Top quotes by John Ortberg

Art is built on the deepest themes of human meaning: good and evil, beauty and ugliness, life and death, love and hate. No other story has incarnated those themes more than the story of Jesus. Votes: 32

Universities such as Cambridge, Oxford, and Harvard all began as Jesus-inspired efforts to love God with all ones' mind. Votes: 30

The only true and lasting inspiration for life is genuine love for God, and submitted gratitude that I get to be a part of the redemptive quest. Votes: 29

This much I have learned: human beings come with very different sets of wiring, different interests, different temperaments, different learning styles, different gifts, different temptations. These differences are tremendously important in the spiritual formation of human beings. Votes: 24

Being deeply contented with God in my everyday life is a focused attitude. It is always available. It means practicing letting go of my obsession with how I'm doing. It means training myself to learn to actually be present with people, and seeking to love them. Votes: 21

When I teach the formal curriculum, I have the chance to think about it ahead of time. I can rehearse it. I can illustrate it with self-deprecating humor and humble-sounding personal disclosure. I can try to make it comes out just right. Votes: 21

At the heart of Christian faith is the story of Jesus' death and resurrection. Votes: 20

Learning something new is a fabulous way to be refreshed. When work can grind you down, something about learning a new activity thrills the soul. It reminds you that the world is bigger than your desk and your to-do list. Votes: 18

When it comes to sermon writing, generally there are two problems. Some preachers love the research stage but hate the writing, and they start writing too late. Others don't like doing research, so they move way too fast to the writing part. Votes: 17

My main job is to live with deep contentment, joy, and confidence in my everyday experience of life with God. Everything else is job number two. Votes: 14

Churches need to figure out how they will address the spiritual lives of their staffs and leadership teams. Votes: 14

The human longings that are deep inside of us never go away. They exist across cultures; they exist throughout life. When people were first made, our deepest longing was to know and be known. And after the Fall, when we all got weird, it's still our deepest longing - but it's now also our deepest fear. Votes: 14

A simple way to address hidden curriculum issues is to spend time talking with staff and key leaders about their spiritual lives. Votes: 14

I don't have a problem with delegation. I love to delegate. I am either lazy enough, or busy enough, or trusting enough, or congenial enough, that the notion leaving tasks in someone else's lap doesn't just sound wise to me, it sounds attractive. Votes: 13

I hate how spiritual formation gets positioned as an optional pursuit for a small special interest group within the church. Votes: 13

A bad sermon is like a car wreck - everyone slows down to see what happened. Votes: 12

There are dozens of references to God in the Scriptures for every one to the figure of Satan. This reflects a sometimes forgotten theological truth that the devil is by no means God's counterpart. He is a creature, not the Creator. Votes: 12

Jesus is why women have traveled continents, spent decades learning a strange language so they could translate the Gospel, planting churches, caring for the sick, educating the illiterate, and marching for the oppressed. Votes: 11

Real spiritual authority has to do with the truth of the actual words being spoken, and the spirit of the person behind the words. Really, authority is about truth: honest-living truth. Votes: 11

Sin is, somehow, at the root of all human misery. Sin is what keeps us from God and from life. It is in the face of every battered woman, the cry of every neglected child, the despair of every addict, the death of every victim of every war. Votes: 10

The most important criterion is this: hire someone whose character and humility and attitude you would like to have reproduced in your church and in yourself. Votes: 9

Women are the first witnesses to the resurrection and pillars of the early church. Votes: 7

As much as we complain about it, though, there's part of us that is drawn to a hurried life. It makes us feel important. It keeps the adrenaline pumping. It means I don't have to look too closely at my heart or life. It keeps us from feeling our loneliness. Votes: 6

Authentic spiritual authority is what puts you in touch with reality. Votes: 6

We all want to feel spiritually vigorous, and we hurt when we don't. This pain is intensified for people who lead church ministries. Votes: 5

Death is the prerequisite to resurrection, the new life God intends. Votes: 4

Preaching a series allows you to go into greater depth in the text, and spending several weeks on one theme allows the teaching to be absorbed more thoroughly. Votes: 4

The single dynamic that helps people be most aware of God and most experiencing the fruit of the Spirit is gratitude. Votes: 3

