Our Sanctification

"Brother Lawrence, who was a kitchen worker and cook, remarks, Our sanctification does not depend upon changing our works, but in doing that for God's sake which we commonly do for our own. . . It is a great delusion to think that the times of prayer ought to differ from other times. We are as strictly obliged to adhere to God by action in the time of action as by prayer in the season of prayer." from The Divine Conspiracy by Dallas Willard

Prayer Trains Us To Reign

"Prayer as kingdom praying is an arrangement explicitly instituted by God in order that we as individuals may count, and count for much, as we learn step by step how to govern, to reign with him in his kingdom. To enter and to learn this reign is what gives the individual life its intended significance. This high calling also explains why prayer frequently requires much effort, continuous effort, and on some matters possibly years and years of effort. Prayer is, above all, a means of forming character. It combines freedom and power with service and love. What God gets out of our lives - and indeed, what we get out of our lives - is simply the person we become. It is God's intention that we should grow into the kind of person he could empower to do what we want to do. Then we are ready to 'reign for ever and ever' (Rev. 22:5)." from The Divine Conspiracy by Dallas Willard

Definition of Prayer

"Prayer is a matter of explicitly sharing with God my concerns about what he too is concerned about in my life. And of course he is concerned about my concerns and, in particular, that my concerns should coincide with his. This is our walk together. Out of it I pray." from The Divine Conspiracy by Dallas Willard

Conspiracy of Silence

"The adult members of churches today rarely raise serious religious questions for fear of revealing their doubts or being thought of as strange. There is an implicit conspiracy of silence on religious matters in the churches. This conspiracy covers up the fact that the churches do not change lives or influence conduct to any appreciable degree." Clyde Reid

The Discipline of Secrecy

"The discipline of secrecy will help us break the grip of human opinion over our souls and our actions. A discipline is an activity in our power that we do to enable us to do what we cannot do by direct effort. Jesus is here leading us into the discipline of secrecy. We from time to time practice doing things approved of in our religious circles – giving, praying, fasting, attending services of the church, and so on – but in such a way that no one knows. Thus, our motivation and reward for doing these things cannot come from human beings. We are liberated from slavery to eyes, and then it does not matter whether people know or not. We learn to live constantly in this way." from The Divine Conspiracy by Dallas Willard

Be Ye Perfect

"The command 'Be ye perfect' is not idealistic gas. Nor is it a command to do the impossible. He is going to make us into creatures that can obey that command." C. S. Lewis, Mere Christianity

The Cornerstone of Human Government Upon the First Precepts of Christianity

"Is it not that, in the chain of human events, the birthday of the nation is indissolubly linked with the birthday of the Savior? That it forms a leading event in the progress of the Gospel dispensation? Is it not that the Declaration of Independence first organized the social compact on the foundation of the Redeemer's mission upon earth. That it laid the cornerstone of human government upon the first precepts of Christianity" - John Quincy Adams. On July 4, 1837

Hard Working Are Best At Math

"We should be able to predict which countries are best at math simply by looking at which national cultures place the highest emphasis on effort and hard work." from Outliers by Malcolm Gladwell

Satisfying Work

"Autonomy, complexity, and a connection between effort and reward are, most people agree, the three qualities that work has to have if it is to be satisfying." from Outliers by Malcolm Gladwell

God Chooses Our Time

"The sense of possibility so necessary for success comes not just from inside us or from our parents. It comes from our time: from the particular opportunities that our particular place in history presents us with." from Outliers by Malcolm Gladwell

Parenting Matters

"The plain truth of the Terman study, however, is that in the end, almost none of the genius children from the lowest social and economic class ended up making a name for themselves." Outliers by Malcolm Gladwell

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10,000 hrs of practice is required to achieve the level of mastery associated with being a world-class expert — in anything. Daniel Levitin

"the values of the world we inhabit & the people we surround ourselves with have a profound effect on who we are." Outliers-Malcolm Gladwell

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There is a time for everything, but with 12" of snow on top of what's left of the 14" last weekend, I think it is time to stop.

"If ever a man made war in the Christian spirit, that man was Abraham Lincoln." Horace Greeley in Abraham Lincoln by G. Frederick Owen

"I always thought 'Dixie' one of the best tunes I ever heard." Abraham Lincoln in Abraham Lincoln: The Man & His Faith by G. Frederick Owen

Lincoln Entering Richmond

"Don't kneel to me. That is not right, You must kneel to God only, and thank him for the liberty you will hereafter enjoy. I am but God's humble instrument; but you may rest assured that as long as I live no one shall put a shackle to your limbs and you shall have all the rights which God has given to every other free citizen of this Republic." from Abraham Lincoln: The Man & His Faith by G. Frederick Owen

Lincoln Toured the Confederate Capital of Richmond

On April 2, when Lincoln toured the Confederate capital of Richmond to loud hosannahs: “Bress de Lord, dere is de great Messiah! I knowed him as soon as I seed him. He's been in my heart fo' long yeahs, an' he's cum at las' to free his children from deir bondage. Glory hallelujah.” And he fell upon his knees before the President and began kissing his feet.

