Sunday Recap

November 4, 2012 — Craig T. Owens

I know we covered a lot of ground today in part 5 of the Sola series. Several folks have asked me to make available the resources I shared this morning, so here they are. Enjoy!

The “Sola pyramid” shows how each of the sola statements build on each other, pointing to the apex of God’s glory.

  • Sola scriptura is the foundation because it gives us the authority of God’s Word on which we build all the other statements.
  • Faith comes by hearing the Word (sola scriptura) and so it leads to the understanding of sola fide.
  • God’s mercy is extended to us in justification, but then his grace is the amazing, above-and-beyond gift to us in sola gratia.
  • We remember grace with this acrostic: God’s Riches At Christ’s Expense. So grace is possible sola Christo—only through the work of Jesus Christ.
  • Jesus Himself said that all He did was to bring glory to the Father, so sola Deo gloria becomes the penultimate focal point of everything else.

Here are the quotes I shared:

“We were made to know and treasure the glory of God above all things; but when we trade that treasure for images, everything is disordered. The sun of God’s glory was made to shine at the center of the solar system of our soul. When it does, all the planets of our life are held in their proper orbit. But when the sun is displaced, everything flies apart. The healing of the soul begins by restoring the glory of God to its flaming, all-attracting place at the center.” —John Piper

“The shop, the barn, the scullery, and the smithy become temples when men and women do all to the glory of God! Then divine service is not a thing of a few hours and a few places, but all life becomes holiness unto the Lord, and every place and thing, as consecrated as the tabernacle and its golden candlestick.” —Charles Spurgeon

“If God’s glory is the only all-satisfying reality in the universe, then to try to do good for people, without aiming to show them the glory of God and ignite in them a delight in God, would be like treating fever with cold packs when you have penicillin.” —John Piper

Let your light so shine before men that they may see your moral excellence and your praiseworthy, noble, and good deeds and recognize and honor and praise and glorify your Father Who is in heaven. (Matthew 5:16, Amplified Bible)

And, finally, here is the picture of George Friederic Handel’s signature on all his music. “S.D.G.” is Sola Deo gloria, which appears before the initials “G.F.H.” of his own name.

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10 Quotes From “Grace”

September 25, 2012 — Craig T. Owens

Max Lucado’s newest book Grace is a wonderful reminder of how extravagant God is toward us (you can read my full review by clicking here). Here are 10 of my favorite quotes from Grace—

“God’s guilt brings enough regret to change us. satan’s guilt, on the other hand, brings enough to enslave us. … It boils down to this choice: Do you trust your Advocate or your accuser?”

“Sin is not a regrettable lapse or an occasional stumble. Sin stages a coup against God’s regime. Sin storms the castle, lays claim to God’s throne, and defies His authority. Sin shouts, ‘I want to run my own life, thank you very much!’ Sin tells God to get out, get lost, and not come back. Sin is insurrection of the highest order, and you are an insurrectionist. So am I. So is every single person who has taken a breath. … God didn’t overlook your sins, lest He endorse them. He didn’t punish you, lest He destroy you. He instead found a way to punish the sin and preserve the sinner. Jesus took your punishment, and God gave you the credit for Jesus’ perfection.”

“Grace-a-lots believe in grace, a lot. Jesus almost finished the work of salvation, they argue. In a rowboat named Heaven Bound, Jesus paddles most of the time. But every so often He needs our help. So we give it. We accumulate good works the way Boy Scouts accumulate merit badges on a sash. … We find it easier to trust the miracle of resurrection than the miracle of grace. We so fear failure that we create the image of perfection, lest Heaven be even more disappointed in us than we are. The result? The weariest people on earth. Attempts at self-salvation guarantee nothing but exhaustion. We scamper and scurry, trying to please God, collecting merit badges and brownie points, and scowling at anyone who questions our accomplishments. Call us the church of hound-dog faces and slumped shoulders. Stop it! Once and for all, enough of this frenzy. ‘Your hearts should be strengthened by God’s grace, not by obeying rules’ (Hebrews 13:9 NCV). Jesus does not say, ‘Come to Me, all you who are perfect and sinless.’ Just the opposite. ‘Come to Me, all who are weary and heavy-laden, and I will give you rest’ (Matthew 11:28 NASB).”

