298 results for tag: Quote for today

Reflections Along the Jesus Way

March 8, 2025 - Quote for the Day: “Salvation is unconditional, not based on any meritorious deeds that we perform to earn it. But unconditional salvation is not automatic.  Salvation is not conferred just because we are born, or because we have reached our 12th birthday, or whether we ask for it or not.  Salvation is unconditional, but it is not automatic or universal.  We are free to accept or reject God’s gracious offer of salvation. The Bible is clear about that choice.”  Originally published in: Between Religious Rocks and Life’s Hard Places ------------------------------------- Help Us Help ...

Reflections Along the Jesus Way

March 6, 2025 - Quote for the Day: “At first the religious professionals discredited him because he was not a product of their educational systems, and then later they came to hate and despise him.  They called him a rabble rouser and a troublemaker.  They called him a bastard son of a young girl who became pregnant before marriage.”  Originally published in: Beautiful Sayings – Beatitudes of Grace ————————————- Help Us Help Others – Give Now

Reflections Along the Jesus Way

March 4, 2025 - Quote for the Day: “As parents and grandparents we smile at stories about children getting confused with God: During Jason’s bedtime prayer he said, ‘Lord, if you can’t make me a better boy, don’t worry about it.  I’m having a good time like I am.’ Sarah complained to God the he did not answer her prayer: ‘Thank you for the baby brother but what I asked for was a puppy. I never asked for anything else before.  You can look it up.’ Lisa pondered the nature of God when she prayed, ‘How do you know you are God?  Did someone tell you, or did you just decide that yourself?’ Bobby was ...

Reflections Along the Jesus Way

March 1, 2025 - Quote for the Day: “Did you ever stop to think about the times Jesus went to church? How did that work out for him?  Did he get involved in all of the committees and outreach groups?  Did people like him?  Of course Jesus never went to a church, but the Bible does tell us that he went to synagogue and temple. The Bible doesn’t tell us how consistently Jesus attended synagogue and temple, but it does tell us of rude receptions he received when he did frequent such gatherings.”   Originally published in: Spiritual Soup for the Hungry Soul, Volume 1 ----------------------------...

Reflections Along the Jesus Way

February 27, 2025 - Quote for the Day: “The history of the Bible is a history of the self-imposed, willing humiliation that God has accepted as an inevitable consequence of his love for us.  The love he has for us means that he exposes himself to hurt, pain, disappointment and failure.  From the very beginning God made himself vulnerable, placing himself at risk… God decided to begin his human life on earth not as a mature adult like Adam, but as a helpless baby, choosing, from a human perspective, the weakness and vulnerability of infancy over the safety and security of adulthood."   Originally published ...

Reflections Along the Jesus Way

February 25, 2025 - Quote for the Day: “Jesus is a master builder, not a cosmetician.  The new wine he gives means that the old containers have to go.  Everything that Jesus builds is new, not some partial remodel.  We’re talking about a religious tear down.  In order to build a new house the old one has to be demolished.  That’s exactly why Jesus said that the old covenant temple in Jerusalem had to go.  It had to be completely demolished because it had become a virtual icon, a physical symbol of religious stuff that was now obsolete.  The temple in Jerusalem had to go because of the new covenant ...

Reflections Along the Jesus Way

February 22, 2025 - Quote for the Day: “Grace flows downward from divinity to humanity.  God’s grace descends from immortality to mortality, from perfection to imperfection.  God’s grace is somewhat like water that inevitably finds and is welcomed in low places.  Conversely, grace finds resistance in religious high places.”  Originally published in: Wonders of His Grace ------------------------------------- Help Us Help Others - Give Now

Reflections Along the Jesus Way

February 20, 2025 - Quote for the Day: “Jesus never yelled, forced, coerced or bullied people into changing their lives.  We search in vain for any example of intimidation or manipulation on the part of Jesus.  He didn’t quarrel or cry out; he released the oppressed and proclaimed liberty to those who were enslaved.  Jesus wooed people, he drew people and he won them by his gracious and compassionate nature.  This is authentic Christianity.”  Originally published in: Bad News Religion ------------------------------------- Help Us Help Others - Give Now

Reflections Along the Jesus Way

February 18, 2025 - Quote for the Day: “The Prosperity Gospel teaches that God’s will is for us to be healthy and wealthy.  It amounts to selling religious lottery tickets to the weak, sick and poverty-stricken, who are the ones most easily seduced by this teaching.  Health-and-wealth churches are extremely popular in inner city areas in the United States and in disadvantaged, economically challenged areas around the world.”  Originally published in: Between Religious Rocks and Life’s Hard Places ————————————- Help Us Help Others – Give Now

Reflections Along the Jesus Way

February 15, 2025 - Quote for the Day: “We are blessed to be able to extend mercy to others because God has first of all extended it to us, and in Christ, extends his mercy in and through us. 1 John 4:19 explains: We love because he first loved us.  That’s a Christ-centered principle – we extend and show mercy because he first extended and gave his mercy to us. An old story from the Wild West speaks of a rancher who had a huge ranch, often the target to thieves and rustlers who would steal the cattle.  One day the rancher’s hired hands caught a cattle  thief.  They caught the thief red-handed and took him to ...

