Oke Quotes & Sayings

To let go of even life, if need be, and accept his calling. — Janette Oke

Mankind cannot suffer anywhere without it bringing sorrow to other hearts — Janette Oke

But I think there is an even bigger reason why God hates sin so much." William's eyes were wide as they studied his father's face. "It's because sin cost Him the life of His Son, Jesus. God decreed that those who sin roust die. Man sinned - but God still loved him. God didn't want man to die for his sin, so God provided a substitute. If man accepted the fact that another had died in his place, and was truly sorry for his sin, then he wouldn't have to die. — Janette Oke

He must be suffering, too. She had noted the weary sag of his shoulders, the quivering lips, the tear- filled eyes. Somehow she had never thought of him as hurting- of being capable of understanding how she felt. — Janette Oke

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! — Janette Oke

There was no use grieving over what might have been — Janette Oke

People who live in fear tend to do a powerful lot of nothing. — Janette Oke

A good friend remembers what we were and sees what we can be ... — Janette Oke

Do I tell you how to braid your hair? Don't tell me how to plow a field. — Janette Oke

I was going to need help. I knew of only one true source readily available to me. I stopped for a few moments of prayer. — Janette Oke

Parents need to fill a child's bucket of self-esteem so high that the rest of the world can't oke enough holes to drain it dry. — Alvin Price

It can make us stronger, more compassionate, more understanding - more like Jesus - if we allow it to. And the more clutter we get rid of in our life here - the more we will be able to enjoy heaven - when we get there. So, pain can have a purpose. — Janette Oke

Some tea?" "I wouldn't say no, sir." When — Janette Oke

Buried under the biggest burden is a good place to find an even bigger blessing. — Janette Oke

Sometimes love isn't fireworks, sometimes love just comes softly. — Janette Oke

When God allows something to be taken from you, He replaces it with something better. — Janette Oke

Ezra felt his heart cry out, as though it were branded by the stone he now held. Then he roared against the tide of regret and anguish that suddenly filled him, a piercing grief for he knew not what. Ezra cast the first stone. Stephen was struck hard. But he straightened, lifted his eyes and his voice to heaven, and cried, "Lord Jesus, receive my spirit." The stones rained down upon him even as his face was lifted to the heavens, shining with that same light as in the Council chamber. The last words Ezra heard him speak were, "Lord, do not charge them with this sin. — Janette Oke

Experience teaches us when to wait and when to move forward. — Janette Oke

I didn't feel comfortable with this new world. My northern isolation had protected me from all this. — Janette Oke

Who knows what exciting things might be just over the next hill. — Janette Oke

She thanked God that life was not always winter, that spring always came at last to chase away the cold and heaviness, and to release one to warmth and movement again. — Janette Oke

We light the candle and ask the Lord Jehovah to illuminate the week ahead. We sprinkle spices into the flame and remind ourselves that the Sabbath should remain a sweet scent in our lives, flavoring the days to come. — Janette Oke

Those who choose to be servants know the most about being free. — Janette Oke

As I say, I'd heard it all before, but one thing sorta caught me and had me puzzled. This preacher looked like what he was talkin' about filled him with such happiness that he was about to bust. It seemed that he was pleased to pieces that God had gone out of His way to do all that for man. "Mercy," he called it - mercy and grace - mercy bein' the withholdin' of what you really deserved, like a woodshed trip if you'd been bad; and grace - the gettin' of what you really didn't deserve, like the extra dish of ice cream when there were six servin's and five people to share them. At — Janette Oke

Feel fee to be a usin' anythin' in the house, an' if there be anythin' thet ya be needin', make a list. I go to town most saturdays fer supplies, an' I can be a pickin' it up then. When ya feel more yerself like, ya might want to come along an' do yer own choosin'. — Janette Oke

