Wiersbe Quotes

Truth without love is brutality, and love without truth is hypocrisy.

God doesn't bless us just to make us happy; He blesses us to make us a blessing.

The Christian who walks with the Lord and keeps constant communion with Him will see many reason for rejoicing and thanksgiving all day long.

The ability to calm your soul and wait before God is one of the most difficult things in the Christian life. Our old nature is restless... the world around us is frantically in a hurry. But a restless heart usually leads to a reckless life.

A good book is like a seed: it produces fruit that has in it seed for more fruit. It is not a picture on the wall; it is a window that invies us to wider horizons.

When it seems as if God is far away, remind yourself that He is near. Nearness is not a matter of geography. God is everywhere. Nearness is likeness. The more we become like the Lord, the nearer He is to us.

Never doubt in the darkness what God has told you in the light.

We have little control over the circumstances of life. We can't control the weather or the economy, and we can't control what other people say about or do to us. There is only one area where we have control--we can rule the kingdom inside. The heart of every problem is the problem in the heart.

The erosion of character usually begins with neglect: we stop reading the Word, or worshiping with God’s people, or taking time to meditate and pray.

You feel like quitting, like giving up. You can’t understand why the road doesn’t get easier, why God doesn’t remove the stones and straighten the path. If God did that, you might never get to the top, because the bumps are what you can climb on.

Reputation is what people think we are; character is what God and the holy angels know we are.

The school of suffering never graduates any students, so ask God to teach to you the lessons He wants you to learn.

God does not reveal His will to those who are curious. He reveals His will to those who are obedient. God guides those who are concerned about His glory.

Yesterday God helped me, Today He’ll do the same. How long will this continue? Forever—praise His name!

I will be satisfied to the extent that I see everything I have as a gift from God. Here is the truth: Everything you have – your money, talent, friendships, marriage, children, material possessions, health, home, bike, car, even the country you live in – is a gift from God that He had chosen out of His generous nature to give you.

The person whose happiness depends on ideal circumstances is going to be miserable much of the time.

God doesn’t want us to ignore the past; the past should be a rudder to guide us, not an anchor to hold us back.

Before we can minister to others, we must permit God to minister to us.

Sow a thought and you reap an action. Sow an action and you reap a character. Sow a character and you reap a destiny.

Ministry takes place when divine resources meet human needs through loving channels to the glory of God.

God is not in a hurry. He kept Abraham and Sarah waiting twenty-five years before Issac was born, and Issac and Rebekah waited twenty years for Esau and Jacob, Jacob had to wait fourteen years to get the bride he really wanted, and then he had to serve six more years to build up his flocks so he could be independent, a total of twenty years. Twenty-two years passed between Joseph's betrayal by his brothers and the brothers' reconciliation in Egypt. God is not in a hurry because all His works are done in love. "Love is patient, love is kind" (1 Cor.13:4). Let's be grateful that God takes His time.

There is no substitute for an understanding mind. Satan can defeat the ignorant believer, but he cannot overcome the Christian who knows his Bible and understands the purposes of God.

This surely is a good rule: whenever you see a fault in any other man, or any other church, look for it in yourself and in your own church.

One thing about change hasn't changed: it still fascinates some people, frightens others, and provides a good living for a prophetic minority.

Yield your heart and life to Jesus Christ. Be faithful to Him, no matter what men may do. The important thing is not the praise of men; it is the approval of God.

Tact is the art of making a point without making an enemy. ” Howard W. Newton

Faith in God’s promises is the only way to find peace in the midst of trouble. “You will keep him in perfect peace, whose mind is stayed on You, because he trusts in You” (26:3 NKJV).

You may think that you are insignificant in the great plan of God, but you are not. You are tremendously important to God—so much so that Jesus died for you, and the Holy Spirit lives in you. You may seem small in your own eyes, and this is good; because God resists the proud but gives grace to the humble. However, don’t let your humility become sin by making you believe you can do nothing for God. God can use you to help Him accomplish His will on this earth.

