It is a trap to presume that God wants to make us perfect specimens of what He can do— God’s purpose is to make us one with Himself.

Am I prepared to let God grip me by His power and do a work in me that is worthy of Himself? Sanctification is not my idea of what I want God to do for me; sanctification is God's idea of what He wants to do for me, and He has to get me into the attitude of mind and spirit where at any cost I will let Him sanctify me wholly.

God does not further our spiritual life in spite of our circumstances, but in and by our circumstances.

God is not concerned about our plans; He doesn’t ask, “Do you want to go through this loss of a loved one, this difficulty, or this defeat?” No, He allows these things for His own purpose. The things we are going through are either making us sweeter, better, and nobler men and women, or they are making us more critical and fault-finding, and more insistent on our own way. The things that happen either make us evil, or they make us more saintly, depending entirely on our relationship with God and its level of intimacy.

We are built for the valley, for the ordinary stuff we are in, and that is where we have to prove our mettle.

God judges us on the basis of the miraculous atonement by the Cross of Christ.

Have I allowed my personal human life to become a 'Bethlehem' for the Son of God?