We may surprised at whom God sends to answer our prayers. — Janette Oke

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

began to move through the group of women. At first she tried to imitate Stephen. Walking. Talking. Praying. Placing hands on those who longed for human acceptance. And then, something happened. It was no longer all about Stephen. It was not even about Stephen's ministry. It was God's Holy Spirit ministering through her hands, her feet, her lips. It was God who had brought her here on this day. To see the need. To realize that in his name she could bring them blessing. To do what he wished her to do for these discarded ones of society. People that he loved, had died for. People he had come to save. — Janette Oke

Her love for Willie drove her to decide for his happiness. He'd never be happy to admit defeat, to leave his beloved hills and valleys and return back east. — Janette Oke

We didn't try to talk. We really didn't need to. Later we would hear from one another all the details of the four miserable days of separation. For now it was enough just to be together again. — Janette Oke

We did not go right to sleep but talked until late into the night. There was so much to tell one another, so many questions on my mind. — Janette Oke

Jesus never taught revolution, the kind with swords and battles and bloodshed. He talked about a revolution of love. Love your neighbor. Love your enemy. — Janette Oke

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

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

There seemed to be so many things that I needed, but I held myself in check and purchased only essentials - with the exception of one extravagance. I had determined that I would drink my tea like a lady, even in a log house; so I purchased a teapot and two cups and saucers of fine china. I felt somehow Mama's mind would be much more at ease about me if she knew that I was having my tea in the proper fashion. After all, civilization could not be too far away from Pine Springs if I had such amenities! — Janette Oke

Why is this important? Because it means the division between God and man has been abolished. Vanished. How? Because the great Jehovah, the One whose name may only be whispered once each year by the anointed high priest, had sent - yes, sent - his Son to be crucified. Why? How could the eternal Lord of all do such a thing? — Janette Oke

You of all have the most to forgive." "Ah, and if so," he responded, "I have the most blessing to receive after I've done so. — Janette Oke

You're like Jesus," Susie said, more positively now that she had said the words out loud. "He doesn't like it when people be bad either. An' He doesn't like to send them away - out of heaven. But it would spoil heaven for everybody else if He let bad people in there." Wynn said nothing, but his eyes looked misty as he reached out to tousle the little black head on his way to the bedroom for his slippers. — Janette Oke

And just as simply as that, it was over. She was no longer a student in the local town. She was a graduate. An adult. She thought she should feel something. Older.Wiser. But she felt nothing but a strange emptiness. An inner knowledge that she was now on the edge of the nest, ready to try her own wings — Janette Oke

there was no question but what he had just experienced came from beyond him - a sign of his transformation, and certainly the wonder of it all. Love so pure, so intense, burned away all he had been. No longer was he the second son, the princeling who would never make his rightful claim, the man of thwarted ambitions, the lonely officer trapped in a post and a land that hated him and all that he stood for. None of this mattered. Not in the face of this love. — Janette Oke

Part of learning to count my blessings is accepting that many of them I would not have chosen if — Janette Oke

At the end of every situation I find myself, I have come to understand God's will always supersedes my desires. — Seye Oke

But I refused to mope about for the evening. My little ritual with teacup, familiar chair, and a favorite Dickens story went a long way toward improving my outlook. — Janette Oke

Many of the girls wear simple dresses to church. We do not make a point of 'dressing up,' nor do we study one another to see what is being worn. Nor does God. It's our hearts He views as we enter the doors to His church. Not our clothing. — Janette Oke

I'm not saying that suffering is our fault. I believe we suffer because sin has taken hold of the world. And with sin comes selfishness and heartlessness and wickedness. But I also think there will be a day of reckoning, Nick, when God lays out all we've done and judges our actions. That's not as popular to talk about anymore, I suppose. We all like to hear about a God who loves and forgives rewards. But He isn't holy and just if He doesn't deal with all those wrongs. I would never want to stand before God without having done everything in my power to extend His mercy to the people around me whenever I could. — Janette Oke