Abraham Lincoln, End of Second Inaugural Address, Sat, March 4, 1865

"With malice toward none, with charity for all, with firmness in the right as God gives us to see the right, let us strive on to finish the work we are in, to bind up the nation's wounds, to care for him who shall have borne the battle and for his widow and his orphan, to do all which may achieve and cherish a just and lasting peace among ourselves and with all nations."

I am not bound to win, but I am bound to be true. I am not bound to succeed, but I am bound to live by the light that I have-Abraham Lincoln

De Laud save Fader Abraham!

"At the 18th corps camp, Lincoln met throngs of black soldiers who circled roundabout him. Tears ran down their faces as they cheered, laughed and sang. They waved their hands and shouted: ‘God bless Massa Linkum!’ ‘De Laud save Fader Abraham!’ The President rode with bowed head; tears in his eyes, and his voice broken with emotion." from Abraham Lincoln: The Man & His Faith by G. Frederick Owen

You Must Not Give Me the Praise

'Mr. President, I believe God has hewn you out of a rock, for this great and mighty purpose. Many have been led away by bribes of gold, of silver, of presents; but you have stood firm, because God was with you, and if you are faithful to the end, he will be with you.' With his eyes full of tears, he walked round and examined the present, pronounced it beautiful, thanked me kindly, but said: 'You must not give me the praise--it belongs to God.' from Abraham Lincoln: The Man & His Faith by G. Frederick Owen

"Let us have faith that right makes might, and in that faith, let us, to the end, dare to do our duty as we understand it." Abraham Lincoln.

The Peace of Heaven Stole in His Heart

The time came, however, when he told his friends, how the peace of heaven stole his heart. Said he: "When I left Springfield, I asked the people to pray for me. I was not a Christian. When I buried my son — the severest trial of my life — I was not a Christian. But when I went to Gettysburg, and saw the graves of thousands of our soldiers, I then and there consecrated myself to Christ." from Abraham Lincoln: The Man & His Faith by G. Frederick Owen

Lincoln's Ten Guidelines

YOU cannot bring about prosperity by discouraging thrift.

YOU cannot help small men by tearing down big men.

YOU cannot strengthen the weak by weakening the strong.

YOU cannot lift the wage earner by pulling down the wage payer.

YOU cannot help the poor man by destroying the rich.

YOU cannot keep out of trouble by spending more than your income.

YOU cannot further brotherhood of man by inciting class hatred.

YOU cannot establish security on borrowed money.

YOU cannot build character and courage by taking away man's initiative and independence.

YOU cannot help men permanently by doing for them what they could and should do for themselves.

from Abraham Lincoln: The Man & His Faith by G. Frederick Owen

First National Thanksgiving Proclamation

"Seven days after the memorable Gettysburg Address, Lincoln nationalized the New England observance of Thanksgiving Day. By his proclamation that day was set aside as National Thanksgiving – the first ever to be observed by presidential proclamation, but followed yearly by every president since." from Abraham Lincoln: The Man & His Faith by G. Frederick Owen

The Gettysburg Address

"Four score and seven years ago our fathers brought forth on this continent, a new nation, conceived in Liberty, and dedicated to the proposition that all men are created equal.

Now we are engaged in a great civil war, testing whether that nation, or any nation so conceived and so dedicated, can long endure. We are met on a great battle-field of that war. We have come to dedicate a portion of that field, as a final resting place for those who here gave their lives that that nation might live. It is altogether fitting and proper that we should do this.

But, in a larger sense, we can not dedicate -- we can not consecrate -- we can not hallow -- this ground. The brave men, living and dead, who struggled here, have consecrated it, far above our poor power to add or detract. The world will little note, nor long remember what we say here, but it can never forget what they did here. It is for us the living, rather, to be dedicated here to the unfinished work which they who fought here have thus far so nobly advanced. It is rather for us to be here dedicated to the great task remaining before us -- that from these honored dead we take increased devotion to that cause for which they gave the last full measure of devotion -- that we here highly resolve that these dead shall not have died in vain -- that this nation, under God, shall have a new birth of freedom -- and that government of the people, by the people, for the people, shall not perish from the earth." President Abraham Lincoln

President Lincoln's Prayer Before Gettysburg

"…oppressed by the gravity of our affairs, I went to my room one day and locked the door and got down on my knees before almighty God and prayed to Him mightily for victory at Gettysburg. I told Him that this war was His, and our cause His cause, but we could not stand another Fredricksburg or Chancellorsville. Then and there I made a solemn vow to almighty God that if He would stand by our boys at Gettysburg, I would stand by Him. And after that, I don't know how it was, and I cannot explain it, soon a sweet comfort crept into my soul. The feeling came that God had taken the whole business into His own hands, and that things would go right at Gettysburg…" from Abraham Lincoln: The Man & His Faith by G. Frederick Owen

Emancipation Proclamation

"I have considered everything that has been
said to me about the expediency of emancipation, and have made up my mind to issue this
proclamation, and I have invited you to come together, not to discuss what is to be done,
but to have you hear what I have written and to get your suggestions about form and style. I have thought it all over, and have made a promise that this should be done to myself and to God." from Abraham Lincoln: The Man & His Faith by G. Frederick Owen

