  This really bothered me, and I questioned the Lord about it.  "Lord, You said that once I decided to follow You, You would walk with me all the way.  But I have noticed that during the most troublesome times in my life, there is only one set of footprints.  I don't understand why in times when I needed You most You should have left me."  The Lord replied, "My child, I love you, and I would never, never leave you.  During your times of trial and suffering, when you saw only one set of footprints, it was then that I carried you."
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"Whatever is true,
whatever is honorable,
whatever is just,
whatever is pure,
whatever is lovely,
whatever is gracious,
if there is any excellence,
if there is anything worthy of praise,
think about these things."   Philippians 4:8
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“When God wants to drill a man,
And thrill a man,
And skill a man,
When God wants to mold a man
To play the noblest part;
When He years with all His heart
To create so great and bold a man
That all the world shall be amazed,
Watch His methods, watch His ways!
How He ruthlessly perfects
Whom He royally elects!
How He hammers him and hurts him
And with mighty blows converts him
Into trial shapes of clay which
Only God understands
While his tortured heart is crying
And he lifts beseeching hands!
How He bends but never breaks
When his good He undertakes;
How He uses whom He chooses,
And with every purpose fuses him;
By every act induces him
To try His splendor out --
God knows what He's about!”
Author Unknown
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The Blessing:
1.        Attaching high value to the one being blessed
2.        A spoken message of blessing
3.        Meaningful touching
4.        Picturing a special future for the one being blessed
5.        An active commitment to see that the blessed one's special future is    fulfilled
Gary Smalley and Dr. John Trent
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MY CREED
"I will live my life under God for others rather than for self; for the advancement of the Kingdom of God rather than for my own personal causes.  I will not drift into my life's work, but will do my best by prayer, investigation, meditation and service to find that place in life where I can be of the best possible good to God and my fellow men.  As I find it, I will follow it, cost what it will, by His grace."  David C. Le Shana
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"I said to the man who stood at the gate of the year,
'Give me a light
that I may tread safely
into the unknown.'
And he replied,
'Go out into the darkness
and put your hand
into the hand of God.
That shall be to you
better than light
and safer than a known way.'"
Author Unknown
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"How many folks estimate difficulties in the light of their own resources, and thus attempt little and often fail in the little they attempt.  All God's giants have been weak men and women who did great things for God because they counted on His faithfulness."  Hudson Taylor
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I ASKED.  GOD GAVE.

I asked God for strength that I might achieve;
I was made weak that I might learn to humbly obey.
I asked for health that I might do greater things;
I was given infirmity that I might do better things.
I asked for riches that I might be happy;
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;
I was given life that I might enjoy all things.
I got nothing that I asked for but everything I had hoped for.
Almost despite myself, my unspoken prayers were answered.
I am among all men most richly blessed.
Anonymous
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“Believing in evolution is like believing that Webster's Dictionary was created by an explosion in the print shop.”
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"And now may a dying Savior's love, a risen Savior's power, an ascended Savior's prayer and a returning Savior's glory be the joy and encouragement of all who love Jesus.  In His name we pray, Amen."  Dr. Carl F.H. Henry, Spring 1990 chapel address at Wheaton College entitled "Coming home to say good-bye"
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"Wherever you are, be all there."  The late Jim Elliott, missionary to Ecuador's Auca Indians, martyred at age 27, on Jan. 8, 1956
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“There's no substitute for truly caring for people.  We'll make a difference if we care about the world around us.  We need to review our priorities.”
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HOW TO HANDLE WORRY
1.        Presence.  Practice the presence of God.
           Isa. 41:10
           Josh. 1:9
           Psa. 23:4
2.        Promises.  Get into the Word, and discover the 7,474 promises of God.
           Isa. 26:3,4
           Prov. 3:5,6
           Psa. 37:4,5
           Psa. 4:8
3.        Prayer.  Take your specific worries to God.
           Phil. 4:6,7
           I Pet. 5:7
           Psa. 55:22
4.        Patience.  Wait for God to work out what you're worried about.
           Isa. 40:31
           Rom. 8:28
           Psa. 27:14
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Characteristics of those who know God:
1.        They have a great energy for God.
2.        They have great thoughts of God.
3.        They show great boldness for God.
4.        They have great contentment in God.
J.I. Packer, KNOWING GOD
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Jesus said, "I am the Light of the world."  Light has these four qualities:
1.        Light is unquenchable.
2.        Light exposes.
3.        Light guides.
4.        Light spreads.
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"The Bible does not need to be rewritten, just reread."
