The confident swagger of Egypt has slipped away like a desert mirage leaving a man embarrassed that he has a stutter.  

I run across folks who know a lot about God. They can quote chapter and verse from the Bible, serve in His name, and are adept guides at navigating church and Christian concerns, but when pressed, they appear to know about God but not know Him. 

A Christian who is not a person of diligence is not worth much in the realm of dependability. And when it comes to survivability, a Christian who does not approach living diligently from the proper perspective is not dependable either. 

It is crucial to know we are justified, sanctified, glorified, and righteous in Christ. But, we must move from salvation toward Christian maturity. 

It is not enough, indeed it would be cruel, to write of diligence and the critical necessity of this character quality in your life without reminding and informing you of the foundation from which you must act. 

But, there was a plan and a man of diligence executing it. The course of history was soon to be altered.

A fellow can miss a living relationship with Jesus sitting in his church pew and teaching Sunday School just as he can lying in the gutter drunk or pledging allegiance to an atheistic system. 

The devil does not kill, maim, and destroy in the same fashion here in the west as he does behind the iron and bamboo curtains. But make no mistake: He does kill, maim, and destroy. 

What’s the point in getting spiritually ready if I’m never going to get into the “real” game anyway? I can be mediocre in my spiritual life and never miss a beat as a western Christian.

Win, lose, or draw, it didn’t really matter to me. I was second string and all I ever did was practice.

I would not be surprised if this epic allegorical tale is destined to become a cult classic of sorts or in it's own right, a classic.

The beauty revealed in Hank's life is that the love of God for us is NEVER changed whether we are on the path or have wandered. I found this to be a very practical presentation of the walk of the Christian - running the race to reach the goal. 

This is the best fiction I've read in a long time. 

I get it now: The old don’t-eat-from-this-tree-or-you’ll-die myth. It is a prevarication, sister. An equivocation, a fabrication, a misrepresentation. My soul girl, don’t look so dumbfounded. It’s a fib, a whopper. A white lie, if you will.

Since He wanted to go out fishing, they would. And the rest is history. It took two boats to haul all the fish to shore, and they were lucky to get there without sinking. 

Of all the places for Him to go, and all the things for Him to do, He chooses to keep tabs on me—to pour His heart into mine as if that was all He had to do. 

Although he was wealthy and had the best of everything money could buy, he had no friends, no peace, and no satisfaction. He had gotten ahead by stepping on people, defrauding them, and taking advantage of them.

There is a “tired” from working all night and accomplishing your goal. And, there is a “tired” from simply working all night.

My left thumb is marked by a slight irregularity next to the nail where I nearly cut it off. 

Being too busy to stop and envision means your world shrinks and your reason for existing gets small, repetitive, and uninteresting—and this is how burnout occurs.