Joel

“John: What does it mean then to talk about God’s judgment? Dallas: Well, he eventually has to deal with where things come out, and that will simply be a matter of declaring the truth. That will get past all of our rationalizations and explanations, and we will look at that and say, “That is true. That’s what I was. That’s what I did.” Now, I don’t think the issue of whether you are going to heaven or hell is settled on that basis, but it’s an important one. I don’t mean to suggest that it’s not. But I believe that the only people who will not be in heaven are people who don’t want to be there. When you think about it, if you don’t really like God, you don’t want to be in heaven.”
― Dallas Willard, Living in Christ's Presence: Final Words on Heaven and the Kingdom of God

“Religion and its defenders have always been the most insidious enemy of the true faith precisely because they are not glaring opponents; they are impostors. A raving pagan is easier to dismiss than an elder in your church. Before Jesus came along, the Pharisees ran the show. Everybody took what they said as gospel—even though it didn’t sound like good news at all. But we wrestle not against flesh and blood. The Pharisees and their brethren down through the ages have merely acted—unknowingly, for the most part—as puppets, the mouthpiece of the Enemy.”
― John Eldredge, Waking the Dead: The Glory of a Heart Fully Alive

“And so leading up to his words “Come to me, all you that are weary and are carrying heavy burdens,” is Jesus’ statement, “I thank you, Father, . . . because you have hidden these things from the wise and the intelligent and have revealed them to infants” (Matthew 11:25, 28 NRSV). He is actually talking to people who are carrying a terrible religious burden. That is what religion does to you. It wears you out. If there is anything that we need to do, it is to learn how to lay down the burdens of religion in a loving, intelligent way.”
― Dallas Willard, Living in Christ's Presence: Final Words on Heaven and the Kingdom of God

“The story of your life is the story of the long and brutal assault on your heart by the one who knows what you could be and fears it.”
― John Eldredge, Waking the Dead: The Glory of a Heart Fully Alive