Prayer is not overcoming God's reluctance. It is laying hold of His willingness.
Martin LutherRead
The gospel cannot be truly preached without offense and tumult.
Interpretation
The message of the gospel is inherently challenging and often provokes strong reactions.
This quote by Martin Luther emphasizes that the true preaching of the gospel is not a comfortable or easy undertaking; it often stirs conflict and controversy. The essence of its message challenges individuals' beliefs and norms, leading to offense and tumult as people confront their assumptions and engage with profound truths.
In practice
During a sermon discussing moral truths that challenge societal norms.
Prayer is not overcoming God's reluctance. It is laying hold of His willingness.
Now if I believe in God's Son and remember that He became man, all creatures will appear a hundred times more beautiful to me than before. Then I will properly appreciate the sun, the moon, the stars, trees, apples, as I reflect that he is Lord over all things. ...God writes the Gospel, not in the Bible alone, but also on trees, and in the flowers and clouds and stars.
It is the part of a Christian to take care of his own body for the very purpose that, by its soundness and wellbeing, he may be enabled to labour, and to acquire and preserve property, for the aid of those who are in want, that thus the stronger member may serve the weaker member, and we may be children of God, and busy for one another, bearing one another's burdens, and so fulfiling the law of Christ.
Reason is the greatest enemy that faith has; it never comes to the aid of spiritual things, but more frequently than not struggles against the divine Word, treating with contempt all that emanates from God.
We will win our freedom because the sacred heritage of our nation and the eternal will of God are embodied in our echoing demands.
In a mouse we admire God's creation and craft work. The same may be said about flies.
If gratitude, when exerted towards another, naturally produces a very pleasing sensation in the mind of a grateful man, it exalts the soul into rapture when it is employed on this great object of gratitude to the beneficent Being who has given us everything we already possess, and from whom we expect everything we yet hope for.
Conspicuous consumption of valuable goods is a means of reputability to the gentleman of leisure.
A truth ceases to be true when more than one person believes in it.
The uncontested absurdities of today are the accepted slogans of tomorrow.
Listen to the sound of silence.
In order to discover the character of people we have only to observe what they love.
Subscribe for the occasional hand-picked quote. No noise.