Quotes from My Notebook
I keep a notebook where I write quotes that I want to remember and return to. I write down what I like. Sometimes I pick them because they are funny, beautiful, stirring, or encouraging. This notebook encourages me and helps me remember the books that I read. I didn't intend it for writing material or quotes for sermons, but it helps from time to time. It mostly encourages me. When I'm down or discouraged, I read it.
Writing the quotes can be a bit tedious, but it is well-worth it when I see those quotes a couple of years later.
All want to see among Christians more good works, more self-denial, more practical obedience to Christ commands. But what will produce these things? Nothing, nothing but love. There never will be more done for Christ till there is more heart love to Christ himself. The fear of punishment, the desire of reward, the sense of duty, are all useful arguments in their way to persuade people to holiness. But they are all Weak and Powerless until someone loves Christ. (174)
Finally, let us leave the parable [of the sower] with a solemn recollection of the duty of every faithful preacher to divide his congregation and give to each class it's teaching. The minister who ascends their pulpit every Sunday and addresses their congregation as if they thought everyone was going to heaven is surely not doing their duty to God or to the men and women before them. (184)
Expository Thoughts on the Gospels: Luke vol. 1, J.C. Ryle
Remember, even thy crutches can be a door in a wall. (38)
We shall say the office to remind us in Whose care we are, here as well as everywhere. (65)
Fret not my son. None of us is perfect. It is better to have crooked legs than a crooked spirit. We can only do the best we can with what we have. That after all is the measure of success: what we do with what we have. (76)
The Door in the Wall, Marguerite De Angeli
In a democracy political power comes ultimately not from a gun's barrel or a monarch's manifesto but from a voting booth. Understanding political power in a democracy requires understanding elections. (XXXI)
Means of Ascent, Robert Caro
So here's the bottom line for anyone in ministry: you must always be careful to carry a dual identity with you, no matter where you are or what you are doing. No matter how influential you become, no matter how well you are known, and no matter how experienced you are, you must fight to hold on to both identities. You must think of yourself not only as an instrument of the work but also as a recipient. (193)
Dangerous Calling, Paul David Tripp