More on this book
Kindle Notes & Highlights
remember that Christ never won any popularity contests. It was never about man’s approval.
He saw his message of grace as one that grew out of his Jewish faith.
first Christian martyr, Stephen.
salvation is not found in any set of rules—whether
Surrounded by heaven, I was living in hell.
was loved and accepted despite all the ugly things I’d done.
my salvation isn’t tied to the frequency and duration of my Bible reading and church attendance.
man is freed from religious law and reconciled with God through Jesus’ life, death, and sacrifice.
the stain of sin is on all of us. It is part of our spiritual DNA,
you are redeemed through faith in Christ (grace).
our freedom in Christ Jesus” (Gal. 2:3–4).
The “yoke” that he refers to, the one “that neither we nor our ancestors were able to bear,” is religious law;
More disturbingly, we act like Christ never came to remove the yoke of law from our necks and the burden of sin from our backs.
Religious law gets reinvented to frighten and judge anew.
For many believers, it’s just plain embarrassing. We want to tuck our crosses under our shirts (or cover our Jesus tattoos) so nobody associates us with those whack-jobs on TV and the internet.
(With a God like that on our side, who needs enemies?) Fortunately, there’s an alternative.
loving, accepting, revolutionary vision of God available to us, the one presented by Paul, the one presented through Jesus.
In Galatians chapter 4, Paul tells us that we are not only subjects of God, but also, via Jesus, His sons and daughters:
Paul quotes Jesus in saying that “God has sent the Spirit of his Son into your hearts, and now you can call God your dear Father” (Gal. 4:6). The word he uses for “dear Father” here is significant. In Greek, it’s Abba.
God became human in the form of Jesus.
But I say, love your enemies! Pray for those who persecute you! In that way, you will be acting as true children of your Father in heaven. For he gives his sunlight to both the evil and the good, and he sends rain on the just and on the unjust, too” (Matt. 5:43–45).
You don’t need to impress God with the intensity of your prayers. Just talk to Him; He’s listening.
Some of us have to pay for the mistakes and failings of our fathers. But that’s not what Abba demands—Abba pays for our failings.
Abba says, I have sacrificed My own Son, My own life, for you. I love you just the way you are.
“You are trying to find favor with God by what you do or don’t do on certain days or months or seasons or years,”
I plead with you to live as I do in freedom from these things” (Gal. 4:10–12).
“Now you are no longer a slave but God’s own child. And since you are his child, everything he has belongs to you”
The moral here is that the prodigal son and the good son both make mistakes, yet—and here’s the kicker—they’re both still loved by the father.
he is always welcome home no matter how much he may have screwed things up.
gets so caught up in his own good works and deeds—in his self-righteousness—that he thinks he has earned his father’s love and inheritance.
Above all, the grace and the gifts that Christ gives to his beloved is that of overcoming self. —Saint Francis
challenges us to redefine how we think about ourselves.
“Do for others what you would like them to do for you. This is a summary of all that is taught in the law and the prophets,” Jesus said in His Sermon on the Mount (Matt. 7:12).
“Everyone who asks, receives. Everyone who seeks, finds. And the door is opened to everyone who knocks” (Matt. 7:8).
And all who have been united with Christ in baptism have been made like him. There is no longer Jew or Gentile, slave or free, male or female. For you are all Christians—you are one in Christ Jesus.
Yes, we can debate our faith—even argue. But in the end, we need to recognize that we’re all members of the same big family. Faith in Christ can be the tie that brings and binds us together, even when everything else threatens to pull us apart.
Sometimes it takes only one person to stand up for grace.
Too often we let fear of judgment by the good sons of the world win out over the inspiration and love of Christ.
That’s what grace is all about: loving one another and understanding one another and sharing in Christ together,
I am convinced that nothing can ever separate us from his love. Death can’t, and life can’t. The angels can’t, and the demons can’t. Our fears for today, our worries about tomorrow, and even the powers of hell can’t keep God’s love away. Whether we are high above the sky or in the deepest ocean, nothing in all creation will ever be able to separate us from the love of God that is revealed in Christ Jesus our Lord. (Romans 8:38–39)
“I myself no longer live, but Christ lives in me”
“Remember, the Lord forgave you, so you must forgive others. And the most important piece of clothing you must wear is love. Love is what binds us all together in perfect harmony” (vv. 14–15). The risen man is someone who is wholly transformed—holy and transformed.
We think that these selfish fruit will make us happier—and they may, in an instant-gratification, short-term way. But not over the long run.
God gives us His love so that we can love others.
person living a life of grace and inspiration will be loving, joyful, peaceful, patient, kind, good, faithful, gentle, and in control.
Works says: Be good, or else… Grace says: Be grateful, and then…
we don’t “demonstrate” our righteousness by feeding the homeless and hungry person; we celebrate our freedom by doing so. We do it because we care—genuinely and deeply—for the welfare of others.
Beware of destroying one another” (v. 15). It’s love on the one side, destruction on the other.
“Dear friends, if a Christian is overcome by some sin, you who are godly should gently and humbly help that person back onto the right path,” he writes. “And be careful not to fall into the same temptation yourself” (Gal. 6:1).
It’s not even about restoring them to God’s love; it’s about reminding them that God’s love can’t be lost in the first place.
