“Any reading of God’s Word with a performance-based, do-to-be-tree mentality instantly veils our spiritual sight. . . . While we diligently, fearfully try to keep the law, we miss the greater thins that Jesus wants us to see.”- Alan Wright “Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! For you tithe mint and dill and cumin, […]
“Pausing reminds us of our humanity and puts us in touch with our need for Jesus, our need for better vision. . . . To pause but not connect to Christ leads to self-absorption rather than authentic hope. Likewise, to try to see as Jesus does without attaching to Him is futile.”- Alan Wright Alan […]
“In the New Testament, Jesus shows up and fights for his right to party. . . . So much so, it led to an accusation the religious leaders made against him. . . . Don’t miss this: in the Bible, there’s a clear and consistent party theology. . . . Could it be we have […]
“Your Levi is your ‘opposite you.’ ‘Opposite yous’ can drain your joy bank. There is a tension, an awkwardness. Anger — low grade or high flame — can flare. Inability to manage the relationship can lead to isolation, prejudice, and bigotry.”- Max Lucado “Later, as Jesus left the town, he saw a tax collector named […]
“I wish this were as simple as it sounds, but we live in an age of adulterated affection and exploited power. Pure love and true power are hard to find and even harder to trust. Why? Because so many have been betrayed by a kiss and that false kiss feels like a curse.”- Mark Batterson […]
“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 […]
“I never want to become a closed system. I never want to feel like I have it all figured out. . . . to quit trying new things. Why? Because God didn’t just create us with the capacity to think. He created us with the capacity to rethink.”- Mark Batterson As Mark Batterson continues Chapter […]
“Certain truths qualify as prime truths. . . . But prime truths have an indivisible quality to them. and chief among them — the even prime, if you will — is what Jesus called the most important commandment. We call it the Great Commandment.”- Mark Batterson “Love the Lord your God with all your heart […]
“But if the issues on Jesus’ list (Matthew 15:19-20) emanate from the heart, then clearly we need a new monitoring strategy. After all, if knew knew how to monitor our hearts, if we knew how to deal with trouble at its source, then perhaps we would see a marked improvement in our behavior.”- Andy Stanley […]
Kyle Idleman continues Chapter 5 of The End of Me by exploring the difference between a jar being full or filled. He draws on Luke’s account of Jesus at a Pharisee’s house, during which Jesus tells the Parable of the Great Banquet (Luke 14). As the dinner commences and Jesus is being carefully watched, a […]