Christian Crier
What are some of the greatest quotes that I have ever heard about God? What quotes would you include? Here is what I consider my top 7 quotes about God.
John Piper
“God is most glorified in us when we are most satisfied in Him.”
This was one of the best quotes that I have ever heard. God seeks to be glorified and when we are satisfied in Him we will be glorifying Him the most in our lives. When people give me compliments, I deflect them and aim them back to Who they belong to. If someone says that the moonlight is beautiful, aren’t they really giving the moon credit for something that the sun is doing? Is the moon responsible for its own light? No! In the same way, if we do anything that is good we are only reflecting the God that enabled us to do good and it was only because and through the power of the Holy Spirit; we were not the source of the good. God is the source of all good so why not give Him the credit (the glory) that He deserves. God has said that He will not share His glory with another (Isaiah 42:8). If we live satisfied lives (and why shouldn’t we?) we are saying to God, God I am satisfied in you because you sought me, you bought me, you taught me, what I ought be. Nothing in that sentence is about me…it is all about He!
C. S. Lewis
“A man can no more diminish God’s glory by refusing to worship Him than a lunatic can put out the sun by scribbling the word ‘darkness’ on the walls of his cell.”
There is nothing that we can humanly do to diminish God’s glory and so why not try to glorify Him in the way that we live our lives? If we claim to be a believer and do not live like one, we are actually blaspheming the God Who created us because others will say “Well, he says that he’s a Christian but he lives like the rest of the world.” How sad that we can bring shame to the name of Christ by living in darkness and claiming Him as our Lord. One of the most tragic things that some who think that they are Christian but their lives say otherwise, will come from Jesus’ own lips “Not everyone who says to me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ will enter the kingdom of heaven, but only the one who does the will of my Father who is in heaven. Many will say to me on that day, ‘Lord, Lord, did we not prophesy in your name and in your name drive out demons and in your name perform many miracles?’ Then I will tell them plainly, ‘I never knew you. Away from me, you evildoers” (Matt 7:21-23)! Can you imagine the horror of hearing that and then realizing, when it is too late, your eternal fate (Rev 20:11-15)!
Corrie ten Boom
“Never be afraid to trust an unknown future to a known God.”
If anyone ever had a reason to grumble, much like Job did, it would have been Corrie ten Boom. This woman suffered so much but strangely, the more she suffered, the stronger her faith became. There were points in this woman of God’s life where most people would have turned bitter against God but she trusted God with her whole mind, heart, and soul. What a shining example this woman left us. Corrie ten Boom would say along with Job that “Though he slay me, I will hope in him” (Job 13:15). This woman certainly trusted in God when everything around her said differently. Her future was certainly unknown, not knowing whether she would live or die, yet she trusted her unknown future to the “known God.”
Joni Eareckson Tada
“Sometimes God allows what he hates to accomplish what he loves.”
Here is another heroine of faith like Corrie ten Boom was. Early in life Tada was paralyzed in a diving accident and she admits that since she cannot take care of any of her personal needs since, she needs a daily dose of grace from God or she couldn’t make it another day. Someone has to help dress her, brush her teeth, and do virtually everything for her but if not for this tragedy, she would have never been humbled enough to come to saving faith in Christ. God allows evil but He causes good to come from it. Joseph was a supreme example of that when his brothers sold him into slavery, he was falsely accused and thrown into prison, he languished in prison for nearly seven years, and he was nearly forgotten about, but still it was said of him “And God was with Joseph” (Gen 21:20, 39:2). Time and time again the Scriptures said that God was with Joseph, even at the times that he was in a terrible place but God accomplished what He loves in in the way that Joseph saved the nation of Egypt, Israel (by saving his father Jacob and his family), and other nations too by his God-given wisdom. What was meant for evil, God used for good (Gen 50:20).
Pierre Teiland de Chardin
“Joy is the infallible sign of the presence of God.”
