sin | Craig T. Owens

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Links & Quotes

December 15, 2015 — Craig T. Owens

“It’s easy to label what we consider ‘good things’ in our lives as gifts from God and to welcome them with gratitude. But when difficult things happen, we don’t look at them as part of God’s good plan for us. Mary’s example [Luke 1:38] shows us we can also welcome those things we would not necessarily label ‘good,’ confident that God’s gifts sometimes come in perplexing and even painful packages. When we belong to God, we know He will use whatever He allows into our lives for good. Somehow, in God’s hands, these things also become gifts of His grace toward us.” —Nancy Guthrie

“Unless we intend completely to forfeit our holy seasons, and to allow them to be taken captive for the purposes of crass commercialism and narrow-minded narcissism, we need to make the best use of these times as God intends….” —T.M. Moore

“No one who is lost has lost one ounce of value to God. Even if you don’t have a relationship with Him, you have immense value to God. Lostness implies value. Whatever someone is willing to spend to recover something that’s lost shows how valuable that item is. In the most famous verse in the Bible, Jesus clearly explains our value: ‘God loved the world so much that He gave His one and only Son so that whoever believes in Him may not be lost, but have eternal life’ (John 3:16).” —Rick Warren

If you have trouble knowing whether to use their, there, or they’re, this may help.

“By giving to You what You do not need, and what I might enjoy, I am saying more earnestly and more authentically, ‘You are my treasure, not these things.’” —John Piper on fasting

I was going through an Advent reading plan on YouVersion, and I came across this quote: “Each Christmas is practice for the moment of Christ’s second coming, when every knee will bend, either in worship or terror.”

In this video, Brett Kunkle explains from Scripture and from personal observation how we know humans are born into sin.

“Many Christians today…choose to listen only to soft, flesh-assuring preaching. Where there is no convicting word, there can be no godly sorrow over sin. Where there is no godly sorrow for sin, there can be no repentance. And where there is no repentance, there is only hardness of heart.” —David Wilkerson

“We are tempted in our day to be ashamed of the gospel. It is thought to be bare, unintellectual, almost childish by many. Hence, they would overlay it with argument and eloquence, to make it more respectable and more attractive. Every such attempt to add to it is being ashamed of it [Romans 1:16].” —Horatius Bonar

Check out some absolutely stunning pictures from the Hubble Space Telescope!

15 More Tweetable Billy Graham Quotes

December 13, 2015 — Craig T. Owens

I recently shared 15 quotes from The Quotable Billy Graham that fit nicely into Twitter. I saw lots of those quotes appearing in other places, so here are 15 more tweetable quotes from Dr. Graham…

“Without God, the best man in the world is capable of the most terrifying crimes.”

“We have become so accustomed to immorality that it no longer seems to us to be immoral.”

“One of the best ways to get a boy to say ‘I do’ at the marriage altar is for the girl to say ‘No’ before marriage.”

“One of the worst sins we can commit is that of ingratitude.”

“I beg you not to squander life. I beseech you to take the long view. Do not live for the world only.”

“All mankind is searching for ideal conditions in a world that is anything but ideal.”

“A religion which is full of pretense is nothing but religious addiction.”

“Crisis times are the times when Christ should be proclaimed.”

“Only if Christ is a partner in the home and in the hearts of the two people will romance continue.”

“Self-respect is a wonderful thing so long as it is not produced by self-deception.”

“It has always been the mark of decaying civilizations to become obsessed with sex.”

“The three chief consequences of sin are: estrangement from God; bondage to self; disharmony with others.”

“The verb of the world is ‘get.’ The verb of the Christian is ‘give.’”

“Any philosophy which deals only with the here and now is not adequate for man.”

“Everyone meets temptations, but some folks entertain them.”

You can read my review of this book here. And check out some longer quotes from Billy Graham here and here.

Posted in Uncategorized. Tags: Billy Graham, book review, Christian, gratitude, immoral, Jesus Christ, marriage, philosophy, quotes, religion, self-respect, sexuality, sin, temptation, Twitter. 1 Comment »

7 Quotes From “Abolishing Abortion” For The Church

December 6, 2015 — Craig T. Owens

Father Frank Pavone writes persuasively and passionately about the role all of us can play in abolishing abortion throughout the world. One group that definitely needs to step to the forefront of this battle is the Church! Here are some quotes from Father Pavone specifically talking to Christians.

