Encouraging Quotations

[fuzzi]

Not all that encourages us is written in the Bible, but often, has been spoken by Godly men and women.

Post quotes that have touched your heart, that have blessed you or others.

Here's the first:

If I feel bitter toward those who condemn me, as it seems to me, unjustly, forgetting that if they knew me as I know myself they would condemn me much more, then I know nothing of Calvary love.

- Amy Carmichael

[turtledove]

"Do not anticipate trouble, or worry about what may never happen. Keep in the sunlight." Benjamin Franklin

[9Marksfan]

Not all that encourages us is written in the Bible, but often, has been spoken by Godly men and women.

Post quotes that have touched your heart, that have blessed you or others.

Here's the first:

If I feel bitter toward those who condemn me, as it seems to me, unjustly, forgetting that if they knew me as I know myself they would condemn me much more, then I know nothing of Calvary love.

- Amy Carmichael

Ah, dear Amy! That book If... is just amazing - it contains one of my favourite quotes of all time (reaches for it from the shelf above PC):-

If a sudden jar can cause me to speak an impatient, unloving word, then I know nothing of Calvary love...

Now here's the killer.....








































... For a cup brimful of sweet water cannot even spill a drop of bitter water, however suddenly jolted.

[shepherdsword]

................ouch:cry:

[9Marksfan]

................ouch:cry:

Yep - that's what I always think! But these "wounds" are good for us!

[turtledove]

:OFFT:Please post quotes here which have encouraged you as this is what this thread is for and what the OP is asking.

wiseoldowl..moderator. C&E. :)

[fuzzi]

"I cannot pray, but I sin; I cannot hear, or preach a sermon, but I sin; I cannot give an alms, or receive the sacrament, but I sin; no, I cannot so much as confess my sins, but my confessions are still aggravations of them. My repentance needs to be repented of, my tears need washing, and the very washing of my tears needs still to be washed over again with the blood of my Redeemer." (Berridge)

I've also seen it thus:

"When I preach, I sin
When I pray, I sin
My very repentance needs to be repented of
And my tears need washing in the blood of Christ"

[9Marksfan]

"I cannot pray, but I sin; I cannot hear, or preach a sermon, but I sin; I cannot give an alms, or receive the sacrament, but I sin; no, I cannot so much as confess my sins, but my confessions are still aggravations of them. My repentance needs to be repented of, my tears need washing, and the very washing of my tears needs still to be washed over again with the blood of my Redeemer." (Berridge)

I've also seen it thus:

"When I preach, I sin
When I pray, I sin
My very repentance needs to be repented of
And my tears need washing in the blood of Christ"

Fantastic - and a welcome antidote to another thread!

[fuzzi]

In the New Testament there is no contradiction between faith and obedience. Between faith and law-works, yes; between law and grace, yes; but between faith and obedience, not at all. The Bible recognizes no faith that does not lead to obedience, nor does it recognize any obedience that does not spring from faith.

- AW Tozer

[fuzzi]

You cannot slander human nature; it is worse than words can paint it.

- Charles Haddon Spurgeon

[fuzzi]

Someone might ask "What's so encouraging about these quotations?"

It's encouraging to know that, as sinful as we are, God still loves us, and He died for us knowing what we were going to be like. That's encouraging!


Here, then, is the real problem of our negligence. We fail in our duty to study God's Word not so much because it is difficult to understand, not so much because it is dull and boring, but because it is work. Our problem is not a lack of intelligence or a lack of passion. Our problem is that we are lazy.

- RC Sproul

[DaniHansen]

Ah, dear Amy! That book If... is just amazing - it contains one of my favourite quotes of all time (reaches for it from the shelf above PC):-

If a sudden jar can cause me to speak an impatient, unloving word, then I know nothing of Calvary love...

Now here's the killer.....



... For a cup brimful of sweet water cannot even spill a drop of bitter water, however suddenly jolted.

These are the kind of statements that reverberate so solidly within my spirit that the Presence of God is just front and center right now.

Like the compass showing you where true north actually is. :)

[9Marksfan]

These are the kind of statements that reverberate so solidly within my spirit that the Presence of God is just front and center right now.

Like the compass showing you where true north actually is. :)

Can I recommend you get If... by Amy Carmichael - or anything by her! One of the most godly women ever to have put pen to paper - I agree with you, you really sense God's presence when you consider her writings! There's a poem of hers I plan to post that I came across three times when on holiday last summer - twice in unrelated books I picked up (where it was quoted) and once at the end of a convention message - I think the LORD was really trying to say something to me!

[9Marksfan]

Here it is, at long last - read it slowly, prayerfully...

Flame of God by Amy Carmichael

From prayer that asks that I may be
Sheltered from winds that beat on Thee,
From fearing when I should aspire,
From faltering when I should climb higher
From silken self, O Captain, free
Thy soldier who would follow Thee.