The Bible never promises happiness but joy is a different story. Jesus never said “I leave you my happiness,” instead He said “Peace I leave with you; my peace I give you. I do not give to you as the world gives. Do not let your hearts be troubled and do not be afraid” (John 14:27). Now you can lose your happiness in this world because happiness is temporary and based upon happenings but the joy and peace that God gives remains forever. In fact it was “Jesus the author and finisher of our faith; who for the joy that was set before him endured the cross, despising the shame, and is set down at the right hand of the throne of God” (Heb12:2). Here is a strong indication that the joy of the Lord remains even among the severest of trials, “Blessed are ye, when men shall hate you, and when they shall separate you from their company, and shall reproach you, and cast out your name as evil, for the Son of man’s sake. Rejoice ye in that day, and leap for joy: for, behold, your reward is great in heaven: for in the like manner did their fathers unto the prophets” (Luke 6:22-23). There can be no doubt that to be persecuted and then leap for joy on account of that is incredibly different from the ways of the world. In fact the “Joy of the Lord is [our] strength” that allows us to endure life’s many trials (Psalm 28:7). This “infallible joy” truly is a “sign of the presence of God” and is a mark of a true believer.
Martin Luther
“One with God is a majority.”
This quote is quite significant because often Martin Luther was alone. He was like who the Prophet Isaiah wrote about in the coming of John the Baptist…a voice crying out in the wilderness. At the time, In time, Martin Luther’s one voice became, with the help of some of his predecessors, the Great Reformation. Luther knew that even if he was alone and a lone voice against the gigantic Catholic Church, if God was with him, he was really in the majority. Many married people can relate to this. They may be Christian and their mate is not and their spouse may be antagonistic toward them and their faith. They might be the only Christian at their work site and always feel like they are being persecuted, talked about behind their back or excluded from major company activities and have few friends there. They could be the only one in their entire family that is saved and they are not liked by the vast majority of family members. Whatever the case maybe, maybe it’s something that you can relate too, the point is that when God is with you, you have the only One on your side Who counts. You, plus God, is a majority. If God is for you, then who could ever be against you (Rom 8:31)?
A. W. Tozer
“What comes into our minds when we think about God is the most important thing about us.”
Well said Mr. Tozer. What we think of God is how we will either disdain Him or we will regard Him with a holy, reverential fear and respect. If you regard God as holy, then you will strive to be more holy. If you don’t believe in God you will live like the Devil but if you know that God exists, you will live like God is watching you. Ezekiel saw a vision of God and described the result; “Such was the appearance of the likeness of the glory of the LORD. And when I saw it, I fell on my face, and I heard the voice of one speaking” (Ezk 1:28). The Apostle John wrote that “When I saw him, I fell at his feet as though dead. Then he placed his right hand on me and said: “Do not be afraid. I am the First and the Last” (Rev 1:17). When Abraham saw Him he fell face down (Gen 17:3). No matter what you think of God, here is a fact: “every knee shall bow to me, and every tongue shall confess to God” (Rom 14:11) and certainly “at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, in heaven and on earth and under the earth” (Phil 2:10). No matter what we think of God today, and it is the most important thing we will think of, every one of us will bend the knee…believer and unbeliever, those dead (under the earth), those still alive at His coming (on earth), and those already with the Lord (in heaven) will bow to Jesus Christ for He is Lord of all and the King of kings and Lord of Lords.
Conclusion
If you still haven’t bent the knee, repented of your sins, confessed them to God, and put your trust in the Savior, then you will eventually bend the knee and confess that Jesus Christ is Lord. I don’t care what you say today or what you think or what you believe….someday every single person alive and every person who has ever lived will bend their knee and confess with their mouth, that Jesus is Lord and God. The question I have for you is this; will you do it today voluntarily and be saved (2 Cor 6:2) or will you have to have it done for you and then face your Christ-less eternal future (Rev 20:11-15)?
Another Reading on Patheos to Check Out: What Did Jesus Really Look Like: A Look at the Bible Facts
Article by Jack Wellman
Jack Wellman is Pastor of the Mulvane Brethren church in Mulvane Kansas. Jack is also the Senior Writer at What Christians Want To Know whose mission is to equip, encourage, and energize Christians and to address questions about the believer’s daily walk with God and the Bible. You can follow Jack on Google Plus or check out his book Blind Chance or Intelligent Design available on Amazon
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