Battle Hymn of the Republic

"Julia Ward Howe had a dream or vision of victory. Under the inspiration of that dream-vision, she arose and wrote her famous ‘Battle Hymn of the Republic' – which stirred President Lincoln ‘like a trumpet blast’, and became his best loved marching song."
Mine eyes have seen the glory of the coming of the Lord, He is trampling out the vintage where the grapes of wrath are stored; he hath loosed the fateful lightening of His terrible swift sword -- His truth is marching on.
I have seen Him in the watch fires of a hundred circling camps, They have builded Him an altar in the evening dews and damps; I can read His righteous sentence by the dim and flaring lamps -- His day is marching on.
In the beauty of the lilies Christ was born across the sea, With a glory in His bosom that transfigures you and me; As He died to make men holy, let us die to make men free, While God is marching on.

from Abraham Lincoln: The Man & His Faith by G. Frederick Owen

Hours After The Funeral of Lincoln's Son

Some hours after the funeral (of his son) Lincoln said: “I now see as never before the preciousness of God's love in Jesus Christ, and how we are brought near to God as our Father by Him.” from Abraham Lincoln: The Man & His Faith by G. Frederick Owen

So Many Seemingly Insurmountable Problems

"Never did an incoming President of the United States face so many seemingly insurmountable problems – human crisis, uncertainty, a divided world. Yet, during the first few days in office self-seeking men demanded much of his priceless time and energy." from Abraham Lincoln: The Man & His Faith by G. Frederick Owen

Lincoln's Gethsemane

"I would willingly take out of my life a period in years equal to the two months which intervene between now and my inauguration to take the oath of office now.'' "Why?'' I asked. "Because every hour adds to the difficulties I am called upon to meet, and the present administration does nothing to check the tendency toward dissolution. I, who have been called to meet this awful responsibility, am compelled to remain here, doing nothing to avert it or lessen its force when it comes to me.''

"But every day adds to the difficulty of the situation, and makes the outlook more gloomy...I have read, upon my knees, the story of Gethsemane, where the Son of God prayed in vain that the cup of bitterness might pass from him. I am in the Garden of Gethsemane now, and my cup of bitterness is full and overflowing." from Abraham Lincoln: The Man & His Faith by G. Frederick Owen

Abraham Lincoln's Defense of the Bible

"It seems to me that nothing short of infinite wisdom could by any possibility have devised and given to man this excellent and perfect moral code. It is suited to man in all conditions of life, and includes all the duties they owe to their Creator, to themselves and to their fellow-man." from Abraham Lincoln: The Man & His Faith by G. Frederick Owen

The Conversion of Abraham Lincoln

"The church was filled that morning. It was a good sized church, but on that day all the seats were filled. I had chosen for my text the words 'Ye must be born again' , and during the course of my sermon I laid particular stress on 'must'. Mr. Lincoln came into the church after the services had commenced, and there being no vacant seats, chairs were put in the altar in front of the pulpit, and Mr. Lincoln and Governor French and his wife sat in the altar during the entire service, Mr. Lincoln on my left and Governor French on my right, and I noticed that Mr. Lincoln appeared to be deeply interested in the sermon. A few days after that Sunday, Mr. Lincoln called on me and informed me that he had been greatly impressed with my remarks on Sunday and that he had come to talk with me further on the matter. I invited him in, and my wife and I talked and prayed with him for hours. Now, I have seen many persons converted; I have seen hundreds brought to Christ, and if ever a person was converted, Abraham Lincoln was converted that night in my house." from Abraham Lincoln: The Man & His Faith by G. Frederick Owen

Abe Lincoln Quoted Whole Psalms as a Boy

"And it was from his mother's lips that little Abe first heard the sublime Bible stories and verses. And, with her encouragement, he began to commit to memory short Bible verses, and to become familiar with the simpler aspects of the moral code laid down in the Bible. Later he could repeat from memory whole Psalms and other chapters." from Abraham Lincoln: The Man & His Faith by G. Frederick Owen

Don't Do Wrong To Accomplish Right

"You may burn my body to ashes, and scatter them to the winds of heaven; you may drag my soul down to the regions of darkness and despair to be tormented forever; but you will never get me to support a measure which I believe to be wrong, although by doing so I may accomplish that which I believe to be right." Abraham Lincoln

Lincoln's Mental & Physical Might

Offutt "bragged continually of Lincoln's mental & physical might. He claimed that Abe was exceedingly smart, and that he could outrun, throw, or whip any man in the community." from Abraham Lincoln: The Man & His Faith by G. Frederick Owen

"The hardness of God is kinder than the softness of men, and His compulsion is our liberation." from Surprised By Joy by C. S. Lewis

A young man who wishes to remain a sound Atheist cannot be too careful of his reading. There are traps everywhere-Surprised By Joy-CS Lewis

Universe ... A Rather Regrettable Institution

"I was now by no means unhappy; but I had very definitely formed the opinion that the universe was, in the main, a rather regrettable institution." Surprised By Joy by C. S. Lewis

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