Obviously there have been historically many different theories of the atonement and I think each of them has a part. But I think fundamentally it is the substitutionary understanding that God – Jesus took our payment and you can’t understand.
You may have been passionate about God in the past but you’ve lost that desire. That was the problem of the Christians in Ephesus – they had left their first love. They did all the right things, but out of duty, not love. If you have just been going through the motions spiritually, don’t be surprised when God allows pain in your life. Pain is the fuel of passion – it energizes us with an intensity to change that we don’t normally possess. C. S. Lewis said, “Pain is God’s megaphone.
You are never persuasive when you’re abrasive.
God doesn’t owe you an explanation or reason for everything he asks you to do. Understanding can wait, but obedience can’t. Instant obedience will teach you more about God than a lifetime of Bible discussions. In fact, you will never understand some commands until you obey them first. Obedience unlocks understanding.
He wants you to enjoy life, not just endure it.
We can worship God imperfectly, but we cannot worship him insincerely.
Our culture says, “If you don’t own it, you won’t take care of it.” But Christians live by a higher standard: “Because God owns it, I must take the best care of it that I can.” The Bible says, “Those who are trusted with something valuable must show they are worthy of that trust.
As C. S. Lewis observed, “All that is not eternal is eternally useless.” The Bible says, “We fix our eyes not on what is seen, but on what is unseen. For what is seen is temporary, but what is unseen is eternal.”12.
When life gets tough, when you’re overwhelmed with doubt, or when you wonder if living for Christ is worth the effort, remember that you are not home yet. At death you won’t leave home – you’ll go home.
Cultural lies conform us, but eternal truths transform us.
Why would God provide heaven on earth when he’s planned the real thing for you in eternity?
God expects unity, not uniformity, and we can walk arm-in-arm without seeing eye-to-eye on every issue.
Jesus said our love for each other – not our doctrinal beliefs – is our greatest witness to the world. He said, “Your strong love for each other will prove to the world that you are my disciples.”4.
They are your family, even when they don’t act like it, and you can’t just walk out on them. Instead God tells us, “Be patient with each other, making allowance for each other’s faults because of your love.” 7.
Christlikeness is not produced by imitation, but by inhabitation.
Another of Brother Lawrence’s helpful ideas was to pray shorter conversational prayers continually through the day rather than trying to pray long sessions of complex prayers.
God did not need to create you, but he chose to create you for his own enjoyment. You exist for his benefit, his glory, his purpose, and his delight.
Because we’re sinners, we hurt each other, sometimes intentionally and sometimes unintentionally. But.
When someone begins to gossip to you, have the courage to say, “Please stop. I don’t need to know this. Have you talked directly to that person?” People who gossip to you will also gossip about you. They cannot be trusted.
A young man in his twenties wrote, “I feel like a failure because I’m struggling to become something, and I don’t even know what it is. All I know how to do is to get by. Someday, if I discover my purpose, I’ll feel I’m beginning to live.
The essence of love is not what we think or do or provide for others, but how much we give of ourselves. Men, in particular, often don’t understand this. Many have said to me, “I don’t understand my wife and kids. I provide everything they need. What more could they want?” They want you! Your eyes, your ears, your time, your attention, your presence, your focus.