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"It takes time to become a man of God.  There are no shortcuts."
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“Discourage.  Encourage.  You select the prefix.”
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“When I skip time with God, there's an insensitive, rough edge that pulls up a defensive shield.  I'm not as open to the Spirit.  It's like going to class when you haven't studied the lesson, knowing you'll be expected to participate.”
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"The unexamined life is not worth living."  Socrates
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"I shall never believe that God plays dice with the world."  Albert Einstein
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"Secular humanism is the view that man establishes his own moral values apart from the influence of anyone (including God), and he self-determines his destiny -- he is the 'master of his own fate.'"  Unknown
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"There are two predominant life views in America today.  One view, the secular life view, believes man is the central figure in shaping events.  The second view, the Christian life view, believes God is sovereign and active in everyday life.  ...The choice between a Christian life view and a secular life view is a choice between God's race and the rat race."  Patrick M. Morley
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"The secular humanists have been doing a much better job of influencing our culture than we Christians.  School prayer was made illegal in 1961, and abortion was made legal in 1973.  Since these two watershed decisions, virtually every other valued institution has experienced significant erosion.  Today Christians in America are a minority.  Christians are as much of a minority, and their values and views are as impotent, as any minority group at any time in modern history.  ...The mind is where the battle takes place.  It's the battle between the majority secular life view and the minority Christian life view."  Patrick M. Morley
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"The first step to knowing God's plan for our lives is the commitment to see ourselves as we really are."  Patrick M. Morley
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"A whole new generation of Christians has come up believing that it is possible to 'accept' Christ without forsaking the world."  A.W. Tozer

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"Dr. (Francis) Schaeffer underscored that the majority of people have adopted two impoverished values:  personal peace and affluence.... since the mid-seventies a third impoverished value has evolved:  cultural Christianity.  ... Cultural Christianity means to pursue the God we want instead of the God who is."  Patrick M. Morley
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"Biblical Christians don't live by their own ideas, but by penetrating, understanding and applying the Word of God.  By the Spirit, they experience the success and peace to which we each aspire.  A Biblical Christian is a man who trusts in Christ and Christ alone for his salvation.  As a result of his saving faith he desires to be obedient to God's principles."  Patrick M. Morley
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"Nothing is more certain in modern society than the principle that there are no absolutes."  Former Chief Justice of the U.S. Supreme Court Frederick Moore Vinson
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"Many Christian men have adopted the three impoverished values of our time:  personal peace, affluence and cultural Christianity.  They become number one in their own lives.  The Biblical Christian puts his relationship with Jesus at the top of the list.  ... Obedience is the trademark of a Biblical Christian.  That is how we demonstrate our love to God and truth to a weary culture."  Patrick M. Morley
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"The man in the mirror will never change until he is willing to see himself as he really is, and to commit to know God as He really is."  Patrick M. Morley
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"I've come to the conclusion that all of the people I've met live lives of quiet desperation."  Henry David Thoreau
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"A man's most innate need is his need to be significant -- to find purpose and meaning... A man's ultimate desire is for immortality.  'He has also set eternity in the hearts of men.' (Eccl. 3:11)"  Patrick M. Morley
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" A man can do nothing more important than to wrestle with the purpose of his life."  Patrick M. Morley
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"Inside every man is a God-shaped vacuum."  Blaise Pascal
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"Humility is not thinking little of yourself, rather it's simply not thinking of yourself."  Unknown
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"I am the master of my fate; I am the captain of my soul."  William Ernest Henley
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"Nothing is easier than self-deceit.  For what each man wishes, that he also believes to be true."  Demosthenes
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"The temptation is to take charge of our lives and make our own rules.  Yet God has established moral and spiritual absolutes. ... The turning point of our lives is when we stop seeking the God we want and start seeking the God who is.  God reveals Himself to any man who sincerely desires to abandon his rebellion and know Him as He is."  Patrick M. Morley
