Spiritual transformation is not a matter of trying harder, but of training wisely. John Ortberg More Quotes by John Ortberg More Quotes From John Ortberg Ironically, often the thing that keeps me from experiencing joy is my preoccupation with self. The very selfishness that keeps me from pouring myself out for the joy of others also keeps me from noticing and delighting in the myriad small gifts God offers each day. This is why Walker Percy describes boredom as "the self stuffed with the self." John Ortberg boredomselfjoy Too often we argue about Christianity instead of marveling at Jesus. John Ortberg christianarguingjesus When I repent, here is where it starts. I try to name my sin as honestly and as specifically as possible. Here is what repenting is not. It is not excusing my sin, minimizing my sin, it's not rationalizing my sin ... Repentance is getting painfully honest with God. John Ortberg honestnamestrying Waiting on the Lord is a confident, disciplined, expectant, active, sometimes painful clinging to God. John Ortberg painfulwaitingsometimes God has entrusted us with his most precious treasure - people. He asks us to shepherd and mold them into strong disciples, with brave faith and good character. John Ortberg strongcharacterpeople In reality, each thought we have carries with it a little spiritual power, a tug toward or away from God. No thought is purely neutral. John Ortberg spirituallittlesreality If we are serious about loving God, we must begin with people, all people. And especially we must learn to love those that the world generally discards. John Ortberg seriouspeopleworld There is a world of difference between being friendly to someone because they're useful to you and being someone's friend. John Ortberg differencesfriendlyworld Skeptics would rather, even at their own expense, appear to be right than take the risk of trusting. John Ortberg skepticexpensesrisk A bad sermon is like a car wreck - everyone slows down to see what happened. John Ortberg slow-downwreckscar Greatness is never achieved through indecision. John Ortberg indecisiongreatness At the deepest level, pride is the choice to exclude both God and other people from their rightful place in our hearts. Jesus said the essence of the spiritual life is to love God and to love people. Pride destroys our capacity to love. John Ortberg spiritualheartjesus The character of the faith that allows us to be transformed by suffering and darkness is not doubt-free certainty; rather, it is tenacious obedience. John Ortberg darknessdoubtcharacter One of the great illusions of our time is that hurrying will buy us more time. John Ortberg great-marriagemore-timeillusion To become truly free, you must surrender. John Ortberg surrender God is a God of endless opportunities to do good; the God of the open door. John Ortberg endless-opportunitiesopportunitydoors The human longings that are deep inside of us never go away. They exist across cultures; they exist throughout life. When people were first made, our deepest longing was to know and be known. And after the Fall, when we all got weird, it's still our deepest longing - but it's now also our deepest fear. John Ortberg going-awaypeoplefall Both hope and pessimism are deeply contagious. And no one is more infectious than a leader. John Ortberg pessimismcontagiousleader Over and over in the Bible, it is fear that threatens to keep people from trusting and obeying God. John Ortberg obeying-godgodlypeople The primary goal of spiritual life is human transformation. John Ortberg transformationgoalspiritual
