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E-Clips . . . quotes gathered through
three decades of Kris’ reading and study
New monthly updates are highlighted
Last updated 7/26/10
W
WAR
"Know your enemy," is a phrase probably derived from the Art of War, written in the second century B.C. by Chinese strategist Sun-Tzu. He wrote that "one who knows neither the enemy nor himself will invariably be defeated in every engagement"
Beware the leader who bangs the drums of war in order to whip the citizenry into a patriotic fervor, for patriotism is indeed a double-edged sword. It both emboldens the blood, just as it narrows the mind...And when the drums of war have reached a fever pitch and the blood boils with hate and the mind has closed, the leader will have no need in seizing the rights of the citizenry. Rather, the citizenry, infused with fear and blinded with patriotism, will offer up all of their rights unto the leader, and gladly so. How do I know? For this is what I have done. And I am Caesar – William Shakespeare
Health officials respond to plagues by isolation and eradication. Their objective is not only to control the spread of a disease, but also to kill it so it won't infect others. If that is an effective method for combating a plague, why is it not also a good strategy for combating the islamofascist plague? – Cal Thomas
We shall not flag or fail. We shall go on to the end. We shall fight in France, we shall fight on the seas and the oceans, we shall fight with growing confidence and growing strength in the air, we shall defend our island, whatever the cost may be. We shall fight on the beaches, we shall fight on the landing grounds, we shall fight in the fields and in the streets, we shall fight in the hills; we shall never surrender - Winston Churchill
A truly successful army is one that, because of its strength and ability and dedication, will not be called upon to fight, for no one will dare to provoke it - Ronald Reagan
The most fundamental paradox is that, if we're never to use force, we must be prepared to use it and to use it successfully. We Americans don't want war, and we don't start fights. We don't maintain a strong military force to conquer or coerce others. The purpose of our military is simple and straightforward: We want to prevent war by deterring others from the aggression that causes war. If our efforts are successful, we will have peace and never be forced into battle. There will never be a need to fire a single shot. That's the paradox of deterrence - Ronald Reagan
Nations do not distrust each other because they are armed. They are armed because they distrust each other - Ronald Reagan
In war there is no substitute for victory! - Douglas MacArthur
Three military needs according to Ollie North: Readiness, Recruitment and Retention
WARFARE (Spiritual)
Battles are thought out before they are fought out
Yes you’ll have to fight the devil to live fore God but you’d have to fight God to live for the devil. Which is harder?
Bobby Leach, an Englishman, startled the world some years ago by his daring feat of going over Niagara Falls in a barrel. He came through the experience miraculously unscratched. Some time later, Leach was walking down the street and slipped on a small orange peel. He was rushed to the hospital with a badly fractured leg. Believers are more frequently brought down by a minor skirmish than by a major battle
The World – our external enemy
The Flesh – our internal enemy
The Devil – our infernal enemy
Sin – our eternal enemy
Freedom is never given voluntarily by the Oppressor. It must be demanded. Pharaoh didn’t give up until divine power was posed against him
The devil needs exposed, opposed then deposed
John F. Kennedy, the 35th president of the United States, was a commissioned naval officer during World War II. In August 1943, the patrol torpedo boat he commanded, PT 109, was rammed and sunk by an enemy destroyer near the Japanese-held Solomon Islands. Kennedy and a fellow officer swam from one enemy-occupied island to the next until they found some friendly islanders who helped them get a message to U.S. forces. Years later, Kennedy was regarded as a war hero. His response: "It was involuntary. They sank my boat” – Ray Stedman (we are in the battle involuntarily)
We overcome the devil with the name of Jesus on our lips and the nature of Jesus in our lives
A city-wide war will require a city-wide church - Francis Frangipane
Each believer is a member of an occupational force which has one principal purpose: to enforce the victory of Calvary - Jack Hayford
WEALTH
Never complain about things being too luxurious. The padded seat you are on could be done away with. You could be sitting on the floor. Air-conditioning used to a luxury for the super rich. That is all relative. God can pay for the electric bill on a big house as easily as a small one
The very poor live day to day, the poor live week to week, the middle class lives month to month, the rich live year to year and the very rich live decade to decade
The real measure of our wealth is how much we would be worth if we lost all our money – John Henry Jowett
John D. Rockefeller told everyone – “God has made me rich”. He was worth in his time the equivalent of $320 billion today
When you increase wisdom you increase wealth – Mike Murdock
Wealth, if you got to get it you ain’t got it, but if you can create it you’ve already got it, because it is within you – Mark Chirrona
We have to get rid of this preacher’s discount mentality. They ought to charge us more than everyone else. We want others to prosper. Why shouldn’t it be at our expense?
