Quotes from Mark Batterson

Did you know that embryologists have recently captured the moment of conception via fluorescence microscopy? What they discovered is that at the exact moment a sperm penetrates an egg, the egg releases billions of zinc atoms that emit light. Sparks fly, literally! That miracle of conception is a microcosm that mirrors God's first four words.

You're never too old to go after the dreams God has put in your heart. And for the record, you're never too young either. Age is never a valid excuse.

Man skills may win you man points, but manhood virtues win the heart of God. Virtue is much harder to develop than skill, and it takes much longer. But the payoff is far greater!

Death is a mirror that gives us a glimpse of who we really are. Death is a rearview mirror that puts the past into perspective.

More than a hundred years ago, a British revivalist issued a holy dare that would change a life, a city, and a generation. That timeless challenge echoes across every generation: "The world has yet to see what God will do with and for and through and in and by the man who is fully and wholly consecrated to Him.

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.

The paradigm shift happens when we come to terms with the fact that the world doesn't revolve around us.

Consecration is going all in and all out for the All in All.

Don't wait to worship God until you get to the Promised Land; you've got to worship along the way.

We don't get a vision from God by going to conferences. We might get some good ideas, but God-ideas are only revealed in the presence of God.

Maybe we need to quit playing defense and start playing offense. Maybe we need to quit letting our circumstances get between us and God and let God get between us and our circumstances. Maybe we need to stop talking to God about our problem and start talking to our problem about God.

You need to circle the goals God wants you to go after, the promises God wants you to claim, and the dreams God wants you to pursue. And once you spell Jericho, you need to circle it in prayer. Then you need to keep circling until the walls come tumbling down.