I love words. My new favorite quotes:
“Sin has consequences, yes, but being separated from God’s love is not one of them. Whatever we do because we feel we “should” or because we “have to” is of no benefit. Our motivation is not love – and motivation is everything to God. 2 Cor. 9:7 – only when we are free can we love freely. If we are in slavery because of guilt or fear to “shoulds” we are not ready to love. We must first be set free. Slaves do not love; sons and daughters do.” – Cloud & Townsend
Romans 2:1 “You, therefore, have no excuse, you who pass judgment on someone else, for at whatever point you judge the other, you are condemning yourself, because you who pass judgment do the same things.” – Paul. Gotta love Paul. The Spirit through his words Kick. My. Butt.
“Pre-Pentecost, the disciples were a mess. Unfocused, they didn’t know the simplicity of life. But in the course of time Jesus had formed a community of people who would live in holy obedience. Finally a people had been gathered who, when God said “Wait” would wait, when God said “Go” would go and when God said “Give” would give. Seasoned by failures and some successes, imperfect and ignorant of many things, they were nevertheless a prepared people. And God said “Wait.” Disciplined, obedient, simple, they waited. And the fire fell.” – Foster. The Freedom of Simplicity. Best book ever.
“If we are still in bondage to sin, our serving will flow out of that center…Pride and fear and manipulation will control our actions…If we are still in bondage to others, our serving will flow out of that center. We will be controlled by a desire to impress them, or receive their help. Without Gospel liberty, we will forever measure who we are by the yardstick of others. But once the grace of God has broken into our lives, we are free.” – Foster again. Told you. Best book.
“In my prior image of Jesus, I realized his personality matched that of a Star Trek Vulcan: he remained calm, cool, and collected as he strode like a robot among excitable human beings on spaceship earth. That is not what I found portrayed in the Gospels…Other people affected Jesus deeply: obstinacy frustrated him, self-righteousness infuriated him, simple faith thrilled him. Indeed He seemed more emotional and spontaneous than the average person, not less. More passionate, not less.” – Yancey. This quote is in pure self-defense of my emotional side!