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161 " Don’t pass over this thought, because it’s crucial: Isaiah 40:29 assumes that God will call us to various tasks for which we lack enough power on our own. "
― Gary L. Thomas , A Lifelong Love: What If Marriage Is about More Than Just Staying Together?
162 " He planted marriage among humans as yet another signpost pointing to his own eternal, spiritual existence. "
― Gary L. Thomas , Sacred Marriage: What If God Designed Marriage to Make Us Holy More Than to Make Us Happy?
163 " Expecting all Christians to have a certain type of quiet time can wreak havoc in a church or small group. Excited about meaningful (to us) approaches to the Christian life, we sometimes assume that if others do not experience the same thing, something must be wrong with their faith. Please, don’t be intimidated by others’ expectations. God wants to know the real you, not a caricature of what somebody else wants you to be. He created you with a certain personality and a certain spiritual temperament. God wants your worship, according to the way he made you. That may differ somewhat from the worship of the person who brought you to Christ or the person who leads your Bible study or church. "
― Gary L. Thomas , Sacred Pathways: Discover Your Soul's Path to God
164 " Don’t run from the struggles of marriage. Embrace them. Grow in them. Draw nearer to God because of them. Through them you will reflect more of the spirit of Jesus Christ. And thank God he has placed you in a situation where your spirit can be perfected. "
165 " Knowing why we are married and should stay married is crucial. This will lead us into a discussion brilliantly argued by Maryland pastor C.J. Mahaney in an audiotape series on marriage titled According to Plan. The key question is this: Will we approach marriage from a God-centered view or a man-centered view?3 In a man-centered view, we will maintain our marriage as long as our earthly comforts, desires, and expectations are met. In a God-centered view, we preserve our marriage because it brings glory to God and points a sinful world to a reconciling Creator. "
166 " start these conversations with questions that seek understanding, not with accusations that seek submission "
― Gary L. Thomas , Cherish: The One Word That Changes Everything for Your Marriage
167 " If we live without an eternal perspective, earthly trials become larger than life. Without the hope of heaven or the sense of the importance of a growing character and refinement, there is nothing to prepare for, nothing to look forward to; it is like practicing and practicing but never getting to actually play a game. Life gets boring, tedious, and tiresome. "
168 " Christianity doesn’t make much sense without the reality of heaven. "
169 " If we are seeking glory, honor, and immortality before God, the road to get there is daily and quiet persistence, faithfulness, and obedience. "
170 " I may not receive any new insights and God may not feel particularly close. This has taught me that the demand for spiritual experience can be as gluttonous as the desire for food, money, or sex. Desire for spiritual highs needs to be contained so that we can develop other parts of our being. "
171 " Keep in mind: if your marriage and family feel like a joke or as if they’re bordering on chaos, it’s not anything that God hasn’t seen or isn’t capable of redeeming. So much of Christian teaching today is about us developing “our” gifts, improving “our” talents, reaching “our” potential, yet so much of Jesus’s teaching and modeling is about surrendering to the work of the Holy Spirit. Let’s allow marriage to teach us to trust this Holy Spirit. He’s proven Himself. "
172 " Men who are filled with the Spirit—they are alive to God, and God is active in them—and men who are full of wisdom. You won’t regret making a choice founded on that basis. "
― Gary L. Thomas , The Sacred Search: What If It's Not about Who You Marry, But Why?
173 " Getting fit can be an arduous, even painful process; living fit is filled with much joy. "
― Gary L. Thomas , Every Body Matters: Strengthening Your Body to Strengthen Your Soul
174 " Racism, prejudice, dishonesty, laziness, gluttony, materialism, selfishness—all these grow more unpleasant the longer you have to accommodate them. If you’re already tired of having to excuse your partner of one (or certainly several) of these, you’re going to have a tough time when it comes to marital satisfaction twenty years from now. "
175 " View marriage as an entryway into sanctification — as a relationship that will reveal your sinful behaviors and attitudes and give you the opportunity to address them before the Lord. But here’s the challenge: Don’t give in to the temptation to resent your partner as your own weaknesses are revealed. Don’t run from what you are hearing about yourself, or push your spouse away because of it — accept it and use it to grow. "
176 " Though pursuing holiness seems to be—and, in fact, is—a noble aim, and wanting to experience greater depth in holiness appears to be—and, in fact, is—a godly pursuit, it’s possible that our desire for increased growth may be fueled by pride, ambition, and self-interest—and our attitude as we wait is often the best indicator of what our true motivation is. "
― Gary L. Thomas , Authentic Faith: The Power of a Fire-Tested Life
177 " If we think that serving God always leads to greater prosperity, we’re selectively reading our Bibles. "
178 " The first purpose in marriage — beyond happiness, sexual expression, the bearing of children, companionship, mutual care and provision, or anything else — is to please God. "
179 " Christianity doesn’t leave us in an apathetic stupor; it raises us and our relationships from the dead! It pours zest and strength and purpose into an otherwise wasted life. "
180 " Jesus’s teachings direct us to make a decision that will lead to righteousness—to seek someone who will inspire us toward godliness, who will confront us when we go astray, who will forgive us when we mess up, who can encourage us with wisdom when we are uncertain about how to proceed. "
