The word 'christian' means different things to different people. To one person it means a stiff, upright, inflexible way of life, colorless and unbending. To another it means a risky, surprised-filled adventure, lived tiptoe at the edge of expectation...If we get our information from the biblical material, there is no doubt that the Christian life is a dancing, leaping, daring life.
Eugene H. PetersonA person has to get fed up with the ways of the world before he, before she acquires an appetite for the world of grace.
Eugene H. PetersonPraying puts us at risk of getting involved in God's conditions. Be slow to pray. Praying most often doesn't get us what we want but what God wants, something quite at variance with what we conceive to be in our best interests.
Eugene H. PetersonLike the sacramental use of water and bread and wine, friendship takes what's common in human experience and turns it into something holy.
Eugene H. PetersonAll the persons of faith I know are sinners, doubters, uneven performers. We are secure not because we are sure of ourselves but because we trust that God is sure of us.
Eugene H. Peterson