Self-improveme nt is no more God's plan than self-salvation.

Many Christians expend so much energy and worry trying not to sin. The goal is not to try to sin less. In all your efforts to keep from sinning, what are you focusing on? Sin. God wants you to focus on him. To be with him. “Abide in me.” Just relax and learn to enjoy his presence. Every day is a collection of moments, 86,400 seconds in a day. How many of them can you live with God? Start where you are and grow from there. God wants to be with you every moment.

Our beliefs are not just estimates of probabilities. They are also the instruments that guide our actions.

There is a world of difference between being friendly to someone because they're useful to you and being someone's friend.

Gratitude is the ability to experience life as a gift. It liberates us from the prison of self-preoccupation.

I need to worship because without it I can forget that I have a Big God beside me and live in fear. I need to worship because without it I can forget his calling and begin to live in a spirit of self-preoccupation. I need to worship because without it I lose a sense of wonder and gratitude and plod through life with blinders on. I need worship because my natural tendency is toward self-reliance and stubborn independence.

The primary goal of spiritual life is human transformation.