Jesus' life as a foot-washing servant would eventually lead to the adoption of humility as a widely admired virtue. Votes: 2

I have given up the idea that there is an opposition-free church out there. But I have gained something else - an appreciation for the gift of opposition. When it comes, I learn something about my motives. When it comes, I get to test my courage. Votes: 1

Prudence is not the same thing as caution. Caution is a helpful strategy when you're crossing a minefield; it's a disaster when you're in a gold rush. Votes: 0

As a preacher who is fully human, and clearly not divine, I can't speak as Jesus did. But I do seek to speak truth that carries weight and authority. All of us who preach the gospel aspire to speak under the authority of Jesus. Votes: 0

God has entrusted us with his most precious treasure - people. He asks us to shepherd and mold them into strong disciples, with brave faith and good character. Votes: 0

Sin is very important to the soul because sin is what disintegrates the soul; it's what attacks the soul. Sin kind of is to the soul what cancer is to the body. Votes: 0

In community, we discover who we really are and how much transformation we still require. This is why I am irrevocably committed to small groups. Through them, we can accomplish our God-entrusted work to transform human beings. Votes: 0

In my love-challenged condition, seeing a difficulty for someone else can leave me feeling a little more smug or superior-by-comparison. Votes: 0

Normally, if someone's legacy will outlast their life, it's apparent when they die. On the day when Alexander the Great, or Caesar Augustus, or Napoleon, or Socrates, or Muhammad died, their reputations were immense. When Jesus died, his tiny, failed movement appeared clearly at an end. Votes: 0

I hate how hard spiritual transformation is and how long it takes. I hate thinking about how many people have gone to church for decades and remain joyless or judgmental or bitter or superior. Votes: 0

To have my mind racing and my heart beating fast over glorious possibilities is very close to the summit of life experience for me. Votes: 0

Prudence is not hesitation, procrastination, or moderation. It is not driving in the middle of the road. It is not the way of ambivalence, indecision, or safety. Votes: 0

The hurried can become unhurried. But it will not happen by trying alone, nor will it happen instantly. You will have to enter a life of training. Votes: 0

Tithing is like training wheels when it comes to giving. It's intended to help you get started, but not recommended for the Tour de France. Votes: 0

Skill at helping people grow spiritually, like skill at playing chess, depends on understanding and valuing differences. Votes: 0

From ancient times, the core idea of the soul is the soul is the capacity to integrate different functions into a single being or into a single person. The soul is what holds us all together: what connects our will and our minds and our bodies and connects us to God. Votes: 0

Sin is protean. It is a cancer that keeps mutating, and just when you think you have killed off one form, it turns out a deadlier strain yet is threatening your heart. Votes: 0

Although the church has often been far too slow to follow his lead, Jesus' insistence that women, as well as men, bear the full image of God has had a way of sparking reform movements across the centuries. Votes: 0

Spiritual formation is for everyone. Just as there is an 'outer you' that is being formed and shaped all the time, like it or not, by accident or on purpose, so there is an 'inner you.' You have a spirit. Votes: 0

Spiritual formation is for everyone. Just as there is an 'outer you' that is being formed and shaped all the time, like it or not, by accident or on purpose, so there is an 'inner you.' You have a spirit. And it's constantly being shaped and tugged at: by what you hear and watch and say and read and think and experience. Votes: 0

The toppling of idols - even respectable, admired, best-practice, fastest-growing idols - is always the road to liberation. Votes: 0

Amusement' is appealing because we don't have to think; it spares us the fear and anxiety that might otherwise prey on our thoughts. Votes: 0

Politics, after all, is largely about power. And power goes to the core of our issues of control and narcissism and need to be right and tendency to divide the human race into 'us' vs. 'them.' Votes: 0

Love of learning led to monasteries, which became the cradle of academic guilds. Votes: 0

A healthy soul is whole and integrated. It is connected to God. A person with a healthy soul is at peace with God, with himself, and with other people. Votes: 0

Jesus viewed his own destiny - to be glorified in and through death - as an expression of a kind of cosmic principle: the pathway to life runs through death. Votes: 0

When preaching is done right, it can change lives. When it's done badly, my failure goes beyond the merely human. Votes: 0

Authority can be faked. That's why impersonating a police officer is a crime. Sometimes the outward appearances of authority can be deceiving. Votes: 0

