God nowhere tells us to give up things for the sake of giving them up. He tells us to give them up for the sake of the only thing worth having - viz., life with Himself. It is a question of loosening the bonds that hinder the life.

When the Spirit fills us, we are transformed, and by beholding God we become mirrors. You can always tell when someone has been beholding the glory of the Lord, because your inner spirit senses that he mirrors the Lord’s own character. Beware of anything that would spot or tarnish that mirror in you. It is almost always something good that will stain it- something good, but not what is best.

If through a broken heart God can bring His purposes to pass in the world, then thank Him for breaking your heart.

Never make a principle out of your experience. Allow God to be as creative with others as He is with you.

When someone thinks that to develop a holy life he must always be alone with God, he is no longer of any use to others.

It is misleading to imagine that we are developed in spite of our circumstances, for we are developed because of them. It is mastery in circumstances that is needed, not mastery over them.

Our natural virtues can never come anywhere near what Jesus Christ wants.