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"God whispers in your soul and speaks to your mind. Somethimes when you don't have time to listen, He has to throw a brick at you. It's your choice: either listen to the whisper, or wait for the brick." -Gabriel Wenyika, from a blog section featured in CCM Magazine.
"Charles Spurgeon once said that when a jeweler shows his best diamonds, he sets them against a black velvet backdrop. The contrast of the jewels against the black velvet brings out the luster. In the same way, God does His most stunning work where things seem hopeless. Wherever there is pain, suffering, and desperation, Jesus is. And that's where His people belong--among those who are vulnerable, who think nobody cares. What better place for the brilliance of Christ to shine?" -Pastor Jim Cymbala, from the book "Fresh Wind, Fresh Fire".
"A Christian has no business going back into the Hell they were once called out of UNLESS God is sending them back to rescue those that are still there...and only a chosen few are permitted by The Lord to do that." -Fiz
"Americans designate one day a year as a National Day of Prayer. Do we have any right to ask mayors and senators to show up for a special event, with the television cameras rolling, if we don't have regular prayer meetings in our churches? If praying is important, why don't we do it every week? How is it that Christian will pay $20 to hear the latest Christian artist in concert, but Jesus can't draw a crowd?" -Pastor Jim Cymbala, from the book "Fresh Wind, Fresh Fire".
"Like I told you before, if you run away from it, you'll live to see another day." -The advice a mother gives her son about keeping one's self out of trouble.
"Especially since the 1960s, fads have come and gone in the North American church, only to be replaced by newer fads. Leonard Ravenhill, the revival-minded preacher and author from Britain, told me shortly before he died, 'People say the church today is growing and expanding. Yes, it's ten miles wide now--and about a quarter-inch deep." -Pastor Jim Cymbala, from the book "Fresh Wind, Fresh Fire".
"You tend to be like those you orbit around, and because people learn by example through one's lifestyle, that person becomes a leader of sorts, in some aspect. So, the question is, 'What are you leading people into? Are you leading them into Life, or are you leading them into death?" -Fiz
"God is more powerful than anybody's past, no matter how wretched. He can make us forget--not by erasing the memory but by taking the sting and paralyzing effect out of it." -Pastor Jim Cymbala, from the book "Fresh Wind, Fresh Fire".
"As I looked toward my Future and saw all that God had for me to do, I sat in the Present and did nothing. And now as I look at my Past and all that God had for me to do, I sit in the Present and do nothing." - Carolyn C. on the imprisonment of laziness.
"Have you ever noticed that whenever you ask a fellow Christian these days about his or her church, the subject invariably goes to attendance? When I ask fellow pastors the same question I get the same answer--plus two others...attendance, buildings, and cash. A-B-C: the new holy trinity." -Pastor Jim Cymbala, from the book "Fresh Wind, Fresh Fire".
"I'm not worried about what I'm called as it has no importance on what I'm called to do." -Ex-President Bill Clinton.
"The first step in any spiritual awakening is demolition. We cannot make headway in seeking God without first tearing down the accumulated junk in our souls. Rationalizing has to cease. We have to start seeing the sinful debris that we hadn't noticed before, which is what holds back the blessing of God." -Pastor Jim Cymbala, fromt the book "Fresh Wind, Fresh Fire".
"The way the Bible puts it...if you're born once, you'll die twice; but if you're born twice, you'll die once." -Greg Laurie on what will determine one's eternity.
"Disobedience will never sit well with a true believer. But I don't think that these acts of disobedience render us lost, or bring our salvation into jeopardy. If that were the case, where is Grace? Grace is 'un-merited favor', right? And since we're 'saved by grace', that means that Christ saved us without taking our behaviors into consideration. So why after He saved us, would he START taking our behaviors into consideration in order to REMAIN saved??? Its like saying we need Grace to GET saved, but we need obedience to STAY saved. I dont' think that makes sense." -Scott R.
"For the person who's never heard the Gospel, God will hold them accountable to the light they have received; but guess what buckaroo, you have heard the Gospel, and you will be held accountable for that, what are you going to do? 'Cause you can't say you're ignorant. -Greg Laurie, on the response a Christian should give to someone who proposes the question, 'What about those who haven't heard the Gospel?'
"[Jeremiah 17:9] is a most excellent passage because it sums up who we are on the inside. We're no good. We're rotten to the core. And in the end, apart from the grace of God's salvation offered to us through Christ, we will be given what we deserve. Not a pretty picture of mankind. It's sobering to say the least." -Bill C.
