We never grow closer to God when we just live life. It takes deliberate pursuit and attentiveness.

True faith means holding nothing back. It means putting every hope in God's fidelity to His Promises.

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.

God is the only being who is good, and the standards are set by Him. Because God hates sin, He has to punish those guilty of sin. Maybe that's not an appealing standard. But to put it bluntly, when you get your own universe, you can make your own standards.

...there is still a need for those of us nestled deep within the Christian bubble to look beyond the status quo and critically assess the degree to which we are really living biblically.

Discipline is the wholehearted yes to the call of God. When I know myself called, summoned, addressed, taken possession of, known, acted upon, I have heard the Master. I put myself gladly, fully, and forever at His disposal, and to whatever He says my answer is yes.