He is rich or poor according to what he is, not according to what he has – Henry Ward Beecher
WEATHER
Midwinter note to the weather bureau – “Have just shoveled two feet of partly cloudy off of my driveway”
WILL
Champions aren’t made in a gym; champions are made from something they have deep inside them, a desire; a dream; a vision. They have to have last minute stamina. They have to be a little faster. They have to have the skill and the will, but the will must be stronger than the skill – Mohammed Ali
WILL OF GOD
The Devil instigates things, God orchestrates things
When you are operating in your assignment you have no competition. Only you can fill that role – Mike Murdock
People say that the will of God is always done, when in fact, the will of God is seldom done
It appears that God has three wills – 1) His Perfect Will – because we were created perfect, 2) His Circumstantial Will – because we are flawed, 3) His Ultimate Will – because we are redeemed
If you know God's "will" then other men's "won't" doesn't matter
It is not "Thy will be changed", but "Thy will be done" - William Barclay
WINNING
Losers let things happen – winners make things happen
Losers visualize the penalties of failures. Winners visualize the rewards of success – Rob Gilbert
Everyone in this house is a winner. You won the ultimate match, winning the sperm race, beating 50,000 others – Jack Canfield
You don’t win by making the good play, you win by not making a bunch of bad plays – Lou Holtz
Why live in “Lose-iana” when you could live in “Win-iana”?
Winners are those people who make a habit of doing the things losers are uncomfortable doing – Ed Foreman (only person elected to Congress from two different states)
You were born to win but your were conditioned to lose
Winners find ways to make things work, losers make excuses why things don’t work
I always turn to the sports page first. The sports page records people’s accomplishments; the front page, nothing but man’s failures – Earl Warren
Not everyone can win the blue ribbon but everyone can win. We are not winners by comparing ourselves against others but by how we score against ourselves
You were born to win, but you were conditioned to lose
Not everyone can win the blue ribbon but everyone can win. We are not winners by comparing ourselves against others but rather how we scored against ourselves
Winners are ex-losers that got mad – Van Crouch
Leaders stretch with challenges, followers struggle with challenges, losers shrink from challenges
Someone standing still will never have to worry about stubbing his toe – John Hagee
A good leader knows the way, goes the way and shows the way
Do you consider yourself about “average”? Remember that average is a combination of the best of the worst and the worst of the best – not much to brag about
Average is considered outstanding to average people but it will never suffice for people of faith. John Mason speaks of “an enemy called average”
Many people have heard opportunity knock at the door but by the time they got up off the recliner, shut off the TV, unhooked the chain, unbolted the deadbolt and decoded the alarm system, the opportunity was gone
The only difference between a groove and a grave is the depth. People who are always in the “same old groove” are literally in the same old grave. It’s resurrection time
Winners have mastered the art of self-discovery, self-development, self-denial, self-discipline and self-determination
If winning isn't everything, why do they keep score? – Vincent Lombardi
The minute you start talking about what you're going to do if you lose, you have lost – George Schultz
The first key to winning is don’t beat yourself
Winning is not a sometime thing; it's an all time thing. You don't win once in a while, you don't do things right once in a while, you do them right all the time. Winning is habit. Unfortunately, so is losing - Vince Lombardi
It used to be a given, a saying in the industry: Don't ever bid against Rupert Murdoch for anything Rupert wants, because if you win you lose. You will have paid way too much - John Malone
Victorious warriors win first and then go to war, while defeated warriors go to war first and then seek to win - Sun Tzu
Winning is the science of being totally prepared - George Allen
To finish first you must first finish - Rick Mears
"It was Father's Day, 1964, when the Phillies' Jim Bunning, a father of seven, took the mound against the Mets. Ninety pitches later, Bunning had struck out 10 and allowed not one batter to reach first base. Twenty-seven up, 27 down. The first perfect game in 86 years in the National League" - Pat Buchanan. Perfect games are few and far between but they are possible. Aim for the best
WISDOM
Getting a miracle is like getting a loaf of bread. Getting wisdom is like owning the bakery
From the example of the past, the man of the present acts prudently so as not to imperil the future – Titian
I once heard of a mental hospital that had devised an unusual test to determine when patients were ready to go back into the world. They brought candidates for release into a room where a tap was turned on, sending water pouring out over the floor. Next they handed the patient a mop and told him to mop up the water. If the patient had a firm enough grasp of reality to turn off the tap before mopping up the water, he was ready to go out into society. But if he started mopping up the water without turning off the tap, they knew that more treatment was needed – Ray Stedman
Besides the noble art of getting things done, there is the noble art of leaving things undone. The wisdom of life consists in the elimination of non-essentials -- Lin Yutang
There are four kinds of people:
Those who know not, and know not that they know not – these are foolish.
