The great basis of Christian assurance is not how much our hearts are set on God, but how unshakably his heart is set on us.

Adam wasn't lonely because he was imperfect but because he was perfect. The ache for friends is not the result of sin.

Repentance out of mere fear is really sorrow for the consequences of sin, sorrow over the danger of sin — it bends the will away from sin, but the heart still clings. But repentance out of conviction over mercy is really sorrow over sin, sorrow over the grievousness of sin — it melts the heart away from sin. It makes the sin itself disgusting to us, so it loses its attractive power over us. We say, ‘this disgusting thing is an affront to the one who died for me. I’m continuing to stab him with it!’

You dont fall into love. You commit to it. Love is saying I will be there no matter what.

To fail to pray, then, is not to merely break some religious rule- it is a failure to treat God as God.

When you say, "Come in Jesus as my caregiver, stay out as my Lord," he can't. He's both.

The Christian Gospel is that I am so flawed that Jesus had to die for me, yet I am so loved and valued that Jesus was glad to die for me. This leads to deep humility and deep confidence at the same time. It undermines both swaggering and sniveling. I cannot feel superior to anyone, and yet I have nothing to prove to anyone. I do not think more of myself nor less of myself. Instead, I think of myself less.