Davis Bunn Quotes & Sayings

I was thinking ... "
"We know," Pedro said, "It was like sitting next to a pressure cooker — Davis Bunn

He had been privy to much, and blind to even more. — Davis Bunn

He knew how much pride his people took him being forever misunderstood. — Davis Bunn

It was typical of the American to identify the one unfinished strand. — Davis Bunn

Lived from day to day, his testimony of the risen Lord would ring true, that others who would accompany Alban on his journey would bear strong witness wherever they went. — Davis Bunn

Forgive me for not being willing to hear your call until now, dear Lord. But I am here and I am ready. Direct me to where I should next go. Reveal to me how I should next serve you. Grant me the wisdom and the strength to trust you in all things. Wherever you lead. Whatever task you set. Help me, Lord. — Davis Bunn

I have a hundred reasons to dislike this gentleman," Erica reminded herself aloud. "And a thousand reasons more not to go courting with any man."
Lavinia laughed at that. "Whenever has a woman's heart listened to her head? — Davis Bunn

Part of coming to know Jesus is coming to know ourselves, Papa. Seeing all the things that we otherwise might wish to keep hidden. Even from our own minds." Jamal lifted his face, creased in sorrows only he could know, to hers. He shook his head as if to clear it. Julia said, "The closer we come to Jesus, the more we recognize his perfect love. And the more we see how far removed we are from this perfection. He calls to us with that love and forgiveness. He invites us to grow, to become more than we ever could be on our own. — Davis Bunn

Go into all the world and preach the gospel.' " Martha nodded slowly. "So the challenge is to do that without getting in the way of the message." Alban added, "He must increase. I must decrease. — Davis Bunn

This time the petition rose from deep inside her heart. Asking for the fire of the Holy Spirit to be kindled anew. And for her to reach toward God with that hunger, that yearning, that desire to know and serve and love in His name. All around her shouts of wonder and joy rang out as others received the touch they had requested in their bodies and souls. — Davis Bunn

How can I live so that when someone sees me, they are pointed to Jesus? When I speak, is it the Messiah's truths they hear? How can I live that no power is seen to be mine, no authority, no crown, no glory. It all belongs to him. I am the willing, loving servant, providing hands, feet, voice, eyes, and ears for the Holy Spirit to use." "It is the challenge we all should accept," Alban said slowly. "Once again I am blessed by your words. — Davis Bunn

The afternoon's glory was tainted by the voice on the other end. I was so very sorry not to have the pleasure of meeting you, Mr. Haines. You're not living up to your part of the bargain. — Davis Bunn

To Judeans the cross was perhaps the most hated symbol of Roman rule. The deadly silhouette had scarred too many hilltops, signifying the most ignoble of deaths, a lingering torment that carried shame for all who witnessed it. And yet here it was, portraying a hope that transcended their worries and fears. Merely looking at this bit of carved wood lifted Linux beyond himself, carried upon a promise as strong as it was eternal. — Davis Bunn

There's no debt. There never has been. We are friends. — Davis Bunn

Saul said, "I have been wrong in my thoughts and deeds. But God in his great mercy has given me light. Light through blindness. I now stand here to proclaim that Jesus is the Messiah, the risen Lord, the Son of God. He is come to save man from his sins. He is the gateway to heaven! Accept him as your Savior, and receive God's forgiving grace!" After a stunned silence, a clamor of voices filled the air. Had this man just said what they thought they heard? The murderer, Saul of Tarsus, proclaiming Jesus Christ as the Messiah? — Davis Bunn

Live a life of rightness. Seek to follow the blessed Lord, and pray for enlightenment for others. — Davis Bunn

A man of power is a prize bargainer. Whatever he offers you, he will take more in return. Your challenge is to know yourself. Give only what you can, while remaining steadfast to your own truths. — Davis Bunn

Observant Judeans would make a stop by the baths before morning prayers, as immersion was a component of spiritual cleanliness. For Jacob there was far more here than merely cleaning off the road's dust. He knew that the act of immersion was considered a symbol of change. Of elevating oneself from the earthly to the heavenly realms. Jacob wanted to mark all that had happened with such an act, and to complete the action with prayer. — Davis Bunn

A steel door clapped open as a guard stepped from the bulletproof viewing station across the hall. "Adams!"
"That you?"
"I told you, I don't know-"
The cop pointed straight at him. "Jeffrey Adams! Front and center!"
The black man helped him rise to his feet. "Ain't everybody gets called back from the pit, man. Question is, what are you gonna do when you find out who you are? — Davis Bunn

The evening prayer service began with a sharing of the bread and the wine. An everyday occurrence for most there, but for Jacob, this prayerful remembrance of their Lord's last supper with his disciples held a singular intensity. It had been a long while since he'd had this opportunity. He watched as the elders of their group stood before the table and Josiah again prayed, lifting the bread and the cup in turn as he blessed them, then broke the bread into small pieces for distribution. Jacob thought about the incongruity of the most revered in the group, who normally were the ones being honored and served, to now be carrying the plates of bread and the goblet of wine to each participant. He was reminded of the story he'd heard of Jesus kneeling to wash his disciples' dirty feet. A servant ... kept whispering through his mind as the words of the sacrament were recited. On the night when he was betrayed, Jesus took the cup ... — Davis Bunn

