Christianity happens when men and women accept with unwavering trust that their sins have been not only forgiven, but forgotten, washed away in the blood of the Lamb. Thus, my friend archbishop Joe Reia says, "A sad Christian is a phony Christian, and a guilty Christian is no Christian at all.

Tragedy is that our attention centers on what people are not, rather than on what they are and who they might become.

Jesus was victorious not because he never flinched, talked back, or questioned, but having flinched, talked back, and questioned, he remained faithful.

The Christian with depth is the person who has failed and who has learned to live with it.

The kingdom is not an exclusive, well-trimmed suburb with snobbish rules about who can live there. No, it is for a larger, homelier, less self-conscious caste of people who understand they are sinners because they have experienced the yaw and pitch of moral struggle.

There is an extraordinary power in storytelling that stirs the imagination and makes an indelible impression on the mind.

Trust is that rare and priceless treasure that wins us the affection of our heavenly Father.