J Allen > Recent Status Updates

"When the Bible instructs us to fear the Lord, it doesn't mean that we should live in terror of an angry God, eager to punish us as soon as we make a mistake. Nor does it mean that we should fear final judgment when Jesus returns. Our sins are completely covered by our Savior...What, then, does it mean to fear the Lord? It means that we recognize him for who he is and we respond accordingly."-Week 3•Day 1

"This verse [1 Thess. 5:16-18] is such a sweet reminder for me. How often do I forget to pray? A lot. I worry about things. I try to control things. I talk to friends and ask for people's advice. I say that I 'need to pray about this,' but so often, I wait so long to get down to the business of praying. And yet right here is God's command to 'pray continually. '"

"None of us can work our way into earning God's favor, nor can any of us through our work maintain God's ongoing favor.... If God caused you to be born again, you can be assured that he will complete this work.... As a believer in Christ, you are as certain of heaven as though you have already been there ten thousand years. God finishes what he starts."

"But sorrow is unreliable in that way. When people don't share it there's a good chance that it will drive them apart instead."

"...but I do sometimes feel like I take more responsibility than I need to in "defending" Jesus or trying to manage other people's thoughts about God instead of following the Lord's lead and trusting the Spirit to do the life-altering work in others' hearts.... I am NOT the Holy Spirit, as it turns out."

"In the house on the other side of Jimmy live Rune and his wife. Ove wouldn't exactly call Rune his enemy... or rather, he would. Everything that went to pot in the Resident's Association began with Rune. He and his wife, Anita, moved into the area on the same day that Ove and Sonja moved in. At that time Rune drove a Volvo, but later he bought a BMW. You just couldn't reason with a person who behaved like that."