For instance, here is a quote from Billy Graham:
The Christian life is not a constant high. I have my moments of deep discouragement. I have to go to God in prayer with tears in my eyes,
God, forgive me,' or 'Help me.'... Author: Billy Graham
I think we can all relate to that but it is a source of encouragement to know that even someone such as Mr. Graham will gladly admit that he too is human enough to have those moments of discouragement. What is even more heartening is the knowledge that, yes, God loves enough to help us all through those tough times.
The author Augustine wrote this about the life of Christ:
“It is not the punishment but the cause that makes the martyr.”
To this I would add this: It is not truly the cross that makes the life of Jesus our redemption but the fact that he hung there to pay the price for our shortcomings.
I must admit this next quote from Benjamin Franklin caused me to do quite a bit of discerning.
He who shall introduce into public affairs the principles of primitive Christianity will change the face of the world. - Benjamin Franklin
While I was considering just what this meant it occurred to me that in truth Christ changed the world two thousand years ago. It causes me to pause and wonder if what Mr. Franklin meant by this was the fact that we are no further ahead now than two thousand years ago.
Author, Bill Sunday had this to say:
Christianity means a lot more than church membership.
Author: Billy Sunday
This one seems self-explanatory. I can still remember a businessman who once told me the secret to success was to let Jesus at the back door of the office and pick him up again when you leave work. This man went to church every Sunday but do you think God was pleased with that attitude?
C.S. Lewis once wrote this:
Now that I am a Christian I do not have moods in which the whole thing looks very improbable: but when I was an atheist I had moods in which Christianity looked terribly probable…Author: C.S. Lewis
I must admit this one makes a lot of sense to me. If I were trying hard not to believe the probability of Christianity would be a source of depression because it creates a huge void in our very existence. I take great courage in the fact that this void does not exist.
Join with me in a prayer to our creator and know that our lives are not for naught.
God bless,
Lew
