Having faith does not mean never having doubts or questions. It does mean remaining obedient.
Disciplined people can do the right thing at the right time in the right way for the right reason.
We are tempted to live under the illusion that somewhere out there are people who are normal.
Over and over in the Bible, it is fear that threatens to keep people from trusting and obeying God.
When preaching is done right, it can change lives. When it’s done badly, my failure goes beyond the merely human.
The church is in the hope business.
Skepticism can keep us from blessing, can keep us trapped in two minds.
God is not interested in our spiritual life. He’s interested in our life.
Over time, grit is what separates fruitful lives from aimlessness.
If I have the courage to acknowledge my limits and embrace them, I can experience enormous freedom. If I lack this courage, I will be imprisoned by them.
Acceptance is an act of the heart. To accept someone is to affirm to them that you think it’s a very good thing they are alive.
There is no way for a human being to come to God that does not involve surrender.
The greatest moment of your life is now. This moment is God’s irreplaceable gift to you.
Hurry is not just a disordered schedule. Hurry is a disordered heart.
The Bible does not say you are God’s appliance; it says you are his masterpiece. Appliances get mass-produced.
The greatest bloodbaths in the history of the human race were recorded in the twentieth century in countries that sought to eliminate God, worship, and faith.
To become truly free, you must surrender.
When I teach the formal curriculum, I have the chance to think about it ahead of time. I can rehearse it. I can illustrate it with self-deprecating humor and humble-sounding personal disclosure. I can try to make it comes out just right.
It may be a very bad thing that I needed God to die for me, but it is a wonderful thing that God thinks I am worth dying for.
True joy, as it turns out, comes only to those who have devoted their lives to something greater than personal happiness. This is most visible in extraordinary lives, in saints and martyrs. But it is no less true for ordinary people like us.