God is loving us - you and me - this moment, just as we are and not as we should be. Brennan Manning More Quotes by Brennan Manning More Quotes From Brennan Manning Live in the wisdom of accepted tenderness. Tenderness awakens within the security of knowing we are thoroughly and sincerely liked by someone... Scripture suggests that the essence of the divine nature is compassion and that the heart of God is defined by tenderness. Brennan Manning compassionessenceheart The beauty of the ragamuffin gospel lies in the insight it offers into Jesus: the essential tenderness of His heart, His way of looking at the world, His mode of relating to you and me. 'If you really want to understand a man, don't just listen to what he says, but watch what he does. Brennan Manning heartlyingjesus The North American Church is at a critical juncture. The gospel of grace is being confused and compromised by silence, seduction, and outright subversion. The vitality of the faith is being jeopardized. The lying slogans of the fixers who carry religion like a sword of judgment pile up with impunity. Let ragamuffins everywhere gather as a confessing Church to cry out in protest. Revoke the licenses of religious leaders who falsify the idea of God. Sentence them to three years in solitude with the Bible as their only companion. Brennan Manning confusedreligiouslying The ragamuffin gospel reveals that Jesus forgives sins, including the sins of the flesh; that He is comfortable with sinners who remember how to show compassion; but that He cannot and will not have a relationship with pretenders in the Spirit. Brennan Manning forgivingcompassionjesus To affirm a person is to see the good in them that they cannot see in themselves and to repeat it in spite of appearances to the contrary. Please, this is not some Pollyanna optimism that is blind to the reality of evil, but rather like a fine radar system that is tuned in to the true, the good, and the beautiful. Brennan Manning evilbeautifulreality Anyone we come in contact with, we either offer them life, or we drain them. Brennan Manning drainscontactoffers Real freedom is freedom from the opinions of others. Above all, freedom from your opinions about yourself. Brennan Manning about-yourselfopinionreal Let us be bold enough to ask ourselves as Christians whether the Church of the Lord Jesus in the United States has anything to say to our nation and its ideologies of materialism, possessiveness, and the worship of financial security. Are we courageous enough to be a sign of contradiction to consumerism through our living faith in Jesus Christ? Are we committed enough to his gospel to become a countercurrent to the drift? Brennan Manning churchchristianjesus The unwounded life bears no resemblance to the Rabbi. Brennan Manning rabbibearsjesus To ignore, repress, or dismiss our feelings is to fail to listen to the stirrings of the Spirit within our emotional life. Jesus listened. In John's Gospel we are told that Jesus was moved with the deepest emotions (11:33)... The gospel portrait of the beloved Child of Abba is that of a man exquisitely attuned to His emotions and uninhibited in expressing them. The Son of Man did not scorn of reject feelings as fickle and unreliable. They were sensitive antennae to which He listened carefully and through which He perceived the will of His Father for congruent speech and action. Brennan Manning fatherchildrenjesus The ragamuffin who sees his life as a voyage of discovery and runs the risk of failure has a better feel for faithfulness than the timid man who hides behind the law and never finds out who he is at all. Brennan Manning lawrunningmen Silent solitude makes true speech possible and personal. If I am not in touch with my own belovedness, then I cannot touch the sacredness of others. If I am estranged from myself, I am likewise a stranger to others. Brennan Manning juicysolitudeidentity We must be ready to allow ourselves to be interrupted by God... It is a strange fact that Christians and even ministers frequently consider their work so important and urgent that they will allow nothing to disturb them. They think they are doing God a service in this but actually they are disdaining God's "crooked but straight path". It is part of the discipline of humility that we must not spare our hand where it can perform service and that we do not assume that our schedule is our own to manage, but allow it to be arranged by God. Brennan Manning humilitychristianthinking Trust is that rare and priceless treasure that wins us the affection of our heavenly Father. Brennan Manning treasurewinningfather If asked whether I am finally letting God love me, just as I am, I would answer, 'No, but I'm trying. Brennan Manning answersletting-gotrying I asked for wonder, and He gave it to me. Brennan Manning mysterywonder In my experience, self-hatred is the dominant malaise crippling Christians and stifling their growth in the Holy Spirit. Brennan Manning hatredselfchristian Without fear I can acknowledge that the authentic Christian tension is not between life and death, but between life and life. Brennan Manning tensionlife-and-deathchristian Those who have the disease called Jesus will never be cured. Brennan Manning diseasejesus At Sunday worship, as in every dimension of our existence, many of us pretend to believe we are sinners. Consequently, all we can do is pretend we have been forgiven. As a result, our whole spiritual life is pseudo-repentance and pseudo-bliss. Brennan Manning spiritualbelievejesus
