c2p-cmd/Good-Quotes-Authors huggingface dataset:
God has spoken to us through a Book: the Bible.
— Billy Graham, Billy Graham in Quotes
No book ever takes the place of the Bible. It is its own best commentary.
— Billy Graham, Billy Graham in Quotes
Most of us do not understand nuclear fission, but we accept it . . . Why is it so easy to accept manmade miracles and so difficult to accept the miracles of the Bible?
— Billy Graham, Billy Graham in Quotes
The Bible is God’s gift to us. It came from God, and it points us to God.
— Billy Graham, Billy Graham in Quotes
The Bible is a guidebook, leading men [and women] to God in a personal faith. Like a map or guidebook, it will show you the way, but you must take it one step at a time.
— Billy Graham, Billy Graham in Quotes
The Bible is to your soul what bread is to your body. You need it daily. One good meal does not suffice for a lifetime.
— Billy Graham, Billy Graham in Quotes
I’m afraid most Bibles remain unopened and unread. Don’t let this be true of yours!
— Billy Graham, Billy Graham in Quotes
The vitality [of] the Bible [is] exhibited in every generation . . .Its power to transform lives is its best apologetic.
— Billy Graham, Billy Graham in Quotes
There is nothing which indicates the inspiration of the Scriptures more than the factual and faithful record of men and their failures . . .These records are for our warning and instruction. They show us how sinful man needs God.
— Billy Graham, Billy Graham in Quotes
Just as the Bible is God’s written Word, so Jesus is God’s living Word.
— Billy Graham, Billy Graham in Quotes
One can approach the Bible with a cold, rationalistic attitude, or one can do so with reverence and the desire to hear God speak.
— Billy Graham, Billy Graham in Quotes
I do not understand why reading the Bible in public should make others feel uncomfortable . . . it may be such an example that serves to remind them of the Book they have neglected.
— Billy Graham, Billy Graham in Quotes
The [Bible’s] message is concerned with earth dwellers, their origin, the reason for their existence, the cause of their misery, and the plan of redemption for a fallen race.
— Billy Graham, Billy Graham in Quotes
We are not free to pick and choose the parts of the Bible we want to believe or obey. God has given us all of it, and we should be obedient to all of it.
— Billy Graham, Billy Graham in Quotes
Psalms teaches us how to relate to God, and Proverbs teaches us how to relate to others.
— Billy Graham, Billy Graham in Quotes
The Bible is our authority in everything it touches. This means the Bible is our guide to show us how to live . . . it is our instructor.
— Billy Graham, Billy Graham in Quotes
The Bible has stood the test of time because it is divinely inspired by Almighty God, written in ink that cannot be erased by any man, religion,or belief system.
— Billy Graham, Billy Graham in Quotes
The Word does not change. The Dead Sea scrolls, archeology, modern science—they do not change the Bible; they confirm it.
— Billy Graham, Billy Graham in Quotes
Man has not changed. Man still rejects the testimony of the Scripture.
— Billy Graham, Billy Graham in Quotes
Don’t take your Bible for granted! For centuries ordinary believers had no access to the Bible; Bibles had to be painstakingly copied by hand and were very expensive. The only access most people had to the Bible was by hearing it read in church. The invention of the printing press changed all that, however, and today the Bible is readily available in multiple translations and hundreds of languages around the world.
— Billy Graham, Billy Graham in Quotes
Every generation has found [the Bible’s] message indispensable, and its influence on individuals and society over the centuries has been enormous.
— Billy Graham, Billy Graham in Quotes
God’s laws for the spiritual world are found in the Bible. Whatever else there may be that tells us of God, it is more clearly told in the Bible.
— Billy Graham, Billy Graham in Quotes
The Bible will always be the center of controversy.
— Billy Graham, Billy Graham in Quotes
The only place we can find a clear, i unmistakable message is in the Word of God [the Bible].
— Billy Graham, Billy Graham in Quotes
We should begin the day with the Bible, and as it comes to a close let the Word speak its wisdom to our souls. Let it be the Staff of Life upon which our spirit is nourished. Let it be the Sword of the Spirit which cuts away the evil of our lives and fashions us in His image and likeness.
— Billy Graham, Billy Graham in Quotes
The central theme of the Bible is salvation, and the central personality of the Bible is Christ.
— Billy Graham, Billy Graham in Quotes
In the Bible God speaks to us
—  in prayer we speak to God. Both are essential.
The Bible is to be our basis of authority. We must “by faith” accept [Jesus] as the Son of the living God. This sounds narrow and intolerant, and in a sense it is!
— Billy Graham, Billy Graham in Quotes
People from all walks of life are searching for answers to life’s problems. I believe the Bible has the answer to man’s deepest needs.
— Billy Graham, Billy Graham in Quotes
The main “food” God has given to strengthen us is the Bible, the Word of God.
— Billy Graham, Billy Graham in Quotes
Each of us has our reference point and as a Christian the reference point by which I measure my life and thought is the Bible.
— Billy Graham, Billy Graham in Quotes
I don’t think people can live without hope. What oxygen is to the lungs, hope is to our survival in this world. And the Bible is filled with hope.
— Billy Graham, Billy Graham in Quotes
The Bible is not an option
—  it is a necessity. You cannot grow spiritually strong without it.
The Bible is the constant fountain for faith, conduct, and inspiration from which we drink daily.
— Billy Graham, Billy Graham in Quotes
God gave the Bible to us because He wants us to know Him and love Him and serve Him. Most of all, He gave it to us so we can become more like Christ.