I wrote 'Soul Keeping' because we are taught more about how to care for our cars than how to steward our souls. But you cannot have an impactful life with an impoverished soul. Votes: 0

One of the reasons I'm an interesting person to be married to is my intensely late-blooming self-awareness. Votes: 0

Those of us who preach the Scriptures, along with being nourished by it ourselves, have to figure out along with our congregations how we can incarnate the gospel in our community, or we will preach to a religious ghetto. Votes: 0

I know that those of us who go into church work are to regard ourselves as servants, are to offer our lives as a gift. Votes: 0

God has decided, for his own good reasons, that people are not transformed outside of community. Votes: 0

Nobody lives up to the norms that God had in mind when he first created human beings. Votes: 0

Far more books get written about how to get more people in your church than how to get the people already in your church to have more humility and sincere love. Votes: 0

Who Is This Man?' is about the impact of Jesus on human history. Most people - including most Christians - simply have no idea of the extent to which we live in a Jesus-impacted world. Votes: 0

As a preacher, my charge is to proclaim the message of the Scriptures. To help the people in my congregation become a people of the book. I love getting to do this. Votes: 0

I have always heard that you need to give yourself a long time to unplug when you do a sabbatical. I unplugged so fast I was a little concerned that I was losing brain capacity. Votes: 0

Better to be a loving person without knowing how you got there, than an expert no one can stand to be around. Votes: 0

The irony is that 'looking down on everybody else' is a violation of the law of love, which, according to Jesus, is the absolute essence of righteousness. Votes: 0

The New Testament doesn't present Jesus as a single man to cover up his humanity. It presents him as a single man because... he was a single man. Votes: 0

People with the strongest and healthiest sense of calling are not obsessed with their calling. They are preoccupied with the Caller. Votes: 0

There are usually multiple messages that could be preached from the same text. Votes: 0

The church is in the hope business. We, of all people, ought to be known most for our hope because our hope is founded on something deeper than human ability or wishful thinking. Votes: 0

If you want to do the work of God, pay attention to people. Notice them. Especially the people nobody else notices. Votes: 0

If we are serious about loving God, we must begin with people, all people. And especially we must learn to love those that the world generally discards. Votes: 0

Every day you and I walk through God's shop. Every day we brush up against objects of incalculable worth to Him. People. Every one of them carries a price tag, if only we could see it. Votes: 0

We may be unlovely yet we are not unloved. Votes: 0

True repentance never leads to despair. Its leads home. It leads to grace." Votes: 0

God is never a God of discouragement. When you have a discouraging spirit or train of thought in your mind, you can be sure it is not from God. He sometimes brings pain to his children-conviction over sin, or repentance over fallenness, or challenges that scare us, or visions of his holiness that overwhelm us. But God never brings discouragement." Votes: 0

Scratch the surface of any cynic, and you will find a wounded idealist underneath. Because of previous pain or disappointment, cynics make their conclusions about life before the questions have even been asked. This means that beyond just seeing what is wrong with the world, cynics lack the courage to do something about it. The dynamic beneath cynicism is a fear of accepting responsibility. Votes: 0

Over time, grit is what separates fruitful lives from aimlessness. Votes: 0

We'd like to be humble...but what if no one notices? Votes: 0

If ever there were a true "just as I am" church, if ever there were a community where everybody could bring all their baggage and brokenness with them without neat and tidy happy endings quite yet, if ever there was a group where everyone was loved and no one pretended - we could not make enough room inside the building. Votes: 0

Genuine brokenness pleases God more than pretend spirituality. Votes: 0

Everybody wears an unseen sign that reads: Inspire me. Remind me that my life matters; call me to be my best self; appeal to whatever in me is most noble and honorable. Don't let me go down the path of least resistance. Challenge me to make my life about something more than the acquisition of money or success Votes: 0

The entire life of Jesus isn't the story of somebody climbing up a ladder; it's a picture of someone coming down-a series of demotions. The problem with spending our lives climbing up the ladder is that we will go right past Jesus, for He's coming down. Votes: 0

The goal of prayer is to live all of my life and speak all of my words in the joyful awareness of the presence of God. Prayer becomes real when we grasp the reality and goodness of God's constant presence with 'the real me.' Jesus lived his everyday life in conscious awareness of his Father. Votes: 0

