GETTING BACK TO THE ORIGINAL

“Jesus got up, rebuked the wind and said to the waves, ‘Quiet! Be still!’ Then the wind died down and it was completely calm.”  (Mark 4:39)

A famous 17^th century painting hung in a museum.  For years the museum authorities had wanted to have the old master cleaned, but they deliberated a long time since the painting was so valuable.  When the specialists did proceed they noticed to their great consternation that specks of paint came off in the process.  They proceeded with greater care, but could not keep the paint from disintegrating.  As they finished the job they discovered another painting beneath.  A later artist had tried to improve the original masterpiece.  Now they saw the truth.  Better shatter a dream than conceal the truth.

I am about to shatter a dream … a dream which has grown up through the centuries … a dream portrait of Jesus that many hands have touched.  The original portrait is in the gospels, but many have tried to improve the original and thereby have spoiled it.  By trying to make Jesus more attractive, they have made Him unattractive.  By trying to make Him more appealing, they have lost His divine appeal.  It may hurt to shatter a dream.  But, better shatter a dream than conceal the truth …

Clean the canvas.  Get back to the original.  Not this religious weakling of our imagination.  Not this affected emotionalist of our pretty pictures.  But the Christ commanding in His manner, challenging in His message, conquering in His manhood, compelling in His mission -- the revolutionary Christ!  It may hurt to shatter the dream, but shatter it we must to see the true Master.  Better shatter a dream than conceal the truth. 

-- H.S. Vigeveno in “Jesus the Revolutionary”

#6381

ECHOES OF GRACE: Sharing the Good News Through SOUND BITES

"How beautiful are the feet of those who bring good news!"  (Romans 10:15 NIV)

In a world flooded with noise, brevity can be a bridge to eternity. A well-crafted quote -- what we call a “sound bite” -- can pierce through distraction and plant seeds of truth. For 27 years SOUND BITES Ministry has been about distilling the gospel into moments of clarity, conviction, and comfort.

Jesus often spoke in short, powerful statements. These weren’t just words -- they were invitations to transformation. When we share inspirational quotes rooted in scripture and truth, we echo that same invitation.

Each quote shared through SOUND BITES is a spark. It may ignite curiosity, stir conviction, or offer hope. Whether it’s a reminder of God’s grace, a call to faith, a reflection on redemption, or an encouragement in discipleship, these bite-sized truths can reach hearts in places sermons may never go. Think of them as modern-day parables -- short, memorable, and deeply spiritual. They’re not the whole story, but they point to the One who is.  

When you share these quotes -- by forwarding an e-mail, sharing online through social media, using them in small groups or corporate worship settings -- you’re sowing gospel seeds. Some will land on fertile soil. Some will be shared again. Some will linger in someone’s heart until the Spirit brings it to life. You’re not just sharing content. You’re creating connection. And every SOUND BITES quote is a declaration of the good news: Jesus saves, Jesus loves, Jesus lives. Jesus is the Good News!

March 29, 2026 marks the 27^th anniversary of this SOUND BITES Ministry™ in memory of our son, Dustin, who had died from a brain tumor at the age of 16 on that date the previous year (1998).

As we continue through Palm Sunday, Maundy Thursday, Good Friday, Easter Sunday, and beyond, let SOUND BITES quotes speak to you and then let them overflow to others everywhere. Please freely share SOUND BITES with family and friends; with school and work mates; with neighbors; and with your pastor, staff and fellow church members. We would love to hear from you. Simply send an e-mail to SOUNDBITESMinistry@gmail.com with where you live and how God is using SOUND BITES to minister to you or through you to others… echoes of grace. 