“Give the grace you’ve been given. You don’t endorse the deeds of your offender when you do. Jesus didn’t endorse your sins by forgiving you. Grace doesn’t tell the daughter to like the father who molested her. It doesn’t tell the oppressed to wink at injustice. The grace-defined person still sends thieves to jail and expects and ex to pay child support. Grace is not blind. It sees the hurt full well. But grace chooses to see God’s forgiveness even more. It refuses to let hurts poison the heart. ‘See to it that no one misses the grace of God and that no bitter root grows up to cause trouble and defile many’ (Hebrews 12:15 NIV). Where grace is lacking, bitterness abounds. Where grace abounds, forgiveness grows.”

“Find a congregation that believes in confession. Avoid a fellowship of perfect people (you won’t fit in), but seek one where members confess their sins and show humility, where the price of admission is simply the admission of guilt. Healing happens in a church like this.”

“Plunge a sponge into Lake Erie. Did you absorb every drop? Take a deep breath. Did you suck the oxygen out of the atmosphere? Pluck a needle from a tree in Yosemite. Did you deplete the forest of foliage? Watch an ocean wave crash against the beach. Will there never be another one? Of course there will. No sooner will one wave crash into the sand than another appears. Then another, then another. This is a picture of God’s sufficient grace. Grace is simply another word for God’s tumbling, rumbling reservoir of strength and protection. It comes at us not occasionally or miserly but constantly and aggressively, wave upon wave. We’ve barely regained our balance from one breaker, and then, bam, here comes another. ‘Grace upon grace’ (John 1:16 NASB). We dare to hang our hat and stake our hope on the gladdest news of all: if God permits the challenge, He will provide the grace to meet it. We never exhaust His supply. ‘Stop asking so much! My grace reservoir is running dry.’ Heaven knows no such words. God has enough grace to solve every dilemma you face, wipe every tear you cry, and answer every question you ask.”

“How long has it been since your generosity stunned someone? Since someone objected, ‘No, really, this is too generous’? If it has been awhile, reconsider God’s extravagant grace. ‘Forget not all His benefits, who forgives all your iniquity’ (Psalm 103:2-3 RSV).”

“Your identity is not in your possessions, talents, tattoos, kudos, or accomplishments. Nor are you defined by your divorce, deficiencies, debt, or dumb choices. You are God’s child. You get to call Him ‘Papa.’ You ‘may approach God with freedom and confidence’ (Ephesians 3:12 NIV). You receive the blessings of His special love (1 John 4:9-11) and provision (Luke 11:11-13). And you will inherit the riches of Christ and reign with Him forever (Romans 8:17).”

“To live as God’s child is to know, at this very instant, that you are loved by your Maker not because you try to please Him and succeed, or fail to please Him and apologize, but because He wants to be your Father. Nothing more. All your efforts to win His affections are unnecessary. All your fears of losing His affection are needless. You can no more make Him want you than you can convince Him to abandon you. The adoption is irreversible. You have a place at His table.”

“Where there is no assurance of salvation, there is no peace. No peace means no joy. No joy results in fear-based lives. Is this the life God creates? No. Grace creates a confident soul who declares, ‘I know Whom I have believed, and am convinced that He is able to guard what I have entrusted to Him for that day’ (2 Timothy 1:12 NIV). … Trust God’s hold on you more than your hold on God. His faithfulness does not depend on Yours. His performance is not predicated on yours. His love is not contingent on your own.”

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Thursdays With Oswald—Christ Exhibited In Me

September 20, 2012 — Craig T. Owens

Listen to the podcast of this post by clicking on the player below, and you can also subscribe on Apple, Spotify, or Audible.

This is a weekly series with things I’m reading and pondering from Oswald Chambers. You can read the original seed thought here, or type “Thursdays With Oswald” in the search box to read more entries.

Christ Exhibited In Me 

     The inspiration of God does not patch up my natural virtues; He re-makes the whole of my being until we find that every virtue we possess is His alone. God does not come in and patch up our good works, He puts in the Spirit that was characteristic of Jesus; it is His patience, His love, and His tenderness and gentleness that are exhibited through us. … When God alters a man’s heart and plants His Spirit within, his actions have the inspiration of God behind them; if they have not, they may have the inspiration of satan. 

