Ray C. Stedman > Quotes

“It's a weak faith that only serves God in times of blessing. The book of Job teaches us that true faith, genuine faith, great faith is revealed only when we serve and trust God in the hard times, the times of suffering, loss, and opposition. That's the kind of faith that makes the world sit up and take notice.”
― Ray C. Stedman, Let God Be God: Life-Changing Truths from the Book of Job

“A man who walks in the sight of God is more interested in his inner reality than his outer reputation.”
― Ray C. Stedman, Authentic Christianity: Trading Religion & Rules for True Faith

“God comforts us to make us comforters, not to make us comfortable.”
― Ray C. Stedman, Let God Be God: Life-Changing Truths from the Book of Job

“In his sufferings, Job has learned that God is greater than his theology. This is a truth we all need to learn. We tend to think we know how God will act in every situation. And the moment we have God neatly confined in our little theological box. He does something surprising!”
― Ray C. Stedman, Let God Be God: Life-Changing Truths from the Book of Job

“Those who think godly living makes them invulnerable to trouble are living in a fantasy world. - 2 Timothy 3:12”
― Ray C. Stedman, Let God Be God: Life-Changing Truths from the Book of Job

“God is never impressed with the phony. He has no time or patience for the false; God deals only with truth. He says that to trust His Word as a plain statement of truth, ignoring all the mocking taunts of those who think they know better, will not be an easy path but it will be an absolutely sure one. That is what Hebrews 11 says to us.”
― Ray C. Stedman, How to Live What You Believe: A Life-Related Study in Hebrews/Paperback Commentary/Pub Order No S411111

“God is light and God is love, and when you put those two together you get fire. Fire is both light and warmth. As someone has well pointed out, fire will destroy what it cannot purify, but it purifies what it cannot destroy. That is the whole explanation of life in this present hour. We are passing through fire which is designed either to destroy that which can be destroyed, or to purify that which can never be destroyed. God is leading us through these trials and through the difficulties of our day, in order that we may learn to cry with old Job, back there in the oldest book of the Bible, He knoweth the way that I take: when he hath tried me, I shall come forth as gold (Job 23:10).”
― Ray C. Stedman, How to Live What You Believe: A Life-Related Study in Hebrews/Paperback Commentary/Pub Order No S411111

“Here are the world's first brothers, Abel and Cain, sons of Adam and Eve. They lived when the world was young, when everything was much different than it is today. It was before the days of income tax and smog and clogged highways and the terrible problems we struggle with. Yet, despite the fact that they enjoyed what we call "the simple life," they longed for something better, they hungered after God. For no matter how good life is, it is never good enough if you do not have God. Man is never satisfied without Him, and these boys hungered for God. Both had been told the way by which they could come to Him; this is implied in the account. But Cain chose to believe a lie, the lie that is still very evident today, that "one way is as good as another." He took the way that was easiest for him to work out and as a result he was rejected; for, of course, it is always a lie that one way is as good as another. That never works in anything- nature, life, or with God.”
― Ray C. Stedman, How to Live What You Believe: A Life-Related Study in Hebrews/Paperback Commentary/Pub Order No S411111

“God does not want a church filled with white-robed saints. He does not want a church filled with theological authorities or cultured clergyman. He wants a church filled with ordinary men and women who exemplify the extraordinary integrity, temperament, wholeness, compassion, individuality, boldness, righteousness, earnestness, love, forgiveness, selflessness, and faithfulness of Jesus Christ!”
― Ray Stedman, Body Life: The Book That Inspired a Return to the Church's Real Meaning and Mission

“The angel Gabriel told Daniel that, after the command of Artaxerxes was issued, a period of first seven, and then sixty-two, of those seven-year “weeks” (a total of 483 years) would end just before the Messiah would be “cut off.” In counting 483 years from 445 BC to the date of the crucifixion of Christ, allowance must be made for a four-year error in the date of Christ’s birth; Jesus would have actually been born in 4 BC on the Gregorian calendar, not AD 1. Allowance must also be made for the fact that the ancient Hebrews used a 360-day calendar. A period of indeterminate length would then intervene before the seventieth or final “week” (seven years). During that unfixed period of time, the city of Jerusalem would be destroyed and the Jews would endure wars and desolations until the end.”
― Ray C. Stedman, What on Earth Is Happening?: What Jesus Said About the End of the Age

“You must make a decision: Will you drink from the canteen? Or will you take the only water you have seen for days and pour it down the throat of that pump? Will you place your trust in what you can touch and see and hear, or will you have faith in a promise?”
― Ray C. Stedman, Friend of God The Legacy of Abraham, Man of Faith

“People’s disappointments are God’s appointments.”
― Ray C. Stedman, The Power of His Presence

“We should never hesitate to return to God when we sin. He is already fully aware of our sin. In fact, He expects us to fail, because He knows us better than we know ourselves. Like the loving father of the prodigal son, He is not ashamed of us, nor does He reject us. He waits for our return, and when we do, He welcomes us with a father’s kiss and with”
― Ray C. Stedman, Authentic Christianity: Trading Religion & Rules for True Faith

“God, thank You that regardless of what You call me to lay on the altar in obedience to You, You always know what is best, and You always have a plan.”
― Ray C. Stedman, The Power of His Presence