That this complex universe should appear by accident out of nothing from a “big bang” is as probable as the works of Shakespeare resulting from an explosion in a printing plant.

The virgin birth of Christ is a key doctrine; for if Jesus Christ is not God come in sinless human flesh, then we have no Savior. Jesus had to be

My past may discourage me and my future may frighten me, but “the life I now live” today can be enriching and encouraging because “Christ lives in me” (Gal. 2:20).

Do you want life and joy? Here’s the secret: Live on God’s path, live in His presence, and live for His pleasures.

The world thinks that happiness is the result of others serving us, but real joy comes when we serve others in the name of Christ.

when we walk by faith, we live on promises, not on explanations.

Outlook determines outcome, and attitude determines action.

God doesn’t promise to remove the stones from the path, but He does promise to make them stepping-stones and not stumbling blocks. He promises to help us climb higher because of the difficulties of life.

When you find yourself sinking in the quicksand, there is little else you can do but cry to the Lord. Sometimes He allows the “quicksand” experiences to turn you to Him. Wait for God. Acknowledge that He is in control. Give Him the pieces of your broken heart and watch Him work for you. You can depend on His faithfulness.

The primary task of the church and of the Christian minister is the preaching of the Word of God,” said Dr. D. Martyn Lloyd-Jones. “The decadent periods and eras in the history of the church have always been those periods when preaching had declined

God has ordained that His people live by promises and not by explanations.

Although everything may seem stacked against you, God is on your side. He knows who you are, where you are and what you’re up against. He will protect you and deliver you.

Leaders must learn to obey before they have the privilege of asking others to obey them.

(children learn to appreciate good books by contagion, not compulsion).

Don’t waste time and energy being an imitation. Let God make you into an original.

Grace never looks for a reason; it only looks for an opportunity.

Perhaps the deepest Christian fellowship and joy we can experience in this life is at the throne of grace, praying with and for one another.

But it is not the length of life that counts—it is the depth and strength of life.

forgiveness is surrendering my right to hurt you for hurting me

Wisdom gives us perspective so that we aren’t discouraged when times are difficult or arrogant when things are going well. It takes a good deal of spirituality to be able to accept prosperity as well as adversity, for often prosperity does greater damage (Phil. 4:10–13).

Big is beautiful" may be a clever slogan, but God still asks, "Who dares despise the day of small things?" (Zech.4:10)...A few loaves and fishes fed thousands. Little is much if God is in it.

When we walk by sight, we calculate everything from the human perspective, and this always leads to discouragement; but when we walk by faith, God comes into the equation, and that changes the results.

The main evidence of maturity in the Christian life is a growing love for God and for God’s people, as well as a love for lost souls. It has well been said that love is the “circulatory system” of the body of Christ.

At least in the world we know, it takes trials to make something beautiful and useful out of the raw materials of life. The student’s struggle with truth develops his intelligence; the athlete’s struggle with his records and his opponents helps to develop his muscles and coordination; the musician’s struggle with more difficult pieces develops his playing skill; and the soul’s struggle with the trials of life helps to build character.

Paul did not begin by attacking the false teachers and their doctrines. He began by exalting Jesus Christ and showing His preeminence in five areas: the gospel message, redemption, creation, the church, and Paul’s own ministry.

It is impossible to stand still in Christian life and service, for when you stand still, you immediately start going backward. “Let us go on!” is God’s challenge to His church (Heb. 6:1), and that means moving ahead into new territory.

The people who refuse to submit to God’s authority will never really discover who they are and what God wants them to do. No matter how successful they may be in the eyes of the world, unless they change they will be failures in the eyes of God.

When you feel like quitting or running away, remember that you can’t run away from your troubles and you can’t run away from yourself. The solution is not running away; it’s running to. It’s running to the throne of grace and finding grace to help in time of need.