“People need to know that to oppose abortion does not mean to oppose those who have had one. … The Church has the perfect spiritual and psychological balance necessary for those who have been involved in an abortion. The last thing such a person needs to hear is, ‘What you did is no big deal.’ The nature of post-abortion grief is that the individual involved in the abortion has begun to realize precisely what a big deal it was. Now this person needs someone to tell her that she should not feel silly for feeling sad, that there is indeed reason for the grief in her heart, and that what her heart is telling her is true: her child was killed. A great disservice was done both to her and her child when someone convinced her that the abortion would be ‘no big deal.’ Accepting that line was a major act of denial. Healing can begin when she breaks out of denial and calls the evil what it is. … At the same time, the other line she does not need to here is, ‘You are rejected; there is no hope.’ As she realizes the evil that has occurred, she will be tempted to say this to herself. The Church, however, contradicts that despair with the clear message of forgiveness.”

“Those in the pain of abortion are not helped by silence. Some pastors refrain from preaching about abortion out of the sincere desire to not hurt women who have had abortions. Yet that silence does not interpret itself. The person grieving over abortion can infer from our silence that we do not know her pain, or that we do not care, or that there is no hope. None of this is true. With clear and compassionate messages, pastors can break through the silence that led to a woman to this disastrous choice in the first place.”

“Those who attend church regularly are statistically the most likely to be pro-life and the most likely to be pro-life activists. Within America’s Christian churches there are people enough and resources enough to end abortion, armed as the pro-life movement is with the supernatural gifts of truth and grace. It is clear that the full activation of the Church is a critical step for ending abortion. This does not primarily mean creating new structures. It simply means infusing the existing structure with greater vigor and effectiveness.”

“The pro-life movement is not primarily a response to Roe v. Wade. It is a response to Jesus Christ. His teachings not only show us why we are to be pro-life but also show us how. They give us the virtues we need to have in doing this work.”

“The Church is the only institution that has a divine guarantee that it will prevail over the culture of death. ‘The gates of hell shall not prevail against it,’ the Lord Himself said (Matthew 16:18 KJV). Now, gates do not run out on the battlefield to attack the enemy. Rather, they stand still and defend the city against the enemy attacking it. To say that the gates of hell will not prevail against the Church is to say that it is the Church that takes the offense and storms the gates of hell to win ground for Jesus Christ. Gates of hell cannot withstand the power of heaven. The gates of death fall in the presence of eternal life. Sin melts in the presence of saving grace. Falsehood collapses in the presence of living truth. These are the tools with which Christ has equipped His Church.”

“Love is found on Calvary. Love’s best symbol is not the heart but the Cross. … What Christ revealed to the world through the Cross about the meaning of love, we must also reveal through our own sacrifice for those we love.”

“Abortion is the exact opposite of love. Loves says, ‘I sacrifice myself for the good of the other person.’ Abortion says, ‘I sacrifice the other person for the good of myself.’ And isn’t it amazing that the very same words used by the culture of death to justify abortion are the words used by our Lord to proclaim life and salvation and love: ‘This is My body!’ … ‘This is My body,’ Jesus said, ‘given for you’ (see Luke 22). He did not cling to His body so that we would die but rather gave it away so that we could live. These are the words that define our mission in the world: spouse saying to spouse, parents saying to children, clergy saying to their congregation, all of us saying to our brothers and sisters, ‘This is my body, my time, my efforts, my resources, my life—given for you, that you may live!’”

I have shared other quotes from Abolishing Abortion which you can read here and here.

And be sure to check out my book review of Abolishing Abortion here.

Posted in Uncategorized. Tags: abortion, Calvary, Christian, church, Communion, Frank Pavone, grace, healing, Hell, Jesus Christ, pain, pastors, pro-life, Roe v. Wade, sacrifice, sin. Leave a Comment »

The Tweetable Billy Graham

November 24, 2015 — Craig T. Owens

Although The Quotable Billy Graham was compiled nearly 50 years ago, all of this godly man’s wisdom still rings true today. Here are some of his quotes that fit nicely into Twitter—15 tweetable quotes from Billy Graham…

“Our faith grows by expression. If we want to keep our faith, we must share it. We must act.”

“The neglect of older people is becoming an increasing sin in America.”

“The ethical and moral concepts of Christianity are found all the way through the Declaration of Independence.”

“Anxiety is the natural result when our hopes are centered in anything short of God and His will for us.”

“The world has never seen such a manifestation of selfless love as was demonstrated upon Calvary.”

