John Ortberg Quotes

90 Sourced Quotes

Every day you and I walk through God's shop. Every day we brush up against objects of incalculable worth to Him. People. Every one of them carries a price tag, if only we could see it.

John Ortberg
There is such a love, a love that creates value in what is loved. There is a love that turns rag dolls into priceless treasures. There is a love that fastens itself onto ragged little creatures, for reasons that no one could ever quite figure out, and makes them precious and valued beyond calculation. This is love beyond reason. This is the love of God.

John Ortberg
What matters is not the accomplishments you achieve; what matters is the person you become.

John Ortberg
We tend to be preoccupied by our problems when we have a heightened sense of vulnerability and a diminished sense of power. Today, see each problem as an invitation to prayer.

John Ortberg
There is something you can't fix, can't heal, or can't escape, and all you can do it trust God. Finding ultimate refuge in God means you become so immersed in his presence, so convinced of his goodness, so devoted to his lordship that you find even the cave is a perfectly safe place to be because he is there with you.

John Ortberg
To become grateful, I must learn that I can handle disappointment and delayed gratification with grace and perseverance. This is why practices such as fasting and simplicity are such powerful tools for transformation. The experience of frustration and disappointment is irreplaceable in the development of a grateful heart.

John Ortberg
Spiritual transformation is not a matter of trying harder, but of training wisely.

John Ortberg
It may be a very bad thing that I needed God to die for me, but it is a wonderful thing that God thinks I am worth dying for.

John Ortberg
To love someone is to desire and work toward their becoming the best version of themselves. The one person in all the universe who can do this perfectly for you is God.

John Ortberg
Solitude is the one place where we can gain freedom from the forces of society that will otherwise relentlessly mold us. Solitude requires relentless perseverance.

John Ortberg
Waiting on the Lord is a confident, disciplined, expectant, active, sometimes painful clinging to God.

John Ortberg
Hurry is not just a disordered schedule. Hurry is a disordered heart.

John Ortberg
The decision to grow always involves a choice between risk and comfort. This means that to be a follower of Jesus, you must renounce comfort as the ultimate value of your life.

John Ortberg
Our beliefs are not just estimates of probabilities. They are also the instruments that guide our actions.

John Ortberg
One of the most painful aspects of suffering is the loneliness of it. Others may offer support or empathy, but no one can walk the road to Moriah in our place.

John Ortberg
One of the hardest things in the world is to stop being the prodigal son without turning into the elder brother.

John Ortberg
Having faith does not mean never having doubts or questions. It does mean remaining obedient.

John Ortberg
Acceptance is an act of the heart. To accept someone is to affirm to them that you think it's a very good thing they are alive.

John Ortberg
Willpower is trying very hard not to do something you want to do very much.

John Ortberg
Failure does not shape you; the way you respond to failure shapes you.

John Ortberg
The goal of prayer is to live all of my life and speak all of my words in the joyful awareness of the presence of God. Prayer becomes real when we grasp the reality and goodness of God's constant presence with 'the real me.' Jesus lived his everyday life in conscious awareness of his Father.

John Ortberg
The test of love is that it gives even when there is no expectation of a return.

John Ortberg
Over and over in the Bible, it is fear that threatens to keep people from trusting and obeying God.

John Ortberg
If you want to do the work of God, pay attention to people. Notice them. Especially the people nobody else notices.

John Ortberg
The Bible does not say you are God's appliance; it says you are his masterpiece. Appliances get mass-produced.

John Ortberg
If I have the courage to acknowledge my limits and embrace them, I can experience enormous freedom. If I lack this courage, I will be imprisoned by them.

John Ortberg
You must arrange your days so that you are experiencing deep contentment, joy and confidence in your everyday life with God.

John Ortberg
Low self-esteem causes me to believe that I have so little worth that my response does not matter. With repentance, however, I understand that being worth so much to God is why my response is so important. Repentance is remedial work to mend our minds and hearts, which get bent by sin.

John Ortberg
Sometimes we do not realize how much we have to be grateful for until it is threatened.

John Ortberg
Scratch the surface of any cynic, and you will find a wounded idealist underneath. Because of previous pain or disappointment, cynics make their conclusions about life before the questions have even been asked. This means that beyond just seeing what is wrong with the world, cynics lack the courage to do something about it. The dynamic beneath cynicism is a fear of accepting responsibility.

John Ortberg