Billy Graham Quotes - Page 11

God knew that children grow and mature best in a stable, loving family, and this was one reason He gave marriage to us.

A friend of mine defines prayer as “a declaration of dependence.

The Bible teaches that Satan is the author of sin. Sin is the reason we have afflictions, including death. All of our problems and our suffering are a result of man’s rebellionagainst God. But God has provided a rescue in His Son.

Christianity is being compared with other religions as never before. Some so-called Christian leaders even advocate the working out of a system of morals, ethics, and religion that would bring together all the religions of the world. It cannot be done. Jesus Christ is unique.

What makes us Christians shrug our shoulders when we ought to be flexing our muscles? What makes us apathetic in a day when there are loads to lift, a world to be won, and captives to be set free? Why are so many bored, when the times demand action? Christ told us that in the last days there would be an insipid attitude toward life.

Your salvation depends on what [Christ] has done for you, not on what you do for Him. It isn’t your hold on God that saves you; it’s His hold on you.

Most of us do not understand nuclear fission, but we accept it . . . Why is it so easy to accept manmade miracles and so difficult to accept the miracles of the Bible?

The focus on self has led our society into a fascination with pleasure, emotional and sexual stimulation, and “personal fulfillment.” America’s compulsion for “maximum personhood” is evidenced everywhere.

Nothing in our lives takes God by surprise.

The ability to rejoice in any situation is a sign of spiritual maturity.

Death is said in the Bible to be a coronation for the Christian.

We have changed our moral code to fit our behavior instead of changing our behavior to harmonize with God’s moral code.

The truth is that others judge us. More than that, they evaluate the truth of the Gospel by what they see of our lives and our integrity. [We] must make every effort to be above all suspicion in the matter of finances and statistics. We are not only accountable to God’s people, but also to our Master (see Acts 24:16).

Many Christians want the benefits of their belief, but they hesitate at the cost of discipleship.

I trust Jesus with all my tomorrows, knowing that He will solve the mystery of life beyond the grave.

We have become so tolerant and accepting of the world’s ways that it is hard for many in the church to notice the sin much less answer how it crept in. The church is to be in the world, but worldliness is not to infiltrate the church.

Do you want to know what God’s will is for you? It is for you to become more and more like Christ. This is spiritual maturity, and if you make this your goal, it will change your life.

When we all stand before the judgment seat of Christ, we will have our true motives revealed.

Satan] invades the Sunday school, the Bible class, and even the pulpit. He even invades the church under cover of an orthodox vocabulary, emptying sacred terms of their biblical sense.

True prayer is a way of life, not just for use in cases of emergency. Make it a habit, and when the need arises you will be in practice.

God’s followers need to know the truth He sets forth in His Word so that we can confidently discern between His truth and Satan’s lies.

Envy and greed always—always—exact a terrible price. I have never met an envious or greedy person who was at peace.

True freedom consists not in the freedom to sin, but the freedom not to sin.

Christians who are strong in the faith grow as they accept whatever God allows to enter their lives.

I am never lonely when I am sharing [Christ] with others. There is a great exhilaration in talking to others about [Him].

There is no such thing as a “social gospel.” It is a misnomer. There is only one Gospel. “If any man preach any other gospel unto you . . .let him be accursed” [Galatians 1:9 KJV].

There are storms in your own life: storms oftemptation, confusion, and difficulty . . .An uneasy conscience says, “Stop before it is too late!

In His thirty-three years on earth, Jesus suffered with man; on the cross He suffered for man.

I believe America has gone a long way down the wrong road. If we ever needed God’s help, it is now.

Prayer is the most powerful weapon we have in our spiritual arsenal to stand against the world’s greatest enemy, the one who presents himself as an angel of light [2 Corinthians 11:14].

It often takes a tragedy to open our hearts, minds, and wills to the truth of God’s Word.

Our dress, our posture, our actions should all be for the honor and glory of Christ. Much of our talk as Christians is secular, not spiritual. It is easy to fall into the conversational conformity of the world and spend an evening discussing politics, new cars, and the latest entertainment. We often forget that we are to edify one another with holy conversation and that our conversation should be on heavenly, and not exclusively on earthly things.