“We have not practiced applied Christianity. We have restricted it to a Sunday affair.”

“Many persons today insist on coming into the church head first rather than heart first.”

“Hot heads and cold hearts never solved anything.”

“Those who stand by the Cross are those who changed the course of history.”

“Salvation is free, but discipleship costs everything we have.”

“The further we get from the fact of the Resurrection, the closer we get to the reality of distraction.”

“It is very strange that the world accepts enthusiasm in every realm but the spiritual.”

“Faith is not anti-intellectual. It is an act of man that reaches beyond the limits of our five senses.”

“Once man denies the existence of God, he can stoop to anything.”

“If you gossip in front of your children, they are going to grow up to be gossipers.”

Previously I shared some of Billy Graham’s quotes on faith and on the church.

If you would like to check out my review of The Quotable Billy Graham, please click here.

Posted in Uncategorized. Tags: anxiety, Billy Graham, book review, Calvary, children, Christian, church, Cross, Declaration of Independence, discipleship, ethics, faith, gossip, history, morality, quotes, resurrection, salvation, sin, Twitter. 1 Comment »

Links & Quotes

November 19, 2015 — Craig T. Owens

“No man can murder his brother who has not first murdered God in himself.” —Oswald Chambers

“We love our neighbors when, like Jesus, we seek them out to love them (cf. Luke 19:1-10). Jesus did not wait for lost or hurting people to find their way to Him. He went looking for them. He learned the names of many of them, and used their names freely. He took the initiative in making certain contacts, some of which He repeated many times during His earthly sojourn. Jesus started conversations with people and was doubtless a good listener. And He prayed often for others, seeking their wellbeing before the Father. We can know that we love our neighbors when, like Jesus, we go seeking them, in order to touch them with His love.” —T.M. Moore

“The Word of God is our only hope. The good news of God’s promises and the warnings of His judgment are sharp enough and living enough and active enough to penetrate to the bottom of my heart and show me that the lies of sin are indeed lies. Abortion will not create a wonderful future for me. Neither will cheating, or dressing provocatively, or throwing away my sexual purity, or keeping quiet about dishonesty at work, or divorce, or vengeance. And what rescues me from this deception is the Word of God.” —John Piper

“If you spend too much time looking for your next big break, you’ll be stealing your opportunity to do your best work. Which is the the most important break of all.” —Seth Godin

“God’s definition of promotion isn’t a move up the ladder, it is a move toward your call. Don’t let someone ‘promote’ you out of your call!” —Max Lucado

“In the parable of Matthew 18:23-27 did the king overlook his servant’s sin? Did he wink at his debt and merely excuse it? No, not at all. The fact is, by forgiving him, the king placed upon this man a weighty responsibility, a responsibility even greater than the burden of his debt. Indeed, this servant now owed his master more than ever. How? He was responsible to forgive and love others, just as the king had done for him.” —David Wilkerson

If you don’t think Planned Parenthood’s business of abortion is a huge money-maker for them, why are they spending $20 million in 2016 to elect pro-abortion candidates?

For Detroit Red Wings fan, here is a nice mini-biography of Mr. Hockey: Gordie Howe.

[VIDEO] Barbabas Piper and Bobby Conway on the difference between knowing and believing—

11 More Quotes From “Our Portrait In Genesis”

November 13, 2015 — Craig T. Owens

Oswald Chambers’ book Our Portrait In Genesis is an excellent companion book when you read the book of Genesis from the Bible. I’ve already shared a few quotes from this book here, and here. Below are a few more I found highlighter-worthy.

“Degeneration and backsliding are by no means one and the same. Degeneration begins in almost imperceptible ways; backsliding in the Scriptural use of the term is a distinct forsaking of what I know of God and a deliberate substitution of something other (cf. Jeremiah 2:13). … If I maintain my right to my natural self I will begin to degenerate and get out of God’s purpose. … If I refuse to sacrifice the natural, the God-life in me is killed.”

“To experience conviction of sin is not a cause for misgiving, but an occasion for understanding the impossible things God has done in the Redemption.”

“All through, a personal crisis ought to serve as an occasion for revealing the fact that God reigns, as well as compelling us to know our own character.”

