Inspirational Quotes
Prayer
Our proper guilt is God’s methodology of bringing us to himself. Just as sickness sends us to a physician, guilt sends us to God—and keeps us there. In fact, it is that guilt (and here I use the word guilt in it broadest possible understanding of ‘helplessness’, ‘discomfort’, ‘emptiness’, ‘disunity’, ‘fear’, ‘shame’, and ‘embarrassment’) that is the impetus of prayer. It is guilt that builds a fire of love in our hearts. It is guilt that makes us more like Christ. It is guilt that becomes our greatest blessing, because something happens when we come to God for his grace and mercy—something that is so radical and so amazing that it can only be described as death to our old selves. It is the overwhelming desire to please the One who has loved us with such amazing and unconditional love.
- Approaching God, Steve Brown 
Worldview Quotes
Most of us do not see how our opinions are gradually changed from what we think we believe, under the influence of ideas elucidated by others incomparably deeper and more consistent than ourselves.
- George Parkin Grant, Technology and Empire (1969)
GraceFinder Quotes
Perhaps the most difficult task for us to perform is to rely on God’s grace and God’s grace alone for our salvation. It is difficult for our pride to rest on grace. Grace is for other people for beggars. We don’t want to live by a heavenly welfare system. We want to earn our own way and atone for our own sins. We like to think that we will go to heaven because we deserve to be there.
- R.C. Sproul, Tom Woods Graced Again
Years ago, Christ was set forth almost exclusively as an example. 'Concerning the Imitation of Christ' was the great matter of public discourse, and many books were written upon that important theme; but, inasmuch as in those days they forgot and undervalued the sacrifice of Christ, and did not preach justification by faith in his precious blood, their preaching was but dim and inefficient, and Christ was not largely imitated after all, although men were bidden to imitate him. Now, we preach his sacrifice; in many of our places of worship the atonement of Christ is very clearly proclaimed, and the plan of salvation by virtue of his precious blood is very widely declared with more or less of clearness, for which I thank God. But we must take care that we do not forget that Christ is our example as well as our atonement,--and that, while by his death we live, the life which we live is to be conformed to the life of the Son of God, who loved us, and gave himself for us.
- Charles Spurgeon
We delight to walk with our Lord down the path of life because through our repentance we have understood how altogether lovely He is. Our obedience is not the foundation or condition of God’s receiving our repentance; it is the natural outflow of a heart that has experienced His grace. Our new willingness to follow Christ helps reassure us that we have experienced the transforming power of grace. Our delight in walking with Him validates love for Him in our hearts even amid remorse for sin against Him. Thus, though there may be many stumbles and setbacks along the path, true repentance leads naturally to new obedience.
- Bryan Chapell, Holiness by Grace
Jesus shines the light of the gospel on us both to expose our brokenness and to bring us to brokenness. I guess we should call this gospel brokenness, because only the gospel of God’s grace can enable us to be completely honest about our stuff without falling into toxic shame or self-contempt. And only the Gospel can humble us, soften us, and give us the power to repent—or at least, not run away or rant. When followers of Jesus walk openly in this kind of brokenness—gospel brokenness—angels in heaven rejoice, and people without faith, or those with much cynicism about Christians, are likely to reconsider who Jesus is. Write this down: no greater beauty can be found at any point or any place in God’s story than the times when God’s people manifest this gospel brokenness—for that is where God’s glory is revealed most clearly.
- Scotty Smith, Restoring Broken Things
Strange and Wonderful Quotes
You may greatly comfort yourself that you have an unchangeable friend in Christ Jesus. Constancy is justly looked upon as a most necessary and most desirable qualification in a friend. That he be not fickle, and so that his friendship cannot be depended on, as that of a steady sure friend. How excellent his (Jesus’) friendship is, you may learn from his manner of treating his disciples on earth, whom he graciously treated as a tender father his children, meekly instructing them, most friendly conversing with them, and being ready to pity them, and help them, and forgive their weaknesses.
- Jonathan Edwards, Sermons of Edwards, 1738
After the reading of Scripture, which I strenuously inculcate, and more than any other ... I recommend that the Commentaries of Calvin be read ... For I affirm that in the interpretation of the Scriptures Calvin is incomparable, and that his Commentaries are more to be valued than anything that is handed down to us in the writings of the Fathers -- so much that I concede to him a certain spirit of prophecy in which he stands distinguished above others, above most, indeed, above all.
- Jacobus Arminius, Monergism website
Personal Favourites
Run, John, run! The Law commands! But gives me neither feet nor hands. Far grander news the Gospel brings: It bids me fly and gives me wings!
- Attributed to John Bunyan (1628-88)
For the same reason it was also imperative that He who was to become our Redeemer be true God and true man. It was His task to swallow up death. Who but the Life could do this? It was His task to conquer sin. Who but very Righteousness could do this? It was His task to rout the powers of world and air. Who but a power higher than world and air could do this? Now where does life or righteousness, or lordship and authority of heaven lie but with God alone? Therefore our most merciful God, when He willed that we should be redeemed, made Himself our Redeemer in the Person of His only-begotten Son.
- John Calvin, Institutes 2:12:2
In Christ’s great sufferings, He showed His infinite regard to the honor of God’s justice. Yet in these sufferings, Christ was the mark of that very justice of God. Revenging justice then spent all its force upon Him because of our guilt. Our guilt made Him sweat blood and cry on upon the cross. It literally broke His heart...Suffering a terrible execution was the way that Christ stood up for the honor of God’s justice. When He had undertaken for sinners, and had substituted Himself in their place, divine justice could have its due no other way than by His suffering its revenges...Christ never so greatly showed His hatred of sin as against God as in His dying to take away the dishonor that sin had done to God.
- Jonathan Edwards, 1976
We should always keep Christ before our eyes. The devil continually tempts us to abandon Christ and seek the Father, saying to ourselves, ‘This or that will please him’. Meanwhile we ignore Christ—the One the Father sent—so that we might listen to Him alone. We respond as the Pharisees did and reject Christ. We wonder, ‘Where is the Father?’ That is the question the world asks! This is the greatest temptation to your faith. You must devote yourself to the Word of Christ and train yourself to hold on to it so that you never lose sight of Jesus.
- Martin Luther, Faith Alone
God does not accept me just as I am; He loves me despite how I am. He loves me just as Jesus is; He loves me enough to devote my life to renewing me in the image of Jesus. This love is much, much better than unconditional! Perhaps we could call it ‘contraconditional’ love. God has blessed me because His Son fulfilled the conditions I could never achieve. Contrary to what I deserve, He loves me. And now I can begin to change, not to earn love, but because I’ve already received it.
- David Powlison, Seeing with New Eyes
Trust the past to the mercy of God, the present to His love, and the future to His providence.
- Unknown
…when God tells people what He is like, what He says is not just relatively true but absolutely true. As finite beings, people do not have exhaustive truth about God, but they can have truth about God; and they can know, therefore, truth about that which is the ultimate universal. And the Bible speaks to men and women concerning meaning, morals, and values.
- Francis A. Schaeffer, How Should We Then Live?
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RUF Alberta
Reaching Students for Christ...
Equipping Students to Serve.
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