God has called the laity to be his basic ministers. He has called some to be "player-coaches" ... to equip the laity for the ministry they are to fulfill. This equipping ministry is of unique importance. One is appointed to this ministry by the Holy Spirit; therefore it must be undertaken with utmost seriousness. This is a radical departure from the traditional understanding of the roles of the laity and the clergy. The laity had the idea that they were already committed to a "full-time" vocation in the secular world, [and] thus they did not have timeâat least, much timeâto do God's work. Therefore they contributed money to "free" the clergy to have the time needed to fulfill God's ministry. This view is rank heresy. If we follow this pattern, we may continue to do God's work until the Lord comes again and never fulfill God's purpose as it ought to be done.
Far too often, young people become Christians and then search among the Church's ranks for real people, and have a hard task finding them. All too often, evangelicals are paper people. If we do not preach these things, talk about them to each other, and teach them carefully from the pulpit and in the Christian classroom, we cannot expect Christians so to act. This has always been important, but it is especially so today because we are surrounded by a world in which personality is increasingly eroded. If we, who have become God's children, do not show Him to be personal in our lives, then in practice we are denying His existence, and He cannot be anything but grieved.
Commemoration of Caroline Chisholm, Social Reformer, 1877 The truth of Christ's supremacy over all the powers in the universe is one which modern man sorely needs to learn. He is oppressed by a sense of impotence in the grasp of merciless forces which he can neither overcome nor escape. These forces may be Frankenstein monsters of man's own creation, or they may be horrors outside his conscious control; either way, he is intimidated by the vastness of those fateful currents which threaten to sweep him on to destruction, whether he will or no. And to modern man in his frustration and despair, the full-orbed gospel of Christ, as Paul presents it to the Colossians, is the one message of hope. Christ crucified and risen is Lord of all; all the forces in the universe, well-disposed and ill-disposed, are subject to Him. To be united to Christ by faith is to throw off the thraldom of hostile powers, to enjoy perfect freedom, to gain the mastery over the dominion of evilâbecause Christ's victory is ours.
There are more readers of the English Bible in this country than in any other, and the time seemed to me to have come for a frank and direct translation of the Greek New Testament into our modern spoken American English. We take great pains to provide Asiatica and Africana with special versions, so that they may read the Bible each in his own tongue wherein he was born; and why not do as much for our young people, and our fellow citizens generally?
Commemoration of Margery Kempe, Mystic, after 1433 If you believe, where are your works? Your faith is something everyone knows, for everyone knows that Christ was [crucified], and that everywhere men pray to Him. The whole world knows that His glory has not been spread by force and weapons, but by poor fishermen. 0 wise man, do you think the poor fishermen were not clever enough for this? Where they worked, there they made hearts better; where they could not work, there men remained bad; and therefore was the faith true and from God. The signs which the Lord had promised followed their teaching: in His name they drove out the devil; they spoke in new tongues; if they drank any deadly drink, they received therefrom no harm. Even if these wonders had not occurred, there would have been the wonder of wonders, that poor fishermen without any miracle could accomplish so great a work as the faith. It came from God, and so is Christ true, and Christ is thy God, who is in heaven and awaits thee.
People will accept your ideas much more readily if you tell them Benjamin Franklin said it first.
Confess yourself to heaven, Repent what's past, avoid what is to come, And do not spread the compost on the weeds To make them ranker.
Far better it is to dare mighty things, to win glorious triumphs, even though checkered by failure, than to take rank with those poor ; spirits who neither enjoy much nor suffer much, because they live in the grey twilight that knows not victory nor defeat.
Far better it is to dare mighty things, to win glorious triumphs, even though checkered by failure, than to take rank with those poor spirits who neither enjoy much nor suffer much, because they live in the grey twilight that knows not victory nor defeat.
The even mead, that erst brought sweetly forth The freckled cowslip, burnet, and green clover, Wanting the scythe, all uncorrected, rank, Conceives by idleness, and nothing teems But hateful docks, rough thistles, kecksies, burrs, Losing both beauty and utility.
