c2p-cmd/Good-Quotes-Authors huggingface dataset:
The pagan world is still trying to put its stamp of conformity on every follower of Jesus Christ. Every possible pressure is being brought to bear upon Christiansto make them conform to the standards of the present world . . .be a committed follower of Jesus Christ.
— Billy Graham, Billy Graham in Quotes
There is a great counterfeiter who adapts himself to every culture, even deceiving true believers at times. He doesn’t charge on the scene clothed in red and wearing a hideous mask but charms his way as an “angel of light.” This is how Satan operates.
— Billy Graham, Billy Graham in Quotes
Believers need the gift of discernment, or at least respect for the opinions of those who have it . . .believers are to test the various spirits and doctrines that abound.Most of all we are to test them against thestandard of the Word of God.
— Billy Graham, Billy Graham in Quotes
Our culture will stand in roaring ovations for the illusionists, escape artists, and magicians. Deception is everything opposite the truth.
— Billy Graham, Billy Graham in Quotes
It is important to realize that a person with the gift of discernment can often tell the difference between what is of God and what is not. Such a person can often point out false teachings or false teachers—he has an almost uncanny ability to perceivehypocrisy, shallowness, deceit, or phoniness.
— Billy Graham, Billy Graham in Quotes
The prophets who spoke to their generations for God did not please and conform
—  they irritated and opposed.
If we are at peace with this world, it may be because we have sold out to it and compromised with it.
— Billy Graham, Billy Graham in Quotes
Daniel and his companions were tempted to forsake their godly heritage but they refused. They even faced a fiery furnace rather than compromise.
— Billy Graham, Billy Graham in Quotes
We are to renounce the evil influence of the world, the flesh, and the devil. There can be no parleying, bargaining, compromise, or hesitation. Christ demands total loyalty.
— Billy Graham, Billy Graham in Quotes
Too many Christian TV and radio programs have been geared to please, entertain, and gain the favor of the world. The temptation is to compromise, to make the gospel more appealing and attractive.
— Billy Graham, Billy Graham in Quotes
One of our most deep-seated fears is that we might be called an “outsider.” This fear has led us down the road to conformity, has put the imprint of “the organization man” on our souls, and has robbed us of originality of thought, individuality of personality, and constructive action.
— Billy Graham, Billy Graham in Quotes
Christ needs people today who are made of martyr stuff! Dare to take a strong, uncompromised stand for Him.
— Billy Graham, Billy Graham in Quotes
The devil has successfully fooled many churches, convincing them to follow the world. Biblical standards have been compromised by convenient social theories.
— Billy Graham, Billy Graham in Quotes
The Scripture teaches that popularity with the world means death. Satan’s most effective tool is conformity and compromise. He is aware that one man standing in the midst of a pagan peoplecan move more people in the direction of God than thousands of insipid professors of religion.
— Billy Graham, Billy Graham in Quotes
Compromising and conforming to the world’sstandard is against God’s Word.
— Billy Graham, Billy Graham in Quotes
I have read the last page of the Bible. It isall going to turn out all right.
— Billy Graham, Billy Graham in Quotes
Bible teaching about the Second Coming of Christ was thought of as “doomsday” preaching. But not anymore. It is the only ray of hope that shines as an ever brightening beam in a darkening world.
— Billy Graham, Billy Graham in Quotes
The Bible tells us that the state of the world will grow darker as we near the end of the age.
— Billy Graham, Billy Graham in Quotes
[It] is well and good when our convictions are based upon the “Thou shalts” and the “Thou shalt nots” of Scripture rather than our own ideas.
— Billy Graham, Billy Graham in Quotes
The world is heading for another major crisis that is being called, even by the secular world, “Armageddon.
— Billy Graham, Billy Graham in Quotes
The second coming of Christ will be so revolutionary that it will change every aspect of life on this planet. Christ will reign in righteousness. Disease will be arrested. Death will be modified. War will be abolished. Nature will be changed. Man will live as it was originally intended he should live.
— Billy Graham, Billy Graham in Quotes
[Jesus Christ] is the Lord of history. Nothing is taking God by surprise. Events are moving rapidly toward some sort of climax . . .when His Son, Jesus Christ, returns to be rightful Ruler of the world.
— Billy Graham, Billy Graham in Quotes
We are told in Scripture that there will be signs pointing toward the return of the Lord.I believe that we see those signs in the world today. I believe that the coming of the Lord is near.
— Billy Graham, Billy Graham in Quotes
When the “evil day” comes, we do not have to be dependent upon the circumstances around us, but rather on the resources of God!
— Billy Graham, Billy Graham in Quotes
I have become more deeply aware of the enormous problems that face our world today, and the dangerous trends which seem to beleading our world to the brink of Armageddon.
— Billy Graham, Billy Graham in Quotes
A new world is coming . . . The paradise that man lost will be regained . . . One day we will live in a brand-new world.
— Billy Graham, Billy Graham in Quotes
Man seeks to excuse himself of sin, but God seeks to convict him of it and to save him from it. Sin is no amusing toy—it is a terror to be shunned! Learn, then, what constitutes sin in the eyes of God!
— Billy Graham, Billy Graham in Quotes
What a moment to take the newspaper in one hand and the Bible in the other and watch the unfolding of the great drama of the ages. This is an exciting and thrilling time to be alive. I would not want to live in any other period.