"Being a sports fan in Cleveland is like being in an abusive relationship." -a coworker
"You wanna talk about famous last words...the nature of a man is seen in what he says in that moment." -a prosecutor discussing a murder case on CourtTV.
"I believe that the greatest trick of the devil is not to get us into some sort of evil but rather have us wasting time. This is why the devil tries so hard to get Christians to be religious. If he can sink a man's mind into habit, he will prevent his heart from engaging God." -Donald Miller, from "Blue Like Jazz"
"'Even the Devil can quote Scripture', in reference to Matthew 4:1-11. True, but even God can speak through a donkey (Numbers 22). The difference is being able to recognize God's voice in the everyday. That's why, for me, Christian music is simply defined by two words: personal discernment...Let your faith define the music you listen to, not the other way around." -Russ Breimeier, from the article, "Defining? Or Discerning?" in ChristianityToday.
"The life of faith is marked by seperation." -Scott Roark
"Isn't it odd that before a strong tower can be built that the ground has to be softened to make way for an even stronger foundation? Don't lose hope 'cause every mighty fortress takes time to build, especially when God is the only One with the hard hat on. He's erecting your steel one *story* at a time." -Fiz
"Parents, if faith isn't crucial to you, then at least live it so that it is crucial to your children." -Scott Roark
"Jesus is saying that we have to cut out the best part of our life if it is causing us to sin." -Andy Sikora
"When God is abandoned, there will be an inevitable moral breakdown." -Greg Laurie
"There's 'sins' and there is 'SIN'. Sins are the symptoms of the disease called SIN. At the root of your sinning is your being in SIN. Are you treating the symptoms or are you treating the disease?" -Andy Sikora, referencing a Martin Lloyd Jones article.
"The big screen is--let's face it--Babylon's turf." -Josh Rosenblatt of the Austin Chronicle upon review of the movie "Facing The Giants".
"You play the fool when you disobey God, even in the smallest matters." -Greg Laurie
"Here's the bad part about sin: even though you may be doing everything right, because of its nature, the sin of others can effect you as well. Sin brakes for no one, but you always have the choice to brake before sinning." -Fiz
"When we choose to sin, we are really choosing to have ourselves be the center of attention." -Andy Sikora
"Sometimes The Lord will let things stack up in such a way that there's no way out but Him, so He will get the glory." -Greg Laurie
"Those who want to succeed never use the word "if" in their vocabulary, the operative word is "when"! -Fiz, to a friend about the progress of overcoming a sin.
"Sin is intoxicating. Let me put it another way: sin makes you stupid, it makes you do crazy, irrational things." -Greg Laurie
"If you were to keep visiting the grave of your old self, what a horror it would be to find that at some time...it is empty. If it is, then that part of you has yet to die." -Fiz
"Any step away from God is always a step down." -Greg Laurie
"When people go through crap that's usually the time they put the box around God 'cuz it seems like those are the times when He's powerless." -Mike Shaefer
"Listen, if someone ever asks you to prove your love by compromising your values, that person does not love you." -Greg Laurie
"If someone were to ask you to tell them about Jesus, could you? I'm not talking about Jesus the God, or Jesus the man, I mean Jesus the person you know from first-hand experience." -Fiz
"Today, we will baptize of the water, but the individual has to complete the baptism of the Holy Spirit through their new life." -Pastor Clifford Wright
"When it comes to serving, I'm not necessarily asking that you get involved with any particular church's ministry or program; what I am asking is that you include yourself in the life of someone else for the purpose of them being saved." -Fiz
"A pioneer is identified by the arrows in his back." -unknown
"If you ask any Christian what they struggle with the most, they will tell you these two things: Patience, and Themselves." -Fiz
U2's Bono was asked, "Why doesn't your music proclaim Christ?" He responded by asking, "Does nature scream the name of Christ? Creation has its own proclamation within the majesty of it." -as told in a CCM magazine article from Feb. 2007.
"I call this a 'walk' with Jesus and not a 'run' because Jesus is not running. Many believers are running through life, only to realize that they've left Jesus behind." -Pastor Clifford Wright
"When you are down to nothing, God is up to something." -from an e-mail chain.
