Billy Graham Quotes - Page 20

The Bible stands as the supreme Constitution for all mankind, its laws applying equally to all who live under its domain, without exception or special interpretation.

Conscience is a vigilant eye before which each imagination, thought, and act is held up for either censure or approval . . .There is no greater proof of the existence of a moral law and Lawgiver in the universe than this little light of the soul. It is God’s voice to the inner man.

Death carries with it a certain dread. It [is] the enemy, the great, mysterious monster that makes people quake with fear.

Jesus invited us not to a picnic, but to a pilgrimage; not to a frolic, but to a fight. He offered us not an excursion, but an execution.

It has been said there was a cross in the heart of God long before the cross was erected at Calvary. As we think about it we will be overwhelmed at the wonder and greatness of His love for us.

Conscience tells us in our innermost being of the presence of God and of the moral difference between good and evil; but this is a fragmentary message, in no way as distinct and comprehensive as the lessons of the Bible.

God can do more with a few days of your time if given completely to Him, than He can with a whole life characterized by a half-hearted service.

Peacemaking is a noble vocation . . . To be a peacemaker, you must know the Peace-Giver.

Our government is certainly going to fall like a rope of sand if unsupported by the moral fabric of God’s Word. The moral structure in our country grew from Judeo-Christian roots. When those values are applied, they produce moral fruits. But if that structure disappears, the moral sentiment that shapes our nation’s goals will disappear with it.

I believe this is one of the tests of the Spirit-filled life. Is Christ becoming more and more evident in my life? Are people seeing more of Him, and less of me?

The most remarkable thing about suffering is that God can use it for our good.

True love is an act of the will—a conscious decision to do what is best for the other person instead of ourselves.

Faith implies four things: self-renunciation, reliance with utter confidence on Christ, obedience, and a changed life.

Ancient historians tell us that one of the symptoms of a declining civilization is a desexualization of the human race, with men becoming more effeminate and women becoming more masculine, not only in physical [appearance] but in their basic characters.

We have come to worship things, status, fame, popularity, money, security. Anything that comes between God and ourselves is idolatry. Jesus demands Lordship over all such things.

Historians will probably call our era “the age of anxiety.” Anxiety is the natural result when our hopes are centered in anything short of God and His will for us.

We are called to obey Christ. He is the Master of our lives and has washed us in His blood, which cleanses our souls, our minds, and our mouths. The world is watching. What do they see and hear?

Has God designated any one person here on earth to speak with final authority about Him? No—the one Man who could do that lived two thousand years ago, and we crucified Him!

Grief can kill a person emotionally and physically. If not counteracted with God’s strength and power, our personal weakness may debilitate us.

Repent when you fail, and immediately seek God’s forgiveness and restoration. Sin breaks our fellowship with God.

Sex-centered magazines litter our newsstands . . . each edition trying to escape new laws from the bottom of the sewers. We put lids on sewer holes. Ought we not to do something about the pornography which is spewing out a polluted river of filth which can destroy us faster than any chemical pollution we seem so worried about?7

Submission . . . involves getting rid of everything which hinders God’s control over our lives.

If there is something we need more than anything else during grief, it is a friend who stands with us, who doesn’t leave us. Jesus is that friend.

Just as America has grown and prospered within the framework of our Constitution, so Christianity has flourished and spread according to the laws set forth in the Bible.

The Lord Jesus Christ is preparing a home fit for all who live for Him, a place designed for the church triumphant. Let’s exemplify the work of His hands, for they are busy, on our behalf, building a city large enough to encompass His people of faith—an eternal home for the soul.

People do not come to hear what I have to say—they want to know what God has to say.

We are not free to pick and choose the parts of the Bible we want to believe or obey. God has given us all of it, and we should be obedient to all of it.

Man got into difficulty when he lifted his will against God’s. He gets out of trouble when he bows to the divine superiority, when he repents and says humbly: “God be merciful to me a sinner.” Man’s extremity then becomes God’s opportunity.

