I love quotes. Can you tell? I have them everywhere – in the home, posted on facebook, at the end of posts and on my phone. I never realised that quotes actually annoy some people. But they do! So if my posting quotes annoys you then maybe you can just ignore them. O:-)
Having said that I am a little fussy with quotes. One does have to be careful, you know. Not everyone is equally quotable. Some theologians and authors are more quotable than others. J.C. Ryle is very quotable as is R.C. Sproul but Geoffrey Bingham is not so. Yet each man states the truth in a unique, clear and definitive way. Some people just speak or write in a more quotable way than others. I wonder if more pastors will try to become ‘quotable’ in this modern era of sound bytes and tweets?
I’m not in favour of posting many Bible verses as it is too easy to ‘name and claim’ particular verses and take them out of context. Many times, especially when reading the Old Testament we need to read the entire book and know the 5W’s and a H about it – Who wrote it, to whom is was written, when was it written , why was it written, in what time and culture it was written and what was or should have been the response.
When I am reading a book, there will be a sentence or passage that really speaks to or encapsulates an entire thought in an articulate way. Those who know me well understand that I have always struggled with [not] being articulate so this is probably why I love quotes. Short and to the point without loads of waffle.
Another reason I post quotes is for my own encouragement and that of others. I love logging on to Facebook and seeing words of wisdom or snippets of truth pointing to God. This is truly a daily encouragement and builds up my faith. Yes it is a challenge to use social networking responsibly but isn’t that just a natural extension of our responsibility as a follower of Christ?
I am sorry to those few who think that I don’t post anything original but when other people have gone before me and said great truths so succinctly and carefully then they are worth quoting. Besides that, do you really want or need to know what I had for breakfast or that I washed my hair that day. Really? I wouldn’t find that very encouraging or edifying at all.
* See related download – Observation Sheet (using the 5 W’s and a H) and various ways to use it.
The trouble with quotes on the internet is that you can never tell if they are genuine.
~Abraham Lincoln
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