John Ortberg

True joy, as it turns out, comes only to those who have devoted their lives to something greater than personal happiness.

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We may be unlovely yet we are not unloved.

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God says, 'I will measure my people by the one standard that counts. It's very simple. Are people hungry? Feed them. Are people sick? Help them. Are people oppressed? Stick up for them. Are the widows lonely? Visit them. Are there uneducated children? Teach them. Are people rejected because of the color of their skin? Befriend them.'The widow of Zarephath fed Elijah even though she had but a handful of flour and a little oil in a jug. (1 Kings 17:7–24) In this story she is recklessly generous. She gives the last of what she has to Elijah.We should all pause occasionally to ask if we are living with that kind of generous spirit. Maybe we have an abundance of oil and flour in our jars. Maybe we only have a little. Maybe we have a huge flour jar, or perhaps a very small one. No matter what we have, we can still learn to live with a generous spirit.

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The ministry of bearing with one another is more than simply tolerating difficult people. It is also learning to hear God speak through them.

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Even you can't tell yourself how to change, because you didn't create you. To love someone is to desire and work toward their becoming the best version of themselves. The one person in all the universe who can do this perfectly for you is God. He has no other agenda. He has no unmet needs he is hoping you can help him with. And he knows what the best version of you looks like. He delighted in the idea of it, and he is already working on it. The apostle Paul said, "We know that in all things God works for the good of those who love him." Which means God is at work every moment to help you become his best version of you.

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So it goes for those of us who live in a cul-de-sac, where babies are brought home from the hospital and watched over, where hearts stop and feet slip, where we wonder if there is a hidden road that leads somewhere.We believe and we doubt. Believing and doubting share the same inevitability, but they are not equal. They cannot lay the same claim on our allegiance. They do not share the same power.If there are places beyond the cul-de-sac, doubt cannot take us there.

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David is called a man after God's heart. This can be a little confusing when you get into his story, because he's guilty of adultery and murder and cover-up. He's a train wreck as a husband, and he's worse as a dad. But his heart belongs to God. His whole life is immersed in the presence and story of God. What lights him up is to serve God and love God, and when he mess up— and he does— he repents and wants to get right with God again.

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If we are serious about loving God, we must begin with people, all people. And especially we must learn to love those that the world generally discards.

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Every day you and I walk through God's shop. Every day we brush up against objects of incalculable worth to Him. People. Every one of them carries a price tag, if only we could see it.

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When we live in the love of God, we begin to pay attention to people the way God pays attention to us.

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If you want to do the work of God, pay attention to people. Notice them. Especially the people nobody else notices.

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Even you can't tell yourself how to change, because you didn't create you. To love someone is to desire and work toward their becoming the best version of themselves. The one person in all the universe who can do this perfectly for you is God. He has no other agenda. He has no unmet needs he is hoping you can help him with. And he knows what the best version of you looks like. He delighted in the idea of it, and he is already working on it. The apostle Paul said, "We know that in all things God works for the good of those who love him." Which means God is at work every moment to help you become his best version of you.

Read quote

David is called a man after God's heart. This can be a little confusing when you get into his story, because he's guilty of adultery and murder and cover-up. He's a train wreck as a husband, and he's worse as a dad. But his heart belongs to God. His whole life is immersed in the presence and story of God. What lights him up is to serve God and love God, and when he mess up— and he does— he repents and wants to get right with God again.

Read quote

Every day you and I walk through God's shop. Every day we brush up against objects of incalculable worth to Him. People. Every one of them carries a price tag, if only we could see it.

Read quote

True joy, as it turns out, comes only to those who have devoted their lives to something greater than personal happiness.

Read quote

If you want to do the work of God, pay attention to people. Notice them. Especially the people nobody else notices.

Read quote

The ministry of bearing with one another is more than simply tolerating difficult people. It is also learning to hear God speak through them.

Read quote

If we are serious about loving God, we must begin with people, all people. And especially we must learn to love those that the world generally discards.

Read quote

When we live in the love of God, we begin to pay attention to people the way God pays attention to us.

Read quote

So it goes for those of us who live in a cul-de-sac, where babies are brought home from the hospital and watched over, where hearts stop and feet slip, where we wonder if there is a hidden road that leads somewhere.We believe and we doubt. Believing and doubting share the same inevitability, but they are not equal. They cannot lay the same claim on our allegiance. They do not share the same power.If there are places beyond the cul-de-sac, doubt cannot take us there.

Read quote

Quotes by John Ortberg