Quotes by John Pollock

“His joy was a release of Paul's conversion, not the heavy backslapping practical-joking humor of the Victorians, nor the cynical satire or the flippancy of the twenty first century mass media, just the gift of not taking himself or his adversaries too seriously.””

“A colleague like Barnabas could comfort him (Paul) in illness and keep him from overstrain when fit.””

“providing the element of slight distraction to keep the mind from wandering. Each””

“remembers John Milius. "””

“t" remembers John Milius. ".””

“The Gospel writers record their eyewitness accounts of what the kingdom coming to earth really looks like. In the life and ministry of Jesus Christ, we see that our God has both spiritual and earthly preoccupations. Heaven mattered to Jesus, for sure, and proclaiming eternal salvation from sin was essential to Jesus’ message of the kingdom. “As Moses lifted up the serpent in the wilderness, so must the Son of Man be lifted up, that whoever believes in him may have eternal life” (John 3:14-15). Jesus was insistent that sin was a very real problem, and because of sin, humans would be eternally separated from God apart from the divine work of atonement. But the stuff of earth mattered to Jesus too. In addition to his concern for the souls of men and women, Jesus also paid a good deal of attention to their bodies: hands that wouldn’t work, backs that wouldn’t straighten, legs that couldn’t walk. The kingdom advanced as Jesus healed physical infirmities and proclaimed forgiveness from sin, took interest in the poor and the poor in spirit.””

“Our Divine Master does not say unless a man be born again he shall not but, unless a man be born again he cannot enter into the Kingdom of God.””

“He would have considered it ironic that, the more men discovered the insignificance of their planet, the more highly they would rate themselves, all the more sure that they could explain everything without reference to God. They””

“A biographer has to decide between slowing to a halt in a bog of conflicting possibilities or striding boldly across by a causeway of conjecture. I choose the second course and, without stepping aside to discuss all the alternatives, tell the story as I see it. Paul’s next eighteen months unfolded somewhat as follows, though the tone of assurance in my narrative must not disguise that some of its conclusions are tentative and disputable. The””

“In Paul’s view a church should not merely survive in its unfriendly pagan environment, but advance. Christians should have nothing to do with a sad acceptance of harsh surroundings, bearing heavy crosses with uncomplaining gloom, cultivating an oppressive sense of sin. They were to be positive, doing good to one another and to unbelieving Jews and pagans regardless of abuse or injury. “Rejoice evermore, pray without ceasing, in everything give thanks.” No matter how adverse the circumstances, their way of life should be a rebuke to foulness and a spur to their neighbors to seek for themselves this new, extraordinary existence; Christians must outlove, outjoy, outthink, and always welcome those who opposed them.””

“Turning consciously from evil to faith did not always bring immediate awareness of how to please God””

“I can do all things in Him who strengthens me” (or, “I am ready for anything through the strength of the One who lives within me”).””

“At length he told the Lord he would leave it in His hands. Peace flowed back. No voice or light disclosed the next move,””

“everyone’s.””

“There is a world of difference between inference and conjecture, and imagination must not roam at the cost of authenticity. Paul””

“Though blue sky and the road’s yellow dust and the green of the nearing oasis were all snuffed out, he (newly converted Saul) did not miss them. Light suffused his blinded eyes, his mind.””