“The Bible doesn’t tell us to mark out our race just the way we like it and run — it’s been marked out for us, so we don’t choose its difficulty level, nor do we receive a map of the obstacles that lie ahead. . . . One way we know we’re running the race […]
“We become discouraged when we can’t see the course ahead too clearly — there are times when the future is no better than a fuzzy blob. Other time we can’t tell whether we’re in the homestretch or if the course is going to take yet another turn. The main thing is to keep running.”- Kyle […]
“If you imagine a weightlifter straining to lift a barbell loaded with heavy weights, you might imagine stress on one side of the bar and anxiety on the other. Those are the primary weights that are so heavy — but unbelief is the bar they’re attached to.”- Kyle Idleman “Now faith is confidence in what […]
“Sin is known for its many side effects, but two are prominent: guilt and shame. Guilt reminds us what we’ve done; shame tried to convince us what we’ve done is who we are. . . . Guilt keeps you from moving, but shame tells you this is your destiny. What you did last week is […]
“Sin, over time, turns you into the proud type who rolls your eyes at the need for forgiveness. What you’ve done becomes the new normal. This is how sin gets us to give up on God. It doesn’t happen all at once; it’s a slow fade. An invisible web that gets thicker and thicker toward […]
“The irony of believing this lie is that people who think they deserve to be happy, and who pursue pleasure as the highest good, tend to be the unhappiest people of all. When we believe we deserve to be happy, we move on to other lies about finding happiness. . . . We somehow believe […]
“Believing I can fix it requires me to look at the problem unrealistically. . . . telling myself I’m in control helps me downsize the problem in my mind. Hey, this is no big deal — nothing I can’t fix. Reassuring — and dangerous.”- Kyle Idleman “Let us then approach God’s throne of grace with […]
” . . . research indicates that both men and women struggle with feelings of inadequacy, though in different ways. Women tend to blame themselves, assuming they don’t have what it takes. Men typically blame their circumstances, believing that someone or something else is at fault.”- Kyle Idleman “By his divine power, God has given […]
“We know []Satan’s] the father of lies, but he has spread too many of them and some are pretty convincing. The alternative is pursuing truth.”- Kyle Idleman “There is no truth in him. When he lies, he speaks his native language, for he is a liar and the father of lies.”- John 8:44 (NIV) In […]
“There’s so much freedom to be found when we get away from the obsession with what other people think. It feels wonderful to stop being someone else’s person and to start fitting neatly and perfectly into the personhood God has planned for you.”- Kyle Idleman “For when I tried to keep the law, it condemned […]
“Jesus came to free us from the weight of trying hard enough to be good enough. I can keep on playing by those rules, . . . But if I do, several things will happen — none of them good. Broadly speaking, I’ll continue living in some ugly form of pride, wrapped up in […]
“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 […]