“We are not as those who grieve with no hope, nor are we as those who hope with no grief”–John Nielson.

“We must not miss what this [Christ’s once for all death on the cross] implies. It means that no religious observance or good behaviour on our part could ever earn our forgiveness. Yet a great many people accept the caricature of Christianity which claims that we can. They see religion as a system of human merit. ‘God helps those who help themselves,’ they say. But there is no way that this view can be reconciled with the cross of Christ. He died to take away our sins for the simple reason that we cannot remove them ourselves. If we could, his atoning death would be unnecessary”–John Stott, Basic Christianity, 98.

“God will speak to the hearts of those who prepare themselves to hear; and conversely, those who do not so prepare themselves will hear nothing even though the Word of God is falling upon their outer ears every Sunday”–A.W. Tozer, The Root of the Righteous, 22.

“The very fact Jesus told us not to be ashamed of him shows that he knew we would be tempted to be ashamed; and the fact that he added ‘in this adulterous and sinful generation’ shows that he knew why. He clearly anticipated that his church would be a minority movement in the world; and it requires courage to side with the few against the many, especially if the few are unpopular and we may not be naturally drawn to them”–John Stott, Basic Christianity, 116.

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