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8d785de
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Just as Christian singles find their "heirs" and family within the church, so do brothers find their sisters and sisters find their brothers."
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Timothy J. Keller |
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It is necessary for us to recognize that there is an intelligent mysticism in the life of faith . . . of living union and communion with the exalted and ever-present Redeemer. . . . He communes with his people and his people commune with him in conscious reciprocal love. . . . The life of true faith cannot be that of cold metallic assent. It must have the passion and warmth of love and communion because communion with God is the crown and a..
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Timothy J. Keller |
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d3b5211
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Gospel beliefs and experience create a bond between Christians that is stronger than any other connection, whether it be blood relationship or racial and national identity (Ephesians 2; 1 Peter 2:9-10).
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Timothy J. Keller |
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fad5f05
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The Biblical view of things is resurrection--not a future that is just a consolation for the life we never had but a restoration of the life you always wanted.
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Timothy J. Keller |
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694828f
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What must we do, then, to be saved? To find God we must repent of the things we have done wrong, but if that is all you do, you may remain just an elder brother. To truly become Christians we must also repent of the reasons we ever did anything right.
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Timothy J. Keller |
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c437495
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It is only when you see the desire to be your own Savior and Lord--lying beneath both your sins and your moral goodness--that you are on the verge of understanding the gospel and becoming a Christian indeed. When you realize that the antidote to being bad is not just being good, you are on the brink. If you follow through, it will change everything: how you relate to God, self, others, the world, your work, your sins, your virtue.
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Timothy J. Keller |
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3c18d6e
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Fear always haunts and then overwhelms you when you seek to save yourself, to earn your own sense of worth, and to construct your own identity.
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Timothy J. Keller |
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81101a1
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According to the Bible, the evil of the world ultimately stems from the self-centeredness, self-righteousness, and self-absorption of every human heart.
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Timothy J. Keller |
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7a2d108
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The message of the Bible is that the human race is a band of exiles trying to come home. The parable of the prodigal son is about every one of us.
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Timothy J. Keller |
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9156611
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First, are you willing to obey anything the Bible clearly says to do, whether you like it or not? Second, are you willing to trust God in anything he sends into your life, whether you understand it or not?
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Timothy J. Keller |
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a9ea3d4
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If the distance between the Earth and the sun--ninety-three million miles--was no more than the thickness of a sheet of paper, then the distance from the Earth to the nearest star would be a stack of papers seventy feet high; the diameter of the Milky Way would be a stack of paper over three hundred miles high. Keep in mind that there are more galaxies in the universe than we can number. There are more, it seems, than dust specks in the air..
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Timothy J. Keller |
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4998204
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When Christian believers care more for their own interests and security than for the good and salvation of other races and ethnicities, they are sinning like Jonah. If they value the economic and military flourishing of their country over the good of the human race and the furtherance of God's work in the world, they are sinning like Jonah.
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Timothy J. Keller |
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his judgment of the world was purposeful. Even as he judged the world with suffering, he had in view a plan for the redemption of all things. God judged the world "in hope" of a final redemption from evil that would be glorious."
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Timothy J. Keller |
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What's the story line of the culture in which I live and the field where I work? Who are the protagonists and antagonists? * What are the underlying assumptions about meaning, morality, origin, and destiny? * What are the idols? The hopes? The fears? * How does my particular profession retell this story line, and what part does the profession itself play in the story? * What parts of the dominant worldviews are basically in line with the go..
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Timothy J. Keller |
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e5de699
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This is gospel-humility, blessed self-forgetfulness. Not thinking more of myself as in modern cultures, or less of myself as in traditional cultures. Simply thinking of myself less.
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Timothy J. Keller |
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d5a0706
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We have been exploring marriage as a means to help one another become the glorious, unique persons God is making us. Marriage partners can say, "I see what you are becoming and what you will be (even though, frankly, you aren't there yet). The flashes of your future attract me."
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marriage
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Timothy J. Keller |
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3e5a321
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Ultimately, your marriage partner should be part of what could be called your "mythos." C. S. Lewis spoke of a "secret thread" that unites every person's favorite books, music, places, or pastimes. Certain things trigger an "inconsolable longing" that gets you in touch with the Joy that is God."
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marriage
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Timothy J. Keller |
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e81d464
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Taking the message into my heart means not just to interpret it but to let it affect me deeply. It means, in a sense, preaching to myself, reminding myself of the preciousness, the value, the wonder, and the power of the particular truth I am treasuring.
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Timothy J. Keller |
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Over and over and over again God says, "I will choose Nazareth, not Jerusalem. I will choose the girl nobody wants. I will choose the boy everybody has forgotten." Why? Is it just that God likes underdogs? No. He is telling us something about salvation itself. Every other religion and moral philosophy tells you to summon up all of your strength and live as you ought. Therefore, they appeal to the strong, to the people who can pull it togeth..
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Timothy J. Keller |
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How, with my existing abilities and opportunities, can I be of greatest service to other people, knowing what I do of God's will and of human need?
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Timothy J. Keller |
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He [Christ] is Isaac, the beloved Son of the Father who was offered as a sacrifice, but nevertheless did not succumb to the power of death. He is Jacob the watchful shepherd, who has such great care for the sheep which he guards. He is the good and compassionate brother Joseph, who in his glory was not ashamed to acknowledge his brothers, however lowly and abject their condition. He is the great sacrificer and bishop Melchizedek who has off..
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Timothy J. Keller |
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The reason marriage is so painful and wonderful is because it is a reflection of the gospel, which is painful and wonderful at once. The gospel is this: We are more sinful and flawed in ourselves than we ever dared believe, yet at the very same time we are more loved and accepted in Jesus Christ than we ever dared hope. This is the only kind of relationship that will really transform us. Love without truth is sentimentality; it supports and..
