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We instinctively tend to limit for whom we exert ourselves. We do it for people like us, and for people whom we like. Jesus will have none of that.

Timothy Keller

Fear-based repentance makes us hate ourselves. Joy-based repentance makes us hate the sin.
TIMOTHY KELLER

Base Bases Fear Hate Joy Make Ourselves Repentance Sin
Our character is mainly shaped by our primary social community – the people with whom we eat, play, converse, and study.
TIMOTHY KELLER

Character Community Converse Eat Mainly Person Play Primarily Social Strap Study
There is no way to have a real relationship without becoming vulnerable to hurt. Christmas tells us that God became breakable and fragile.
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Become Believe Hurt Real Relationship Vulnerable
No one is too bad for Jesus. A lot of people think they are too good for Jesus.
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Bad Good Jesus Lot One People Think
The cross is the place where the Judge takes the Judgment.
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Cross Judge Judgment Place Take
So we find messages of self-salvation extremely attractive, whether they are religious (Keep these rules and you earn eternal blessing) or secular (Grab hold of these things and you’ll experience blessing now).
TIMOTHY KELLER

Bless Eternal Experience Many People Promise Succes Thing Time
The great basis of Christian assurance is not how much our hearts are set on God, but how unshakably his heart is set on us.
TIMOTHY KELLER

Assurance Christian God Great Heart Much Set Unshakably
If the church does not identify with the marginalized, it will itself be marginalized. This is God’s poetic justice.
TIMOTHY KELLER

Church Identity Itself Justice Poetic
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.
TIMOTHY KELLER

Aband Agony Betray Do Down Father Greatest History Look Love Make
Many times people think if God has called you to something, he’s promising you success. He might be calling you to fail to prepare you for something else through the failure.
TIMOTHY KELLER

Call People Promise Something Success Think Time
Religion operates on the principle ‘I obey-therefore I am accepted by God.’ But the operating principle of the gospel is ‘I am accepted by God through what Christ has done-therefore I obey.’
TIMOTHY KELLER

Accept Acceptable God Gospel Obey Operate Principle Religion
The lack of joy in your life is due to your lack of mission.
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Due Joy Lack Life Mission
The key question in order to change you is not ‘What would Jesus do?’ but “What has Jesus done for you?”
TIMOTHY KELLER

Change Done Jesus Key Order Question
The basic premise of religion– that if you live a good life, things will go well for you– is wrong. Jesus was the most morally upright person who ever lived, yet He had a life filled with the experience of poverty, rejection, injustice, and even torture.
TIMOTHY KELLER

Basic Good Jesus Life Live Morality Most Person Premise Religion Upright Wrong
We instinctively tend to limit for whom we exert ourselves. We do it for people like us, and for people whom we like. Jesus will have none of that.
TIMOTHY KELLER

Brother Exert Instinctively Jesus Limit Ourselves Race
This leads to deep humility and deep confidence at the same time. It undermines both swaggering and sniveling. I cannot feel superior to anyone, and yet I have nothing to prove to anyone. I do not think more of myself nor less of myself. Instead, I think of myself less.
TIMOTHY KELLER

Anyone Deed Humanity Less Myself Nothing Superior Swagger Think Undermine
If you don’t feel like praying, pray to God to give you the desire.
TIMOTHY KELLER

Desire Feel God Pray
Generosity is not only about money. There is more than one currency. Let your generosity be pervasive in life.
TIMOTHY KELLER

Currency Generosity Life Money One Only Perceive
The more you understand how your salvation isn’t about your behavior, the more radically your behavior will change.
TIMOTHY KELLER

Behavior Challenge More Racially Salvation Understand
The gospel is not only the way to enter the kingdom; it is the way to live in the kingdom.
TIMOTHY KELLER

Enter Gospel Kingdom Live Only Way
If anything becomes more fundamental than God to your happiness, meaning of life, and identity then it is an idol.
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Anything Become Fundamental God Identity Idol Idols Life Meaning
The purpose of Jesus’s coming is to put the whole world right, to renew and restore the creation, not to escape it.
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Creation Escape Jesus Purpose Put Renew Restore Right World
Are you living to justify yourself, or are you living because you are justified?
TIMOTHY KELLER

Justified Justify Living Yourself
Nothing is more important than to learn how to maintain a life of purpose in the midst of painful adversity.
TIMOTHY KELLER

Adversity Important Maintain Midst More Nothing Painful Purpose
The basic purpose of prayer is not to bend God’s will to mine, but to mold my will into His.
TIMOTHY KELLER

Bais Bend God Into Mine Mold Prayer Purpose
If Jesus rose from the dead, then you have to accept all that he said; if he didn’t rise from the dead, then why worry about any of what he said? The issue on which everything hangs is not whether or not you like his teaching but whether or not he rose from the dead.
TIMOTHY KELLER

Changing Dead Everything Jesus Life Rose Said Teach Worry
Tolerance isn’t about not having beliefs. It’s about how your beliefs lead you to treat people who disagree with you.
TIMOTHY KELLER

Belief Disagree People Tolerance Treat

We instinctively tend to limit for whom we exert ourselves. We do it for people like us, and for people whom we like. Jesus will have none of that.

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We instinctively tend to limit for whom we exert ourselves. We do it for people like us, and for people whom we like. Jesus will have none of that.

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Popular Authors

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