One of the great misconceptions about spiritual growth that develops in a lot of churches is that information alone is adequate to produce transformed human beings. So if we want to have a church of spiritually mature people, let's just keep cramming more and more information into them... Information alone is not adequate for the transformation of the human personality. Votes: 0

God is still in the business of coming down to earth: to this cubicle, this email, this room, this house, this job, this hospital room, this car, this bed, this vacation. Any place can become Bethel, the house of God. Cleveland, maybe. Or the chair you're sitting in as you read these words. Votes: 0

To become grateful, I must learn that I can handle disappointment and delayed gratification with grace and perseverance. This is why practices such as fasting and simplicity are such powerful tools for transformation. The experience of frustration and disappointment is irreplaceable in the development of a grateful heart. Votes: 0

The main measure of your devotion to God is not your devotional life. It is simply your life. Votes: 0

We must assess our thoughts and beliefs and reckon whether they are moving us closer to conformity to Christ or farther away from it. Votes: 0

We are too often double espresso followers of a decaf Sovereign. Votes: 0

True joy, as it turns out, comes only to those who have devoted their lives to something greater than personal happiness. This is most visible in extraordinary lives, in saints and martyrs. But it is no less true for ordinary people like us. Votes: 0

Peace does not lie in getting God to give me other circumstances. Peace lies in finding God in these circumstances. Votes: 0

Never try to have more faith - just get to know God better. And because God is faithful, the better you know Him, the more you'll trust Him. Votes: 0

One of the great illusions of our time is that hurrying will buy us more time. Votes: 0

I am disappointed with myself. I am disappointed not so much with the particular things I have done as with the aspects of who I have become. I have a nagging sense that all is not as it should be. Votes: 0

We tend to be preoccupied by our problems when we have a heightened sense of vulnerability and a diminished sense of power. Today, see each problem as an invitation to prayer. Votes: 0

The greatest moment of your life is now. This moment is God's irreplaceable gift to you. Votes: 0

In the beginning, we're told, was the word. Every once in a while someone shows up on the planet who is word-obsessed and word-gifted; and the light and darkness get named again. In our day, that someone is Buechner. Votes: 0

If you can't do great things, Mother Teresa used to say, do little things with great love. If you can't do them with great love, do them with a little love. If you can't do them with a little love, do them anyway. Love grows when people serve. Votes: 0

There is something you can't fix, can't heal, or can't escape, and all you can do it trust God. Finding ultimate refuge in God means you become so immersed in his presence, so convinced of his goodness, so devoted to his lordship that you find even the cave is a perfectly safe place to be because he is there with you. Votes: 0

Low self-esteem causes me to believe that I have so little worth that my response does not matter. With repentance, however, I understand that being worth so much to God is why my response is so important. Repentance is remedial work to mend our minds and hearts, which get bent by sin. Votes: 0

Too often we argue about Christianity instead of marveling at Jesus. Votes: 0

Every human being who has ever lived has suffered from a messiah complex-except one. Votes: 0

When I repent, here is where it starts. I try to name my sin as honestly and as specifically as possible. Here is what repenting is not. It is not excusing my sin, minimizing my sin, it's not rationalizing my sin ... Repentance is getting painfully honest with God. Votes: 0

As long as we have unsolved problems, unfulfilled desires, and a mustard seed of faith, we have all we need for a vibrant prayer life. Votes: 0

Over and over in the Bible, it is fear that threatens to keep people from trusting and obeying God. Votes: 0

Jesus ... associated with the outcasts; he spoke with them, touched them, ate with them, loved them. Votes: 0

There is such a love, a love that creates value in what is loved. There is a love that turns rag dolls into priceless treasures. There is a love that fastens itself onto ragged little creatures, for reasons that no one could ever quite figure out, and makes them precious and valued beyond calculation. This is love beyond reason. This is the love of God. Votes: 0

One of the hardest things in the world is to stop being the prodigal son without turning into the elder brother. Votes: 0

The good news as Jesus preached it is not just about the minimal entrance requirements for getting into heaven when you die. It is about the glorious redemption of human life-your life. Votes: 0

