Repentance

"Some men please themselves with a constant regularity of life, and decency of behavior. Some are punctual in attendance on public worship, and perhaps in the performance of private devotion. Such men are not hypocrites; the virtues which they practice arise from their principles. Their religion is sincere; what is reprehensible is, that it is partial. Repentance is their only recourse." Samuel Johnson (1709-1784)

"We should learn to see things in a higher light. To do so, we must turn around to an altogether different direction. In short, we must repent." Booker T. Washington (1856-1915)

"The whole tendency of modern thought, one might say its whole moral impulse, is to keep the individual busy with endless induction-leaving little room for genuine change." Richard Weaver (1910-1963)

"Understanding is knowing what to do; wisdom is knowing what to do next; virtue is actually doing it. The three together are what we call repentance." Tristan Gylberd (1954-)

"Religion hath brought forth prosperity, and the daughter destroyed the mother-there is a danger, lest the enchantments of this world make them forget their errand into the wilderness: to build a city on a hill, an illumination for all the world." Cotton Mather (1663-1728)

“Since sin is the source of virtually all human ills, it is only when we directly deal with sin that we can hope to solve those ills in our hearts, in our homes, and in our communities.” Indeed, he claims that the greatest advances in mental, social, and national health come “when we can finally just come to the threshold of genuine repentance. It is only then we can actually begin to hope for authentic change. It is only then that we can lay the groundwork for a new beginning. It is only then that the pieces are in place for us to have a fresh start. It is only then that our circumstances and situations are primed for a new day of happiness, prosperity, freedom, and delight.” James Ulrich (1946-)

"Waging war on the Devil for the sake of God leaves little room for subtlety: all must be yielded to the sovereign care of the Lord--starting with our very selves, the whole of our lives. We can be all too certainly right and do all too much wrong." Martin Luther (1483-1546)

"Heaven is no democracy. That is a hard fact we all very much hate to have to admit." Andrew Nelson Lytle (1902-1995)

"The streets of hell are paved with good intentions." Mark Twain (1835-1910)

"This is a practice as full of labor as a wise man's art, for folly that he wisely shows is fit, but wise men, folly-fall'n, quite taint their wit." William Shakespeare (c. 1564-1616)

"The Greek word for repent in the New Testament is metanoia. It literally means to spin 180, to turn completely around, to head in the opposite direction. I don't know about you, but I am a prototypical male--out on the highway and along the road of life--I am not only loathe to ask for directions, I always assume I will ultimately find my way simply by continuing to plunge ahead. The Gospel teaches me otherwise. Metanoia contradicts every impulse, every instnct, and every inclination. But therein is my only hope. Know this then, my most earnest prayer this day is simply: Lord, give me grace to spin 180. No excuses. No delays. Just repentance." Tristan Gylberd (1954-)

"With visions of redemption I walk against the crowd." Arthur Quiller-Couch (1863-1944)