From Biblical Psychology

This passage reminds me of a story told about Francis of Assisi. While he was hoeing his garden, someone asked him, “What would you do if you knew you would die at the end of the day today?” Francis thoughtfully replied, “I’d finish hoeing this garden.”

Francis’ view should be ours as well: Every thought, every word, every action is directed by the Spirit of Christ in me. What I am doing now, I’m doing because the Holy Spirit inspired me to do it.

It’s encouraging to know that Christ can be exhibited in everything I think, say, and do. But it’s also very sobering to realize that I need to be constantly tuned in to the influence of the Holy Spirit.

I never want to be out-of-step with the Holy Spirit, but I want all my thoughts, words, and actions to be Christ exhibited in me.

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23 Quotes From “The Inner Chamber & The Inner Life”

September 18, 2012 — Craig T. Owens

I only recently discovered the writings of Andrew Murray, but I’m making up for lost time and reading a lot more of his brilliant insights. Here are 23 quotes from The Inner Chamber and The Inner Life. You can read my full book review by clicking here.

“Personal devotional time is to serve as a means to an end. And that end is—to secure the presence of Christ for the whole day.” 

“Christian! there is a terrible danger to which you stand exposed in your inner chamber. You are in danger of substituting Prayer and Bible Study for living fellowship with God, the living interchange of giving Him your love, your heart, and your life, and receiving from Him His love, His life, and His Spirit. Your needs and their expression, your desire to pray humbly and earnestly and believingly, may so occupy you, that the light of His countenance and the joy of His love cannot enter you. Your Bible Study may so interest you, and so waken pleasing religious sentiment, that—yes—the very Word of God may become a substitute for God Himself, the greatest hindrance to fellowship because it keeps the soul occupied instead of leading it to God.”

“What strength would be imparted by the consciousness: God has taken charge of me; He is going with me Himself; I am going to do His will all day in His strength; I am ready for all that may come. Yes, what a nobility would come into life, if secret prayer were not only an asking for some new sense of comfort, or light, or strength, but the giving away of life just for one day into the sure and safe keeping of a mighty and faithful God.”

“Many are so occupied with the much or the little they have to say in their prayers, that the Voice of One speaking off the mercy seat is never heard, because it is not expected or waited for.”

“Prayer seeks God: the Word reveals God. In prayer man asks God: in the Word God answers man. In prayer man rises to heaven to dwell with God: in the Word God comes to dwell with man. In prayer man gives himself to God: in the Word God gives Himself to man.”

“And where a man gives himself up wholly to the presence of the Holy Spirit, not only as a power working in him, but as God dwelling in him (John 14:16, 20, 23; 1 John 4) he may become, in the deepest meaning of the word, a man of God!”

“God will refuse to unlock the real meaning and blessing of His Word to any but those whose will is definitely set upon doing it.” 

“Keeping Christ’s commandments is the indispensable condition of all true spiritual blessing.”

“The knowledge of the intellect cannot quicken. ‘Though I understand all mysteries and all knowledge, and have not love, I am nothing.’ It is in our daily Bible reading that this danger meets us; it is there it must be met and conquered. We need the intellect to hear and understand God’s Word in its human meaning. But we need to know that the possession of the truth by the intellect cannot profit but as the Holy Spirit makes it life and truth in the heart. We need to yield our heart, and wait on God in quiet submission and faith to work in us by that Spirit. As this becomes a holy habit, we shall learn the art of intellect and heart working in perfect harmony, and each movement of the mind being ever accompanied by the corresponding movement of the heart, waiting on and listening for the teaching of the Spirit.”

“Let a deep sense of our ignorance, a deep distrust of our own power of understanding the things of God even, mark our Bible study. Then, the deeper our despair of entering aright into the thoughts of God, the greater the confidence of expectancy may be. God wants to make His Word true in us.”

“The first and chief mark of being a child of God, of being like Jesus Christ, is an absolute dependence upon God for every blessing, and specially for any real knowledge of spiritual things.”

“Beware of trying to assume this state of mind only when you want to study Scripture. It must be the permanent habit of your mind, the state of your heart. Then alone can you enjoy the continual guidance of the Holy Spirit.”