“We have the notion that it is only when we are pure and holy that God will appear to us; that God’s blessing is a sign that we are right with Him. Neither notion is true. Our Lord took care to say that God makes His sun to rise on the evil and on the good, and sends His rain on the just and on the unjust. God’s blessings are not to be taken as an indication of the integrity of the character blessed, yet on the other hand the discernment of God’s character is determined entirely by the individual character of the person estimating God. ‘With the merciful You will show Yourself merciful’ (Psalm 18:25). The way I discern God’s character is determined by my own character. God remains true to His character, and as I grow in integrity I discern Him. Jacob’s undeservedness, and the fact that God continually blesses him, are brought out very clearly all through his life.”

“‘I can’t understand why I have no confidence in God’; the reason may be a matter of digestion, not enough fresh air, or sleep, too much tea—something slight. It is the shallow things that put us wrong much more quickly than the big things. The great object of the enemy of our souls is to make us fling away our confidence in God; to do this is nothing less than spiritual suicide. When we experience misgiving because we have sinned there is never any ambiguity as to its clause, the Holy Spirit brings conviction home like a lightning flash.”

“Prayer in distress dredges the soul (cf. Psalm 107). It is a good thing to keep note of the things you prayed about when you were in distress. We remain ignorant of ourselves because we do not keep a spiritual autobiography.”

“That is always the test of the reality of sanctification, not so much that I have received something, but that I have ceased to be my old self.”

“The warrior of God is not the man of muscle and a strong jaw, but the man of un-utterable weakness, the man who knows he has not any power; Jacob is no longer strong in himself, he is strong only in God, his life is no longer marked by striving, but by reliance on God. You cannot imitate reliance on God.”

“Authority never comes from you, but from God through you, therefore let God introduce or withhold as He chooses.”

“Beware of saying, ‘Oh well, it doesn’t matter much what I think about in secret’; it does, for the opportunity will come when what you think about in secret will find expression and spurt out in an act. The Bible always speaks of sin as it appears in its final analysis. Jesus does not say, ‘You must not covet because it will lead to stealing’; He says, ‘You must not covet because it is stealing.’ He does not say, ‘You must not be angry with your brother because it will lead to murder’; He says, ‘You must not be angry with your brother because it is murder.’”

“Four times over in this chapter [Genesis 39] is this statement made, ‘the Lord was with Joseph.’ It is the presence of God that is the secret of victory always. The fear of the Lord creates an atmosphere in which impure thoughts and unholy desires die a natural death.”

You can also read my review of this book by clicking here.

Posted in Uncategorized. Tags: atonement, backslider, blessing, book review, character development, conviction, God's blessing, Holy Spirit, humility, Jeremiah, Joseph, mercy, murder, Oswald Chambers, prayer, Psalm, quotes, redemption, sanctification, sin, thought life. Leave a Comment »

Links & Quotes

November 10, 2015 — Craig T. Owens

“The Kingdom of God is Good News because it ushers all who receive it into God’s good plan for their lives, a plan which brings them, among other things, pleasures forevermore (Psalm 16:11).” —T.M. Moore

“Remember a little more the intimate connection between the body and the soul. Go to the poor man and tell him of the bread of heaven, but first give him the bread of earth, for how shall he hear you with a starving body?” —Charles Spurgeon

“We must open our Bibles every morning with this prayer—‘Give us this day our daily bread.’” —Charles Spurgeon

“The Lord rebukes his people for seeking ‘their own’ pleasure on His holy day [Isaiah 58:3-4]. But what does He mean? He means they are delighting in their business and not in the beauty of their God. He does not rebuke their hedonism. He rebukes the weakness of it. They have settled for secular interests and thus honor them above the Lord. Notice that calling the Sabbath ‘a delight’ is parallel to calling the holy day of the Lord ‘honorable.’ This simply means you honor what you delight in. Or you glorify what you enjoy. The enjoyment and the glorification of God are one. His eternal purpose and our eternal pleasure unite.” —John Piper

“We may conclude that the chief end of God is to glorify God and enjoy Himself forever. He stands supreme at the center of His own affections. For that very reason, He is a self-sufficient and inexhaustible fountain of grace.” —John Piper

David Wilkerson warns, “We think that when we fail to trust God in our daily situations, we only harm ourselves. We think we’re simply missing out on His blessings. But that isn’t the whole story. … Unbelief is the mother of all sins.”

Stan Guthrie writes about the strange spectacle of Christian surrender in cultural ideas. He states, “We need more cultural engagement, not less, particularly in the realm of ideas.”

Max Lucado recalls an amazing story from the life of John Wesley and then asks, “How bold are your prayers?”

