Josh Smith

“Moralistic behavior change simply manipulates and leverages radical selfishness without challenging it. It tries to use that selfishness against itself by appealing to fear and pride. But while this may have some success in restraining the heart's self-centeredness, it does absolutely nothing to change it. Indeed, it only confirms its power.”
― Timothy J. Keller, Center Church: Doing Balanced, Gospel-Centered Ministry in Your City

“Hope is not defined by the absence of hardship. Rather, hope is found in God’s grace in the midst of hardship. Hope is found in his promise to give us a future.”
― Stuart Scott, Counseling the Hard Cases

“God’s sovereignty does not negate our responsibility to pray, but rather makes it possible to pray with confidence.”
― Jerry Bridges, Trusting God: Even When Life Hurts

“After escaping from Paris and finally leaving France entirely, Calvin spent his exile in Basel, Switzerland, between 1534 and 1536. To redeem the time, “he devoted himself to the study of Hebrew.” (Imagine such a thing! Would any pastor today, exiled from his church and country, and living in mortal danger, study Hebrew? What has become of the vision of ministry that such a thing seems unthinkable today?)”
― John Piper, The Legacy of Sovereign Joy: God's Triumphant Grace in the Lives of Augustine, Luther, and Calvin