Just saw this quote, do you know if it from the Bible, or not?

“There is no peace without hope, no hope without liberty, no liberty without integrity, no integrity without virtue.” – Bible or Not?

It reminds me a little of this Bible verse:

“And beside this, giving all diligence, add to your faith virtue; and to virtue knowledge; And to knowledge temperance; and to temperance patience; and to patience godliness; And to godliness brotherly kindness; and to brotherly kindness charity.” - 2 Peter 1:5-7

So, Bible or not? If so, where? If not who?

What type of person are you? One who takes initiative and makes things happen, or one who blows with the wind allowing the circumstances of life to direct your course? Do you live life, or do you let life live you? We can find plenty of self-help authors writing about the value of being proactive and positive in our lives, but is it Biblical? Yes…and no.

We have been given free will by God, to act, and not to be acted upon. We can choose to accept life and liberty through the Gospel of Jesus Christ, or we can choose death and captivity outside of God’s grace typified by a life of sin. That is the ultimate. But what about the everyday things? Not only the decisions and choices we make, and the paths we take, but the way in which we make and take them. Let’s consider the following.

Do not be like the horse or like the mule, which have no understanding, which must be harnessed with bit and bridle, else they will not come near you. - Psalm 32:9 (New King James Version)

For God has not given us a spirit of fear, but of power and of love and of a sound mind. – 2 Timothy 1:7 (New King James Version)

The Bible teaches us to not be like animals which are led around by the nose, but that we should have understanding and direct ourselves. Being bridled by the circumstances of life you may allow others to decide your course, thus forfeiting your God-given freedom. Yes, it is wise to take counsel from the wise, our course should be directed by the Holy Spirit. Not a passive act, but rather proactively engaging God and pursuing our heart’s desires.

Furthermore, God has given us the power to act for ourselves without fear. So we can and should take initiative and direct our lives proactively. The caveat, we must do it in faith according to the will of God.

“Come now, you who say, ‘Today or tomorrow we will[g] go to such and such a city, spend a year there, buy and sell, and make a profit’; 14 whereas you do not know what will happen tomorrow. For what is your life? It is even a vapor that appears for a little time and then vanishes away. Instead you ought to say, ‘If the Lord wills, we shall live and do this or that’.” – James 4:13-15 NKJV

Live life, don’t let life live you. Just remember who gave you that life to live, and live it by faith.

Today is the 4th of July and so we at Bible or Not wish all Americans a happy and blessed Independence Day. We are thankful that God has seen fit for us to live in a land of liberty, which has these words at the beginning of our constitution: “We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty, and the Pursuit of Happiness”.

Our founding fathers knew, and acknowledged, that there is a God and that our great nation had been established by His divine providence. They further grasped the understanding that it was through liberty, the kind of liberty they had learned through the Bible and the teachings of Jesus Christ, that mankind would be happy and prosperous.

To celebrate our Independence day today, we would like to share with you famous quotes from the man who is known as the father of our nation, George Washington. Following are some of George Washington’s own words in regards to his views of God, liberty, patriotism and government.

George Washington Quotes on God and Jesus Christ

“It is impossible to rightly govern a nation without God and the Bible.”

“You do well to wish to learn our arts and our ways of life and above all, the religion of Jesus Christ. These will make you a greater and happier people than you are.”

“We ought to be no less persuaded that the propitious smiles of Heaven can never be expected on a nation that disregards the eternal rules of order and right which Heaven itself has ordained.”

George Washington Quotes on Liberty

“The preservation of the sacred fire of liberty, and the destiny of the republican model of government, are justly considered as deeply, perhaps as finally staked, on the experiment entrusted to the hands of the American people.”

“If the freedom of speech is taken away then dumb and silent we may be led, like sheep to the slaughter.”

George Washington Quotes on Patriotism

“The name of American, which belongs to you, in your national capacity, must always exalt the just pride of Patriotism, more than any appellation derived from local discriminations.”

“Guard against the postures of pretended patriotism.”

George Washington Quotes on Government

“Government is not reason. Government is not eloquence. It is force. And, like fire, it is a dangerous servant and a fearful master.”

“No pecuniary consideration is more urgent, than the regular redemption and discharge of the public debt: on none can delay be more injurious, or an economy of time more valuable.”

We hope you enjoy your 4th of July Independence Day holiday, and hope that all Americans would recognize that is it by the grace of God that we live in so great a nation. May God continue to bless America!