Posted in Uncategorized. Tags: BibleGateway, boldness, church history, culture, David Wilkerson, enjoyment, God's glory, God's Kingdom, Good News, John Piper, John Wesley, Max Lucado, prayer, Psalm, quotes, Sabbath, sin, T.M. Moore, unbelief. Leave a Comment »

9 More Quotes From “Abolishing Abortion”

November 4, 2015 — Craig T. Owens

It is time to end the evil of abortion once and for all, and Father Frank Pavone lays out a helpful game plan in his book Abolishing Abortion. Check out my review of his book here, and then read some of the quotes I found noteworthy.

“As I have often said, the last thing supporters of abortion want to discuss is abortion. You will not hear them described the procedure or any of its gory details. Often they avoid the very word, instead couching it in softer, more acceptable terms like ‘a woman’s right to choose’ or ‘reproductive rights.’ We are living in a world proud to turn a blind eye to the obvious. That great blind spot in our culture covers the children in the womb. Our mission is to shine light on that darkness.”

“The point here is not to turn the church into a political mechanism. The point is to increase the freedom of the church to speak about relevant national issues. We are not talking about preaching politics, but about preaching the Word of God as a way of illuminating politics.”

“God did not rescue us from sin and death to build a community of nervous chipmunks ever sniffing the air for potential danger. He sealed our lives with His own death-defining Spirit so that we might act in kind.” —Rev. John Ensor, Innocent Blood

“Federal law and some state laws recognize unborn children as victims if they are killed in the commission of a crime. This leads to the curious contradiction that if a pregnant woman on her way to an abortion is struck by a drunk driver, that driver can be charged with the death of the child she was about to have legally killed.”

“So when the public is horrified at Kermit Gosnell snipped the spinal cords of babies born alive, or when they are horrified that he performed abortions in the final months of pregnancy, they are not horrified by some anomaly, but by an abortion mind-set that simply exalts choice above life.”

“The incremental nature of our activities—the fact that at the present time we might pass a ban on abortions after twenty weeks but not before—is justified only as long as that limitation is not chosen by us but imposed on us by circumstances beyond our control. In other words, if I worked to pass a law to protect children at twenty weeks and later, the failure to protect them earlier must be totally beyond the scope of what I can decide. As a goal, I can never decide, choose, will, or agree to make even a single abortion acceptable or legal. But if the legislative support for protecting babies before twenty weeks does not yet exist in a particular legislative body—if, in other words, the votes just aren’t there—then I can support that ban precisely because I’m doing everything I can at the moment.”

“Our Lord simply did not follow the doctrine that successful ministry requires being liked. In fact, He promised that fidelity to Him (that is, ‘success’ in being His disciples) would guarantee persecution. It is wrong, of course, to use such a guarantee as an excuse for imprudence, insensitivity, or lack of preparation. But at the same time, it would be foolish to ignore this promise of the Lord. Our success will depend not on whether we are liked, but rather on whether we are respected. Respect flows not from doing what the other finds pleasing but from what all recognized to be consistent, courageous, and immune from the temptation to change with the wind.”

“Given such a grave situation, we need now more than ever to have the courage to look the truth in the eye and to call things by their proper name, without yielding to convenient compromises or to the temptation of self-deception.” —Pope John Paul II, The Gospel Of Life

“We need to convince the unconvinced that to be pro-life is to be pro-woman. The difference between ‘pro-life’ and ‘pro-choice’ is not that pro-lifers love the baby and pro-choicers love the woman. The difference is that the pro-choice message says you can separate the two, and the pro-life message says you cannot.”

If you would like to read the first batch of quotes I shared from this book, please click here.

Posted in Uncategorized. Tags: abortion, book review, community, Frank Pavone, government, Jesus Christ, law, ministry, mission, Pope John Paul II, pro-family, pro-life, quotes, sin. 1 Comment »

Links & Quotes

October 26, 2015 — Craig T. Owens

“Suppose you talk about depending on God and how wonderful it is, and then others see that in your own immediate concerns you do not depend on Him a bit, but on your own wits, it makes them say, ‘Well, after all, it’s a big pretense, there is no Almighty Christ to depend on anywhere, it is all mere sentiment.’ The impression left is that Jesus Christ is not real to you.” —Oswald Chambers

“The law is meant to lead the sinner to faith in Christ by showing the impossibility of any other way.” —Charles Spurgeon

