Your deepest, darkest sins and your shameful secrets are simply irrelevant when it comes to the counterintuitive, ecstatic announcement of the gospel. So are your goodness, your rightness, your church attendance, and all of the wise, moral, mature decisions you have made and actions you have taken.

This is why for thousands of years Christians have found the cross to be so central to life. It speaks to us of God's suffering, God's pain, God's broken heart. It's God making the first move and then waiting for our response.

Any time someone makes you feel guilty about how you are living, that is part of the old system (pre-Christ).

Why blame the dark for being dark? It is far more helpful to ask why the light isn’t as bright as it could be.

Many of the most significant moments in our lives come not because it all went right but because it all fell apart

To say it again, eternal life is less about a kind of time that starts when we die, and more about a quality and vitality of life now in connection to God. Eternal life doesn't start when we die; it starts now. It's not about a life that begins at death; it's about experiencing the kind of life now that can endure and survive even death.

Before anything else, you have received breath - the gift of life itself. The first word about you is GIFT.