Billy Graham Quotes - Page 19

Each of us has our reference point and as a Christian the reference point by which I measure my life and thought is the Bible.

In the world in which we live, we give most attention to satisfying the appetites of the body and practically none to the soul . . . We become fat physically and materially, while spiritually we are lean, weak, and anemic.

In taking our human nature upon Himself, [Jesus] showed us what we might become, what God intended us to be.

Nothing made by the hand of man has ever been so beautiful as starlight on the water or moonlight on the snow. And the same hand that made trees and fields and flowers, the seas and hills, the clouds and sky, has been making a home for us called heaven.

I know that many of the things I have said from the Scriptures have offended, and I have sometimes been tempted to tone down the message. But, God helping me, I never will! I would become a false prophet. I would also betray my Lord.

God has already set the date [for judgment]. You may make and break appointments in this life, but this is one appointment you are going to keep.

Idolatrous beliefs have eroded the foundations of truth. Whether ancient or modern, all have posed alternatives to the biblical way of approaching God.

Flesh is the Bible’s word for unperfected human nature. Leaving off the “h” and spelling it in reverse, we have the word self. Flesh is the self-life: it is what we are when we are left to our own devices.

The words of this Book have a way of filling in the missing pieces, of bridging the gaps, of turning the tarnished colors of our life to jewel-like brilliance. Learn to take your every problem to the Bible. Within its pages you will find the correct answer.

My visit to Auschwitz will certainly be one of the most unforgettable events of my life. It is a blot on the whole human race. It was the invention of minds so depraved and demonic that they defy any rational explanation. It reminds us of the terrible potential man has for violence and inhumanity.

We can’t go on much longer morally. We can’t go on much longer scientifically. The technology that was supposed to save us is ready to destroy us. New weapons are being made all the time, including chemical and biological weapons. Today the only bright spot on the horizon of this world is the promise of the coming again of Christ.

The greatest testimony to this dark world today would be a band of crucified and risen men and women, dead to sin and alive unto God, bearing in their bodies “the marks of the Lord Jesus” [Galatians 6:17 NKJV].

In John 6 we read that when great multitudes went after Him, He told them three times that unless they were willing to pay the price, they could not be His followers.

There is no doubt that nations come to an end when they have ceased to fulfill the function that God meant for them.

Christians should seek after holiness—without which no man shall see the Lord. Let us seek ardently the kind of life that reflects the beauty of Jesus and marks us as being what saints ought to be!

I am never lonely when I am praying, for this brings me into companionship with the greatest friend of all—Jesus Christ. He said, “I call you not servants; . . . but . . . friends” [John 15:15 KJV].

The cross has become a symbol in much of the Western world, misused by many rock stars and others who do not comprehend its significance.

The Pilgrims . . . put their ideals ahead of all material considerations. It is not surprising that the Pilgrims had little and succeeded, while we have much and are in danger of failing. No civilization can make progress unless some great principle is generously mixed into the mortar of its foundations in life.

Your life is intricately woven into the lives of scores and hundreds of others around you. Consider the variety of lives that you influence in one day. Somewhere within your circle of contacts someone is being hurt. Are you aware of it?

If ever a generation was bequeathed the knowledge of God, we were. Yet we are throwing away this glorious heritage on our lust and passions.

All the nations that make up the world are burdened down with riches or poverty, obesity or malnutrition, success or failure.

God’s house will be happy because Christ will be there.

Because of what Jesus Christ did for us through His cross and resurrection, we know that we have hope for the future.

Jesus demands to be Master and Lord of every part of your life. Is He Lord of your mind, of what you think, read, and believe? Of what you dream about, meditate on, and entertain yourself with? Do your eyes belong to Christ? Can [you] ask God’s blessing on it? Can [you] do this to the glory of God?

The Bible teaches whether we are saved or lost, there is an everlasting existence of the soul.

God gave us our children so we could prepare them to become adults.

From the beginning of time until the present moment, man’s ungodly quest for power, his determination to use his gift of free choice for his own selfish ends, has brought him to the brink of doom.

God can break the chain of every sin that binds you if you are willing to give it up. He comes into your heart and gives you power to overcome sin.

