Jesus is mysterious not just because of what we don’t know about him, but because of what we do know about him.
The soul seeks God with its whole being. Because it is desperate to be whole, the soul is God-smitten and God-crazy and God-obsessed. My mind may be obsessed with idols; my will may be enslaved to habits; my body may be consumed with appetites. But my soul will never find rest until it rests in God.
Habits eat good intentions for breakfast.
Biblically, waiting is not just something we have to do until we get what we want. Waiting is part of the process of becoming what God wants us to be.
Who you become while you’re waiting is as important as what you’re waiting for.
The problem with spending your life climbing up the ladder is that you will go right past Jesus, for he’s coming down.
One of the hardest things in the world is to stop being the prodigal son without turning into the elder brother.
God is still in the business of coming down to earth: to this cubicle, this email, this room, this house, this job, this hospital room, this car, this bed, this vacation. Any place can become Bethel, the house of God. Cleveland, maybe. Or the chair you’re sitting in as you read these words.
Grace is the offer of God’s ceaseless presence and irrational love that cannot be stopped.
God wishes to be seen, wishes to be sought, wishes to be expected, and wishes to be trusted.
Low self-esteem causes me to believe that I have so little worth that my response does not matter. With repentance, however, I understand that being worth so much to God is why my response is so important. Repentance is remedial work to mend our minds and hearts, which get bent by sin.
For the soul to be well, it needs to be with God.
Every human being who has ever lived has suffered from a messiah complex-except one.
The test of love is that it gives even when there is no expectation of a return.
For many of us the great danger is not that we will renounce our faith. It is that we will become so distracted and rushed and preoccupied that we will settle for a mediocre version of it.
If you want to walk on water, you have to get out of the boat.
Too often we argue about Christianity instead of marveling at Jesus.
To love someone is to desire and work toward their becoming the best version of themselves. The one person in all the universe who can do this perfectly for you is God.
The good news as Jesus preached it is not just about the minimal entrance requirements for getting into heaven when you die. It is about the glorious redemption of human life-your life.
The ministry of bearing with one another is learning to hear God speak through difficult people.