Quotes from Timothy S. Lane

Yet we are most true to our identity and calling when we live in the midst of broken people.

Humility enables us to see our own sin before we focus on the sin and weaknesses of another.

We are to be in the world, though not of it. Often Christians have evaded the challenge of this call by defining their role as salt in negative terms. They have simply denounced bad things in the culture and been against things rather than for them.

A gentle person can use strength without damaging those he is trying to help.

We are called to be people of great character so that, when we come in contact with the world, our character influences those around us.

Do people regularly feel bruised in their relationship with you?

There is one Spirit, one Lord, and one Father

Positive personal change takes place when my dreams of change line up with God's purposes for change.

Father, Son, and Spirit were torn apart so that we might be united with them and with each other.

The call we have considered in this chapter is not just a call to ministry; it is a call to worship.

Human beings are always tempted to love and serve things in the creation rather than the Creator. So often, we think of false worship and idolatry only in terms of things that are obviously sinful. While this can be the case, Romans 1:25 indicates that idolatry is often the result of taking good things in creation and making them ultimate things.

Because it is grounded in the Trinity, our unity also allows us to celebrate our diversity in the body of Christ.

The Bible describes the Christian life as a journey that often takes us through the wilderness. You will get tired and confused. You will have moments when you wonder where God is.

But he is asking us to own the connection between our thoughts, desires, and words.

But to each one of us grace has been given as Christ apportioned it

Your words are always in pursuit of some kind of kingdom.

So that the body of Christ may be built up

You are either speaking as a mini-king, seeking to establish your will in your relationships and circumstances; or you are speaking as an ambassador, seeking to be part of what the King is doing. There

Our purpose is to get what we want, but God's purpose is to give us what we really need.

it's about speaking with a biblical agenda. If

I want all of our talk to be redemptively constructive, from the most mundane details to the huge life decisions.

We enter relationships for personal pleasure, self-actualization, and fun. We want low personal cost and high self-defined returns. But God wants high personal cost and high God-defined returns.

Only when we start with God—someone bigger than ourselves—can we escape the destructive results of our own selfishness.

The words of an ambassador are always other-centered. Consider the problem ("according to their needs")