“The written Word is powerless, except as it helps us to the Living Word.”

“I, nevertheless, urge all Bible students, thoughtfully and prayerfully to enquire whether the very first question to be settled in the inner chamber is not this: Is my heart in the state in which my Teacher desires it to be?”

“The fact of being occupied with, and possessing good wholesome corn, will not nourish a man. The fact of being deeply interested in the knowledge of God’s Word will not of itself nourish the soul.”

“It is not the amount of truth I gather from God’s Word; it is not the interest or success of my Bible study; it is not the increased clearness of view or largeness of grasp I am obtaining, that secure the health and growth of the spiritual life. By no means. All this often leaves the nature very much unsanctified and unspiritual with very little of the holiness or humility of Christ Jesus: something else is needed. Jesus said: My meat is TO DO the will of Him that sent me. Taking a small portion of God’s Word, some definite command or duty of the new life, quietly receiving it into the will and the love of the heart, yielding the whole being to its rule, and vowing, in the power of the Lord Jesus, to perform it: this, and then GOING TO DO IT, this is eating the Word, taking it so into our inmost being, that it becomes a constituent part of our very life.”

“Above all, realize that the world is needing you and depending on you to be its light. Christ is waiting for you as a member of His body, day by day, to do His saving work through you. Neither He, nor the world, nor you, can afford to lose a single day.”

“What can the daily Bible study and prayer profit, unless we set our heart on what God has set His on: the new man being renewed day by day after the image of Him that created him.”

“By nature we are of this world. When renewed by grace we are still in the world, subject to the subtle all-pervading influence from which we cannot withdraw ourselves. And what is more, the world is still in us, as the leaven of the nature which nothing can purge out but the mighty power of the Holy Spirit, filling us with the life of heaven.”

“No diligence or success in Bible study will really profit us unless it makes us humbler, holier men.”

“The Word, separate from God and His direct operation, cannot avail. The Word is an instrument: God Himself must use it. God is the alone Holy One. He alone can make holy. The unspeakable value of God’s Word is that it is God’s means of holiness. The terrible mistake of many is that they forget that God alone can use it or make it effectual. It is not enough that I have access to the dispensary of a physician. I need him to prescribe. Without him my use of his medicines might be fatal. It was so with the scribes. They made their boast of God’s law; they delighted in their study of Scripture and yet remained unsanctified. The Word did not sanctify them, because they did not seek for this in the Word, and did not yield to God to do it for them.” 

“Do not spend your chief time in prayer in reiterating your petition, but in humbly, quietly, confidently claiming your place in Christ, your perfect union with Him, your access to God in Him.”

“Praying and working go together.” 

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Spiritual Sword Play

September 14, 2012 — Craig T. Owens

Pastor, consider these words from Charles Spurgeon—

“We pastors depend entirely upon the Spirit of God to produce actual effect from the gospel, and at this effect we must always aim. We do not stand up in our pulpits to display our skill in spiritual sword play, but we come to actual fighting: our object is to drive the sword of the Spirit through men’s hearts.”

In order to effectively drive the sword of the Spirit through men’s hearts we must be well-trained in spiritual warfare. That training takes place in the secret chamber alone with God. Eugene Peterson gives this warning to pastors—

“Three pastoral acts—praying, reading Scripture and giving spiritual direction—are so basic, so critical, that they determine the shape of everything else in ministry. Besides being basic, these three acts are quiet and done mostly out of the spotlight of public ministry. Because they do not call attention to themselves, they are so often neglected. …Because almost never does anyone notice whether we do these things or not, and only occasionally does someone ask if we do them, these real acts of ministry suffer widespread neglect.”

You cannot give to others what you do not possess yourself!

Pastor, get alone with God. Everyday. Sharpen your sword through private prayer and personal devotion. Everyday!

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31 Quotes From “Disciples Indeed”

September 11, 2012 — Craig T. Owens

When I read an Oswald Chamber book, I feel like I could highlight every line on every page! So for Disciples Indeed (you can read my full review by clicking here), I did my very best to narrow it down to my 31 favorite quotes.

“Truth is a Person, not a proposition; if I pin my faith to a logical creed I will be disloyal to the Lord Jesus.”

