Trust is that rare and priceless treasure that wins us the affection of our heavenly Father.
Brennan ManningRead
In my experience, self-hatred is the dominant malaise crippling Christians and stifling their growth in the Holy Spirit.
Interpretation
Self-hatred undermines personal and spiritual growth among Christians.
Brennan Manning emphasizes that self-hatred is a pervasive issue that affects the spiritual development of Christians, inhibiting their ability to fully engage with and grow in their faith. He suggests that this negative self-perception can hinder one's relationship with the Holy Spirit, leading to a cycle of despair and stagnation in spiritual life.
In practice
In a sermon about overcoming personal struggles, one might mention this quote to highlight the importance of self-love.
Trust is that rare and priceless treasure that wins us the affection of our heavenly Father.
The sinners to whom Jesus directed His messianic ministry were not those who skipped morning devotions or Sunday church. His ministry was to those whom society considered real sinners. They had done nothing to merit salvation. Yet they opened themselves to the gift that was offered them. On the other hand, the self-righteous placed their trust in the works of the Law and closed their hearts to the message of grace.
There is the "you" that people see and then there is the "rest of you". Take some time and craft a picture of the "rest of you." This could be a drawing, in words, even a song. Just remember that the chances are good it will be full of paradox and contradictions.
Do you honestly believe God likes you, not just loves you because theologically God has to love you?
Suffering, failure, loneliness, sorrow, discouragement, and death will be part of your journey, but the Kingdom of God will conquer all these horrors. No evil can resist grace forever.
For Ragamuffins, God's name is Mercy. We see our darkness as a prized possession because it drives us into the heart of God. Without mercy our darkness would plunge us into despair - for some, self-destruction. Time alone with God reveals the unfathomable depths of the poverty of the spirit. We are so poor that even our poverty is not our own: It belongs to the mysterium tremendum of a loving God.
Melancholy is at the bottom of everything, just as at the end of all rivers is the sea. Can it be otherwise in a world where nothing lasts, where all that we have loved or shall love must die? Is death, then, the secret of life? The gloom of an eternal mourning enwraps, more or less closely, every serious and thoughtful soul, as night enwraps the universe.
We can have democracy in this country, or we can have great wealth concentrated in the hands of a few, but we can't have both.
The moment a man claims a right to control the will of a fellow being by physical force, he is at heart a slaveholder.
Complete adaptation to environment means death. The essential point in all response is the desire to control environment.
Because one does not want to be disturbed, to be made uncertain, he establishes a pattern of conduct, of thought, a pattern of relationships to man. He then becomes a slave to the pattern and takes the pattern to be the real thing.
I consider the difference between a system founded on _x000D_ the legislatures only, and one founded on the people, to be the true difference between a league or treaty and a constitution.
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