To me the Bible is not God, but it is God's voice, and I do not hear it without awe
Interpretation
The Bible is a profound expression of God's thoughts, evoking respect and reverence.
In this quote, Charles Spurgeon emphasizes the distinction between the Bible as a text and God as an entity. He expresses that while the Bible is ultimately a representation of God's voice, it is not to be equated with God Himself. The awe he feels when engaging with the scripture reflects the deep respect afforded to divine teachings, highlighting the transformative power of words in connecting humanity to the divine.
In practice
In a sermon, one might say, 'As Spurgeon said, to engage with the Bible is to hear God's voice with reverence.'
Amusement should be used to do us good “like a medicine”: it must never be used as the food of the man...Many have had all holy thoughts and gracious resolutions stamped out by perpetual trifling. Pleasure so called is the murderer of thought. This is the age of excessive amusement: everybody craves for it, like a babe for its rattle.
When you see no present advantage, walk by faith and not by sight. Do God the honor to trust Him when it comes to matters of loss for the sake of principle.
It is far easier to fight with sin in public than to pray against it in private.
You will never glory in God till first of all God has killed your glorying in yourself.
After faith comes repentance, or, rather, repentance is faith's twin brother and is born at the same time.
["All the paths of the Lord are mercy and truth unto such as keep his covenant."] The original Hebrew word that has been translated "paths" means "well-worn roads' or "wheel tracks," such ruts as wagons make when they go down our green roads in wet weather and sink in up to the axles. God's ways are at times like heavy wagon tracks that cut deep into our souls, yet all of them are merciful.
There have been low moments before, but Christianity is an incredibly adaptable organism, using different parts of its repertoire to mutate into new ecological niches, yet preserving intact its story of grace, of love improbably triumphant.
I mean that you always know what results will come from one or another of your actions; but in a strange way you want to do one thing and get the result that could only come from another
My position is the lack of a position, but, of course, you can't even talk about it; the minute you talk, you spoil the whole game.
Until we Dream of Life and Life becomes a Dream.
In Christian terms, evangelization and humanization are not alternatives. Nor are the 'vertical dimension' of faith and the 'horizontal dimension' of love for one's neighbor and political change.
It is more important to be free than to be happy.
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