“The reason the stone was rolled away on Jesus’s tomb was not so that Jesus could get out, but so that we could get in.”

Christianity does not provide the reason for each experience of pain, but it does provide deep resources for actually facing suffering with hope and courage rather than bitterness and despair

…the essence of gospel-humility is not thinking more of myself or thinking less of myself, it is thinking of myself less.

Nothing is more important than to learn how to maintain a life of purpose in the midst of painful adversity.

This is why so many churches quench the motivation of people for ministry. In our shoes, Paul would say: Remember the grace God has showered on you—what does living out and enjoying that grace look like in this situation?

What you do today is shaped by what you believe about tomorrow.

How you experience your present is completely shaped by what you believe your ultimate future to be.

Where you find your significance is where you find your salvation.

God’s grace does not come to people who morally outperform others, but to those who admit their failure to perform and who acknowledge their need for a Savior.

The gospel is this: We are more sinful and flawed in ourselves than we ever dared believe.

…Singles, too, must see the penultimate status of marriage. If single Christians don’t develop a deeply fulfilling love relationship with Jesus, they will put too much pressure on their DREAM of marriage, and that will create pathology in their lives as well.

No, he was in agony, and he looked down at us – denying him, abandoning him, and betraying him – and in the greatest act of love in history, he STAYED. He said, “Father, forgive them, they don’t know what they are doing.” He loved us, not because we were lovely to him, but to make us lovely.

In the original language, ‘Fear the Lord’ doesn’t mean be afraid. It means sustaining a joyful, astonished awe, and wonder before Him.

Are you living to justify yourself, or are you living because you are justified?

You are more sinful than you could dare imagine and you are more loved and accepted than you could ever dare hope.

Jesus warns people far more often about greed than about sex, yet almost no one thinks they are guilty of it.

Everyone says they want community and friendship. But mention accountability or commitment to people, and they run the other way.

It doesn’t matter who scores the points, it’s who can get the ball to the scorer.

My advice to you is get married: if you find a good wife you’ll be happy; if not, you’ll become a philosopher.” – Socrates (470-399 B.C.) “Advice is what we ask for when we already know the answer but wish we didn’t

I am a vegetable man anyway. And I also get a lot of rest. That’s the key I may be up early, but I’m in bed early too.

A Labour minister gets it in the neck if he looks at his neighbour’s wife over the garden fence.

One can be very much in love with a woman without wishing to spend the rest of one’s life with her.

As a basketball fan, I get sick and tired of people talking about numbers. To me, the world is getting too materialistic.

When I get sick of what men do, I have only to walk a few steps in another direction to see what spiders do. Or what the weather does. This sustains me very well indeed.

Until you show you can handle what you’ve got, you won’t get any more!