Quotes from Erwin Raphael McManus

We cannot live unaffected by love. We are most alive when we find it, most devastated when we lose it, most empty when we give up on it, most inhumane when we betray it, and most passionate when we pursue it.

We are most human when love is our motive.

What if the creative act is not an act against God but a reflection of His image within us?

Most people who describe themselves as visionaries are actually saying something quite different. They are abdicating their responsibility for the details. Details matter. The more someone or something matters to us, the more the details relating to them matter to us.

Life is a series of challenges, adventures, and yes, even battles. There will always be giants to subdue and dragons to slay. I have already decided to die with my sword in hand. There is more courage in us than danger ahead of us. You are strong enough for the battles ahead.

If we are inherently spiritual creatures, we are by our nature creative beings, yet we live in the fear that if we aspire to be more we will discover ourselves to be less.

Who we were created to become already exists in the mind of God. It's placed in our physical DNA and in the longings of our soul. Our lives are supposed to be a manifestation of the imagination of God, and whatever else we leave behind—the life we choose to live and the person we choose to become—is the ultimate expression of the artisan soul.

The more you love God, the more deeply you care about life. The more deeply you care about people, the more deeply you are committed to making a difference in people's lives.

If we choose to live a small life, we do not make enough room for a big GOD.

Worship is not something we are called to so that God can reinforce his status. It is his way of calling us near.

The artisan soul is not about rebellion but about resonance.

In an ideal world, the voices that teach us language teach us self-respect, self-confidence, and self-esteem. Those same voices also form in us humility and gratitude, and as those voices inform our inner voices, they also pass on wisdom.

If the safest place to be is in the center of the will of God, then an appropriate measure of God's will is the test, 'is it safe?'... This view runs counter to what we find in the Scriptures. I want to reiterate the fact that the center of God's will is not a safe place, but the most dangerous place in the world.

The soul is both fragile and resilient...The artisan soul must be both tender and tough.

We will never know peace if we lose the present because we are trapped in the past and paralyzed by the future.

But if you choose the way of the warrior, living a life of service, it will demand of you the best you have. You may not need to be great, but the world needs your greatness. Whatever God has placed within you that could ever be described as great was never meant for you, anyway. It's a stewardship that has been given to you. Greatness never belongs to the one who carries it; it belongs to the world that needs it.

Jesus would rather have us do what is right than what is "Christian." Earlier

Ownership is not about possession; it is about responsibility. What you own matters far less than what you take ownership for. What you take responsibility for is far more important than what you think you own.

Our citizenship is in eternity; history is our temporary residence.

It is no small thing that Paul says that only with this new mind can you become a new you. So often the will of God is described as something to be received rather than something that must be perceived. Paul tells us that when our minds are renewed, it is then and only then that we are able to test and approve what the will of God is. When we see the world from this new mind, we will see that God's intention for us is good and pleasing and perfect.

God is not a drug, and He certainly does not create experiences and emotions that make us feel better but not become better.

I don't know what it means for others, but for a follower of Jesus Christ, what it means to live on the edge is to stand at the epicenter of where the kingdom of God confronts the kingdom of darkness. When evil raises its ugly head, taunting God and tormenting the weak, the adventurer rises up and moves toward the challenge. Like a guided missile, the adventurous spirit moves toward its greatest challenge.

Art exists to remind us that we have a soul, and all we need to be an artist is a soul.

Though we may create many beautiful works of art, the most important works of art to which we will ever give ourselves are the lives we live.