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"Lord Jesus, I confess that I have sinned against you by seeking my own independent way, rebelling against you and trusting in myself.  I have not known you as you really are but, instead, have sought the God I wanted.  I am now beginning to realize the difference.  Forgive me, Lord.  I open the door to my life and receive you as my Savior and Lord.  Thank you for dying on the cross for my sins.  Take control of my life, and make me into the man you want me to be.  Amen."  Patrick M. Morley
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"God prepares great men for great tasks by great trials."  J.K. Gressett
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"Everyone is going to suffer.  The only decision is whether you are going to suffer with Christ or without Him."  Patrick M. Morley
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"If you tell the truth, you don't have to remember anything."  Mark Twain
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"Honesty was always rare.  Diogenes, the Greek philosopher, lighted a candle in the daytime and went around looking for an honest man.  Blaise Pascal said he didn't expect to meet three honest men in a century.  The Institute of Behavior Motivation has found that ninety-seven out of one hundred people tell lies -- and they do it about one thousand times a year."  Unknown
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"When we are all alone, with no peer pressure keeping us on the straight and narrow path, that's when our real character is put to the test."  Patrick M. Morley
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"The most important thing in acting is honesty.  If you can fake that, you've got it made."  George Burns
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"Living the Christ life is not difficult.  It's impossible."  Howard Ball
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"One of the greatest reasons men get into trouble is that they don't have to answer to anyone for their lives.  Ask around.  You will learn that very few men have built accountability into their Christian lifestyle.  It is the missing link of Christianity."  Patrick M. Morley
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"The purpose of accountability is nothing less than to each day become more Christlike in all our ways and ever more intimate with Him. ... Here's a useful working definition of accountability for Christians:  To be regularly answerable for each of the key areas of our lives to qualified people."  Patrick M. Morley
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"All my life I have been seeking to climb out of the pit of my besetting sins, and I cannot do it, and I never will unless a hand is let down to draw me up."  Seneca
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"All of the wisdom of this world is but a tiny raft upon which we must set sail when we leave this earth.  If only there were a firmer foundation upon which to sail, perhaps some divine word."  Socrates
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"I am about to take my last voyage, a great leap in the dark."  Thomas Hobbes
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A lifelong agnostic, W.C. Fields was discovered reading a Bible on his deathbed.  "I'm looking for a loophole," he explained
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"The way to get to the head of the parade is to go to the end of the line.  Remember Jesus said, 'If anyone wants to be first, he must be the very last, and the servant of all.'"  William O'Malley
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"God's work done in God's way will never lack God's supplies."  J. Hudson Taylor (1832-1905)
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"Lord Acton got it right in the nineteenth century:  Freedom is not the power to do what we like, but rather the right to do what we ought."  Cong. Henry Hyde, (R) IL
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"I find the great thing in this world is not so much where we stand, as in what direction we are moving."  Justice Oliver Wendell Holmes Jr.
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"God is in the details."  Mies van der Rohe
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"...I am a believing Christian, and I think that leaders are called upon as Christians to ensure that the basic values laid down in the word of God should be the basis on which we want to build our private lives, our public lives and also our country's life."  F.W. de Klerk, President, South Africa
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"If this religion is true, then there is only one Savior, only one narrow path to life.  Christianity cannot live in peace with any other religion."  Robert Ingersoll, the late agnostic and renowned antagonist of Christianity
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"Fame is a vapor; popularity an accident.  Riches take wing; those who cheer today will curse tomorrow; only one thing endures -- character."  Horace Greeley
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"In my opinion, character is the most important determinant of a person's success, achievement and ability to handle adversity."  Tom Landry
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"...the Roman Empire is...as extinct as the whooping crane.  Why?  As Edward Gibbons struggled to identify the causes for the collapse of this might colossus in his seventeen-volume classic, The Rise and Fall of the Roman Empire, he arrived at five factors:
1.        The rapid increase in divorce
2.        The craze for pleasure
3.        The building of gigantic armaments when the enemy was within
4.        The increase in violence
5.        The decline of religion

"In short, Rome exhausted its decreasing supply of good people.  Civilizations often rise and fall on matters of character.  Rome illustrated this principle:  External destruction follows internal decay.  Divorce destroyed the family.  The pleasure craze upended right priorities.  The arms race focused on the wrong enemy.  Bloodthirstiness destroyed human civility.  The decline of religion destroyed the foundation of the empire's values.  Collapse."
