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4558 illustrations evoking awe
"Romans 8:28 assures believers that God is orchestrating history according to His eternal plan. In this church age especially, all things work toward the calling up of the Bride. Our sufferings are not meaningless; they fit within God's dispensational purpose." — Charles Ryrie.
"The cross is the model of how God works good out of evil. The worst thing that ever happened—the murder of God's Son—became the best thing that ever happened. Romans 8:28 follows the logic of the cross: God's way is...
"Sin's wages include the death-dealing systems of violence, war, and coercion. The gift of life creates an alternative: communities of peace, sharing, and reconciliation. We choose which economy to live in—the wage system of death or the gift economy of...
"God's love is not a response to our goodness but its cause. 'While we were sinners'—this demonstrates that God's love is pure gift. In Christ's sacrifice, continued sacramentally in the Eucharist, we encounter this love repeatedly. The Mass makes present...
"The Church is city on a hill—visible witness to the Gospel. Through corporal and spiritual works of mercy, light shines. Through the saints, light blazes. The world should see in the Church what it could become. Our good works invite...
"Perfect love enables nonviolent witness—we fear no enemy because we love even enemies. Fear drives to violence; love drives to reconciliation. The early Anabaptists faced martyrdom without fear because they were held in love. Perfect love makes martyrs, not warriors." — John Howard Yoder.
"When the Spirit comes in, everything changes! Old habits fall away; new desires arise. New creation isn't gradual improvement but supernatural transformation. The same Spirit that raised Christ creates NEW LIFE in you—right now, powerfully, completely!" — Smith Wigglesworth. Pentecostal Spirit-transformation.
"'I am the Light of the world'—Jesus says first. Then: 'YOU are the light.' We reflect His light; He remains the source. The world sees our works but glorifies the FATHER—through us, Christ shines; through Christ, the Father is known.
"Moses speaks to Joshua entering dangerous territory—God goes before the vulnerable, the threatened, those facing powerful opposition. This is solidarity with the marginalized: God does not abandon His people to empire. The promise sustains those who march toward justice." — Walter Brueggemann.
"Here is the demonstration of God's love—concrete, historical, costly. While we were sinners, Christ died. This is not legal transaction but covenant faithfulness: God keeping His promise to rescue His creation. The cross reveals God's character: love that pursues, love...
"Salvation is God's gift—entirely, completely. Yet Orthodoxy speaks of synergy: not that we add to grace, but that grace transforms us into participants. We are saved by grace through faith—faith that is itself grace's gift, making us co-workers with God." — Kallistos Ware.
"When you receive Christ, you become a new creation. The old life is gone; a new life has begun. This isn't reformation but transformation—not turning over a new leaf but receiving a new life. You must be born again, and...
"God is most glorified in us when we are most satisfied in Him. Delight in the Lord IS the goal—not merely the means to getting desires fulfilled. When God becomes our supreme treasure, our desires change. We get God; that...
"Micah's requirements transcend dispensations: Israel needed justice, mercy, humility; so does the Church. These are not law versus grace—they flow from relationship with God in every age. Until Christ returns, His people live this way, anticipating His perfect kingdom." — Warren Wiersbe.
"Wisdom is participation in divine life—theosis includes the mind. As we grow in union with God, wisdom increases. Prayer for wisdom is prayer for deeper participation in the Logos. God gives generously because He desires our transformation into His likeness." — St.
"The early Anabaptists faced drowning, burning, imprisonment—and testified that God gave them Spirit not of fear but of power. Fearless discipleship requires supernatural courage. The community emboldens each member; together we receive what we could not alone." — Stanley Hauerwas.
"You ARE the light—not 'might be' or 'should be,' but ARE. Christ in you IS light. A city on a hill cannot be hidden; neither can authentic faith. Don't hide under a bushel of fear or conformity.
"Through chrismation, you become priest, prophet, and king—sharing Christ's triple office. The royal priesthood participates in the Divine Liturgy, offering spiritual sacrifices. This dignity is theotic: you are being deified, becoming what Christ is by nature." — St. John Chrysostom.
"The enslaved found joy in the Lord despite every circumstance designed to crush joy. Delight in God was resistance—the master couldn't touch their inner joy. When we delight in the God of liberation, we desire liberation for all. Joy in...
"We are new creations—yet we remain sinners. Simul justus et peccator: simultaneously justified and sinner. The old has passed in God's verdict; the new has come in Christ's righteousness. But we live the tension until glory. New creation is real...
"Taste and see—but the tasting is infinite! God's goodness has no end; we taste forever without exhausting. This is epektasis: eternal progress into infinite divine goodness. Each taste reveals more to taste; each seeing opens more to see. God's goodness is inexhaustible." — St.
"We are not to imagine that there is any other way of access to the Father, for all intercourse between God and humanity has been cut off. Christ alone opens the door and is Himself the door.
"Grace is liberation—freedom from sin AND from oppressive structures. The poor receive grace not because they are morally better but because God's grace goes to those with nothing. 'Not of works' means the powerful cannot buy salvation; it comes freely...
"The poor are chosen—preferentially, specially. In base communities, campesinos discover their royal identity: priests who need no patron, a holy nation that belongs to God not landlords. This identity empowers; this calling liberates. The chosen people includes the excluded." — Gustavo Gutiérrez.