We are told to let our light shine, and if it does, we won't need to tell anybody it does. Lighthouses don't fire cannons to call attention to their shining- they just shine.
Dwight L. MoodyRead
I prayed for Faith, and thought that some day Faith would come down and strike me like lightning. But Faith did not seem to come. One day I read in the tenth chapter of Romans, 'Now Faith cometh by hearing, and hearing by the Word of God'. I had closed my Bible, and prayed for Faith. I now opened my Bible, and began to study, and Faith has been growing ever since.
Interpretation
Faith is cultivated through understanding and engagement, not just wishful thinking.
In this quote, Dwight L. Moody reflects on his journey of seeking faith. He initially believed that faith would come to him spontaneously, like a sudden stroke of lightning. However, through reading and studying the Word of God, he realized that faith is nurtured and developed over time through knowledge and understanding. This emphasizes that active engagement in one's beliefs is crucial to personal growth in faith.
In practice
In a sermon about the importance of faith and study, one could quote this passage to emphasize spiritual growth.
We are told to let our light shine, and if it does, we won't need to tell anybody it does. Lighthouses don't fire cannons to call attention to their shining- they just shine.
There is the joy of one's own salvation. I thought, when I first tasted that, it was the most delicious joy I had ever known, and that I could never get beyond it. But I found, afterward, there was something more joyful that, namely, the joy of the salvation of others.
'Faith cometh by hearing and hearing by the Word of God' (Rom. 10:17). That is whence faith comes. It is not for me to sit down and wait for faith to come stealing over me with a strong sensation, but is for me to take God at His Word.
There is no greater honour than to be the instrument in God's hands of leading one person out of the kingdom of Satan into the glorious light of Heaven.
Many a professing Christian is a stumbling-block because his worship is divided. On Sunday he worships God; on weekdays God has little or no place in his thoughts.
Let us expect that God is going to use us. Let us have courage and go forward, looking to God to do great things.
Would you convey my compliments to the purist who reads your proofs and tell him or her that I write in a sort of broken-down patois which is something like the way a Swiss waiter talks, and that when I split an infinitive, God damn it, I split it so it will stay split, and when I interrupt the velvety smoothness of my more or less literate syntax with a few sudden words of bar-room vernacular, that is done with the eyes wide open and the mind relaxed but attentive.
A man who suffers or stresses before it is necessary, suffers more than is necessary
Circumstances are beyond human control, but our conduct is in our own power.
There are men and women who make the world better just by being the kind of people they are. They have the gift of kindness or courage or loyalty or integrity. It really matters very little whether they are behind the wheel of a truck or running a business or bringing up a family. The teach the truth by living it.
Imagination is everything. It is the preview of life's coming attractions.
The ugliest truth, in the end, was still better than the prettiest of lies.
Subscribe for the occasional hand-picked quote. No noise.