— Billy Graham, Billy Graham in Quotes
We can’t go on much longer morally. We can’t go on much longer scientifically. The technology that was supposed to save us is ready to destroy us. New weapons are being made all the time, including chemical and biological weapons. Today the only bright spot on the horizon of this world is the promise of the coming again of Christ.
— Billy Graham, Billy Graham in Quotes
The study [of Revelation] instructs us not only about the storms to come, but how to endure and come through them with great victory.
— Billy Graham, Billy Graham in Quotes
The very ones whose social pressure cause you to compromise will despise you for it. They probably respect your convictions,and many of them wish they had the moral stamina to stand alone.May the Lord give you added courage to be a witness for Him,even in a hard place.
— Billy Graham, Billy Graham in Quotes
There are those today that say we must do as others do, that we must conform to the world [to win it], that we must swim with the tide, that we must move with the crowd. But the believer should say, “No.
— Billy Graham, Billy Graham in Quotes
We are like a people under [a] sentence of death, waiting for the date to be set. We sense that something is about to happen.We know that things cannot go on as they are. History has reached an impasse. We are now on a collision course. Something is about to give.
— Billy Graham, Billy Graham in Quotes
We see the storm clouds gathering and events taking place that herald the second coming of Jesus Christ.
— Billy Graham, Billy Graham in Quotes
Revelation is a pastor’s letter to his floundering flock, an urgent telegram bearing a brilliant battle plan for a people at war.
— Billy Graham, Billy Graham in Quotes
I believe that this world, as we know it, will come to an end . . . This is not fanciful imagination but the clear and repeated testimony of the Bible.
— Billy Graham, Billy Graham in Quotes
The book of Revelation may be difficult and demanding to read, yet it is the only biblical book whose author promises a blessing to those who read it.
— Billy Graham, Billy Graham in Quotes
The Apocalypse . . . a storm warning that carries a booming jolt of truth—Trouble ahead
—  prepare to meet thy God!—followed by the voice of the Gentle Shepherd—Come!
God often gives us an inner conviction or prompting to confirm which way He wants us to go. This prompting comes from the Holy Spirit.
— Billy Graham, Billy Graham in Quotes
Anyone who has genuinely seen God is deeply convicted of his or her own sin.
— Billy Graham, Billy Graham in Quotes
It is the Holy Spirit who brings about conviction [of sin] . . .repentance cannot take place unless first there is a movement of the Holy Spirit in the heart and mind.
— Billy Graham, Billy Graham in Quotes
When comfort and ease and pleasure are put ahead of duty and conviction, progress is always set back.
— Billy Graham, Billy Graham in Quotes
In the end there will be people who did the work of the Lord. They were busy in the church. They had done many wonderful works. But Jesus Himself says, “I never knew you” [Matthew 7:23 NKJV].
— Billy Graham, Billy Graham in Quotes
Evil is real—but so is God’s power and love.
— Billy Graham, Billy Graham in Quotes
Learn to take sin seriously—be on guard against it and resist its tug, fight its power. But most of all learn to take the Holy Spirit seriously, calling on Him to help you overcome sin’s power and live a holy and godly life.
— Billy Graham, Billy Graham in Quotes
You cannot pray for someone and hate them at the same time. Even if you are asking God to restrain their evil actions,you should also be praying that He will change their hearts. Only eternity will reveal the impact of our prayers for others.
— Billy Graham, Billy Graham in Quotes
God can break the chain of every sin that binds you if you are willing to give it up. He comes into your heart and gives you power to overcome sin.
— Billy Graham, Billy Graham in Quotes
Man got into difficulty when he lifted his will against God’s. He gets out of trouble when he bows to the divine superiority, when he repents and says humbly: “God be merciful to me a sinner.” Man’s extremity then becomes God’s opportunity.
— Billy Graham, Billy Graham in Quotes
Perversion is considered a biological abnormality rather than a sin. These things are contrary to the teaching of God’s Word. And God has not changed. His standards have not been lowered. God still calls immorality a sin and the Bible says God is going to judge it.
— Billy Graham, Billy Graham in Quotes
We do not have a paradise on earth
—  it is riddled with so much sin and disease.
Guard your tongue, and use it for good instead of evil. How many marriages or friendships have been destroyed because of criticism that spiraled out of control? How many relationships have broken down because of a word spoken thoughtlessly or in anger? A harsh word can’t be taken back; no apology can fully repair its damage.
— Billy Graham, Billy Graham in Quotes
Sin is rebellion against God.
— Billy Graham, Billy Graham in Quotes
If God were to eradicate all evil from this planet, He would have to eradicate all evil men. Who would be exempt? “For all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God” [Romans 3:23 NIV].God would rather transform the evil man than eradicate him.
— Billy Graham, Billy Graham in Quotes
Nothing can alter the fact that God calls perversion sin.
— Billy Graham, Billy Graham in Quotes
The tragedy of sin reached its crescendo when God in Christ became sin . . .He was offering Himself as the sacrifice required by the justice of God if man was to be redeemed.
— Billy Graham, Billy Graham in Quotes
Sin lies at the heart of chaotic world conditions as we now know them and as they have existed through the centuries.
— Billy Graham, Billy Graham in Quotes
Why did Jesus Christ leave heaven’s gloryand enter this sin-infested world? For one reason: to make our eternal salvation possible.
— Billy Graham, Billy Graham in Quotes
Scripture has the remedy for sinfulness.
— Billy Graham, Billy Graham in Quotes
It would be the greatest tragedy if I didn’t tell you that unless you repent of your sins and receive Christ as your Savior, you are going to be lost.