-- Rev. David T. Wilkinson, SOUND BITES Ministry™

#6336

FULL OF GRACE AND TRUTH

“And the Word became flesh and dwelt among us, and we have seen His glory, glory as of the only Son from the Father, full of grace and truth… For from His fullness we have all received, grace upon grace. For the law was given through Moses; grace and truth came through Jesus Christ.”  (John 1:14,16,17 ESV)

There is more nonsense per square inch about worldliness than perhaps any other subject in the Christian life.  Usually, worldliness is reduced to a laundry list of taboos -- the nasty nine, the terrible ten, or the dirty dozen, depending on whose list you go by.

The do's and don'ts sound like they come straight from Sinai, but the truth of the matter is, they originate from our own parochial prejudices.

We want to watch out for worldliness, but we also want to watch out for the legalistic labels that some condescending Christians stick on many areas of life where God has granted us freedom.

The key to an abundant life under the lordship of Christ is not trying to impress Him with the check marks on our laundry list but trying to live like He lived -- full of grace and truth, not full of legalism and pious platitudes. 

-- Charles R. Swindoll in “The Practical Life of Faith” [1990] 

#6211

RECONCILIATION IS OUR MINISTRY

“Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation; old things have passed away; behold, all things have become new. Now all things are of God, who has reconciled us to Himself through Jesus Christ, and has given us the ministry of reconciliation, that is, that God was in Christ reconciling the world to Himself, not imputing their trespasses to them, and has committed to us the word of reconciliation. Now then, we are ambassadors for Christ, as though God were pleading through us: we implore you on Christ’s behalf, be reconciled to God. For He made Him who knew no sin to be sin for us, that we might become the righteousness of God in Him.”  (2 Corinthians 5:17–21 NKJV)

In Christ, God has done something for the world. God has reconciled people to Himself. In other words, God has made a way for a broken relationship to be made whole, through the death of Jesus on the cross (Colossians 1:20). In this great act of reconciliation, God has made a way for anyone -- literally, anyone -- to come into union with Him.

Coming into union with God in Christ is reconciliation in its most essential form. Any reconciliation we may do on earth that does not find its source and strength in God’s greater, reconciling work of the heart to Himself is destined to struggle and fall short.

God knows that if He can get a heart relating to Him again, experiencing His presence, love, forgiveness, acceptance, and truth, the possibilities of reconciliation between that person and others are endless. We who have been reconciled to God begin to want others to be reconciled to God. We want others to experience the freedom that we have experienced. It is the natural flow of the story.

And that is why sharing the good news of reconciliation is our ministry. Just as one who is forgiven much loves much (Luke 7:47), so, too, we who have experienced God closing the gap between us and Him want to help close that gap for others. 

-- Dan Wilt in “Wake-Up Call”

#6190

CONFRONTING GOSSIP

Gossip's main purpose is to spread misery. It's certainly not to build people up or minister to them in the name of Jesus. A gossip's wake is littered by damaged families and broken relationships: "A perverse man stirs up dissension, and a gossip separates close friends" (Proverbs 16:28).

As Christians, we're called to put the brakes on the spread of gossip. And not only gossip about people we know, but also gossip about those we don't know. Like others, I've been guilty of spinning pretty little stories about certain political figures, even though I had no proof that what I was saying even resembled the truth. I foolishly thought that spreading gossip would make me more popular.

How about you? Are you modeling God's standard of truthfulness and honesty? Are you known as someone who confronts gossip? Or do you pass it on with a few added details of your own?

…As you move beyond gossiping about others, you'll find more time to show them the unconditional love of Jesus. And you might just make a few new friends in the process. 

-- Matt Donnelly, ChristianityToday.com

#5944

KNOWING GOD AND OUR SINFULNESS

“Obviously, the law applies to those to whom it was given, for its purpose is to keep people from having excuses, and to show that the entire world is guilty before God. For no one can ever be made right with God by doing what the law commands. The law simply shows us how sinful we are. But now God has shown us a way to be made right with him without keeping the requirements of the law, as was promised in the writings of Moses and the prophets long ago. We are made right with God by placing our faith in Jesus Christ. And this is true for everyone who believes, no matter who we are. For everyone has sinned; we all fall short of God’s glorious standard.”  (Romans 3:19-23 NLT)

Knowing God without knowing our own wretchedness makes for pride. Knowing our own wretchedness without knowing God makes for despair. Knowing neither God nor our own sinfulness makes for false peace and the absence of truth. Knowing Jesus Christ strikes the balance, because He shows us both God and our own wretchedness and He brings true peace through the cross.  