— Billy Graham, Billy Graham in Quotes
Some of the strongest warnings about judgment in the Bible come from the lips of Jesus.
— Billy Graham, Billy Graham in Quotes
Man is precisely what the Bible says he is. Human nature is behaving exactly as the Bible said it would. The course of human events is flowing just as Christ predicted.
— Billy Graham, Billy Graham in Quotes
The Bible teaches that man’s chief problem is spiritual.
— Billy Graham, Billy Graham in Quotes
In the textbook of revelation, the Bible, God has spoken verbally; and this spoken word has survived every scratch of the human pen.
— Billy Graham, Billy Graham in Quotes
The Bible . . . is the only Book that offers man a redemption and points the way out of his dilemmas. It is our one sure guide in an unsure world.
— Billy Graham, Billy Graham in Quotes
We have become a nation of biblical illiterates.
— Billy Graham, Billy Graham in Quotes
When we approach the Bible as history and biography, we approach the Bible in the wrong spirit. We must read the Bible, not primarily as historians seeking information, but as men and women seeking God.
— Billy Graham, Billy Graham in Quotes
The Bible is the textbook of revelation.In God’s great classroom there are three textbooks—one called nature, one called conscience, and one named Scripture. In the written textbook of revelation—the Bible—God speaks through words.
— Billy Graham, Billy Graham in Quotes
Without the Bible, this world would indeed be a dark and frightening place, without signpost or beacon.
— Billy Graham, Billy Graham in Quotes
Those who read the Scriptures as magnificent literature, breath-taking poetry, or history and overlook the story of salvation miss the Bible’s real meaning and message.
— Billy Graham, Billy Graham in Quotes
As we cast our frightened eyes around for something that is real and true and enduring, we are turning once more to this ancient Book [the Bible] that has given consolation, comfort, and salvation to millions in the centuries past.
— Billy Graham, Billy Graham in Quotes
God never leads us to do anything that is contrary to the Bible.
— Billy Graham, Billy Graham in Quotes
The Bible stands as the supreme Constitution for all mankind, its laws applying equally to all who live under its domain, without exception or special interpretation.
— Billy Graham, Billy Graham in Quotes
The Bible can stand the onslaught of any enemy.
— Billy Graham, Billy Graham in Quotes
I have yet to discover a source of information, practical advice, and hope that compares to the wisdom found in the Bible.
— Billy Graham, Billy Graham in Quotes
As the Constitution is the highest law of the land [in America], so the Bible is the highest law of God. For it is in the Bible that God sets forth His spiritual laws. It is in the Bible that God makes His enduring promises. It is in the Bible that God reveals the plan of redemption for the human race.
— Billy Graham, Billy Graham in Quotes
Become grounded in the Bible. As Christians, we have only one authority, one compass: the Word of God.
— Billy Graham, Billy Graham in Quotes
The words of this Book have a way of filling in the missing pieces, of bridging the gaps, of turning the tarnished colors of our life to jewel-like brilliance. Learn to take your every problem to the Bible. Within its pages you will find the correct answer.
— Billy Graham, Billy Graham in Quotes
Before you “re-think” your faith, it may be wise to examine the critics of the Bible. In the end your faith will be even stronger.
— Billy Graham, Billy Graham in Quotes
Make use of this tool of communication by which God speaks to us—namely, the Bible! Read it, study it, memorize it. It will change your entire life. It is not like any other book. It is a “living” book that works its way into your heart, mind, and soul.
— Billy Graham, Billy Graham in Quotes
I find something new in the Bible every time I read it . . . that can be the experience of everyone who comes to it wanting to discover more of God’s truth.
— Billy Graham, Billy Graham in Quotes
The Pilgrims . . . put their ideals ahead of all material considerations. It is not surprising that the Pilgrims had little and succeeded, while we have much and are in danger of failing. No civilization can make progress unless some great principle is generously mixed into the mortar of its foundations in life.
— Billy Graham, Billy Graham in Quotes
The Pilgrims had vision and hope because they lived in the dimension of eternity. Their strength of spirit was forged by a personal faith in God, by tough discipline, and by regular habits of devotion.
— Billy Graham, Billy Graham in Quotes
Our nation grew strong in an era when moral standards were emphasized, and it will grow weak when we condone that which we once condemned.
— Billy Graham, Billy Graham in Quotes
The nation’s image has become more like a chameleon—accepting whatever trend marketers concoct. Gone are the days of reverencing a holy God in the church or within ourselves. Yet the Bible tells us, “Happy is the man who is always reverent” (Proverbs 28:14 NKJV).
— Billy Graham, Billy Graham in Quotes
What I find disturbing in America is the consuming desire for leisure, convenience, and fun. It seems we, as a nation, have traded God for gadgets. We have traded eternal truth for momentary self-gratification—worshipping false gods of materialism and humanism instead of the Creator of all things.
— Billy Graham, Billy Graham in Quotes
As long as we are on this earth, we possess dual citizenship. On one hand we owe allegiance to our nation and are called to be good citizens. But we are also citizens of the kingdom of God. Our supreme loyalty is to Him.
— Billy Graham, Billy Graham in Quotes
All the nations that make up the world are burdened down with riches or poverty, obesity or malnutrition, success or failure.
— Billy Graham, Billy Graham in Quotes
At the bitter end of an era of liberation—women’s lib, kids’ lib, animal lib, and everything-but-ethics lib—America has apparently been liberated from its moral foundations. But for too many, the good life has become a living hell.
