“From a faith perspective, we can think of healthy conviction as a motivating factor that leads us to repent of, or change, our actions. This is a beautiful, necessary part of growth and learning to try softer. . . . We all need a healthy sense of personal responsibility to help us love others well.”- […]
“Guilt sucks the life out of our souls. Grace restores it. The apostle Paul clung to this grace. To the same degree that he believed in God’s sovereignty, he relied on God’s mercy.”- Max Lucado Today, as found in Chapter 3 of Anxious for Nothing, Max Lucado discusses the final five ways we deal with our […]
“There is a guilt that sits in the soul like a concrete block and causes a person to feel bad for being alive. There is guilt that says, I did bad. And then there is a guilt that concludes, I am bad (emphasis author’s).”- Max Lucado “That evening [Adam and Eve] heard the sound of God walking […]
“The presence of anxiety is unavoidable, but the prison of anxiety is optional.”- Max Lucado “Be careful, or you hearts will be weighed down with . . . the anxieties of life, and that day will close on you suddenly like a trap.”- Luke 21:34 (NIV) As Max Lucado continues Chapter 1 of Anxious for […]
“Do you hear any beeping sounds there [your soul]?”- John Ortberg “Who can discern his errors? Forgive my hidden faults. Keep your servant also from willful sins; may they not rule over me.”- Psalm 19:12-13 In Chapter 14 (“When You Find Yourself Out of the Flow”) of The Me I Want to Be, John Ortberg […]
“The grip of regret can be more than demoralizing, it can be paralyzing.”- Kyle Idleman In Chapter 3 of Grace Is Greater, Pastor Kyle Idleman tackles the subject of learning to live with regrets. First, he describes the grip of regret: “We can’t seem to move forward because we obsess over something that has already […]
“The more I recognize the ugliness of my sin, the more I can appreciate the beauty of God’s grace.”- Kyle Idleman “For there is no distinction: for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God, and are justified by his grace as a gift . . .”- Romans 3:23-24 In Chapter 1 […]
Grace explained is necessary, but grace experienced is essential.”- Kyle Idleman “See to it that no one misses the grace of God and that no bitter root grows up to cause trouble and defile many.”- Hebrews 12:15 (NIV) In the Introduction to his latest book Grace Is Greater: How to Overcome Your Past, Redeem Your […]
“For godly grief produces a repentance that leads to salvation without regret, whereas worldly grief produces death. For see that earnestness this godly grief has produced in you . . .”- 2 Corinthians 7:10-11 In Chapter 6 of Before Amen, Max Lucado observes that tattoo parlors need a sign over the entrance: Think before you […]
“If it sounds too good to be true, it probably is.”- Old adage June Hunt continues her discussion of the acrostic F-O-R-G-I-V-E-N in Chapter 12 of How to Forgive. Realize that God means what He says. Ms. Hunt states that “God’s grace is free- and enough.” But, she adds, that doesn’t mean God’s forgiveness is […]
Kyle Idleman continues Chapter 7 of The End of Me by discussing five reasons we may feel disqualified to be chosen. The first two, “I missed my chance” and “You don’t want me” are presented today. 1. “I missed my chance.” This reason for not stepping up is a time disqualification. The clock has run out. […]
The sea was getting rougher and rougher. So they asked him [Jonah], “What should we do to you to make the sea calm down for us?” “Pick me up and throw me into the sea,” he replied, “and it will become calm. I know it is my fault that this great storm has come upon […]