“If we understood what happens when we use the Word of God, we would use it oftener.”

“Everything the devil does, God over-reaches to serve His own purpose.”

“We continually want to present our understanding of how God has worked in our own experience, consequently we confuse people. Present Jesus Christ, lift Him up, and the Holy Spirit will do in them what He has done in you.”

“Spiritual famine and dearth, if it does not start from sin, starts from dwelling entirely on the experience God gave me instead of on God who gave me the experience. …Whenever I put my experience of life, or my intelligence, or anything other than dependence on God, as the ground of understanding the will of God I rob Him of glory.”

“There is nothing so still and gentle as the checks of the Holy Spirit if they are yielded to, emancipation is the result; but let them be trifled with, and there will come a hardening of the life away from God. Don’t quench the Spirit.”

“The only sign that a particular gift is from the Ascended Christ is that it edifies the Church. Much of our Christian work today is built on what the Apostle pleads it should not be built, viz., the excellencies of the natural virtues.”

“My conscience makes me know what I ought to do, but it does not empower me to do it.”

“In the moral realm if you don’t do things quickly you will never do them. Never postpone a moral decision. Second thoughts on moral matters are always deflections.”

“You often find people in the world are more desirable, easier to get on with, than people in the Kingdom. There is frequently a stubbornness, a self-opinionativeness, in Christians not exhibited by people in the world. If there is to be another Revival it will be through the readjustment of those of us on the inside who call ourselves Christians.”

“The greatest test of Christianity is the wear and tear of daily life, it is like the shining silver, the more it is rubbed the brighter it grows.”

“We have to do more than we are built to do naturally; we have to do all the Almighty builds us to do.”

“Beware of the people who tell you life is simple. Life is such a mass of complications that no man is safe apart from God. Coming to Jesus does not simplify life, it simplifies my relationship to God.”

“God’s idea is that individual Christians should become identified with His purpose for the world. When Christianity becomes over-organized and denominational it is incapable of fulfilling our Lord’s commission; it doesn’t ‘feed His sheep,’ it can’t.”

“When you pray, what conception have you in your mind—your need, or Jesus Christ’s omnipotence?”

“Prayer is the vital breath of the Christian; not the thing that makes him alive, but the evidence that he is alive.”

“By intercessory prayer we can hold off satan from other lives and give the Holy Ghost a chance with them.”

“The greatest answer to prayer is that I am brought into a perfect understanding with God, and that alters my view of actual things.”

“See that you do not use the trick of prayer to cover up what you know you ought to do.”

“The work we do in preparation is meant to get our minds into such order that they are at the service of God for His inspiration. Conscious inspiration is mercifully rare or we would make inspiration our god.”

“Spiritual insight is in accordance with the development of heart purity.”

“Spiritual sloth must be the greatest grief to the Holy Ghost.”

“It is quite true so say ‘I can’t live a holy life’; but you can decide to let Jesus make you holy. ‘I can’t do away with my past’; but you can decide to let Jesus do away with it.”

“If I make personal holiness a cause instead of an effect I become shallow, no matter how profound I seem. It means I am far more concerned about being speckless than about being real; far more concerned about keeping my garments white than about being devoted to Jesus Christ.”

“Freedom is the ability not to insist on my rights, but to see that God gets His.”

“Beware of saying, ‘I haven’t time to read the Bible, or to pray’; say rather, ‘I haven’t disciplined myself to do these things.’”

“Weighing the pros and cons for and against a statement of Jesus Christ’s means that for the time being I refuse to obey Him.”

“If my testimony makes anyone wish to emulate me, it is a mistaken testimony, it is not a witness to Jesus. The Holy Spirit will only witness to a testimony when Jesus Christ is exalted higher than the testimony.”

“As you go on with God He will give you thoughts that are bit too big for you.”

“How many people have you made homesick for God?”

“Christian service is not our work; loyalty to Jesus is our work.”

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Pastor And People Interceding

September 7, 2012 — Craig T. Owens

Prayer is the lifeblood of any church.

Look in the New Testament letters and notice how often the apostles wrote out their prayers for their congregations. Such loving, heartfelt prayers! And notice as well how many times the apostles thanked the churches for their prayers, and even requested more prayers from them.

