And eye for an eye . . . until the whole world is blind.
On A Bias for Action (A Quotation)
Christian life is action.
Not a speculating.
Not a debating.
But a doing.
One thing, and only one, in this world has eternity stamped upon it. Feelings pass; resolves and thoughts pass; opinions change. What you have done lasts –lasts in you. Through the Ages, through eternity, what you have done in Christ, that, and only that, you are.
—F.W. Robertson (d. 1853), Scottish evangelist
On Bad Luck
Throughout history, poverty is the normal condition of man. Advances which permit this norm to be exceeded — here and there, now and then — are the work of an extremely small minority, frequently despised, often condemned, and almost always opposed by all right-thinking people. Whenever this tiny minority is kept from creating, or (as sometimes happens) is driven out of a society, the people then slip back into abject poverty.
This is known as “bad luck.”
—Robert Heinlein (1907-1988)
On “A Confident Expectancy of Grace”
Loch Fyne, Scotland
(c) David A. Holland
Yes it is blessed when a waiting soul and a waiting God meet each other. And if His waiting be nothing but goodness and graciousness, let ours be nothing but a rejoicing in that goodness, and a confident expectancy of that grace.—Andrew Murray
Holy Week Musings, Pt. 3
Come, Believer, and contemplate this sublime truth, thus proclaimed to thee in simple monosyllables:
“He laid down His life for us.”
—Charles Spurgeon
Holy Week Musings Pt. 2
Jesus was not crucified in a cathedral between two candles, but on a cross between two thieves; on a town garbage heap; at a crossroad of politics so cosmopolitan that they had to write His title in Hebrew and in Latin and in Greek . . . and at the kind of place where cynics talk smut, and thieves curse and soldiers gamble.
–George MacLeod (1895-1991)
Keep to the Old Roads
Go back, go back to the ancient paths
Lash your heart to the ancient mast
And hold on, boy, whatever you do
To the hope that’s taken hold of you
And you’ll find your way
Keep to the old roads
And you’ll find your way
—Andrew Peterson, You’ll Find Your Way
Joseph G. Rainsford (1861) on “The Faithfulness of God”
“God, from the beginning, has dealt with His people in the way of promise. Hence they are called “Heirs of Promise” (Heb. 6:12) God’s promises are sure and suitable. They are built upon four pillars:
1. God holiness, which will not allow Him to deceive.
2. God’s goodness, which will not allow Him to forget.
3. God’s truth, which will not allow Him to change.
4. God’s power, which will not allow Him to fail.”
Bonds of His Own Making
“On the throne of grace, sovereignty has placed itself under the bonds of love. God will do as He wills; but on the mercy seat He is under bonds—bonds of His own making—for He has entered into covenant with Christ, and thus into covenant with His chosen.”
Charles Spurgeon
Abundant Grace
“The grace of God is abundant. It is for all lands, for all ages, for all conditions. It seems to undergird everything. Pardon for the worst sin, comfort for the sharpest suffering, brightest light for the thickest darkness.”
—Thomas De Witt Talmage (1874)
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