Timothy S. Lane Quotes & Sayings

We think, How much better life would be if a certain situation or a relationship were different! Meanwhile, God says that what needs change most is us! He does not just work to fix situations and relationships; he is intent on rescuing us from ourselves. We are the focus of his loving, lifelong work of change. — Timothy S. Lane

God is simply taking you where you do not want to go to produce in you what you could not achieve on your own. — Timothy S. Lane

Along with that, the Bible continually reminds us that God sends the uncomfortable grace of trial not to crush or discourage us, but to mature and refine us. As we are realistic about difficulty, that needs to be our hope. — Timothy S. Lane

When I have learnt to love God better than my earthly dearest, I shall love my earthly dearest better than I do now. — Timothy S. Lane

If you look for God in your relationships, you will always find things to be thankful for. When God reigns in our hearts, peace reigns in our relationships. This work will only be complete in heaven but there is much we can enjoy now. — Timothy S. Lane

Our Lord finds our desires not too strong, but too weak. We are half-hearted creatures, fooling about with drink and sex and ambition when infinite joy is offered us, like an ignorant child who wants to go on making mud pies in a slum because he cannot imagine what is meant by the offer of a holiday at the sea. We are far too easily pleased. 1 — Timothy S. Lane

In God's plan, our quest for personal identity is meant to drive us back to him as Creator so that we find our meaning and purpose in him.
When we live out a sense of who we are IN CHRIST we live our lives based on all we have been given by Christ. This keeps us from seeking to get those things from the people and situations around us. Much of the disappointments and heartache we experience is the result of our attempts to get something from relationships that we already have in Christ. — Timothy S. Lane

Imagination opens things up so that we can grow into maturity - worship and adore, exclaim and honor, follow and trust. Explanation restricts and defines and holds down; imagination expands and lets loose. Explanation keeps our feet on the ground; imagination lifts our heads into the clouds. Explanation puts us in harness; imagination catapults us into mystery. Explanation reduces life to what can be used; imagination enlarges life into what can be adored. — Timothy S. Lane

He who began a good work in you will carry it on to completion until the day of Christ Jesus." That good work begins in relationship to Jesus and is brought to completion within an ever-deepening union with him. — Timothy S. Lane

Your relationships will take you beyond the boundaries of your normal strength. Encouragement gives struggling people eyes to see the unseen Christ. — Timothy S. Lane

The shattered relationship between Father, Son, and Holy Spirit at the cross provides the basis for our reconciliation. No other relationship ever suffered more than what Father, Son, and Holy Spirit endured when Jesus hung on the cross and cried, 'My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?' Jesus was willing to be the rejected Son so that our families would know reconciliation. Jesus was willing to become the forsaken friend so that we could have loving friendships. Jesus was willing to be the rejected Lord so that we could live in loving submission to one another. Jesus was willing to be the forsaken brother so that we could have godly relationships. Jesus was willing to be the crucified King so that our communities would experience peace. — Timothy S. Lane

Remember, your relationships have not been designed by God as vehicles for human happiness, but as instruments of redemption. — Timothy S. Lane

You and I will only be able to understand what is valuable when we examine things from the perspective of eternity. — Timothy S. Lane

Talk like an ambassador (Eph 4:29-30).
1)Consider the person ("only what is helpful for building others up")
2) Consider the problem ("according to their needs")
3) Consider the process ("that it may benefit those who listen") — Timothy S. Lane

Every good relationship we have is a gift of God's grace. Left to ourselves, nothing good would happen. Our problem has everything to do with sin and our potential has everything to do with Christ. Sin always draws towards self-interest. It is possible that even in our most altruistic moments are driven by what we get out of them — Timothy S. Lane