— Billy Graham, Billy Graham in Quotes
The great flaw in the American economic system has finally been revealed: an unrealistic faith in the power of prosperity rather than in the ultimate power and benevolence of God.
— Billy Graham, Billy Graham in Quotes
The American Dream became America’s god
—  wealth and abundance have become the measure of America’s success. But—as recent events have shown—we have been living an illusion.
No matter how hard we try, words simply cannot express the horror, the shock, and the revulsion we all feel over what took place in this nation on 9/11. My prayer today is that we will feel the loving arms of God wrapped around us, and will know in our hearts that He will never forsake us as we trust in Him.
— Billy Graham, Billy Graham in Quotes
The blood of Christ “purchased men for God from every tribe and language and people and nation” (Revelation 5:9 NIV).
— Billy Graham, Billy Graham in Quotes
People reading the Bible for the first time are often surprised to discover how much human drama it contains. Almost every conceivable human dilemma and conflict is reflected in its pages.
— Billy Graham, Billy Graham in Quotes
The Bible is the only Book in the world that predicts the future. The Bible is more modern than tomorrow morning’s newspaper.
— Billy Graham, Billy Graham in Quotes
The Bible is God’s book of promises, and, unlike the books of men, it does not change or get out of date.
— Billy Graham, Billy Graham in Quotes
Let the study of the Bible become central in your life—not just so you will know it, but that you will obey it.
— Billy Graham, Billy Graham in Quotes
The sword of the Spirit—the Bible—is the weapon God has provided for us to use in this battle between truth and deception. Make it a priority to wield that sword skillfully.
— Billy Graham, Billy Graham in Quotes
[The Bible] has survived attack of every kind. Neither barbaric vandalism nor civilized scholarship has touched it. Neither the burning of fire nor the laughter of skepticism has accomplished its annihilation. Through the many dark ages of man, its glorious promises have survived unchanged.
— Billy Graham, Billy Graham in Quotes
I learned the importance of the Bible and came to believe with all my heart in its full inspiration. It became a sword in my hand to break open the hearts of men, to direct them to the Lord Jesus Christ.
— Billy Graham, Billy Graham in Quotes
It is man and not the Bible that needs correcting. Greater and more careful scholarship has shown that apparent contradictions were caused by incorrect translations, rather than divine inconsistencies.
— Billy Graham
Today there are more people who know the words to a television commercial than know the words in the Bible.
— Billy Graham, Billy Graham in Quotes
Every graveyard and every cemetery testify that the Bible is true.
— Billy Graham, Billy Graham in Quotes
Make the Bible part of your daily life, and ask God to engrave its truths on your soul.
— Billy Graham, Billy Graham in Quotes
The very practice of reading [the Bible] will have a purifying effect upon your mind and heart. Let nothing take the place of this daily exercise.
— Billy Graham, Billy Graham in Quotes
Discover the Bible for yourself.
— Billy Graham, Billy Graham in Quotes
If I stick to the Bible and preach the principles and the teachings of the Bible, and quote the Bible, it has an impact of its own.
— Billy Graham, Billy Graham in Quotes
We can trust the Bible because it points us to the most important events in human history: the life, death, and resurrection of Jesus Christ.
— Billy Graham, Billy Graham in Quotes
From one end of the Bible to the other, God assures us that He will never go back on His promises.
— Billy Graham, Billy Graham in Quotes
Come back to the Bible. Begin to read it. Study it and God will speak to you and change you—and through you perhaps history can be changed.
— Billy Graham, Billy Graham in Quotes
The Bible is actually a library of books—some long, some short—written over hundreds of years by many authors. Behind each one, however, was [the] Author: the Spirit of God.
— Billy Graham, Billy Graham in Quotes
We have so many battles going on in America today that we should be a people of prayer. Our government needs prayer. Our leaders need prayer. Our schools need prayer. Our youth need our prayers. Our families need our prayers.
— Billy Graham, Billy Graham in Quotes
America’s Declaration of Independence speaks of “the pursuit of happiness,” but nowhere in the Bible are we told to pursue this. Happiness is elusive, and we don’t find it by seeking it.
— Billy Graham, Billy Graham in Quotes
Just as America has grown and prospered within the framework of our Constitution, so Christianity has flourished and spread according to the laws set forth in the Bible.
— Billy Graham, Billy Graham in Quotes
[God] alone is perfect. Even His anger is righteous, because it is directed solely against evil.
— Billy Graham, Billy Graham in Quotes
Every destructive emotion bears its own harvest, but anger’s fruit is the most bitter of all.
— Billy Graham, Billy Graham in Quotes
Can we overcome our anger, instead of constantly being overcome by it? Yes—with God’s help. Peter’s anger was channeled into boldness for Christ. Paul’s anger against Christians was replaced with a burning passion to spread the Gospel. Is this your goal?
— Billy Graham, Billy Graham in Quotes
Anger flees when the Spirit’s fruit fills our hearts.
— Billy Graham, Billy Graham in Quotes
On the cross Christ took upon Himself every sin we’ve ever committed—including anger.
— Billy Graham, Billy Graham in Quotes
If you have been harboring anger or bitterness or jealousy in your heart toward someone—a parent, an ex-spouse, a boss—hand it over to Christ, and ask Him to help you let it go.
— Billy Graham, Billy Graham in Quotes
There are many irritations in life. They become prime opportunities for Satan to lead us into evil passion. Keep anger clear of bitterness, spite, or hatred.
