Quotes from Timothy S. Lane

Words separate you from the rest of creation, making you more like God than like animals. The gift of words calls us to live and speak in a God-focused manner. One of our greatest mistakes in communication is to take words as our own to use as we please.

Our background, relationships, situation, and physical condition only provide the opportunity for our thoughts, words, and actions to reveal whatever is already in our hearts. Our hearts are always the ultimate cause of our responses, and where the true spiritual battle is fought.

Every day your words give your relationships their tone. Every day you tell people what you think of them, what you want from them, and what you would like to enjoy with them.

To the degree that you forget you are a sinner, you will underestimate your daily need for Christ and the relationships in his body that are his tools of change.

It is easy to forget the impact our words have on every relationship. There

The power of self-interest is still present in the believer

In this chapter we invite you to listen to your words and evaluate the way they shape your relationships.

God has a bigger agenda for our relationships than we do

Our template or road map is Ephesians 4. As you read it, ask yourself what it says about (1) the struggle of self-interest and (2) God's agenda for our relationships. This passage will be the grid you can use to look at the issues of relationship we address in this book.

I was good at helping other people see and own their sin. But I was not willing to believe that my need was just as desperate. Maybe I was blinded by my theological knowledge or my pastoral skill. But

Our culture abounds with hollow and deceptive theories of change that masquerade as biblical wisdom, often because they borrow some aspect of biblical truth. Yet they are hollow because they miss the center of biblical wisdom, which is Christ.

We love us and we have a wonderful plan for our lives! We have a dream. The problem is that it is not the Lord's.

More than that, we invite you to look at your words through the lens of Scripture.

This chapter invites you to consider the life-changing help you can find in the person and promises of the Lord Jesus Christ for your struggle with words.

Maintain the unity of the Spirit

The NIV reinforces this view by translating the last phrase to read "the kingdom of God is within you." But Jesus is saying, "The kingdom is in your midst," pointing to an internal and external reality.

If I gossip or engage in ungodly conflict, I harm the gift God has given. But if I am willing to pursue, forgive, and serve, I demonstrate care for these gifts.

I'm not happy with the way I talk to my children. I try to say the right thing, but I always end up blowing it.

Jesus is telling the Pharisees that the kingdom is right there for them to see, but they do not see it. He is saying that because the King is here, there are visible signs of his rule. What

Make every effort

Jesus is pointing to an internal reality of grace that expresses itself in observable changes in individuals and their relationships.

In other words, you can't take the gospel seriously and not take your relationships seriously.

Be humble, gentle, patient, and forbearing in love

It begins in the hearts of people and has ripple effects that spread to the farthest reaches of sin.