Our default faith mode is to trust, above all things, our own ability to create a safe, controllable, predictable world.

Jesus is not the man at the top of the stairs; He is the man at the bottom, the friend of sinners, the savior of those in need of one. Which is all of us, all of the time.

Legalism breeds a sense of entitlement that turns us into complainers.

Graciousness is the fruit of someone who knows how badly they themselves need grace.

The gospel sets us free to become the romantic leaders of our marriages without fright or hesitation. Because we have been forever wooed by Jesus, we are now free to forever woo our wives.

Only the gospel can truly save you. The gospel doesn't make good people good; it makes dead people alive. That's the difference between the gospel of Jesus Christ and every other world religion. All the others exhort their followers to save themselves by being good, by conforming their lives to whatever their worshiped deity is. But the gospel is God's acceptance of us based on what Christ has done, not on what we can do.

I had turned personal validation into my primary source of meaning and value, so that without it I was miserable and depressed.