“Through death [Jesus] broke its power . . . How did he do this? He did so as ‘our champion.’ “- Timothy Keller “[God] made the champion of their salvation perfect through what he suffered.”- Hebrews 2:10 (Pastor Keller’s translation) Timothy Keller moves on in Chapter 8 of Making Sense of God as he talks […]
“Why would anybody turn down such an extravagant gift (salvation)? They want to be in control. . . . I think our rejection of God’s gift hurts His [feelings] too. He wants us to have the best for our lives, and we can’t get it on our own. We have to become like children — […]
“We live in a time when shame is just a psychological term and almost always considered to be false or illegitimate. It’s never your fault. But biblically speaking, true and false shame both exist. True shame is the kind of shame that comes from falling short of God’s standards . . . and everything else […]
“None of us has a perfect self-image or a complete understanding of who we are in Christ. We all wrestle with insecurity at some level, whether we are aware of it or not. We all have the experience of trying to be ‘somebody,’ even though God has already made us to be incredibly valuable and […]
“As I listen to pain in the community of faith, rarely (if ever) have I heard anyone say that their interpersonal pain was sourced in theological disagreements about Christ’s deity or the nature of salvation, but rather in how they were treated. . . . Does every question have one and only one reasonable answer? […]
“Many people sing ‘Amazing Grace’ and give lip service to the idea, but that grace has not profoundly changed them.”- Timothy Keller “These people honor me with their lips, but their hearts are far from me. They worship me in vain; their teachings are merely human rules.”- Matthew 15:8-9 (NIV) Timothy Keller concludes Chapter 6 […]
“How far is the east from the west? Farther and farther by the moment. Travel west and you’ll never go east. Journey toward the east and you’ll never go west. . . . East and west have no turning points.”- Max Lucado “As far as the east is from the west, so far has he […]
“Most of us will someday realize we didn’t [notice beauty in the midst of busyness] either. From the perspective of heaven, we’ll look back on those days — those busy, cluttered days — and realize, That was Jesus playing the violin.”- Max Lucado In Chapter 16 (“That’s Jesus Playing the Fiddle”), the final chapter of […]
“I don’t give up hope. Why? Because I’m the recipient of extravagant grace.”- Ann Swindell Ann Swindell concludes Chapter 9 of Still Waiting as she proclaims this truth. Physical healing without the grace of Christ’s presence within leaves you with nothing. Nothing. Thus, no physical healing in the world compares with the greatest treasure – […]
“But God, being rich in mercy, because of His great love with which he loved us, even when we were dead in our trespasses, made us alive together in Christ.”- Ephesians 2:4-5 Judah Smith concludes Chapter 8 of How’s Your Soul? as he discusses the third and fourth emphases of Ephesians that dramatically shape the […]
“The Holy Spirit is a year-round resident in the hearts of his children. As God’s story becomes our story, his power becomes our power.”- Max Lucado In him you also, when you heard the word of truth, the gospel of salvation, and believed in him, were sealed with the promised Holy Spirit.”- Ephesians 1:13 Max […]
“One dimension of spiritual growth is being reconditioned by the grace of God.”- Mark Batterson “For those God foreknew he also predestined to be conformed to the likeness of his Son.”- Romans 8:29 Mark Batterson writes in Chapter 23 (“The Pavlovian Effect”) of If that “it’s much easier to act like a Christian than to […]