Robert Murray McCheyne wrote to a friend who was just being ordained as a pastor—

“Give yourself to prayer and the ministry of the Word. If you do not pray, God will probably lay you aside from your ministry, as He did me, to teach you to pray. Remember Luther’s maxim, ‘To have prayed well is to have studied well.’ Get your texts from God, your thoughts, your words. Carry the names of the little flock upon your breast like the High Priest. Wrestle for the unconverted.”

And to the congregation which would be shepherded by this newly ordained pastor, McCheyne wrote—

“Pray for your pastor. Pray for his body, that he may be kept strong and spared for many years. Pray for his soul, that he may be kept humble and holy, a burning and shining light. Pray for his ministry, that it may be abundantly blessed, that he may be anointed to preach good tidings.”

Pastor, learn to pray for your congregation, and for your ministry to your flock. And then teach your congregation to pray for you. For the whole church will be strengthened when both pastor and people are interceding for each other.

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15 Quotes From “Spirit Rising”

September 5, 2012 — Craig T. Owens

Spirit Rising by Jim Cymbala makes a compelling case for diving into the full life in Christ that can only come through the power of the Holy Spirit (you can read my full review of this book by clicking here).

Here are 15 of my favorite quotes from this book (unless otherwise noted, the quotes are from Pastor Cymbala):

“No outward teaching can compare to the inward power of the Holy Spirit.”

“The Christian religion is hopeless without the Holy Ghost.” —Samuel Chadwick 

“We are not such fools to refuse good bank notes because there are false ones in circulation; and although we see here and there manifestations of what appears to be nothing more than mere earthly fire, we none the less prize and value, and seek for the genuine fire which comes from the altar of the Lord.” —William Booth

“An undeniable expression of Spirit-controlled living is that we will be lifted above the limitations of mere natural talents and abilities.”

“When we see only what we want to see in the Bible, it loses all power to transform us.”

“Thousands stand ready to split doctrinal hairs and instruct others in the fine meaning of Scriptural words—but there are so few through whom the Holy Spirit can work to bring [people] to new birth in the kingdom of God.” —William Law

“Paul warned, ‘Do not grieve the Holy Spirit of God’ (Eph. 4:30). If the Spirit is grieved, He’s vexed and sad. Although we know our salvation isn’t lost by our sin, we also become painfully aware that there’s a strain in our relationship. Communion with God is affected, and we feel an uncomfortable emptiness. The sun is still there and shining, but we no longer feel its warmth. It is as if a cloud blocks it.”

“Without the Holy Spirit’s power, we’ll never have enough of what we need to become the people God wants us to be.”

“I believe one of the reasons Jesus picked those men [the twelve apostles] was specifically because they lacked natural resources. They would have to rely on the power of the Holy Spirit.”

“The Holy Spirit was sent to accomplish many divine purposes, but at the top of the list was the empowering of God’s people to reach the world with the gospel of Christ. …If we lose sight of God’s heart of love for the world—including our own cities and neighborhoods—we will experience little of the Spirit’s power, since we are on a different page than our Lord is on.”

“It’s interesting to note the first reason Mark gives for appointing the Twelve [Mark 3:13-15]. That they might be with Him. When Jesus called someone, fellowship came before ministry.”

“It’s easy to understand how prayers can be stopped in public schools filled with unbelieving students and teachers. But when God’s own people and Christian churches have little or no time for prayer, that’s another story. The angels must weep when they see our disinterest in prayer! Do we realize we’re forfeiting the help and strength promised by a faithful God to those who will simple take time to ask?”

“We are never really men of prayer in the best sense until we are ‘filled with the Holy Ghost.’” —Samuel Chadwick

“We can easily settle for ‘church’ instead of God. And every succeeding generation shaped in that mold makes it harder for anyone to dare ask, ‘Where is the Lord?’”

“Without the Spirit, Christianity is reduced to head knowledge about God, empty traditions, and a social club mentality.”

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Need Power?

August 29, 2012 — Craig T. Owens

In many ways, Labor Day marks the beginning of a “new year.” The summer fun is behind us, a new school year is starting, and everyone is settling back into their normal routine.

