Quotes About Grace

I have a musical called Goodbye and Good Luck, based on a Grace Paley short story. I also have King Island Christmas, and there are 20 different productions of it this year.

The Bible is not a book of science. The Bible is a book of redemption,

The Father's love reflects the Father's character, not the children's behavior. My behavior—whether responsible or irresponsible—is beside the point. Responsible behavior does not increase the Father's love, nor does irresponsible behavior decrease it.

In order for our knowing of God's love to be truly transformational, it must become the basis of our identity. Our identity is who we experience ourselves to be—the I each of us carries within. An identity grounded in God would mean that when we think of who we are, the first thing that would come to mind is our status as someone who is deeply loved by God.

The God Christians worship loves sinners, redeems failures, delights in second chances and fresh starts, and never tires of pursuing lost sheep, waiting for prodigal children, or rescuing those damaged by life and left on the sides of its paths.

Christian obedience should always be based on surrender to a person, not simply acceptance of an obligation. It is surrender to love, not submission to a duty.

Only the Lord God unconditionally cherishes human beings. Only the Lord God forgives all our offenses and teaches us how to forgive ourselves. Only the Lord God provides everything he demands. Only the Lord God offers the life of his own Son for the salvation of his people.

If God loves and accepts you as a sinner, how can you do less? You can never be other than who you are until you are willing to embrace the reality of who you are. Only then can you truly become who you are most deeply called to be.

But God wants something better than fig leaves for us. God wants us to be aware of our helplessness so we can know that we need Divine help. God's deepest desire for us is to replace our fig leaves with garments of durability and beauty (Genesis 3:21).

The Father's love reflects the Father's character, not the children's behavior.

Real knowing of ourselves can only occur after we are convinced that we are deeply loved precisely as we are. The fact that God loves and knows us as sinners makes it possible for us to know and love our self as sinner. It all starts with knowing God's love.

Grace is totally alien to human psychology. We want to get our house in order and then let God love and accept us. The psychology of works-righteousness and self-certification is foundational to the human psyche and totally at odds with grace.

Miracles are merely events that happen just when they are needed.

Definite atonement refers not only to the intended target of the atonement—namely, the elect—but also to its efficacy: the atonement achieves its purpose, full and final salvation for the elect.

has been completely and decisively forgiven at the cross of Christ (10:14).

The atonement does not make possible the spiritual quickening of all people; it makes certain and effective the spiritual quickening of the elect. That is the conclusion of Paul's teaching on grace in Ephesians 1:4–6 and 2:4–5.

Jesus, I recognize that I need your forgiveness, and the life you offer. Thank you for dying for my sins and rising from the dead on my behalf, so that you could give me true life. I receive you by faith as my Savior and Lord. I trust you to forgive my sins, give me a new heart, join yourself to me forever, and come to live within me. Thank you for giving me new life.

from the minute I saw your face, your round, light-filled face, with its beautiful, wise, pure forehead, with its roots of strong, dense hair, which I stupidly believed testified to your strong grip on life, and your broad, large, generous, dancing body – don't you dare erase even one of those adjectives – you were such medicine for me, such medicine for the dry bachelorhood that had closed in on me

Bisognerebbe chiarire una volta per tutte perché "un momento brutto" può andare avanti per mesi, mentre un momento di grazia dura sempre e soltanto un momento.

Just do what you do, and then leave: such is the Way of heaven.

This is the meaning of the covenant promise, "I will be the God of your children." The covenant promise does not mean, "I will be the God of your infant children some day, when they grow up, on the condition they believe or have a conversion experience." But the promise means: "I will be the God of your infant children, now, in their infancy, because of my own grace in Jesus Christ and, therefore, some day those who grow up will believe and be converted.

The Atonement allows us to grow,

2 Behold, God is my salvation; I will trust, and not be afraid: for the Lord JEHOVAH [Jesus Christ] is my strength and my song: he also is become my salvation.

If the only prayer you ever say in your entire life is thank you, it is sufficient. Meister Eckhart