5
" [W]e can accept the fact that this world is full of misery, and we can do what we can - limited though our efforts may be - to be the love of Christ to those who are hurting. To be hope to those who are discouraged. To be family to those who've been abandoned. To be healing for the brokenhearted. Balm for the suffering.
[...]
It means waking up every day and asking God how you can shed his light into the darkness around you. It means opening your heart to the feeble, the downtrodden, the afflicted. It means speaking up for the oppressed, loosening their chains. The real saints, the ones who are taking God's message of love seriously, are the ones who can see the pain around them, feel the impact of sin, and instead of losing heart or giving into despair, they covenant with God that they are going to push back that darkness. Reclaim the lost for Christ. Resist the decay and pollution and oppression that's brought the world to where it is today. That's the power we have in us[...] It's a big responsibility. "
― Alana Terry , Policed (Kennedy Stern #3)
6
" [W]e tend to over-glamorize persecution, so we get this sense that anyone suffering for their faith must be some sort of super-Christian. [...] I think it's really stunted church growth.
[...]
[P]eople glorify suffering to the point that they'll say things like the American church needs to be persecuted if we want to be purified. And they'll cite China as if it's some big Christian utopia, but [...] persecution has made it so hard to obtain Bibles in China that there might be only one copy of Scripture in the city of a million. Most folks in the west have no idea of all the heresy that can come when people don't have access to God's word.
[...]
[W]hen we treat persecuted believers like super-Christians, we sort of get this feeling like they're so spiritual and lucky to be suffering for their faith they don't even need our prayers. Right? Because we want to assume any Christian who suffers for the gospel is automatically going to be protected, so it's not really suffering. But here's how I look at it. Let's say, heaven forbid, you or I get diagnosed with some fatal illness. Now, for some believers, they're going to have a ton of peace and be completely faithful and trust that whatever God has in store for them, it's part of his perfect will. And some of us are going to handle it a lot different. Same thing with persecution. "
― Alana Terry , Captivated (Kennedy Stern #9)
14
" [S]he couldn't shake the feeling this was all her fault. That if she were more spiritual, she could overcome these demons, whether they were real or figurative. Dominic had never said so, but his steadfast, unwavering faith made her feel ashamed that she still hadn't found her perfect healing. Then there were people like Sandy, people who assured her that God could heal her completely if he wanted to, but if he wanted to, but if he chose to let her PTSD remain, it was so that through her weakness, the cross of Christ would be lifted up for all to see. Kennedy was all for God getting the glory, but wouldn't he receive that much more glory and praise if he just snapped his fingers and took her trauma away? "
― Alana Terry , Infected (Kennedy Stern #6)
