“There is no way to have a real relationship without becoming vulnerable to hurt. Christmas tells us that God became breakable and fragile.”

You don’t fall in love. You commit to it.

God sees us as we are, loves us as we are, and accepts us as we are. But by His grace, He does not leave us as we are.

If you don’t feel like praying, pray to God to give you the desire.

If your god never disagrees with you, you might just be worshipping an idealized version of yourself.

To fear the Lord is to be overwhelmed with wonder before the greatness of God and his love.

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.