I love awesome quotes, it’s almost an informal habit of mine to collect them! So I thought I’d share a few of my recent favorites…more along the philosophical line:
“Success is the ability to go from one failure to another with no loss of enthusiasm.” – Sir Winston Churchill
“To be an atheist requires an indefinitely greater measure of faith than to receive all the great truths which atheism would deny.” – Joseph Addison
“If two men agree on everything, you may be sure that one of them is doing the thinking.” – Lyndon Baines Johnson
“Intimidation is an acknowledgment of the weakness of your point of view” – Desmond Tutu
The dictionary defines unashamed as: acting openly and without guilt or embarrassment.
In a world that is trying to oppress and tyrannize Christians who believe in any absolutes – especially those based on the Bible – there are few willing to stand up and be counted. I came across (which in turn came from here) one such young girl this evening, and I’m both praising God and challenged myself from her example.
A quote I came across last week is ringing in my head, “If Jesus had preached the same message that ministers preach today, He would never have been crucified.“ - Leonard Ravenhill. For far too long we’ve been too concerned about what the world thinks about us as Christians. And this has led to only one thing – the church conforming to the world…not the other way around. If Jesus is to return in our lifetime this has to change. We have a message to give a world – and it’s not popular, it’s not going to win many friends and it may even get us killed. This quote from Spurgeon hits the nail on the head to use a cliché:
“After Peter and John were locked up for preaching, the church had a prayer meeting, but they did not pray, ‘Lord grant unto thy servants that by a wise and discriminating use of innocent recreation we may show these people how happy we are.’ If they ceased not for preaching Christ, they had not time for arranging entertainments. Scattered by persecution, they went everywhere preaching the gospel. They ‘turned the world upside down’ (Acts 17:6). That is the only difference! Lord, clear the church of all the rubbish the devil has imposed on her, and bring us back to apostolic methods.” – C.H. Spurgeon, “Feeding Sheep or Amusing Goats?”
I’ve been meditating on Paul writing to Timothy in 1 Timothy 6:6 talking about Godliness with contentment is great gain – I might post my thoughts on it someday, I’m coming to believe a correct understanding of the concept Paul is talking about adds an extra dimension to victorious Christianity!
Anyway, here’s a quote related to this that I came across this morning in my personal study time:
“Pure religion brings peace, happiness, contentment; godliness is profitable to this life and the life to come.
That unrest and discontent which ends in fretting and complaining is sinful; but the discontent with one’s self which urges on to more earnest effort for greater improvement of the mind for a broader field of usefulness is praiseworthy. This discontent does not end in disappointment but in gathering force for a higher and more extended field of usefulness. Only be ever balanced by firm religious principle and a sensitive conscience, having ever the fear of God before you, and you will certainly prosper in becoming fitted for a life of usefulness.
We should live for the next world. It is so wretched to live a haphazard, aimless life. We want an object in life–to live for a purpose. God help us all to be self-sacrificing, less self-caring, more forgetful of self and selfish interest; and to do good, not for the honor we expect to receive here, but because this is the object of our life and will answer the end of our existence. Let our daily prayer go up to God that He will divest us of selfishness. . . .
I have seen that those who live for a purpose, seeking to benefit and bless their fellow men and to honor and glorify their Redeemer, are the truly happy ones on the earth, while the man who is restless, discontented, and seeking this and testing that, hoping to find happiness, is always complaining of disappointment. He is always in want, never satisfied, because he lives for himself alone. Let it be your aim to do good, to act your part in life faithfully.”
- Ellen White, Our High Calling p242
Today has been one of those days that I don’t really enjoy having. Stressful, creative inspiration not running at full steam, being mucked around by other people, and topped off with deadlines as the icing. A bit after 14:00 this afternoon I realized rather acutely that the walls of my stomach were kissing each other and set about to rectify the problem. So I’m at the sink washing some stuff and glance at some quotes that my mother has placed there…and this one jumps out at me and arrests my attention. It wasn’t that I hadn’t read it before, it was just that I hadn’t READ it before!
“God’s work of refining and purifying must go on until His servants are so humbled, so dead to self, that, when called into active service, their eye will be single to His glory. He will then accept their efforts; they will not move rashly, from impulse; they will not rush on and imperil the Lord’s cause, being slaves to temptations and passions and followers of their own carnal minds set on fire by Satan. Oh, how fearfully is the cause of God marred by man’s perverse will and unsubdued temper! How much suffering he brings upon himself by following his own headstrong passions! God brings men over the ground again and again, increasing the pressure until perfect humility and a transformation of character bring them into harmony with Christ and the spirit of heaven, and they are victors over themselves. ” – Ellen White
So, it’s back to the ministry design deadlines I go. But with a renewed awe and wonder at God for Him seeing something of worth in me and I’m praising Him for what He’s allowing to happen to refine and purify me so that I can have an eye single to His glory not mine!
“If your heart takes more pleasure in reading novels, or watching TV, or going to the movies, or talking to friends, rather than just sitting alone with God and embracing Him, sharing His cares and His burdens, weeping and rejoicing with Him, then how are you going to handle forever and ever in His presence…? You’d be bored to tears in heaven, if you’re not ecstatic about God now!” – Keith Green
One of my goals at the moment is to post at least a few times a month on here…hopefully more. But I don’t just want to post about anything and everything – sure this is a personal blog (atm), however it’s more – it’s a blog about my life as a Christian with a bit of random stuff thrown in for good measure. With that in mind I thought I’d regularly post quotes that have made me stop and think – hopefully they’ll do the same for you. So here goes:
“O pray not for easy lives, pray to be strong! Pray not for tasks equal to your powers, pray for powers equal to your tasks; then the doing of your work shall be no miracle, but you shall be a miracle to the praise of Him who has made you who you are.” – author unknown
So here goes: