The Good News means we can stop lying to ourselves. The sweet sound of amazing grace saves us from the necessity of self-deception. It keeps us from denying that though Christ was victorious, the battle with lust, greed, and pride still rages within us.

The deepest desire of our hearts is for union for God. God created us for union with himself. This is the original purpose of our lives.

We are made for Christ, and nothing less will ever satisfy us.

The Word we study has to be the Word we pray.

Being the beloved is our identity, the core of our existence. It is not merely a lofty thought, an inspiring idea, or one name among many. It is the name by which God knows us and the way He relates to us

Define yourself radically as one beloved by God. This is the true self. Every other identity is illusion.

At Sunday worship, as in every dimension of our existence, many of us pretend to believe we are sinners. Consequently, all we can do is pretend we have been forgiven. As a result, our whole spiritual life is pseudo-repentance and pseudo-bliss.