A biography for Charles R. Swindollhasn’t been written yet.
“Sometimes I wake up before dawn, and I love sitting up in the middle of the bed with all the lights off, pitch-black dark, and talking to the Father, with no interruptions and nothing that reminds me that there's anything in life but me and Him.”
“Your call will become clear as as your mind is transformed by the reading of Scripture and the internal work of God's Spirit. The Lord never hides His will from us. In time, as you obey the call first to follow, your destiny will unfold before you. The difficulty will lie in keeping other concerns from diverting your attention.”
“Alleged 'impossibilities' are opportunities for our capacities to be stretched.”
“To require God to prove that He is able and willing to fulfill His promises would be proof positive that one does not trust Him.”
“We are all faced with a series of great opportunities brilliantly disguised as impossible situations.”
“One of the worst things you can give to your people is someone you're not.”
“Grace has to be the loveliest word in the English language. It embodies almost every attractive quality we hope to find in others. Grace is a gift of the humble to the humiliated. Grace acknowledges the ugliness of sin by choosing to see beyond it. Grace accepts a person as someone worthy of kindness despite whatever grime or hard-shell casing keeps him or her separated from the rest of the world. Grace is a gift of tender mercy when it makes the least sense.”
“When the Lord makes it clear you're to follow Him in this new direction, focus fully on Him and refuse to be distracted by comparisons with others.”
“Deep, contended joy comes from a place of complete security and confidence [in God] - even in the midst of trial.”
“When I think of vision, I have in mind the ability to see above and beyond the majority.”
“Like sin itself, Satan appeals to the senses. He originated and perfected the art of disguising evil as good.”
“If I ever wrote a book on preaching, it would contain three words: Preach the Word. Get rid of all the other stuff that gets you sidetracked; preach the Word.”
“We cannot change our past... we cannot change the fact that people will act in a certain way. We cannot change the inevitable. The only thing we can do is play on the one string we have, and that is our attitude. I am convinced that life is 10% what happens to me and 90% of how I react to it. And so it is with you... we are in charge of our Attitudes.”
“While God is not the author of evil and He never prompts or condones sin, nothing occurs without His sovereign oversight. Others may choose to do evil deeds and God's people may suffer in the short term, but He will transform the evil intentions of evil people into opportunities for the enrichment of those in His care.”
“I believe firmly in God's control in life.”
“Life...as God intended it enables us to live above the drag of fear, superstition, shame, pessimism, guilt, anxiety, worry, and all the negativity that keeps people from seizing each day as a gift from Him.”
“I let people see the cracks in my life. We can't be phony. We've got to keep it real.”
“If you allow it, [suffering] can be the means by which God brings you His greatest blessings.”
“Jesus never commanded believers to produce fruit. Fruit is the *purpose* of the branch, but it is not the *responsibility* of the branch. The branch cannot produce anything on it's own. However, if it remains attached to the vine, it will receive life-sustaining sap, nourishment, strength, everything it needs.”
“I think it is important to begin with a statement in your speech that grabs the attention of the audience. I try to make my opening line 15 words or less.”