Dr. Larry Poland, THE COMING PERSECUTION
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"The cause of this world's malady is spiritual.  We're suffering from having sold our souls to the pursuit of an objective which is both spiritually wrong and practically unobtainable.  We have to reconsider our objective and change it.  And until we do this, we shall not have peace amongst ourselves or within each of us."  Arnold Toynbee
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"Technological achievements are meaningless in the absence of a transcendent correspondence."  Theodore Roszak, historian
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"All I have to tell you about is what I have heard and seen of Jesus, how He is helping me find freedom, to occasionally love other people, and even accept myself with all my mixed motives."  Keith Miller
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"As an old man...looking back on one's life, it's one of the things that strikes you most forcibly--that the only thing that's taught one anything is suffering.  Not success, not happiness, not anything like that.  The only thing that really teaches one what life's about...is suffering, affliction."  Malcolm Muggeridge
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"There is not one square inch of the entire creation about which Jesus does not cry out, 'This is mine!'"  Abraham Kuyper
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"What you are stands over you the while and thunders so that I cannot hear what you say to the contrary."  Ralph Waldo Emerson
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"What's become clear to you since we last met?"  Ralph Waldo Emerson
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"If you give a man a fish, he will have a single meal.  If you teach him how to fish, he will eat all his life."  Lao Tse, Chinese philosopher
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"It is impossible to rightly govern the world without God and the Bible."  George Washington
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"If we abide by the principles taught in the Bible, our country will go on prospering."  Daniel Webster

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"A thorough knowledge of the Bible is worth more than a college education."  Theodore Roosevelt
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"I have known 95 of the world's great men in my time, and of these, 87 were followers of the Bible."  W.E. Gladstone
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"Knowledge is power.  Yet, unless that knowledge squares with God's Word and that power emanates from His Holy Spirit, they're not worth pursuing."  Ad for Regent University, Virginia Beach, VA
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"There are three categories of people in America:  those who are afraid, those who don't know enough to be afraid, and those who know their Bibles."  Rev. Adrian Rogers, Bellevue Baptist Church, Memphis, TN
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"I have been driven many times to my knees by the overwhelming conviction that I had nowhere else to go.  My own wisdom, and that of all about me, seemed insufficient for the day."  Abraham Lincoln
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"The holiest of Christians, and those who understand best the gospel of Christ, find in themselves a constant inclination to look to the power of the creature, instead of looking to the power of God and the power of God alone."  C. H. Spurgeon
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“More men fail through lack of purpose than lack of talent.” ~ Billy Sunday (1862-1935) was born in Iowa and played pro baseball from 1883-1891 for Chicago, Pittsburgh, and Philadelphia in the National League. He gained nationwide recognition for his prowess on the diamond, setting records for stealing bases and becoming the first player to run the bases in under 14 seconds. After his conversion to Christianity through the outreach of the Pacific Garden Mission in Chicago, he turned down fantastic sums intended to lure him back to baseball. From 1893 until his death in 1935, he was a firebrand evangelist who is said to have addressed over 100 million people without the aid of loud speakers, TV, or radio.
