Jesus Christ did not suffer so that you would not suffer. He suffered so that when you suffer, you’ll become more like him. The gospel does not promise you better life circumstances; it promises you a better life.

Jesus's teaching consistently attracted the irreligious while offending the Bible-believing , religious people of his day.

The gospel is not only the way to enter the kingdom; it is the way to live in the kingdom.

Repentance is like antiseptic. You pour antiseptic onto a wound and, at first, it stings. Then it heals.

A person's faith can collapse almost overnight if she failed over the years to listen patiently to her own doubts, which should only be discarded after long reflection.

When you forgive, that means you absorb the loss and the debt. You bear it yourself. All forgiveness, then, is costly.

Some suffering is given in order to chastise and correct a person for wrongful patterns of life (as in the case of Jonah imperiled by the storm), some suffering is given not to correct past wrongs but to prevent future ones (as in the case of Joseph sold into slavery), and some suffering has no purpose other than to lead a person to love God more ardently for himself alone and so discover the ultimate peace and freedom.