Quotes from Janette Oke

We must share his truth—to change our world. To make it a place filled with love rather than hate. With peace, rather than war. With mercy, rather than revenge. With holiness, rather than evil.

How I looked forward to having my house neat and orderly again.

If we are to fight evil in our world—as we are called to do—we cannot harbor deceitfulness in our hearts. May God give us the courage and the strength and the wisdom to live as he wants us to live. He is a holy God. And he is also a God of love. He desires only our good. He will show us what we each must learn from this experience today.

God had promised He would never leave me nor forsake me. That held true on a city street, in a rural teacherage, or in a remote part of the North.

Sir!" Alban came to rigid attention as his feet smacked the floor and saluted. "Centurion Alban reporting to the garrison commander, sir!" "I

Stephen raised his hands and shouted, "You stiff-necked and uncircumcised in heart and ears! You always resist the Holy Spirit. As your fathers did, so do you!" Ezra saw lances of genuine pain stab each of the men seated at the Council table. He felt again the power of his own guilt and regret and distress. Stephen finished with, "You now have become the betrayers and murderers, you who have received the law by the direction of angels and have not kept it!

The Sadducees are Hellenized Judeans and dominate the Council. The Pharisees are a minority on the Council, and consider the Sadducees to be their, well—" "Their enemy.

Why did civilization make things seem so much more difficult?

It was much easier to clean feet than to clean shoes.

In the book of Isaiah, one of our holy texts written by a prophet of old, there are these words: 'Of the increase of his government and peace there will be no end. He will reign on David's throne over his kingdom, establishing and upholding it with justice and righteousness from that time on and forever. The zeal of the Lord almighty will accomplish this.

Stephen remained untouched. Instead, the illumination surrounding him strengthened further, as though all light in the chamber was drawn to this one man. Stephen lifted his face toward the chamber's ceiling and cried, "Look! I see the heavens opened and the Son of Man standing at the right hand of God!" These words unleashed both the Council and the mob. The chamber was filled with shrill cries demanding he be condemned to death.

You are not the only one who has spent the night in reflection. The final festival of the spring season is this coming Sabbath, fifty days after Passover. In Hebrew it is called Shavuot, though many now call it by its Greek name, Pentecost. It marks the end of the spring harvest, and the day carries a divine purpose. We are called to draw near to the throne of God, to receive an earthly foretaste of the splendor to come.

From now on, I determined, I'm going to pay more attention to my husband and be less concerned with my silly little doings.

Everywhere the woman went she drew her little rainbow of happiness along with her

My name be Clark Davis, he hurried on,an it peers to me thet you an' me be in need of one another.

His eyes fixed on mine for an instant, then he turned back to the fire. The

O Lord God," she breathed fervently, "may I be able to serve as you served when you were with us. I will joyfully lend my hands, my heart to the task before me, in your name. Strengthen me to serve. Give wisdom. Supply the means to meet the needs. Make me a blessing to all whom I touch, I pray with thanksgiving.

Had he allowed this deceit to go unpunished, more of his children would eventually have perished than the two we lost. The evil lurking in our hearts will take over if left unchecked. God has given us a reminder of whom we serve. Just as he did in the days of Moses, when God gave the painful instruction to destroy some in order to save more. In a way, it is encouraging, blessed, to realize that we are serving Moses' God. He has not changed.

A wonderful truth engulfed her. She was safe. They were all still safe. As long as they followed the ways of God, they had nothing to fear. He was holy—but he was just. And as long as they followed their godly leaders—like Peter, like Stephen—they would remain protected and on the right path.

Linux had paid little attention to the games themselves. The sport of blood had never held him. Linux had a warrior's scorn for gladiators and the maiming of man or beast as entertainment. But for Jacob, a young Judean lad with no concept of Roman games, it clearly had been a terrible shock. The boy's occasional shudder indicated the level of his distress.

some dreams are meant to be handed over to God. To be remolded and redirected in keeping with his will. Sometimes our plans do not fit with the plans of God.

She sat silent, looking straight ahead. What did he care about the hot sun on her head? What did she care? Nothing worse could possibly happen to her.

It was Gramps' turn now. He took his time and

WAIT to finish my chores that mornin'. I needed to sneak off to my favorite log along the crik bank and find myself some thinkin' time. Too many things had been happening too fast; I was worried that my whole world was about to change. I didn't want it changed. I liked things jest the way they were, but if I