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"Few Christians understand the concept of eternal rewards, even thought the Lord dedicated a great deal of His precious time on earth to teaching about them.  The one certainty is that our position in the Lord's kingdom will be inversely proportional to how we indulge ourselves in this lifetime."  Larry Burkett
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“... there is one primary purpose of a Christian’s business:  to serve God.”  Larry Burkett
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"What does impress both the unsaved and saved alike are those rare individuals who have learned to control their lifestyles and use the abundance they have to help others and spread God's Word.  ... Let me propose a radical idea from God's Word:  Determine God's best for your life, and be satisfied with it, even if it means moving down in lifestyle." Larry Burkett
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"Most Christians are more than content to live out their lives surrounded by the trappings of our world, rather than to risk losing them in becoming a radical Christian.  A radical Christian (by my definition) is one who will put God first in all decisions, even when putting God first is costly.  In the business world, this means putting God first even when doing so costs money.  That is true freedom -- spiritual freedom -- as opposed to business bondage."  Larry Burkett
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"When you depend on credit to run a business and never have a plan to become debt-free, you violate the common-sense principle taught in Proverbs 27:12:  'A prudent man sees evil and hides himself.  The naive proceed and pay the penalty.'"  Larry Burkett
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"Get-rich-quick thinking leads to three basic errors:  (1) Getting involved with things you cannot understand; (2) Risking funds you cannot afford to lose, that is, borrowed funds; and (3) Making hasty decisions.  Each of these actions violates one or more biblical principles... Together they constitute a sin called greed."  Larry Burkett
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"The bottom line on planning is that it is both biblical and necessary to be a good steward, and this usually involves looking ahead -- with caution.  Too much planning can lead to self-reliance and too little can lead to an unnecessary crisis.  But thorough grounding in the Word and dependence on the Lord's guidance can help you strike the right balance."  Larry Burkett
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"The only thing that will be of any importance for all eternity is that which was done in the Lord's name -- in the Lord's way."  "The value of the products and services a company offers says more to the public about the real character of the company and its people than perhaps any other aspect of the company's life.  Value can be defined as the effective return on a purchase.  Low initial cost does not necessarily represent value.  But when a Christian business accepts the standard for service and products that the Bible prescribes, the end result will be the best product at the best possible price."  Larry Burkett
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"How we use our money is the clearest outside indicator of what we really believe. ... If someone is a true disciple of Jesus Christ, the evidence will be found in that person's everyday life -- including his or her use of money."  Larry Burkett
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"Marriage and parenting are the two strongest vows anyone will ever make.  When you see these commitments being carelessly discarded, you can be certain that the ethics of that generation have been abandoned.  ... What our society needs is a good dose of biblical ethic from God's people -- the kind of ethic that requires us to keep our word no matter what the costs.  Situational ethics have so shaped our society that even God's people have lost the concept of absolutes when it comes to keeping our word."  Larry Burkett
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"The unwillingness to be accountable to a spouse makes most men, and now women, vulnerable to sin in their lives."  Larry Burkett
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"...when I prayed to receive Jesus Christ as my Savior, I had made that promise...:  'If You'll make Your will for my clear, I'll do it -- no matter what!'"  Larry Burkett
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"Always be ready to give a good testimony for the Lord, but remember that the best testimony a Christian can have is a love for others and good work habits."  Larry Burkett
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"The more we listen to God's voice, the easier it is to recognize when He speaks to us."  Larry Burkett
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"Decide that you're going to love the people around you, even those you don't particularly like -- or perhaps especially those you don't like."  Larry Burkett
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"We're not sinners because we sin.  We sin because we're sinners."  R.C. Sproul
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The American Spectator:  "I'm sure Christ was a wonderful person," but as for His having come down and suffered on the cross "so that our sins would be washed away -- weird, man, I'm telling you."  Ted Turner on receiving the Humanist of the Year Award
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"Our priorities should be:  recognizing the voice of God and responding to the voice of God." John Ashcroft
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"There's nothing more rewarding or important than to be involved in God's work of redemption."  John Ashcroft
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"The transmission of values from one generation to the next is the single most important task of the society.  ...What am I doing to shape the values of the society?"  John Ashcroft