-- Adapted from Blaise Pascal

#5881

FOLLOWING CHRIST

To find and follow Christ and to serve Him -- that is fruitful living…

When Jesus said, "I am the way, and the truth, and the life" (John 14:6), He was not speaking arrogantly, egotistically, or narrow-mindedly. He was expressing a genuine desire to turn us, to redirect us away from things that do not satisfy and toward the things that cause us to come alive. The time given to us on this earth is infinitesimally small compared to time itself, and so He desires for us to live it richly… He invites us. He wants us to flourish.

To be a follower of Jesus is to take this path, to step by step grow into the life that really is life. God through Christ reveals the way, invites us along, and walks with us. Following Christ will change you; and through you, God will change the world. 

-- Robert Schnase in “Five Practices of Fruitful Living”

REBUKE FROM A PROPHET

"A man who says he loves God..."

One time, twenty or so years ago, I was in Japan on a speaking tour with a close personal friend. He was a number of years older than I was. As we walked down the street in Yokohama, Japan, the name of a common friend came up, and I said something unkind about that person. It was sarcastic. It was cynical. It was a put-down. My older friend stopped, turned, and faced me until his face was right in front of mine. With deep, slow words he said, "Gordon, a man who says he loves God would not say a thing like that about a friend."

He could have put a knife into my ribs, and the pain would not have been any less. He did what a prophet does. But you know something? There have been ten thousand times in the last twenty years that I have been saved from making a jerk of myself. When I've been tempted to say something unkind about a brother or sister, I hear my friend's voice say, "Gordon, a man who says he loves God would not speak in such a way about a friend."

Prophets do that. They remind us of the truth and where we are falling short. If you avoid prophets -- and a lot of people do -- you do so at the peril of your spiritual journey. You and I need [friends who are] prophets.

-- Gordon MacDonald in a sermon titled "Feeling As God Feels"

#5656

IN SPIRIT AND IN TRUTH

"To them Jesus presented Himself alive after His passion by many proofs, appearing to them during forty days, and speaking of the kingdom of God."  (Acts 1:3)

When people say, "I'll be there in spirit" what they really mean is "I won't be there."   When modern people say of Jesus Christ, "The true meaning of the myth of the resurrection is that Jesus lives on in our hearts and thoughts" what they really mean is "Jesus is dead as a doornail."  The New Testament has no patience with such sentimental claptrap.   It bluntly denies that Jesus of Nazareth "lives on in our memories" in that watery, sentimental… way of speaking.   It asserts rather that Jesus of Nazareth rose in a glorified body that could eat fish, be touched, and break bread.   This seems terribly crass, crude, and physical to a world that wants to reduce all "spirituality" to odorless, colorless, platonic ideas.   But then the world tends to do this because it fears the biggest and dirtiest secret of all: death, which is a crass, crude and physical thing.   Jesus came to be with us in spirit and in truth.   And so, when He rose on Easter, He did not rise merely "in spirit" but in truth as well.   God defeated the stink, rot, and worms of death, not just the "idea" of it. And He proved it by saying, "See My hands and My feet, that it is I Myself; handle Me, and see; for a spirit has not flesh and bones as you see that I have" (Luke 24:39).   And because He really did rise bodily, we shall too, if we remain in Him. 