— Billy Graham, Billy Graham in Quotes
[The Bible] warns us about “the little foxes, that spoil the vines” [Song of Solomon 2:15 KJV]. This is a picture of the way “little” sinscan destroy our fruitfulness for the Lord.
— Billy Graham, Billy Graham in Quotes
Sin has tarnished every area of life, and [Christ] wants to erase its stain everywhere.
— Billy Graham, Billy Graham in Quotes
The unpardonable sin involves the total and irrevocable rejection of Jesus Christ.
— Billy Graham, Billy Graham in Quotes
Revenge easily descends into an endless cycle of hate and violence. The Bible says never repay evil with evil.
— Billy Graham, Billy Graham in Quotes
Evil is present to cleverly disguise itself as good. Evil is present to control and deceive us.
— Billy Graham, Billy Graham in Quotes
There are many new sinners today, but there aren’t any new sins, just the old ones clothed in different rags.
— Billy Graham, Billy Graham in Quotes
Every manifestation of evil is the result of basic sin—sin that has remained unchanged since the moment it first entered the human race.
— Billy Graham, Billy Graham in Quotes
I believe a Christian can sin, but he does not have to. God never would have told us to reject evil acts if in point of fact we could not help but do them.
— Billy Graham, Billy Graham in Quotes
The Bible teaches that whosoever is born of God does not practice sin.
— Billy Graham, Billy Graham in Quotes
Sinful pleasure can ruin our appetite for the things of God.
— Billy Graham, Billy Graham in Quotes
Sin is often, if not always, the perversion of something good. In the midst of all our sinning, though, God is willing to forgive us, change us,and give us a new power to overcome that sin.
— Billy Graham, Billy Graham in Quotes
Our magazine covers frequently feature the immoral, the perverted, the psychologically sick. Sin is “in.” People don’t like to be told they are sinners.
— Billy Graham, Billy Graham in Quotes
Sooner or later we must leave our dream world and face up to the facts of God, sin, and judgment. The Bible says, “All have sinned and come short of the glory of God” [Romans 3:23 NIV].
— Billy Graham, Billy Graham in Quotes
We have largely lost sight of the holiness and purity of God today. This is one reason why we tolerate sin so easily.
— Billy Graham, Billy Graham in Quotes
Neither the devil nor the world, nor even our own evil heart can compel us to sin. It must be by our own consent and will.
— Billy Graham, Billy Graham in Quotes
We don’t need to be crippled any longer by the disease of sin—because God has provided the cure.
— Billy Graham, Billy Graham in Quotes
We all have a terminal disease far worse than cancer that will kill us morally and spiritually.It’s called sin.
— Billy Graham, Billy Graham in Quotes
Superficial views of God and His holiness will produce superficial views of sin and atonement. God hates sin. It is His uncompromising foe. Sin is vile and detestable in the sight of God . . .The sinner and God are at opposite poles of the moral universe.
— Billy Graham, Billy Graham in Quotes
Sin is serious—so serious it sent Jesus Christ to the cross. Flee from [sin] and stay close to Christ.
— Billy Graham, Billy Graham in Quotes
cannot come to Christ unless the Holy Spirit convicts us of our sin.
— Billy Graham, Billy Graham in Quotes
Sin pierced the very heart of God. God felt every piercing nail and spear thrust. God felt the burning sun. God felt the mocking derision and the body blows.
— Billy Graham, Billy Graham in Quotes
As much as we hate to admit it, we are sinners by birth. We are also sinners by choice. We are also sinners by practice.
— Billy Graham, Billy Graham in Quotes
When we use the word “sin,” we usually think of our misdeeds—actions or habits we know are wrong. But those are specific sins, and they are the result of sin, the deeper spiritual disease that infects our souls. Sin is the cause; sins are the effect.Sin is the tree; sins are the fruit. Sin is the disease; sins are the symptoms.
— Billy Graham, Billy Graham in Quotes
There is less teaching about sin, and very little warning of judgment.
— Billy Graham, Billy Graham in Quotes
Only [God] can convict nonbelievers of their sins
—  only He can convince them of the truth of the Gospel.
Galatians 5:21 constitutes the most serious warning to those who may think they can sin that grace may abound.
— Billy Graham, Billy Graham in Quotes
Sin—plain, old-fashioned sin, the self-same sin which caused Adam’s downfall—is what we are all suffering from today, and it will do us far more harm than good to try to dress it up with a fancy, more attractive label.
— Billy Graham, Billy Graham in Quotes
Sin is a revolt against God.
— Billy Graham, Billy Graham in Quotes
True freedom consists not in the freedom to sin, but the freedom not to sin.
— Billy Graham, Billy Graham in Quotes
Be assured that there is no sin you have ever committed that the blood of Jesus Christ cannot cleanse.
— Billy Graham, Billy Graham in Quotes
Sin has progressed and gained momentum
— [man] seems to have lost his ability to be shocked. Behavior that was once considered abominable is now acceptable.
Only the Holy Spirit can open our eyes. Only He can convict us of the depth of our sin, and only He can convince us of the truth of the Gospel.
— Billy Graham, Billy Graham in Quotes
The Gospel of Jesus Christ is not anti-intellectual. It demands the use of [the] mind, but the mind is affected by sin.
— Billy Graham, Billy Graham in Quotes
The essence of sin is self-will—placing ourselves at the center of our lives instead of Christ.