— Billy Graham, Billy Graham in Quotes
Anger makes us lash out at others, destroying relationships and revealing our true nature. The history of the human race is largely the history of its anger.
— Billy Graham, Billy Graham in Quotes
Bitterness is anger gone sour, an attitude of deep discontent that poisons our souls and destroys our peace.
— Billy Graham, Billy Graham in Quotes
We get angry when others hurt us, both by what they say and what they do. We get angry when we don’t get our own way or our plans and dreams are frustrated. Anger may arise in an instant, erupting like a volcano and raining destruction on everyone in sight. Often, anger simmers just below the surface, sometimes for a lifetime. Like a corrosive acid, this kind of anger eats away at our bodies and souls, yet we may not even be aware of its presence.
— Billy Graham, Billy Graham in Quotes
Don’t let the acids of bitterness eat away inside. Learn the secret of trusting Christ in every circumstance.
— Billy Graham, Billy Graham in Quotes
America has probably been the most successful experiment in history. The American Dream was a glorious attempt. It was built on a religious foundation. Its earliest concepts came from Holy Scripture.
— Billy Graham, Billy Graham in Quotes
Don’t let hatred control you, no matter what others do that causes [anger]. You would only become guilty of the same sin that afflicts them, and nothing would be solved.
— Billy Graham, Billy Graham in Quotes
When someone hurts us, our natural instinct is to strike back—but when we do, we not only destroy any possibility of reconciliation, but we also allow anger and hate to control us.
— Billy Graham, Billy Graham in Quotes
You can put a public school and university in the middle of every block of every city in America—but you will never keep America from rotting morally by mere intellectual education.
— Billy Graham, Billy Graham in Quotes
I believe America has gone a long way down the wrong road. If we ever needed God’s help, it is now.
— Billy Graham, Billy Graham in Quotes
God honored and blessed America as few nations in history. However, in recent years the nation has been moving away from its religious heritage.
— Billy Graham, Billy Graham in Quotes
We must face honestly the toll that anger and bitterness take on our lives. They are our enemies! The Bible says, “An angry person stirs up dissension, and a hot-tempered one commits many sins.
— Billy Graham, Billy Graham in Quotes
America is said to have the highest per capita boredom of any spot on earth! We know that because we have the greatest variety and greatest number of artificial amusements of any country. People have become so empty that they can’t even entertain themselves.
— Billy Graham, Billy Graham in Quotes
A terrifying spiritual and moral tide of evil has already loosed us from our spiritual moorings. Monstrous new ideas that could easily destroy our freedoms are rushing into the vacuum.
— Billy Graham, Billy Graham in Quotes
Nations rise, they flourish for a time, and then they decline. Eventually every empire comes to an end; not even the greatest can last forever.
— Billy Graham, Billy Graham in Quotes
There is no doubt that nations come to an end when they have ceased to fulfill the function that God meant for them.
— Billy Graham, Billy Graham in Quotes
The secret strength of a nation is found in the faith that abides in the hearts and homes of the country.
— Billy Graham, Billy Graham in Quotes
We talk out of both corners of our mouth at once. We say we are a Christian nation, but much of our literature, our social practices, our deep interests are not Christian at all. They are totally secular.
— Billy Graham, Billy Graham in Quotes
Spiritually, we have wandered far from the faith of our fathers . . . no nation which relegates the Bible to the background, which disregards the love of God and flouts the claims of the Man of Galilee, can long survive.
— Billy Graham, Billy Graham in Quotes
No form of government has been able to establish righteousness, justice, and peace, the three elements without which we can never have continued national prosperity or international peace.
— Billy Graham, Billy Graham in Quotes
Our government is certainly going to fall like a rope of sand if unsupported by the moral fabric of God’s Word. The moral structure in our country grew from Judeo-Christian roots. When those values are applied, they produce moral fruits. But if that structure disappears, the moral sentiment that shapes our nation’s goals will disappear with it.
— Billy Graham, Billy Graham in Quotes
We face dangers every day of which we are not even aware. Often God intervenes on our behalf through the use of His angels.
— Billy Graham, Billy Graham in Quotes
God isn’t finished with you when you retire! When we know Christ, we never retire from His service.
— Billy Graham, Billy Graham in Quotes
Among young people . . . drinking is for getting drunk. And many go on to become alcoholics.
— Billy Graham, Billy Graham in Quotes
Drunkenness is not a new vice. Its ravages have always been a scourge on the human race . . .Alcohol is a killer, a murderer.
— Billy Graham, Billy Graham in Quotes
Thousands are killed and injured every year by teenagers driving too fast or under the influence of drugs and drink . . .others are killing [themselves] with alcohol or heroin overdoses.
— Billy Graham, Billy Graham in Quotes
In Christ alone there is deliverance from man’s tortured thoughts and freedom from the sordid habits which are destroying so many people. Why does the Bible so clearly denounce drunkenness? Because it is an enemy of human life. Anything that is against a person’s welfare, God is against.
— Billy Graham, Billy Graham in Quotes
Do not seek solace in alcohol. Alcohol obscures good judgment and leaves you unable to think clearly or understand what God is trying to say to you.
— Billy Graham, Billy Graham in Quotes
What began as an apparently harmless pastime has ended up as a frightening, overpowering addiction or obsession.
— Billy Graham, Billy Graham in Quotes
Some [young people] are taking pills called “heaven or hell” drugs, because you’re liable to experience either one.
— Billy Graham, Billy Graham in Quotes
Drinking and other forms of body-wrecking pleasures are signs of weakness rather than manliness. It takes a better man to live a clean life—free from the stimulants, depressants, and drugs—than to be artificially [stimulated].
