“A significant issue that Jesus addresses is their (the Scribes and Pharisees) practice of loading people up with excess rules and regulations. . . . Religion does that. It crushes people under the weight of trying hard enough to be good enough, and it does nothing to ease the burden.”- Kyle Idleman “They crush people […]
“Worship is a powerful antidote to anxiety because worship and worry aren’t compatible with each other. They can’t coexist. When we worship God, we are reminded of his greatness and power, and we naturally begin to cast the weight of our anxieties on him.”- Kyle Idleman Kyle Idleman continues Chapter 4 of Don’t Give Up […]
“Chemistry is chasing Christianity as the nation’s largest religion. Indeed, millions of Americans, who, in times of personal crisis and emotional and mental anguish, once turned to priests, ministers, and rabbis for keys to the heavenly kingdom, no go to physicians and psychiatrists, who hold the keys to the kingdom of pharmaceutical relief.”- Joseph Califano, […]
“If you (Jesus) care, then you’d do something. Peter and the disciples struggle to believe that God cares because they do what we often do – measuring God’s concern for us by how hard it’s raining.”- Kyle Idleman “Jesus was sleeping at the back of the boat with his head on a cushion. The disciples […]
“There are countless side effects to anxiety, but they add up to one significant outcome: giving up. As much as any weight we carry, the weight of anxiety can become so heavy that if feels impossible to keep going. It can be so crushing that taking even another step seems unbearable.”- Kyle Idleman “Cast all […]
“And yes, ‘throwing off’ implies something is on you. You can only know that something’s on you if you feel it, experience it, or see its effects. The challenge is to identify these things in your life that are weighing you down and take action so that you will not grow weary and lose heart.”- […]
“Self-talk is speaking courage into yourself. We choose our thoughts in the same way we choose a TV show or what to eat for dinner. At any time, we can change the channel or the menu. When self-pity begins to come on, it’s time to see what else is playing.”- Kyle Idleman Kyle Idleman concludes […]
“Well-meaning friends and family often reinforce a victim mentality because they see our pain and try to comfort us with the nearest tools in their emotional toolshed: sympathy and pity. That tough love tool is always in the very back of the shed, where it’s nearly impossible to get to.”- Kyle Idleman As Kyle Idleman […]
“There are times in life when the fog rolls in and we lost sight of the shore. . . . When the fog is thick, it’s easy to lose perspective. We think things are worse than they are. Without realizing it, we start to feel sorry for ourselves. We quit and then we blame the […]
“Instead of running west, just plunge into the darkness. That’s counterintuitive. If you even think about it, all your instincts rebel. We avoid desperation, simply hoping the situation clears itself up, waiting for the darkness to lighten. But what if the desperation is a grace disguised? What if fighting your way through the darkness is […]
“Fear causes most of us to run away. That’s what Jacob did. That was his pattern, until finally there was nowhere to run. That’s one potential that always becomes real: the place where there’s nowhere else to run.”- Kyle Idleman “Your name will not longer be Jacob, but Israel, because you have struggled with God […]
“If you find yourself in the deep down dark, this is not the time to give up. Take your eyes off the door that has closed and look to the window that has opened. That’s where the light of heaven rushes in.”- Kyle Idleman In Chapter 2 (“Keep Fighting”) of Don’t Give Up, Kyle Idleman […]