The real power in helping somebody to be transformed is not to do something to them but to join with them.

It is the understanding of others and the awareness of their needs, that the ambassador of CHRIST should strive to cultivate

Maturity involves two elements: 1) immediate obedience in specific situations and 2) long-range character growth.

Men who as boys felt neglected by their dads often remain distant from their children. The sins of fathers are passed on to children, often through the dynamic of self-protection. It hurts to be neglected, and it creates questions about our value to others. So to avoid feeling the sting of further rejection, we refuse to give that part of ourselves we fear might once again be received with indifference.

The marriage relationship is one of God's creations for building up people. It gives husbands and wives the chance to minister to an immortal human being in a uniquely intimate fashion. To enjoy the meaningfulness of marriage, then, requires a once-made but ongoing commitment of mutual ministry to our mates and the more we seize them, the more meaning our marriage will have.

Many of us place top priority not on becoming Christ like in the middle of our problems but on finding happiness.... I must firmly and consciously by an act of my will reject the goal of becoming happy and adopt the goal of becoming more like the Lord.

A vision we give to others of who and what they could become has power when it echoes what the spirit has already spoken into their souls.