Tag: Powlison

Your Gaze and Intentions

“Is it possible to alter the subtle tendencies that pattern how you look at people? Yes. The Holy Spirit is about this business. It takes a while: a lot of walking on the paths of light, a lot of needing God and loving God, a lot of receiving his mercies, a lot of learning to genuinely love people. But you can grow wiser even at this subtlest of levels. You can increasingly view each human being as a sister or brother, a mother or father, a daughter or son—as someone to care for, not a sexual object. Your gaze and intentions can become more and more about caring and protecting.”

—David Powlison, Making All Things New: Restoring Joy to the Sexually Broken (Wheaton, IL: Crossway, 2017), 100

Your Life Hangs Upon Sheer Mercy From God

“When you recognize sin’s subtlety, you realize how much your life hangs upon sheer mercy from God. He is utterly aware of thoughts and intentions of which we may be barely aware or wholly unaware. Mercy extends here, too.”

—David Powlison, Making All Things New: Restoring Joy to the Sexually Broken (Wheaton, IL: Crossway, 2017), 99

Everything Being Renewed Will Be Entirely New

“God works organically in our lives. Organic growth has integrity. God works step-by-step. He walks with you. He’s always interested in how you take your very next step. Walking through life with him feels right. You’re going somewhere. The day of “completion” will not arrive until the day when Jesus Christ arrives (Phil. 1:6). When we see him, then we will be like him (1 John 3:2). Only when God lives visibly in our midst will all tears be past (Rev. 21:3–4). Someday, not today, everything being renewed will be entirely new (Rev. 21:5). Much of the failure to fight well, befriend well, pastor well, and counsel well arises because we don’t really understand and work well with this long truth.”

—David Powlison, Making All Things New: Restoring Joy to the Sexually Broken (Wheaton, IL: Crossway, 2017), 59

Mercy Gets Final Say

“Your self-evaluation depends on the evaluation he makes and the stance he takes. If the Lord is merciful, then mercy gets final say. It is beyond our comprehension that God acts mercifully for his sake, because of what he is like. Wrap your heart around this, and the typical aftermath of sin will never be the same. You will stand in joy and gratitude, not grovel in shame. You’ll be able to get back about the business of life with fresh resolve, not just with good intentions and some flimsy New Year’s resolutions to do better next time. This is our hope. This is our deepest need. This is our Lord’s essential and foundational gift.”

—David Powlison, Making All Things New: Restoring Joy to the Sexually Broken (Wheaton, IL: Crossway, 2017), 47