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"People want to see other people who have 'non-negotiables,' things for which they're willing to say, 'This is it' we take our stand right here.'  That's a leadership quality which people respect."  John Ashcroft
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"Jesus Christ plus anything is heresy."  Dick Halvorsen, former Chaplain, U.S. Senate
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"It's dangerous to focus on phases of the truth.  Truth is a Person, not a proposition."  Glenn Murray
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"Leaders select noble objectives and pursue them with such intensity that others join them.  ... The greatest of all leaders from this perspective was Jesus Christ.  ....May your choices be so powerful and magnetic that you'll draw people toward life (Duet. 30:19, "...therefore choose life.") rather than death, blessing rather than cursing."  John Ashcroft
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"When I was being fingerprinted to become a U.S. citizen, the immigration worker said, 'Relax, buddy.  Put your hand in mine, and roll with me, and together we'll make a great impression."  Graham Kerr
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"We are so broken that we recognize there is only one authority in our lives, and it is the Lord Jesus Christ."  Graham and Treena Kerr
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"We have a wonderful life.  It has nothing to do with accouterments.  It has everything to do with listening to the still, small voice of God in our lives."  Graham and Treena Kerr
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"He is no fool who can give what he cannot keep to gain what he cannot lose."  Jim Elliott
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"I am here because God is there."  Graham Kerr
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"What can I do to provide for my children that's really significant?  The answer is to love their mother unconditionally."  Steve Farrar
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“Children are the living messages that we send to a time we’ll never see.”  J.W. Whitehead
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“People and things can’t fill the void in our lives.  Only a relationship with God can.”  Adolph Coors IV
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“You can know a lot about God and godliness and still not know God.”  J.I. Packer
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"Life does not shout.  It just runs out, sooner than we think."  Adolph Coors IV
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"The only thing that really teaches one what life's about -- the joy of understanding, the joy of coming in contact with what life really signifies -- is suffering, affliction."  Malcolm Muggeridge
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"We must do what is required.  Our best is not enough."  Winston Churchill
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"The road to hell is paved with good intentions."  Winston Churchill
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"To every man somewhere in his lifetime, there comes a special moment when he is figuratively tapped on the shoulder and offered a chance to do a very special thing, unique to him and fitted to his talents.  What a tragedy if that moment finds him unprepared, unqualified for the work which could be his finest hour."  Winston Churchill
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"You have made us for yourself, and our hearts are without rest until they find rest in You."  St. Augustine
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"Love people and use things, never the reverse."  Unknown
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"He who has a 'why' to live can bear almost any 'how.'"  Nietsche
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"The chief end of man ... is to glorify God and enjoy Him forever."  Westminster Shorter Catechism
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"Be sure that the tongue in your mouth and the tongue in your shoe are moving in the same direction."  John Bramlett, former NFL linebacker
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"Show me who your friends are, and I will tell you what you are."  Lenin
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"Not once does the Bible report that (Jesus) rushed anywhere.  He was often busy, but never in a mad dash.  And yet He perfectly accomplished all the Father designed for Him to do."  Chuck Swindoll
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"Nobody will ever care how much you know until they know how much you care."  Chuck Swindoll
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"If I had my life to live over, I'd have spent more hours in worship."  Chuck Swindoll
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"Precious few are those who can live in the lap of luxury ... who can keep their moral, spiritual and financial equilibrium ... while balancing on the elevated tightrope of success.  ... there is about one in a hundred who can dance to the tune of success without paying the piper named Compromise."  Chuck Swindoll
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"It is in lonely solitude that God delivers His best thoughts, and the mind needs to be still and quiet to receive them."  Chuck Swindoll
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"...the single most important issue in all of life (is) your relationship with the living God... how you can know Him in a personal and meaningful way."  Chuck Swindoll
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"We have had our last chance!  If we do not devise some greater and more equitable system, Armageddon will be at our door.  The problem basically is theological ... It must be of the spirit if we are to save the flesh."  General of the Army Douglas MacArthur, speaking to a joint session of Congress, April 19, 1951
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"Life can only be understood backward, but it must be lived forward."  Kirkegaard
