“Something in me hates this confession. I do not think that I am alone in this. Twitter, Facebook, virtual conferencing—these allow us the illusion of being somewhere other than where we are. Positively we have a voice in places otherwise absent to us. But we type on our keyboards while sitting in a chair where we are—the local knowledge and work of the day in our place awaiting our presence. The danger here is that it allows us to give our gifts without giving ourselves. …Therefore, those of you searching for something larger, faster, and more significant, who feel that if you could just be somewhere else doing something else as somebody else, then your life would really matter—Jesus has come to confound you.” ― Zack Eswine, Sensing Jesus: Life and Ministry as a Human Being”

“In this fallen world, sadness is an act of sanity, our tears the testimony of the sane.” ― Zack Eswine, Spurgeon’s Sorrows: Realistic Hope for those who Suffer from Depression

“To preach biblically means much more than to preach the truth of the Bible accurately. It also means to present that truth the way the biblical writers and speakers presented it.” ― Zack Eswine, Preaching to a Post-Everything World: Crafting Biblical Sermons That Connect with Our Culture [#Matthew13:34]

“Almost anything in life that truly matters will require you to do small, mostly overlooked things, over a long period of time WITH JESUS.” ― Zack Eswine, Discovering Joy in Our Limitations through a Daily Apprenticeship with Jesus

“Anyone who thinks that he has understood the divine scriptures or any part of them, but cannot by his understanding build up his love of God and neighbor, has not yet succeeded in understanding them.” ― Zack Eswine, Discovering Joy in Our Limitations through a Daily Apprenticeship with Jesus

“If I am bored with ordinary people in ordinary places, then am I not bored with what God delights in? If I think that local limits of body and place are too small a thing for a person as gifted as I am, then don’t I want to escape what God himself gladly and daily inhabits? If I stare at a face, a flower, a child, or a congregation and say, “But God, not this. I want to do something great for you!” Am I not profoundly misunderstanding what God says a great thing is?” ― Zack Eswine, Discovering Joy in Our Limitations through a Daily Apprenticeship with Jesus

“Mark this down, okay? You and I were never meant to repent for not being everywhere for everybody and all at once. You and I are meant to repent because we’ve tried to be. Even if we could be god for people and fix it all, the fact remains that Jesus often does not have the kind of fixing in mind that you and I want.”― Zack Eswine, Discovering Joy in Our Limitations through a Daily Apprenticeship with Jesus

“God has given you himself to surrender to and love. This means that to daily orient your life toward a moment-by-moment relationship with God is a great thing that brings glory to him. You needn’t be anywhere else than where you are, because Jesus is there too. God has given you a handful of persons that you are meant to love. This means you are meant for relationships with people. To enter this way of love for neighbor is to do a great thing that glorifies God. You needn’t become somebody else or overlook those people who are right in front of you. The Lord is at work here doing great things. God will give you a place to inhabit, which means that you get to become attentive to what is there where you are. This means that to dwell knowledgeably and hospitably in and toward the place God gives you is to glorify him. God will give you a few things that he intends for you to do in your inhabited place and with those people. To do what God gives you to do is to strengthen the common good and to glorify him.” ― Zack Eswine, Sensing Jesus: Life and Ministry as a Human Being

“To make true contact is to touch the real thing, to treasure the flower more than the picture of the flower, the person more than the memory, the actual moment more than potential moments. It is to outrun mirages, disrupt illusions, and expose forgeries.” – Zack Eswine

“Often the cynic is wise toward reality but a simpleton toward redemption.” – Zack Eswine

“Ordinary love the way it is meant to be, along with a long life of ordinary faithfulness to God, accomplishes more than we know.” ― Zack Eswine, Discovering Joy in Our Limitations through a Daily Apprenticeship with Jesus

“As you do life, you will be tempted to orient your desires toward doing large things in famous ways as fast and as efficiently as you can. But take note. A crossroads waits for you. Jesus is that crossroads. Because almost anything in life that truly matters will require you to do small, mostly overlooked things, over a long period of time with him. …Desire greatness. But bend your definition of greatness to the one Jesus gives us.” – Z.E.

“Your frantic attempts to find or craft an acceptable identity, or your tireless work to manage your own reputation—these are over and done. You can rest. In Christ. You don’t have to be intimidated by anyone, ever. Who are you? You are in Christ! And you no longer need to fear the judgment of God (1 John 4:18). When God looks at you, he sees you hidden in Christ. This is freedom. This is confidence. This is good, good news. If our hope is anchored in our own experience or efforts, we will never be settled.” ― Rankin Wilbourne, Union with Christ: The Way to Know and Enjoy God