— Billy Graham, Billy Graham in Quotes
The cult of self has become an addiction—feeding off the ego of self-glorification. The word cult encompasses many movements and ideas, but simply put, it describes a culture of alternative beliefs, fads, and trends, and tampers with just enough truth to knock many off balance.
— Billy Graham, Billy Graham in Quotes
There is hope for the alcoholic: God is able to deliver from this as well as any other addiction.
— Billy Graham, Billy Graham in Quotes
Old age has its compensations. More than ever I see each day as a gift from God. It is also a time to reflect back on God’s goodness over the years and an opportunity to assure others that God truly is faithful to His promises.
— Billy Graham, Billy Graham in Quotes
Many people plan financially for retirement—but not spiritually and emotionally.
— Billy Graham, Billy Graham in Quotes
Old age is Satan’s last chance to blow us off course.
— Billy Graham, Billy Graham in Quotes
One of the characteristics of some drugs (such as cocaine) is that they make a person feel strong and alert—when in fact the opposite is the case. Don’t allow yourself to be deceived.
— Billy Graham, Billy Graham in Quotes
God wants us to work (whether at home or on the job), but that doesn’t mean it’s wrong to retire. The Levites (who assisted in Israel’s worship) were required to retire at fifty.
— Billy Graham, Billy Graham in Quotes
Ask [God] to help you reflect Christ as you grow older, instead of turning sour or grumpy.
— Billy Graham, Billy Graham in Quotes
Life can grow sweeter and more rewarding as we grow older if we possess the presence of Christ. Sunsets are always glorious. It is Christ who adds colors, glory, and beauty to man’s sunsets.
— Billy Graham, Billy Graham in Quotes
Life has its share of joys and laughter—but we also know life’s road is often very rough. Temptations assail us; people disappoint us; illness and age weaken us; tragedies and sorrows ambush us; evil and injustice overpower us. Life is hard—but God is good, and heaven is real!
— Billy Graham, Billy Graham in Quotes
I believe in angels because the Bible says there are angels
—  and I believe the Bible to be the true Word of God.
Many people are trying to steady themselves by taking tranquilizers. Jesus is the greatest tranquilizer of all. He can straighten out your life and put you back on center.
— Billy Graham, Billy Graham in Quotes
Some people seem to put the devil on a par with God. Actually, Satan is a fallen angel.
— Billy Graham, Billy Graham in Quotes
[Angels] guide, comfort, and provide for the people of God in the midst of suffering and persecution.
— Billy Graham, Billy Graham in Quotes
The empire of angels is as vast as God’s creation. If you believe the Bible, you will believe in their ministry.
— Billy Graham, Billy Graham in Quotes
Whether or not we sense and feel the presence of the Holy Spirit or one of the holy angels, by faith we are certain God will never leave us or forsake us.
— Billy Graham, Billy Graham in Quotes
[Angels] crisscross the Old and New Testaments, being mentioned directly or indirectly nearly 300 times.
— Billy Graham, Billy Graham in Quotes
Just as millions of angels participated in the dazzling show when the morning stars sang together at creation, so will the innumerable hosts of heaven help bring to pass God’s prophetic declarations throughout time and into eternity.
— Billy Graham, Billy Graham in Quotes
Anger and bitterness—whatever the cause—only end up hurting us. Turn that anger over to Christ.
— Billy Graham, Billy Graham in Quotes
[God] wants to help you overcome the bitterness and anger that you feel, and He wants to encourage you . . . He knows that anger and depression will never help you deal with your problems—they only make them worse.
— Billy Graham, Billy Graham in Quotes
God’s will is for us to commit our lives to Christ and follow Him. God’s will also is that we avoid sin.
— Billy Graham, Billy Graham in Quotes
Do you want to know what God’s will is for you? It is for you to become more and more like Christ. This is spiritual maturity, and if you make this your goal, it will change your life.
— Billy Graham, Billy Graham in Quotes
Sometimes it’s best to start moving in the direction you think God may want you to go, and then trust Him to lead you—closing doors He doesn’t want you to go through and opening up others.
— Billy Graham, Billy Graham in Quotes
Each generation becomes more addicted to the sedatives of life, to dull the pain of living.
— Billy Graham, Billy Graham in Quotes
The greatest barrier to knowing God’s will is simply that we want to run our own lives. Our problem is that a battle is going on in our hearts—a battle between our wills and God’s will.
— Billy Graham, Billy Graham in Quotes
God’s will is that we would be righteous in our living. God is holy, and the whole scheme of redemption has holiness for its goal.
— Billy Graham, Billy Graham in Quotes
God wants us to know His will and He reveals it to us both through the Bible and through the guidance of His Holy Spirit. Seek God’s will when you pray, and He will help you know it.
— Billy Graham, Billy Graham in Quotes
The Bible condemns the use of any substance which alters or distorts our thinking (including alcohol, which was the most common drug in ancient times).
— Billy Graham, Billy Graham in Quotes
To know the will of God is the highest of all wisdom. Living in the center of God’s will rules out all falseness of religion and puts the stamp of true sincerity upon our service to God.
— Billy Graham, Billy Graham in Quotes
God’s holiness demands that sin be punished—but God’s love has provided the way of redemption through Christ.
— Billy Graham, Billy Graham in Quotes
God will never—never—lead you to do something that is contrary to His written Word, the Bible.
— Billy Graham, Billy Graham in Quotes
Living the Christian life means striving for holiness.
