Focus on What Jesus has Done

“When you sin it’s perfectly natural to feel bad and it takes no faith to reach for the fig leaves of dead religion. But if your sorrow is to be godly sorrow, then your focus must be on what Christ has done and not what you have done. As Andrew Wommack says: ‘If you feel like you’re so sorry, then praise him for the fact that he loves such a sorry person as you! Instead of focusing on your unworthiness, thank him for his goodness.’” -- Paul Ellis

Photo by Racineur

Test of Maturity

“The true test of our maturity is not measured in how much we leave behind, but how much we love.” -- Ed Stetzer

Photo by fauxto_digit

Works vs. Rest

“Jesus didn’t die so we could amass a spiritual resumé of good works but so that we could rest in his righteousness as we obey out of love and humility.” -- Caleb Flores

Photo by Flazingo Photos

How to Get the Attention of the World

“And if we are surrounded by a world which no longer believes in the concept of truth, certainly we cannot expect people to have any interest in whether a man's doctrine is correct or not. But Jesus did give the mark that will arrest the attention of the world, even the attention of the modern man... Because every man is made in the image of God and has therefore aspirations for love. There is something that can be in every geographical climate, in every point of time, which cannot fail to arrest his attention. What is it? The love that true Christians show for each other, and not just their own party.” -- Francis Schaeffer

Genuine Love

“Genuine love is not primarily a feeling but a costly decision to sacrifice yourself for the good of another person.” -- Mark Altrogge

The Christian Life

“The liberating truth of the Christian gospel is that God’s love for us and approval of us has nothing to do with us. The Christian life commences with grace, continues with grace, and concludes with grace. Jesus met all of God’s holy conditions so that your relationship to God could be wholly unconditional.” -- Tullian Tchividjian

The Greatest Love

"The greatest love the human soul can have is to know and love his Creator. To love God. For this love to be the defining love of his whole life and for all of life to revolve around it. All the heart. All the soul. All the mind (Matthew 22:37)." -- Steve DeWitt

Warped Affections

"We exchange the truth about God for a lie. And because we do not believe in God as we should, something else comes to matter more to us than God. Sin is always the result of misplaced affections. Sin makes promises. When we believe those promises, we think sin offers more than God. This lie warps our affections. Our love, our delight, our fear, and our hope become misplaced." -- Tim Chester and Steve Timmis

How to Measure the Worth and Excellency of a Soul

"The worth and excellency of a soul is to be measured by the object of its love.' -- Henry Scougal

For This Reason Only

"Christ has been manifested in a human body for this reason only, out of love and goodness for His Father, for the salvation of men." -- St. Athanasius

Related Links
The Christmas Gospel - Scot McKnight
The Story of Christmas - An Animation (12:57)
Christmas is About a Tree (4:10)

Gospel Quote - The Secret to Change

"When we go to the cross, we see our God dying for us. If you let any other god down, it will beat you up. If you live for people’s approval or your career or possessions or control or anything else and you don’t make it or you mess up, then you’ll be left feeling afraid, downcast, or bitter. But when you let Christ down, he still loves you. He doesn’t beat you up; he died for you. Let his love win your love, and let that love replace all other affections. The secret of change is to renew your love for Christ as you see him crucified in your place." -- Tim Chester

Photo by Racineur

Gospel Quote - Fathering Like God

"The more a man settles into the perfect love of God, the more his fathering becomes an approximation of the perfect Father. The more rooted you are in God’s approval, the more inclined you are to give it to your kids. The more you are aware of the holiness of God, the more you will call your children into his holiness—cultivating their soul. The more you are aware of God’s unfathomable grace, the more quick you will be to extend it to your children." -- Jonathan Dodson

Photo by Kate Dreyer

New Graphic - Proof that God Loves Sinners

Here is the latest graphic I made in English and Romanian. You can download them here: English Romanian or click on the image and download it directly. Here is a link to all the graphics I have made so far: William's graphics.

Gospel Quote - Stop Running and Come Home

(Continued from yesterday) "God gave us the car-keys to planet earth and said, “Go have fun!” True, we responded by crashing the car. But don’t miss the bigger point, which is this: Knowing what we would do, and knowing how much it would cost him to repair the damage, God went ahead and did it anyway. Why? Because he loves us and believes in us and hopes that one day we will stop running and come home." -- Paul Ellis

Photo by Ryan McAbee

Gospel Quote - A Reckless Gamble

(Continued from yesterday) "Think about it. In the beginning God makes a planet – perfect in every way – and then he gives his beautiful, shiny planet to us to look after: ‛The highest heavens belong to the Lord, but the earth he has given to man.’ (Psalms 115:16) You might say it was a reckless gamble, but I say it was an audacious act of love and trust, like when a father hands his daughter the keys to his Shelby Mustang and says, ‛Go have some fun!’”  -- Paul Ellis (Continued tomorrow)

Also Posted Today
Thanksgiving Graphic

What is Grace? Joseph R. Cooke

“Grace is nothing more or less than the face that love wears when it meets imperfection, weakness, failure, sin. Grace is what love is and does when it meets the sinful and undeserving. It’s what enables us to see beyond one another’s faults so that we can love one another without reference to whether that love has been earned or deserved. It’s what God does when He reaches out in love–sinful as we are–and welcomes us into a relationship with Himself.” -- Joseph R. Cooke, Celebration of Grace