If there is no restitution, there has been no true repentance. If there is no true repentance, worshiping God is a farce.

God will not reveal what He is trying to produce in you unless you give Him a blank slate to work on and you can say from your heart, “No restrictions, Lord. Anything in my life, go for it, I’m Yours, period!” Bottom line: Until you are cooperating fully with God’s desire to transform you (chapter 2), He will not give wisdom in regard to what He is

When we are truly right with God, we want to be right with others. It’s the natural next step.

God loves us. Yes, He surely does. Absolutely, but it’s not some pampering love—it’s a perfecting love. It’s a love that wants our highest and best usefulness for His purposes.

“Lord, here it is. Here’s my chance to work on these things.”

Confession is to say the same thing about your sin that God says.

Staying power is the ability to remain under that thing—as hard as it is. The determination to remain in that marriage—as hard as it is. The endurance to remain in that job—as hard as it is. The perseverance to stick with it in that difficult circumstance—no matter what. If God can produce in you that staying power, He can give you everything else.

you can’t accomplish God’s agenda in your own strength.

it was not appropriate to vent his frustration on others simply because he was working through something that bothered him.