— Billy Graham, Billy Graham in Quotes
When that glorious day comes, sin and death will be destroyed and Satan will be banished. All the strife and hatred and suffering and death that twist and scar this world will vanish, and the Lord’s Prayer will be fulfilled: God’s will will be done on earth as it is in heaven.
— Billy Graham, Billy Graham in Quotes
Some of the most heart-breaking letters I receive are from people who tell how alcohol or drugs have ravaged their lives and destroyed their families.
— Billy Graham, Billy Graham in Quotes
We cannot be satisfied with our goodness after beholding the holiness of God.
— Billy Graham, Billy Graham in Quotes
If you are ignorant of God’s Word, you will always be ignorant of God’s will.
— Billy Graham, Billy Graham in Quotes
When the headlines get black and foreboding, the sale of alcohol and barbiturates rises in the country, as millions try to escape from the grim realities of [such] dangers.
— Billy Graham, Billy Graham in Quotes
Many people turn to alcohol to try to drown the [cries] and longings of the soul. Others attempt to quiet the longings of their souls in other ways. Nothing but God ever completely satisfies, because the soul is made for God.
— Billy Graham, Billy Graham in Quotes
Some years ago I was invited to be on a television talk show with one of the most famous personalities in America. Afterward she took me aside and told of the emptiness in her life. “My beauty is gone,” she said, “I am getting old, I’m living on alcohol, and I have nothing to live for.
— Billy Graham, Billy Graham in Quotes
One of the most conspicuous modes of escape is alcoholism, which is now a national catastrophe.
— Billy Graham, Billy Graham in Quotes
This self-confident generation has produced more alcoholics, more drug addicts, more criminals, more wars, more broken homes, more assaults, more embezzlements, more murders, and more suicides . . .it is time all of us . . . begin to take stock of our failures, blunders, and costly mistakes. It is about time that we place less confidence in ourselves and more trust and faith in God.
— Billy Graham, Billy Graham in Quotes
Escapism seems to be the order of the day . . .Escape with drugs or alcohol, and the bitterness of living will be blurred . . .We can’t escape from God.
— Billy Graham, Billy Graham in Quotes
Researchers have found that peer pressure exerted within a clique has caused every one of its members to experiment with drugs, to engage in murderous gang fights, to steal autos, and to violate the seventh commandment.
— Billy Graham, Billy Graham in Quotes
Liquor is not necessary either for health or for so-called gracious living . . .It is the cause of untold sorrow, suffering, and material loss, not to mention the spiritual implications of drinking.
— Billy Graham, Billy Graham in Quotes
Drunkenness. This Greek word means overindulgence in alcohol. Alcohol may be used for medicine, but it can also become a terrible drug. The way it is used in our world is probably one of the great evils of our day. It is a self-inflicted impediment that springs from “a man taking a drink, a drink taking a drink, and drink taking the man.”Distilled liquors as we have them today were unknown in Bible times.12
— Billy Graham, Billy Graham in Quotes
In Houston, Texas, a man was born again in one of our meetings. He owned a liquor store. The next morning he had a sign on the front of his door saying, “Out of business.
— Billy Graham, Billy Graham in Quotes
Drinking has become one of the most serious social problems. It is basically the result of an attempt to escape from the responsibilities and realities of life.
— Billy Graham, Billy Graham in Quotes
A senator once confided to me that the greatest need in Washington was the elimination of the cocktail party. He said: “It consumes so much of our time that we don’t have time for matters of state.
— Billy Graham, Billy Graham in Quotes
Volumes could be written on the problem of [drug] addiction. Millions of barbiturates are swallowed every night to help the nation sleep. Millions of tranquilizers keep us calm during the day. Millions of pep pills wake us up in the morning. The Bible warns that these flights from reality bring no lasting satisfaction.
— Billy Graham, Billy Graham in Quotes
The Greek word used in the New Testament to designate a sorcerer or a person who practiced occult magic is “pharmakeus,” or one who mixed drugs and used them to induce spells . . .Such practices are included in the list of “acts of the sinful nature” in Galatians 5:19–21 that God will judge.
— Billy Graham, Billy Graham in Quotes
One of the bonuses of being a Christian is the glorious hope that extends out beyond the grave into the glory of God’s tomorrow.
— Billy Graham, Billy Graham in Quotes
We are so caught up with the affairs of this life we give little attention to eternity.
— Billy Graham, Billy Graham in Quotes
What you do with Christ here and now decides where you shall spend eternity.
— Billy Graham, Billy Graham in Quotes
We glorify Christ when we live for God—trusting, loving, and obeying Him.
— Billy Graham, Billy Graham in Quotes
When one bears suffering faithfully, God is glorified and honored.
— Billy Graham, Billy Graham in Quotes
What greater glory can we anticipate than to stand before the throne of God, to humble ourselves before His great and incomparable majesty.
— Billy Graham, Billy Graham in Quotes
Prayer serves a dual purpose
—  the blessing of man and the glory of God.
Our voices, our service, and our abilities are to be employed, primarily, for the glory of God.
— Billy Graham, Billy Graham in Quotes
One of the joys of heaven . . . will be discovering the hidden ways that God in His sovereignty acted in our lives on earth to protect and guide us [that we might] bring glory to His name, in spite of our frailty.
— Billy Graham, Billy Graham in Quotes
Our dress, our posture, our actions should all be for the honor and glory of Christ. Much of our talk as Christians is secular, not spiritual. It is easy to fall into the conversational conformity of the world and spend an evening discussing politics, new cars, and the latest entertainment. We often forget that we are to edify one another with holy conversation and that our conversation should be on heavenly, and not exclusively on earthly things.