Those who know not, and know that they know not – these are simple, and should be instructed,
Those who know, and know not that they know – these are asleep; wake them.
Those who know, and know that they know – these are wise; listen to them – Arab Philosopher
We owe almost all of our knowledge not to those who have agreed, but to those who have differed – Charles Cotton
Not everything that counts can be counted, and not everything that can be counted counts – Sign hanging in Albert Einstein's office at Princeton.
Wisdom is knowing when to speak your mind and when to mind your speech – Evangel
Guts are important. Your guts are what digest things. But it is your brains that tell you which things to swallow and which not to swallow – Austin Dacey
I do not want the peace that passeth understanding. I want the understanding which bringeth peace – Helen Keller
Science is organized knowledge. Wisdom is organized life – Immanuel Kant
Knowledge is a process of piling up facts; wisdom lies in their simplification – Martin Fischer
Guy said, "I ran out of gas and the person who stopped to help me was a sinner and I got to witness to him so I know God wanted me to run out of gas". Yea, but the tenant of the Exxon station two miles back was also a sinner. Couldn't he have witnessed to him as easily? - Mike Murdock
Some people are wise, others are otherwise
A wise man learns by the experience of others, an ordinary man learns by his own experience, a fool doesn't learn by either
Wisdom teeth are what develop when you bite off more than you can chew
If wisdom's ways, you'd wisely see, five things observe with care…
Of whom you speak, to whom you speak, and how and why and where
Horse sense is having the ability to say nay
WITNESSING
We are witnesses, not DAs or judges
There are two ways of spreading light: to be the candle or the mirror that reflects it.
There are two kinds of light: the glow that illumines, and the glare that obscures – James Thurber.
WOMEN
Could you imagine how much advice God would have gotten had He created woman before man!
Horse-sense keeps wives from becoming nags
WORDS
Abusive words (mean), abrasive words (cutting), coercive words (manipulative), divisive words (discordant), impressive words (flattering), depressive words (darkening), flirtive words (inappropriate), invective words (riotous), diminutive words (belittling), negative words (discouraging)
One has to be little to belittle
If your lips would keep from slips,
Five things observe with care:
Of whom you speak, to whom you speak,
And how and when and where
A word is dead when it is said, some say. I say it just begins to live that day - Emily Dickinson
Eating words has never given me indigestion - Winston Churchill
Short words are best and the old words when short are best of all - Winston Churchill
A kiss is a lovely trick designed by nature to stop speech when words become superfluous - Ingrid Bergman
Sarcasm is barbed ire
WORK
The Lord has given us two ends, they have a common link,
For with the bottom end we sit, and with the top we think,
Success in life depends upon which end you choose to use,
You’ll soon discover this my friend, heads you win and tails you lose!
If you are wearing out the seat of your pants before you do your shoe soles, you’re making too many contacts in the wrong place
Some people quit looking for work once they find a job
Do you need a helping hand? There is one at the end of your arm
In the beginning God created. The first verse of the Bible pictures God busily at work.
Under-promise, Over-produce – Denny Hastert, Speaker of House
The reward of a thing well done is to have done it – Emerson
Too many have quit searching for the secret to success because they feel that secret might be hard work
Shallow men believe in luck – Emerson
Burke Hedges claims that 80% of first time heart attacks occur between 8 – 10 AM Mondays. People would rather die than go back to work
Don’t spend a dollar’s worth of time on ten cents worth of results
J.O.B. – Just Over Broke!
A reporter once asked Pope John XXIII, "How many people work here in the Vatican?" to which the dear, old Pope answered, "Oh, about half, I guess."