— Billy Graham, Billy Graham in Quotes
In all of these centuries there has not been the slightest shadow of change in the nature of God or in His attitude toward sin.The Bible teaches from the beginning to the end that adultery and fornication are sin, and the attitude of churchmen does not alter its character.
— Billy Graham, Billy Graham in Quotes
The influence of sin touches the innocent as well as the guilty.
— Billy Graham, Billy Graham in Quotes
Our relationship must be right with God before it can be right with man.
— Billy Graham, Billy Graham in Quotes
Gratitude is one of the greatest Christian virtues; ingratitude, one of the most vicious sins.
— Billy Graham, Billy Graham in Quotes
If evil were not made to appear attractive, there would be no such thing as temptation.It is in the close similarity between good and evil, right and wrong, that the danger lies.
— Billy Graham, Billy Graham in Quotes
Repentance is mentioned seventy times in the New Testament . . . the Bible says God commands repentance . . . it is a command . . .God says, “Repent! Or perish!
— Billy Graham, Billy Graham in Quotes
Confession and repentance might be described as the negative side of submission
—  this involves getting rid of everything which hinders God’s control over our lives. Yielding to God might be described as the positive side . . . placing ourselves totally into the hands of God.
[Christians] are commanded to warn the nations of the world that they must repent and turn to God while there is yet time.
— Billy Graham, Billy Graham in Quotes
When something brings profit or pleasure to us, we are inclined to call evil good, even if we know it is dead wrong.
— Billy Graham, Billy Graham in Quotes
We can be convicted of sin—we can pray and confess our sin—we can repent—but the real test is our willingness to obey.
— Billy Graham, Billy Graham in Quotes
I have been preaching repentance for seventy years
—  there are thousands of ministers of the Gospel all over this planet preaching repentance this very hour . . . and most of the time the world has laughed in the face of the King of kings.
A transformed life is the greatest of all miracles. Every time a person is “born again” by repentance of sin and faith in Jesus Christ, the miracle of regeneration is performed.
— Billy Graham, Billy Graham in Quotes
Before one can know what is right and wrong,he must first align himself with God. Only then is one in a position to do right.
— Billy Graham, Billy Graham in Quotes
Right is right, and wrong is wrong, in small things as well as in big things.
— Billy Graham, Billy Graham in Quotes
We live in an upside-down world. People hate when they should love, quarrel when they should be friendly, fight when they should be peaceful, wound when they should heal, steal when they should share,do wrong when they should do right.
— Billy Graham, Billy Graham in Quotes
Christians need to take a stand for what is right and not let evil go unchallenged.
— Billy Graham, Billy Graham in Quotes
You and I, God’s ambassadors, are called to sound the warning, to call sinners to repentance, to point the way to peace with God and the hope that is in Christ.
— Billy Graham, Billy Graham in Quotes
There is a right way and a wrong way to make contact with God.
— Billy Graham, Billy Graham in Quotes
To find the right path, we first need to remember why we are on the wrong path. The reason can be put in one word: sin.
— Billy Graham, Billy Graham in Quotes
It is entirely possible to be deeply sorry because of the devastation which sin has wrought in our lives—and yet not repent.
— Billy Graham, Billy Graham in Quotes
When I have a problem of deciding right from wrong, I always give it three tests.First, I give it the common-sense test, and ask if it is reasonable. Then, I give it the prayer test. I ask God if it is good and edifying. Then, I give it the Scripture test. I see if the Bible has anything to say for or against it.
— Billy Graham, Billy Graham in Quotes
When we do good—even when others are doing wrong—God will bless us.
— Billy Graham, Billy Graham in Quotes
Sin is the great clogger, and the blood of Christ is the great cleanser.
— Billy Graham, Billy Graham in Quotes
The Bible says there is a certain pleasure in sin.However, it is short-lived and fatal.
— Billy Graham, Billy Graham in Quotes
True repentance is a turning from sin . . . Humanly speaking, it is our small part in the plan of salvation. Our part is repenting. God will do the converting, the transforming, and the forgiving.
— Billy Graham, Billy Graham in Quotes
There is a difference between sin and sins. Sin is the root
—  sins are the fruit.
The cause of all trouble, the root of all sorrow, the dread of every man lies in this one small word—sin. It has crippled the nature of man . . .It has caused man to be caught in the devil’s trap.
— Billy Graham, Billy Graham in Quotes
The great commandment is that we preach the gospel to every creature, but neither God nor the Bible says anything about forcing it down people's throats.
— Louis Zamperini, Devil at My Heels
The happiness which brings enduring worth to life is not the superficial happiness that is dependent on circumstances. It is the happiness and contentment that fills the soul even in the midst of the most distressing circumstances and the most bitter environment. It is the kind of happiness that grins when things go wrong and smiles through the tears. The happiness for which our souls ache is one undisturbed by success or failure, one which will deeply root inside us and give us inward relaxation, peace, and contentment, no matter what the surface problems may be. That kind of happiness stands in need of no outward stimulas.
— Billy Graham
Jesus Christ is God in human flesh, and the story of His life, death, and resurrection is the only Good News the world will ever hear.
— Billy Graham, Billy Graham in Quotes
I realize that my ministry would someday come to an end. I am only one in a glorious chain of men and women God has raised up through the centuries to build Christ’s church and take the Gospel everywhere.
