"If you asked twenty good men today what they thought the highest of the virtues, nineteen of them would reply unselfishness. But if you asked almost any of the great Christians of old he would have replied, love. You see what has happened? A negative term has been substituted for a positive, and this is of more than philosophical importance. The negative ideal of unselfishness carries with it the suggestion not primarily of securing good things for others, but of going without them ourselves, as if our abstinence and not their happiness was the important point. I do not think this is the Christian virtue of love." - C.S. Lewis in The Weight of Glory

"He who begins by loving Christianity better than truth will proceed by loving his own sect or church better than Christianity, and end by loving himself better than all." - Samuel Taylor Coleridge in Aids to Reflection: Moral and Religious Aphorisms

"Bitterness imprisons life; love releases it. Bitterness paralyzes life; love empowers it. Bitterness sickens life; love heals it. Bitterness blinds life; love anoints its eyes." - Harry Emerson Fosdick in Riverside Sermons, Christianity Today: February 9, 1998

"I have found the paradox that if I love until it hurts, then there is no more hurt, but only more love." - Mother Teresa

"It is a small step from looking down on others to looking up to oneself." - P. J. O'Rourke in the Weekly Standard

"The test of love is in how one relates not to saints and scholars but to rascals." - Abraham Joshua Heschel in A Passion for Truth

"Simply put, the stability of marriage is a by-product of an iron-willed determination to make it work." - James Dobson

"The pain of love is stronger than the pain of legalism." - Scotty Smith

"Without love, almsgiving is no more important an action than brushing your hair or washing your hands, and the Pharisees had just as elaborate a ritual for those things as they had for alms, too, because all these things were prescribed by law, and had to be done so. But love does not give money, it gives itself. If it gives itself first and a lot of money too, that is all the better. But first it must sacrifice itself." - Thomas Merton in Run to the Mountain: The Journals of Thomas Merton, Vol. 1, 1939-41

"Disturbers are to be rebuked, the low-spirited to be encouraged, the infirm to be supported, objectors confuted, the treacherous guarded against, the unskilled taught, the lazy aroused, the contentious restrained, the haughty repressed, litigants pacified, the poor relieved, the oppressed liberated, the good approved, the evil borne with, and all are to be loved." - Augustine

Love

You Ain’t Seen Nothin’ Yet!

By Pastor Michael CattFrom: The Revelation of Jesus Christ sermon series Revelation 1:12-20 The Promise Of The Revelation. V. 1-3Louis Talbot – Many people treat the book of Revelation like the priest and Levite treated the man who was beaten and robbed in the story of the Good Samaritan…they pass by on the other side. […]

Britannica

www.britannica.com offers the best online encyclopedia, although it costs five dollars a month. www.britannica.com 2ProphetU2ProphetU is an online magazine/website, started by Warren Wiersbe and Michael Catt, to build up the church, seek revival, and encourage pastors. […]

Stewardship Solutions, Where to Give

How many financial appeals do you receive each week? Two? Six? How many do you receive a month? A dozen? Or have you stopped counting? A lot of sincere people are frustrated, confused, and sometimes angry about the increasing pressure of these many appeals. So, what is a concerned Christian to do? One thing we […]

Could You Recommend A Good Counselor?

(chapter 2 of His Name is WONDERFUL) Times have changed. In the days of my grandparents and parents, counseling was an obscure profession and one predominantly was relegated to state run institutions. As late as the 1970’s it was rare to find a Christian counselor in many smaller communities. One normally had to drive to […]

How to Become a Writer

People often ask me how to become a writer. I don’t know. I do know is how I became one. So, this is my story peppered throughout with my advice If you really are serious about becoming a writer this “emerging story” addresses the questions people often ask who seek to get published. It does […]

Casting Shadows

I can still vividly recall my first few moments standing in the Atlanta Braves locker room as their batboy. As a 14 year old, I was quite overwhelmed. Although this was an era in which the Braves were perennial losers, I could not help but think of all the great players who had walked on […]

Can Man Live Without God

– Ravi Zacharias. Word. Recommended by Charles Colson, Billy Graham, Charles Swindoll, Josh McDowell and R. C. Sproul. A great book of apologetics, written with forceful logic, insightful illustrations and passionate convictions. In a day of relative thinking, this is must reading for Christian leaders. 2ProphetU2ProphetU is an online magazine/website, started by Warren Wiersbe and […]

Battle Stations (Part 2)

The Parable of the Strong Man: Part 2 What are some of the weapons Satan uses to keep his kingdom under subjection? In our last newsletter, we saw how Christ invaded Satan’s territory, then overcame his power and destroyed his weapons. We looked at two of Satan’s weapons: Pride and Fear. Now, we pick up […]

The Greatest Deterrent To Revival, The Church

Yes, you read it right. I believe the greatest deterrent to revival is the church. The church in America is playing games at the foot of the cross. We desperately need revival churches that will seek the Lord as never before. Carnality abounds. The devil is no longer fighting churches, he’s joining them. Many churches […]

Elders and Leaders

God’s Plan for Leading the Church – Gene Getz If your church has elder leadership or is considering a move to elder leadership, this is a good book to read. Getz lays out his perspective on the historical background for the position of elder. In the second part of the book, he shares how he […]

His Name Is Wonderful

What do you do when your back is against the wall? Where do you turn when the bottom drops out on your life? How do you respond when you see society decaying and the culture crumbling before your very eyes? Such was the situation in which Isaiah found himself. Isaiah lived in perilous, terrible times. […]

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