Ben > Ben's Quotes

“The cross is laid on every Christian. The first Christ-suffering which every man must experience is the call to abandon the attachments of this world. It is that dying of the old man which is the result of his encounter with Christ. As we embark upon discipleship we surrender ourselves to Christ in union with his death—we give over our lives to death. Thus it begins; the cross is not the terrible end to an otherwise god-fearing and happy life, but it meets us at the beginning of our communion with Christ. When Christ calls a man, he bids him come and die.”
― Dietrich Bonhoeffer, The Cost of Discipleship

“There is more mercy in Christ than sin in us.”
― Richard Sibbes

“Glory follows afflictions, not as the day follows the night but as the spring follows the winter; for the winter prepares the earth for the spring, so do afflictions sanctified prepare the soul for glory.”
― Richard Sibbes

“Therefore bread was created for the glory of Christ. Hunger and thirst were created for the glory of Christ. And fasting was created for the glory of Christ.
Which means that bread magnifies Christ in two ways: by being eaten with gratitude for his goodness, and by being forfeited out of hunger for God himself. When we eat, we taste the emblem of our heavenly food—the Bread of Life. And when we fast we say, “I love the Reality above the emblem.” In the heart of the saint both eating and fasting are worship. Both magnify Christ.”
― John Piper, A Hunger for God

“Christ with me,
Christ before me,
Christ behind me,
Christ in me,
Christ beneath me,
Christ above me,
Christ on my right,
Christ on my left,
Christ when I lie down,
Christ when I sit down,
Christ when I arise,
Christ in the heart of every man who thinks of me,
Christ in the mouth of everyone who speaks of me,
Christ in every eye that sees me,
Christ in every ear that hears me.”
― Saint Patrick

“If I profess with loudest voice and clearest exposition every portion of the truth of God except that little point which the world and the Devil are at that moment attacking, I am not confessing Christ, however boldly I may be professing Christ. Where the battle rages, there the loyalty of the soldier is proved, and to be steady on all the battlefield besides, is mere flight and disgrace if he flinches at that point.”
― Martin Luther

“His resurrection from the dead declares once and for all that Jesus is unstoppable. The power the risen, glorified Christ now wields is “the power of an indestructible life” (Hebrews 7:16). In fact, as Peter came to know, and to preach at Pentecost, “God raised him up, loosing the pangs of death, because it was not possible for him to be held by it” (Acts 2:24). As Paul wrote to the Romans, “We know that Christ, being raised from the dead, will never die again; death no longer has dominion over him” (Romans 6:9).”
― David Mathis, Rich Wounds: The Countless Treasures of the Life, Death, and Triumph of Jesus

“Christ’s people cannot be stopped—even in earthly death. Death has become gain (Philippians 1:21), because Christ has conquered, and we are eternally safe in him. As his disciples, how can we not delight to spread the news?”
― David Mathis, Rich Wounds: The Countless Treasures of the Life, Death, and Triumph of Jesus

“Butterflies need the struggle of emerging from the cocoon to invigorate their wings with blood. Without the struggle, they can never fully unfold their wings. They will never fly.”
― Chap Bettis, Launch: Biblical Help for Moving Your Teen or Young Adult into the Real World