— Billy Graham, Billy Graham in Quotes
When most major Protestant denominations have their annual councils, assemblies, or conventions, they make pronouncements on matters having to do with disarmament, federal aid to education, birth control, the United Nations, and any number of social and political issues. Very rarely are any resolutions passed that have to do with theredemptive witness of the Gospel.
— Billy Graham, Billy Graham in Quotes
The power to proclaim the greatest news in heaven or on earth was not given to the angels. It was given to redeemed men . . . Every Christian is to be a witness
— every follower of Christ is to preach the Gospel.
The first hint of the Gospel comes from Genesis 3:15, this is the first promise of salvation.
— Billy Graham, Billy Graham in Quotes
The Gospel should never be dull, for it is the most exciting and relevant news we could ever receive. When we find it dull, it is a warning sign that something is going on inside us and we need to take action to correct it.
— Billy Graham, Billy Graham in Quotes
Our chaotic, confused world has no greater need than to hear the message of good news—the Gospel of Jesus Christ.
— Billy Graham, Billy Graham in Quotes
It is impossible to believe anything into existence. The Gospel did not come into being because men believed it . . .The fact always precedes the faith.
— Billy Graham, Billy Graham in Quotes
My job is to preach the Gospel, which has the power to change men’s lives from the inside out.
— Billy Graham, Billy Graham in Quotes
If animals could speak, the dog would be a blundering outspoken fellow; but the cat would have the rare grace of never saying a word too much.
— Mark Twain
...she made her home in between the pages of books.
— Maggie Stiefvater, Linger
This is a love story. I never knew there were so many kinds of love or that love could make people do so many different things.I never knew there were so many different ways to say goodbye.
— Maggie Stiefvater, Linger
Why not? It's true. My best hope is to not disgrace myself and..." He hesitates.And what?" I say.I don't know how to say it exactly. Only... I want to die as myself. Does that make any sense?" he asks. I shake my head. How could he die as anyone but himself? "I don't want them to change me in there. Turn me into some kind of monster that I'm not."I bite my lip feeling inferior. While I've been ruminating on the availability of trees, Peeta has been struggling with how to maintain his identity. His purity of self. "Do you mean you won't kill anyone?" I ask.No, when the time comes, I'm sure I'll kill just like everybody else. I can't go down without a fight. Only I keep wishing I could think of a way to... to show the Capitol they don't own me. That I'm more than just a piece in their Games," says Peeta.But you're not," I say. "None of us are. That's how the Games work."Okay, but within that frame work, there's still you, there's still me," he insists. "Don't you see?"A little, Only... no offense, but who cares, Peeta?" I say.I do. I mean what else am I allowed to care about at this point?" he asks angrily. He's locked those blue eyes on mine now, demanding an answer.
— Suzanne Collins, The Hunger Games
The problem with promises is that you've made one, it's bound to be broken.
— Bree Despain, The Dark Divine
This is sams phone" there was a long,heavy pause, and then: "oh." Another pause. "Youre the girl, arent you? The girl who was in my house?" I tried to think of what i might gain by denying it and drew a blank "yes" do you have a name?"do you?"he gave a short laugh that was completely without humor but not unpleasent. "I think i might like you. Im Beck.
— Maggie Stiefvater, Shiver
I can tell you that you will have your hearts broken more by the people you love than by the people you hate. But you must still dare to love. The rewards are worth far more than the risks.
— Margaret Peterson Haddix, Into the Gauntlet
Legalism says God will love us if we change. The gospel says God will change us because He loves us.
— Tullian Tchividjian
You are so weak. Give up to grace.The ocean takes care of each wave till it gets to shore.You need more help than you know.
— Jalaluddin Rumi, The Essential Rumi
Our worst days are never so bad that you are beyond the reach of God's grace. And your best days are never so good that you are beyond the need of God's grace.
— Jerry Bridges, The Discipline of Grace: God's Role and Our Role in the Pursuit of Holiness
You must pay for everything in this world one way and another. There is nothing free except the Grace of God. You cannot earn that or deserve it.
— Charles Portis, True Grit
As a Christian and a feminist, the most important message I can carry and fight for is the sacredness of each human life, and reproductive rights for all women are a crucial part of that. It is a moral necessity that we not be forced to bring children into the world for whom we cannot be responsible and adoring and present. We must not inflict life on children who will be resented; we must not inflict unwanted children on society.
— Anne Lamott
Grace doesn't depend on suffering to exist, but where there is suffering you will find grace in many facets and colors.
— William Paul Young, The Shack
I’m not thrilled. And I totally reserve the right to angst over all this later. But honestly, Mom? Right now, I’m so happy to see you that I wouldn’t care if you’re secretly a ninja sent from the future to destroy kittens and rainbows.
— Rachel Hawkins, Spell Bound
If you are renewed by grace, and were to meet your old self, I am sure you would be very anxious to get out of his company.
— Charles Haddon Spurgeon
...I want first of all - in fact, as an end to these other desires - to be at peace with myself. I want a singleness of eye, a purity of intention, a central cor to my life that will enable me to carry out these obligations and activities as well as I can. I want, in fact - to borrow from the language of the saints -to live 'in grace' as much of the time as possible. I am not using this term in a strictly theological sense. By grace I mean an inner harmony, essentially spiritual, which can be translated into outward harmony...
