Sovereign

A.W. Pink, in his classic 'The Sovereignty of God', writes:

"... to emphasize the sovereignty of God, without also maintaining the accountability of the creature, tends to fatalism; to be so concerned in maintaining the responsibility of man, as to lose sight of the sovereignty of God, is to exalt the creature and dishonor the Creator." (pg. 9)

"... so long as we are occupied with any other object than God Himself, there will be neither rest for the heart nor peace for the mind... the man of faith... [who] looks at everything for His {God's} standpoint, estimates values by spiritual standards, and views life in the light of eternity. Doing this, he receives whatever comes as from the hand of God. Doing this, his heart is calm in the midst of the storm. Doing this, he rejoices in hope of the glory of God." (pgs. 18-19)

Cycle

This quote represents the "cycle of democracy". It is often attributed to Alexander Tytler. Where do you think America stands in this 'cycle'?

"From bondage to spiritual faith;
from spiritual faith to great courage;
from courage to liberty;
from liberty to abundance;
from abundance to selfishness;
from selfishness to apathy;
from apathy to dependence;
from dependency back again into bondage."

- Henning Webb Prentis, 1943

Pseudo

Ray Ortlund posts another good quote today on his blog:

"Pseudo faith always arranges a way out to serve in case God fails it. Real faith knows only one way and gladly allows itself to be stripped of any second way or makeshift substitutes. For true faith, it is either God or total collapse. And not since Adam first stood up on the earth has God failed a single man or woman who trusted him."

A. W. Tozer, "True Faith Brings Committal," In The Root of the Righteous, pages 49-50.