As Easter approaches, we wanted to reflect on its true meaning and just how important this time of year is for Christians around the world. We’ve turned to well-known Christians from throughout history and modern times to see what they had to say about the importance of Easter. We’ve also thrown in some key Bible verses that are sure to inspire you.

If you’re looking for an Easter wish to share with loved ones in a card, or just some words you can place on your heart, we’re sure you will find it in this list!

We have even created some memes that you can save and share on your social media accounts this Easter. Let us know if you use them by tagging us @christianbook and using #everythingchristian

Do not abandon yourself to despair: We are the Easter people, and Hallelujah is our song.

– Pope John Paul II

He is risen; He is not here.

– Mark 16:6

Jesus didn’t ‘I am finished.’ He said, ‘It is finished.’ Jesus was just getting started.

– Anonymous

We’re the Resurrection people who believe that we can turn back, that people can turn back, that situations can turn around, because we’ve seen that the stone’s been rolled back. Nothing and no one is impossible now because impossible stones have now been rolled away.

– Ann Voskamp

There is no one God won’t use.

– Max Lucado

We live and die; Christ died and lived!

– John Stott

Easter says you can put truth in a grave, but it won’t stay there.

– Clarence W. Hall

Our Lord has written the promise of resurrection, not in books alone but in every leaf of springtime.

– Martin Luther

He will swallow up death in victory; and the Lord GOD will wipe away tears from off all faces.

– Isaiah 25:8

As for me, I know that my Redeemer lives, and at the last He will take His stand on the earth.

– Job 19:25

Christ died for our sins according to the Scriptures, that he was buried, that he was raised on the third day.

– 1 Corinthians 15:3-5

According to his great mercy, he has caused us to be born again to a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead.

– 1 Peter 1:3

Muhammad died, and was buried. His faithful followers take pilgrimages to visit his remains, the same is true of Buddha and other religious leaders. But it is not true of Jesus. You cannot visit His remains; you can only visit His empty grave, because He isn’t there. He Arose!”

– James Wilson

Jesus knew His followers were confused and frightened. They had hit rock bottom. And so He says, ‘Peace be with you.’ This is not simply a salutation; it’s the first application of Easter—peace.

– Robert Leroe

Jesus did not die on the cross just so we could live comfortable, well-adjusted lives. His purpose is far deeper: He wants to make us like himself before he takes us to heaven. This is our greatest privilege, our immediate responsibility and our ultimate destiny.

– Rick Warren

Our old history ends with the cross; our new history begins with the resurrection.

– Watchman Nee

The post 15 Bible Verses and Easter Quotes to Inspire appeared first on Christianbook.com Blog.

Advent is here!

To celebrate, we’ve compiled 16 Advent quotes to help you center your heart and mind on Jesus this holiday season. As you make room for Jesus in your life, rest assured – he has already prepared a place for you.

“The word advent means “expectation.” What advent can do for us is create a sense of hope.”

– Louie Giglio

“The Lord is coming, always coming. When you have ears to hear and eyes to see, you will recognize him at any moment of your life. Life is Advent; life is recognizing the coming of the Lord.”

– Henri Nouwen

“It is the beautiful task of Advent to awaken in all of us memories of goodness and thus to open doors of hope.”

– Pope Benedict XVI

“A prison cell, in which one waits, hopes – and is completely dependent on the fact that the door of freedom has to be opened from the outside, is not a bad picture of Advent”

– Dietrich Bonhoeffer, God is in the Manger

“At this Christmas when Christ comes, will He find a warm heart? Mark the season of Advent by loving and serving the others with God’s own love and concern.”

– Mother Teresa, Love: A Fruit Always in Season

“During Advent, we occupy our greatest longings.”

– Ruth Haley Barton

“Optimism and hope are radically different attitudes. Optimism is the expectation that things—the weather, human relationship, the economy, the political situation, and so on—will get better. Hope is trust that God will fulfill God’s promises to us in a way that leads us to true freedom. The optimist speaks about concrete changes in the future. The person of hope lives in the moment with the knowledge and trust that all of life is in good hands.”

– Henri Nouwen

“Look up, you whose gaze is fixed on this earth, who are spellbound by the little events and changes on the face of the earth. Look up to these words, you who have turned away from heaven disappointed. Look up, you whose eyes are heavy with tears and who are heavy and who are crying over the fact that the earth has gracelessly torn us away. Look up, you who, burdened with guilt, cannot lift your eyes. Look up, your redemption is drawing near. something different from what you see daily will happen. Just be aware, be watchful, wait just another short moment. Wait and something quite new will break over you: God will come.”

– Dietrich Bonhoeffer, God Is In the Manger

“One who has hope lives differently.”

– Pope Benedict XVI

“I want a Christmas that whispers ‘Jesus’.”

– Ann Voskamp

“You could more easily catch a hurricane in a shrimp net that you can understand the wild, relentless, passionate, uncompromising, pursuing love of God made present in the manger.”

