If Christ is raised, nothing else matters. If Christ has not been raised, nothing matters.
–Church historian Jaroslav Pelikan (1923-2006), just before his death.
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Nobody cares how much you know, until they know how much you care.
–Often attributed to Theodore Roosevelt.
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There are so many things that we wish we had done yesterday, so few that we feel like doing today.
–Mignon McLaughlin
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You can’t build a reputation on what you are going to do.
–Henry Ford
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It takes twenty years to build a reputation and five minutes to ruin it.
–Warren Buffet
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Great opportunities to help others seldom come, but small ones surround us every day.
–Sally Koch
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I wonder what Jesus would have preached if he had taken a poll. Probably the opposite of what he did preach. Being popular isn’t what counts. Being right is.
–Harry Truman
(Henry Ford said, “If I would have asked people what they wanted, they would have said ‘faster horses.’”)
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If there must be trouble, let it be in my day, that my child may have peace.
–American patriot Thomas Paine in 1776
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Happiness comes not from having much to live on, but from having much to live for.
–Bible teacher David Jeremiah
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Life is not lost by dying! Life is lost
Minute by minute, day by dragging day,
In all the thousand, small, uncaring ways.
–Stephen Vincent Benet
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The problem with the world is that the intelligent people are full of doubts, while the stupid ones are full of confidence.
–Charles Bukowski
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We’re all going to die, all of us– what a circus! That alone should make us love each other, but it doesn’t. We are frightened and flattened by trivialities. We are eaten up by nothing.
–Charles Bukowski
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The last of the human freedoms is to choose one’s attitude in any given set of circumstances.
–Viktor Frankl, concentration camp survivor
I discovered I always have choices, and sometimes it’s only a choice of attitude.
–Abraham Lincoln
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Men do not trip on mountains; they stumble on stones.
–Indian proverb
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A monk in a monastery was asked by a TV interviewer what they do there all day. He replied they try to be obedient to Jesus, just like all Christians are called on to do. The interviewer then said they were almost out of time, but in thirty seconds could he describe what that kind of life looks like. The monk said: “We fall down, then we get up. We fall down, then we get up. We fall down, then we get up. We fall down, then we get up…”
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When one door of happiness closes, another opens; but often we look so long at the closed door that we do not see the one which has been opened for us.
–Helen Keller
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He who controls others may be powerful, but he who has mastered himself is mightier still.
–Lao-tzu
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I don’t do big things. I do small things with big love.
–Mother Teresa
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Sprinkle a seasoning of short prayers on your daily living. If you see something beautiful, thank God for it. If you are aware of someone’s need, ask God to help… You can toss up many such prayers all day long. They will help you in your meditation and in your daily work and life with others as well. Make a habit of it.
–Francis de Sales, 16th century, Introduction to the Devout Life
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Proverbs 9:10 — The fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom, and knowledge of the Holy One is understanding.
Proverbs 11:2 — When pride comes, then comes disgrace, but with humility comes wisdom.
James 3:17 — The wisdom that comes from heaven is first of all pure; then peace-loving, considerate, submissive, full of mercy and good fruit, impartial and sincere.
Ephesians 5:15-16 — Be very careful, then, how you live—not as unwise but as wise, making the most of every opportunity, because the days are evil.
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A PRAYER FOR OUR NATION:
Almighty God, you have given us this good land as our heritage, and we give you thanks for the freedoms we enjoy here. May it ever be understood that our liberty is under God, and may our freedom be seen, not as the right to do as we want, but as the opportunity to want to do what is right. Help us always remember your generosity and constantly do your will. Bless our land with honest industry, truthful education, and an honorable way of life.
Save us from violence, discord, and confusion; from pride and arrogance, and from every evil course of action. Make us who came from many nations with many different languages a united people; a people of wisdom, understanding, and good will. Defend our liberties and give those whom we have entrusted with the authority of government the spirit of wisdom, that there might be justice and peace in our land. When times are prosperous, let our hearts be thankful; and, in troubled times, do not let our trust in you fail. And Lord, we pray that you grant that the liberty given unto us may be continued to our children and our children’s children, and that the Gospel may here abound, to the blessing of all nations of the earth, and to your eternal glory; through your Son, Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.
—Lutheran Book of Worship #169; and, Prayers of Peter Marshall, p. 186.
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