Do the truth quietly without display.

Choose a single, sacred word or phrase that captures something of the flavor of your intimate relationship with God. A word such as Jesus, Abba, Peace, God or a phrase such as "Abba, I belong to you." . . . Without moving your lips, repeat the sacred word inwardly, slowly, and often.

There is a beautiful transparency to honest disciples who never wear a false face and do not pretend to be anything but who they are.

Jesus hung out with ragamuffins.

Ruthless trust ultimately comes down to this: faith in the person of Jesus and hope in his promise.

Our huffing and puffing to impress God, our scrambling for brownie points, our thrashing about trying to fix ourselves while hiding our pettiness and wallowing in guilt are nauseating to God and are a flat denial of the gospel of grace.

Craving clarity, we attempt to eliminate the risk of trusting God.