A minister was talking to a professing Christian and asked him if he was active in a local church. The man responded, "No, but the dying thief wasn't active in a church and yet he was still accepted." The minister then asked if he had been baptized. The man responded, "The dying thief was not baptized and he still made it into heaven." The minister then asked if he had partaken of the Lord's Table. The man responded, "No, but the dying thief didn't either, and Christ still received him." The minister then commented: "The only difference between you and the dying thief is that he was dying in his belief and you are dead in yours"
The word “work” appears 564 times in the Bible
The founder of Holiday Inns said that all you have to do to succeed in life is work half-days, six days a week, and it doesn’t matter which half you work, the first twelve hours or the second
Organize or you will agonize. It’s not how hard you work but how smart you work that counts. Choose or you will lose. Evaluate or you will stalemate
A man may walk in his sleep be he never works in his sleep. It’s time to wake up
Pleasure in the job puts perfection in the work - Aristotle
Getting fired is nature's way to telling you that you had the wrong job in the first place - Hal Lancaster
People who work sitting down get paid more than people who work standing up - Ogden Nash
Hard work spotlights the character of people: some turn up their sleeves, some turn up their noses, and some don't turn up at all - Sam Ewing
Work saves us from three great evils: boredom, vice and need - Voltaire
Genius is one percent inspiration, ninety-nine percent perspiration - Thomas Edison
We need fewer architects and more bricklayers - Colleen Barrett
The heights by great men reached and kept, were not attained by sudden flight, but they, while their companions slept, were toiling upward in the night - Henry Wadsworth Longfellow
I think the best possible social program is a job - Ronald Reagan
None of the secrets of success will work unless you do - John Mason
Learn how to make a job, not just take a job
The difference between a job and a career is the difference between 40 and 60 hours a week - Robert Frost
WORKS
William Booth founder of the Salvation Army made the interesting statement that...Faith and works should travel side by side, step answering to step, like the legs of men walking. First faith, and then works; and then faith again, and then works again, until they can scarcely distinguish which is the one and which is the other
Be doers not hearers, practitioners not theorists
You are writing a Gospel, A chapter each day,
By the deeds that you do, And the words that you say.
Men read what you write, Whether faithful or true:
Just what is the Gospel, According to you?
An injury graves itself in metal, but a benefit writes itself in water - Francis Beaumont
Anything done for another is done for oneself - Pope Boniface VIII
Kind hearts are the gardens, Kind thoughts are the roots, Kind words are the flowers, Kind deeds are the fruits, Take care of your garden and keep out the weeds, Fill it with sunshine, Kind words and kind deeds - Henry Wadsworth Longfellow
All men are alike in their promises; it is only in their deeds that they differ - Moliere
WORLD
"Citizen of the world" and "global citizenship" are, strictly speaking, nonsense. Citizenship is defined by legal and loyalty attachments to a particular political entity with a distinctive regime and culture. Neither the world nor the globe is such an entity
WORLDLINESS
The church was intended to be a soloist in this world, not an accompanist with the world
The world is a pigpen while the church is a playpen
We believe in separation of church and state, but we wish that Christians would become equally concerned about separation of the church and the world - Vance Havner
The devil accomplishes more by joining churches than by fighting them - Vance Havner
WORRY
A hundred pounds of worry won’t pay for an ounce of debt
Worry constructively – think of all the things that could go right!
For “F’s” for facing life – Fret not, Fear not, Forget not, Faint not
Worry does not empty tomorrow of its sorrow; it empties today of its strength – Corrie Ten Boom
“How in the world do you think…?” We’re not of the world so it doesn’t matter how in the world something is going to be done.
“Take not thought, saying” (Mat 6:31) – worries become words
Today’s world in three words – hurry, worry, bury
Don’t worry about your family. God told Pastor Keith Moore – “You take care of my family and I’ll take care of your family”
Worry is a man with bended head, carrying a load of feathers which he thinks is lead
Said the robin to the sparrow, “I should really like to know, why these anxious human beings rush about and worry so?” Said the sparrow to the robin, “Friend, I think that it must be, that they have no heavenly Father, such as cares for you and me”
Preacher said that 90% of the things we worry about never happened. Someone in the back hollered, “So then it does help!”
