Christopher > Christopher's Quotes

“Remember that, as George Whitefield said, man is immortal till his work is done (though God alone defines the work), and get on with what you know to be God’s task for you here and now.”
― J I Packer, 18 Words: The most important words you will ever know

“The “who” question does not seek answers from God as much as it seeks God himself. The one who asks who seeks to grow in deeper understanding of who God is and who we are, because when we’re suffering, what we need more than answers—even helpful, biblical ones—is God and an assurance of our identity in Christ.”
― Mark Driscoll, Who Do You Think You Are?: Finding Your True Identity in Christ

“a reporter asked Barth what was the single most important theological discovery he’d made. After stopping to consider his answer carefully, Barth said, “Jesus loves me. This I know, for the Bible tells me so.” Indeed, we can never outgrow that one great, majestic, and simple transforming truth.”
― Mark Driscoll, Who Do You Think You Are?: Finding Your True Identity in Christ

“Daily I have asked Him to feed me from His Word, and there has always been bread in the cupboard.”
― Warren W. Wiersbe, Jesus in the Present Tense: The I AM Statements of Christ

“If there are any difficulties in the faith of Christ, they are not one-tenth as great as the absurdities in any system of unbelief which seeks to take its place!”
― Charles H. Spurgeon, Spurgeon Gems

“We all have choices in the way we react to the words we hear. Our lives and the lives of all those around us will be significantly improved if we choose to react positively rather than negatively.”
― Ben Carson, One Nation: What We Can All Do to Save America's Future

“There is joy in hell when a saint grows idle! There is gladness among devils when we cease to pray, when we become slack in faith and feeble in communion with God.”–1893, Sermon 2303”
― Charles H. Spurgeon, Spurgeon Gems

“Prayer should be the natural outflow of the soul: you should pray because you must pray, not because the set time for praying has arrived, but because your heart must cry unto your Lord.”–1895, Sermon 2437”
― Charles H. Spurgeon, Spurgeon Gems

“It is a great sin on the part of Church members if they do not daily sustain their pastor by their prayers!”–1892, Sermon 2261”
― Charles H. Spurgeon, Spurgeon Gems

“Over the course of time many Americans have forgotten that “we the people” are actually at the top of the food chain as far as authority is concerned in this nation. The Republicans don’t run our nation. The Democrats don’t run our nation. We do. However, by dividing and engaging in political squabbles, we have allowed the government to grow so large and powerful that it has now become the boss, progressively taking charge of all of our lives.”
― Ben Carson, One Nation: What We Can All Do to Save America's Future

“If the devil never roars, the Church will never sing! God is not doing much if the devil is not awake and busy. Depend upon it: a working Christ makes a raging devil! When you hear ill reports, cruel speeches, threats, taunts and the like, believe that the Lord is among His people and is working gloriously.”–1891, Sermon 2196”
― Charles H. Spurgeon, Spurgeon Gems

“if we stop and really look at God in his Word, we might discover that he evokes greater awe and demands deeper worship than we are ready to give him.”
― David Platt, Radical: Taking Back Your Faith from the American Dream

“Some wonder if it is unfair for God to allow so many to have no knowledge of the gospel. But there is no injustice in God. The injustice lies in Christians who possess the gospel and refuse to give their lives to making it known among those who haven’t heard. That is unfair.”
― David Platt, Radical: Taking Back Your Faith from the American Dream

“Radical obedience to Christ is not easy; it is dangerous. It is not smooth sailing aboard a luxury liner; it is sacrificial duty aboard a troop carrier. It’s not comfort, not health, not wealth, and not prosperity in this world. Radical obedience to Christ risks losing all these things. But in the end, such risk finds its reward in Christ. And he is more than enough for us.”
― David Platt, Radical: Taking Back Your Faith from the American Dream

“When Jesus looked at the harassed and helpless multitudes, apparently his concern was not that the lost would not come to the Father. Instead his concern was that his followers would not go to the lost.”
― David Platt, Radical: Taking Back Your Faith from the American Dream

“God owns and controls all things. And there is nothing that he could give you for Christmas this year that would suit your needs and your longings better than the consolation of Israel and the redemption of Jerusalem, restoration for past losses and liberation from future enemies, forgiveness and freedom, pardon and power, healing the past and sealing the future.”
― John Piper, The Dawning of Indestructible Joy: Daily Readings for Advent

“Set faith at work on Christ for the killing of thy sin. His blood is the great sovereign remedy for sin-sick souls. Live in this, and thou wilt die a conqueror; yea, thou wilt, through the good providence of God, live to see thy lust dead at thy feet.”
― John Owen, The Mortification of Sin