"Just because someone's a virgin doesn't necessarily mean that they're pure in heart or righteous. The story of Lot's daughters is proof of that." -Fiz
"Your relationship with God is personal but it was never intended to be private, and many of you in this room are living private Christian lives, and you wonder why you do not feel intimately connected to the Saviour." - Dan Burgoyne
"You don't have to get me anything, you guys have brought me to Christ, what more can I want?" -Russ, to T-Fiz referring to our Bible study group.
"Baptism is a clarification, not just an announcement, of what my intentions are with Jesus." -Pastor Clifford Wright
"Know how I always say, 'Satan walks so close to the truth that to some, he is the truth.'" -Jared V.
"I really can't blame people for not wanting to know Christ because they will end up finding out more about themselves than they really wanted to know." -Fiz
"The best place to witness for God is right where He puts you. God's will is always, always, always, the shortest route...God will always accomplish His will, ALWAYS! He may wait and accomplish it later, and you may miss out. He may use you in spite of yourself, and do it anyway, but He's always going to get the job done. For some odd reason, God decides He wants to partner with people, but He doesn't need you." -Dan Burgoyne
"If you want to change the world, do it one person at a time, beginning with yourself." -Fiz
"The question, 'Do you accept Jesus Christ as your Lord and personal Savior?' is no where in the Bible. Jesus never asked anyone to accept Him, as if He had a low self-esteem issue. All He did was walk up to a person and said, 'Come, follow Me,' and walked away. Whoever followed, followed; and whoever stayed behind, didn't. But for those who followed, they followed in faith." -Ron Luce, while speaking at Acquire The Fire.
"It's funny if you stand back and look at it, those who have a problem with tithing are usually the ones who are also not serving anywhere else in the ministry." -Fiz
"I'd hate to be one of those people who calls himself a Christian but doesn't have the power of God in his life." -Dan Burgoyne
"Lead me to the cross where we first met; draw me to my knees so we can talk; let me feel Your breath, let me know You're here with me." -Delirious
"I think it's a sin when people don't reach their full potential in Christ." -Dan Burgoyne
"If you let fear get the best of you, you will be of no more use than the very shirt you're wearing. You will just...be there." -Fiz
"Using profanity in conversation—sometimes via a slip of the tongue—is entirely different from writing them in lyrics. That's no accident. Songwriters intentionally use words—they're tools, not mistakes. There's an opportunity to self-edit for the benefit of others, rather than potentially offend." -Russ Breimeier, in a ChristianityToday article on the use of profanity in 'Christian music'."
"Sin is fun for a season, the problem with sin is you forget the hell that happens afterwards, and some of you know what I'm talking about in here, some of you know the 'tomorrow morning'" -Dan burgoyne
"We cannot expect people who don't know God to live according to God." -Fiz
"If God is not in it, then leave God out of it!" -Fiz
"Yes, you have the right to free speach, but last time I checked, it's still optional to listen." -Fiz
"Every story of conversion is the story of a blessed defeat." -C.S. Lewis
"Just because you're a Christian doesn't mean that you are removed from reality." -Fiz
"I think that too often we think of "the body of Christ" as being limited to our one little congregation on the street corner, when in fact, the body of Christ is worldwide. If you wanna reach a big city, you'll need a big body." -Fiz, during a Bible study.
"If Satan was thrown out of Heaven and onto the Earth, then THIS IS HELL! It only makes sense, haven't you been watching the news??" -Fiz
"Thanks to Spider-Man, we know that 'With great power comes great responsibility.' I want to add to that also that with great privilege comes a greater need for self-control." -Fiz
"Hey Rachel...It's good to see people being used by God where they belong. Your ministry is invaluable, which is fitting because you yourself are priceless, and Rufus...a portrait of coolness that demands respect. Together, a museum to cherish!" -Fiz, in a comment to Rachel Witucky of 707.
"You find out more about God from the Moral Law than from the universe in general just as you find out more about a man by listening to his conversation than by looking at a house he has built." -C.S. Lewis, from the book "Mere Christianity".
