Jo Graham Quotes

The greatest barrier to knowing God’s will is simply that we want to run our own lives. Our problem is that a battle is going on in our hearts—a battle between our wills and God’s will.

God’s will is that we would be righteous in our living. God is holy, and the whole scheme of redemption has holiness for its goal.

God wants us to know His will and He reveals it to us both through the Bible and through the guidance of His Holy Spirit. Seek God’s will when you pray, and He will help you know it.

The Bible condemns the use of any substance which alters or distorts our thinking (including alcohol, which was the most common drug in ancient times).

To know the will of God is the highest of all wisdom. Living in the center of God’s will rules out all falseness of religion and puts the stamp of true sincerity upon our service to God.

God’s holiness demands that sin be punished—but God’s love has provided the way of redemption through Christ.

God will never—never—lead you to do something that is contrary to His written Word, the Bible.

Living the Christian life means striving for holiness.

Some of the most heart-breaking letters I receive are from people who tell how alcohol or drugs have ravaged their lives and destroyed their families.

We cannot be satisfied with our goodness after beholding the holiness of God.

If you are ignorant of God’s Word, you will always be ignorant of God’s will.

When the headlines get black and foreboding, the sale of alcohol and barbiturates rises in the country, as millions try to escape from the grim realities of [such] dangers.

One of the most conspicuous modes of escape is alcoholism, which is now a national catastrophe.

Escapism seems to be the order of the day . . .Escape with drugs or alcohol, and the bitterness of living will be blurred . . .We can’t escape from God.

Liquor is not necessary either for health or for so-called gracious living . . .It is the cause of untold sorrow, suffering, and material loss, not to mention the spiritual implications of drinking.

In Houston, Texas, a man was born again in one of our meetings. He owned a liquor store. The next morning he had a sign on the front of his door saying, “Out of business.

Drinking has become one of the most serious social problems. It is basically the result of an attempt to escape from the responsibilities and realities of life.

One of the bonuses of being a Christian is the glorious hope that extends out beyond the grave into the glory of God’s tomorrow.

We are so caught up with the affairs of this life we give little attention to eternity.

What you do with Christ here and now decides where you shall spend eternity.

We glorify Christ when we live for God—trusting, loving, and obeying Him.

When one bears suffering faithfully, God is glorified and honored.

What greater glory can we anticipate than to stand before the throne of God, to humble ourselves before His great and incomparable majesty.

Our voices, our service, and our abilities are to be employed, primarily, for the glory of God.

We glorify God by living lives that honor Him.

Most people are living for today with barely a thought of eternity.

How do we prepare for that last day? Before we embark on our final trip, have we left an earthly home in a state of chaos or a condition of order?

[Multitudes] have never been born again. They will go into eternity lost—while thinking they are saved because they belong to the church, or were baptized.

A Christian funeral should be a coronation ceremony, a statement to the world about eternal life.

Where will we spend eternity—with God in that place of endless joy the Bible calls heaven, or apart from Him in that place of endless despair the Bible calls hell?

God can use the fear that grips the hearts of men today to point them to eternal truths—the truth of God’s eternal judgment, and the truth of His eternal love.

Christians should seek after holiness—without which no man shall see the Lord. Let us seek ardently the kind of life that reflects the beauty of Jesus and marks us as being what saints ought to be!

As I read the Bible, I seem to find holiness to be [Christ’s] supreme attribute.

If you belong to Jesus Christ, you are called to live a life of purity and holiness. God wants your mind to be shaped by Him so that your thoughts and goals reflect Christ.

Don’t take the holiness of God lightly, for it is the very essence of His character.

Compassion is not complete in itself, but must be accompanied by inflexible justice and wrath against sin and a desire for holiness.

Disappointment and failure are not signs that God has forsaken you or stopped loving you. The devil wants you to believe God no longer loves you, but it isn’t true. God’s love for us never fails.

[While] disappointment and failure aren’t identical, they often occur together, and both can hold us back from God’s best for our lives.

Don’t be bound by the past and its failures. But don’t forget its lessons either.

Don’t let failure or disappointment cut you off from God or make you think the future is hopeless. When God closes one door, He often opens another—if we seek it.

If we who have the Holy Spirit living and working within us falter and fail, what hope is there for the rest of the world?

Many of the mysteries of God—the heartaches, trials, disappointments, tragedies, and the silence of God in the midst of suffering—will be revealed in heaven.

Peter preached about [the blood]. Paul wrote about it, and the redeemed in heaven sing about it. In a sense, the New Testament is the Book of the Blood.

Sometimes we encourage someone without even being aware of it. Even the example we set by attending church may encourage someone who is searching for God.

[The Holy Spirit] will remain with every believer right to the end. This thought has encouraged me a thousand times in these dark days when satanic forces are at work.

With an old head and a young heart, you can be a source of real strength [to others] who need your cheer and encouragement.

We never gain in life by hurting others. Sometimes we try to elevate our own insecure egos by degrading and belittling those around us. Yet this produces only a false sense of self-esteem.

The Bible teaches us to be more concerned about the needs and feelings of others than our own. We are to encourage and build self-confidence in our loved ones, friends, and associates.

Jesus does not allow us to be neutral about Him. Jesus demands that we decide about Him.

God has a plan and the devil has a plan, and you will have to decide which plan you are going to fit into.