Quotes About Faith

The ultimate problem with the approach to the Bible that reads Ezekiel 38–39 alongside the morning newspaper in an attempt to correlate the events described in the two documents is that it assumes that unless we are living in the end times, these passages have nothing to say to us. In fact, whether or not these happen to be the final days of God's plan for the world, Ezekiel 38–39 addresses believers with a powerful message of hope. As

For the genuine believer] There are moments in life when God's pursuit of us seems like that of a persistent mosquito, constantly buzzing around our heads and causing us pain, and we are utterly powerless to shake him off.

However, as we have shown above, this is not how the passage was intended to be read. Rather, it is a dramatic statement of the central truth that no matter what the forces of evil may throw at God's people, in the final analysis God's purpose and victory stand secure. For

1) The gospel (the good news about Jesus' death and resurrection) is not merely the power by which dead sinners are raised to new life, it is also the power by which God's people are transformed. The gospel is not merely the starting point from which we move on to ethics; it is the heartbeat of our lives as Christians. That

We are also the players in a cosmic drama acted out before the heavenly hosts. In that play, "every act of faith by every one of the people of God is like the tolling of a bell, and a faith like Job's reverberates throughout the universe.

A temple-centered life, which is nothing less than a God-centered life, is the way to true freedom. The

Freedom from suffering is precisely not the result to be expected from remaining on the vine: on the contrary, fruitful branches are "pruned" just as fruitless ones are cast off (John 15:2, 6). Suffering is a part of every life, but for the Christian it is a "fruitful" part of life, bearing a harvest of righteousness (cf. Heb. 12:11). As

The choice is not whether you will be a Christian soldier or a Christian civilian but whether you will be a prepared Christian soldier or an unprepared one.

is the attitude expressed by the hymnwriter Augustus Toplady: "Nothing in my hand I bring; simply to thy cross I cling." This attitude is the ultimate idol-smasher, for every idolatry is at root an effort towards self-justification. Every

Manybear the label "Christian," yet their Christianity has no real impact on life-defining decisions, just as Elimelech bore the name "My God is king" yet lived in a way that made it evident that God wasn't his king at all. The roads we choose for ourselves often make our deepest heart commitments plain for all to see.

The difference between Christians and religiously minded idolaters is that Christians repent not only of their sins but also of their very best deeds, their best righteousness, in order to receive in its place the righteousness of Christ, to which they cling single-heartedly.

God is able to write straight with a crooked pencil and to achieve his perfect ends through the use of less than perfect instruments, without himself being tainted or hampered by their imperfection. Indeed,

Finally, God's "wonderful plan" for our lives does not exclude the possibility of shame over past sins. Renewed

The basic point, then, of the introductory verses is that God's word comes to the exiles. Now

But to us as Christians, troubles come now not as visitations of God's wrath on us but as opportunities for God to uncover his power to the world.

Let Yourselves be carried by God" John of the Cross from "The Impact of God

He (Knox) handles the doctrines of election and justification as causes for bright joy in believers. 'Your imperfections shall have no power to damn you,' he writes to Mrs. Bowes, 'for Christ's perfection is reputed to be yours by faith, which you have in his blood.' 'God has received already at the hands of His only Son all that is due for our sins, and so cannot his justice require or crave any more of us, other satisfaction or recompense for our sins.

Men of the cloth live in this monologue, it is their due: nobody talks back to a pulpit.

Believing, too, that is not enough. You cannot just believe. Your belief must have a purpose.

Believing is not thinking something is true, Shireen. It is acting for the truth.

The concept of hell and endless torment is popular with those who believe they aren't headed there.

With that in mind, I try to imagine the greatest gift I could've given my father. And as sleep descends on me, the answer seems strangely clear: my faith in his idols. That was what he wanted all along - to feel that we were united by something permanent, to know that as long as he and I believed in the same thing, we would never be apart.

I've got a lot of ideas about God. I pray about as much as anybody, even though i am tough , yet I'm not too sure I liked God. It seems to me that is he is what they say he is, he has a very funny way of showing it.

There is no hiding the fact that in some ways I am dissatisfied with God.