-- Mark Shea and Jeff Cavins 

#5582

INCARNATE HOLINESS

“Then, with the crowds listening, Jesus turned to His disciples and said, ‘Beware of these teachers of religious law! For they like to parade around in flowing robes and love to receive respectful greetings as they walk in the marketplaces. And how they love the seats of honor in the synagogues and the head table at banquets. Yet they shamelessly cheat widows out of their property and then pretend to be pious by making long prayers in public. Because of this, they will be severely punished.’”  (Luke 20:45-47 NLT)

We might argue that the Pharisees hated Jesus because He was so critical of them. No one likes to be criticized, especially people who are accustomed to praise. But the venom of the Pharisees went deeper than that. It is safe to assume that had Jesus said nothing to them they still would have despised Him. His mere presence was enough to cause them to recoil from Him.

It has been said that nothing dispels a lie faster than the truth; nothing exposes the counterfeit faster than the genuine… The presence of Jesus represented the presence of the genuine in the midst of the bogus. Here authentic holiness appeared; the counterfeiters of holiness were not pleased…

The Incarnate Christ is no longer walking the earth. He has ascended into heaven. No one sees Him or speaks audibly with Him in the flesh today. Yet the threatening power of His holiness is still felt. Sometimes it is transferred to His people. 

-- R. C. Sproul in “The Holiness of God”

#5556

IS THE TRUTH OUT THERE?

“Then Jesus said to the Jews who had believed in Him, ‘If you continue in My Word, you are truly My disciples, and you will know the truth, and the truth will make you free.’”  (John 8:31-32 NRSV)

All this talk of truth and falsehood, right and wrong, seems medieval to many people today.  A philosophical position called deconstructionism says that all claims about truth are really masks for those who just want power.  Deconstructionism has a point: Many claims about truth are motivated by power.  In fact, people have been known to twist the words of the Bible in order to justify their cruelty toward other people.  For instance, the Bible has been used to justify white supremacy.

However, taken as an absolute about all truth claims, deconstructionism goes to far.  If there is a God who created the universe, then that God's perspective on life is the true one.  That God's claims about truth are motivated not by power but simply by truth.  Extreme deconstructionism says there is no Creator God.  There are only interest groups competing for the power to say what goes.

The sister of deconstructionism is relativism.  Relativism says there are no absolute truths. "Truth" is only what works in a given context.  Truth depends completely on your point of view, and there is no God's-eye-view that is the standard by which all other perspectives are measured.

Deconstructionism and relativism treat reality like the laws of a democratic society.  It would be as if the law of gravity were not written into the fabric of the universe.  As if gravity were law only until an interest group could garner enough power to tip the balance on the Supreme Court or in Congress.  As if gravity were law only as long as it made society run smoothly -- but as soon as it seemed essential for humans to be weightless, citizens could vote and repeal gravity.  Almost nobody actually believes such things about gravity, but many people believe them about ethical questions, the nature of God, and what happens when you die.  These issues are supposedly decided by lobbying, voting, and personal preference. 

-- Karen Lee-Thorp in “A Compact Guide to the Bible”

#5469

TESTIFYING TO THE TRUTH

Jesus answered Pilate, “You say that I am a king. In fact, the reason I was born and came into the world is to testify to the truth. Everyone on the side of truth listens to Me.” (John 18:37)

When Jesus says that He has come to bear witness to the truth, Pilate asks, “What is truth?” (John 18:38) Contrary to the traditional view that his question is cynical, it is possible that he asks it with a lump in his throat. Instead of Truth, Pilate has only expedience. His decision to throw Jesus to the wolves is expedient. Pilate views man as alone in the universe with nothing but his own courage and ingenuity to see him through. It is enough to choke up anybody.

Pilate asks, “What is truth?” And for years there have been politicians, scientists, theologians, philosophers, poets, and so on to tell him. The sound they make is like the sound of empty pails falling down the cellar stairs.

Jesus doesn’t answer Pilate’s question. He just stands there. “Stands,” and stands “there.” 

