I collect Noah's Arks and interesting quotations. My collection of arks, on display in the Ministerial Association Office, has become a favorite stop on the General Conference tour. I hope some of my favorite quotations will brighten your day and challenge your thinking!
"If there is miscommunication, blame yourself, not your audience. You are the message! "—Richard Ailes.
"Let me tell you the secret that has led me to my goal. My secret lies solely in my tenacity."—Louis Pasteur.
"We do not want suffering; we want success. We identify not with those who are low and hurt, but with those who are high and healthy. We don't like lepers or losers very well; we prefer climbers and comers. For Christians the temptation to be conformed to this world is desperately sweet and strong. Yet, says the apostle Paul, we are children of God if we suffer with Christ . . . God does not give His hardest assignments to His weakest children."—Cornelius Plantinga, Jr.
"Only a fool tests the depth of the water with both feet."—African proverb.
"Learn to say no. It will be of more use to you than to be able to read Latin." ---Charles Spurgeon.
"What I envy most about you Christians is your forgiveness; I have nobody to forgive me."—John Stott, quoting humanist Margharita Laski.
"Keep in mind that the true measure of an individual is how he treats a person who can do him absolutely no good."—Arm Landers.
"When the character of a man is not clear to you, look at his friends."— Japanese proverb.
"I have not heard recently of committee business adjourned because those present were still awaiting the arrival of the Spirit of God. I have known projects abandoned for the lack of funds, but not for the lack of the gifts of the Spirit. Provided the human resources are adequate, we take the spiritual for granted."—John V. Taylor.
"An appeaser is one who feeds a crocodile, hoping it will eat him last."— Winston Churchill.
"The message of Jesus Christ is to bring hope to the least, the last, the left out, and the lonely."—Charles E. Bradford.
"There is a rule in sailing where the more maneuverable ship should give way to the less maneuverable craft. I think this is sometimes a good rule to follow in human relationships as well."—Joyce Brothers.
"Preach the gospel at all times. If necessary, use words."—Francis of Assisi.
'Wo dog can go as fast as the money you bet on him!"—Bud Flanagan.
"The knowledge of where people are wrong is a hindrance to prayer, not an assistance. I want to tell you of the difficulties so that you may pray more intelligently.' The more you know, the less intelligently you pray, because you forget to believe that God can alter the difficulties."—Oswald Chambers.
"No one beneath you can offend you. No one your equal would."—Jan L. Wells.
"I will permit no man to narrow and degrade my soul by making me hate him."—Booker T. Washington.
"God has given the power of choice to each person, and it is theirs to use. We cannot change our hearts. We cannot by ourselves give our love to God, but we can choose to serve Him. We can give Him the powers of our minds. He will help us choose the right way. Then our whole being will be guided by the Spirit of Christ. We will love God, and our thoughts will be like His."—Ellen G. White.
"The grass may look greener on the other side, but it's just as hard to cut."— Little Richard.
"Christmas reminds us that we are not alone. We are not unrelated atoms, jouncing and ricocheting amid aliens, but are part of something which holds and sustains us. As we struggle with shopping lists and invitations compounded by December's bad weather, it is good to be reminded that there are people in our lives who are worth this aggravation, and people to whom we are worth the same. Christmas shows us the ties that bind us together, threads of love and caring, woven in the simplest and strongest ways within the family."—Donald E. Westlake.
"Don't approach a goat from the front, a horse from the back, or a fool from any side."—Yiddish proverb.
"General DuPuy taught me something invaluable about holding on to one's core of individuality.... 'Never be so consumed by your career that nothing is left that belongs only to you and your family. Don't allow your profession to become the whole of your existence.' I remember thinking at the time of something the staff had observed. None of us had ever seen the inside of General DuPuy's home. Now I understood why."—Colin L. Powell.
"Why did Jesus Christ not remain alive and eliminate, generation by generation, all the evils which harass humanity? Sim ply because He was the Great Physician, and in the finest tradition of medical science, He was unwilling to remain preoccupied with the symptoms when He could destroy the disease. Jesus Christ was unwilling to settle for anything less than elimination of the cause of all evil in history."—Richard C. Halverson.
