All In By Mark Batterson Quotes & Sayings

Instead of complaining about the current state of affairs, we need to offer better alternatives. [ ... ] we need to stop cursing the darkness and start lighting some candles! — Mark Batterson

Sure, you can choose the safety and predictability of the cage, forfeiting the adventure God has destined for you. But you won't be the only one missing out or losing out. When you lack the courage to chase the Wild Goose, the opportunity costs are staggering. Who might not hear about the love of God if you don't seize the opportunity to tell them? Who might be stuck in poverty, stuck in ignorance, stuck in pain if you're not there to help free them? Where might the advance of God's kingdom in the world stall out because you weren't there on the front lines? — Mark Batterson

The betrayal of Jesus by Judas wasn't a spur-of-the-moment mistake. He betrayed Jesus each and every time he pilfered the money pot. And while most of us can't imagine pickpocketing Jesus, we shortchange Him in a thousand different ways. We rob God of the glory He demands and deserves by not living up to our full, God-given potential. — Mark Batterson

God is not a genie in a bottle, and your wish is not His command. His command better be your wish. — Mark Batterson

True knowledge should not produce pride; it should produce humility ... Because the more you know, the more you know how much you don't know. — Mark Batterson

The size of prayers depends on the size of our God. And if God knows no limits, then neither should our prayers. — Mark Batterson

Experiences are the currency of a life well lived. — Mark Batterson

God wants you to get where God wants you to go more than you want to get where God wants you to go. — Mark Batterson

praise is a higher dimension of faith. — Mark Batterson

In an urban environment, a church building is a thing of the past. — Mark Batterson

The word consecrate means to set yourself apart. By definition, consecration demands full devotion. It's dethroning yourself and enthroning Jesus Christ. It's the complete divestiture of all self-interest. It's giving God veto power. It's surrendering all of you to all of Him. It's a simple recognition that every second of time, every ounce of energy, and every penny of money is a gift from God and for God. Consecration is an ever-deepening love for Jesus, a childlike trust in the heavenly Father, and a blind obedience to the Holy Spirit. Consecration is all that and a thousand things more. But for the sake of simplicity, let me give you my personal definition of consecration. — Mark Batterson

It's no coincidence that being watchful and prayerful are coupled by the apostle Paul in his letter to the Colossians: "Devote yourselves to prayer, being watchful and thankful." The word watchful is a throwback to the ancient watchmen whose job it was to sit on the city walls and scan the horizon for attacking armies or trading caravans. They saw sooner and further than anyone else. Prayer opens our spiritual eyes so we see sooner and further. — Mark Batterson

...people can go to church every week of their lives and never go all in with Jesus Christ. I'm afraid we've cheapened the gospel by allowing people to buy in without selling out. We've made it too convenient, too comfortable. We've given people just enough Jesus to be bored but not enough to feel the surge of holy adrenaline that courses through your veins when you decide to follow Him no matter what, no matter where, no matter when. — Mark Batterson

I've been challenged by the action-oriented approach to Scripture proposed by Peter Marshall, former chaplain of the United States Senate. I wonder what would happen if we all agreed to read one of the Gospels until we came to a place that told us to do something, then went out to do it, and only after we had done it, began reading again? There are aspects of the Gospel that are puzzling and difficult to understand. But our problems are not centered around the things we don't understand, but rather in the things we do understand, the things we could not possibly misunderstand. Our problem is not so much that we don't know what we should do. We know perfectly well, but we don't want to do it.19 — Mark Batterson

God won't answer 100% of the prayers we don't pray. — Mark Batterson

Prayer is picking a fight with the Enemy. It's spiritual warfare. Intercession transports us from the sidelines to the front lines without going anywhere. And that is where the battle is won or lost. Prayer is the difference between us fighting for God and God fighting for us. But we can't just hit our knees. We also have to take a step, take a stand. And when we do, we never know what God will do next. — Mark Batterson

You are only one prayer away from a dream fulfilled, a promise kept, or a miracle performed. — Mark Batterson

If you're bored, one thing is for sure: You're not following in the footsteps of Christ. — Mark Batterson

The goal of marriage is not happiness, it is holiness ... There is no mechanism whereby God can sanctify a person more than having them live in close proximity to another imperfect person.
... Our fundamental problem is that we are selfish. Marriage is the means whereby God eradicates our selfishness because it is not about "me" anymore, i t is about "we. — Mark Batterson

There is no regret God cannot redeem. — Mark Batterson

When God stirs our spirit or breaks our heart, we cannot sit back. We've got to step up and step in. We've got to go all in by going all out. But if we have the courage to make the choice or take the risk, it will become the defining moment of our lives. — Mark Batterson

Nine times out of ten, failure is resorting to Plan B when Plan A gets too risky, too costly, or too difficult. That's why most people are living their Plan B. They didn't burn the ships. Plan A people don't have a Plan B...