Which was why the Sadducees in particular were so infuriated with this sect, Ezra realized. The Sadducees were convinced the afterlife did not exist at all. Man lived, man died. The candle was snuffed out. Finished. A very Greek philosophy, it was one that found favor only with the highly educated, the rich, the well traveled. The average Judean despised the Sadducees for this and for how they had allied themselves with the Romans. — Janette Oke

Showing kindness to others is one of the nicest things we can do for ourselves. — Janette Oke

but the truth is this. Peter opened his heart and mind to the Spirit's movement and acted as he was directed. Nothing more. We are merely hands and feet for the Spirit's use. — Janette Oke

Our God, the almighty Lord of heaven and earth," he began in a clear, authoritative voice, "bless these two here before you with your grace. Grace to keep one another in sickness and in health. Grace to learn together to serve as you would have them serve. Grace to give them strength for daily toil and duty. Grace to keep them in the hour of temptation or weakness. Grace that will enable them to give and love and labor. Make them fruitful. Bless them with your presence. Wrap them in your peace. And multiply their love - for you, for others, for one another. In the name of our blessed Lord and Savior, Jesus of Nazareth. Amen. — Janette Oke

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. — Janette Oke

One stroke fells not an oke. — George Herbert

Strange, Ezra thought, he felt no satisfaction. Only disturbance. The glow on the young man's face as he breathed his last haunted him. Almost as though, instead of inflicting intended pain, they had done him a kindness. Strange. Strange and most unsettling. The young man in his black robes walked over and stood staring down at what could be seen of the body. Ezra hoped the man would not voice regret, for the black wings of remorse hovered just beyond his own scarred vision. But the young man only muttered, "And so it begins. — Janette Oke

Saul of Tarsus. The young man's face was aflame with the same fiery vengeance that filled Ezra's heart. The elders dropped their cloaks of office by Saul's feet and moved forward as the crowd unfolded. That was how it seemed to Ezra. They were a human fist, cloaked not in their robes but in rage, and they flexed their fingers in preparation of doing away with the man who dared offend the Sanhedrin. — Janette Oke

The cake had been done by a lady friend of Mary's. It was simpler than it would have been had she been given more time; but I was finding more and more beauty in simplicity. — Janette Oke

It may sound simplistic, but is meant wholeheartedly. We are so privileged to have the Scriptures — Janette Oke

Impatience can cause wise people to do foolish things. — Janette Oke

You are not asking me. I am asking you. Our lives are in God's hands now. Perhaps he has plans, a mission for us to fulfill. Instead of a soldier of Rome, you might now be a messenger of God. But if not, then I still choose to be your wife, for whatever time he allows us to have. — Janette Oke

I want to thank you for that. Personally. Whether you knew it at that time or not, you had a great deal to do with shaping the life and character of the man I have come to love — Janette Oke

I am not afraid of death, Abigail. I am afraid that I might draw back and not be bold in proclaiming the gospel." He hesitated, then said, "And I am afraid that I might not stand firm. That under the heel of the enemy, in pain, I might deny my Lord. — Janette Oke

Alban finally realized why Pilate was so concerned about revolution. The man ruled this province with one irregular legion, mostly mercenaries, few fully trained. Against him stood a people who were united only by prayer. But united with a mysterious bond totally foreign to any Roman Alban knew. Roman — Janette Oke

Stephen could not have been more different than they. When he once more turned back, Ezra took the opportunity to ask, "Are you perhaps a member of the Sadducees?" The younger man gave Ezra his full attention. "Not now, not ever," he answered with a slight shake of his head. "I believe in the afterlife and the union with the risen Lord. As do all followers of the Way. — Janette Oke

The truth of God's love is not that He allows bad things to happen, it's his promise that he will be there with us
when they do. — Janette Oke

A sense of humor is a requisite to surviving in our demanding world — Janette Oke