God is never a God of discouragement. When you have a discouraging spirit or train of thought in your mind, you can be sure it is not from God. He sometimes brings pain to his children-conviction over sin, or repentance over fallenness, or challenges that scare us, or visions of his holiness that overwhelm us. But God never brings discouragement. Votes: 0

I need an inspiration that is grounded in reality while thoroughly transcendent. Votes: 0

Skepticism can keep us from blessing, can keep us trapped in two minds. Votes: 0

Leadership is the art of disappointing people at a rate they can stand. Votes: 0

When we live in the love of God, we begin to pay attention to people the way God pays attention to us. Votes: 0

We complicate our faith and lives in many ways, but at the core, our purpose is simple: We are called to love. Votes: 0

Gratitude is what we radiate when we experience grace, and the soul was made to run on grace the way a 747 runs on rocket fuel. Votes: 0

Spiritual transformation is not a matter of trying harder, but of training wisely. Votes: 0

Sometimes in churches somebody will discover a particular vein of spirituality and seek to recruit others into it, or assume a superior position because they have found certain techniques - but no one actually wants to become like them. Votes: 0

The test of love is that it gives even when there is no expectation of a return. Votes: 0

I am a political junkie. During a presidential campaign, I will often buy a couple of newspapers a day just to keep up. Votes: 0

Ironically, often the thing that keeps me from experiencing joy is my preoccupation with self. The very selfishness that keeps me from pouring myself out for the joy of others also keeps me from noticing and delighting in the myriad small gifts God offers each day. This is why Walker Percy describes boredom as "the self stuffed with the self." Votes: 0

God sees with utter clarity who we are. He is undeceived as to our warts and wickedness. But when God looks at us that is not all He sees. He also sees who we are intended to be, who we will one day become. Votes: 0

Pastors have historically understood their primary battle to be not the battle to build a big church, but the battle against the power of sin. Votes: 0

Willpower is trying very hard not to do something you want to do very much. Votes: 0

You can only love and be loved to the extent that you know and are known by somebody. Votes: 0

Prudence is what makes someone a great commodities trader - the capacity to face reality squarely in the eye without allowing emotion or ego to get in the way. It's what is needed by every quarterback or battlefield general. Votes: 0

'Amusement' is appealing because we don't have to think; it spares us the fear and anxiety that might otherwise prey on our thoughts. Votes: 0

There are no clear boundary lines between what is physiological, what is psychological, and what is spiritual. Those are language domains that make sense and have integrity but overlap significantly. Votes: 0

The soul is both the most fragile and most resilient thing about you; a healthy soul is what holds you together when your world falls apart. Since you will carry your soul into eternity, it's worth checking up on it at least as often as your teeth. Votes: 0

When the soul is understood and attended to, we can be liberated from hurry, preoccupation, unsatisfied desires, and chronic discontent. Votes: 0

Churches can become places of cynicism, resistance, and pessimism. Votes: 0

We call an obsession with having someone's approval 'co-dependency;' the Bible's word for it is idolatry. A country can be an idol. A family can be an idol. Votes: 0

Sloth is the failure to do what needs to be done when it needs to be done - like the kamikaze pilot who flew seventeen missions. Votes: 0

Some leaders are not intimidated by opposition; they actually thrive on it. It wakes them up. It energizes them. It calls them to battle. It causes them to mobilize their thoughts and energy. Votes: 0

Tithing is considerably less popular than words like generosity or sharing. Votes: 0

Ghettos and barrios and abusive homes and trauma wards may produce scarred souls; they can cripple more human spirits than they strengthen. Votes: 0

For most of us, the great danger is not that we will renounce our faith. It is that we will become so distracted and rushed and preoccupied that we will settle for a mediocre version of it. We will just skim our lives instead of actually living them. Votes: 0

Amusement is a way of boredom-avoidance through external stimulation that fails to exercise our minds. It's mere diversion. Votes: 0

My wife is one of the most extroverted people I know. She could out-talk Oprah and Joyce Meyer simultaneously. Votes: 0

Prudence is foresight and far-sightedness. It's the ability to make immediate decisions on the basis of their longer-range effects. Votes: 0

We do not need answers or formulas to minister in crisis. Votes: 0

The question isn't if someone will sign up for spiritual formation; it's just who and what our spirits will be formed by. Votes: 0

