shanghao

“A spirit of pride and a spirit of religion go hand in hand, and they strengthen each other by hiding each other.” Pride keeps a person from admitting they’ve become religious, and religion covers up the pride by its spiritual behavior.”
― John Paul Bevere, The Awe of God: The Astounding Way a Healthy Fear of God Transforms Your Life

“Here’s a firm truth: you will never find God’s wonderful presence in an atmosphere where He’s not revered and held in awe.”
― John Paul Bevere, The Awe of God: The Astounding Way a Healthy Fear of God Transforms Your Life

“Love can be so strange and sad. It can be hard to understand why we run toward certain people and away from others at different times in our lives. Why we search so hard for that thing we are looking for, and then run so fast when we find it.”
― Stephanie Perkins, Summer Days and Summer Nights: Twelve Love Stories

“First, if we don’t see Him—if we lack His manifest presence—we can’t know Him intimately. We can only know about Him, not unlike my relationship with United States presidents. Or worse, we deceive ourselves by creating a fictional Jesus. This illusion is most dangerous because we believe we know Someone we don’t. James tells us, “But don’t just listen to God’s word. You must do what it says. Otherwise, you are only fooling yourselves” (James 1: 22). One who is fooled believes they know someone or something, but in reality, they don’t.”
― John Paul Bevere, The Awe of God: The Astounding Way a Healthy Fear of God Transforms Your Life