From subtle love of softening things,
From easy choices, weakenings,
(Not thus are spirits fortified,
Not this way went the Crucified)

From all that dims Thy Calvary
O Lamb of God, deliver me.

Give me the love that leads the way,
The faith that nothing can dismay
The hope no disappointments tire,
The passion that will burn like fire;
Let me not sink to be a clod;
Make me Thy fuel, Flame of God.

[Moxie]

I like this one when under fire:

People of integrity expect to be believed...when they are not, they let time prove them right.

And the waiting can be oh so sweet. ;)

[SweetSomber]

Cool Quote:
"I want to be the kind of woman that when my feet hit the ground each morning the devil says, 'OH NO, SHE'S UP!'"

Cool Quote 2:
Love All, Trust Few, Do wrong to no one.

My little sister's (wrong but funny) variation of above quote:
Love all, do wrong to few, trust no one.

[fuzzi]

A generation of Christians reared among push buttons and automatic machines is impatient of slower and less direct methods of reaching their goals. We have been trying to apply machine-age methods to our relations with God. We read our chapter, have our short devotions, and rush away, hoping to make up for our deep inward bankruptcy by attending another gospel meeting or listening to another thrilling story told by a religious adventurer lately returned from afar. The tragic results of this spirit are all about us. Shallow lives, hollow religious philosophies, the preponderance of the element of fun in gospel meetings, the glorification of men, trust in religious externalities, quasi-religious fellowships, salesmanship methods, the mistaking of dynamic personality for the power of the Spirit; these and such as these are the symptoms of an evil disease, a deep and serious malady of the soul. - A. W. Tozer

[Moxie]

That is something to think about.

[fuzzi]

Yep.

I shared that quotation with a Christian sister, and she said that her preacher had spoken about the same basic idea last Sunday: "Aren't you glad you don't have a fast food Saviour?"

I am. :pp

[9Marksfan]

Yep.

I shared that quotation with a Christian sister, and she said that her preacher had spoken about the same basic idea last Sunday: "Aren't you glad you don't have a fast food Saviour?"

I am. :pp

And what is so amazing is that it sounds like it was written last week! When it was several decades ago - Tozer really was a prophet for our generation...

[fuzzi]

Here's another quote from Tozer:

Modern civilization is so complex as to make the devotional life all but impossible. It wears us out by multiplying distractions and beats us down destroying our solitude, where otherwise we might drink and renew our strength, before going out to face the world again. "The thoughtful soul to solitude retires," said the poet of other and quieter times; but where is the solitude to which we can retire today? "Commune with your own heart upon your bed and be still," is a wise and healing counsel; but how can it be followed in this day of the newspaper, the telephone, the radio and television? These modern playthings, like pet tiger cubs, have grown so large and dangerous that they threaten to devour us all. What was intended to be a blessing has become a positive curse. No spot is now safe from the world's intrusion. The need for solitude and quietness was never greater than it is today. What the world will do about it is their problem. Apparently the masses want it the way it is, and the majority of Christians are so completely conformed to this present age that they, too, want things the way they are. They may be annoyed a bit by the clamor and by the goldfish-bowl existence they live, but apparently they are not annoyed enough to do anything about it. - A. W. Tozer

[angelwind]

This is a quote in the form of a poem...I find it very encouraging ...:saint:


Joy and Peace in Believing


By John Newton

1. Sometimes a light surprises
The Christian while he sings;
It is the Lord who rises
With healing in his wings:
When comforts are declining,
He grants the soul again
A season of clear shining,
To cheer it after rain.

2. In holy contemplation,
We sweetly then pursue
The theme of God's salvation,
And find it ever new:
Set free from present sorrow,
We cheerfully can say,
E'en let th' unknown to-morrow
Bring with it what it may.

3. It can bring with it nothing
But he will bear us through;
Who gives the lilies clothing,
Will clothe his people too:
Beneath the spreading heavens,
No creature but is fed;
And he who feeds the ravens,
Will give his children bread.

4. Though vine nor fig-tree neither
Their wonted fruit shall bear,
Though all the field should wither,
Nor flocks nor herds be there:
Yet God the same abiding,
His praise shall tune my voice;
For while in him confiding,
I cannot but rejoice.

Index to the Poems of John Newton (http://www.puritansermons.com/poetry.htm#newton) __________________

[9Marksfan]

John Piper is well known as a dynamic an d fearless preacher and an engaging and inspiring author - but less well known as a poet. Here's one of his offerings on the subject of grace that I heard when he was preaching in Northern Ireland in 2006:-

Not grace to bar what is not bliss,
Or flight from all distress - but this:
Grace that orders my trouble and pain
And then - in the darkness -
Is there to sustain.

