Home > Work > Authentic Faith: The Power of a Fire-Tested Life
1 " When our happiness is dependent on what happens to us and when our self-focus determines our daily mood, our joy will necessarily be limited to whatever good thing happens to us. But when we learn to truly delight in the welfare of others and rejoice in what God is doing in their lives, the potential for increased joy skyrockets. "
― Gary L. Thomas , Authentic Faith: The Power of a Fire-Tested Life
2 " 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. "
3 " If we think that serving God always leads to greater prosperity, we’re selectively reading our Bibles. "
4 " When a loved one dies, when a friend moves away, when something in our life changes, we can choose to thank God for the joy he gave us in the past, or we can wallow in misery over the joy we think we will be denied in the future. The choice is ours. "
5 " Trying to find contentment in this world without addressing the inner person is no more drastic a change than simply changing cubicles while continuing to work for the same company. Your location may change, but the overall environment is exactly the same. "
6 " The reason we feel disillusioned about our life and faith is not because Christianity isn’t fulfilling, but because we’ve stopped thinking and acting like a Christian—someone who has sold all she has for the pearl of great value, someone who considers everything a loss compared to the greatness of knowing Jesus Christ. Without this opportunity to suffer we will, like Lance, “go crazy,” becoming undisciplined robots who think that relief is found in leisure and irresponsibility when in fact it comes from being wholly devoted to God’s kingdom. "
