Poverty Is...

“Poverty is the result of relationships that do not work, that are not just, that are not for life, that are not harmonious or enjoyable. Poverty is the absence of shalom in all its meanings.” ~ Bryant Myers (Walking with the Poor: Principles and Practices of Transformational Development)

Prayer Is Not Asking

"Prayer is not asking. Prayer is putting oneself in the hands of God, at His disposition, and listening to His voice in the depth of our hearts.” ~ Mother Teresa

Is HE Sufficient for You?

"God, of your goodness, give me yourself; for you are sufficient for me." ~ Julian of Norwich

Rekindle the Fire

"In everyone's life, at some time, our inner fire goes out. It is then burst into flame by an encounter with another human being. We should all be thankful for those people who rekindle the inner spirit." ~ Schweitzer

Good Character...

“Good character is more to be praised than outstanding talent. Most talents are to some extent a gift. Good character, by contrast, is not given to us. We have to build it piece by piece by thought, choice, courage and determination.” ~ John Luther

A good name is more desirable than great riches; to be esteemed is better than silver or gold. ~ Proverbs 22:1 (NIV)

Practice Life

"The church is a kind of kindergarten in which we practice new order life in the midst of our brokenness." ~ David Buttrick

True Preaching

"Whatever else the true preaching of the word would need to include, it at least would have to be a word that speaks from the perspective of those who have been crushed and marginalized in our society. It would need to be a word of solidarity, healing and love in situations of brokenness and despair and a disturbing and troubling word of justice to those who wish to protect their privilege by exclusion." ~ Letty M. Russell

The Wrong Thing

"The right thing and the wrong time is the wrong thing." ~ Joshua Harris

Prayer Is...

"Prayer is the difference between seeing with our physical eyes and seeing with our spiritual eyes." ~ Mark Batterson

In Big Trouble

"It may be possible to have a good debate over whether or not Jesus believed in fairies. Alas, it is impossible to have any sort of debate over whether or not Jesus believed that rich people were in big trouble—there is too much evidence on the subject and it is overwhelming." ~ G.K. Chesterton

The Journey Isn't Easy...

"God hasn’t promised us that the journey will be easy, but He’s promised to go with us. He’s promised to go with you wherever you’re going into the battle today. He’s promised that one day prayer will be praise, faith will be sight, every tear will be dried, and our journey will be rewarded." ~ Nancy Leigh DeMoss

Don't Give Up!

"Don't give up because the pain is intense right now. Get on with it, and before long you will find that you have a new vision and a new purpose." ~ Stuart Singer

Live Wholly for God

"Our tithes and offerings are a tangible sign of our desire to live wholly for God. They are an expression of gratitude, worship, and praise. They demonstrate that we put God first in our lives. They are an investment in God’s work through the church. And, without a doubt, they please God." ~ Hamilton

It Mattered

"And when people try to minimize your pain they are doing you a disservice. And when you try to minimize your own pain you are doing yourself a disservice. Don't do that. The truth is that it hurts because it's real. It hurts because it mattered. And that's an important thing to acknowledge to yourself. But that doesn't mean that it won't end, it won't get better. Because it will." ~ John Green

Who Are You?

"We must try to discover the real person we are; otherwise we cannot encounter the Lord in truth. From time to time something authentic shows through: in moments when we are carried away by such joy that we forget who might be looking at us…when we are unself-conscious in moments of extreme pain…or when we have a deep sense of sadness or of wonder. At these moments we see something of the true person that we are." ~ Anthony Bloom

What Will You Give?

* What, under the Lord's leadership, will you give for world evangelism this year?
* For that to happen, what will you need to start doing this month?
* What will you do this week?

~ Nancy Hardison (as quoted by Howard Culbertson in Giving that Transforms)

Become More Acquainted with Scripture

"Let us strive, every year we live, to become more deeply acquainted with Scripture." ~ J.C. Ryle

Wants Vs. Needs

"If we're going to do what God has called us to do, we need to intentionally give up wants to meet needs." ~ Howard Culberton (Giving that Transforms)

Larger Allowances

"The longer I live, the larger allowances I make for human infirmities." ~ John Wesley

His Eye is on the Sparrow

Why should I feel discouraged, why should the shadows come,
Why should my heart be lonely, and long for heav’n and home,
When Jesus is my portion? My constant Friend is He:
His eye is on the sparrow, and I know He watches me.

~ Cevilla D. Martin, "His Eye is on the Sparrow" (1905)

6 Are not five sparrows sold for two pennies? Yet not one of them is forgotten by God. 7 Indeed, the very hairs of your head are all numbered. Don’t be afraid; you are worth more than many sparrows. ~ Luke 12:6-7 (NIV)

Love Your Neighbor

"The hardest spiritual work in the world is to love the neighbor as the self–to encounter another human being not as someone you can use, change, fix, help, save, enroll, convince or control, but simply as someone who can spring you from the prison of yourself, if you will allow it." ~ Barbara Brown Taylor

Temptations Through Desires

"The devil often tempts us through our strong human desires. But in the sanctified heart there is a desire that is greater than any of these." ~ A.F. Harper

Never Enough

"You can be content with all creatures under God. But you should never be content with what you have of God, for you can never have enough of God. The more you have of God, the more you want. If you, in fact, could have enough of God, so that there came about a satiety of God in you, then God would not be God." ~ Meister Eckhart

Allegiance to the Kingdom

"On the day of Pentecost the Spirit began something entirely new…. Those being saved declared their allegiance to Christ by throwing in their lot with the original apostolic band. They didn’t just ‘receive Jesus into their hearts,’ and then decide to attend worship services in Jerusalem. No, they declared and defined their allegiance to the Kingdom by joining themselves with God’s new society–with those whose lives were marked by an altogether different way of living where heart, soul, house and property were shared."
~ Charles Moore

Kneeling Warriors

“Kneeling warriors are so personally troubled by pain or the injustices of our fallen society that they take the posture of prayer to tear down strongholds designed by Satan to thwart the purposes of God.” ~ David Ireland (Kneeling Warrior)‬

Make a Life

“We make a living by what we get. We make a life by what we give.” ~ Winston Churchill

Stewardship Matters

"They [the stewards] met together at six every Thursday morning; consulted on the business which came before them; sent relief to the sick, as every one had need; and gave the remainder of what had been contributed each week to those who appeared to be in the most pressing want. So that all was concluded within the week; what was brought on Tuesday being constantly expended on Thursday."
~ John Wesley (A Plain Account of the People Called Methodists)

Society God Intends

"The first words about the Christian life are not about what we as individuals can experience, but about the kind of society God intends. The gospel, or good news, is that in Christ, God’s coming kingdom is breaking into the here and now–in the depths of the believer’s heart, but also in the world itself. This kingdom encompasses economic, material, psychological, political, social and spiritual existence." ~ Charles Moore

God Isn't Finished

"Unlike the claims of consumer society, the community operates with a powerful vision, a vision that affirms that the future is not yet finished. God has a powerful intention and resolve to bring us to a wholeness not yet in hand." ~ Walter Brueggemann

God Is Good

"To be grateful is to recognize the love of God in everything God has given us–and God has given us everything…. Gratitude therefore takes nothing for granted, is never unresponsive, is constantly awakening to new wonder and to praise of the goodness of God. For the grateful person knows that God is good, not by hearsay but by experience." ~ Thomas Merton

The Shortest Distance

"Praise, like a straight line, is the shortest distance between a saint and His God!" ~ Jack Taylor