“The truth is that evil is not a real thing at all, like God. It is simply good spoiled. That is why I say there can be good without evil, but no evil without good. You know what the biologists mean by a parasite—an animal that lives on another animal. Evil is a parasite. It is there only because good is there for it to spoil and confuse.” —C.S. Lewis

“The great missionary hope is that when the gospel is preached in the power of the Holy Spirit, God Himself does what man cannot do—He creates the faith that saves.” —John Piper

“Men do less than they ought unless they do all that they can.” —Thomas Carlyle

“Pastors—and not just pastors—avoid confronting issues such as cohabitation, divorce, consumerism, materialism, and greed rather than risk negative outcomes if we confront. But we do each other no favors by assiduously avoiding conflicts over faith and morality. When we do, individuals suffer, the Church suffers, and the culture has a heyday pointing out our hypocrisy.” Read more from Jim Tonkowich’s devotional here.

Dan Reiland speaks mostly to church leaders in his post Desperate Leaders. He writes, “Desperate leaders need people more than they lead people. When you are under pressure, lack confidence, and not sure how to make things work, it’s easy to want more from your people than for your people.”

[VIDEO] Tim Dilena tells us how God helps us when we are people of integrity.

Posted in Uncategorized. Tags: action, C.S. Lewis, Charles Spurgeon, confrontation, Dan Reiland, evil, faith in action, help, integrity, Jesus Christ, John Piper, law, leadership, missionary, Oswald Chambers, pastors, quotes, salvation, sin, Thomas Carlyle, Tim Dilena, video. Leave a Comment »

9 More Quotes From “Every Man’s Battle”

October 13, 2015 — Craig T. Owens

Fellas, don’t use the “I’m a guy and I can’t help it” excuse for your lust or your pornography viewing. You can do better than that! Check out my review of Every Man’s Battle by clicking here, and then read some of the quotes I highlighted below.

“Regarding sexual purity, God knows the provision He’s made for us. We aren’t short on power or authority, but what we lack is urgency. We must choose to be strong and courageous to walk into purity. The millisecond it takes to make that choice, the Holy Spirit will start guiding you and walking through the struggle with you.”

“Some hard questions:

How long do I intended to stay ensnared?
How long must my family wait?
How long before I can look God in the eye?
How long are you going to stay sexually impure?
How long will you rob your wife sexually?
How long will you stunt the growth of oneness with your wife, a oneness you promised her years ago?”

“God is waiting for you. But He is not waiting by the altar, hoping you’ll drop by and talk for a while. He is waiting for you to rise up and engage in the battle.”

“Holiness is not some nebulous thing. It’s a series of right choices. You needn’t wait for some holy cloud to form around you. You’ll be holy when you choose not to sin.”

“You can expect an inner ‘urge to fail.’ You’re accustomed to satisfying a portion of your sexual hunger through your eyes, anytime and anywhere you please. Your body will fight for these highs. As you advance in purity, the part of your sexual hunger, once fed by your eyes, remains unfed and doesn’t just disappear. This demanding hunger runs to the only available pantry left to you: your wife.”

“The magazines at the supermarket checkout might say, ‘Fantasize to a better sex life.’ The talk shows may say, ‘Let variety improve your sex life—adultery can be good!’ But in God’s kingdom, obedience always ends in joy, peace, and in this case, thrills. You can count on a sexual payoff from obedience.”

“Your mind is orderly, and your world-review colors what comes through it. The mind will allow these impure thoughts only if they ‘fit’ the way you look at the world. As you set up the perimeter of defense for your mind, your brain’s world-view will be transformed by a new matrix of allowed thoughts, or ‘allowables.’ Within the old matrix of your thinking, lust fit perfectly and in that sense was ‘orderly.’ But with a new, purer matrix firmly in place, lustful thoughts will bring disorder. Your brain, acting as a responsible policeman, nabs these lustful thoughts even before they rise to consciousness. Essentially the brain begins cleaning itself, so elusive enemies like double entendres and daydreams, which are hard to control on the conscious level, simply vanish on their own.”

“God loves pop quizzes, but He doesn’t test our knowledge with them. He tests our character.”

“Great marriages may seem rare these days, but God didn’t intend it that way. By God’s way of thinking, a vibrant, cherishing relationship is quite normal and should be quite common because, believe it or not, you already have what it takes to walk faithfully. … You and your wife already have what it takes to sculpt a glorious image of Christ’s relationship to the church, a masterpiece so lovely it will draw men and women to Christ simply by their looking at the two of you together.”

You can read other quotes from this book by clicking here.