-- Frederick Buechner in “Wishful Thinking”

#5378

THE SOVEREIGNTY OF THE POTTER

“Yet, O LORD, You are our Father; we are the clay, and You are our potter; we are all the work of Your hand.”  (Isaiah 64:8 NRSV)

The amazing thing is that even in the midst of disappointment, surprise, and mystery you will discover how very reliable and trustworthy God is -- and how secure you are in His hands. And oh, how we need that in this day of relativism and vacillation, filled with empty talk and hidden behind a lot of semantic footwork. In the midst of “spin city” it is the Lord who talks straight. It is the Lord who has preserved Truth… in His Word. And it is the Lord who has the right to do as He wishes around us, to us, and in us. He’s the Potter, remember. Puzzling as the process may be to us, He stays with His plan. There is no need for us to know all the reasons, and He certainly doesn’t need to explain Himself. Potters work with the clay, they don’t fret over it… or ask permission to remake the clay into whatever they wish. 

-- Charles R. Swindoll in “The Mystery of God’s Will: What Does He Want for Me?” (1999)

#5320

FINE, UPLIFTING AND GOOD

“Be not wise in your own eyes; fear the Lord, and turn away from evil.”  (Proverbs 3:7 ESV)

You have but to look at our culture to realize that it’s perishing. We have broken with our traditional and spiritual past and find ourselves stumbling and lurching into a new dark age of uncertain and bewildered character. There is a growing sense that nothing is true and everything is permitted. “The wicked freely strut about when what is vile is honored among men.” (Psalm 12:8)

Evil, morbid influences lead us into ever-deepening confusion -- a clutter of distortions, half-truths, bald-faced lies and an addled notion of tolerance that demands we accept everyone’s version of truth. There is no final standard; everything varies according to the weather.

G. K. Chesterton once observed that morality, like art, consists of drawing a line. Now no one knows where to draw the lines! Once there were boundaries and absolutes. Now, traditional concepts of right and wrong have warped so radically and thoroughly that no one knows what is fine, uplifting and good.

The Apostle Paul wrote, “All scripture is inspired by God and is useful for teaching, for reproof, for correction, and for training in righteousness, so that everyone who belongs to God may be proficient, equipped for every good work.” (2 Timothy 3:16-17 NRSV) 

-- Adapted from David Roper in “A Beacon in the Darkness: Reflecting God’s Light in Today’s World”

#5208

GLIMPSES OF TRUTH

“Jesus said to the people who believed in Him, ‘You are truly My disciples if you remain faithful to My teachings. And you will know the truth, and the truth will set you free.’”  (John 8:31-32 NLT)

Soren Kierkegaard once said that reading the Bible is like coming to a street corner and waiting for the traffic to pass before crossing the street.  And while you are waiting, you overhear the conversation of the two women in front of you.  They are oblivious to your presence, but as they talk, you realize that the conversation is about you.  And what they say reveals to you things that you never suspected about yourself.

When I read the Bible in the power of the Holy Spirit, it's just like that.  Though it was not written to me, I sense that it was written for me.  I don't hear just what the Bible says to people in places long ago and far away.  Rather, I feel as though I am overhearing messages that were meant just for me.  In my devotional reading of the Scripture, as distinct from my times of study, I feel my soul being opened up to glimpses of Truth that are incredibly personal. 

-- Tony Campolo in “Following Jesus Without Embarrassing God”

#5172

THE AIR WE NEED TO BREATHE

“So Jesus said to the Jews who had believed Him, ‘If you continue in My word, you are truly My disciples. Then you will know the truth, and the truth will set you free.’”  (John 8:31-32)

God tells us the truth about ultimate reality because He knows that we operate about as well without that truth as a car does on sand. (No wonder Jesus uses the expression "I tell you the truth" a few dozen times.) Seen in this light, the fact that God tells us the truth about Himself and everything else in the universe is one of the many ways in which He shows us His love.

