Quotes by John C. Miller

“The most important part that Rose Marie and I had was to learn to stay out of the way and to put our lives at his disposal to be used in ways often contrary to our own instincts. Christ captured Barbara in a way that highlighted her unwillingness to submit to him and our helplessness in changing her. Indeed, more than once he let us see that we needed to be rescued as much as Barbara did”

“Recently I was caught up in a spirit of anxiety. Nothing would shake it. But I simply gave myself to thanking and praising God for everything I could think of.””

“What I finally came to as I walked and prayed for you is the old, old story of getting the gospel clear in your own hearts and minds, making it clear to others, and doing it with only one motive”

“Many fathers and mothers are simply more satisfied with a child’s conformity and less concerned with the youngster’s motivation and hidden desires, with what the Bible calls “the thoughts of the heart.” Often unconsciously, the self-centered parent labors to form an orderly child who performs well in public and does not shame the family by disturbing the status quo. The problem, of course, is not with the orderliness of the child, but with the shaping of a person with a desensitized conscience, a performer who has never learned to love God or people from the heart (pp. 160-161).””

“PERSONS OF THE PLAY JAMES HOW, solicitor WALTER HOW, solicitor ROBERT COKESON, their managing clerk WILLIAM FALDER, their junior clerk SWEEDLE, their office-boy WISTER, a detective COWLEY, a cashier MR. JUSTICE FLOYD, a judge HAROLD CLEAVER, an old advocate HECTOR FROME, a young advocate CAPTAIN DANSON, V.C., a prison governor THE REV. HUGH MILLER, a prison chaplain EDWARD CLEMENT, a prison doctor WOODER, a chief warder MOANEY, convict CLIFTON, convict O’CLEARY, convict RUTH HONEYWILL, a woman””

“Jesus was born under the law of God and took on himself the condemnation we deserved for our sin. Now the full legal rights of adoption are given to us who are in Christ by faith.””

“When you get alone with God and begin to pray, you learn your insignificance. You see how big and powerful God is, and suddenly, the whole of your life becomes worship and praise.””

“If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness. 1 John 1:9 Recognizing and confessing sin is a normal part of the Christian life. God didn’t declare us righteous because of Christ and then leave us to wallow in sin. Rather, he has an ongoing strategy for us that involves getting rid of more and more sin. It’s like living in a dim room that appears clean, and then pulling up the shades or turning on the light, only to see that it is really dusty and dirty. Even though the room feels dirtier now than before, the dirt was there all along. When we walk in the light of the Lord and struggle to love people, we begin to see more things wrong with us. What’s more, the devil says, “There’s no hope for you. God couldn’t love somebody as bad as you.” The truth is that all along you were this bad, this messed up, and this selfish. It was only as the light came in that you saw all these problems. This is a signal, not for despair, but for hope! Don’t be depressed by what you see, but rather learn to own up to your sins by faith and disown them by confessing them. If you confess your sins, they really are forgiven. You can go forward to love others in ways you never dreamed possible.””

“Don’t let your emotional life be controlled by the sin you see in others.””

“Suppose you have shown a lot of mercy to someone. But they haven’t ever thanked you or acknowledged what you have done. When that happens to me, my instinct is to want to choke that person. But when you know God’s mercy to you in Christ, when you know the forgiveness of sins, your hands are so full of God’s good gifts of mercy and grace that you don’t have a hand free to choke anyone.””

“Our natural tendency is to judge and condemn others. But here we find that, because of the cross we’ve been freed from God’s curse and liberated as sons and daughters. We are now free to humble ourselves and walk along with someone who is erring, even if they’ve sinned in a way that may be very terrible. When you bear each other’s burdens, what you are carrying is the burden of the other person’s sin. What motivates you is your compassion. You come alongside the sinner, not trying to crush them, but putting your arm around him or her as much as you can, as if to say, “Jesus loves you, so do I, and we want you to know this.””

“I wanted a well-organized church, and it was”

“You will never have strong faith unless you cultivate a knowledge of God’s character, not only by studying the Bible, but also by looking back over your life and reinterpreting it as evidence of God’s purpose to bring you closer to him.””

“Instead he spoke on repentance and humility in the life of the believer, and I felt completely exposed in my pride and arrogance.””

“As you read you will meet a humble, yet joyful servant of God whose heart reflected his heavenly Father’s heart for the church and the spread of the kingdom of God. These letters are heart to heart and life to life.””