If we want to know the Glory of God, if we want to experience the beauty of God, and if we want to be used by the hand of God, then we must LIVE in the WORD of God.
David PlattIf our lives do not reflect radical compassion for the poor, there is reason to wonder if Christ is really in us at all
David PlattIf you can trust God to save you for eternity, you can trust him to lead you for a lifetime.
David PlattThe 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.
David PlattAs Elisabeth Elliot points out, not even dying a martyr’s death is classified as extraordinary obedience when you are following a Savior who died on a cross. Suddenly a martyr’s death seems like normal obedience.
David PlattSalvation now consists of a deep wrestling in our souls with the sinfulness of our hearts, the depth of our depravity, and the desperation of our need for his grace.
David PlattI always questioned if I was CALLED to adopt, but then I realized no child was ever CALLED to be an orphan.
David PlattSurely the greatest social injustice is that 2 billion people haven't heard of God's love in Christ.
David PlattOrphans are easier to ignore before you know their names; but once you know, everything changes.
David PlattWe will not wish we had made more money, acquired more stuff, lived more comfortably, taken more vacations, watched more television, pursued greater retirement, or been more successful in the eyes of this world. Instead, we will wish we had given more of ourselves to living for the day when every nation, tribe, people, and language will bow around the throne and sing the praises of the Savior who delights in radical obedience and the God who deserves eternal worship.
David PlattEverything in all creation responds in obedience to the Creator... until we get to you and me. We have the audacity to look God in the face and say, "No."
David PlattThis is the reality about humanity. We are each born with an evil, God-hating heart. Genesis 8: 21 says that every inclination of man's heart is evil from childhood, and Jesus' words in Luke 11: 13 assume that we know we are evil.
David PlattMy biggest fear, even now, is that I will hear Jesus' words and walk away, content to settle for less than radical obedience to Him.
David PlattGod loves me so that I might make him— his ways, his salvation, his glory, and his greatness—known among all nations.
David PlattBut then I realize there is never going to be a day when I stand before God and He looks at me and says, 'I wish you would have kept more for yourself.' I'm confident that God will take care of me.
David PlattNo matter how many red Xs we write on our hands to end slavery, as long as these same hands are clicking on pornographic websites and scrolling through sexual pictures and videos, we are frauds to the core.
David PlattPeruse the Christian marketplace, and you will find a plethora of books, songs, and paintings that depict God as a loving Father.
David PlattWe don't have stomachs for the things of this world because we have feasted on the goodness of our God.
David PlattThe faith in Christ that saves us from our sins involves an internal transformation that has external implications.
David PlattOne of my favorite sights is to look across a room packed with people with their Bibles in their laps, studying who God is and what God has said- after midnight.
David PlattI was immersed in comfortable Christianity. Years ago, I found myself living what seemed like the American church dream - pastoring a large church, living in a large house, and surrounded by all the comforts this world has to offer. But inside I had a sinking feeling that I was missing the point.
David PlattThere is a sense in which the danger of our lives increases in proportion to the depth of our relationship with Christ.
David PlattSurrounded by the self -sufficiency of American culture, we can convince ourselves that we have what it takes to achieve something great.
David PlattSomewhere along the way we have subtly and tragically taken the costly command of Christ to go, baptize, and teach all nations and mutated it into a comfortable call for Christians to come, be baptized, and listen in one location.
David PlattThis is the curse of superficial religion: the constant attempt to do outward things apart from inward transformation.
David PlattGod really is in the business of blessing his people in unusual ways so his goodness and his greatness will be declared among all peoples.
David PlattGod has made a way of salvation for the lost. Not a way, but the way. And this is the good news - the gospel.
David PlattIn direct contradiciton to the American dream, God actually delights in exalting our inability.
David PlattGod beckons storm clouds and they come. He tells the wind to blow and the rain to fall, and they obey immediately. He speaks to the mountains, 'You go there,' and He says to the seas, 'You stop here, and they do it. Everything in all creation responds in obedience to the Creator...until we get to you and me. We have the audacity to look God in the face and say, 'No.
David PlattThis is how God works. He puts people in positions where they are desperate for his power, and then he shows his provision in ways that display his greatness
David PlattGood intentions, regular worship, Bible study, do not prevent blindness. Part of our sinful nature instinctively chooses to see what we want to see and to ignore what we want to ignore.
David PlattNo sound system. No band. No guitar. No entertainment. No cushioned chairs. No heating or air-con. Nothing but the people of God and the word of God. And strangely, that's enough. God's Word is enough for millions of believers who gather in house churches... Jungles... Rainforests, and middle-eastern cities. But is his Word enough for us?
David PlattIf we were left to ourselves with the task of taking the gospel to the world, we would immediately begin planning innovative strategies and plotting elaborate schemes. We would organize conventions, develop programs, and create foundations… But Jesus is so different from us. With the task of taking the gospel to the world, he wandered through the streets and byways…All He wanted was a few men who would think as He did, love as He did, see as He did, teach as He did and serve as He did. All He needed was to revolutionize the hearts of a few, and they would impact the world.
David PlattRadical obedience to Christ is not easy... It's not comfort, not health, not wealth, and not prosperity in this world. Radical obedience to Christ risks losing all these things. But in the end, such risk finds its reward in Christ. And he is more than enough for us.
David PlattInstead of imagining all the things we can accomplish, we ask God to do what only he can accomplish. Yes, we work, we plan, we organize, and we create, but we do it all while we fast, while we pray, and while we constantly confess our need for the provision of God.
David PlattThis is the gospel. The just and loving Creator of the universe has looked upon hopelessly sinful people and sent His Son, God in the flesh, to bear His wrath against sin on the cross and to show His power over sin in the resurrection so that all who trust in Him will be reconciled to God forever.
David Platt