Great Throughts Treasury

"There's an antidote to our fears- trust. If we trust God more, we can fear less."

"There's something about compassion that causes society to say, 'We're going to take this person seriously.' Take Mother Teresa. She was confrontational on abortion, but she wasn't rejected by society."

"Think of it this way. Sin put you in prison. Sin locked you behind the bars of guilt and shame and deception and fear. Sin did nothing but shackle you to the wall of misery. Then Jesus came and paid your bail. He served your time; he satisfied the penalty and set you free. Christ died, and when you cast your lot with him, your old self died too."

"To ask God to prohibit war, then, is to ask him to prohibit the consequence of human behavior. Something he has never been wont to do. As long as there is sin there will be war."

"To call yourself a child of God is one thing. To be called a child of God by those who watch your life is another thing altogether."

"Today I will keep my promises. My debtors will not regret their trust. My friends will not question my word. And my family will not question my love."

"Though we may not be able to see His purpose or His plan, the Lord of heaven is on His throne and in firm control of the universe and our lives."

"Though you see nothing, he is acting."

"Tragically, some people believe they are going to heaven when they die just because a few drops of water were sprinkled over their heads a few weeks after their birth. They have no personal faith, have never made a personal decision, and are banking on a hollow ceremony to save them. How absurd."

"We forget that IMPOSSIBLE is one of God's favorite words."

"Unity creates belief. Disunity fosters disbelief. Nowhere are we told to build unity. We are told simply to keep unity."

"Two types of voices command your attention today. Negative ones fill your mind with doubt, bitterness, and fear. Positive ones purvey hope and strength. Which one will you choose to heed?"

"We may speak about a place where there are no tears, no death, no fear, no night; but those are just the benefits of heaven. The beauty of heaven is seeing God."

"We?re important, but not essential; valuable, but not indispensable. We have a part in the play, but we are not the main act. A song to sing, but we are not the featured voice. God is."

"Were it not for the shepherds, there would have been no reception. And were it not for a group of stargazers, there would have been no gifts."

"Well, I think the main message is there is more to your story. There is more than what happens between the crib and the grave, and that is what I am really trying to speak to, this idea that all of life is this life and that there is nothing more than what we see and experience right here on this earth."

"We're important, but not essential; valuable, but not indispensable. We have a part in the play, but we are not the main act. A song to sing, but we are not the featured voice. God is."

"What I urge is that you learn to master your life by living each day in a day-tight compartment and this will certainly ensure your safety throughout your entire journey of life."

"What causes us to think of prayer as the last option rather than the first? I can think of two reasons: feelings of independence and feelings of insignificance."

"What we realize is number one, people want to know what the Bible says. In their heart, they want to know the Bible but it is just hard to understand the big picture of it. And number two, they want to know where they plug in."

"What's the opposite of fear? Trust. I do better when I trust in God?and go for a short jog. He's in control of my life. Place your fear in God's hands and you'll find that you have greater peace each day."

"What is this love that endures decades, passes on sleep, and resists death to give one kiss? Call it agape love, a love that bears a semblance of God's."

"When God looks at you, he doesn?t see you; he sees the One who surrounds you. That means that failure is not a concern for you. Your victory is secure."

"When God gives an assignment, he also gives the skill. Study your skills, then, to reveal your assignment."

"When he says we?re forgiven, let?s unload the guilt. When he says we?re valuable, let?s believe him. . . . When he says we?re provided for, let?s stop worrying. God?s efforts are strongest when our efforts are useless"

"When we see death, we see disaster. When Jesus sees death, he sees deliverance!"

"When grace moves in... guilt moves out"

"When you are in the final days of your life, what will you want? Will you hug that college degree in the walnut frame? Will you ask to be carried to the garage so you can sit in your car? Will you find comfort in rereading your financial statement? Of course not. What will matter then will be people. If relationships will matter most then, shouldn?t they matter most now?"

"When we would say 'No way,' he would say, 'My way.' Then the ones who doubted would scramble to salvage the blessing. And the one who gave it would savor the surprise."

"Where the grace of God is missed, bitterness is born. But where the grace of God is embraced, forgiveness flourishes. The longer we walk in the garden, the more likely we are to smell like flowers. The more we immerse ourselves in grace, the more likely we are to give grace."

"Who you are has nothing to do with the clothes you wear or the car you drive . . . Heaven does not know you as the fellow with the nice suit or the woman with the big house or the kid with the new bike. Heaven knows your heart . . ."

"You are not a coincidence, did not produce a lot of you are not your production on an assembly line, I have made ??you and give you the wisdom of the Creator and the capabilities of your situation on the ground."

"You can endure change by pondering His permanence."

"You come before the judgment seat of God full of rebellion and mistakes. Because of his justice he cannot dismiss your sin, but because of his love he cannot dismiss you. So, in an act which stunned the heavens, he punished himself on the cross for your sins. God?s justice and love are equally honored. And you, God?s creation, are forgiven."

"Worry is to joy what a Hoover vacuum cleaner is to dirt: might as well attach your heart to a happiness-sucker and flip the switch."

"You are the only you God made... God made you and broke the mold."

"You cannot be anything you want to be. But you can be everything God wants you to be."

"You may be transferred, enlisted, commissioned, reassigned, or hospitalized - but brand this on your heart - you can never go where God is not."

"You have a God who loves you, the power of love behind you, the Holy Spirit within you, and all of heaven ahead of you."

"You don't love people at their best, sweetheart. You just love them because you can't help it."

"You know people just assume, 'Well, all my life I'll be a worrier.' That doesn't have to be true. There's a way to drink from God's presence so much that worry begins to dissipate."

"You may not be down to your final heartbeat, but you may be down to your last paycheck, solution, or thimble of faith. Each sunrise seems to bring fresh reasons for fear"

"You need someone to lift your spirits. You need someone to look you in the face and say, "This isn't the end. Don't give up. There is a better place than this. And I'll lead you there."

"You will never forgive anyone more than God has already forgiven you."

"You will be at your best forever, Even now you have good moments. Occasional glimpses of your heavenly self. When you change your baby's diaper, forgive your boss's temper, tolerate your spouse's moodiness, you display traces of saintliness."

"You weren?t an accident. You weren?t mass produced. You aren?t an assembly-line product. You were deliberately planned, specifically gifted, and lovingly positioned on the earth by the Master Craftsman."

"You?ll get through this. You fear you won?t. We all do. We fear that the depression will never lift, the yelling will never stop, the pain will never leave. Here in the pits, surrounded by steep walls and angry brothers, we wonder, Will this gray sky ever brighten? This load ever lighten? We feel stuck, trapped, locked in. Predestined for failure. Will we ever exit this pit?"

"You'll get through this. It won't be painless. It won't be quick. But God will use this mess for good. In the meantime don't be foolish or na‹ve. But don't despair either. With God's help you will get through this."

"Your difficulty, your disease, your conflict are preparing you to be a voice of encouragement to your brothers."