There are moments in life when we need to burn the ships to our past. We do so by making a defining decision that will eliminate the possibility of sailing back to the old world we left behind. You burn the ships named Past Failure and Past Success. You burn the ship named Bad Habit. You burn the ship named Regret. You burn the ship named Guilt. You burn the ship named My Old Way of Life. — Mark Batterson

In fact, the death of a dream is often a subtle form of idolatry. We lose faith in the God who gave us the big dream and settle for a small dream that we can accomplish without His help. We go after dreams that don't require divine intervention. We go after dreams that don't require prayer. And the God who is able to do immeasurably more than all our right brain can imagine is supplanted by a god - lowercase g - who fits within the logical constraints of our left brain. — Mark Batterson

Perhaps the LORD will act in our behalf. Don't play defense with your life. Play offense with your kids, your wife, your life. Don't look for the path of least resistance. The hard way is the best way! And quit living as if the will of God is an insurance plan. Dare to dream great things for God. — Mark Batterson

Whether we write lyrics or craft legislation, sell homes or teach classes, design spaces or open franchises, prayer is a critical part of the creative process. Don't just brainstorm; praystorm. — Mark Batterson

we tend to overestimate what we can accomplish in a year. — Mark Batterson

There is nothing God loves more than keeping promises, answering prayers, performing miracles, and fulfilling dreams. That is who He is. That is what He does. And the bigger the circle we draw, the better, because God gets more glory. — Mark Batterson

Jesus didn't die to make us safe. He died to make us dangerous! Faithfulness isn't holding the fort. It's storming the gates of hell with the light and love of Jesus Christ. — Mark Batterson

We start dying when we have nothing worth living for. And we don't really start living until we find something worth dying for — Mark Batterson

Part of my driving desire as a pastor is to remove every obstacle except the cross that would keep people from coming to faith in Christ. — Mark Batterson

The leading cause of failure is mismanaged success. And the leading cause of success is well-managed failure. — Mark Batterson

Courage doesn't wait until situational factors turn in one's favor. It doesn't wait until a plan is perfectly formed. It doesn't wait until the tide of popular opinion is turned. Courage only waits for one thing: a green light from God. And when God gives the go, it's full steam ahead, no questions asked. — Mark Batterson

Dreams without deadlines are dead in the water. Deadlines are really lifelines to achieving our goals. — Mark Batterson

Preaching may move the hearts of men, but praying moves the heart of God. And that's where revival comes from. — Mark Batterson

Lion chasers are humble enough to let God call the shots and brave enough to follow where He leads. — Mark Batterson

Your prayers are prophecies. You can write the future of your family with your prayers — Mark Batterson

You are someone else's miracle! God is setting up divine appointments and it is our job to keep them — Mark Batterson

Life is full of goals to be identified and kept in sight. When we lose sight of the goal, we simply drift. Sometimes drift can mean disaster. — Mark Batterson

Put your Isaac on the altar! Then, and only then, will you see what God can do. He cannot give back what you do not give up. But if you surrender yourself to Him, He will provide the ram in the thicket. — Mark Batterson

I love the way Dorothy Sayers described the wild side of His personality. To do them justice, the people who crucified Jesus did not do so because he was a bore. Quite the contrary; he was too dynamic to be safe. It has been left for later generations to muffle up that shattering personality and surround Him with an atmosphere of tedium. We have declawed the lion of Judah and made Him a housecat for pale priests and pious old ladies.9 — Mark Batterson

Grace is loving people for who they are, where they are. It's loving people *before* they change, not just *after* they change. And that grace is the difference between holy and holier-than-thou. Holiness, in its purest form, is irresistible. That's why sinners couldn't be kept away from Jesus. Hypocrisy has the opposite effect. It's as repulsive to the irreligious as the Pharisees' religiosity was to Jesus. — Mark Batterson

We live in a culture that celebrates talent more than integrity, but we've got it backward. Talent depreciates over time. So do intellect and appearance. You will eventually lose your strength and lose your looks. You may even lose your mind. But you don't have to lose your integrity. Integrity is the only thing that doesn't depreciate over time. Nothing takes longer to build than a godly reputation. And nothing is destroyed more quickly by one stroke of sin. That's why it must be celebrated and protected above all else. — Mark Batterson