“Let faith look on Christ in the gospel as he is set forth dying and crucified for us. Look on him under the weight43 of our sins, praying, bleeding, dying; bring him in that condition into thy heart by faith; apply his blood so shed to thy corruptions: do this daily.”
― John Owen, The Mortification of Sin

“Hughes often said that men fail to make progress in learning not for lack of time or ability but for lack of hard work. Unlike so many university students today, who stay up late partying, eating pizza, and playing video games, Watts and his friends did not fritter away the hours. They did, however, stay up late. Far into the night, Watts went on reading and annotating what he read.”
― Douglas Bond, The Poetic Wonder of Isaac Watts

“As with Watts, we see only dimly through the bewildering mysteries of life. Yet as Watts did, by grace alone, we too can know and believe that God has portioned out our lives for His glory and for our good. And strong in faith, upheld by divine love, we, too, can see through the gloom and sing the praises of our Savior, who passed through far deeper woes than ever Watts or we will endure.”
― Douglas Bond, The Poetic Wonder of Isaac Watts

“Some say “God helps those who help themselves,” but the Bible says the exact opposite: God helps the helpless. God helps those who, left to themselves, would die in their sins. He even helps those who hate him and who, by nature, continually oppose him. He does this because he is not like us. By nature, he is “merciful and gracious, slow to anger, and abounding in steadfast love and faithfulness” (Exodus 34:6).”
― Casey Lute, But God...: The Two Words at the Heart of the Gospel

“God does not impose requirements difficult for an average person to meet: rather, they are impossible.”
― Casey Lute, But God...: The Two Words at the Heart of the Gospel

“Because maybe not all the problem is your spouse. Maybe not all the problem is your employer. Maybe not everybody is conspiring together to come to the same conclusion about you. Maybe it’s just . . . the truth. And the truth is what God is always wanting you to see. Because when you’re dealing with the truth, that’s when you can actively work toward real change. So maybe it’s time for you to pull out the shovel and hand tools, as opposed to the easy push of the lawn mower. Time for sanctification to become a personal process for yourself, not just a personal assignment for somebody else. If you expect things to change, you can’t just keep mowing over the stuff that keeps cropping up, every time the people with whom you rub shoulders start rubbing you the wrong way. If the heart of the problem is the problem of the heart—which it is—you’ll never cure the disease you’re suffering from by doing X-rays on other people.”
― Matt Chandler, Recovering Redemption: A Gospel Saturated Perspective on How to Change

“If the heart of the problem is the problem of the heart—which it is—you’ll never cure the disease you’re suffering from by doing X-rays on other people.”
― Matt Chandler, Recovering Redemption: A Gospel Saturated Perspective on How to Change

“Truth is, we’re a lot better off, and a lot closer to experiencing real, feel-good moments, when we’re wringing ourselves out for the glory of God and fulfilling our daily tasks—at work, at home, in ministry, anywhere. What did Vince Lombardi say in that famous speech: “I firmly believe that any man’s finest hour—his greatest fulfillment to all he holds dear—is that moment when he has worked his heart out in a good cause and lies exhausted on the field of battle—victorious.”
― Matt Chandler, Recovering Redemption: A Gospel Saturated Perspective on How to Change

“against certain forms of postmodern theory, Christian theology affirms that there is a God’s-eye perspective from which genuine truth can be communicated, but, against the tendency of modern thought, it denies that anyone but God occupies this privileged perch. We must be satisfied with God’s Word and leave God’s sovereign knowledge to himself.”
― Michael S. Horton, The Christian Faith: A Systematic Theology for Pilgrims on the Way

“When you and I met, the meeting was over very shortly, it was nothing. Now it is growing something as we remember it, what will it be when I remember it as I lie down to die, what it makes in me all my days till then - that is the real meeting. The other is only the beginning of it. You say you have poets in your world. Do they not teach you this?”
― C.S. Lewis, Out of the Silent Planet

“Stupidity is a more dangerous enemy of the good than malice. One may protest against evil; it can be exposed and, if need be, prevented by use of force. Evil always carries within itself the germ of its own subversion in that it leaves behind in human beings at least a sense of unease. Against stupidity we are defenseless. Neither protests nor the use of force accomplish anything here; reasons fall on deaf ears; facts that contradict one’s prejudgment simply need not be believed – in such moments the stupid person even becomes critical – and when facts are irrefutable they are just pushed aside as inconsequential, as incidental. In all this the stupid person, in contrast to the malicious one, is utterly self satisfied and, being easily irritated, becomes dangerous by going on the attack. For that reason, greater caution is called for when dealing with a stupid person than with a malicious one. Never again will we try to persuade the stupid person with reasons, for it is senseless and dangerous.”
― Dietrich Bonhoeffer, Letters and Papers from Prison