In marriage, “two become one,” and this miracle must never be forgotten. Marriage means that a man and a woman must no longer say “mine” and “yours”; they should say only “ours.” If one of them has a ministry, they both have a ministry, whether the other one accepts it or not. Marriage isn’t a fifty-fifty partnership; it’s a 100 percent stewardship in which each mate lives for the other and both live for the Lord.

A little boy was leading his sister up a mountain path and the way was not too easy. “Why, this isn’t a path at all,” the little girl complained. “It’s all rocky and bumpy.” And her brother replied, “Sure, the bumps are what you climb on.” That’s a remarkable piece of philosophy.

But suffering does not automatically bring glory to God and blessing to God’s people. Some believers have fainted and fallen in times of trial and have brought shame to the name of Christ. It is only when we depend on the grace of God that we can glorify God in times of suffering.

People are so intoxicated by intellectual pride that they laugh at the simple message of the gospel presented by humble witnesses (1 Cor. 1:18–31). The prophet Amos was ejected from the king’s chapel because he was a simple farmer and not a member of the religious elite (Amos 7:10–17). Evangelist D. L. Moody was often laughed at because his speech was not polished, but God used him to bring many thousands to the Savior.

Great names come and go, but the name of Jesus remains. The devil still hates it, the world still opposes it, but God still blesses it and we can still claim it! “In the name of Jesus” is the key that unlocks the door of prayer and the treasury of God’s grace. It’s the weapon that defeats the enemy and the motivation that compels our sacrifice and service. It’s the name that causes our hearts to rejoice and our lips to sing his praise.

Saving faith involves the mind, the emotions, and the will. With the mind we understand the truth of the gospel, and with the heart we feel conviction and the need to be saved. But it is only when we exercise the will and commit ourselves to Christ that the process is complete. Faith is not mental assent to a body of doctrines, no matter how true those doctrines may be. Faith is not emotional concern. Faith is commitment to Jesus Christ.

Many people try to avoid looking back. To be sure, there is a wrong way to look back; it is wrong to look back at past sins and failures and defeats. That can only make you fail even more today. But it is good to look back to see where we have been and what the Lord has done in us and through us.

The Lord prepared Moses for his ministry and took eighty years to do it. He was raised as a prince in Egypt and taught all that the wise men in Egypt knew. Some scholars believe that Moses was in line to be the next Pharaoh. Yet Moses gave all this up to identify with the people of God in their suffering (Heb. 11:24–27). God gave Moses a forty-year “post-graduate course” as a shepherd in the land of Midian, a strange place for a man with all the learning of Egypt in his mind. But there were lessons to be learned in solitude and silence, and in taking care of ignorant sheep, that Moses could never have learned in the university in Egypt. God has different ways of training His servants, and each person’s training is tailor-made by the Lord.

People still ask questions and hope the answers will be what they think they already know. They need to pray this prayer by an anonymous believer: From the cowardice that shrinks from new truths, From the laziness that is content with half-truths, From the arrogance that thinks it knows all truth, O God of truth, deliver us!

At this stage in your experience, lay hold of the truth that God loves you, and don't let anybody steal it away from you. Circumstances may assail you; Satan may accuse you; your Christian friends may even abandon you, but God loves you just as much as He did when He gave Jesus to die for you on the cross. Your circumstances have changed, and your feelings have changed, but God's love has not changed. When you experience the love of God in your heart, then your faith will grow stronger, and you will be able to give thanks.

The modern world is also fascinated by innovation but scornful to tradition. Like the Athenians in Paul's day, many people do nothing but get involved in the latest fads (Acts 17:21). People stand in line to purchase the latest gimmicks, and no sooner do they learn how to use them than the manufacturers declare the models obsolete. Innovation! Progress!

Divine sovereignty is not a substitute for human responsibility.

He who has a thousand friends     has not a friend to spare, And he who has one enemy     shall meet him everywhere.

The mind grows by taking in, but the heart grows by giving out.

Life is something like a doctor's prescription: taken alone, and the ingredients might kill you; but properly blended, they bring healing.