[fuzzi]

From AW Tozer:

My faith does not rest on God's promises. My faith rests upon God's character....

Is this difficult to see? Why are we not stressing this in our evangelical circles? Why are we afraid to declare that people in our churches must come to know God Himself? Why do we not tell them that hey must get beyond the point of making God a lifeboat for their rescue or a ladder to get them out of a burning building? How can we help our people get over the idea that God exists just to help run their businesses or fly their airplanes?

God is not a railway porter who carries your suitcase and serves you. God is God. He made heaven and earth. He holds the world in His hand. He measures the dust of the earth in the balance. He spreads the sky out like a mantle. He is the great God Almighty. He is not your servant. He is your Father, and you are His child. He sits in heaven, and you are on the earth.

"But our God is in the heavens: he hath done whatsoever he hath pleased." (Psalm 115:3)

[RabbiKnife]

From Winston Churchill..


"When you are going through hell, keep going."

[The Mighty Sword]

Winner's never quit and quitter's never win.

[turtledove]

"I never met a man I didn't like." Will Rogers

[Moxie]

"I never met a man I didn't like." Will Rogers

Reminds me of the story:

An old man sits at the edge of town. A newcomer sees the old man and says, "What kind of people are here?" The old man say, "What kind of people were at the last town you lived?" The newcomer says, "They were mean". The old man then replies, "Yep, that's what you'll find here."

A second newcomer comes to the same old man and asks, "What kind of people are here?" The old man say, "What kind of people were at the last town you lived?" The newcomer says, "They were good people". The old man then replies, "Yep, that's what you'll find here."

[fuzzi]

This really spoke to me this morning, so I wanted to share it with all of you:

This idea was once expressed better by a simple-hearted man who was asked how he managed to live in such a state of constant tranquility even though surrounded by circumstances anything but pleasant. His answer was as profound as it was simple: "I have learned," he said, "to cooperate with the inevitable" ...

Though we cannot control the universe, we can determine our attitude toward it. We can accept God's will wherever it is expressed and take toward it an attitude of worshipful resignation. If my will is to do God's will, then there will be no controversy with anything that comes in the course of my daily walk. Inclement weather, unpleasant neighbors, physical handicaps, adverse political conditions --- all these will be accepted as God's will for the time and surrendered to provisionally, subject to such alterations as God may see fit to make, either by His own sovereign providence or in answer to believing prayer.

"And Samuel told him every whit, and hid nothing from him. And he said, It is the LORD: let him do what seemeth him good." 1 Samuel 3:18

[HisLeast]

Ecclesiastes 1:2 "Meaningless! Meaningless!" says the Teacher. "Utterly meaningless! Everything is meaningless."

What's encouraging about that? Even if God made you the wisest man to ever see the light of day, you're still not going to figure it all out.

[turtledove]

The quality of mercy is not strain'd,
It droppeth as the gentle rain from heaven
Upon the place beneath. It is twice blest:
It blesseth him that gives and him that takes.
From Portia's speech in The Merchant Of Venice Act 4, scene 1--William Shakespeare.

[fuzzi]

Ecclesiastes 1:2 "Meaningless! Meaningless!" says the Teacher. "Utterly meaningless! Everything is meaningless."

What's encouraging about that? Even if God made you the wisest man to ever see the light of day, you're still not going to figure it all out.
Nope, and so we need to learn to lean upon God and His word, so we can understand as much as we are capable of. Without Him, we can do nothing.

"Trust in the LORD with all thine heart; and lean not unto thine own understanding.
In all thy ways acknowledge him, and he shall direct thy paths." (Proverbs 3:5,6)

[fuzzi]

What we need very badly these days is a company of Christians who are prepared to trust God as completely now as they know they must do at the last day. For each of us the time is surely coming when we shall have nothing but God. Health and wealth and friends and hiding places will all be swept away and we shall have only God. To the man of pseudo-faith that is a terrifying thought, but to real faith it is one of the most comforting thoughts the heart can entertain.

It would be a tragedy indeed to come to the place where we have no other but God and find that we had not been trusting God at all during the days of our earthly sojourn. It would be better to invite God now to remove every false trust, to disengage our hearts from all secret hiding places and to bring us out into the open where we can discover for ourselves whether or not we really trust Him. That is a harsh cure for our troubles, but it is a sure one. Gentler curses may be too weak to do the work. And time is running out on us.

"So then every one of us shall give account of himself to God." (Romans 14:12)

[Moxie]

It would be better to invite God now to remove every false trust, to disengage our hearts from all secret hiding places and to bring us out into the open where we can discover for ourselves whether or not we really trust Him.And we must make a conscience effort and choice to trust Him in order to lay ourselves bear and allow Him to remove such things. Isn't it encouraging to know that He is willing to do those things for us to change us to be more Christ-like.