Quotes from Stephen Arterburn

8Then he gave Abraham the covenant of circumcision. And Abraham became the father of Isaac and circumcised him eight days after his birth. Later Isaac became the father of Jacob, and Jacob became the father of the twelve patriarchs.

Until we recognize where we are, we can never take measures to get to where we should be.

Be honest in everything you do, and insist on honesty from anyone with whom you share a relationship.

17So you see, faith by itself isn't enough. Unless it produces good deeds, it is dead and useless.

17Remember, it is better to suffer for doing good, if that is what God wants, than to suffer for doing wrong!

37Jesus replied: " 'Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind.'a 38This is the first and greatest commandment. 39And the second is like it: 'Love your neighbor as yourself.'a 40All the Law and the Prophets hang on these two commandments.

Misguided loyalty allows the delusions of the leader to grow and destroys the faith of the loyal.

restraint and self-control. We restrain our impulsive desires even as we feel the discomfort of putting off instant gratification and maintaining control of our lives.

There's never a better time to be that person than when you're in a relationship that you want to become a source of peace and productivity rather than anger and regret.

Instead of expressing deep hurt, the wounded female lives a miserable existence and gripes and complains about everything. She becomes addicted to her misery because it allows her to forget about her anger, or at least postpone dealing with it. Her dependency on misery is just as difficult to break as someone else's dependency on crack cocaine. Both are means to a different reality that allows for pain to be deferred.

When ministers wield absolute authority, everyone loses, even God.

Every Heart Restored

I believe recovery is a synonym for what the Bible calls "discipleship." That's why I believe the 12 Steps are for everyone. We all have our addictions --or what some people call "our favorite sins"-- that we continue to struggle with. That means we can all benefit from living out the principles of the 12 Steps.

When we are confronted with the knowledge that our life isn't under our control, we have a choice. We can continue in denial and self-righteousness, or we can face the fact that we have been blind to some important issues. If we become willing to be led into recovery and into a whole new way of life, we will find true power.

THE POINT: Summits and valleys come and go, but progress is a choice.

What allows us to step into the future is stepping back into the past.

Want to please God? Then go back over the history that's causing you regret and honestly face every single moment of it.

Comfort may lure a man away from faith as easily as danger.

We are never so loving toward others as when we have learned to be loving toward ourselves.

Don't wait to give until you receive; anyone can give something after they've first been given something themselves.

God's children can feel driven to try to seem as if they never misbehave, taking very seriously the idea that they're to be as godlike as they can possibly will themselves to be.

Admitting that you're broken truly is the first step to getting fixed.

We may have already chosen to follow God, letting him define the overall direction of our life. Even so, many of us still try to keep parts of our heart hidden from God. We have devoted these parts of ourself to gratifying our addiction, to doing things that are contrary to the will of God. This sets us up for living a double life, which can fill us with guilt, shame, and instability.

Not being able to forgive yourself for your boneheaded, arrogant, and selfish actions is one of the biggest inhibitors to living the life God most wants you to live.