– Brennan Manning

“Into this world, this demented inn in which there is absolutely no room for him at all, Christ comes uninvited.”

– Thomas Merton

“The season of Advent means there is something on the horizon the likes of which we have never seen before… .What is possible is to not see it, to miss it, to turn just as it brushes past you. And you begin to grasp what it was you missed, like Moses in the cleft of the rock, watching God’s [back] fade in the distance. So stay. Sit. Linger. Tarry. Ponder. Wait. Behold. Wonder. There will be time enough for running. For rushing. For worrying. For pushing. For now, stay. Wait. Something is on the horizon.”

– Jan L. Richardson, Night Visions: Searching the Shadows of Advent and Christmas

“Advent: the time to listen for footsteps – you can’t hear footsteps when you’re running yourself.”

– Bill McKibben

“This Advent we look to the Wise Men to teach us where to focus our attention. We set our sights on things above, where God is. We draw closer to Jesus… When our Advent journey ends, and we reach the place where Jesus resides in Bethlehem, may we, like the Wise Men, fall on our knees and adore him as our true and only King.”

– Mark Zimmermann in Our Advent Journey

“Let’s approach Christmas with an expectant hush, rather than a last-minute rush.”

– Anonymous

The post 16 Inspiring Quotes for Advent Season appeared first on Christianbook.com Blog.

There are few more famed Christian authors than Clive Staples Lewis, a former Oxford Professor, Christian apologist, and lay theologian. He was a writer who captured the imaginations of children across the world with his fictional tales of Narnia. But C.S. Lewis is also famed for his more spiritual works – books such as Mere Christianity and The Four Loves. These are books that, to this day, remain some of the most widely read texts on the Christian faith.

Today, November 29, marks 120 years since C.S. Lewis’ birth. So we thought we’d celebrate his life by revisiting some of Lewis’ thoughts on God, faith, life and much more.

Quotes on Christianity

“I believe in Christianity as I believe that the sun has risen: not only because I see it, but because by it I see everything else.” – C.S. Lewis

“To be a Christian means to forgive the inexcusable because God has forgiven the inexcusable in you.” – C.S. Lewis

“If we find ourselves with a desire that nothing in this world can satisfy, the most probable explanation is that we were made for another world.” – C.S. Lewis

“The Christian does not think God will love us because we are good, but that God will make us good because He loves us.” – C.S. Lewis

“The great thing to remember is that though our feelings come and go God’s love for us does not.” – C.S. Lewis

“I think that if God forgives us we must forgive ourselves. Otherwise, it is almost like setting up ourselves as a higher tribunal than Him.” – C.S. Lewis

“Miracles are a retelling in small letters of the very same story which is written across the whole world in letters too large for some of us to see.” – C.S. Lewis

“God can’t give us peace and happiness apart from Himself because there is no such thing.” – C.S. Lewis

“A man can no more diminish God’s glory by refusing to worship Him than a lunatic can put out the sun by scribbling the word ‘darkness’ on the walls of his cell.” – C.S. Lewis, The Problem of Pain

“He died not for men, but for each man. If each man had been the only man made, He would have done no less.” – C.S. Lewis

“Whether we like it or not, God intends to give us what we need, not what we now think we want.” – C.S. Lewis

Quotes on Love, Friendship & Life

“Friendship … is born at the moment when one man says to another “What! You too? I thought that no one but myself . . .” – C.S. Lewis, The Four Loves

“Friendship is unnecessary, like philosophy, like art…. It has no survival value; rather it is one of those things which give value to survival.” – C.S. Lewis, The Four Loves

“Love is not affectionate feeling, but a steady wish for the loved person’s ultimate good as far as it can be obtained.” – C.S. Lewis

“Experience: that most brutal of teachers. But you learn, my God do you learn.” – C.S. Lewis

“Spiteful words can hurt your feelings but silence breaks your heart.” – C.S. Lewis

“You are never too old to set another goal, or to dream a new dream.” – C.S. Lewis

Quotes about Books & Reading

“You can never get a cup of tea large enough or a book long enough to suit me.”  – C.S. Lewis

“I can’t imagine a man really enjoying a book and reading it only once.” – C.S. Lewis

“It is a good rule after reading a new book, never to allow yourself another new one till you have read an old one in between.” – C.S. Lewis

“Some day you will be old enough to start reading fairy tales again.” – C.S. Lewis

“A children’s story that can only be enjoyed by children is not a good children’s story in the slightest.” – C.S. Lewis

“Eating and reading are two pleasures that combine admirably.” – C.S. Lewis

Quotes from The Chronicles of Narnia

“Courage, dear heart.” – C.S. Lewis, The Voyage of the Dawn Treader

“What you see and what you hear depends a great deal on where you are standing. It also depends on what sort of person you are.” – C.S. Lewis, The Magician’s Nephew