In the democracy of the dead all men at last are equal. There is neither rank nor station nor prerogative in the republic of the grave.
Far better it is to dare mighty things, to win glorious triumphs even though checkered by failure, than to rank with those poor spirits who neither enjoy nor suffer much because they live in the gray twilight that knows neither victory nor defeat.
Success isn't measured by money or power or social rank. Success is measured by your discipline and inner peace.
And old affront will stir the heart Through years of rankling pain.
We are two travellers, Roger and I. Roger's my dog--come here, you scamp! Jump for the gentleman--mind your eye! Over the table,--look out for the lamp! The rogue is growing a little old; Five years we've tramped through wind and weather, And slept out-doors when nights were cold, And ate and drank and starved together.
Like a young eagle, who has lent his plume To fledge the shaft by which he meets his doom, See their own feathers pluck'd, to wing the dart, Which rank corruption destines for their heart!
Blest be those feasts, with simple plenty crowned, Where all the ruddy family around Laugh at the jests or pranks that never fail Or sigh with pity at some mournful tale.
Genius without education is like silver in the mine. -Ben Franklin.
I destroy my enemy when I make him my friend. Abraham Lincoln There is no little enemy. â¢Benjamin Franklin The friend of my enemy is my enemy. â¢Anonymous With friends like this, who needs enemies? â¢Henny Youngman It is impossible for one person to know another so well that he can dispense with belief. â¢Friedrich Durrenmatt The quarrels of friends are the opportunities of foes. â¢Aesop The reason grandparents and grandchildren get along so well is that they have a common enemy. â¢Sam Levenson It is easier to forgive an enemy than to forgive a friend. â¢William Blake He hasn't an enemy in the world - but all his friends hate him. â¢Eddie Cantor You can discover what your enemy fears most by observing the means he uses to frighten you. â¢Eric Hoffer I do not regret one professional enemy I have made. Any actor who doesn't dare to make an enemy should get out of the business. â¢Bette Davis It is hard to fight an enemy who has outposts in your head. â¢Sally Kempton We learn our virtues from our friends who love us; our faults from the enemy who hates us. We cannot easily discover our real character from a friend. He is a mirror, on which the warmth of our breath impedes the clearness of the reflection. â¢Ricther Mankind's worst enemy is fear of work. â¢Anonymous Enemies promises were made to be broken. â¢Aesop The worst tyrants are those which establish themselves in our own breasts. â¢William Ellery Channing You shall judge a man by his foes as well as by his friends. â¢Joseph Conrad Love your enemies just in case your friends turn out to be a bunch of bastards. â¢R A Dickson I have met the enemy, and it is the eyes of other people. â¢Benjamin Franklin A wise man learns more from his enemies than a fool from his friends. â¢Baltasar Gracian I have no trouble with my enemies. I can take care of my enemies all right. But my damn friends. They're the ones that keep me walking the floor nights! â¢Warren Gamaliel Harding Man's chief enemy is his own unruly nature and the dark forces put up within him. â¢Ernest Jones Forgive your enemies, but never forget their names. â¢John F. Kennedy Only enemies speak the truth. Friends and lovers lie endlessly, caught in the web of duty. â¢Stephen King Our enemies come nearer the truth in the opinions they form of us than we do in our opinion of ourselves. â¢Francois De La Rochefoucauld There is no stronger bond of friendship than a mutual enemy. â¢Frankfort Moore He who lives by fighting with an enemy has an interest in the preservation of the enemy's life. â¢Friedrich Nietzsche Bear patiently with a rival. â¢Ovid Talk well of your friends and of your enemies say nothing. â¢Proverb Was it a friend or foe that spread these lies? Nay, who but infants question in such wise, 'twas one of my most intimate enemies. â¢Dante Gabriel Rossetti Remember, to them it is us who are the enemy. â¢N. F. Simpson Convince an enemy, convince him that he's wrong. To win a bloodless battle, the victory is long. A simple act of faith, reason over might. To blow up his children would only prove him right. â¢Gordon Sumner One enemy can do more hurt than ten friends can do good. â¢Jonathan Swift In my life, I have prayed but one prayer: oh Lord, make my enemies ridiculous. And God granted it.
