The Bible teaches that true joy is formed in the midst of the difficult seasons of life. Francis Chan More Quotes by Francis Chan More Quotes From Francis Chan God has allowed hard things in your life so you can show the world that your God is great and that knowing Him brings peace and joy, even when life is hard. Francis Chan life-is-hard knowing joy Our greatest fear should not be of failure but of succeeding at things in life that don't really matter. Francis Chan success inspiring inspirational The world says love yourself, grab all you can, follow your heart. Jesus says deny yourself, grab your cross and follow me. Francis Chan love-yourself heart jesus It's crazy, if you think about it. The God of the universe - the creator of nitrogen and pine needles, galaxies and E-minor - loves us with a radical, unconditional, self-sacrificing love. And what is our typical response? We go to church, sing songs, and try not to cuss. Francis Chan sacrifice crazy song But God doesn't call us to be comfortable. He calls us to trust Him so completely that we are unafraid to put ourselves in situations where we will be in trouble if He doesn't come through. Francis Chan situation trouble god God's definition of what matters is pretty straightforward. He measures our lives by how we love. Francis Chan definitions what-matters purpose Lukewarm people give money to charity and to the church...so long as it doesn't impinge on their standard of living. Lukewarm people tend to choose what is popular over what is right. Lukewarm people don't really want to be saved from their sin; they want to be saved from the penalty of their sin. Lukewarm people rarely share their faith with their neighbors, coworkers, or friends. Lukewarm people are thankful for their luxuries and comforts, and rarely consider trying to give as much as possible to the poor. Francis Chan luxury christian long Life is about Jesus. We are not here to tell our story, but His. Francis Chan life-is stories jesus If God cared only about religious activities, then the Pharisees would have been heroes of the faith. Francis Chan pharisees religious hero The point of your life is to point to Him. Whatever you are doing, God wants to be glorified, because this whole thing is His. Francis Chan inspiration christian want I quickly found that the American church is a difficult place to fit in if you want to live out New Testament Christianity. The goals of American Christianity are often a nice marriage, children who don't swear, and good church attendance. Taking the words of Christ literally, and seriously, is rarely considered. That's for the 'radicals' who are 'unbalanced' and who go 'overboard.' Most of us want a balanced life we can control, that is safe, and that does not involve suffering. Francis Chan nice goal children We should be so joyful from God's grace that others would respond by saying, 'I wish I had your God. Francis Chan joyful grace wish We never grow closer to God when we just live life. It takes deliberate pursuit and attentiveness. Francis Chan powerful inspiration christian Churchgoers all across the nation say the Holy Spirit has entered them. They claim that God has given them a supernatural ability to follow Christ, put their sin to death, and serve the church. Christians talk about being born again say that they they were dead but now have come to life. We have become hardened to those words, but they are powerful words that have significant meaning. Yet when those outside the church see no difference in our lives, they begin to question our integrity, out sanity, or even worse, our God. And can you blame them? Francis Chan powerful christian integrity A relationship with God simply cannot grow when money, sins, activities, favorite sports teams, addictions, or commitments are piled up on top of it. Francis Chan team sports commitment God doesn’t call us to be comfortable. He calls us to trust Him. Francis Chan unafraid comfortable I’ve got this amazing relationship with God that is better than life, itself, so marvelous, so wonderful that everything else can fall apart and I’m okay. Francis Chan relationship-with-god wonderful fall My pride and immaturity caused me to make things more of a struggle than they had to be. I can always blame others or circumstances, but the truth was that my own sinful pride led to more stress than anything else. Francis Chan stress pride struggle I have one reason why you should walk away from that temptation right now. One reason: God. Is. Better. Francis Chan should temptation reason-why I believe He wants us to love others so much that we go to extremes to help them. I believe He wants us to be known for giving—of our time, our money, and our abilities—and to start a movement of ‘giving’ churches. In so doing, we can alleviate the suffering in the world and change the reputation of His bride in America. Francis Chan giving believe america