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"(Romans 8:29) tells us what our purpose is -- to conform to the image of Jesus Christ, and that singularly helps me keep a focus.  That's really what I'm called to do, and I should be gradually growing and changing.  He should be increasing, and I should be decreasing."  Bill McCartney, ex-football coach, U. of Colorado
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"It matters not how great the pressure is, only where the pressure lies.  As long as the pressure does not come between me and my Savior, but presses me to Him, then the greater the pressure, the greater my dependence upon Him."  Hudson Taylor, missionary to China
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"We always pay dearly for chasing after that which is cheap."  Aleksandr Solzhenitsyn
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"Jesus is by nature a communicator.  He wants to speak to you and wants you to talk to Him.  People who spend time with Christ daily are noticeably different.  They have a winsomeness about them.  You can tell when a person knows the face of Christ."  Doug Sherman
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"I would rather fail in a cause that will ultimately succeed than succeed in a cause that will ultimately fail."  Woodrow Wilson
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"...during a 70-year lifespan a typical person sleeps 23 years, works 16 years, watches 8 years of TV, eats for 6 years, travels for 6 years, devotes 4.5 years to leisure and two years to dressing.  The remaining six months are spent in religious pursuits."  CONTACT, the CBMC magazine, August 1991
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"Our society's obsession with tolerance leads to intolerance.  Simply being a Christian today is an offense to our culture."  Charles Colson
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Chuck Colson re Alan Bloom's The Closing of the American Mind:  "Bloom says that as you, the professor, look into the smiling faces of the freshman class, you know that these young people really believe only two things.  One is that they believe all truth is merely a matter of opinion, and they believe that all morality is merely a matter of preference.  If truth is a matter of opinion, and morality is a matter of preference, then there is no room for God.  Then, as Dick Halvorsen writes, we're left with "empty, hollow, meaningless lives."
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"Original sin is the only doctrine that's been empirically validated by 2,000 years of human history."  G.K. Chesterton
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“Christianity has not been tried and found wanting; it’s been found difficult and not tried.”  G.K. Chesterton
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"Whatever's most important to you is your god.  If it's not the Rock Christ Jesus, then it's sand!"  Raymond Berry
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"When you cannot trace the hand of God in life, you can always trust His heart."  Unknown
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"Man's extremity is God's opportunity."  Cervantes
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"God tends to whisper.  We must learn to soundproof the heart against the intruding noises of the public world in order to hear what God has to say."  Gordon Mac Donald, Ordering Your Private World
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"One of the greatest failures of every generation is that it refuses to read the minutes of the last meeting."  David A. Noebel
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"If you’re consumed with God's life, if you share his love with others, if you practice it each day, you too can start a revolution of love in your own home, in your own church, in your own neighborhood."  George Sweeting, SECRETS OF EXCELLENCE
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"Be kind.  Nearly everyone is fighting a battle."  Alexander McLaren
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"Prosperity knits a man to the world.  He feels that he is finding his place in it while really it is finding its place in him.  His increasing reputation, his widening circle of acquaintances, his sense of importance, the growing pressure of absorbing and agreeable work build up in him a sense of being really at home on earth which is just what we want."  C.S. Lewis, Screwtape Letters
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“If you live for the next world, you’ll get this world thrown in as a bonus.  But if you live for this world, you’ll lose them both.”  C.S. Lewis
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"A proud man is always looking down on things and people; and, of course, as long as you're looking down, you can't see something (or Someone) that's above you."  C.S. Lewis
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"We have lost the invaluable faculty of being shocked -- a faculty which has hitherto almost distinguished the Man or Woman from the beast or child."  C.S. Lewis in Present Concerns:  Essays by C.S. Lewis
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“I am trying here to prevent anyone saying
‘I’m ready to accept Jesus as a great moral teacher,
but I don’t accept His claim to be God.’
That is the one thing we must not say.
A man who was merely a man and said the sort of things Jesus said
would not be a great moral teacher.
He would either be a lunatic --
on a level with the man who says he is a poached egg --
or else he would be the devil of hell.
You must make your choice.
Either this man was and is the Son of God --
or else a madman or something worse.
You can shut Him up for a fool, you can spit at Him and kill Him as a demon;
or you can fall at His feet and call Him Lord and God.
But let us not come with any patronizing nonsense
about His being a great human teacher.
He has not left that open to us.
He did not intend to.”
C.S. Lewis, Mere Christianity, Book II, Chapter 3
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"If you look upon ham and eggs with lust, you've already committed breakfast in your heart."  C.S. Lewis
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“The central Christian belief is that Christ’s death has somehow put us right with God and given us a fresh start.”  C.S. Lewis