In the democracy of the dead all men at last are equal. There is neither rank nor station nor prerogative in the republic of the grave.
The man who forms the habit of beginning without finishing has simply formed the habit of failure. â¢Mrs. Charles E. Cowman To begin to think with purpose, is to enter the ranks of those strong ones who only recognize failure as one of the pathways to attainment. â¢James Allen All human actions are equivalent... and all are on principle doomed to failure. â¢Jean-Paul Sartre No one ever won a chess game by betting on each move. Sometimes you have to move backward to get a step forward. â¢Amar Gopal Bose He was a self-made man who owed his lack of success to nobody. â¢Joseph Heller Failure is the tuition you pay for success. â¢Walter Brunell Success is never final, but failure can be. â¢Bill Parcells Ninety-nine percent of the failures come from people who have the habit of making excuses. â¢George Washington Carver I know fear is an obstacle for some people, but it is an illusion to me . . . Failure always made me try harder next time. â¢Michael Jordan Our greatest glory is not in never falling, but in rising every time we fall. â¢Confucius The world is divided into two categories: failures and unknowns. â¢Francis Picabia You may not realize it when it happens, but a kick in the teeth may be the best thing in the world for you. â¢Walt Disney Success is a public affair. Failure is a private funeral. â¢Rosalind Russell My great concern is not whether you have failed, but whether you are content with your failure. â¢Abraham Lincoln Success is never final and failure never fatal. It's courage that counts. â¢George R. Tilton I don't measure a man's success by how high he climbs but how high he bounces when he hits bottom. â¢George S. Patton There is no human failure greater than to launch a profoundly important endeavour and then leave it half done. â¢Barbara Ward Who has never tasted what is bitter does not know what is sweet. â¢German Proverb A man may fail many times but he isn't a failure until he begins to blame somebody else. â¢J. Paul Getty Failure is not fatal; victory is not success. â¢Tony Richardson Don't fear failure so much that you refuse to try new things. The saddest summary of a life contains three descriptions: could have, might have, and should have. â¢Louis Boone Failure is simply a few errors in judgment, repeated every day. â¢Jim Rohn There are two kinds of failures: those who thought and never did, and those who did and never thought. â¢Laurence J. Peter If there exists no possibility of failure, then victory is meaningless. â¢Robert H. Schuller Failure is the condiment that gives success its flavor. â¢Truman Capote There is something good in all seeming failures. You are not to see that now. Time will reveal it. Be patient. â¢Sri Swami Sivananda Success is never final. Failure is never fatal. â¢Joe Paterno Our business in this world is not to succeed, but to continue to fail, in good spirits. â¢Robert Louis Stevenson Failures are like skinned kneesâ painful, but superficial. â¢H. Ross Perot I cannot give the formula for success, but I can give you the formula of failureâ which is try to please everybody. â¢Herbert B. Swope Failure is a detour, not a dead-end street. â¢Zig Ziglar A proud heart can survive a general failure because such a failure does not prick its pride.
Money isn't everything⦠but it ranks right up there with oxygen.
To live content with small means; to seek elegance rather than luxury, and refinement rather than fashion; to be worthy, not respectable, and wealthy, not rich; to study hard, think quietly, talk gently, act frankly; to listen to stars and birds, to babes and sages, with open heart; to bear all cheerfully, do all bravely, await occasions, hurry never. In a word, to let the spiritual, unbidden and unconscious, grow up through the common. This is to be my symphony.
Frankly, I don't want to see a rapid upturn. I want it to hold until some of these idiotic competitors go bust.
It is important to our friends to believe that we are unreservedly frank with them, and important to friendship that we are not.