Quotes on Growth & Character
Christian quotes on Growth & Character — with author, dates and source, from two millennia of Christian thought.
When we pray, the circumstances often remain the same, but we become different.
Oswald Chambers
Discipline is choosing what you want most over what you want now.
Craig Groeschel
Humility is so shy. If you begin talking about it, it leaves.
Tim Keller
Prayers are tools not for doing or getting, but for being and becoming.
Eugene Peterson
Being a Christian is not a 'do-it-yourself' affair.
Jerry Bridges
Christ accepts us as we are, but he does not leave us as we are.
Ingrid Trobisch
I am not what I ought to be, I am not what I wish to be, I am not what I hope to be in the world beyond; but still I am not what I once was, and by the grace of God I am what I am.
John Newton
I am certain that I never did grow in grace one-half so much anywhere as I have upon the bed of pain.
Charles Haddon Spurgeon
Our old man is crucified, but he is long at dying.
Charles Haddon Spurgeon
We are like blocks of stone out of which the Sculptor carves the form of a true human. The blows of His chisel that hurt us so much are also what make us perfect.
C.S. Lewis
God does not love us if we change, God loves us so that we can change.
Richard Rohr
If I am not today all that I hope to be, yet I see Jesus, and that assures me that I shall one day be like Him.
Charles Haddon Spurgeon
For me to be a saint means to be myself. Therefore the problem of sanctity and salvation is in fact the problem of finding out who I am and of discovering my true self.
Thomas Merton
One must always find one's way through the small thoughts that annoy us, back to the great thoughts that strengthen us.
Dietrich Bonhoeffer
A saint is not someone who is good, but someone who experiences the goodness of God.
Thomas Merton
One can become holy with a shepherd's staff in hand, but just as well with a broom.
Pope John XXIII
I want no strange, restless, sad and sullen piety, but a gentle, mild, pleasant and peaceful one, in a word: a free and joyful piety that is lovable before God and men.
Francis de Sales
Great opportunities to serve God are rare, but small ones are frequent.
Francis de Sales
God does not demand that we never grow weak, but that we always begin again with good will.
Romano Guardini
You, Lord, do not abandon what you have begun. So complete what is unfinished in me.
Augustine of Hippo
We are leaky vessels and must constantly stay under the spring to always be filled.
D.L. Moody
Rules without relationship lead to rebellion.
Josh McDowell
Be like a fountain basin that first gathers the water within itself and then, overflowing, passes it on.
Bernard of Clairvaux
Given our sinful nature, victory over sin does not show itself in the absence of sin, but in how we deal with sin.
George Verwer
Ah! If our likeness to God does not show itself in trifles, what is there left for it to show itself in? For our lives are all made up of trifles. The great things come three or four of them in the seventy years; the little ones every time the clock ticks.
Alexander MacLaren
A lot of people think that Christianity is you doing all the righteous things you hate and avoiding all the wicked things you love in order to go to Heaven. No, that's a lost man with religion. A Christian is a person whose heart has been changed; they have new affections.
Paul Washer
Being a Christian is less about cautiously avoiding sin than about courageously and actively doing God's will.
Dietrich Bonhoeffer
There are some of your graces which would never be discovered if it were not for your trials.
Charles Haddon Spurgeon
A soul may be in as thriving a state when thirsting, seeking and mourning after the Lord as when actually rejoicing in Him; as much in earnest when fighting in the valley as when singing upon the mount.
John Newton
Brethren, it is easier to declaim against a thousand sins of others, than to mortify one sin in ourselves.
John Flavel
I used to write in my daily calendar “7-7:30 a.m.: Prayer.” But many times I passed that up. It was one more thing to pass by that day. Now I write “7-7:30 a.m.: God.” Somehow that’s a little harder to neglect.
Don Postema
The essence of loving living as a follower of Jesus isn’t in trying harder but in enjoying more. I’m not saying you can change without trying. I’m saying that enjoyment empowers effort. Pleasure in God is the power for purity.
Sam Storms
The winter prepares the earth for the spring, so do afflictions sanctified prepare the soul for glory.
Richard Sibbes
Spirituality isn't about being finished and perfect; spirituality is about trusting God in our unfinishedness.
Mike Yaconelli
One hundred religious people knitted together with great precision into a perfect organization do not constitute a Church any more than eleven dead men make a football team. The first requirement is that life exists, always.
A.W. Tozer
The test of spiritual maturity is not how pure we are, but how aware we are of our impurity. This awareness opens the door to God's grace.
Philip Yancey
Grace is opposed to earning, not to effort.
Dallas Willard
Though I am both the younger son and the elder son, I am not to remain them, but to become the Father.
Henri Nouwen
Repentance, not proper behavior or even holiness, is the doorway to grace. And the opposite of sin is grace, not virtue.
Philip Yancey
We can’t overcome workaholism if we love money and status too much. We can’t overcome bitterness or slander if we love our reputation too much. It is not just willpower but a reordering of our desires that will bring wisdom.
Tim Keller
People quoted here
Oswald Chambers, Craig Groeschel, Tim Keller, Eugene Peterson, Jerry Bridges, Ingrid Trobisch, John Newton, Charles Haddon Spurgeon, C.S. Lewis, Richard Rohr, Thomas Merton, Dietrich Bonhoeffer
Related
God, Jesus & the Holy Spirit, Grace & Redemption, The Bible & the Word of God, Doubt & Hard Questions, Suffering & the Question of God, Eternity & Hope Beyond Death, Fear & Anxiety, Grief & Comfort, Illness & Weakness, Loneliness & Abandonment, Meaning & Identity, Time & Transience, Work & Vocation, Money & Possessions, Faith & Trust, Hope & Confidence, Joy & Gratitude, Peace & Rest, Humility & Pride, Patience & Waiting, Courage & Strength, Wisdom & Understanding, Freedom & Truth, Love, Relationships & Family, Guilt & Forgiveness, Service & Love of Neighbour, Justice & Commitment, Ethical Questions, Church & Congregation, Witness & Mission, Prayer & Silence, Discipleship, Temptation & Struggle, Guidance & God's Will
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