Quotes, Verses, and Poems
Here are some quotes that I picked up from the book "I Kissed Dating Goodbye" by Joshua Harris. Its an awesome book, I recommend it to everyone. Don't look to it as a Bible, other than the verses that are from the Bible, rather as advice from another person.
Our primary purpose for communicating with others should be their encouragement and growth.
Focus on what God has spoken to your heart. Be humble and honest about how you're trying to be obedient.
God will help and sustain us as we trust in Him and faithfully guard our hearts.
The heart is the wellspring of life. If we fail to keep our hearts clean, the rest of our lives will become dirty.
"And this is my prayer: that your love may abound more and more in knowledge and depth of insight, so that u may be able to discern what is best and may be pure and blameless until the day of Christ." Philippians 1:9-10
If that is a little difficult to understand, here is a paraphrased version from The Message: Learn to love appropriately. You need to use your head and test your feelings so that your love is sincere and intelligent, not sentimental gush.
We have to evaluate all parts of our dating relationships to make sure we don't go too far, allowing ourselves to get pulled into something we should avoid.
God wants us to seek guidance from scriptural truth, not feeling. Smart love looks beyond personal desires and the gratification of the moment. It looks at the big picture: serving others and glorifying God. When we make God's glory and other people's needs our priority, we position ourselves to receive God's best as well. Smart love unlocks God's best for our lives. When u stop viewing girls/boys as potential girlfriends/boyfriends and start treating them like Christian sisters/brothers in Christ, you will discover the richness of true friendship.
"Plans fail for lack of counsel, but with many advisers they succeed." Proverbs 15:22 If we make our decisions about life based solely on the influence of one relationship, we'll probably make poor judgments.
Paul tells us how we can transform our lives: "... throw off your evil nature and your former way of life, which is rotten through and through, full of lust and deception. Instead, there must be a spiritual renewal of your thoughts and attitudes. You must display a new person because you are a new person, created in God's likeness- righteous, holy and true." Ephesians 4:22-24
If God wants you and someone else together, a current decision to halt in involvement won't endanger His plan.
God commands us to "throw off everything that hinders" and "run with perseverance the race marked out for us." Hebrews 12:1
God asks us to put our romantic ambitions behind so we can "seek first His kingdom and His righteousness." Matthew 6:33
"Love is patient, love is kind. It does not envy, it does not boast, it is not proud. It is not rude, it is not self-seeking it is not easily angered, it keeps no record of wrongs. Love does not delight in evil but rejoices with the truth. It always protects, always trusts, always hopes, always perseveres. Love never fails. 1 Corinthians 13:4-8
As Christians, we model God's love, whether or not we realize it. People watch us, and what they see affects God's reputation for loving His creation. If we claim to follow Christ then wear the world's twisted style of love, we drag the name and character of our Lord in the dirt.
Christ did not say, "If you love me, you will feel warm, cascading sensations of religious emotion." Instead he told us, "If you love me, you will obey what I command." John 14:15 True love always expresses itself in obedience to God and service to others.
True love waits. It waits for the right time to commit to God's brand of love- unwavering, unflagging, and totally committed.
Committed, sincere, selfless, responsible- all these words describe God's love. If dating causes us to practice selfish, feeling-governed love that's contrary to God's love, we must kiss dating goodbye. We must stop trying to fit God's ideas into the lifestyles society has defined for us and allow His values and attitudes to redefine the way we live.
We can only determine the appropriate time to pursue romance when we understand God's purpose for singleness and trust His timing for relationships.
God has a perfect plan for your life. Waiting for God's timing requires trusting in God's goodness.
"I can do everything through Him who gives me strength." Philippians 4:13 Paul trusted God to give him strength to endure any situation he faced. In the same way, we can gain contentment when we trust in God's strength and God's grace to sustain us through any circumstance. Whether you're single, married, liked, loved, or lonely; the key to contentment is trust. If we are discontented with singleness, we'll more than likely face discontentment when we're married. When we define our happiness by some point in the future, it will never arrive. We'll keep waiting until tomorrow. If we allow impatience to govern us, we will miss the gift of the moment. We'll arrive at that point in time that we expected to provide fulfillment and find it lacking.
Here is a poem by May Riley Smith, called "Sometime", and she expresses how in life we will not understand all that God does, but in time it will be revealed.
Sometime, when all life's lessons have been learned,
And sun and stars forevermore have set,
The things which our weak judgments here have spurned,
The things o'er which we grieved with lashes wet,
Will flash before us out of life's dark night,
As stars shine most in deeper tints of blue;
And we shall see how all God's plans are right,
And how what seemed reproof was love most true.
Then be content poor heart;
God's plans, like lilies pure and white, unfold;
we must not tear the close-shut leaves apart,-
Time will reveal the chalice of gold.
And if, through patient toil, we reach the land
Where tired feet, with sandals loosed, may rest,
When we shall see clearly and understand,
I think that we will say, "God knew the best!"
"For I know the plans I have for you, plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future." Jeremiah 29:11-13
"Flee the evil desires of youth, and pursue righteousness, faith, love and peace, along with those who call on the Lord out of a pure heart." 2 Timothy 2:22
We need to not only concentrate on finding the right person, but more important, on becoming the right person ourselves.
