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Kindle Notes & Highlights
by
Kyle Idleman
Started reading
December 17, 2023
When Jesus invited us to follow him, he was inviting us to deny ourselves and take up a cross. Our tendency, especially in the Western world, is to try to follow Jesus without having to deny ourselves. We want to accept the invitation of Jesus but we are obsessed with being comfortable, which means we try to follow Jesus without carrying a cross.
When we miss grace, the poison of bitterness and anger will eventually become too much to keep buried. The poison of guilt and shame will eventually destroy a soul.
Grace is powerful enough to erase your guilt. Grace is big enough to cover your shame. Grace is real enough to heal your relationships. Grace is strong enough to hold you up when you’re weak.
Grace is sweet enough to cure your bitterness. Grace is satisfying enough to deal with your disappointment. Grace is beautiful enough to redeem your brokenness.
Our ability to appreciate grace is in direct correlation to the degree to which we acknowledge our need for it.
If we miss the reality and the depth of our sin, we miss out on the grace of God.
As long as we think I’m not that bad, grace will never seem that good. We usually come to the conclusion that we are not that bad a couple of different ways.
We dismiss our sin and our need for grace by comparing ourselves to others, but do you know what you’re doing when you compare yourself to other people and feel superior to them? Yep, you’re sinning.
And it’s likely that
from where God sits, your pride and self-righteousness are uglier than the sins of the person yo...
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Until we recognize our need for grace, we won’t care about receiving it.
“If the biggest sinner you know isn’t you, then you don’t know yourself very well.”
When Adam sinned, sin entered the world. Adam’s sin brought death, so death spread to everyone, for everyone sinned. (NLT)
For the sin of this one man, Adam, brought death to many. But even greater is God’s wonderful grace and his gift of forgiveness to many through this other man, Jesus Christ. And the result of God’s gracious gift is very different from the result of that one man’s sin. For Adam’s sin led to condemnation, but God’s free gift leads to our being made right with God. . . . For the sin of this one man, Adam, caused death to rule over many. But even greater is God’s wonderful grace and his gift of righteousness, for all who receive it will live in triumph over sin and death through this one man,
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I can tell you confidently that you’ve done nothing so horrible that grace can’t cover it. Grace is always greater—no matter what.
The greatness of God’s grace means I don’t have to keep trying to convince myself I am “not that bad.” The truth is I am worse than I ever wanted to admit, but God’s grace is greater than I ever could have imagined.
