Quotes from Adam Hamilton

you have a Father who knit you together in your mother's womb, who loves you more than you can possibly imagine, who walks with you, cares for you,

and is relentless in his love and mercy and grace toward you.

Perhaps nowhere is the selfless, sacrificial love of God more clearly displayed than when someone takes on the task of raising and loving a child who is not biologically theirs. They didn't have to take the job, they had a choice, but they chose to set aside their fears and accept the calling to be a stepparent, foster parent, or adoptive parent.

Mary Magdalene is recorded in the Gospels as present at the Crucifixion and at Christ's burial, and to have gone, with other women, to the tomb on Easter morning. She is the first to have learned the tomb was empty. She heard from an angel that Christ had been raised. She is the first person to have seen Jesus after his resurrection. She is the first to have proclaimed Jesus was raised from the dead. She plays a central place in Jesus's ministry.

We are meant to be a living hallelujah.

we are reminded that God is often most profoundly at work in those times when we're confused, broken, or wounded.

The Bible definitely does not teach that those who follow God will have a life of bliss. It describes the dogged faith of those who continue to trust in God despite their suffering, and the comfort, strength, and hope they find in the face of suffering.

One of the hallmarks of our tendency to sin is that we feel the need to criticize, we take pleasure in gossiping, and we feel qualified to make judgments, often with very little information.

God's call on our lives is often surprising and usually is based on God's ability to see how our various elements in the past might fit together to accomplish God's purposes in the present.

The perspiring of drops of blood is a known, but rare medical condition called hematidrosis. It is thought to be caused by intense anxiety when our body's fight-or-flight mechanism narrows the capillaries to prepare us for actions in the face of fear. If the fear is suddenly relieved, the capillaries dilate and, in some cases, rupture, leaving blood entering the sweat glands. It might actually be a sign of a very rapid relief from anxiety.1

The ideal is that your faith not be rigid and unpliable, but instead that it is capable of being stretched and remolded over time, and that your theological and spiritual life grows deeper and more mature with the passing years.

idea of who receives God's favor is a consistent theme in Scripture. God chooses the humble, the unlikely, and the lowly. God chose the elderly Abraham and Sarah to bring forth the chosen people. He chose Moses, a fugitive from the law, a man who stuttered and was tending sheep, to be the lawgiver and deliverer of Israel. He chose David, the shepherd boy, the youngest and scrawniest son of Jesse, to be Israel's greatest king. And he chose Mary, a

Jesus chose disciples, he didn't select the seminary-trained or

Our mission at Christmas is not to get stuff for people to open on Christmas morning. It is to be people of hope who let Jesus' light shine through them.

Pride is a dangerous sin. It eats away at our soul. It convinces us that we are better than others,

You either humble yourself, or God will do it for you.

Grace is God's kindness, his love, his care, his work on our behalf, his blessings, his gifts, his goodness, his forgiveness, and his salvation. But it is more than that—it is all these things when they are undeserved, when they are pure gift.

grace has the power to change our lives.

God's love, mercy, and kindness are offered to us all. He showed us grace.

Grace has power. When you give kindness, compassion, goodness, and love to someone who does not deserve it, that graceful act has the power to change hearts, heal broken

relationships, and reconcile people and even nations. Grace changes the one who receives it, and it also changes the one who gives it.

They were often seen as terrorists as they enjoyed making Romans their victims.

Our mission at Christmas is not to get stuff for people to open on Christmas morning. It is to be people of hope who let Jesus' light shine through them, who act as his witnesses so that others see him in us, who offer hope and help, who pray and work so that our world looks more like the kingdom Jesus proclaimed.

Christmas is about God's grace—the kindness, love, forgiveness, and blessings being given to us though we do not deserve them.