God is the only being who is good, and the standards are set by Him. Because God hates sin, He has to punish those guilty of sin. Maybe that’s not an appealing standard. But to put it bluntly, when you get your own universe, you can make your own standards.
We are a culture that relies on technology over community, a society in which spoken and written words are cheap, easy to come by, and excessive. Our culture says anything goes; fear of God is almost unheard of. We are slow to listen, quick to speak, and quick to become angry.
Our greatest fear as individuals and as a church should not be failure but of succeeding at things that don’t really matter.
He wants all or nothing.
God is not someone who can be tacked on to our lives.
The point is not to completely understand God but to worship Him. Let the very fact that you cannot know Him fully lead you to praise Him for His infiniteness and grandeur.
I don’t believe God wants our church life to be centered on buildings and services. Instead, God wants our churches – whatever specific forms our gatherings take – to be focused on active discipleship, mission, and the pursuit of unity.
Our greatest fear should not be of failure but of succeeding at things in life that don’t really matter.
The world says love yourself, grab all you can, follow your heart. Jesus says deny yourself, grab your cross and follow me.
But God doesn’t call us to be comfortable. He calls us to trust Him so completely that we are unafraid to put ourselves in situations where we will be in trouble if He doesn’t come through.
Life is about Jesus. We are not here to tell our story, but His.
God’s definition of what matters is pretty straightforward. He measures our lives by how we love.
God has allowed hard things in your life so you can show the world that your God is great and that knowing Him brings peace and joy, even when life is hard.
The irony is that while God doesn’t need us but still wants us, we desperately need God but don’t really want Him most of the time.
God is calling you to a passionate love relationship with Himself. The answer to religious complacency isn’t working harder at a list of do’s and don’ts-it’s falling in love with God.
When I am consumed by my problems-stressed out about my life, my family, and my job-I actually convey the belief that I think the circumstances are more important than God’s command to always rejoice.
Something is wrong when our lives make sense to unbelievers.
Having faith often means doing what others see as crazy.
We never grow closer to God when we just live life. It takes deliberate pursuit and attentiveness.