Book Quotes: All God Has Done

From Listening for God by Marilyn Hontz (page 18):

Of course, some people say they don't like to read the Bible because it is just a list of dos and doesn't. The more I read, however, the more I realized that the Bible is not a rule book but a record of how God has reached out to people through history.

Chuck Smith, founder of Calvary Chapel, uses the book of Ephesians to explain this idea. He notes that the first three chapters tell the church about the many spiritual blessings God has given them. Only in chapter 4 does Paul begin to discuss how Christians should live in light of all that God has done for them. "I found that when people began to discover who God is and all that God has done, they were eager to respond to God and did not have to be pushed or exhorted to pray or to serve....They could not do enough for the Lord as they came to the recognition of what He had done for them."