Q: "Fiz, I think part of my problem lately is that I gave so much of me away that its hard to give it all to Jesus does that make sense?" A: "Well, in one sense that could be a problem, but in another sense it could be a blessing. Since you gave much of yourself away before coming to Christ, you now have a clean slate for Him to work with. He can mold you from the bottom up. Instead of giving Him shapeable clay, you would be giving Him fresh ingredients to first make the KIND of clay He needs to use, then He can mold you to how He sees fit. Believe me, you're still in good hands!" -Fiz (from a conversation)
"God means business, but it's good that He warns us to do what's right not just for ourselves, but for those who will follow after us as well. We always have to be cognizant of the actions that define our character in Christ. It can make or break those who watch us on a daily basis. It's an awesome responsibility, but it is OUR responsibility." -Fiz
"The person who has a torn Bible will most likely have a life that isn't." -Pastor Greg Laurie
"Unfortunately, Satan's is the only 'truth' some people will know because no one has shown them anything different. That's what being 'salt' (the flavor enhancer and preservative kind, not the corrosive and destructive kind) and 'light' (illuminated from within to show those around it what they couldn't see before). Satan's truth is like a pen-light, he shows you one truth at a time, but never the whole picture. He'll show you the 'fun' of sinning, but not the regrets and consequences. Satan will also tell you that if something looks good enough to eat, then eat it (Eve in The Garden), but he never tells you that it's poisonous and it will degrade you over time." -Fiz
"When the church wins the culture wars, it inevitably loses. When it conquers the world, it becomes the world. When you put your trust in the sword, you lose the cross.†-Pastor Gregory Boyd
"People can tell if you already posess something your'e trying to sell. If you don't have it, they're not going to buy it, so you shouldn't be selling it." -Fiz, on witnessing for Christ.
"A Christian is a NOUN, not an adjective." -Rob Bell, from his book, Velvet Elvis
"You are to make people hungry for Christ without you ever having to say a word; and when you do, include your testimony because no one can argue with someone else's personal experiences. Just don't fake your testimony." -Fiz
"We all want progress. But progess means getting nearer to the place where you want to be. And if you have taken a wrong turning, then to go forward does not get you any nearer. If you are on the wonr road, progress means doing an about-turn and walking back to the right road; and in that case the man who turns back soonest is the most progressive man...There is nothing progressive about being pig headed and refusing to admit a mistake." -C.S. Lewis, from the book "Mere Christianity".
"You're not called to greatness, you're called to obedience." -Fiz
"God wants to mold me and shape me in his way and I am trying to show him how to do it. It is like the football player trying to tell the coach how to run a defense. It is like the piano student telling her teacher she is off key." -Bryan Christopher
"The world knows what Christ is about, that's why they don't like Him." -Fiz
"No one should have an encounter with God and not go away being a changed person." -Fiz
"When God Breaks You, It's Because He Loves You." -Dan Burgoyne
"You don't realize you're alive until you start having trouble breathing." -Fiz
"Have Your Own Relationship with Christ!" -Fiz
"The Presence of Evil is the Absence of God." -Fiz
"I don't want to live a life that's compromising to The King. I'd rather live for You than live for me or anything." -Paul Wright, "Take This Life"
"You are much more of a witness by being here in person than by being a picture on a wall." -Steve, a manager at an Applebee's frequented by 707ers.
"More people need to start stepping up to the plate, not to eat, but to serve." -Fiz
"Its amazing how one stone can make such a huge ripple in a lake. That's symbolic for what happened to us." -Jared V. on God's timing and how quick and impactful our friendship has become.
"If they're not invited, how will they know that their welcomed?" -Fiz, on the open invitation to attending church and Bible studies.
"Now I know that God blesses women with great assests....but it doesnt mean share them with the world." -Rachel W. on the image some Christian women often display.
"You may be the only Bible that people are ever going to read." -Pastor Greg Laurie
"Jesus didn't go into somebody else's world just to condemn them, but He always welcomed the condemned into His." -Fiz
"You don't have a Power problem with God because God doesn't have a Power problem. You have a Connection problem." -Dan Burgoyne on why Christians often feel defeated in their walk with Christ.
"T-Fiz always hugs me like I was his long lost brother." -Pete, a fellow 707er who unknowingly but correctly described the Joy I have when I see my Brothers and Sisters in Christ.
"We live in a fallen world that's under a curse. Things will not get better, it will only get worse." -Dan Burgoyne, on why everything that is new eventually gets old.
"It's not what happens to you that matters as much as what you are going to do with whatever happens to you." -Fiz
"My heart became the instrument that is used to worship God." -Micah Riley, sharing his testimony to CVC's Impact youth group.