Reflections Along the Jesus Way

February 13, 2025 - Quote for the Day: “You may remember the story of Sisyphus from Greek mythology, the king of the area known in the New Testament as Corinth.  Because of the manipulative and deceitful way Sisyphus ruined so many lives, the Greek god Zeus sentenced Sisyphus to Hades, dooming him forever with the impossible task of trying to roll a boulder up a steep hill.  Today we speak of a Sisyphean task as an incessantly recurring exercise in futility. You and I, by God’s grace, have been released from religious confinement and captivity and      from incessant, meaningless and endless ...

Reflections Along the Jesus Way

February 11, 2025 - Quote for the Day: “Healthy faith has Jesus and the grace, mercy and love of God at its core.  The Prince of peace is himself a river of living water (John 7:37-38), the spiritual Bread from heaven (John 6:37) and our healing Savior who leads us to his rest. Whereas healthy faith is Christ-centered, unhealthy faith is centered on regulations and rituals, on formulas, traditions and ceremonies.  Unhealthy faith (Christ-less religion) is often built on the teachings of a man or woman who founded a religion.  Unhealthy faith may use and appropriate the name of Jesus, while denying who he is.  Sadly, ...

Reflections Along the Jesus Way

February 8, 2025 - Quote for the Day: “Many markets and outlets within Christendom are consumer-driven – they will give us what we want.  They have done the studies.  They are well aware of demographics and psychographics.  Religious marketing experts know all about you.  They know your preferences, your likes and dislikes.  They also know what you would enjoy if you could afford it or if you had the time. Religious corporations and institutions have done their homework about felt needs, as well.  They know that humans want lists, programs and self-help manuals.  Human beings are pragmatic. &...

Reflections along the Jesus Way

February 6, 2025 -Quote for the Day: “The gospel of Jesus Christ is not a ‘you do this and then I will do that’ message. The new covenant God offers to us is not a covenant of physical prosperity, but instead it is a covenant of adversity.  We are asked to consider the needs of others as equal to our own.”  Originally published in: Between Religious Rocks and Life’s Hard Places ------------------------------------- Help Us Help Others - Give Now

Reflections Along the Jesus Way

February 4, 2025 - Quote for the Day “Love is the one-word definition of God.  God is love, he is not filled with wrath, therefore: God the Father was not looking for payback from God the Son at the cross There is no such thing as eternal conscious torment in hell God is not mad at you and me, and God does not expect us to do the impossible, which would be to earn and deserve his love.”   Originally published in: Letters to My Friends ------------------------------------- Help Us Help Others - Give Now

Reflections Along the Jesus Way

February 1, 2025 - Quote for the Day “Grace is a multi-layered word.  Its many definitions add rich perspectives and significance to our lives.  Grace speaks of abundance and gratitude, of charm and inner beauty, of harmony, mercy and forgiveness.  We say grace before a meal.  A dance or figure skater is graceful.  When a dept is owed and a bill is due, grace periods are offered before penalties begin.  The world of music speaks of grace notes.”  Originally published in: Wonders of His Grace ------------------------------------- Help Us Help Others - Give Now

Reflections Along the Jesus Way

January 30, 2025 - Quote for the Day “Christ-less religion has always attempted to eliminate authentic Christianity.  Religion has opposed authentic Christians during the course of history.  Religion attempts to bypass or improve upon Jesus – to modify and even counterfeit him and offer a false gospel and bogus salvation in the process.  Jesus sets us free from all such encumbrances that weigh us down, allowing us to love, comfort and reach out to everyone – including refugees who have suffered at the hands of religion.  Authentic Christianity teaches that God loves the whole world, while oppressive religion teaches ...

Reflections Along the Jesus Way

January 28, 2025 - Quote for the Day “Here, in a tiny little backwater town of Bethlehem, our Creator, the Prince of Peace arrived looking more like a little prune-faced pauper than an adorable Gerber baby born into comfort, safety and hygiene.  The first Christmas was a long way from the adorable depictions of baby Jesus we see today, in front yards, on Christmas trees and over the mantle of fireplaces.  2000 years later Jesus has been, in the popular version that is taught and imbibed, adorable, repackaged and shrink-wrapped.”  Originally published in: Christianity Without the Religion magazine, November ...

Reflections Along the Jesus Way

January 25, 2025 - Quote for the Day “My computer screen flickered for a moment, and then the video my friend from Indiana sent me started to play.  An ordinary guy was sitting in front of his computer screen – he looked at me and said: ‘I got an email the other day which said … Jesus loves you.’ Ordinary guy thought, ‘that’s nice,’ but then he read the rest of the email which said…If you don’t start doing what Jesus says you’re going to burn in hell forever.’ Ordinary guy pondered…‘So, this love Jesus has for me is conditional. I can understand that.  Love has conditions attached.  ...

Reflections Along the Jesus Way

January 23, 2025 - Quote for the Day “In both his behavior and his teachings Jesus reached out to the downtrodden, offering healing and grace to all those in bondage.  He pierced through the crippling aggression of the rich and the slavery of religious power brokers.  Jesus flipped the script of what is fair and just, upending traditional ethical assumptions and religious traditions.  The Beatitudes then seemed so illogical and counter-intuitive and they still do.  Jesus’ teaching reveals the eternal and divine value of vulnerability in the face of danger and gentleness in the face of hatred.”  Origina...