Quotes by Karl Graustein
Karl Graustein (b. 1971) — US-amerikanischer christlicher Pädagoge, Schulleiter und Buchautor · Evangelikal / Reformiert · USA
Karl Graustein (* 1971) ist ein US-amerikanischer Pädagoge, Schulleiter und christlicher Buchautor aus dem evangelikal-reformierten Spektrum. Bekannt wurde er vor allem durch das Werk „Growing Up Christian“, in dem er die persönliche Aneignung des Glaubens und die Überwindung rein traditioneller Religiosität thematisiert. Heutigen Bibellesern gibt er praxisnahe Impulse zur Selbstprüfung, um theologisches Wissen mit gelebter Demut und persönlicher Hingabe zu verbinden.
Era: Today
Recurring topics: Growth & Character, Faith & Trust, Humility & Pride, Guilt & Forgiveness, Wisdom & Understanding, Discipleship, Prayer & Silence, Grace & Redemption
Quotes by Karl Graustein
Thankfulness flows out of a heart that is rooted in Christ. If Christ is the Lord of our lives, we will live in Him, be built up in Him, and be strengthened in Him. Ultimately we will find ourselves overflowing with thankfulness to Him for all that He has done on our behalf.
Karl Graustein
Are you more grateful for the blessings in your life or the One who has given you each blessing?
Karl Graustein
Humility is having an accurate, low view of ourselves and seeing ourselves as God sees us.
Karl Graustein
The purpose of practicing spiritual disciplines is to grow in our love for and devotion to God. But we can wrongly do them to try to earn God’s approval, avoid His punishment, or gain His blessings. We can even focus on gaining knowledge of the things of God for the sake of appearing godly and impressing others. We can also complete our personal quiet times to avoid feeling guilty.
Karl Graustein
Just because we have ridden in a car doesn’t mean that we are qualified to drive a car. In a sense, we have been passengers in the car of our parents’ faith… But just because we have seen their faith in action doesn’t automatically mean that we have the same faith. You see, salvation is a matter of your heart, not your parents’ hearts. You must have faith. You must believe. Don’t miss those important words in Romans 10:9: “believe in your heart.”
Karl Graustein
Prayer is the humble first step in the battle against our indwelling sin. It says, “I am taking sin seriously, I cannot do this on my own, and I need the help of God.” When we pray for greater conviction of sin, God will give it to us, and we will be motivated to wage war against it.
Karl Graustein
Your knowledge of God should always lead to greater affection for God.
Karl Graustein
The Bible contains the words of God and has great power. It is the primary tool that God uses to provide divine guidance and insight, convict sinners, change hearts, judge thoughts and attitudes, and train and equip Christians.
Karl Graustein
A sin is any act, word, or thought that breaks a command or instruction from God. Our sin may affect those around us or may be directed at someone in particular, but we need to see that all sin is primarily against God.
Karl Graustein
Prayer is a humble act of declaring our dependence on God.
Karl Graustein
Repentance means turning from our sins to God. We need to identify the sin, confess it to God, put off the sinful practices, and put on godly practices. In this process we will feel remorse and experience the love and forgiveness of God.
Karl Graustein
So what can we do to grow in humility? 1. Pray for more humility. 2. Understand the immense difference between God and us. 3. Be aware of your weaknesses and limitations. 4. Study God’s promises to the humble. 5. Study creation. 6. Spend time with people who are more gifted than you are. 7. Learn a new skill. 8. Spend time with humble people. 9. Spend time with people who are honest with you about yourself. 10. Serve others.
Karl Graustein
If God has done a work in our hearts, we should want to battle the sin of our hearts.
Karl Graustein
Before growing in our relationship with God, we must have a relationship with Him. It is meaningless to even address other needs before addressing our personal relationship with God. Without God and His enabling power, we cannot effectively change any part of our lives.
Karl Graustein
What do we do if we want to grow in our relationship with God? We should do the same things we would do with any other relationship: look for ways to spend time together, talk with each other, make plans to bless each other, do things for each other, focus on each other’s desires, try to get to know each other more, honor each other, serve each other, and enjoy each other.
Karl Graustein
To correctly evaluate our hearts, we need to examine the thoughts and motives behind our words and actions.
Karl Graustein
Trusting God doesn’t give us an excuse to idly sit back, doing nothing. Praying to God and asking Him to help doesn’t allow us to be lazy. We need to trust God and do our part in the strength and guidance He provides.
Karl Graustein
Although sin no longer rules us, we still are naturally sinful. God considers us righteous and credits us with the spotless record of Christ, but we still do sin. In fact, the battle with our indwelling sin starts at our conversion. Through justification we are declared righteous, and it is at this point that our sanctification – our growing in holiness – begins.
Karl Graustein
Convictions based just on what our parents believe may work for a time; convictions based on personal experiences may help with some situations; convictions based on personal opinions may at times guide us in decisions; and even convictions based on the values of the world may in a rare situation also honor God; but by far the best, the strongest, and the surest conviction that will guide us in every situation, decision, and temptation is a conviction formed by sound and thorough biblical study and teaching.
Karl Graustein
On unbelievers, He will pour our His wrath because of their unrepentant hearts. On behalf of believers, He has already punished Jesus for our sins. His holy character demands that He hate sin, judge sinners, and pour out His wrath on those who sin. When we realize how much God hates sin, we will grow in our hatred for it, too.
Karl Graustein
The world says teenagers should break away from their parents and live more and more independent lives. Most people expect teens to have a poor relationship with their parents, whether they are Christian teens or not. This is a lie that we must reject. The Word of God calls children to honor and obey their parents, and the standards do not change when someone turns 13, 16, or 19.
Karl Graustein
We cannot pursue biblical knowledge just to grow in knowledge. Understanding doctrine isn’t the goal. Loving God and living in a way that pleases Him need to be our aims. Knowledge tends to puff us up (1 Cor. 8:1-2), but a genuine relationship with God with a true knowledge of His character and love will keep us humble (Isa. 6:5; Ps. 8:3-4).
Karl Graustein
Sources: wikipedia.org, aacsonline.org, chesapeakefamily.com, ligonier.org
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