God tends to do his best work when the odds appear stacked against him.

Flattery is saying something nice in order to help yourself. Encouragement is saying something true in order help someone else.

You will fear something or someone. The Bible says the wisest way to go about your life is to fear God.

It’s all too easy to turn the fight of faith into sanctification-by-checklist. Take care of a few bad habits, develop a couple good ones, and you’re set. But a moral checklist doesn’t take into consideration the idols of the hearts. It may not even have the gospel as part of the equation. And inevitably, checklist spirituality is highly selective. So you end up feeling successful at sanctification because you stayed away from drugs, lost weight, served at the soup kitchen, and renounced Styrofoam. But you’ve ignored gentleness, humility, joy, and sexual purity.

Some of us live a Christian life as if we're always under the stern, watchful eye of our Father and he is very impossible to please... No, God delights even in our heartfelt attempts at obedience.

If you make the goal of your life just to stay alive, you'll fail. If you make the goal of your life the kingdom, you cannot lose.

Don't follow those who can talk a big game about their amazing faith in Christ. Follow people who are actually following Christ.