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4558 illustrations evoking awe
"Light shines from holy lives—personal and social holiness visible to the world. Your good works are fruits of sanctification: feeding hungry, visiting prisoners, loving neighbor. Holiness is not hidden; it illuminates. The world sees transformed lives and glorifies God." — John Wesley.
"'Your spiritual worship'—logike latreia—reasonable worship, worship that engages the whole person. The Eucharist is our sacrifice joined to Christ's. We offer ourselves on the altar alongside the bread and wine, transformed with them into Christ's body." — Pope Benedict XVI.
"The moment you believe, you are a new creature. Not shall be—ARE. Not becoming—BECOME. Instantaneously, at the point of faith, old things pass away and all things become new. This is the miracle of regeneration: not gradual reform but instant new creation." — Charles Spurgeon.
"Every Christian is a priest! The medieval church stole this birthright; the gospel restores it. No mediator but Christ; no priest but every believer. You have direct access to God; you can intercede for others; you offer spiritual sacrifices. This...
"Neither death nor life can separate us—I write this from prison, facing execution. Death cannot separate! This is the gospel's triumph: love that passes through death and out the other side. Christ died and rose; His love is resurrection love,...
"The gift is eternal life IN CHRIST JESUS our Lord. Not life apart from Him but life in Him. Christ is the gift; receiving Him is receiving life. The wages were paid at the cross; the gift was won at resurrection.
"Our hearts are restless until they rest in You, O Lord. Delight in the Lord is the soul's homecoming. Through prayer, through Eucharist, through contemplation, we taste and see. The saints show us—those who delighted most received most. Desire follows delight." — St.
"God's ways are not our ways—but in Jesus they are revealed. Human ways are violence; God's way is peace. Human ways are domination; God's way is servanthood. The cross shows how different God's thoughts are. Jesus IS God's higher way...
"Stillness is not emptiness but attention. 'Be still and know'—attend to reality, to God's presence woven through all things. In contemplative stillness, we see what busyness blinds us to: God present, God acting, God speaking. Knowing comes through attentive stillness." — Rowan Williams.
"The goal of Christian life is acquisition of the Holy Spirit—and the Spirit-filled person radiates light, as Christ did on Tabor. The saints literally shine with uncreated light. Our good works flow from theosis; we become light as we participate in divine nature." — St.
"The promise of Romans 8:28 points toward theosis: God works all things for our 'good'—and that good is nothing less than our deification, our participation in the divine nature. Everything serves this ultimate purpose: to make us by grace what...
"Reason is a beautiful thing, but it must know its limits. 'Lean not on your own understanding'—reason submitted to revelation. Faith goes where reason cannot follow. Trust God's promise even when it contradicts your calculations." — Martin Luther. Lutheran: faith over reason.
"Romans 8:28 does not promise that everything that happens is good. It promises that God is at work in everything, bringing good even from terrible circumstances. This is not passive acceptance but active hope that participates in God's redemptive work." — Barbara Brown Taylor.
"Delight is cultivated—we choose to fix our hearts on God; we practice His presence until joy overflows. This is cooperative grace: God offers Himself as our delight; we respond by delighting. Holy affections grow; desires are sanctified. Heart-transformation is the...
"God's presence transforms fear into boldness. As the soul progresses in theosis, fear diminishes—not because danger decreases but because union with God increases. 'I am with you' becomes experienced reality, not mere doctrine. Fear cannot survive divine union." — St.
"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...
"'Lean not on your own understanding'—this is humility. The proud soul trusts itself; the humble soul trusts God. In the Orthodox way, trust grows through prayer, fasting, and submission to spiritual direction. The path straightens as pride dies." — St.
"The heart is utterly corrupted; nothing less than creation will do. David asks God to do what only God can do: make new. This is not repair but recreation, not modification but transformation. Our depravity runs so deep that only...
"Taste and see—supremely in the Eucharist! We literally taste the Lord's goodness; His Body and Blood nourish body and soul. The Mass is the invitation: come, taste, see that the Lord is good. Sacramental feeding is spiritual tasting." — St.
"This is the missionary message: sin pays death; God gives life. Every culture knows death is coming; we announce that life is offered. The contrast is stark, the offer is free, the gift is Christ. This is what we carry...
"To be crucified with Christ is to stand with the crucified peoples of history. Christ died on the cross of empire; His followers die to empire's logic. 'Christ lives in me' means solidarity with victims becomes my life. The crucified...
"'Through Christ'—here is everything. Not merely by Christ's help from a distance, but through union with Him, through participation in His life. His strength becomes ours because we are IN Him. This is no self-help; this is Christ-help through Christ-union." — Karl Barth.
"The thief steals, kills, destroys—this is the enemy's agenda. But Jesus came that we might have LIFE, and have it ABUNDANTLY! Not mere existence but overflowing life. Eternal life begins now; full life flows from the Good Shepherd. This is...
"'I know the plans I have for you'—GOD knows. Not your circumstances. Not your enemies. God's sovereign knowledge encompasses past, present, and future. Our hope rests not in understanding the plan but in trusting the Planner whose counsel stands forever." — R.C.