— Billy Graham, Billy Graham in Quotes
We glorify God by living lives that honor Him.
— Billy Graham, Billy Graham in Quotes
Life is just a schoolroom with a glorious opportunity to prepare us for eternity.
— Billy Graham
Most people are living for today with barely a thought of eternity.
— Billy Graham, Billy Graham in Quotes
How do we prepare for that last day? Before we embark on our final trip, have we left an earthly home in a state of chaos or a condition of order?
— Billy Graham, Billy Graham in Quotes
[Multitudes] have never been born again. They will go into eternity lost—while thinking they are saved because they belong to the church, or were baptized.
— Billy Graham, Billy Graham in Quotes
A Christian funeral should be a coronation ceremony, a statement to the world about eternal life.
— Billy Graham, Billy Graham in Quotes
Where will we spend eternity—with God in that place of endless joy the Bible calls heaven, or apart from Him in that place of endless despair the Bible calls hell?
— Billy Graham, Billy Graham in Quotes
Heaven is real and hell is real, and eternity is but a breath away.
— Billy Graham, Billy Graham in Quotes
God can use the fear that grips the hearts of men today to point them to eternal truths—the truth of God’s eternal judgment, and the truth of His eternal love.
— Billy Graham, Billy Graham in Quotes
Jesus taught that there is an eternal destiny for each individual—either heaven or hell (John 5:25–29). The eternal destiny of each individual depends on a decision made in this life (Luke 16:19–31)—to be followed by a life of obedience.
— Billy Graham, Billy Graham in Quotes
Christians should seek after holiness—without which no man shall see the Lord. Let us seek ardently the kind of life that reflects the beauty of Jesus and marks us as being what saints ought to be!
— Billy Graham, Billy Graham in Quotes
What stirs God most is not physical suffering but sin. All too often we are more afraid of physical pain than of moral wrong. The cross is the standing evidence of the fact that holiness is a principle for which God would die.
— Billy Graham, Billy Graham in Quotes
As I read the Bible, I seem to find holiness to be [Christ’s] supreme attribute.
— Billy Graham, Billy Graham in Quotes
If you belong to Jesus Christ, you are called to live a life of purity and holiness. God wants your mind to be shaped by Him so that your thoughts and goals reflect Christ.
— Billy Graham, Billy Graham in Quotes
Don’t take the holiness of God lightly, for it is the very essence of His character.
— Billy Graham, Billy Graham in Quotes
Compassion is not complete in itself, but must be accompanied by inflexible justice and wrath against sin and a desire for holiness.
— Billy Graham, Billy Graham in Quotes
We do not fail to enjoy the fruit of the Spirit because we live in a sea of corruption
—  we fail to do so because the sea of corruption is in us.
Disappointment and failure are not signs that God has forsaken you or stopped loving you. The devil wants you to believe God no longer loves you, but it isn’t true. God’s love for us never fails.
— Billy Graham, Billy Graham in Quotes
[While] disappointment and failure aren’t identical, they often occur together, and both can hold us back from God’s best for our lives.
— Billy Graham, Billy Graham in Quotes
Don’t be bound by the past and its failures. But don’t forget its lessons either.
— Billy Graham, Billy Graham in Quotes
Repeated disappointment almost always triggers a series of other reactions: discouragement, anger, frustration, bitterness, resentment, even depression. Unless we learn to deal with disappointment, it will rob us of joy and poison our souls.
— Billy Graham, Billy Graham in Quotes
Pride is associated with failure, not success. We hear a great deal about the inferiority complex, but the superiority complex of pride is seldom spoken of . . .The greatest act of humility . . .was when Jesus Christ stooped to die on the cross of Calvary.
— Billy Graham, Billy Graham in Quotes
I long to see [Jesus] face to face, to hear His voice and touch Him. In the day I go to be with Him, there will be no unfulfilled longings or disappointments. He will welcome me into His mansion, answer my questions, and teach me the wisdom of the ages.
— Billy Graham, Billy Graham in Quotes
Disappointments are part of life; we can’t always have our own way, and we need to learn to separate what is significant from what is merely annoying. Only in heaven will we be free of all disappointments and failures. A friend of mine says, “Oh well, a hundred years from now it won’t make any difference!
— Billy Graham, Billy Graham in Quotes
Learn from your disappointments and failures and with God’s help seek to overcome them. Ask yourself, could I have done anything to prevent this? Were my hopes and dreams unrealistic, or were my motives wrong?Is there a new path God wants me to explore?
— Billy Graham, Billy Graham in Quotes
The time to prepare for life’s disappointments and hurts is in advance.
— Billy Graham
Don’t let failure or disappointment cut you off from God or make you think the future is hopeless. When God closes one door, He often opens another—if we seek it.
— Billy Graham, Billy Graham in Quotes
If we who have the Holy Spirit living and working within us falter and fail, what hope is there for the rest of the world?
— Billy Graham, Billy Graham in Quotes
Many of the mysteries of God—the heartaches, trials, disappointments, tragedies, and the silence of God in the midst of suffering—will be revealed in heaven.
— Billy Graham, Billy Graham in Quotes
Peter preached about [the blood]. Paul wrote about it, and the redeemed in heaven sing about it. In a sense, the New Testament is the Book of the Blood.