God loves you, that He plans for your good, not your hurt. It's true that things happen in life that seem wrong and are painful, but it isn't because God likes to see us suffer. He wants to see us grow. He wants us to love Him, to trust Him. — Janette Oke

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

So he has touched you, and yet there is much you do not yet understand. How are you to fathom all that is happening? What shall be the direction from inside for what you think? How you shall live? Where you will go? The answer, my new brother, is found within the sacred texts. Together we will begin to study them, you and I. You will learn to speak with God directly. And you will discover how to listen to him speak with you. — Janette Oke

Do ya think he'll agree to it? — Janette Oke

A dense pall of fear hung over the entire group. Previously they had sensed that persecution might come. They had tried to prepare for it. Now it was real - raw and terrifying. If their enemies could do this to a man like Stephen, who sought only to serve his community and anyone in need, every one of them was in danger. All of them! Little groups huddled in whispered conversation. Mothers stayed home from evening prayer to shelter children. Men moved furtively, casting glances to each side as they hastened through the streets. The whole community was wrapped in a shroud of tension and uneasiness. — Janette Oke

When men don't have God, they need substitutes. To my way of thinking, whiskey is a poor substitute - but many men depend upon it. But what I am angry about is that they didn't obey my orders. — Janette Oke

This is life in a fallen world, where wars come and go, where nations rage and people cry in torment. We must be strong, not in ourselves, but in Him. And trust that His love and His wisdom and His light will see us through. — Janette Oke

Arguments over Scriptures held the same power and importance as the way they dressed, the rituals they followed for prayer and for eating. All of this was intended to divide. To separate them from the rest. Either a person was part of their exclusive group or he was an outcast. Others might call themselves Judeans. They might consider themselves the Chosen, the followers of the One True God. But if politics or habits or interpretation of the Holy Book did not follow that of the Pharisees, they were doomed. — Janette Oke

Stephen nodded a farewell to her as he and Philip started off in the donkey cart to transport supplies to those in greatest distress. As reprisals against the followers of the Way grew in intensity, there were more and more who needed such help. Many had lost their jobs because shop owners feared Temple reprisal if a follower was found in their employ. Looks of contempt were cast on them when they were recognized in the streets - or even curses, spitting, or handfuls of dust. It was clear their increasing numbers had the whole city on edge. — Janette Oke

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. — Janette Oke

Goin' to the altar. I mean, do ya feel different, or anything?" "Well, it ain't the goin' to the altar," said Willie. I had the feelin' that he was repeatin' what the preacher had said. "It's the prayin' thet makes the difference, — Janette Oke

do not know the answer. So I have returned to the things I do know. We are children of God. God is holy. He is merciful. But he is also just. He does not delight in punishing his own. So this . . . this indiscretion was serious in the eyes of God. More serious than we as his creatures might have made it to be. Had God ignored it, would one lie have grown into two? Multiplied many times over? What would the end have been? Total disregard for who God is? Would we, as his people, eventually lose all proper holy fear? — Janette Oke

I beg you to stop your arguing and listen. The prophets speak of this time, when the Chosen One of God will cleave us apart, separating the believers from those who will be cast into the outer darkness. Have you ever in all your days seen a time when the division has been clearer? Have you ever known a time when miracles rained down from an empty sky, when the prophets' words were so clearly being fulfilled? — Janette Oke

They met each morning with a group of the followers for a time of thanksgiving and supplication, a practice maintained by members of their group throughout Jerusalem. — Janette Oke

Don't be fooled. Charlie remembers things exactly the way he wants to remember them. I suppose we all do ... And then we spend the rest of our lives basing the way we think about our families on what we THOUGHT happened
instead of what really did. — Janette Oke

Reckon I'd be lyin' iffen I didn't own up to feelin' a little sore here an' there," Willie said with a grin. "An' thet's all thet yer gonna git me to confess. Full-grown able-bodied man shouldn't be admittin' to even thet. Folks will be thinkin' thet I never worked a day in my life. — Janette Oke