Truth is the spiritual, emotional, and intellectual air that we need to breathe. When we act or speak against God's truth, we're only hurting ourselves.

-- Matt Donnelly, Christianity Online

#5156   

WHAT THE EMPTY TOMB REVEALED

“Jesus answered, ‘I am the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through Me.’”  (John 14:6 NIV)

Matthew reported that early on Easter morning, “There was a great earthquake” (Mathew 28:2). And nothing in this world has ever been the same. The Resurrection shifted the center of gravity in our lives so that everything we think about our world and our lives has changed. The empty tomb is God’s confirmation that the way, truth, and life revealed in Jesus Christ is the way the whole creation will be saved. 

-- James A. Harnish in “Easter Earthquake”

#5069

THE NARROW WAY

Jesus said, “I am the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through Me” (John 14:6).

Was Jesus narrow-minded? Well, in a sense He was. In fact, in the Sermon on the Mount He said, “Enter through the narrow gate. For wide is the gate and broad is the road that leads to destruction, and many enter through it. But small is the gate and narrow the road that leads to life, and only a few find it” (Matthew 7:13-14).

If Jesus was right about this, then He was being appropriately narrow-minded. He was being like parents who are narrow enough to insist that their children walk on the sidewalk and not in the street, or a doctor who limits his prescriptions to medicine that will actually help people rather than [a placebo that would do nothing or a poison that would harm them], or the airline pilot who restricts his landing options to that narrow path to life called a runway, rather than trying to put the airplane down in a cornfield.

You see, we really want narrow approaches -- as long as they are based on truth and point us in the direction that’s best for us.

Jesus gave us every reason to believe He was telling the truth, and that He loves us enough to lead us toward forgiveness, life and an eternity with Him.

As the apostle Peter said: “Salvation is found in no one else, for there is no other name under heaven given to mankind by which we must be saved” (Acts 4:12).  C. S. Lewis put it this way: "One road leads home and a thousand roads lead into the wilderness." 

-- Lee Strobel in “The Case for Christianity Answer Book”

#5049

PLEASING WORSHIP

Paul writes, “Therefore, I urge you, brothers and sisters, in view of God's mercy [because of all that Jesus has done for us through the sacrifice of Himself on the cross], to offer your bodies as living sacrifices, holy and pleasing to God -- this is your spiritual act of worship.”  (Romans 12:1, AMP).

It is a good thing for corporate worship to become part of the weekly routine of the Christian. However, the fact that worship becomes routine and regular tempts us to be distracted during worship and to go through the motions without putting much thought into it. Therefore, we must work as hard as we can to make sure that our hearts and minds are in our praise, that every aspect of worship is “a fragrant offering, pleasing to the Lord.” (Ephesians 5:2) Let us focus entirely on the Lord as we “worship Him in spirit and truth.”  (John 4:24) 

-- Adapted from Ligonier Ministries, the teaching fellowship of R. C. Sproul

#5015

THE GOODNESS OF THE LORD

“Yea, though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil; for You are with me; Your rod and Your staff, they comfort me… Surely goodness and mercy shall follow me all the days of my life; and I will dwell in the house of the Lord forever.”  (Psalm 23:4,6 NKJV)

Remember the Garden of Eden?

The serpent didn’t bother trying to convince Eve that God was an evil monster. He merely suggested that God wasn’t being entirely honest about why He instructed her and Adam not to eat the fruit that was growing on the tree in the middle of the garden. He said, “God knows that your eyes will be opened when you eat it. You will become just like God, knowing everything, both good and evil” (Genesis 3:5). Do you see the subtle implication? God isn’t bad, exactly. He just isn’t as good as you thought. Satan knows that when that idea sinks its roots into your mind, the draining of your faith will begin in earnest. From that point on, every time something bad happens, you’ll throw a suspicious glare in the Lord’s direction. 

-- Mark Atteberry in “Free Refill: Coming Back for More of Jesus”

#4921