Sir Winston Churchill once irritated Lady Astor to the point that she angrily retorted, 'If I were your wife, I would give you arsenic to drink.' Churchill calmly responded, 'And if I were your husband, I would gladly drink it.

Arguments

"If you're not convinced, you can't be convincing. To be confused is to be ignorant of God's Word." - Anonymous

Assurance

Martin Luther in one of his moods of depression felt as if Satan himself was closing in upon him. It seemed as if he was whispering in his ear, 'Martin, do you feel your sins are forgiven?' Suddenly Luther rose to his feet and shouted, 'No, I don't but I know they are because God says so in His Word!' (1 John 5:13)

"My friend, you can get rid of doubts if you'll follow God's way. First, believe on Christ with your heart. Second, confess Him. Third, don't be ashamed of Him. Fourth, go to work for Him." - D. L. Moody

Assurance of Salvation

While in a distant city, a distinguished businessman walked out of a restaurant and was immediately propositioned by a prostitute. The man inquired as to the cost for this venture. 'Fifty dollars,' she replied. He responded, 'Is that all? You mean to tell me that Jesus Christ placed such an incredibly high value on you so as to die on the cross for you, and you value yourself at only $50? You grossly underestimate your value.' She heard the gospel and gave her heart to Christ. How much is a soul worth in the eyes of Jesus? So much did Christ love us and desire to atone for our sins that He made the payment with his life. - Dr. David Sylvester, Denton, Texas, 1994

Atonement

"Whiners produce when they feel like it. Winners produce when they don't feel like it." - John Maxwell, Leadership, Summer 1995

"Many people quench the Spirit by being down in the mouth rather than rejoicing, by planning rather than praying, by murmuring rather than giving thanks, and by worrying instead of trusting in him who is faithful." - Cameron Townsend, Founder of Wycliffe Bible Translators

"There may be times when you will be sorry about something you said; sorry that you stayed too late, or sorry that you went so early; sorry that you won something, or lost; but all your life, you'll never be sorry you were kind." - Anonymous

"It is much easier to fix blame than to fix problems." - Kathleen Parker in the Orlando Sentinel

"What we see as we go through life always depends upon where we stand to look. Many a man who tries to talk as if he were standing on a mountain, shows by what he says that he is up to his eyes in the mud." - Billy Sunday in a sermon, 'Under the Sun,' from The Real Billy Sunday

"If successful, don't crow; if defeated, don't croak." - Samuel Chadwick (quoted in Interest, Jul/Aug 1994)

"The real danger in our situation lies in the fact that so many people see clearly what they are revolting from and so few see at all what they are revolting to." - Henry Emerson Fosdick

"From Pennsylvania State University comes confirmation of what you always suspected. People take longer to vacate a parking space when they know someone is waiting. Sociologist Barry Ruback and colleagues observed 200 departing drivers in a mall parking lot. When no one was waiting for them to leave, the drivers took an average of 26 seconds to back out of their spots. Bring a hovering driver on the scene, and that time increases to 31 seconds. Honk a horn and you're going to wait an excruciating 43 seconds. Ruback relates this behavior to our territorial instinct to defend our space. Sounds like pure contrariness to us!" - Health, September 1997

Attitude

In Becoming a Contagious Christian, Bill Hybels and Mark Mittelberg tell this story:

"A newly promoted colonel had moved into a makeshift office during the Gulf War. He was just getting unpacked when out of the corner of his eye, he noticed a private with a toolbox coming his way.

Wanting to seem important, he grabbed the phone: 'Yes, General Schwarzkopf. Of course, I think that's an excellent plan.' He continued: 'You've got my support on it. Thanks for checking with me. Let's touch base again soon, Norm, Goodbye.'

'And what can I do for you?' He asked the private.

'Uhhh, I'm just here to hook up your phone.'" - Ron Willoughby, Augusta, GA

Authenticity

"A college professor sometime ago through a study of national statistics, discovered that the average depth of rivers in America is two and one-half feet. Yet he drowned the next year trying to wade across the Mississippi River. Accepting the average may be dangerous."

"'I am about an average Christian' declared one church member. Yet in defending his mediocre manner of Christian living, he made the mistake of thinking that 'average' and 'normal' mean the same thing. They do not."

"When a person is average, he is just as near the bottom as he is the top. In this light, an average Christian is subnormal while our Lord redeems us for a nobler kind of living. The average church member attends one service each week - some weeks."

"If churches were open for the average member, they would operate only on a part time basis."

"To be only an average Christian - is both subnormal and dangerous."

Average

"When you turn your back on God, any way you go is a wrong direction." - Anonymous

"Backsliding starts when kneebending stops." - Anonymous

"Jesus healed a crippled man, then said, '…take up thy bed and walk.' In other words, make no provisions for a relapse. In what ways can we make no such provision? Change your atmosphere, change your attitude, and change your activity…these were all educed from the story. I point out that the little phrase, '…and walk,' is another cure for backsliding. By walking, the once crippled man could leave the place of helplessness, the place of self-pity, and the place of sympathy." - Jess Moody

Backsliding