For I was hungry, while you had all you needed. I was thirsty, but you drank bottled water. I was a stranger, and you wanted me deported. I needed clothes, but you needed more clothes. I was sick, and you pointed out the behaviors that led to my sickness. I was in prison, and you siad I was getting what I deserved. (RESV - Richard E. Stearns Version [Matt 25]) (p.59)
The spread of the 'kingdom of God' was to be carried out on earth by His Church, men and women commanded by Christ, empowered by the Holy Spirit, and dedicated heart and soul to the task. Jesus' followers were not to sit idly and await His return; they were to strike out boldly as the advance guards in a revolution that will only be completed upon His return, when all things will be restored and His kingdom made complete. The same is true today. We are not to give up on the world, nor retreat from it - just the opposite. We are to reclaim and redeem the world for Christ's kingdom. (p.68)
Christ is an all-or-nothing proposition, and one way or another, every one of us has already made a choice about Him. We have either committed our lives to Him wholeheartedly, or we have not. (p.83)
It's not what you believe that counts; it's what you believe enough to do. (p.87)
What I'm Reading... The Hole in Our Gospel by Richard Stearns
Quotes from Part 2: The Hole Gets Deeper
