If you find yourself mistreated, misunderstood, and mocked as a Christian, take heart, for so they did to the Christ.

If the fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom, then growing in our knowledge of God is always practical.

God's timing is rarely our timing.

If the gospel is old news to you, it will be dull news to everyone else.

Scripture is profitable for training in righteousness. No one succeeds at the highest level in sports without working out. No one makes it in music without lots of practice. No one excels in scholarship without years of study. And no one makes it far in the school of holiness without hours and days and years in the word. You and I simply will not mature as quickly, minister as effectively, or live as gloriously without immersing ourselves in the Scriptures. We need the Bible if we are to be competent Christians.

We may have the best of intentions in trying to discern God's will, but we should really stop putting ourselves through the misery of overspiritualizing every decision. Our misdirected piety makes following God more mysterious than it was meant to be

Everything before Jesus is preface. Everything after Jesus is appendix. Jesus is the story.