He was like a sheep being led to be killed. He was quiet, as a lamb is quiet while its wool is being cut; he never opened his mouth. He was shamed and was treated unfairly. He died without children to continue his family. His life on earth has ended. — Davis Bunn

Several hundred men filled the main chamber. Women's voices could be heard from beyond the cloth screens running down the eastern wall. The gathering quieted for the service, which followed the same pattern as in Judea: a song and then a Scripture reading from the Torah scrolls, followed by a prayer from the Psalms. Some men departed to begin their day, but most remained. Jacob stayed where he was, repeating silently the Psalms that resonated with the emotions filling his heart. How precious, O God, is your constant love. You let us drink from the river of your goodness. You are the source of all life. — Davis Bunn

The distance had been evaporated by humor — Davis Bunn

Ancient indeed. Joppa was a walled city with a stone barricade curving like a quarter moon around the natural port. Along its length, seven watchtowers rose like pillars holding up the sky. The ancient port had long since outgrown its former boundaries, however. More people lived outside the city walls than within. — Davis Bunn

He used a minimum of words and no inflection whatsoever. It was a policeman's manner of speaking, direct and unadorned. — Davis Bunn

It is a soldier's right to complain, his only defense against orders not to his liking. — Davis Bunn

His eyes touched lightly, and passed on. — Davis Bunn

Love. Forgive. As you forgive, you will be forgiven. — Davis Bunn

The hills of Galilee were divided into two distinct segments. The southern range split the Samaritan Plain from the Megiddo Plains, or Armageddon, as it was sometimes known. The northeastern hills wove around Tiberias and stretched up to meet the Golan highlands. Between the two, some twenty Roman miles west of the Jordan River, stretched a broad flat region. All the main arteries connecting the northern and southern realms, except for the one Roman road that skirted the western shore of Galilee, met at this point. — Davis Bunn

Alex had cooked, and coaxed, and helped Mark form borders around the shapeless days. Alex had given meaning to the word "servant". — Davis Bunn

Led him into the water. When they were waist deep, Philip declared in a voice that rang strong over the sunlight sparkling upon the water's surface, I baptize you in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ. As the water washes your outer body, so may the Spirit cleanse the inner man. Rise up into the eternal life that has been prepared for you! — Davis Bunn

Real change, eternal change, is when your actions are meant to draw you closer to your Lord. The first act of genuine turning is recognizing that what you have done on your own, what you are capable of doing, is not enough. The second act is acknowledging who you are turning toward. — Davis Bunn

Philip's words. Though the story was by now well known to him, still it held a powerful resonance. What he saw and heard was not merely a retelling of the Lord's coming, but rather the fulfillment of words written centuries before by their most revered prophet. — Davis Bunn

I need ... I need your God. I have watched you and ... and you have such joy. Such peace. Both you and Zoe. How I long for it. But, Julia, I cannot go to your meeting to find it. Your father would be very angry. He might disown both of us. — Davis Bunn

Our task is to carry the Lord's peace into every situation, into every duty. — Davis Bunn

Sometimes I need a place to ask myself impossible questions. — Davis Bunn

Halfway back up the hillside, Cecilia reached behind her, and it seemed the most natural thing in the world for Brian to lean forward to take her hand. — Davis Bunn

There before you is perhaps the most important juncture in all the eastern empire." He slid down from his mount to point out one road after the other, naming the destinations. "The port of Joppa lies three days to the southwest, and beyond that the road continues on to Egypt. The southern road there leads to Jerusalem. Along the eastern route lies Tiberias, and beyond that Damascus and the province of Syria. That road leading north and west goes to Tyre, Sidon, and on to Tarsus." They stood upon a gentle rise, perhaps two hundred feet above the Megiddo Plains. — Davis Bunn

God answered prayers first by teaching the need to ask, second by using friends as holy messengers. — Davis Bunn

We have received word that it has already begun," Philip said. "While still with us in person, our Lord preached in a village called Sychar, and followers who have already settled there have told other Samaritans the good news of Jesus. Many are joining us. This is what I told them in Jerusalem. It is no longer a question of 'Do we allow this?' It has happened. I am traveling to Samaria in order to be a witness as our Lord instructed. — Davis Bunn

Mark felt eyes on him as tight as a sniper's aim. — Davis Bunn

Normal Iraqi etiquette was forgotten the moment drivers sat behind the wheel. — Davis Bunn

Our gift is to be a series of puzzles. In reading our clues and seeking our answers, we hope and pray you will find a future as well. A morrow filled with reasons to live, and a purpose grand enough to bestow upon you the gift of hope. For you deserve it all, my dear Brian. All the hope a tomorrow worth living can bring. Here, then, is the first clue: From the hope tossed skyward on your beloved's happiest day, in a grand palace made to make a child feel grander still, search for the heart, search for the heart, search for the heart of your beloved. Yours ever, Heather. — Davis Bunn

Your story should open as a door to the reader, where the action has already begun and they have to run to keep up. — Davis Bunn

Scroll written in Greek. The text, known as the Septuagint, was a translation done by Judean scholars, and it had been completed a century and a half before Jesus was born. Jacob had studied those very scrolls in his youth, and he knew the text was usually referred to as the Seventy, representing the number of scholars who had labored on the translation. All students were required to memorize the prophets in Greek as a beginning to their studies. The Hebrew version of the Scriptures was used only during the formal reading of the Sabbath services. — Davis Bunn

For the Arab, the past does not merely live. The past defines the present. — Davis Bunn