"Character is what you are in the dark when no one but God is watching. Anyone can look good in front of an audience, or even in front of friends. Its an entirely different thing to stand naked before God, to be known as you truly are on the inside." Randy Alcorn
A person's relationship to God is the defining relationship in his or her life- when this relationship is out of order, every other relationship will suffer.
Attitude is a person's vantage point, the way he or she looks at and reacts to life. For the Christian, this involves more than mere positive thinking. A godly attitude involves God-centered, Bible-based thinking- working to view ourselves, others, and our circumstances from God's perspective.
The next poem, entitled "A Woman's Question", by Lena Lathrop, is a poem that will really make guys think and be careful about girls. It really hit me and has a big effect. Read it, and you will know exactly what I mean.
Do you know you have asked for the costliest thing
Ever made by the Hand above?
A woman's heart, and a woman's life-
And a woman's wonderful love.
Do u know you have asked for this priceless thing
As a child might ask for a toy?
Demanding what others have died to win,
With the reckless dash of a boy.
You have written my lesson of duty out,
Manlike, you have questioned me.
Now stand at the bars of my woman's soul
Until I shall question thee.
You require your mutton shall always be hot,
Your socks and your shirt be whole;
I require your heart be true as God's stars
And as pure as His heaven your soul.
You require a cook for your mutton and beef,
I require a far greater thing;
A seamstress you're wanting for socks and shirts-
I look for a man and a king.
A king for the beautiful realm called Home,
And a man that his Maker, God,
Shall look upon as He did on the first
And say: "It is very good."
I am fair and young, but the rose may fade
From this soft young cheek one day;
Will you love me then 'mid the falling leaves,
As you did 'mong the blossoms of May?
Is your heart an ocean so strong and true,
I may launch my all on its tide?
A loving woman finds heaven or hell
On the day she is made a bride.
I require all things that are grand and true,
All things that a man should be;
If you give this all, I would stake my life
To be all you demand of me.
If you cannot be this, a laundress and a cook
You can hire and little to pay;
But a woman's heart and a woman's life
Are not to be won that way.
Here is a poem I have recently received via email, from my good friend Karissa. It's entitled, "Hell is Real"
I went into my classroom
Ready for another year at school.
I didn't want the work,
Just wanted to hang and be cool.
I had on new clothes,
New sneakers on my feet.
I was there for class on time
Went to the back and took my seat.
Yeah, I'm moving up.
I'm already grown.
Soon I'll be graduating
And out on my own.
I talked to some of my friends.
We were all having fun.
Said some things I shouldn't have said,
Did stuff I shouldn't have done.
I knew I was different,
I felt God touch my heart.
I knew I should set a standard,
But then I'd be set apart.
Walking to the bus,
I was not looking for strength.
I heard the car tires screeching,
But now it's too late.
I'm standing in this room
And I can see the heavenly gate.
Oh no! I never prayed.
I thought I had time to get it straight.
An angel walked to me.
He had a book in his hand.
I knew it was the Book of Life.
When would this dream end?
I told him my name
And he began to look.
Then he looked at me sadly and said,
"Your name is not in this book."
Angel, this is a dream.
No, I can't be dead!
He closed the book and turned away.
He whispered -- "You cannot proceed ahead."
No...no this can't be real.
Angel, you can't turn me away.
Let me talk to God, maybe He'll let me stay.
He led me to the gate.
Jesus came to me,
He did not let me in but said,
"Beloved what is your need?"
Jesus, I cried, please
Don't cast me away from you.
Tears ran down His face as He said,
"You knew what you needed to do."
Lord, please I'm young.
I never thought I would die.
I thought I'd have plenty of time.
Death caught me by surprise.
Lord, I went to church.
Please Jesus, I believe.
He said, "You would not accept me.
My love you would not receive."
Lord, there were too many hypocrites.
They weren't being true.
He took a step back and asked,
"What does that have to do with you?"
Lord, my family claimed to be saved,
They weren't real. You know.
He said, "I died for you.
Now I have to go."
I fell to my knees crying to Him.
Lord, I planned to be real tomorrow.
I couldn't, make Him understand.
I had never-felt such sorrow.
Then it hit me hard, I said
Lord, where will I go?
He looked into my eyes and said,
"My child you already know."
Please Jesus, I begged
The place is so hot.
It seemed to trouble and grieve Him.
He whispered, "DEPART FROM
ME, I KNOW YOU NOT."
Lord, you're supposed to be love.
How can you send me to damnation?
He replied, "With your mouth you said you loved me,
But each day you rejected my salvation."
With that in an instant,
Day turned into night.
I never knew such torture could be.
Now too late, I know the Bible is right.
If I can tell you anything,
Hell has no age.
It is a place of torture,
Separated from God and full of rage.
You know, I thought it was funny-a joke,
But this one thing is true.
If you never accept Jesus Christ
HELL IS WAITING FOR YOU!
So please ask Him into your heart.
This is all I have for now. I've probably missed a bunch of other good ones that were in the book, so get your own copy! Oh yeah, if you have any other good quotes or verses or poems or stories or whatever! that you would like other people to hear, email them to me and I would be happy to put them on my page. And of course, I will give you credit for them. Oh, and remember.. God is AWESOME!
Main Music Page Downloadables