Dr. A. W. Tozer say, “If God were to take the Holy Spirit out of this world, much of what the church is doing would go right on; and nobody would know the difference.

There’s no substitute for Christian character. No matter how much talent and training we may have, if we don’t have character, we don’t have anything.

Your . . . sermon lasts but an hour or two—your life preaches all the week.

God is glorified when people see the Master and not the minister.

Lifted up was He to die, “It is finished” was His cry; Now in heav’n exalted high, Hallelujah, what a Savior! (Philip P. Bliss)

True Christian hope is more than “hope so.” It is confident assurance of future glory and blessing.

Peter is preeminently the apostle of hope, as Paul is the apostle of faith and John of love.

In times of difficulty, if we die to self and put God’s will first (Matt. 6:33), we can be sure that He will either take us out of the trouble or bring us through.

The gospel message does not center in a philosophy, a doctrine, or a religious system. It centers in Jesus Christ, the Son of God.

Religion is man’s attempt to make peace with God on his own terms. Redemption is God’s offer of peace through Jesus Christ. But this is “peace through the blood of His cross” (Col. 1:20).

It has well been said that an opinion is something that you hold, but a conviction is something that holds you. Most of us have very few convictions, but the ones we do have are important to us. Convictions are the compasses of life - that keep us moving in the right direction. They are the foundation stones that help us to stand firm when everything around us is shaking and changing.

Too many believers have an intellectual religion that satisfies the mind but never changes the life. They can discuss the Bible and even argue about it; but when it comes to living it, they fail.

Paul used three thoughts in Philippians 1:1–11 that describe true Christian fellowship: I have you in my mind (Phil. 1:3–6), I have you in my heart (Phil. 1:7–8), and I have you in my prayers (Phil. 1:9–11).

You are writing a gospel, A chapter each day, By the deeds that you do And the words that you say. Men read what you write, Whether faithful or true: Just what is the gospel According to you? —SOURCE UNKNOWN

The noted Bible commentator Matthew Henry wrote: “She was not made out of his head to rule over him, nor out of his feet to be trampled upon by him, but out of his side to be equal with him, under his arm to be protected, and near his heart to be beloved.” Paul wrote that “the woman is the glory of man” (1 Cor. 11:7 NIV), for if man is the head (1 Cor. 11:1–16; Eph. 5:22–33), then woman is the crown that honors the head.

Christian joy is a deep experience of adequacy and confidence in spite of the circumstances around us. The Christian can be joyful even in the midst of pain and suffering. This kind of joy is not a thermometer but a thermostat. Instead of rising and falling with the circumstances, it determines the spiritual temperature of the circumstances. Paul put it beautifully when he wrote, “I have learned, in whatsoever state I am, therewith to be content” (Phil. 4:11).

Hope is not a sedative; it is a shot of adrenaline, a blood transfusion. Like an anchor, our hope in Christ stabilizes us in the storms of life (Heb. 6:18–19), but unlike an anchor, our hope moves us forward, it does not hold us back.

Not all the blood of beasts, On Jewish altars slain, Could give the guilty conscience peace, Or wash away the stain. But Christ the heavenly Lamb, Takes all our sins away; A sacrifice of nobler name And richer blood than they. (Isaac Watts)

At times God permits His children to experience darkness on a dead-end street where they don’t know which way to turn. When this happens, wait for the Lord to give you light in His own time. Don’t try to manufacture your own light or to borrow light from others. Follow the wise counsel of Isaiah: “Who among you fears the LORD? Who obeys the voice of His Servant? Who walks in darkness and has no light? Let him trust in the name of the LORD and rely upon his God” (Isa. 50:10 NKJV).

Too many people attend church as consumers and not as stewards and worshipers. Church buildings have become shopping malls, not sanctuaries, and "doing church" means "doing business" and not worshiping God or encouraging others. "What's in it for me?" is the most important concern of the average churchgoer, not "How can I become more like Christ and share what I have with others?" If our praying is what it ought to be, we will be transformed from greedy consumers into generous stewards.

