Edward T. Welch Quotes

Speaker says psychology has commandeered "everything hard" and partitioned it from Scripture with the assumption that its causes are biological

Sanctification is like a clumsy, slow walk rather than a light switch that we turn from off to on.

If our failure to consistently worship the true God is the key feature of sin, we are sinners all.

Who we love above all else is who we worship, and who we worship controls us.

The fear of man is the sinful exaggeration of a normal experience.

The basic idea is to focus on the matchless worth of the Lord God and then get connected to him.

Then, when shame strikes, it is so nasty you have to numb yourself, and what better anesthetic than your addiction? It is the perfect vicious circle.

No one cares about their reputation or their bank account when they find themselves in the shadow of death.

The rule of thumb is that if someone is able to be verbally or physically abusive, he or she is able to understand that the behavior is wrong.

What is shame?
God identifies it. God experienced it. You are not alone.

The thing or person you trust in is actually the object of your worship. Look

You don't really know who you are until you have gone through suffering. We can measure our spiritual growth by the way we behave under pressure.

What is the way out of shame?
It is the way of humility, not humiliation. It is the way of being known, not exposed.

If I can trust the word of a friend, why do I question the word of the God of the universe? Go figure. Sin is truly bizarre. [Running Scared, p. 111]

We are more concerned about looking stupid (a fear of people) than we are about acting sinfully (a fear of God).

in view of God's sovereign control, God will accomplish his purposes in our lives even when we make decisions we later regret.

The cure for shame will always be found in how we become connected to God.

Knew something about prayer, asked Jesus how to pray (Luke 11:1). Here is where prayer really

Superstitions and eccentric habits are a Western substitute for actual idols.

Faith is not the presence of warm religious feeling. It's the knowledge that you walk before the God who hears.

Knowing Jesus Christ strikes the balance because he shows us both God and our own wretchedness.3 What do you see in your own heart?

Emotional suffering needs spiritual encouragement.

Need theories can thrive only in a context where the emphasis is on the individual rather than the community and where consumption is a way of life.

The basic idea is that those who help best are the ones who both need help and give help. A healthy community is dependent on all of us being both.

The fastest way to bring a wrecking ball to our skewed interpretations is through confession.

Anything that erodes the fear of God will intensify the fear of man.

If you know you have been forgiven, you will forgive and reconcile with others.

The details of how faith works in spiritual warfare are well known but easily forgotten.

Jesus always interpreted hardship in light of the end of the story, and at the end of the story we will be without shame.

Somehow, turning to God and trusting him with the mysteries of suffering is the answer to the problem of suffering.

Here is the rule: the way you live reveals what you really think about God,

Sanctification is more about the direction than the distance we have traveled.

The language of shame is extreme. Hear it enough and you believe it. You are told you are disgusting and unclean, and eventually you believe you are.

Shame is life-dominating and stubborn. Once entrenched in your heart and mind, it is a squatter that refuses to leave.

The perceived meaninglessness of work is often part of depression. It usually, however, is a sign of depression rather than a cause. Death.

Jesus did not die to increase our self-esteem. Rather, Jesus died to bring glory to the Father by redeeming people from the curse of sin.

You can't have a deeper relationship if you won't allow yourself to be known. All

Sin is guerrilla warfare that is deadly. Just when you think you are in control, it seeks to devour you.

When you erode the fear of death with the knowledge that you already died [in Christ], you will find yourself moving toward a simple, bold obedience.

You will either fear God or other people. There are no other alternatives.

the desire is overwhelming. Why? Because there is availability without accountability.

If we think we are usually good, then God is usually irrelevant.

The gospel is only available to people who know they are unclean.

Friends are the best helpers. They come prepackaged with compassion and love. All they need is wisdom, and that is available to everyone.

The gospel is the story of God covering his naked enemies, bringing them to the wedding feast, and then marrying them rather than crushing them.

Suffering nags us with questions about God in a way that comfort never could.

The more you read Scripture, the more you actually talk to God rather than think about fear.

There is a resiliency in the human spirit that keeps us going even when we have no reason to continue.

God's self-revelation is a higher authority than our feelings.

Hiding. Covering up. Self-protection. Feeling exposed. They are telltale signs of shame.

They are God's liturgy, prepared for you in advance. How

Your future includes manna. It will come. There is no sense devising future scenarios now because God will do more than you anticipate.

I have a new philosophy. I only dread one day at a time. - Charlie Brown

Shame's hold over you leads you to believe you don't deserve to be rid of shame. As a result, you treat hope as if it were a contaminated substance.

A lingering sense that something was very wrong with him. That sense is called shame.

God is God, He is not tame and domesticated like we sometimes (try to) make Him.

Fear has given birth to extreme parenting. It looks like love, but it is love mingled with fear.

Humility means that you acknowledge you don't know everything, and you might be especially confused when it comes to God.

People are most similar to God when he is the object of their affection. People should delight in God, as he does in himself.

Confession is always a good place to start when we feel lost.

Fear of man is always part of a triad that includes unbelief and disobedience.

Humans are needy by design. Will we abandon the myth of independence and seek God?

Hope will only grow in the ground of humility.