Billy Graham Quotes - Page 20

cannot come to Christ unless the Holy Spirit convicts us of our sin.

Worldliness is an inner attitude that puts self at the center of life instead of God.

If young people could only realize that a happy marriage depends not only on the present, but upon the past, they would be more reluctant to enter into loose, intimate relations with anyone and everyone.

Many Christians who profess Christ do not live as though they possess Him.

What do others see when they look at your life? What do those who know you best say about you—your spouse, your children, your friends, your coworkers? Do they see inconsistencies in any area of your life—money, relationships, speech, possessions?

When everyone does what is right in his own eyes, there is no possibility of order and peace.

Covetousness puts money above manhood. It shackles its devotee and makes him its victim. It hardens the heart and deadens the noble impulses and destroys the vital qualities of life.

Satan’s method has often been to imitate God.Satan is still using this form of deception, and often his representatives are being disguised as ministers of righteousness.

The happiest Christian homes I know are those given to hospitality, where neighbors feel at home, where young people are welcome, where the elderly are respected, where children are loved.

The Bible has much to say about the brevity of life and the necessity of preparing for eternity. I am convinced that only when a man is prepared to die is he also prepared to live.

Anyone who has genuinely seen God is deeply convicted of his or her own sin.

Evangelism is not a calling reserved exclusively for the clergy. I believe one of the greatest priorities of the church today is to mobilize the laity to do the work of evangelism.

We have some of the finest civil rights laws in the world, but they have not solved our racial problems. Why? Because we need a change of heart and attitude, Jesus said, “You must be born again” [John 3:7].

Nothing can calm our souls more or better prepare us for life’s challenges than time spent alone with God.

I’m afraid most Bibles remain unopened and unread. Don’t let this be true of yours!

As long as Satan is loose in the world and our hearts are dominated by his evil passions, it will never be easy or popular to be a follower of Christ.

We have glamorized vice and minimized virtue. We have played down gentleness, manners, and morals—while we have played up rudeness, savagery, and vice . . . and the philosophy of “might is right.

[Angels] crisscross the Old and New Testaments, being mentioned directly or indirectly nearly 300 times.

Learn to take sin seriously—be on guard against it and resist its tug, fight its power. But most of all learn to take the Holy Spirit seriously, calling on Him to help you overcome sin’s power and live a holy and godly life.

Many people today have discarded the Bible’s clear teaching on sexual relations outside of marriage, simply because they are absorbed only in their own pleasures and desires.

As husband and wife, to have a happy life together, you must have confidence and respect, and you must have substantial agreement in your faith.

It has always been a mark of decaying civilizations to become obsessed with sex. When people lose their way, their purpose, their will, and their goals, as well as their faith . . . they go “a whoring.” It is a form of diversion that requires no thought, no character, and no restraint.

Only God Himself fully appreciates the influence of a Christian mother in the molding of character in her children.

We are to pray in times of adversity, lest we become faithless and unbelieving. We are to pray in times of prosperity, lest we become boastful and proud. We are to pray in times of danger, lest we become fearful and doubting. We need to pray in times of security, lest we become self-sufficient.

We are to be catch basins for the fullness of God. Like a freshly running spring, we are to overflow and let our lives touch the lives of those around us.

As much as we hate to admit it, we are sinners by birth. We are also sinners by choice. We are also sinners by practice.

Many a criminal has finally given himself over to the authorities because the accusations of a guilty conscience were worse than prison bars.

When brothers and sisters in Christ unite in the common bond of the Word of God and prayer, they are strengthened in their faith and witness.

The first and second commandments are the only therapy the world has ever needed. “Thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy mind . . . Thou shalt love thy neighbor as thyself” [Matthew 22:37, 39 KJV].

A suffering person does not need a lecture—he needs a listener.

How do we prepare for that last day? Before we embark on our final trip, have we left an earthly home in a state of chaos or a condition of order?

Through the written Word we discover the Living Word—Jesus Christ.

Confidentiality is the essence of being trusted.

Whether or not we sense and feel the presence of the Holy Spirit or one of the holy angels, by faith we are certain God will never leave us or forsake us.

By [Christ’s] resurrection life, He gives us the power over the tendency to sin as we allow Him to control our lives.

As long as we are on this earth, we possess dual citizenship. On one hand we owe allegiance to our nation and are called to be good citizens. But we are also citizens of the kingdom of God. Our supreme loyalty is to Him.

There are many religions in the world, and they have developed because various people have had various ideas about God. Christianity makes a unique claim . . . we can know God because He came to us in human form in the person of His Son, Jesus Christ.

Our schedules are so hectic we can’t get everything done, or else we are bored and restless, constantly looking for something to amuse us. We are the most frantic generation in history—and also the most entertained. The Bible tells us that both extremes are wrong.

Heaven has no clocks or calendars, and time will be no more [Revelation 10:6].

We constantly pass up the rich and beautiful and ennobling experiences and seek out the tawdry, the cheap, and the degrading. These are the works of the devil, and they flourish on every side!

Only as we bow in contrition, confession, and repentance at the foot of the cross, can we find forgiveness. There is the grace of God!

Nothing can replace a daily time spent alone with God in prayer. We can also be in an attitude of prayer throughout the day—sitting in a car or at our desks, working in the kitchen, even talking with someone on the phone.

Anger flees when the Spirit’s fruit fills our hearts.

The church is a storehouse of spiritual food whereby the inner man is fed, nourished, and developed into maturity. If it fails, it is not fulfilling its purpose as a church.

There is only one passion that can help us control the many other passions that plague us; that is the passion to know and obey God. When we get out of touch with Christ, we begin touching the things of the world, trying to fill the void that human flesh craves.

Young people, look to your Bible when thinking about any matter, including getting married.

Revelation is a pastor’s letter to his floundering flock, an urgent telegram bearing a brilliant battle plan for a people at war.

Our prayers must be in accordance with the will of God for the simple reason that God knows better what is good for us than we know ourselves.

The Holy Spirit illuminates the minds of people, makes us yearn for God, and takes spiritual truth and makes it understandable to us.

[God] knows that an uncontrolled life is an unhappy life, so He puts reins on our wayward souls that they may be directed into the “paths of righteousness.

There is hope for the alcoholic: God is able to deliver from this as well as any other addiction.

Why did Jesus Christ leave heaven’s gloryand enter this sin-infested world? For one reason: to make our eternal salvation possible.

I am convinced that hundreds of religious leaders throughout the world today are servants not of God, but of the Antichrist. They are wolves in sheep’s clothing; they are tares instead of wheat.

Sin was conquered on the cross. [Christ’s] death is the foundation of our hope, the promise of our triumph!

The Father is the source of all blessing, and the Son is the channel of all blessing, [and] it is through the Holy Spirit at work in us that all truth becomes living and operative in our lives.

True conversion will involve the mind, the affection, and the will. There have been thousands of people who have been intellectually converted to Christ . . .but they have never been really converted to Him.

You can use your tongue to slander, to gripe, to scold, to nag, and to quarrel; or you can bring it under the control of God’s Spirit and make it an instrument of blessing and praise.

Deep down inside I knew something was different . . .I wanted to tell others what had happened to me. I didn’t have any tears, I didn’t have any emotion, I didn’t hear any thunder, there was no lightning . . . but . . . I made my decision for Christ.

Memorizing the Bible is most important. “Thinking God’s thoughts” will take the place of worried, anxious concerns.

My home is in heaven. I’m just passing through this world.