35 Truths That Have Changed My Life

I turn 35 today. And these years have been filled with incalculable blessings and mercy. I especially feel gratitude for the preachers, authors, professors, and friends who have influenced me over the years. Would you mind if I share some of their wisdom with you? Some of the sources will be obvious, and other statements are paraphrases of things I can’t remember verbatim. Nevertheless, here are 35 truths that have impacted me. I believe these things to my bones, and I hope you do too.

Everything and everyone exists for the glory of God.
God is most glorified in me when I am most satisfied in Him.
We should read the Old Testament by imitating the interpretive moves of the New Testament authors.
The Bible is one unfolding Story about Jesus.
Your sin will find you out.
The most important ministry for the minister is his family.
Preach the gospel to yourself everyday. The gospel is for Christians too.
Only one life, ’twill soon be past, only what’s done for Christ will last.
God calls me to holiness because He is more committed to my happiness than I am.
Do now what you will wish you would have done.
Christian maturity and responsibility involves doing what you should do when should do it, regardless of how you feel.
Your idols will not die for your sins; they will leave you to do that.
Satan tempts us all the time with the same temptation from Eden: to doubt the wisdom and goodness of God’s word for us.
Heaven is not our ultimate home, for the saints will be raised bodily and will dwell forever with their Redeemer in a new creation.
I cannot follow Jesus faithfully without loving His bride, the Church.
Real Christians can have real doubts and questions.
The prosperity health-and-wealth “gospel” is from hell.
God’s commands are wise, good, and beautiful.
If you want God to speak, read the Bible, because God speaks in His Word.
I don’t have to understand why things happen in life the way they do, and I’m not meant to either.
Life is full of wonder and beauty but also full of heartache and sorrow–both things are true in a Genesis 3 world.
God is gloriously, meticulously, comprehensively sovereign.
We must combat the deceiving promises of sin with the superior promises of God’s Word.
From the greatest evil (the rejection and murder of the Son of God), God worked the greatest good (salvation for sinners to the glory of His name).
Preach Christ in every sermon–the Old Testament points to Him, and the New Testament proclaims Him.
No matter what your vocation in life, be a student of God’s Word, always studying and learning and growing.
A strong marriage is worth pursuing and preserving, whatever it takes.
Your children will only be young once, so don’t waste those years–be present, all in, for the long haul.
You need mentors, and you need to be mentoring.
Prioritize–and don’t compromise–the worship of Christ with your family on the Lord’s Day, lest half-hearted obedience in one generation lead to full-on rebellion in the next.
When I don’t feel like going to church, I need to go to church.
Parenting is part of the sanctification process…for the parent.
Nothing is needful that He withholds.
Get friends who make sin look bad and God look big.
The greatest hindrance in your discipleship is not a parent or a spouse or a coworker or a neighbor–it is yourself. Jesus said, “Deny yourself, take up your cross, and follow me.”