"If You Pray for Patience, God Will Make You Wait." -Fiz
"There is Life in struggles." -Fiz
"Your purpose in life is to serve Him wherever He's planted you at any given moment. Like the flower in the field, you are not to say to the gardener, 'Don't plant me here, plant me over there!'. No, you are to display God's glory wherever He's planted you. And also like the flower in the field, all that will be around you is dirt and ugliness. That's the beauty of it all, God uses His best servants in the worst places. Think about it this way, how effective can a candle be in broad daylight?" -Fiz
"Someone might ask, 'Is it ok for a Christian woman to wear makeup?' You know what I say? 'Well if your house needs painting, paint it!" -Greg Laurie
"The wife who hen-pecks her husband is likely to find him listening, to another chick." -Greg Laurie
"When you put a live person spiritually next to a dead person spiritually, it'll pull the relationship in the direction of the spiritually dead person. I can take a little kid out the congregation and I bet you it would be easier for that kid to pull me off of the pulpit than for me to pull him up onto the pulpit. Even though I may be stronger than that child, the force of gravity is on the side of that kid. And in the same way, when you get into a relationship with a non-believer, the 'force of gravity' is on their side because they don't have a new nature yet to go your way, but you have an old nature that can easily go back their way. It's alot easier for you to fall backwards than it is for them to suddenly come alive spiritually. This is not God's order, He won't bless it, this isn't the way it works." -Greg Laurie, on the subject of "unequally yoked" relationships.
"Faith Development is this: When we first begin our Christian walk we have a faith that basically says, 'I believe it because my Mom and Dad told me so.' We then move into a 'Corporate Belief', which says, 'I believe it because it's what WE believe'. And finally we move into a 'Personal Faith'. This faith may agree or disagree with both previous stages, but the point is, it's yours. It's what YOU have come to. It's where God has led YOU." -A protestant denomination official.
"This world is like one long bad dream." -Fiz
"Jesus wasn't saving the disciples from the storm, He was sending them INTO the storm. He wants to take you beyond what you can handle so that there's less of you, and more of Him." -Dan Burgoyne
"It is amazing how people get protective and even defensive about a liquid in a glass. The loss of a life, friendship, integrity, respect, or innocence is just not worth it. I don't like to wish anything bad on anybody, but you get what you deserve the morning after, by your own doing. Unfortunately, your selfishness usually becomes someone else's problem. We 'undrunkens' are not asking you to stop drinking, we just want you to be someone who's worth our respect." -Fiz
"You've got only one chance to believe in the good life." -Tourmaline, "One Chance"
"God's purpose for everyone is the same, and that is to obey Him. However, my obedience to Him will look different from yours because God will have His servants doing different things. Even though we serve the same God, He won't always call us to be at the same places, at the same time, to reach the same people, by doing the same things. Why? It is not because God chooses to be different, but it's because WE are different people." -Fiz
"I'm having a dial-up day." -Fiz
"It's so true that obedience should always follow faith, because when it doesn't, it's a house that's built on shifting sand, with the "hopes" of it not collapsing. Faith first, then obedience. But you know, the most important element in faith is experience. If we have not had a personal encounter with Christ through experience, then we have no HIStory, it's just hearsay." -Fiz
"As I see it, you have two choices, you can either take down the sign that says, 'I'm a Christian,' or you can start living in the way that God has called you to." -Dan Burgoyne
"Walking with You is not without hazards/Tripping's this traveler's curse/The price paid for falling is more than my stumble/In a world that is watching and waiting for worst//But I listened when you said to go/And I set out in spite of my fears/I brought truth mixed with my imperfections/And the question of what to say when I got here/And now that I'm here//Chorus: Should I tell them that You are the One who has made me And saved me to set up a home there inside?/Should I tell them that I am a perfect example of all You can do with a life?/What should I say to them, what if I'm failing them?/What should I tell them tonight?" -Shaun Groves
"I think if enough enflamed people walk along side those with no fuel, eventually they'll be ablaze as well." -Fiz
"You can not hear from God and stay where you are, it's a step backwards." -Dan Burgoyne
"ARE YOU DONE BUFFERING??!!" -Erica L.
"God says, 'Here's the brush, now paint a picture of what it looks like to walk with Me.'" -Dan Burgoyne
"If you were arrested for being a Christian, would there be enough evidence to convict you?" -Greg Laurie
"When you remove God from your life, Hope leaves town." -Dan Burgoyne
"When you're fortunate, what a great problem to have." -Cliff Holcomb, looking back on the tragedy that his brother Andy has had to endure.
"We don't need another Day of Pentecost anymore than we need another Calvary. The Day of Pentecost was a one time event." -Greg Laurie
Whomever God...