Joel Rockey

“Many people have talked to me about God in the middle of difficulties, and after listening to them, I have been struck that, if I believed in the “God” they described, I wouldn’t run to him for help either, and I’d be in a panic”
― Paul David Tripp, Awe: Why It Matters for Everything We Think, Say, and Do

“Second, not only does the gospel prepare me to face my sin, it also frees me up to do so. Facing our sin causes us to feel guilty. Of course we feel guilty because we are guilty. And if I believe, consciously or unconsciously, that God still counts my guilt against me, my instinctive sense of self-protection forbids me to acknowledge my sin and guilt, or, at the least, I seek to minimize it. But we cannot begin to deal with a particular manifestation of sin, such as anger or self-pity, until we first openly acknowledge its presence and activity in our lives. So I need the assurance that my sin is forgiven before I can even acknowledge it, let alone begin to deal with it.”
― Jerry Bridges, Respectable Sins: Confronting the Sins We Tolerate

“So sanctification isn’t something we lean back on, as much as it’s something we lean into. Rather than being an action only God can do, all by Himself (the way justification and adoption are), sanctification is an endeavor He undertakes in full cooperation and partnership with us. It requires us to exert what you might call “grace-driven effort”—made possible only by the merciful initiative of God, of course, and yet fully employing our human brains, brawn, and body parts as we go.”
― Matt Chandler, Recovering Redemption: A Gospel Saturated Perspective on How to Change

“Confession sends a crucial message to our children. It reminds them that, yes, my parents are imperfect, but they are deadly earnest about following Christ, about wanting to change, and about doing things God’s way. Failure to confess our faults sends the opposite message. “My parents talk much about Christ, but following him is not really that important to them. They don’t walk the talk. They tell us to do one thing, but they do the other. And when they fail, they go on as if it doesn’t matter.”
― William P. Farley, Gospel-Powered Parenting: How the Gospel Shapes and Transforms Parenting