With an old head and a young heart, you can be a source of real strength [to others] who need your cheer and encouragement.

Man is a rebel, and a rebel is naturally in confusion. He is in conflict with every other rebel. For a rebel by his very nature is selfish. He is seeking his own good and not the good of others.

Christ wants to give you hope for the future. He wants you to learn what it means to walk with Him every day. When you come to Christ, God gives you eternal life—which begins right now as you open your heart to Him.

The church is blending into the community by embracing what the world enjoys and, in turn, bringing inside the church the world’s ideas and interests.

I had not been preaching long before I decided that I would never preach to another segregated audience in any situation over which we had control. This was long before the Supreme Court decision of 1954. I felt this was the Christian position and I could do no other.

[Jesus Christ] is the Lord of history. Nothing is taking God by surprise. Events are moving rapidly toward some sort of climax . . .when His Son, Jesus Christ, returns to be rightful Ruler of the world.

Our souls have a disease. It causes all the troubles and difficulties in the world. It causes all the troubles, confusions, and disillusionments in your own life. The name of the disease is . . . sin.

We are so caught up with the affairs of this life we give little attention to eternity.

God did not intend for us to be idle and unproductive. There is dignity in work.

I call upon the leaders of all nations to work for peace, even when the risks seem high. I call upon Christians to pray and work for peace in whatever constructive ways are open to them. I do not believe this is only a political issue; it is a moral one as well.

I believe that this world, as we know it, will come to an end . . . This is not fanciful imagination but the clear and repeated testimony of the Bible.

We glorify Christ when we live for God—trusting, loving, and obeying Him.

In some ways, Christians are homeless. Our true home is waiting for us, prepared by the Lord Jesus Christ.

Any theory of the universe that does not take into account the God and Creator of the universe is not worthy of serious consideration.

If Christians realized that God Himself in the person of the Holy Spirit really dwells within our bodies, we would be far more careful about what we eat, drink, look at, or read. No wonder Paul said, “I beat my body and make it my slave” [1 Corinthians 9:27 NIV]. This should drive us to our knees in confession.

We cannot inherit Christianity . . . God has no grandchildren.

Don’t argue with [a professor], but test everything he says in the light of God’s Word.

Parents do overindulge their children, giving them a profusion of material things . . . without the stabilizing effects of earning one’s way, of making decisions, of sweating hard to attain some kind of goal, young people are grievously handicapped.

Do you want your faith to grow? Then let the Bible begin to saturate your mind and soul.

People are little creatures with big capacities, finite beings with infinite desires, deserving nothing but demanding all. God made people with this huge capacity and desire in order that He might come in and completely satisfy that desire.

People judge us not by what we think or believe, but by what we do—and when our lives don’t measure up, we lose their respect and they conclude our faith isn’t real.

Would Christ feel comfortable in an environment where men and women are consuming alcoholic beverages, gambling away their money, and engaging in conversation that is often filled with the baser things of life? It is a relevant question. As a Christian, Christ lives in you and you carry Him wherever you go. The Bible tells us to “come out from them and be separate” [2 Corinthians 6:17 NIV].

We must understand what the word believe implies. It means “commit” and “surrender.

The resurrection blasts apart the finality of death, providing an alternative to the stifling settling dust of death and opens the way to new life.

Sinful pleasure can ruin our appetite for the things of God.

Christianity is not an insurance policy against life’s ills and troubles.

When God forgives us and purifies us of our sin, He also forgets it. Forgiveness results in God dropping the charges against us.

God has a plan and the devil has a plan, and you will have to decide which plan you are going to fit into.

If the United Nations could bring lasting peace, man could say to God, “We do not need You anymore. We have brought peace on earth and have organized humanity in righteousness.” All of these schemes are patchwork remedies that a sick and dying world must use while waiting for the Great Physician.

I believe we should pray that God will take possession of our lives totally and completely. We should pray that we will be emptied of self— self-love, self-will, self-ambition—and be placed completely at His disposal.

Why should we give God thanks? Because everything we have comes from God.

God holds every man accountable for his rejection of Christ.