Worry is interest paid on something you may never own
Worry is like a rocking chair, it gives you something to do, but it doesn't get you anywhere
The worry cow could have lived till now, If she only had saved her breath,
She feared the hay wouldn’t last the day, so she starved herself to death
Today is the tomorrow we worried about yesterday
You can't wring your hands and roll up your sleeves at the same time - Pat Schroeder
Anything that you nurse grows bigger - same with worries
If you want to test your memory, try to recall what you were worrying about one year ago today - E. Joseph Cossman
I've developed a new philosophy... I only dread one day at a time - Charlie Brown (Charles Schulz)
Worry often gives a small thing a big shadow - Swedish Proverb
He who fears he shall suffer, already suffers what he fears - Montaigne
Some men storm imaginary Alps all their lives, and die in the foothills cursing difficulties which do not exist - Edgar Watson Howe
Grief has limits, whereas apprehension has none. For we grieve only for what we know has happened, but we fear all that possibly may happen - Pliny the Younger
Blessed is the person who is too busy to worry in the daytime and too sleepy to worry at night
Rule number one is, don't sweat the small stuff. Rule number two is, it's all small stuff - Robert Eliot
Do not be afraid of tomorrow; for God is already there
Real difficulties can be overcome, it is only the imaginary ones that are unconquerable - Theodore N. Vail
No man gets very far pacing the floor
A worried person sees a problem, and a concerned person solves a problem - Harold Stephens
WORSHIP
Some don’t come seeking Salvation, they come seeking Sal Johnson – Jerry Haynes
A single word can enshrine a wealth of worship, as when the word Rabboni fell from Mary’s lips – J. Oswald Sanders
The man doesn’t pump the fountain – the fountain pumps the man
Faith is the cure for fear, worship the cure for worry, praise the cure for pressure, singing the cure for sorrowing
Revival is a matter of Chronology – the preparation must be right, Theology – the preaching must be right, and Doxology – the praising must be right
When the devil turns up the pressure we need to turn up the praise
Here’s something I’ve learned about worship – we come tired, we leave inspired!
When the praises go up the presence comes down
Hero worship is zero worship – Tommy Tenney
He didn’t say to fake a joyful noise but to make a joyful noise to the Lord
Soul music is not an external color but an internal condition
I like what Ernestine Cleveland Reems said of her youthful days in the black churches – “we had more church accidentally than most folks have on purpose”
There is idol worship, idle worship and ideal worship
The Word encourages us to raise our hands in praise. When in grade school the teacher said that if you have the answer, raise your hand. How many of you have found the answer? And the Sure antiperspirant commercial says to “Raise your hands if you’re sure!” How many of you are sure?
Worship excites the believer, extols the Lord then extends the church
When your work-mate takes a cigarette break you need to take a praise break. If they can cuss Him then you ought to be able to praise Him
Ever see the teenager with his speakers blaring, stopped at the stoplight and really “getting’ down”? Well, if he can get down what would be wrong with we Christians “getting’ up”?
It is possible to spend so much time tuning the instruments that you never get around to playing the song. Yes, we need to be polished but we should never miss the blessing of simple worship. God isn’t after our polish, He’s after our praise
Where are all the worshipers? It’s tragic when the preacher waxes eloquent only to varnish vacant pews. I would rather see wall to wall worshipers than wall to wall wood
Prayer is preoccupation with our needs, praise is preoccupation with our blessings, worship is preoccupation with our God
It was like they were having Pentecostal American Idol. I thought I had died and gone to Hee-Haw - Tim Hill
WRATH
The Hindenburg was a German airship that arrived in America on May 6, 1937, after cruising across the Atlantic. It was coming in for a landing at an airfield in New Jersey at 7:25 at night, and it was a thrilling sight, three football fields in length, held aloft by 7 million cubit feet of hydrogen. It could fly 84 miles an hour. It was luxurious, with a dining salon, lounges, and staterooms. Gigantic Nazi swastikas were painted on its tail fins. Hundreds of people gathered to watch it land. Suddenly a lapping tongue of fire appeared near the stern, and within a few seconds the Hindenburg exploded in a huge ball of fire, falling tail first with flames shooting out the nose. In one moment, the wonder and excitement and beauty was turned to fire and terror and destruction. Without Christ all of us are passengers aboard the Hindenburg. We may be enjoying ourselves to the fullest, but we don’t realize that the next moment is going to bring us to judgment for without Christ we remain "children of wrath"
Sodom became a pile of soot, Lot’s wife became a pillar of salt
It’s a fearful thing to fall into the hands of the living God. It’s more fearful to fall out of those hands – Robert Louis Stevenson
If a rabid dog were loose in your neighborhood wouldn’t you want me to tell you? If a tornado was headed for your community would you want someone to warn you? If a smallpox or polio epidemic was taking lives on your block would you not want to be told? Then should I not warn you to “flee the wrath to come”? – R.G. Lee
WRITING
The faster I write the better my output. If I'm going slow I'm in trouble. It means I'm pushing the words instead of being pulled by them – Raymond Chandler
All words are pegs to hang ideas on – Henry Ward Beecher
Learning to write is learning to think. You don’t know anything clearly unless you can state it in writing – Senator S. I. Hayakawa
A small drop of ink makes thousands, perhaps millions think – Lord Byron in epic poem Don Juan
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