The Cure is undoubtedly the book that's changed our lives the most. Truly! If you're wondering where the Bible fits in our stories, it is the most important book for us, hands down. But The Cure changed how we read the Bible, and is helping us live loved by God instead of afraid of Him. The back cover of the book is a great intro to this episode. It says, "We thought we were cured. But eventually, most of us unwittingly carry an old, dead outlook into our new life. We couldn't measure up to a standard we created, so we convinced ourselves it was God's. We read His words through a grid of shame and felt ourselves fall farther and farther behind. We took it out on each other; judging, comparing, splintering. Some of us retreated from the whole charade, becoming cynical, mistrusting, jaded from hope. Our marriages, churches, families, friendships, our marketplaces, our culture... they all need the cure. But God's cures rarely come in the form we expect. What if, indeed, God is not who we think he is... and neither are we?" This conversation offers these takeaways: 

1. Whenever we're trying to move ourselves or others from a place of immaturity to maturity, we can use the tools of fear, shame, and manipulation, or we can build trust and lend strength. Fear teaches us to cope. Love offers real hope.
2. "Pleasing God is a good desire. It just can't be our primary motivation, or it'll imprison our hearts." "Until you trust God, nothing you do will please God." (The Cure)
3. When our goal is to try to behave better, we'll never discover that we're loving more. But when our goal is to trust God's love for us...and rest in His love...and try our best to love others the way He loves us, we cannot help but discover that our behavior is evidence of our healing.

We also talk about these additional resources: 

• John Lynch's Two Roads message and John Lynch Speaks
• Trueface.org
• John15Academy.com
• JanetNewberry.com