Stop pampering yourself. Stop whimpering. Stop asking God to give you toys; ask Him to give you tools and weapons, because there is a Church to build and a battle to fight. It is a marvelous thing to be adopted and to be rich in the Lord Jesus Christ.

The proof of salvation is not listening to the Word, or having a quick emotional response to the Word, or even cultivating the Word so that it grows in a life. The proof of salvation is fruit, for as Christ said, “Ye shall know them by their fruits” (Matt. 7:16).

When God used David’s sling, He needed David’s hand to swing it. When God builds a ministry, He needs somebody’s surrendered body to get the job done. You are important to the Lord, so keep your life pure: “A holy minister [servant] is an awful weapon in the hand of God.

You have the privilege of praying to a loving, understanding Father, who knows your condition. He guides you through difficulty to victory. When your faith, hope, and love are fixed on the Lord, you can face any difficulty or problem, and God will give you joy and peace within.

We cannot learn patience by reading a book or hearing a lecture. The only way we can learn patience is by going through the trials that God assigns to us. The trials of life are the tools God uses to mature us, to build our faith, and to get us to trust the Spirit and not the flesh.

In his High Priestly prayer, he said, “I have glorified You on the earth. I have finished the work which You have given Me to do” (John 17:4). He could shout the word “tetelestai” because he was a faithful Savior who accomplished the Father’s will. Jesus was faithful in spite of satanic opposition, in spite of the blindness and disobedience of the religious leaders, even in spite of the stupidity and slowness to believe of his own disciples. When sinful people were doing their worst, Jesus Christ was giving his best; and he did it because he loved the Father and loved a world of lost sinners. Jesus Christ is still a faithful Servant. Having finished His work on earth, he is now faithfully serving his people in heaven as High Priest and Advocate (Heb. 4:14–16; 1 John 2:1–3). When we’re tempted, we can come to his throne and receive the grace and mercy we need. If we sin, we can come to our heavenly Advocate, confess our sins, and be forgiven (1 John 1:9–2:2). He is faithful to deliver us in times of temptation (1 Cor. 10:13), faithful to forgive us when we fall, and faithful to keep us until we meet him face to face (2 Tim. 1:12; Jude 24).

Money is the “god of this world,” and it empowers millions of people to enjoy life by living on substitutes. With money, they can buy entertainment, but they can’t buy joy. They can go to the drugstore and buy sleep, but they can’t buy peace. Their money will attract lots of acquaintances but very few real friends. Wealth gains them admiration and envy but not love. It buys the best in medical services, but it can’t buy health.

It doesn’t have to be dark outside for us to be in the middle of the night. Sometimes the darkness is in us. Discouragement moves in, and we are like Asaph, who said, “My hand was stretched out in the night without ceasing; my soul refused to be comforted” (v. 2). Some translations read, “My sore was running in the night.” What do you do when your soul refuses to be comforted? Asaph tells us what we should do. First, talk to God. “I cried out to God with my voice—to God with my voice; and He gave ear to me” (v. 1). Someone has suggested that when you can’t sleep at night, instead of counting sheep, talk to the Shepherd. That’s what Asaph did. Sometimes

The hardening of Pharaoh’s heart is a warning to all of us. If the sinful human heart doesn’t respond by faith to God’s Word, it cannot be transformed by the grace of God (Ezek. 36:26–27; Heb. 8:7–13). Instead, it will become harder and harder the longer it resists God’s truth. No matter how often God may send affliction, it will only provoke more disobedience. In the last days, when God sends His terrible judgments on the world (Rev. 6—16),10 people will curse God and continue in their sins, but they will not repent (6:15–17; 9:20–21; 16:9, 11). There will be a whole world full of men and women like Pharaoh who will behold God’s judgments and still not repent. “Today, if you will hear His voice, do not harden your hearts” (Heb. 3:7–8 NKJV).