“You would not have called to me unless I had been calling to you,” said the Lion.” – C.S. Lewis, The Silver Chair

“Things never happen the same way twice.” – C.S. Lewis, Prince Caspian

“Do not dare not to dare.” – C.S. Lewis, The Horse and His Boy

“Crying is all right in its way while it lasts. But you have to stop sooner or later, and then you still have to decide what to do.” – C.S. Lewis, The Silver Chair

“Now the trouble about trying to make yourself stupider than you really are is that you very often succeed.” – C.S. Lewis, The Magician’s Nephew

“I’m on Aslan’s side even if there isn’t any Aslan to lead it. I’m going to live as like a Narnian as I can even if there isn’t any Narnia.” – C.S. Lewis, The Silver Chair

“He’ll be coming and going” he had said. “One day you’ll see him and another you won’t. He doesn’t like being tied down–and of course he has other countries to attend to. It’s quite all right. He’ll often drop in. Only you mustn’t press him. He’s wild, you know. Not like a tame lion.” – C.S. Lewis, The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe

The post 32 Inspiring C.S. Lewis Quotes on Faith & More appeared first on Christianbook.com Blog.

On February 21, 2019 the Reverend Billy Graham passed away. Throughout his life, Billy Graham’s words of faith reached across the globe, undoubtedly making him one of the most influential spiritual voices of our time.

Here are just some of the words of wisdom he shared with us in his lifetime….

About Faith and Being a Christian

“Read the Bible. Work hard and honestly. And don’t complain.”

“Being a Christian is more than just an instantaneous conversion – it is a daily process whereby you grow to be more and more like Christ.”

“A real Christian is the one who can give his pet parrot to the town gossip.”

“Faith, more than fighting, can change the course of events today.”

About the Bible

“I’ve read the last page of the Bible. It’s all going to turn out all right.”

“The very practice of reading [the Bible] will have a purifying effect upon your mind and heart. Let nothing take the place of this daily exercise.”

“Reading God’s Word and meditating on its truth will have a purifying effect upon your mind and heart, and will be demonstrated in your life. Let nothing take the place of this daily privilege.”

“We need to encourage new believers to feed on God’s Word—it is nourishment for the soul.”

About God

“God is more interested in your future and your relationships than you are.”

“God never takes away something from your life without replacing it with something better.”

“God proved His love on the Cross. When Christ hung, and bled, and died, it was God saying to the world, ‘I love you.'”

“Don’t ever hesitate to take to [God] whatever is on your heart. He already knows it anyway, but He doesn’t want you to bear its pain or celebrate its joy alone.”

About Loving Others

“It is the Holy Spirit’s job to convict, God’s job to judge and my job to love.”

“God has given us two hands–one to receive with and the other to give with. We are not cisterns made for hoarding; we are channels made for sharing.”

“Many invest wisely in business matters, but fail to invest time and interest in their most valued possessions: their spouses and children.”

“Only God can give us a selfless love for others, as the Holy Spirit changes us from within. This is one reason we must receive Christ, for apart from His Spirit we can never be freed from the chains of selfishness, jealousy, and indifference. Will others see Christ’s love in your life today?”

About Prayer

“The most eloquent prayer is the prayer through hands that heal and bless.”

“Prayer is not just asking. It is listening for God’s orders.”

“Prayer is simply a two-way conversation between you and God.”

“Prayer is for every moment of our lives, not just for times of suffering or joy. Prayer is really a place, a place where you meet God in genuine conversation.”

About Heaven

“When we come to the end of ourselves, we come to the beginning of God.”

“No, I don’t know the future, but I do know this: the best is yet to be! Heaven awaits us, and that will be far, far more glorious than anything we can ever imagine.”

“My home is in Heaven. I’m just traveling through this world.”

“God will prepare everything for our perfect happiness in heaven, and if it takes my dog being there, I believe he’ll be there.”

“Heaven doesn’t make this life less important; it makes it more important.”

About Evangelism

“I just want to lobby for God.”

“I have never known anyone to accept Christ’s redemption and later regret it.”

“We are the Bibles the world is reading; we are the creeds the world is needing; we are the sermons the world is heeding.”

“Spend more time in study and prayer. That’s the secret of successful evangelism.”

“Whenever I counsel someone who feels called to be an evangelist, I always urge them to guard their time and not feel like they have to do everything.”

About Life

“Take one day at a time. Today, after all, is the tomorrow you worried about yesterday.”

“If a person gets his attitude toward money straight, it will help straighten out almost every other area in his life.”

“Courage is contagious. When a brave man takes a stand, the spines of others are often stiffened.”

“The legacy we leave is not just in our possessions, but in the quality of our lives. The greatest waste in all of our earth, which cannot be recycled or reclaimed, is our waste of the time that God has given us each day.”

“Every area of our lives is to be under the Lordship of Jesus Christ. And that means the searchlight of God’s Word must penetrate every corner of our lives.”

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