— Anne Morrow Lindbergh
Remember tonight...for it is the beginning of always," he whispered... - ShaneThat damn man just ruined all other men for me. Once you tasted that man, he made all others go sour in your mouth. Ah crap, I was in love with him. - Grace
— Christine Zolendz, Saving Grace
The nuns taught us there are two ways through life, the way of Nature and the way of Grace. You have to choose which one you'll follow. Grace doesn't try to please itself. Accepts being slighted, forgotten, disliked. Accepts insults and injuries.Nature only wants to please itself. Get others to please it too. Likes to lord it over them. To have its own way. It finds reasons to be unhappy when all the world is shining around it. And love is smiling through all things.
— Terrence Malick, The Tree of Life
Holy fellatio! You are standing there licking him up with your eyes! Do you freaking hear the old seventies porn music playing in your head?
— Christine Zolendz, Saving Grace
When Catherine told me about this (tragedy nearby), I could only say, shocked, "Dear God, that family needs grace."She replied firmly, "That family needs casseroles," and then proceeded to organize the entire neighborhood into bringing that family dinner, in shifts, every single night, for an entire year. I do not know if my sister fully recognizes that this _is_ grace.
— Elizabeth Gilbert, Eat, Pray, Love
We should get jerseys, cause we make a good team; but yours would look better than mine, cause you're outta my league.
— Relient K, Relient K Five Score and Seven Years Ago 5
It’ll make you feel better.” "By making me dead?” I asked. “I mean, I’m sure that would make my headache go away, but that’s a heck of a side effect.
— Rachel Hawkins, Spell Bound
It is unearned love--the love that goes before, that greets us on the way. It's the help you receive when you have no bright ideas left, when you are empty and desperate and have discovered that your best thinking and most charming charm have failed you. Grace is the light or electricity or juice or breeze that takes you from that isolated place and puts you with others who are as startled and embarrassed and eventually grateful as you are to be there.
— Anne Lamott, Traveling Mercies: Some Thoughts on Faith
It is the tenderness that breaks our hearts. The loveliness that leaves us stranded on the shore, watching the boats sail away. It is the sweetness that makes us want to reach out and touch the soft skin of another person. And it is the grace that comes to us, undeserving though we may be.
— Robert Goolrick, The End of the World as We Know It: Scenes from a Life
Angels are bright still, though the brightest fell.Though all things foul would wear the brows of grace,Yet Grace must still look so.
— William Shakespeare, Macbeth
When grace moves in... guilt moves out
— Max Lucado, Max on Life: Answers and Insights to Your Most Important Questions
I wish grace and healing were more abracadabra kind of things. Also, that delicate silver bells would ring to announce grace's arrival. But no, it's clog and slog and scootch, on the floor, in the silence, in the dark.
— Anne Lamott, Grace (Eventually): Thoughts on Faith
My wolf was a cute guy and he was holding my hand. I could die happy.
— Maggie Stiefvater, Shiver
There is a loveliness to life that does not fade. Even in the terrors of the night, there is a tendency toward grace that does not fail us. 
— Robert Goolrick, The End of the World as We Know It: Scenes from a Life
This grace of God is a very great, strong, mighty and active thing. It does not lie asleep in the soul. Grace hears, leads, drives, draws, changes, works all in man, and lets itself be distinctly felt and experienced. It is hidden, but its works are evident.
— Martin Luther
The only man who has the right to say that he is justified by grace alone is the man who has left all to follow Christ.
— Dietrich Bonhoeffer
I knew he wouldn't come, but I howled anyway, and when I did, the other wolves would pass images of him to me of what he looked like: lithe, gray, yellow-eyed. I would pass back images of my own, of a wolf on the edge of the woods, silent and cautious, watching me. The images, clear as the slender-leaved trees in front of me, made finding him seem urgent, but I didn't know how to begin to look.
— Maggie Stiefvater, Forever
And yet, because I love thee, I obtainFrom that same love this vindicating grace,To live on still in love, and yet in vain
— Elizabeth Barrett Browning, Sonnets from the Portuguese
The Divine Light is always in man, presenting itself to the senses and to the comprehension, but man rejects it.
— Giordano Bruno
Love is holy because it is like grace--the worthiness of its object is never really what matters.
— Marilynne Robinson, Gilead
Cheap grace means grace sold on the market like cheapjacks' wares. The sacraments, the forgiveness of sin, and the consolations of religion are thrown away at cut prices. Grace is represented as the Church's inexhaustible treasury, from which she showers blessings with generous hands, without asking questions or fixing limits. Grace without price; grace without cost! The essence of grace, we suppose, is that the account has been paid in advance; and, because it has been paid, everything can be had for nothing. Since the cost was infinite, the possibilities of using and spending it are infinite. What would grace be if it were not cheap?...Cheap grace is the preaching of forgiveness without requiring repentance, baptism without church discipline, Communion without confession, absolution without personal confession. Cheap grace is grace without discipleship, grace without the cross, grace without Jesus Christ, living and incarnate.Costly grace is the treasure hidden in the field; for the sake of it a man will go and sell all that he has. It is the pearl of great price to buy which the merchant will sell all his goods. It is the kingly rule of Christ, for whose sake a man will pluck out the eye which causes him to stumble; it is the call of Jesus Christ at which the disciple leaves his nets and follows him.Costly grace is the gospel which must be sought again and again, the gift which must be asked for, the door at which a man must knock.Such grace is costly because it calls us to follow, and it is grace because it calls us to follow Jesus Christ. It is costly because it costs a man his life, and it is grace because it gives a man the only true life. It is costly because it condemns sin, and grace because it justifies the sinner. Above all, it is costly because it cost God the life of his Son: "ye were bought at a price," and what has cost God much cannot be cheap for us. Above all, it is grace because God did not reckon his Son too dear a price to pay for our life, but delivered him up for us. Costly grace is the Incarnation of God.