Never despise meger beginings! — Janette Oke

A person doesn't demonstrate independence by rebelling. You do it by shouldering responsibilities, making wise, thoughtful decisions. — Janette Oke

She had a hard time to keep from running. — Janette Oke

the only sign of where Stephen had been murdered was a dark stain among the rocks. He could see the followers carefully, sorrowfully, moving his body toward an open burial cave. Linux remained apart from those grieving by the cave's opening. His eyes were dry, yet his heart felt wrenched by tears only he could sense. Or perhaps not, for a pair of men approached, one of them the rugged apostle called Peter. "A tragic day, and a glorious day," the man said softly. — Janette Oke

Without that forgiveness, that peace, no heart is ever happy. There is always an inner struggle. Pain. Only when God has been invited in-to manage one's life, to direct one's thinking, to be in control-can one ever get away from all the conflicts inside. We have to stop struggling against His will before we can find real joy. — Janette Oke

Getting things accomplished isn't nearly as important as taking time for love. — Janette Oke

Where do you white women get the idea that having a child makes one weak and unable to do one's own work? — Janette Oke

Having someone who understands is a great blessing for ourselves. Being someone who understands is a great blessing to others. — Janette Oke

When tragedy happens a real family pulls together, mine ripped apart. — Janette Oke

The fact is, that having once seen Alice Oke in the reality, it was quite impossible to remember that one could have fancied her at all different: there was something so complete, so completely unlike every one else, in her personality, that she seemed always to have been present in one's consciousness, although present, perhaps, as an enigma. — Vernon Lee

It was much easier to clean feet than to clean shoes. — Janette Oke

He called out to his father. Since that moment, night after night I hear the man's cry echoing in my soul. He speaks like no man I have ever heard before. He invites one of the thieves to join him that very night in the heavens. He asks his father to forgive us. He asks his father why he is forsaken. And then he says three final words: It is finished. And he leaves. — Janette Oke

I don't understand all about God, but there's one thing that I'm as sure of as the fact that I live and breathe. He loves us. He loves us completely, and always keeps our good in mind. — Janette Oke

Blessings sometimes show up in unrecognizable disguises. — Janette Oke

Accepted - and treasured." "Treasured?" "Our men - our fathers, our brothers, and our husbands protect and care for us." "And that is shown by hiding you under this shawl?" "It's not hiding us, Leah. The shawl, this head covering, is a declaration before man and God. His divine Law proclaims women to be of great worth and orders that they be protected. First through their father, then their husband. If the husband dies, then women are protected through next of kin. And if there are no next of kin, the community. If this is not fulfilled, Leah, it is not the fault of God's Law, it is the fault of those to whom his Law was given. — Janette Oke

Linux remained where he was, more comfortable with his solitary position at the table than he'd ever been before. He felt a childlike ease, so protected, so accepted he could expose his most hidden weaknesses and fears and uncertainties and know all was well, all forgiven, all blessed. The stone he had carried inside was finally dissolving. Inner wounds were now open to healing light, and the gift of hope was like an illumination around him. — Janette Oke

Mary and I have spent quite a bit of time with the Master. I saw him teach, I saw him heal, I saw him dine with his disciples, I saw him leave, and I saw him return. And this is what I think: I believe every moment of his entire life has been spent setting an example. Every breath, every act, every word, carries message upon message upon message. His every instant was meant to bring eternity into the moment and hope to this fallen world. The death of my brother, our time of broken mourning, our loss of hope . . . — Janette Oke

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

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. — Janette Oke

We are speaking about miracles. Peter did not heal Abigail, Linux. The Lord our God performed a miracle of healing through Peter. The apostle allowed himself to be used. He sought to hear when the Lord spoke, and to do his will." Alban glanced at the lad seated by the entrance. "Just as all of us should seek to serve our Lord. — Janette Oke

with peach syrup, was still studying him carefully. Virginia — Janette Oke