Instead of trying to conquer sin by working hard to change our actions, we can conquer sin by trusting Christ to change our affections.

God involves us in his missions not because He needs us, but because He loves us. And in His mercy He has invited us to be involved in His sovereign design for the spread of the gospel to the ends of the earth.

We are settling for a Christianity that revolves around catering to ourselves when the central message of Christianity is actually about abandoning ourselves.

Some people think that if they will do certain things, they will somehow earn the favor of God, but this misses the whole point of Christianity and ironically devolves into a me-centered approach.

It is a constant battle to resist the temptation to have more luxuries, to acquire more stuff, and to live more comfortably.

Accept Him? Do we really think Jesus needs our acceptance? Don't we need Him?

The call of Christ is to deny ourselves and to let go of our lives. To relinquish control of our lives, to surrender everything we are, everything that we do, our direction our safety our security is no longer found in the things of this world. It is found in Christ. And that is great risk when it comes to the things of this world.