Idolatry, like all sin, is devastating to the soul. It cuts us off from the comforts of grace, the peace of conscience, and the joy that is to be our strength.
The one encouragement we can always give our children (and one another) is that God is more powerful than our sin, and He’s strong enough to make us want to do the right thing.
We need days of failure because they help humble us, and through them we can see how God’s grace is poured out on the humble.
Our beliefs about the sources of joy are frequently experienced as colored imaginations that captivate our hearts.
Believe that God is strong enough to save your children, no matter how you fail.
We are partners with our children because we are just like them, dearly loved sinners.
Idols aren’t just stone statues. No, idols are the thoughts, desires, longings, and expectations that we worship in the place of the true God. Idols cause us to ignore the true God in search of what we think we need.
in my heart is rooted in lovelessness and thanklessness…. By contrast, every truly holy act, including even the inner desire to be holy, springs out of the love and worship that He has placed in my heart.
We don’t need to pray to prove that we’re properly pious or really serious. Instead, we pray because we are completely assured, and because the Father hears our prayers because they come to Him through the lips of His dear Son.
I did my best parenting by prayer. I began to speak less to the kids and more to God. It was actually quite relaxing.
I admit that at times my prayer for my children is nothing more than vocalized unbelief aimed at God.
I thought parenting was going to reveal my strengths, never realizing that God had ordained it to reveal my weaknesses.
We need to remember how what Christ has already done transforms who we are right now — not later, once we get it together but right now in all the messes we’ve made.
Idolatry is always subject to the law of diminishing returns.
God is too great to be glorified only through the lives of His victorious children. He is glorified by our suffering and even by our sin. His sustaining strength is glorified when we walk through the furnace of affliction.