"The spirit of the Lord God is upon me, because the Lord has anointed me; [The Lord] has sent me to bring good news to the oppressed, to bind up the brokenhearted, to proclaim liberty to the captives, and release to the prisoners."  ~ Isaiah 61:1 NIV

The purpose of your life is far greater than your own personal fulfillment, peace of mind, or even your happiness. It's far greater than your family, your career, or even your wildest dreams and ambitions. If you want to know why you were placed on this planet, you must begin with God. You were born BY his purpose and FOR his purpose. - Rick Warren

"We must learn to love together as [brothers and sisters] or perish together as fools." - Martin Luther King Jr.

It seems to me, as time goes on, that the only thing that is worth seeking for is to know and to be known by Christ -- a privilege open alone to the childlike, who, with receptivity, guilelessness, and humility, move Godward. ~ Charles H. Brent

"To understand the truth is to do the truth." - Jon Sobrino

One who receives this Word, and by it salvation, receives along with it the duty of passing this Word on... Where there is no mission, there is no Church, and where there is neither Church nor mission, there is no faith. -- Emil Brunner

"The more we receive in silent prayer, the more we can give in our active life. Silence gives us a new outlook on everything. We need silence in order to touch souls. The essential thing is not what we say, but what God says to us and through us. Jesus is always waiting for us in silence." - Mother Teresa

Peter said, "Lord, did you tell this story for us or for all people?" The Lord said, "Who is the wise and trusted servant? The master trusts one servant to give the other servants their food at the right time. Who is the servant that the master trusts to do that work? When the master comes and finds that servant doing the work he gave him, that servant will be very happy. I tell you the truth. The master will choose that servant to take care of everything the master owns. But what will happen if that servant is evil and thinks that his master will not come back soon? That servant will begin to beat the other servants, men and women. He will eat and drink and get drunk. Then the master of that servant will come when that servant is not ready. It will be a time when that servant is not expecting the master. Then the master will punish that servant. The master will send him away to be with the other people that don't obey. That servant knew what his master wanted him to do. But that servant did not make himself ready or try to do what his master wanted. So that servant will be punished very much! But what about the servant that does not know what his master wants? The servant does things that deserve punishment. But he will get less punishment than the servant that knew what he should do. Any person that has been given much will be responsible for much. Much more will be expected from the person that has been given more." -- Luke 12:41-48 (ERV)

It is impossible for a man to be a Christian without having Christ; and if he has Christ he has at the same time all that is in Christ. -- Martin Luther

"For just as the body without the spirit is dead, so faith without works is also dead." - James 2:26, NRSV

"Sell the things you have and give that money to people that need it. The riches of this world don't continue. So get the kind of riches that continue. Get the treasure of heaven. That treasure continues forever. Thieves can't steal your treasure in heaven, and moths can't destroy it. Your heart will be where your treasure is." ~ Jesus, Luke 12:33-34 (ERV)

"Look at the wild flowers. See how they grow. They don't work or make clothes for themselves. But I tell you that even Solomon, the great and rich king, was not dressed as beautifully as one of these flowers. God clothes the grass in the field like that. That grass is living today, but tomorrow it will be thrown into the fire to be burned. So you know that God will clothe you much more. Don't have so little faith! So don't always think about what you will eat or what you will drink. Don't worry about it. All the people that don't know God try to get those things. Your Father (God) knows that you need those things. The thing you should want is God's kingdom. Then all these other things you need will be given to you. Don't fear, little flock (group). Your Father (God) wants to give you the kingdom." ~ Jesus, Luke 12:27-32 (ERV)

One of the men in the crowd said to Jesus, "Teacher, {our father just died}. Tell my brother to share with me the things our father owned." But Jesus said to him, "Who said that I should be your judge or decide how to divide your father's things between you two?" Then Jesus said to them. "Be careful and guard against all kinds of greed. A person does not get life from the many things he owns." -- Luke 12:13-15 (ERV)

People were bringing little children to Jesus to have him touch them, but the disciples rebuked them. When Jesus saw this, he was indignant. He said to them, "Let the little children come to me, and do not hinder them, for the kingdom of God belongs to such as these." -- Mark 10:13-14

"I tell you, if any person stands before other people and is willing to say that he believes in me, then I will say that person belongs to me. I will say this before the angels of God. But if any person stands before people and says he does not believe in me, then I will say that person does not belong to me. I will say this before the angels of God." ~ Jesus, Luke 12:8-9 (ERV)

"I therefore, the prisoner in the Lord, beg you to lead a life worthy of the calling to which you have been called, with all humility and gentleness, with patience, bearing with one another in love, making every effort to maintain the unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace." - Ephesians 4:1-3 NRSV

The loving service which God sends His people into the world to render includes both evangelism and social action, for each is in itself an authentic expression of love, and neither needs the other to justify it. -- John R. W. Stott

"Living for others, commitment to God's redeeming purposes, is a means of grace. We give because of our faith, and it deepens as we give. If we permit ourselves and our people to give casually, we are really teaching contempt." -- Richard S. Emrich

"What is it to be a companion of Jesus today? It is to engage, under the standard of the cross, in the crucial struggle of our time: the struggle for faith and that struggle for justice which it includes." - Ignacio Ellacuria

"But it will be bad for you Pharisees! You give God one-tenth of {everything you own}--even your mint, your rue, and every other little plant in your garden. But you forget to be fair to other people and to love God. These are the things you should do. And you should also continue to do those other things--{like giving one-tenth}." ~ Jesus, Luke 11:42 (ERV)

We see in the risen Christ the end for which man was made, and the assurance that the end is within our reach. -- Brooke Foss Wescott

Be self-controlled and alert. Your enemy the devil prowls around like a roaring lion looking for someone to devour. 1 Peter 5:8, NIV

To take up the cross of Christ is no great action done once for all; it consists in the continual practice of small duties which are distasteful to us. -- John Henry Newman

"Life's most persistent and urgent question is: What are you doing for others?" - Martin Luther King Jr.

"You should make much fruit and show that you are my followers. This brings glory to my Father." ~ Jesus

-- John 15:8 (ERV)

There are only two ways of spreading light -- to be the candle or the mirror that reflects it.

- Edith Wharton, American novelist (1862-1937)