Undoubtedly many people begin this part of their “new year” with the same excitement as New Year’s Day, with a renewed passion to accomplish greater things. Perhaps you are thinking about some new habits for this “new year.” Or maybe you are taking a deep breath before you have to dive in to all that awaits you in the next few months.

In any case, the greatest and best thing we can do to prepare ourselves is prayer.

I always start January with a week of prayer, so I want to begin this “new year” with a week of prayer as well. So we will be having a special prayer focus September 4-7. The church will be open each evening from 5:30-6:30pm, but I encourage you to pray with us wherever you are during that week.

Here are some great quotes on the power we can gain in prayer:

“Prayer does not equip us for greater works—prayer is the greater work.” —Oswald Chambers 

“Prayer provides the powerto do what we love to do, but can’t do without God’s help.” —John Piper 

“The most healthy state of a Christian is to be always empty in self and constantly depending upon the Lord for supplies; to be always poor in self and rich in Jesus; weak as water personally, but mighty through God to do great exploits…. As the runner gains strength for the race by daily exercise, so for the great race of life we acquire energy by the hallowed labor of prayer. …Prayer girds human weakness with divine strength, turns human folly into heavenly wisdom, and gives to troubled mortals the peace of God. We know not what prayer cannot do!” —Charles Spurgeon

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14 Quotes From “Billy Graham In Quotes”

August 28, 2012 — Craig T. Owens

There are just way too many great quotes from Billy Graham In Quotes to share them all here, since the whole book is basically the best from all of Rev. Graham’s books and sermons. You can read my full review of this wonderful book by clicking here.

Normally I share some of my favorite quotes from the books I have reviewed, but that’s next to impossible for this book. So let me just say here are 14 quotes that seemed to stand out a little more to me this afternoon:

“America is said to have the highest per capita boredom of any spot on earth! We know that because we have the greatest variety and greatest number of artificial amusements of any country. People have become so empty that they can’t even entertain themselves.”

“The great flaw in the American economic system has finally been revealed: an unrealistic faith in the power of prosperity rather than in the ultimate power and benevolence of God.”

“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.”

“Our generation has become well versed in Christian terminology but is remiss in the actual practice of Christ’s principles and teachings. Hence, our greatest need today is not more Christianity but more true Christians.” 

“The very ones whose social pressure cause you to compromise will despise you for it. They probably respect your convictions, and many of them wish they had the moral stamina to stand alone. May the Lord give you added courage to be a witness for Him, even in a hard place.”

“When the Christian or the church becomes popular with the unbelieving world, something is seriously wrong. Because Christ runs counter to evil and because we are Christ-owned, we must also stand against evil.”

“Talk about God can become dreary and lackluster if God isn’t in you. Church can become a drab thing and the Bible an irksome Book if the Holy Spirit does not illuminate your soul with His indwelling presence.”

“The Gospel shows people their wounds and bestows on them love. It shows them their bondage and supplies the hammer to knock away their chains. It shows them their nakedness and provides them the garments of purity. It shows them their poverty and pours into their lives the wealth of Heaven. It shows them their sins and points them to the Savior.” 

“Some people have said that man has improved . . . [and] that if Christ came back today, He would not be crucified but would be given a glorious reception. Christ does come to us every day in the form of Bibles that we do not read, in the form of churches that we do not attend, in the form of human need that we pass by. I am convinced that if Christ came back today, He would be crucified more quickly than He was two thousand years ago. Sin never improves. Human nature has not changed.”

“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.”

“God wants to use you right where you are. Every day you probably come in contact with people who will never enter a church, or talk with a pastor, or open a Bible—and God wants to use you to point them to Christ. You may be the ‘bridge’ God would use to bring them to Himself.”

“There is not one verse of Scripture that indicates you can be a Christian and live any kind of a life you want to. When Christ enters into the human heart, He expects to be Lord and Master. He commands complete surrender.”

“The Christian should stand out like a sparkling diamond against a rough background. He should be more wholesome than anyone else. He should be poised, cultured, courteous, gracious, but firm in the things that he does and does not do. He should laugh and be radiant, but he should refuse to allow the world to pull him down to its level.”

“Our world needs to be touched by Christians who are Spirit-filled, Spirit-led, and Spirit-empowered.” 

This is an amazing book… go get it!

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