In the context of worship, amusement is a waste of time and a waste of life, and therefore a form of sin. Votes: 0

Opposition is an inevitable reality of pastoral life. Votes: 0

Jesus had a universal concern for those who suffered that transcended the rules of the ancient world. Votes: 0

Peace doesn't come from finding a lake with no storms. It comes from having Jesus in the boat. Votes: 0

Wise people build their lives around what is eternal and squeeze in what is temporary. Not the other way around. Votes: 0

The most important task of your life is not what you do, but who you become. Votes: 0

What repeatedly enters your mind and occupies your mind, eventually shapes your mind, and will ultimately express itself in what you do and who you become. Votes: 0

Love and hurry are fundamentally incompatible. Love always takes time, and time is the one thing hurried people don't have. Votes: 0

Having faith does not mean never having doubts or questions. It does mean remaining obedient. Votes: 0

Imagine watching all that God might have done with your life if you had let him. Votes: 0

The decision to grow always involves a choice between risk and comfort. This means that to be a follower of Jesus, you must renounce comfort as the ultimate value of your life. Votes: 0

Your Mission starts where you are,Not where you think you should be.Sometimes we're tempted to think that our current position/job/situation is a barrier to our mission, but, in fact, it is where it starts. Votes: 0

Today, see each problem as an invitation to prayer. Votes: 0

Who you become while you're waiting is as important as what you're waiting for. Votes: 0

Jesus is mysterious not just because of what we don't know about him, but because of what we do know about him. Votes: 0

The most frequent promise in the Bible is "˜I will be with you.' Votes: 0

Biblically, waiting is not just something we have to do until we get what we want. Waiting is part of the process of becoming what God wants us to be. Votes: 0

Gratitude is the ability to experience life as a gift. It liberates us from the prison of self-preoccupation. Votes: 0

Failure does not shape you; the way you respond to failure shapes you. Votes: 0

Make your life about something bigger than your life. Votes: 0

Grace is the offer of God's ceaseless presence and irrational love that cannot be stopped. Votes: 0

If you want to walk on water, you have to get out of the boat. Votes: 0

Will you keep going when you don't know why? When you can't get any answers that would make the pain go away, will you still say, 'My Lord,' even though his ways are not clear to you? Will you keep going-with all the grace and grit and faith you can muster-and live in hope that one day God will set everything right. Will you trust that God is good? ... Ultimately, the choice everyone faces is the choice between hope and despair. Jesus says, 'Choose hope.' Votes: 0

God wishes to be seen, wishes to be sought, wishes to be expected, and wishes to be trusted. Votes: 0

For the soul to be well, it needs to be with God. Votes: 0

Habits eat good intentions for breakfast. Votes: 0

Prayer allows us to wait without worry. Votes: 0

It's better to have the faith to embrace reality with all its pain than to cling to the false comfort of a painless fantasy. Votes: 0

The Bible does not say you are God's appliance; it says you are his masterpiece. Appliances get mass-produced. Votes: 0

I need to learn. Joy is at the heart of God's plan for human beings. The reason for this is worth pondering awhile: Joy is at the heart of God himself. We will never understand the significance of joy in human life until we understand its importance to God. I suspect that most of us seriously underestimate God's capacity for joy. Votes: 0

Solitude is the one place where we can gain freedom from the forces of society that will otherwise relentlessly mold us. Solitude requires relentless perseverance. Votes: 0

Joylessness may be the sin most readily tolerated by the church. Votes: 0

There is a immense difference between training to do something and trying to do something....Sp iritual transformation is not a matter of trying harder, but of training wisely.... Following Jesus simply means learning from him how to arrange my life around activities that enable me to live in the fruit of the Spirit Votes: 0

How hard is it for God to get your attention? Do you regularly practice turning aside in your day? That is, taking a moment to listen to God- because God, through the Holy Spirit, really is speaking, because we know, every place is filled with the presence of God. There is not an inch of space, not a moment of time, that God does not inhabit. Votes: 0

Never worry alone. When anxiety grabs my mind, it is self-perpetuating. Worrisome thoughts reproduce faster than rabbits, so one of the most powerful ways to stop the spiral of worry is simply to disclose my worry to a friend... The simple act of reassurance from another human being [becomes] a tool of the Spirit to cast out fear -- because peace and fear are both contagious. Votes: 0

