Alan Kraft > Quotes

“Two paths with very worthy objectives, but only one results in pleasing God; ironically, it is not the Pleasing God path! When we choose the path of Pleasing God, we end up neither pleasing Him nor learning to live by faith. Our spiritual lives are dependent upon our ability to follow. But when we choose the Trusting God path, continually admitting our brokenness and humbly embracing the sufficiency of Christ, we experience both trusting God and pleasing God. Our spiritual lives are not motivated by guilt, fear, and shame but by love, desire, and gratitude. Two paths … very different results. In the powerful words of Robert Frost, “I chose the road less traveled, and that has made all the difference.” This choice truly does make all the difference in our lives.”
― Alan Kraft, Good News for Those Trying Harder

“The Bible introduces us to a group of sincere, devout people whose primary objective in life was to be good. In their passionate desire to please God, they committed themselves to earnestly seeking how to best follow God’s commands. They were people of prayer, giving, and devotion to God’s Word. Models of spiritual maturity, they set an example for others to follow in their zeal to obey God. Jesus often interacted with these folks, otherwise known as the Pharisees, and had some very choice words to describe their approach to the spiritual life: Woe to you, teachers of the law and Pharisees, you hypocrites! You clean the outside of the cup and dish, but inside they are full of greed and self-indulgence. Blind Pharisee! First clean the inside of the cup and dish, and then the outside also will be clean. (Matt. 23:25–26)”
― Alan Kraft, Good News for Those Trying Harder

“Gospel Drift Every one of us is vulnerable to this gospel drift in our spiritual lives. Without realizing it, we stop hearing the melodies of brokenness and faith and instead begin pursuing a spirituality of self-effort and self-sufficiency.”
― Alan Kraft, Good News for Those Trying Harder

“If every sin we faced was simply another enemy to conquer and after achieving victory we moved onto the next battle, how aware would we be of our continual need for Jesus?”
― Alan Kraft, Good News for Those Trying Harder

“The Trusting God path leads us to a door upon which is written “Brokenness.” As you take hold of the doorknob of Humility, you enter into the room of Grace—God’s undeserved and unending love and favor poured out upon you. There are others in the room who are broken and sinful, just like you, and yet there is no competition or condemnation. The focus is on Christ and His sufficiency.”
― Alan Kraft, Good News for Those Trying Harder

“It's one thing to wait at a stop light or in a doctor's office. It's another thing to wait for news upon which your life depends. In those circumstances, our waiting highlights the fact that this situation is completely out of our control. We are totally dependent upon someone else”
― Alan Kraft, More: When a Little Bit of the Spirit Is Not Enough

“Comedian George Carlin once observed, “Have you ever noticed that anybody going slower than you is an idiot and anyone going faster than you is a maniac?”1 Isn’t it interesting how our behavior instinctively becomes the standard through which we evaluate others?”
― Alan Kraft, Good News for Those Trying Harder

“When I tried to understand all this, it was oppressive to me till I entered the sanctuary of God; then I understood their final destiny.… Whom have I in heaven but you? And earth has nothing I desire besides you. My flesh and my heart may fail, but God is the strength of my heart and my portion forever. (Ps. 73:16–17, 25–26)”
― Alan Kraft, Good News for Those Trying Harder

“How do we get faith strengthened? Not by striving after faith but by resting in the Faithful One.”
― Alan Kraft, Good News for Those Trying Harder

“This is how faith changes us. It is not simply that we are trusting Jesus to help us become more holy. No. It is that we are more and more allowing the holiness of Christ to be freely expressed in us. Rather than trying to be more righteous, we actually experience His righteousness flowing through us. Rather than us trying to be more loving, we experience His love flowing through us into the people around us. Rather than us trying to have more holy desires, we experience the holy desires of Jesus. This is what sanctification looks like. This is what it means to drink deeply of Jesus. The more deeply and frequently we drink, the more fully His life is expressed through us.”
― Alan Kraft, Good News for Those Trying Harder

“The fact that the Scriptures are brim full of hustlers, murderers, cowards, adulterers, and mercenaries used to shock me. Now it is a source of great comfort. —Bono”
― Alan Kraft, Good News for Those Trying Harder

“we begin seeing the Bible as a context for a personal encounter with Christ, it can radically impact our motivation and desire to spend time in the Word.”
― Alan Kraft, Good News for Those Trying Harder

“For many Christ-followers, the Bible is a book of principles to show us how to live. No wonder we struggle to spend time in the Word—how excited are you about spending time reading a to-do list that’s 1,500 pages long? When we view the Bible primarily as a book of principles for living, we miss the point. The point of the Bible is not principles but a Person. Jesus said in John 5:39, “These are the Scriptures that testify about me.” He is the point. If our interaction with the Word isn’t resulting in a deepening intimacy with Jesus, a deepening experience of His love and grace, we are missing something huge.”
― Alan Kraft, Good News for Those Trying Harder

“I believe that the Gospel was never intended to solely be the wedding music of our relationship with Jesus, an expression of the Beginning of our lives with Christ. Rather, it is to be a life giving song that is heard in our souls every moment of our spiritual lives - a beautiful sound track that plays from beginning to end.”
― Alan Kraft