We have control over our prayer life, our relationship with Jesus.
Francis ChanRead
We need to stop giving people excuses not to believe in God. You've probably heard the expression 'I believe in God, just not organized religion'. I don't think people would say that if the church truly lived like we are called to live.
Interpretation
The quote emphasizes that the behavior of religious institutions can impact people's belief in God.
Francis Chan's quote suggests that many individuals distance themselves from organized religion due to perceived failures or hypocrisy within religious institutions. He argues that if churches truly embodied the principles and values they profess, fewer people would feel compelled to reject organized faith, indicating a call for authenticity and integrity in religious practice.
In practice
In a sermon focusing on the importance of genuine faith, this quote can serve to challenge the congregation to live more authentically.
We have control over our prayer life, our relationship with Jesus.
A disciple is a disciple maker.
Don't fall into the trap of studying the Bible without doing what it says.
Our God listens to us. Our God is a living God. He's not a block of wood you made up that's not going to answer you. My God listens to me. He answers me.
...I don't have to worry about not meeting His expectations. God will ensure my success in accordance with His plan, not mine.
People who are obsessed with Jesus aren't consumed with their personal safety and comfort above all else. Obsessed people care more about God's kingdom coming to this earth than their own lives being shielded from pain or distress.
We shall never see much change for the better in our churches in general till the prayer meeting occupies a higher place in the esteem of Christians.
We need to discover all over again that worship is natural to the Christian, as it was to the godly Israelites who wrote the psalms, and that the habit of celebrating the greatness and graciousness of God yields an endless flow of thankfulness, joy, and zeal.
A community of Jesus which seeks to hide itself has ceased to follow him.
When my heart is cold and I cannot pray as I should I scourge myself with the thought of the impiety and ingratitude of my enemies, the Pope and his accomplices and vermin, and Zwingli, so that my heart swells with the righteous indignation and hatred and I can say with warmth and vehemence: 'Holy be Thy Name, Thy Kingdom come, Thy Will be done!' And the hotter I grow the more ardent do my prayers become.
What is clear is that the Gospel of Judas has joined the other spectacular discoveries that are exploding the myth of a monolithic Christianity and showing how diverse and fascinating the early Christian movement really was.
What is the reason that some believers are so much brighter and holier than others? I believe the difference, in nineteen cases out of twenty, arises from different habits about private prayer. I believe that those who are not eminently holy pray little, and those who are eminently holy pray much.
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