— Billy Graham, Billy Graham in Quotes
How often do we lie simply because we are trying to build ourselves up in the eyes of others? How often do we gossip because we want to appear “in the know,”or because we are trying to make ourselves appear better than someone else? The Bible's command is clear: [“Have regard for good things in the sight of all men” (Romans 12:17 NKJV)].
— Billy Graham, Billy Graham in Quotes
Renewal is brought by the Holy Spirit. Believers will learn what it means to minister to one another and build each other up. No longer will our lives seem ordinary and indistinguishable from the rest of the world.
— Billy Graham, Billy Graham in Quotes
Sometimes we encourage someone without even being aware of it. Even the example we set by attending church may encourage someone who is searching for God.
— Billy Graham, Billy Graham in Quotes
[The Holy Spirit] will remain with every believer right to the end. This thought has encouraged me a thousand times in these dark days when satanic forces are at work.
— Billy Graham, Billy Graham in Quotes
With an old head and a young heart, you can be a source of real strength [to others] who need your cheer and encouragement.
— Billy Graham, Billy Graham in Quotes
All around you are people whose lives are filled with trouble and sorrow, and they need your compassion and encouragement.
— Billy Graham, Billy Graham in Quotes
We never gain in life by hurting others. Sometimes we try to elevate our own insecure egos by degrading and belittling those around us. Yet this produces only a false sense of self-esteem.
— Billy Graham, Billy Graham in Quotes
The Bible teaches us to be more concerned about the needs and feelings of others than our own. We are to encourage and build self-confidence in our loved ones, friends, and associates.
— Billy Graham, Billy Graham in Quotes
The journey God has set before us isn’t a freeway; we are constantly encountering forks and junctions and crossroads. Which way will we go when we meet them? Life is filled with decisions, and we can’t avoid them.
— Billy Graham, Billy Graham in Quotes
Jesus does not allow us to be neutral about Him. Jesus demands that we decide about Him.
— Billy Graham, Billy Graham in Quotes
God has a plan and the devil has a plan, and you will have to decide which plan you are going to fit into.
— Billy Graham, Billy Graham in Quotes
Men and women do make decisions wherever the Gospel is proclaimed; whether publicly or privately, some say yes, some say no, and some procrastinate. No one ever hears the Gospel proclaimed without making some kind of decision!
— Billy Graham, Billy Graham in Quotes
When disappointment or tragedy or suffering strikes, we have a decision to make: Will we turn away from God, or will we turn toward Him? Which road will we take? One road leads to doubt, anger, bitterness, fear, hopelessness, and despair.The other leads to hope, comfort, peace, strength, and joy.
— Billy Graham, Billy Graham in Quotes
When we are called before God and His throne of judgment, it will be too late to reverse our decision. It is during our lifetime here on earth that we decide our eternal destiny.
— Billy Graham, Billy Graham in Quotes
Becoming “new” in Christ is a wonderful beginning, but it isn’t the end of pain or problems in our lives. It is the beginning of our facing up to them. Being a Christian involves a lifetime of hard work, dedicated study, and difficult decisions.
— Billy Graham, Billy Graham in Quotes
Part of the human makeup which distinguishes man from other creatures is his ability to reason and make moral decisions. Man is a free moral agent.
— Billy Graham, Billy Graham in Quotes
Once God leads you to make a decision, don’t draw back. Instead, trust His leading, and believe He goes before you—because He does.
— Billy Graham, Billy Graham in Quotes
The most important decision you will ever make is the decision you make about eternity.
— Billy Graham, Billy Graham in Quotes
Some people resist the idea of a choice of any sort. They don’t want to be called “narrow.” But Jesus taught that there are two roads, and you have to choose which road you will take.
— Billy Graham, Billy Graham in Quotes
There are two masters, and you have to choose which master you are going to serve.
— Billy Graham, Billy Graham in Quotes
There is not a day that we do not have a chance to choose between the devil’s clever promises and God’s sure Word.
— Billy Graham, Billy Graham in Quotes
From the beginning of time until the present moment, man’s ungodly quest for power, his determination to use his gift of free choice for his own selfish ends, has brought him to the brink of doom.
— Billy Graham, Billy Graham in Quotes
Our families cannot choose Christ for us. Our friends cannot do it. God is a great God, but even God can’t make the decision for us . . .we have to make our own choice.
— Billy Graham, Billy Graham in Quotes
[God] created us free to choose how we would live . . . but leaves us free to pursue our own ends with tragic, natural consequences.
— Billy Graham, Billy Graham in Quotes
The Bible clearly teaches that when we turn our backs on God and choose to disregard His moral laws there are inevitable consequences. Furthermore it is not God who is to blame for the consequences, but the person who has broken His law.
— Billy Graham, Billy Graham in Quotes
The Antichrist . . . will be the embodiment of evil, and will have great power to deceive those who choose to follow him.
— Billy Graham, Billy Graham in Quotes
[Our] problems boil down to one of moral choices.God wanted a world based on moral values,thus He created mankind with the ability to respond to moral choices.Faced with the moral option of living selfishly or unselfishly, people can and do make wrong decisions. We are free to choose, but we reap the consequences of bad moral decisions.
— Billy Graham, Billy Graham in Quotes
Ultimately, every human being must face this question: What do you think of Christ? Whose Son is He? We must answer this question with belief and action. We must not only believe something about Jesus, but we must do something about Him. We must accept Him or reject Him.
— Billy Graham, Billy Graham in Quotes
The destiny of your own soul is in your own hands by the choice you make.
— Billy Graham, Billy Graham in Quotes