Every one of us loves Pauline theology, but few of us want Pauline pain.

Without a heart transformed by the grace of Christ, we just continue to manage external and internal darkness.

He can heal me. I believe He will. I believe I'm going to be an old surely Baptist preacher. And even if He doesn't...that's the thing: I've read Philippians 1. I know what Paul says. I'm here let's work, if I go home? That's better. I understand that.

You and I are stymied in our own creativity. We can only create as sub-creators, and even then our best work is only sub-creation.

This avoidance of the difficult things of Scripture — of sinfulness and hell and God’s notable severity — is idolatrous and cowardly. If a man or a woman who teaches the Scriptures is afraid to explain to you the severity of God, they have betrayed you, and they love their ego more than they love you.

The spiritual power in the gospel is denied when we augment or adjusting gospel into no gospel at all. When we doubt the message alone is the power of God for salvation we start adding or subtracting, trusting our own powers of persuasion or presentation.

No change of job, no increased income, no new home, no new electronic device, or no new spouse is going to make things better inside of you.