Home > Work > Jesus > Religion: Why He Is So Much Better Than Trying Harder, Doing More, and Being Good Enough
161 " No matter how we come to Jesus—whether we are coming to him for the first time or finding our way back to him after faking it, or even if we have tried to be righteous by adding our own rules to the Bible—we are all in need of his grace and truth. "
― Jefferson Bethke , Jesus > Religion: Why He Is So Much Better Than Trying Harder, Doing More, and Being Good Enough
162 " As I’ve heard said, “Of 100 unsaved men, one might read the Bible, but the other 99 will read the Christian.”1 Ouch. "
163 " If getting more girls and drinking more beer meant I'd be 'cool,' then why not? But I soon discovered that lifestyle was like drinking saltwater. If you are extremely thirsty, you'll settle for it, but it just makes you thirstier. "
164 " Many people had been sold religion with a nice Jesus sticker slapped on it. Many people had been burned by so-called Christians. Many people had been abused, hurt, mistreated, and maligned all in the name of the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit. But what their souls were craving was the true Jesus. The One who heals. The One who redeems. The One who gives life. "
165 " I don’t know where you are or where you’re coming from, but I know Jesus has a better plan for your life than you do. He is a better king of your life than you are. No one has caused me more hurt, shame, guilt, and pain than me. He knows, and he rescues me. He can do the same for you. Just come as you are. "
166 " A crooked stick can still draw a straight line, and a messed-up dude like me can still write about an awesome God. "
167 " He came not to save people but to save his entire creation, which we are a part of. "
168 " That’s the truth with any idol—it will rock you to your core when it leaves. When a good thing leaves you, it might make you sad. But when an ultimate thing leaves you, you feel like you can’t live anymore. "
169 " If you have a thankful heart and are using that domain to reflect God's beauty as a Creator, then you are worshiping. Listening to Hillsound United isn't worship; it's and aid for worship. I found a deeper level of joy and connection with Jesus when I realized that eating a good meal with thankfulness was just as holy as my prayer time. The truth is, Go doesn't just want your "Christian" things. He wats it all. When we realize the beauty of God's grace in the mundane, not just the religious, that's when we will begin to see him correctly. "
170 " We love God by loving his people. "
171 " The truth is, sometimes the good plan he has for our lives is to make us look more like him, which more often than not takes pain. "
172 " Thankfulness is the quickest path to joy. He owes us nothing, but he gives us everything. "
173 " God didn’t create us to work at the food bank once a year and feel good about ourselves. He didn’t create us to say looking at porn only once a month is a victory. He didn’t create us to walk by a homeless guy begging for money and think, He’ll probably just buy some beer. God didn’t create us to come to him only when we need him—like he’s our eternal dentist or something. "
174 " In this world pain is inevitable, and sometimes it’s one of the only things that can help us grow. "
175 " Too many times we curse the rain in our lives—suffering, trials, hardships—but the truth is, without rain nothing grows. Without rain there’s no fruit—just dry, flaky, and nasty leaves. Sometimes suffering is actually God’s blessing rather than God’s curse. "
176 " If Jesus is in you, you should attract the marginalized and beaten-down members in society, just as he did. And there will be some people who aren’t happy with it. "
177 " We have religion, but we don’t have Jesus. We have a good role model, but we don’t have God. We have theological debates, but we don’t have the living Word. We have good works, but we don’t have the source of good works. We have love, but not the God who is love. "
178 " But Jesus isn’t rocking a cardigan, and he doesn’t talk softly through his nose. He’s a roaring lion. "
179 " The problem we have with Jesus isn’t that he gives life and grace freely, but that we have to admit our need for it. "
180 " It’s hard to convince people Jesus is a great savior when they don’t think they need saving. "