Stephen Altrogge Quotes

Was a hardcore homeschooler, K-12, baby. I was homeschooled before it was cool to be homeschooled. And you know what? I hardly remember anything from high school. I did all the Advanced Placement classes and SAT prep classes. I was a good student in high school, but I don't remember much. I also hardly remember anything from college, and I graduated at the top of my class. But I do remember my parents' devotion to the Lord.

The carpet was so thick I could have made carpet angels.

I don't know the end from the beginning, but I know the One who has already written the end and the beginning, and I know he is trustworthy.

It's not like we're at a community college and God is at an Ivy League school. It's like we're at a community college and God comprehends all the mysteries and mechanics of the entire universe. We don't even operate in the same stratosphere as God.

Our goal isn't contentment in and of itself. We're not after a mystical state of Zen. Our goal is to be content for the glory and honor of God.

To settle for anything less than a true, glorious, exalted vision of God is utterly stupid and utterly sinful.

I would even go so far as to say that the idea of a soul mate is harmful. If you go into marriage expecting your spouse to satisfy your every need and complement you perfectly, you will be sorely disappointed. If you expect your spouse to satisfy the deepest longings of your soul, you are in for a massive let down. Marriage is a covenant between two, imperfect, very flawed, sinful people. You're not perfect and your spouse isn't perfect, so don't expect your marriage to be perfect.

Does God love me? Yes, absolutely. But he doesn't exist for me.

God doesn't promise you health, wealth and an attractive spouse ... but he does promise to satisfy you and there's a massive difference.

The people who say, "Preach the gospel, and use words if necessary," seem to forget that the very essence of the gospel is words. They might as well say, "Feed the poor, and use food if necessary," or, "Pay the bills, and use money if necessary." The gospel is primarily a message which must be communicated with words. It is good news which must be believed. The good news is that God sent Jesus to live and die in the place of sinners. People cannot embrace the good news if they don't first hear the good news. Feeding the poor is a good thing, but it isn't the same thing as proclaiming the message of the gospel. Caring for the homeless is a noble thing to do, but it isn't preaching the gospel. Preach the gospel, and use words, always.

But, if we want our churches to thrive and our devotional lives to flourish, we absolutely must let God be God. We cannot settle for warm, fuzzy, "feel good movie of the year" versions of God. We cannot settle for a God who exists only to meet our needs and make us happy. We cannot settle for a God who is boring and irrelevant. We cannot settle for a God of our own imagination. We must know the ferocious, untamable God. We must let God out of the boxes we have created. We must come face to face with God as he really is, with all his sharp edges and blazing glory and heart-rending beauty. We must encounter the God who makes mountains melt like wax and the angels cover their eyes and the rivers leap for joy. If we are going to love God with all of our heart, soul, mind, and strength, we must truly know God. We must know him as he truly is, not as we imagine him to be. We must come to grips with the God who has revealed himself in scripture.

Hypocrisy is saying we believe something, then living as if we didn't. Hypocrisy is preaching and not practicing. It says do as I say not as I do. It's insincerity wearing a mask of sincerity.

We always have reason to rejoice and never have reason to complain.

Let me be absolutely clear: Tumnus was an idiot. He was absolutely NOT a spy for the White Witch. That dude couldn't have spied on a blind unicorn. He was a deadbeat who spent most of his time sitting on street corners, playing his pan flute, and panhandling for change. He was on the Narnia version of welfare, and he told the White Witch about Lucy in the hopes of getting some kind of handout.

When someone says "just saying" what they really mean is, "You would be a colossal idiot to not take my advice." (on Facebook)