22 essential Jefferson Bethke quotes – How to love Jesus more!

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22 empowering quotes by Jefferson Bethke. Bethke is a bestselling author, spoken words artist and follower of Jesus.

Inspiration Jefferson Bethke quotes

1. “My peers couldn’t separate Jesus from religion because they weren’t reading the Bible to learn about Jesus; they were looking to the Christian religion to understand him. What they were rebelling against was religion.” – Jefferson Bethke

2. “Jesus knows what life is like. He doesn’t hang out in heaven and tell us to be good and moral without reaching down to us. Jesus doesn’t make us come to him; he comes to us. He walks the same earth we walk. He had to deal with the same things we deal with— going hungry, relationship problems, friends dying, and friends’ betrayal.” – Jefferson Bethke

3. “The greatest single cause of atheism in the world today is Christians, who acknowledge Jesus with their mouths and walk out the door and deny him by their lifestyle.” – Jefferson Bethke

4. “The minute you think you have gotten on God’s good side by your own behavior, you are naturally prone to demonize those who haven’t.” – Jefferson Bethke

5. “God loves because he is love. He doesn’t love because we are lovable. There is a difference.” – Jefferson Bethke

6. “He came not to save people but to save his entire creation, which we are a part of. It’s about restoration. If we don’t realize this, we will naturally turn to escapism rather than restoration. We will turn church into a holy huddle rather than a group of people sent out to push back the domain of darkness. We are created to infect and infiltrate culture, restoring and reclaiming what is God’s.” – Jefferson Bethke

7. “Love others so radically they wonder why.” – Jefferson Bethke

8. “God is constant. Always forgiving. Always loving. Never changing.” – Jefferson Bethke

9. “Thinking you can earn eternal life by just reading the Bible a lot is like staring at the windshield while driving, hoping you’ll get where you want to go. The windshield isn’t there to be looked at; it is designed to be looked through.” – Jefferson Bethke

10. “Grace isn’t there for some future me, but for the real me. The me who struggled. The me who was messy. The me who was addicted to porn. The me who didn’t have all the answers. The me who was insecure. He loved me in my mess; he was not waiting until I cleaned myself up.” – Jefferson Bethke

11. “God’s ways aren’t our ways, but his ways save. Our ways don’t.” – Jefferson Bethke

12. “All the other religions essentially say, “This is what you have to do to be in right standing with God.” Jesus comes to earth and says, “This is what I’ve freely done for you to put you in right standing with God.” – Jefferson Bethke

13. “The biggest difference between religious people and gospel-loving people is that religious people see certain people as the enemies, when Jesus-followers see sin as the enemy.” – Jefferson Bethke

14. “Religion says do. Jesus says done. Religion is man searching for God. Jesus is God searching for man. Religion is pursuing God by our moral efforts. Jesus is God pursuing us despite our moral efforts.” – Jefferson Bethke

15. “Heaven isn’t a place for people who are scared of hell; it’s for people who love Jesus.” – Jefferson Bethke

16. “Many Christians don’t really care about God; they just want to use him to get what they truly want—status, a nice job, a car, forgiveness—you name it.” – Jefferson Bethke

17. “God’s grace is so much more powerful of a motivator than fear. Love is the deepest motivator. Only love can produce not only willing obedience but also lasting obedience.” – Jefferson Bethke

18. “Author C.S. Lewis said, ‘God whispers to us in our pleasures, speaks in our conscience, but shouts in our pains.” – Jefferson Bethke

19. “Jesus is Lord; we are not. Jesus is King; we are not. Jesus is Savior; we are not.” – Jefferson Bethke

20. “As Christians, God doesn’t promise us an easy life, but he does promise to be with us in whatever we go through. He will never leave us or forsake us.” – Jefferson Bethke

21. “I hear a lot of people say that the fear of death and the fear of public speaking are two of the main fears in my generation, but I disagree. I think it’s the fear of silence. We refuse to turn off our computers, turn off our phones, log off Facebook, and just sit in silence, because in those moments we might actually have to face up to who we really are.” – Jefferson Bethke

22. “So what do we do then? What do you do when the only thing you want to do is yell at God and tell him how awful it is? You do exactly that. Cry. Yell. Scream. Be honest. Be transparent. And be vulnerable. For the first nineteen years of my life, I wanted God to give me an answer, but now I’ve found it is better when I get him. An answer isn’t going to bring that spouse back. An answer won’t ease that pain. But what will is God’s Grace in the depths of our souls.” – Jefferson Bethke

Recommended book: It’s Not What You Think: Why Christianity Is About So Much More Than Going to Heaven When You Die by Jefferson Bethke (Click here)