— Dietrich Bonhoeffer, The Cost of Discipleship
And Grace calls out, 'You are not just a disillusioned old man who may die soon, a middle-aged woman stuck in a job and desperately wanting to get out, a young person feeling the fire in the belly begin to grow cold. You may be insecure, inadequate, mistaken or potbellied. Death, panic, depression, and disillusionment may be near you. But you are not just that. You are accepted.' Never confuse your perception of yourself with the mystery that you really are accepted.
— Brennan Manning, The Ragamuffin Gospel: Good News for the Bedraggled, Beat-Up, and Burnt Out
Only those who are truly aware of their sin can truly cherish grace.
— C.J. Mahaney, The Cross Centered Life: Keeping the Gospel The Main Thing
Maybe home isn't a place. Maybe it's a feeling you have inside of you, being around the people who matter to you
— Justin Somper, Black Heart
With each opportunity before me, God presented me with a choice. I could accept His offerings, His wisdom, His grace. Or I could choose to hold onto the pain, the anger and the resentment a little longer.
— Sharon E. Rainey, Making a Pearl from the Grit of Life
If I’m not showing grace . . . have I forgotten the grace I’ve been shown?
— John F. MacArthur Jr.
Grace is a power that comes in and transforms a moment into something better
— Caroline Myss
I remembered the pain as clearly as if I were shifting — the pain of loss. I felt the agony of the single moment that I lost myself. Lost what made me Sam. The part of me that could remember Grace's name.
— Maggie Stiefvater, Shiver
The ones whose light will remain with me long after they have burnt out are the ones that had grace. Because it's rare that the gift comes with grace. Some of the biggest arseholes I've ever met are the most gifted. Because it's "pretty girl" syndrome. Being gifted is like being born beautiful. You don't have to work a day in a year in your life for it. You were born with it. In one sense, it's like blue blood, money, gift, or beauty. They are the things that should make you the most humble, because they are not the things you have earned. They are the things you were given. Yet, it is my experience that they male people the most spoiled. And the people who work the hardest, and who have overcome the most obstacles on their life, who have reason to beat their breasts are the most humble, sometimes. I can't get over that. it's bewildering to me. To make it through success and still have manners, to still have curiosity, intellectual curiosity, to still have some grace, to keep your dignity, that is really... rare.
— Bono, Bono: In Conversation with Michka Assayas
I know nothing, except what everyone knows - if there when Grace dances, I should dance.
— W.H. Auden, Collected Poems
She [the Virgin Mary] was normal. She had already had other children. The Bible tells us that Jesus had two brothers. Virginity, as it relates to Jesus, is based on a different thing: Mary initiated a new generation of grace. A new era began. She is the cosmic bride, Earth, which opens to the heavens and allows itself to be fertilized.
— Paulo Coelho, By the River Piedra I Sat Down and Wept
And I’m not spying! I’m evaluating!”“It’s the same difference!
— Kim Harrison, Early to Death, Early to Rise
By judging others we blind ourselves to our own evil and to the grace which others are just as entitled to as we are.
— Dietrich Bonhoeffer, The Cost of Discipleship
Thunderously, inarguably, the Sermon on the Mount proves that before God we all stand on level ground: murderers and temper-throwers, adulterers and lusters, thieves and coveters. We are all desperate, and that is in fact the only state appropriate to a human being who wants to know God. Having fallen from the absolute Ideal, we have nowhere to land but in the safety net of absolute grace.
— Philip Yancey, The Jesus I Never Knew
God preordained, for his own glory and the display of His attributes of mercy and justice, a part of the human race, without any merit of their own, to eternal salvation, and another part, in just punishment of their sin, to eternal damnation.
— John Calvin
It is not that we keep His commandments first and that then He loves but that He loves us and then we keep His commandments. This is that grace which is revealed to the humble but hidden from the proud.
— Augustine of Hippo
Virtue and genuine graces in themselves speak what no words can utter.
— William Shakespeare
Kind of just existed from day to day, on weird plateau of feeling nothingness.
— Cat Clarke, Entangled
Okay, don't get mad." She pulled out my stake --- or at least something that looked like my stake,only the hilt of it was now covered in bright blue crystals and diamond-like gems."You Bedazzled my stake?""Um ... Surprise," April said, "Just because you're hunting nasty stuff doesn't mean you can't do it in style.
— Bree Despain, The Lost Saint
I wanted to grab his stupid ears and smash his stupid head against the door until his stupid brains leaked out. Instead, I did nothing.
— Cat Clarke, Entangled
Sam came around the back of the car and stopped dead when he saw me. "Oh my God, what is that?"I used my thumb and middle finger to flick the multicoloured pom-pom on top of my head. "In my language, we call it a hat. It keeps my ears warm.""Oh my God," Sam said again, and closed the distance between us. He cupped my face in his hands and studied me. "It's horribly cute." He kissed me, looked at the hat, and then he kissed me again.
— Maggie Stiefvater, Shiver
But I know how much you care for me. I read it in the ribbon. Lorcan sighed. Did you really need to read the ribbon to know that I cared for you?, he said. Really, Grace, don't you know me at all?I thought I did, she said
— Justin Somper, Blood Captain
The gospel of grace nullifies our adulation of televangelists, charismatic superstars, and local church heroes. It obliterates the two-class citizenship theory operative in many American churches. For grace proclaims the awesome truth that all is gift. All that is good is ours, not by right, but by the sheer bounty of a gracious God.
