"The biblical fact is that there are no successful churches. There are, instead, communities of sinners, gathered before God week after week in towns and villages all over the world. The Holy Spirit gathers them and does his work in them. In these communities of sinners, one of the sinners is called pastor and given a designated responsibility in the community. The pastor’s responsibility is to keep the community attentive to God."
-- Eugene Peterson, from the introduction of "Working the Angles"

“The greatest source of atheism in the world today is Christians, who acknowledge Jesus with their lips but deny him by their lifestyles. That is what an unbelieving world simply finds unbelievable.”

– Brennan Manning

CANCER IS SO LIMITED

It cannot cripple LOVE
It cannot shatter HOPE
It cannot corrode FAITH
It cannot destroy CONFIDENCE
It cannot kill FRIENDSHIP
It cannot shut out MEMORIES
It cannot silence COURAGE
It cannot invade the SOUL
It cannot destroy PEACE
It cannot quench the SPIRIT
It cannot lessen the POWER OF THE RESURRECTION
IT CANNOT STEAL ETERNAL LIFE!

Our greatest enemy is not disease, but despair. Keep trusting God's love so your spirit will remain strong. If cancer has invaded your life, refuse to let it touch your spirit. Your body can be severely afflicted and you may have great struggle, but if you keep trusting in God's love, your spirit will remain strong!

-- Author Unknown

“The problem with a living sacrifice is that it can crawl off the altar.”
-- Rick Warren, The Purpose Driven Life

"When a man has lost his hair and is bald, he is clean."
-- Leviticus 13:40

One of my favorite verses in the Bible. (Not really!) But this is comforting to those of us who are follically challenged.

"Thou wilt keep him in perfect peace, whose mind is stayed on thee ..."
-- Isaiah 26:3 (KJV)

I managed to burn this one into my memory a long time ago (I happened to learn it in the King James Version). It has seen me through many a dark day; many a challenging or anxious time. It's one that bears repeating!

"If lovin' the Lord is wrong, I don't wanna be right."
-- Rev. Brown, in 'Coming to America'