QUOTES FOR THINKERS……

Jonathan Edwards, 1703-1758.
An American Congregational preacher and theologian, who played a crucial part in the First Great Awakening. From 1733-1735, his church in Northampton, Massachusetts, experienced waves of revival power.

1.  “If a man cannot be a Christian in the place where he is, he cannot be a Christian anywhere.”
2.  “A true love of God must begin with a delight in his holiness.”
3.  “I love those that thunder out the Word. The Christian world is in a dead sleep. Nothing but a loud voice can awake them out of it.”

Henry Miller, 1891–1980.
An American writer.

1.  “Man has demonstrated that he is master of everything – except his own nature.”

Rev. William Haslam, 1818-1905.
He was the Cornish parson who was converted during his own sermon in 1851.
From his book, ‘From Death unto Life.’

1.  “Faith does not consist in believing that I have given myself, even if I meant it ever so sincerely; but in believing that God has taken or accepted me.”
2.  “Turning over a new leaf to cover the past, is not by any means the same thing as turning back the old leaves, and getting them washed in the Blood of the Lamb.”

The Duke of Wellington, 1769-1852.
Arthur Wellesley, 1st Duke of Wellington, was an Anglo-Irish soldier who rose to prominence during the Peninsula War and became a national hero in Britain after the Napoleonic Wars, during which he led the victorious Anglo-Allied forces at the Battle of Waterloo. Later, he was twice elected Prime Minister of the United Kingdom.

1.  “Educate children without religion and you create a race of clever devils.”

Rev Robert Murray McCheyne, 1813–1843.
A Presbyterian minister of Scotland in whose church in Dundee, God moved mightily in reviving power.

1.  “I see a man cannot be a faithful minister until he preaches Christ for Christ’s sake.”
2.  “I am just an interpreter of Scripture in my sermons, and when the Bible runs dry, then I shall.”

John Calvin, 1509–1564.
A French theologian and pastor during the Protestant Reformation, ministering for much of his life in Geneva.

1.  “In order to be good theologians, we must live holy lives.”
2.  “The word of God is not meant to teach us to babble or to render us eloquent or subtle, but to reform our lives.”

Henry Ward Beecher, 1813-1887.
A United States Congregational minister.

1.  “If a man cannot be a Christian in the place where he is, he cannot be a Christian anywhere.”

Billy Sunday, 1862–1935.
An American athlete who, when converted, became an influential evangelist.

1.  “If you are strangers to prayer you are strangers to power.”

Hudson Taylor, 1832–1905.
A British Protestant Christian missionary to China, and founder of the China Inland Mission.

1.  “You must go forward on your knees.”
2.  “God’s work done in God’s way will never lack God’s supplies.”

William Gurnall 1617-1679.
A Church of England minister and author, famous for his 3-volume work, ‘The Christian in Complete Armour.’

1.  “Few are made better by prosperity.”
2.  “God’s wounds cure, sin’s kisses kill.”

Alexander Solzhenitsyn, 1918–2008.
A Russian writer who spent 8 years in harsh labour camps and prisons for his dissident views.

1.  “Bless you, prison, for having been in my life.”
2.  “When you have robbed a man of everything, he’s no longer in your power. He is free again.”

Ambrose Bierce 1842–1914.
An American journalist, short-story writer, and satirist.

1.  “Speak when you are angry and you will make the best speech you will ever regret.”

Andrew Murray 1828–1917.
A South African writer, teacher, and Christian pastor.

1.  “Faith expects from God what is beyond all expectation.”

Arnold Glasgow 1905–1998.
An American thinker and humourist, who was a regular contributor to The Readers Digest.

1.  “When you give honest advice, have one foot out the door.”
2.  “One of the true tests of leadership is the ability to recognize a problem before it becomes an emergency.”
3.  “We all know a fool when we see one – but not when we are one.”
4.  “Improvement begins with I.”
5.  “A good leader takes a little more than his share of the blame, a little less than his share of the credit.”

Augustine of Hippo, 354–430.
A philosopher and theologian who became one of the so-called ‘Church Fathers’.

1.  “He that loveth little prayeth little, he that loveth much prayeth much.”

Bernard of Clairvaux, 1090–1153.
A French abbot and the primary builder of the reforming Cistercian monastic order. Although concerned to encourage a personal faith, he was a strong advocate of the worship of the Virgin Mary, and asserted her position as the Mediator between God and man.

1.  “It is no great thing to be humble when you are brought low; but to be humble when you are praised is a great and rare attainment.”

C T Studd, 1860–1931.
A cricketer who played for England in the famous 1882 match won by Australia which was the origins of Ashes. When he was converted, he became a Christian missionary to China. Later, he set up the Heart of Africa Mission which became the Worldwide Evangelisation Crusade.

1.  “How little chance the Holy Ghost has nowadays. The churches and missionary societies have so bound Him in red tape that they practically ask Him to sit in a corner while they do the work themselves.”
2.  “Some want to live within the sound of church or chapel bell; I want to run a rescue shop within a yard of hell.”

Anonymous and Undated.
Anonymity has the virtue of discouraging admiration and its attendant temptation to pride.
The Unknown Writer occupies a worthy place beside The Unknown Soldier.

1.  “A truly rich man is one whose children run into his arms when his hands are empty.”
2.  “To a friend’s house, the road is never long.”
3.  “Some people will believe anything if it’s whispered to them.”
4.  “A stumble may prevent a fall.”
5.  “A man wrapped up in himself makes a very small package.”
6.  “God is never anxious about the future. ”
7.  “Smooth seas do not make skilful sailors.”
8.  “Whoever gossips to you will gossip of you.”
9.  “A bad conscience has a very good memory.”
10.  “Sin would not be so attractive if the wages were paid immediately.”
11.  “The devil’s boots don’t creak.”
12.  “If you don’t want anyone to know, don’t do it.”
13.  “Write injuries in sand, kindnesses in marble.”
14.  “Anger is one letter short of danger.”
15.  “Don’t let tomorrow rob you of today.”
16.  “It often shows a fine command of language to say nothing.”
17.  “Many would be scantily clad if clothed in humility.”
18.  “Here lies an atheist; all dressed up and no place to go. Epitaph in a Maryland cemetery.”
19.  “He who angers you, conquers you.”
20.  “The atheist can’t find God for the same reason that a thief can’t find a police officer.”
21.  “Go the extra mile. It’s never crowded.”
22.  “Truth is a description of reality.”
23.  “It is easier to build a boy than to mend a man.”
24.  “Ideas are funny little things. They won’t work unless you do.”
25.  “He came to pay a debt He did not owe, because we owed a debt we could not pay.”
26.  “Many who plan to seek God at the eleventh hour die at 10:30.”
27.  “Swallowing your pride seldom leads to indigestion.”