I believe that the real difference in the American church is not between conservatives and liberals, fundamentalists and charismatics, nor between Republicans and Democrats. The real difference is between the aware and the unaware.
I knew there was only one place to go. I sank down into the center of my soul, grew still, and listened to the Rabbi’s heartbeat.
There is an essential connection between experiencing God, loving God, and trusting God. You will trust God only as much as you love him. And you will love him to the extent you have touched him, rather that he has touched you.
In my experience, self-hatred is the dominant malaise crippling Christians and stifling their growth in the Holy Spirit.
It is for the inconsistent, unsteady disciples whose cheese is falling off their cracker.
Prayer is first and foremost an act of love.
By and large, the gospel of grace is neither proclaimed, understood, nor lived.
Without exposure to potential failure, there is no risk.
The only kind of love that helps anyone grow is unconditional love.
Jesus comes not for the super-spiritual but for the wobbly and the weak-kneed who know they don’t have it all together, and who are not too proud to accept the handout of amazing grace.
A man doesn’t grow old because he has lived a certain number of years. A man grows old when he deserts his ideal. The years may wrinkle his skin, but deserting his ideal wrinkles his soul.
The way you are with others every day, regardless of their status, is the true test of faith.
Grace is sufficient even though we huff and puff with all our might to try and find something or someone that it cannot cover. Grace is enough.
Ruthless trust ultimately comes down to this: faith in the person of Jesus and hope in his promise.
The trouble with our ideals is that if we live up to all of them, we become impossible to live with.
Do you honestly believe God likes you, not just loves you because theologically God has to love you?
The men and women who are truly filled with light are those who have gazed deeply into the darkness of their own imperfect existence.
Put bluntly, the American church today accepts grace in theory but denies it in practice. We say we believe that the fundamental structure of reality is grace, not works – but our lives refute our faith.
The ragamuffin who sees his life as a voyage of discovery and runs the risk of failure has a better feel for faithfulness than the timid man who hides behind the law and never finds out who he is at all.
Silent solitude makes true speech possible and personal. If I am not in touch with my own belovedness, then I cannot touch the sacredness of others. If I am estranged from myself, I am likewise a stranger to others.