To live the life of God we must have the nature of God.

Peer pressure accounts for much of the promiscuous sex in high schools and colleges. “Conform or get lost.” Since no one enjoys losing friends or being cast out of his own circle, peer pressure—especially during the years of adolescence—is an almost irresistible force.

We need to place God at the center of our family . . . As a family, we need to walk with God daily.

The Word of God hidden in the heart is a stubborn voice to suppress.

Don’t let hatred control you, no matter what others do that causes [anger]. You would only become guilty of the same sin that afflicts them, and nothing would be solved.

Understanding the consequence of sin and arrogance should motivate every Christian to pray for repentance and revival.

I know of few families today that aren’t touched to some extent by the heartache of divorce, including our own.

What relationships need strengthening in your life? Don’t wait for them to grow cold or bitter, but ask God to help you strengthen them by putting God’s love into action—begin today.

Learn to keep close to [Jesus], to listen to His voice, and follow Him.

I would not change places with the wealthiest and most influential person in the world. I would rather be a child of the King, a joint-heir with Christ, a member of the Royal Family of heaven!

Ultimately, every human being must face this question: What do you think of Christ? Whose Son is He? We must answer this question with belief and action. We must not only believe something about Jesus, but we must do something about Him. We must accept Him or reject Him.

Don’t take your Bible for granted! For centuries ordinary believers had no access to the Bible; Bibles had to be painstakingly copied by hand and were very expensive. The only access most people had to the Bible was by hearing it read in church. The invention of the printing press changed all that, however, and today the Bible is readily available in multiple translations and hundreds of languages around the world.

Life has its share of joys and laughter—but we also know life’s road is often very rough. Temptations assail us; people disappoint us; illness and age weaken us; tragedies and sorrows ambush us; evil and injustice overpower us. Life is hard—but God is good, and heaven is real!

Every Christian should become an ambassador of Christ . . .every Christian should be so intoxicated with Christ and so filled with holy fervor that nothing could ever quench his [passion] . . .Let us capture some of the magnificent obsession that [the] early Christians had!

It is far better to know God’s truth than to be ignorant of it.

We have seen the results of unrestrained greed, corruption, and manipulation on Wall Street, financial mismanagement in the halls of government, fraud and perversion at the highest levels of both church and state. Many people sense the possibility of an even greater unraveling in the world. We are constantly confronted by the realities of new problems in this age of crisis.

When most major Protestant denominations have their annual councils, assemblies, or conventions, they make pronouncements on matters having to do with disarmament, federal aid to education, birth control, the United Nations, and any number of social and political issues. Very rarely are any resolutions passed that have to do with theredemptive witness of the Gospel.

While those around you are filling their minds with the bad news about man in their daily papers, steep yourself in the good news about God in His precious Word!

The only one who can re-create us is the One who created us in the first place. If your watch were out of order, you wouldn’t take it to a blacksmith. If your car needed overhauling, you wouldn’t go to a machine shop. Our spiritual problems can be solved only by the God who created us originally.

Men and women who give [Christ] first place find that there is no need for anxiety about this world’s goods.

Your yearning for God must supersede all other desires. It must be like a gnawing hunger and a burning thirst.

Many people ask about Christianity the same [way] they ask about everything else today: “What’s in it for me?” In our selfishness, we think of God as we think of everyone else. What can He contribute to us, personally?

Christianity increases the scope and area of our lives.

Some evangelists spend too much time thinking and even planning about how to achieve visible results. This is an easy trap to fall into.

We are like a restless sea, finding a little peace here and a little pleasure there, but nothing permanent and satisfying. So the search continues!

[God] speaks from heaven through the Bible, His written Word. This is why I use the phrase “the Bible says.” I would not have the authority to say what I do in sermons unless it was based upon the Word of God.

Jesus Christ was the Master Realist when He urged men to prepare for death, which was certain to come. Do not worry, said the Lord Jesus, about the death of the body, but rather concern yourself with the eternal death of the soul.

Many Christians give in to various temptations through peer pressure and find themselves surrendering to worldly passions, justifying pleasures the world offers.