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Timothy J. Keller |
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While anger is not a sin in and of itself, it should be a passing thing, directed without excess to solve a problem, resulting in calm at the end (29:11). In the same way, God's anger is for a moment, but his favor lasts a lifetime (Psalm 30:5).
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Timothy J. Keller |
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An ideology of extreme personal freedom can be dangerous because it encourages people to leave homes, jobs, cities, and marriages in search of personal and professional fulfillment, thereby breaking the relationships that were probably their best hope for such fulfillment.23
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Timothy J. Keller |
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454f842
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Sin is not simply doing bad things, it is putting good things in the place of God. So the only solution is not simply to change our behavior, but to reorient and center the entire heart and life on God.
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Timothy J. Keller |
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If you are younger, it is natural to say to yourself, "I have heard about these disillusioned celebrities and wealthy people who say their life isn't happy. But if I get anything like what I'm hoping for, I'll be different." No you won't."
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Timothy J. Keller |
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e30ca81
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Only if you have learned to serve others by the power of the Holy Spirit will you have the power to face the challenges of marriage.
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Timothy J. Keller |
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4d2932f
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Not only do your desires contradict, but they also are elusive. "What are the wants of the self?" Bellah asks. "For all its unmistakable presence and intensity on occasion, the experience of feeling good, like being in love, is so highly subjective that its distinguishing characteristics remain ineffable."
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Timothy J. Keller |
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We are irreducibly hope-based creatures.
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Timothy J. Keller |
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f8e67a9
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In this view of marriage, each person says to the other, "I see all your flaws, imperfections, weaknesses, dependencies. But underneath them all I see growing the person God wants you to be." This is radically different from the search for "compatibility."
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love
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Timothy J. Keller |
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3416e71
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We think of a prospective spouse as primarily a lover (or a provider), and if he or she can be a nice friend on top of that, well isn't that nice! We should be going at it the other way around. Screen first for friendship. Look for someone who understands you better than you do yourself, who makes you a better person just by being around them. And then explore whether that friendship could become a romance and a marriage.
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love
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Timothy J. Keller |
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3afb18f
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In every case the nature of the prayer is determined by the character of God, who is at once our friend, father, lover, shepherd and king. We must not decide how to pray based on what types of prayer are the most effective for producing the experiences and feelings we want. We pray in response to God himself.
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Timothy J. Keller |
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6d7dd96
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When you see the problems in each other, do you just want to run away, or do you find a desire to work on them together? If the second impulse is yours, then you have the makings of a marriage. Do you obsess over your partner's external shortcomings, or can you see the beauty within, and do you want to see it increasingly released? Then move forward. The power of truth that marriage has should hold no fear for you.
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Timothy J. Keller |
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The repentance that really changes your heart and your relationship with God begins when you recognize that your main sin, the sin under the rest of your sins, is your self-salvation project.
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Timothy J. Keller |
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a562448
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Only if your God can say things that outrage you and make you struggle (as in a real friendship or marriage!) will you know that you have got hold of a real God and not a figment of your imagination. So an authoritative Bible is not the enemy of a personal relationship with God. It is the precondition for it.
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Timothy J. Keller |
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Of course, not even the strongest believers love God perfectly, nor does anyone get close to doing so. Yet to the degree you move toward loving him supremely, things begin to fall into order, into their proper places in your life. Instead of looking to the things of the world as the deepest source of your contentment, you can enjoy them for what they are. Money and career, for example, become just what they are supposed to be. Work becomes ..
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Timothy J. Keller |
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Here, then, is the message. Don't love anything less; instead learn to love God more, and you will love other things with far more satisfaction.
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Timothy J. Keller |
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Haidt summarizes, "The author of Ecclesiastes wasn't just battling the fear of meaninglessness; he was battling the disappointment of success. . . . Nothing brought satisfaction."2 This is an abiding human problem, and there is plenty of modern empirical research that backs it up. Studies find a very weak correlation between wealth and contentment, and the more prosperous a society grows, the more common is depression."
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Timothy J. Keller |
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33eae7a
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When we believe the gospel, the barriers of pride that divide us are taken away (Ephesians 2:14-16), and the lonely are put into families (Psalm 68:6; John 1:12-13). Salvation leads toward more and deeper relationships but sin toward being alone.
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Timothy J. Keller |
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c184047
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Haidt, for example, believes that Buddha and the Greeks "took things too far."7 He argues that modern research shows some external circumstances do correlate with increased satisfaction. In particular, love relationships are important, and therefore the advice of emotional detachment may actually undermine happiness."
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Timothy J. Keller |
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4f84f51
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No es solo creer en Ti, sino, en oracion y experiencia, percibir y sentir Tu hermosura. Permiteme amarte por quien eres solamente. Amen.
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Timothy J. Keller |
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df8d6eb
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Whatever God's reasons for such diversity, creativity, and sophistication in the universe, on earth, and in our own bodies, the point of it all is His glory. God's art speaks of Himself, reflecting who He is and what He is like.
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love
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Timothy J. Keller |
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38d70b8
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According to the Bible, God devised marriage to reflect his saving love for us in Christ, to refine our character, to create stable human community for the birth and nurture of children, and to accomplish all this by bringing the complementary sexes into an enduring whole-life union.
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love
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Timothy J. Keller |
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4a46673
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Marriage used to be a public institution for the common good, and now it is a private arrangement for the satisfaction of the individuals.
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love
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Timothy J. Keller |