Unless men of purpose, integrity, and faith stand together in unswerving loyalty to Jesus Christ, the future of the world is dark indeed.

I have stood in the places where history was made. I have seen with my own eyes the part that men and women of faith have played in these earthshaking events, and I have heard with my own ears their cries for freedom.

I could recall countless illustrations of men and women who have encountered Jesus Christ . . .Their whole lives have been transformed.

Truth is timeless. Truth does not differ from one age to another, from one people to another, from one geographical location to another . . . the great all-prevailing Truth stands for time and eternity.

As Christians, we have only one authority, one compass: the Word of God.

Christianity has its roots in the deep, firm soil of history. Jesus’ incarnation—God invading human history with His presence in the form of man—is on the record. Every time you write the date, you attest to the fact that God entered human history.

Someday you will read or hear that Billy Graham is dead. Don’t you believe a word of it! I shall be more alive than I am now. I will just have changed my address. I will have gone into the presence of God.

What is heaven? It’s the home that God created and He possesses. His throne room is His headquarters from which He issues His commands, directions, and prophecies. And Jesus sits at His Father’s right hand.

The most thrilling thing about heaven is that Jesus Christ will be there. I will see Him face to face. Jesus Christ will meet us at the end of life’s journey.

[Our] problems boil down to one of moral choices.God wanted a world based on moral values,thus He created mankind with the ability to respond to moral choices.Faced with the moral option of living selfishly or unselfishly, people can and do make wrong decisions. We are free to choose, but we reap the consequences of bad moral decisions.

Sooner or later, we are going to face death; should we be making preparations while we are living?

Evil is real—but so is God’s power and love.

It is far easier to live an excellent life among your friends, when you are putting your best foot forward and are conscious of public opinion, than it is to live for Christ in your home.

The only place we can find a clear, i unmistakable message is in the Word of God [the Bible].

From one end of the Bible to the other, God assures us that He will never go back on His promises.

The Bible . . . is the only Book that offers man a redemption and points the way out of his dilemmas. It is our one sure guide in an unsure world.

We have a mandate to speak out against “the sin that so easily entangles” [Hebrews 12:1 NIV]; for though we are not of the world, we are still in it.

God has prescribed the remedy for the spiritual sickness of the human race. The solution is personal faith and commitment to Jesus Christ . . .if we deliberately refuse it, we must suffer the horrible consequences.

The Christian is not to be disturbed by thechaos, violence, strife, bloodshed, and threat of war that fill the pages of our daily newspapers. We know that these things are the consequences of man’s sin and greed. Every day as I read my newspaper I say: “The Bible is true.

I am convinced that when a man sincerely searches for God with all his heart, God will reveal Himself in some way.

I’m afraid many young people today have very romantic ideas about marriage—ideas that do not necessarily reflect the truth . . .Romantic feelings alone are not enough when the problems and strains come—as they inevitably do.

Religion can be anything! But true Christianity is God coming to man in a personal relationship.

The Holy Spirit can rejuvenate a tired Christian, captivate an indifferent believer, and empower a dry church.

Most of us know about God, but that is quite different from knowing God.

If we who have the Holy Spirit living and working within us falter and fail, what hope is there for the rest of the world?

If we don’t know who we are, we’ll never know how we ought to live.

When our faith becomes nothing more than a series of rules and regulations, joy flees and our love for Christ grows cold.

The Bible is to be our basis of authority. We must “by faith” accept [Jesus] as the Son of the living God. This sounds narrow and intolerant, and in a sense it is!

Our popular music talks constantly about love, and yet divorce rates skyrocket.

Science is learning to control everything but man.

What you do with Christ here and now decides where you shall spend eternity.

Any work done by a follower of Christ to the glory of God is “gold, silver, precious stones.” But if any follower of Christ works with any self-interest or personal ambition involved, it will be “wood, hay, and stubble” and will be burned.