To pursue joy is to lose it. The only way to get it is to follow steadily the path of duty. Alexander MacLaren More Quotes by Alexander MacLaren More Quotes From Alexander MacLaren Being in Christ, it is safe to forget the past; it is possible to be sure of the future; it is possible to be diligent in the present. Alexander MacLaren christian faith god He who has the Holy Spirit in His heart and the Scripture in his hands has all he needs. Alexander MacLaren christian heart hands Peace comes not from the absence of trouble, but from the presence of God. Alexander MacLaren christian god peace Do not let the loud utterances of your own wills anticipate, nor drown, the still, small voice in which God speaks. Bridle impatience till He does. If you cannot hear His whisper, wait till you do. Take care of running before you are sent. Keep your wills in equipoise till God's hand gives the impulse and direction. Alexander MacLaren voice running hands The world takes its notions of God from the people who say that they belong to God's family. They read us a great deal more than they read the Bible. They see us; they only hear about Jesus Christ. Alexander MacLaren people world jesus If God sends us on stony paths, He will provide us with strong shoes. Alexander MacLaren shoes strong path The Gospel is not a mere message of deliverance, but a canon of conduct; it is not a theology to be accepted, but it is ethics to be lived. It is not to be believed only, but it is to be taken into life as a guide. Alexander MacLaren ethics taken messages No man loveth God except the man who has first learned that God loves him. Alexander MacLaren god-love men firsts The gospel is not speculation but fact. It is truth, because it is the record of a person who is the Truth. Alexander MacLaren truth-is records facts If you want to live in this world, doing the duty of life, knowing the blessings of it, doing your work heartily, and yet not absorbed by it, remember that the one power whereby you can so act is, that all shall be consecrated to Christ, and done for His sake. Alexander MacLaren done knowing blessing It is not my strength that grows, so much as God's strength in me, which is given more abundantly as the days roll. It is so given on one condition. If my faith has laid hold of the infinite, the exhaustless, the immortal energy of God, unless there is something fearfully wrong about me, I shall be getting purer, nobler, wiser, more observant of His will; gentler, like Christ; every way fitter for His service, and for larger service, as the days increase. Alexander MacLaren infinite energy way The apostolic church thought more about the Second Coming of Jesus Christ than about death and heaven. The early Christians were looking, not for a cleft in the ground called a grave but for a cleavage in the sky called Glory. Alexander MacLaren apostolic-church christian jesus The prayer that begins with trustfulness, and passes on into waiting, will always end in thankfulness, triumph, and praise. Alexander MacLaren thankfulness prayer waiting Fruitful and acceptable worship begins before it begins. Alexander MacLaren acceptable worship True peace comes not from the absence of trouble, but from the presence of God and will be deep and passing all understanding in the exact measure in which we live in and partake of the love of God. Alexander MacLaren understanding god-love trouble You must cast yourself on God's gospel with all your weight, without any hanging back, without any doubt, without even the shadow of a suspicion that it will give. Alexander MacLaren shadow doubt giving Transiency is stamped on all our possessions, occupations, and delights. We have the hunger for eternity in our souls, the thought of eternity in our hearts, the destination for eternity written on our inmost being, and the need to ally ourselves with eternity proclaimed by the most short-lived trifles of time. Either these things will be the blessing or the curse of our lives. Which do yon mean that they shall be for you? Alexander MacLaren blessing heart mean He that has his trust set upon God does not need to dread anything except the weakening or the paralyzing of that trust. Alexander MacLaren dread doe needs Only he who can say, 'The Lord is the strength of my life' can go on to say, 'Of whom shall I be afraid?' Alexander MacLaren christian-inspirational lord christian There can be no faith so feeble that Christ does not respond to it. Alexander MacLaren faith doe christ