The problem with spending your life climbing up the ladder is that you will go right past Jesus, for he's coming down. Votes: 0

Sheldon Vanauken wrote that the strongest argument for Christianity is Christians, when they are drawing life from God. The strongest argument against Christianity? Also Christians, when they become exclusive, self-righteous, and complacent. Votes: 0

You must arrange your days so that you are experiencing deep contentment, joy and confidence in your everyday life with God. Votes: 0

What matters is not the accomplishments you achieve; what matters is the person you become. Votes: 0

Self-improveme nt is no more God's plan than self-salvation. Votes: 0

If we do not become changed from the inside-out - if we don't morph - we will be tempted to find external methods to satisfy our need to feel that we're different from those outside the faith. If we cannot be transformed, we will settle for being informed or conformed. Votes: 0

True repentance never leads to despair. Its leads home. It leads to grace. Votes: 0

The possibility of transformation is the essence of hope. Votes: 0

Both hope and pessimism are deeply contagious. And no one is more infectious than a leader. Votes: 0

It only makes sense to ask God for guidance in the context of a life committed to "seeking first the kingdom." Votes: 0

For many of us the great danger is not that we will renounce our faith. It is that we will become so distracted and rushed and preoccupied that we will settle for a mediocre version of it. Votes: 0

One of the most painful aspects of suffering is the loneliness of it. Others may offer support or empathy, but no one can walk the road to Moriah in our place. Votes: 0

I need to worship because without it I can forget that I have a Big God beside me and live in fear. I need to worship because without it I can forget his calling and begin to live in a spirit of self-preoccupation. I need to worship because without it I lose a sense of wonder and gratitude and plod through life with blinders on. I need worship because my natural tendency is toward self-reliance and stubborn independence. Votes: 0

To love someone is to desire and work toward their becoming the best version of themselves. The one person in all the universe who can do this perfectly for you is God. Votes: 0

Disciplined people can do the right thing at the right time in the right way for the right reason. Votes: 0

The ministry of bearing with one another is learning to hear God speak through difficult people. Votes: 0

It may be a very bad thing that I needed God to die for me, but it is a wonderful thing that God thinks I am worth dying for. Votes: 0

The soul seeks God with its whole being. Because it is desperate to be whole, the soul is God-smitten and God-crazy and God-obsessed. My mind may be obsessed with idols; my will may be enslaved to habits; my body may be consumed with appetites. But my soul will never find rest until it rests in God. Votes: 0

The primary goal of spiritual life is human transformation. Votes: 0

We are tempted to live under the illusion that somewhere out there are people who are normal. Votes: 0

The church is in the hope business. Votes: 0

We must learn to cast off our anxieties because we have so many of them. The world destroys spiritual life by generating constant anxiety. Jesus said that the life of the gospel is choked out by the cares of this world. We know this to be true yet we are more chained and tethered to the world than ever before in the human race. Votes: 0

If I have the courage to acknowledge my limits and embrace them, I can experience enormous freedom. If I lack this courage, I will be imprisoned by them. Votes: 0

Hurry is not just a disordered schedule. Hurry is a disordered heart. Votes: 0

God is not interested in our spiritual life. He's interested in our life. Votes: 0

Acceptance is an act of the heart. To accept someone is to affirm to them that you think it's a very good thing they are alive. Votes: 0

There is no way for a human being to come to God that does not involve surrender. Votes: 0

The greatest bloodbaths in the history of the human race were recorded in the twentieth century in countries that sought to eliminate God, worship, and faith. Votes: 0

To become truly free, you must surrender. Votes: 0

The life of Abraham Lincoln is by most accounts an amazing study in character formation. Yet he was notoriously disorganized; he even had a file in his law office labeled If you can't find it anywhere else, try looking here. Votes: 0

People who are servants-humbly, honestly, and joyfully-keep getting revealed as the biggest winners. People who recognize and embrace their smallness keep getting bigger and bigger in God's eyes. It's the oddest scoring system. Votes: 0

At the deepest level, pride is the choice to exclude both God and other people from their rightful place in our hearts. Jesus said the essence of the spiritual life is to love God and to love people. Pride destroys our capacity to love. Votes: 0

