#chris

God did not make this person as I would have made him. He did not give him to me as a brother for me to dominate and control, but in order that I might find above him the Creator. Now the other person, in the freedom with which he was created, becomes the occasion of joy, whereas before he was only a nuisance and an affliction. God does not will that I should fashion the other person according to the image that seems good to me, that is, in my own image; rather in his very freedom from me God made this person in His image. I can never know beforehand how God's image should appear in others. That image always manifests a completely new and unique form that comes solely from God's free and sovereign creation. To me the sight may seem strange, even ungodly. But God creates every man in the likeness of His Son, the Crucified. After all, even that image certainly looked strange and ungodly to me before I grasped it. ↗

— Dietrich Bonhoeffer

#christianity #jesus #spiritual-friendships #the-cross #faith

Thy love is singular when all thy delight is in Jesus Christ and in no other thing finds joy and comfort. ↗

— Richard Rolle

#comfort #delight #finds #jesus #jesus christ

Once I was free in the shackles of sin: Free to be tempted, just bound to give in; Free to be captive to any desire; Free to eternally burn in hell’s fire. ‘Til Someone bought me and called me His slave: Bound by commands I am free to obey; Captive by beauty I’m free to adore-- Sentenced to sit at His feet evermore. ↗

— John MacArthur

#christ #freedom #god #hell #sin

To believe Christ's cross to be a friend, as he himself is a friend, is also a special act of faith. ↗

— Samuel Rutherford

#also #believe #christ #cross #faith

From imperial, economic and ideological causes, many cultures are the inheritors, and hence the prisoners, of attitudes of scorn and disdain for other faiths – outlooks which are not ennobling to anyone. ↗

— Idries Shah

#god #islam #jesus #mohammed #muslims

One congressman asked 'I just want to know if you've accepted Jesus Christ as your personal savior. The minister looked stunned, and he said 'no.' The whole table almost fell on the floor. The congressman was quite serious. That was his litmus test. ↗

— Jim Sasser

#almost #asked #christ #congressman #fell

It came from God, and so is Christ true, and Christ is thy God, who is in heaven and awaits thee. ↗

— Girolamo Savonarola

#came #christ #god #heaven #thee

Our old history ends with the Cross; our new history begins with the resurrection. ↗

— Watchman Nee

#life

The inward area is the first place of loss of true Christian life, of true spirituality, and the outward sinful act is the result. ↗

— Francis Schaeffer

#area #christian #christian life #first #inward

Jesus Christ is the beginning, the middle, and the end of all. In the Gospels he walks in human form upon the earth, and accomplishes the work of redemption. ↗

— Philip Schaff

#beginning #christ #earth #end #form