We have become dangerously comfortable- believers ooze with wealth and let their addictions to comfort and security numb the radical urgency of the gospel.

I confess to you guys, I confess to the church, I know I have backed away from certain things because of my arrogance. I thought I could attract more people to Jesus by hiding certain things about him.

Churches we build only by our own efforts and not in the strength of the Spirit will quickly collapse when we don't push and prod people along.

Can I go to heaven without truly and faithfully loving Jesus?”

I don't want my life to be explainable without the Holy Spirit. I want people to look at my life and know I couldn't be doing this by my own power. I want to live in such a way that I am desperate for Him to come through. That if He doesn't come through, I am screwed.

We live in a relativistic culture, where people are more con- cerned with being liked than being truthful. In A Sweet and Bitter Providence, John Piper does an outstanding job of bibli- cally defending key truths that the church often ignores. He gives us an example of how to take a bold and educated stand on issues of race, purity, and God's sovereignty.

You find that the things you let go of while following Jesus were the things that were going to destroy you in the end.