— Brennan Manning, The Ragamuffin Gospel: Good News for the Bedraggled, Beat-Up, and Burnt Out
He sleeps with you?""Robert?"Stacey rolled her eyes at 
— S.L. Naeole, Bird Song
Athena came to stand by her side. She reached out and ran a light touch over the read wrap. 'Nice dress."Grace frowned in disbelief. 'They're fighting to the death and you're admiring my clothes?'Athena laughed. 'Trust me, I pick my generals well. Priapus doesn't stand a chance.
— Sherrilyn Kenyon, Fantasy Lover
Craziness is only a matter of degree, and there are lots of people besides me who have the urge to roll heads. They go to stock-car races and the horror movies and the wrestling matches they have in Portland Expo. Maybe what she said smacked of all those things, but I admired her for saying out loud, all the same--the price of honesty is always high. She had an admirable grasp of the fundamentals. Besides, she was tiny and pretty.
— Richard Bachman, Rage
It seemed too good to be true. That's grace.
— Judah Smith, Jesus Is: Find a New Way to Be Human
Some changes occur suddenly like a brilliant flash of lightning striking across a dark sky. These changes are stunning, exciting but can be quickly forgotten. Other changes happen slowly, gradually, like a flower blooming in early spring, each day unfurling its petals another fraction of an inch towards the warm, nurturing sun. These changes are as inevitable as nature running its course; they’re meant to be.
— Suzi Davis
. . . there is an absolute disjunction between our Father's love and our deserving.
— Marilynne Robinson, Gilead
Stuckley drew back his sword with evident satisfaction. "She really is your Achilles' heel, isn't she Furey?""No." Lorcan said, preparing his own attack. "Not my Achilles' heel.The love of my life. And I'll do whatever it takes to protect her.
— Justin Somper, Immortal War
Lorcan nodded, "It'ss a beautiful night," he said. "The stars have all come out for you, Darcy." He turned to go, then had a fresh thought. "Oh and Tempest, a word to the wise..." Grace was busily gathering up the edges of Darcy's train. "Yes?" she said, glancing up at Lorcan. "What is it Furey?" Lorcan grinned."Just so you know, I've put down good money on you catching the wedding bouquet. I trust you wouldn't let me down!" as he winked at her, Grace thought his eyes never looked so blue. They were eyes you could never tire from looking at- as deep and constant and infinite as the ocean itself.
— Justin Somper, Immortal War
Breaking News: I am still standing!
— Milan Jed
Yes, he said, taking her hand. And now I think I finally understand that old expression - a sight for sore eyes.
— Justin Somper, Blood Captain
So far from being able to answer for my sins, I cannot even answer for my righteousness!
— Bernard of Clairvaux
The law tells me how crooked I am. Grace comes along and straightens me out.
— Billy Sunday
When asked if I am pessimistic or optimistic about the future, my answer is always the same: If you look at the science about what is happening on earth and aren’t pessimistic, you don’t understand data. But if you meet the people who are working to restore this earth and the lives of the poor, and you aren’t optimistic, you haven’t got a pulse. What I see everywhere in the world are ordinary people willing to confront despair, power, and incalculable odds in order to restore some semblance of grace, justice, and beauty to this world.
— Paul Hawken
Jesus was victorious not because he never flinched, talked back, or questioned, but having flinched, talked back, and questioned, he remained faithful.
— Brennan Manning, The Ragamuffin Gospel: Good News for the Bedraggled, Beat-Up, and Burnt Out
My vision of the gathered church that had come to me... had been replaced by a vision of the gathered community. What I saw now was the community imperfect and irresolute but held together by the frayed and always fraying, incomplete and yet ever-holding bonds of the various sorts of affection. There had maybe never been anybody who had not been loved by somebody, who had been loved by somebody else, and so on and on... It was a community always disappointed in itself, disappointing its members, always trying to contain its divisions and gentle its meanness, always failing and yet always preserving a sort of will toward goodwill. I knew that, in the midst of all the ignorance and error, this was a membership; it was the membership of Port William and of no other place on earth. My vision gathered the community as it never has been and never will be gathered in this world of time, for the community must always be marred by members who are indifferent to it or against it, who are nonetheless its members and maybe nonetheless essential to it. And yet I saw them all as somehow perfected, beyond time, by one another's love, compassion, and forgiveness, as it is said we may be perfected by grace.
— Wendell Berry, Jayber Crow
Grace cannot be confused with righteousness. Grace is receiving what we do not deserve; mercy is not receiving what we do deserve. Righteousness, on the other hand, includes what most of us would consider difficult matters, such as punishment, correction and judgment. It also includes what most of us would consider positive matters, such as the fruit of the Spirit.
— Francis Frangipane
Grace is not simply leniency when we have sinned. Grace is the enabling gift of God not to sin. Grace is power, not just pardon.
— John Piper, The Pleasures of God: Meditations on God's Delight in Being God
One of the the loveliest lines I have ever read comes from Brother Roger, the Prior of the Protestant monks of Taize, France: 'Assured of your salvation by the unique grace of our Lord Jesus Christ.' It is still difficult for me to read these words without tears filling my eyes. It is wonderful.
— Brennan Manning, The Ragamuffin Gospel: Good News for the Bedraggled, Beat-Up, and Burnt Out