DISTINTIVE CHRISTIANITY

'[Christians] dwell in their own countries, but simply as sojourners. As citizens, they share in all things with others and yet endure all things as if foreigners. Every foreign land is to them as their native country, and every land of their birth as a land of strangers. They marry, as do all; they beget children; but they do not destroy their offspring. They have a common table, but not a common bed. They are in the flesh, but they do not live after the flesh. They pass their days on earth, but they are citizens of heaven. They obey the prescribed laws, and at the same time surpass the laws by their lives. They love all men, and are persecuted by all.'

Anonymous in 'The Epistle to Diognetus' from Adam Ramsey, Faithfully Present, p.149.

WRITING

'The written word
Should be as clean as bone,
Clear as light,
Firm as stone.
Two words are not
As good as one.'
Anonymous in Cornelius Plantinga Jr, Reading for Preaching: the preacher in conversation with storytellers, biographers, poets, and journalists, p.15. 

SUFFERING

'How firm a foundation, you saints of the Lord,
is laid for your faith in his excellent Word!
What more can he say than to you he has said,
to you who for refuge to Jesus have fled?

"Fear not, I am with you, O be not dismayed;
for I am your God, and will still give you aid;
I'll strengthen you, help you, and cause you to stand,
upheld by my righteous, omnipotent hand.

When through the deep waters I cause you to go,
the rivers of sorrow shall not overflow;
for I will be with you, your trouble to bless,
and sanctify to you your deepest distress.

When through fiery trials your pathway shall lie,
my grace, all sufficient, shall be your supply;
the flame shall not hurt you; I only design
your dross to consume and your gold to refine.

E'en down to old age all my people shall prove
my sovereign, eternal, unchangeable love;
and when hoary hairs shall their temples adorn,
like lambs they shall still in my bosom be borne.

The soul that on Jesus has leaned for repose,
I will not, I will not desert to his foes;
that soul, though all hell shall endeavour to shake,
I'll never, no never, no never forsake."'

Anonymous in David Powlison, 'God's Grace and Your Sufferings' in Piper & Taylor (Ed.), Suffering and the Sovereignty of God, p.147.  

HOPE

'...hope is a revolutionary patience...'
Anonymous in Anne Lamott, Bird by Bird: Some Instructions on Writing and Life, p.xxiii.

THE GOSPEL

'You are writing a gospel
a chapter each day
by the words that you say
and the works that you do.
Men read what you write
disturbing or true.
What is the gospel
According to you?'
Anonymous in Peter Brain, Going the Distance, p.100.

PROSPERITY

'In my experience, 95 percent of the believers who face the test of persecution pass it, while 95 percent who face the test of prosperity fail it.'

Anonymous in Randy Alcorn, Money, Possessions & Eternity, p.46.

JESUS

'The tree of life my soul hath seen,
Laden with fruit, and always green:
The trees of nature fruitless be
Compared with Christ the apple tree.

His beauty doth all things excel:
By faith I know, but ne'er can tell
The glory which I now can see
In Jesus Christ the apple tree.

For happiness I long have sought,
And pleasure dearly I have bought:
I missed of all; but now I see
'Tis found in Christ the apple tree.

I'm weary with my former toil,
Here I will sit and rest awhile:
Under the shadow I will be,
Of Jesus Christ the apple tree.

This fruit doth make my soul to thrive.
It keeps my dying faith alive;
Which makes my soul in haste to be
With Jesus Christ the apple tree.'
Anonymous (Traditional American Christmas Song) in Kris Lungaard, Through the Looking Glass, p.116.

ANYWAY

'People are often unreasonable, illogical and self-centred;

Forgive them anyway.
If you are kind, people may accuse you of selfish, ulterior motives;

Be kind anyway.
If you are successful, you will win some false friends and some true enemies;

Succeed anyway.
If you are honest and frank, people may cheat you;

Be honest and frank anyway.
What you spend years building, someone could destroy overnight;

Build anyway.
If you find serenity and happiness, they may be jealous;

Be happy anyway.
The good you do today, people will often forget tomorrow;

Do good anyway.
Give the world the best you have, and it may never be enough;

Give the world the best you've got anyway.
You see, in the final analysis, it is between you and God;

It was never between you and them anyway.'
Anonymous in Dick Keyes, Seeing through Cynicism: A Reconsideration of the Power of Suspicion, p.177.