Waiting on the Lord is a confident, disciplined, expectant, active, sometimes painful clinging to God. Votes: 0

There is a world of difference between being friendly to someone because they're useful to you and being someone's friend. Votes: 0

The character of the faith that allows us to be transformed by suffering and darkness is not doubt-free certainty; rather, it is tenacious obedience. Votes: 0

We who preach have one tool. We are people of the book. Votes: 0

You have a "turn" every time you have an opportunity to choose. But most of us only see a tiny fraction of the choices we have. Votes: 0

Going in faith does not necessarily mean going with serenity or without doubts. Faith can be difficult. Votes: 0

The Holy Spirit will lead you to be with people as Jesus would be with them if He were in your place. Votes: 0

Our beliefs are not just estimates of probabilities. They are also the instruments that guide our actions. Votes: 0

God is a God of endless opportunities to do good; the God of the open door. Votes: 0

The Holy Spirit says: You are it. You are God's plan. In a thirsty world, people need to be refreshed. It is a broken world, and people need to be healed. Now get out there and do it! Votes: 0

The goal is not for us to get through the Scriptures. The goal is to get the Scriptures through us. Votes: 0

Real question is not who was this man (Jesus), but who is this man? Votes: 0

Significance is about who we are before it is about what we do. Votes: 0

Jesus changed how the world thinks about science, medicine, human rights, education & more. Votes: 0

One reason why we fail to hear God speak is that we are not attentive. We suffer from what might be called 'spiritual mindlessness.' Votes: 0

Skeptics would rather, even at their own expense, appear to be right than take the risk of trusting. Votes: 0

The miracle of Sunday is that a dead man lives. The miracle of Saturday is that the eternal Son of God lies dead. Votes: 0

Your world could grow infinitely bigger if you were only willing to become...appropri ately small. Votes: 0

You must ruthlessly eliminate hurry from your life. Votes: 0

"Sometimes in churches somebody will discover a particular vein of spirituality and seek to recruit others into it, or assume a superior position because they have found certain techniques - but no one actually wants to become like them." Votes: 0

Jesus gave the world its most influential movement. Votes: 0

The reason our souls hunger so is that the life we could be living so far exceeds our strangest dreams. Votes: 0

Many Christians expend so much energy and worry trying not to sin. The goal is not to try to sin less. In all your efforts to keep from sinning, what are you focusing on? Sin. God wants you to focus on him. To be with him. "Abide in me." Just relax and learn to enjoy his presence. Every day is a collection of moments, 86,400 seconds in a day. How many of them can you live with God? Start where you are and grow from there. God wants to be with you every moment. Votes: 0

Greatness is never achieved through indecision. Votes: 0

I'm more concerned about who you're becoming than what you're doing. Votes: 0

The only cure from sin is by maintaining a vision of God. Votes: 0

At the heart of Christian faith is the story of Jesus death and resurrection. Votes: 0

Passion for our work is not usually a subterranean volcano waiting to erupt...It is a muscle that gets strengthened a little each day as we show up - as we do what is expected of us, and then some. Votes: 0

In reality, each thought we have carries with it a little spiritual power, a tug toward or away from God. No thought is purely neutral. Votes: 0

A boss who interrupts an employee a lot is called an extrovert, whereas an employee who interrupts a boss too often is called an ex-employee. Votes: 0

The harder you strike it, the deeper it goes. Votes: 0

In a contagious world,we learn to keep our distance. If we get too close to those who are suffering, we might get infected by their pain. It may not be convenient or comfortable. But only when you get close enough to catch their hurt will they be close enough to catch your love. Votes: 0

God is so immense that if he were 'too visible,' people would give forced compliance without expressing their heart. So God made it possible, in enormous love, for us to live as if he were not there. Votes: 0

True love is willing to warn, reprove, confront or admonish when necessary. Votes: 0

Failure is not an event, but rather a judgment about an event. Failure is not something that happens to us or a label we attach to things. It is a way we think about outcomes. Votes: 0

Ever console or scold people hurt in human relationships that satisfaction comes from God alone? Stop. Adam's fellowship with God was perfect, and God Himself declared Adam needed other humans. Votes: 0

sometimes we do not realize how much we have to be grateful for until it is threatened. Votes: 0