“The wind blows where it wishes, and you hear its sound, but you do not know where it comes from or where it goes. So it is with everyone born of the Spirit.”- John 3:8 (ESV) “Birds don’t need ornithologists to fly.”- Mark Nepo Mark Batterson concludes Chapter 16 of The Grave Robber by stating […]
“When they had rowed three or four miles, they saw Jesus walking on the sea and coming near the boat, and they were frightened.”- John 6:19 “What the eye sees is determined by what the brain has learned.”- Richard Restak In Chapter 16 (“The Water Walker”) of The Grave Robber, Mark Batterson observes that the […]
As Mark Batterson concludes Chapter 15 of The Grave Robber, he comments on an eighth miracle, the miraculous catch of fish (John 21:1-14) , tucked away at the end of John’s gospel. This miracle followed Jesus’ resurrection. The disciples had been fishing all night without luck. Then Jesus told them to try the other side […]
Mark Batterson begins Chapter 15 (“Count the Fish”) of The Grave Robber by discussing something he calls “The Giving Game”. Mark and his wife Lori have an ultimate goal to reverse tithe- to live off 10 percent and give 90 percent back to God. To achieve this goal, they give God a greater percentage of […]
“Give us this day our daily bread.”- Matthew 6:11 “When God gives a vision, He makes provision.”- Mark Batterson Commenting on the above petition from the Lord’s Prayer at the beginning of Chapter 14 (“Lord Algebra”) of The Grave Robber, Mark Batterson wryly observes that we really wish the word daily was replaced with weekly, […]
“No one lights a lamp and puts it under a basket. Instead, a lamp is placed on a stand, where it gives light to everyone in the house. In the same way, let your good deeds shine out for all to see, so everyone will praise your heavenly Father.”- Matthew 5:15-16 “In the gospels the […]
But Moses said (to the Lord), “Here I am among six hundred thousand men on foot and you say, ‘I will give you meat to eat for a whole month.’ “- Numbers 11:21 “Your job is not to crunch numbers and audit the will of God.”- Mark Batterson As Mark Batterson continues Chapter 13 of […]
“Here is a boy with five small barley loaves and two small fish, but how far will they go among so many?”- John 6:9 In Chapter 13 (“Two Fish”) of The Grave Robber, Mark Batterson begins his discussion of Jesus’ fourth miracle, feeding the five thousand (John 6:1-13). Pastor Batterson believes that the catalyst for […]
“Those who think they know something do not yet know as they ought to know.”- 1 Corinthians 8:2 Mark Batterson concludes Chapter 12 of The Grave Robber with a discussion of a philosophical science concept known as critical realism. Critical realism is defined as “the recognition that no matter how much we know, we don’t […]
“The significant problems we face cannot be solved at the same level of thinking we were on when we created them.”- Albert Einstein “Vision starts with visualization.”- Mark Batterson In Chapter 12 (“The Rule Breaker”) of The Grave Robber, Mark Batterson observes that Jesus chose to heal the invalid by the Bethesda pool on the […]
Mark Batterson ends Chapter 11 of The Grave Robber with a section on self-fulfilling prophecies. He notes that it is no insignificant detail that the man by the Bethesda pool is called invalid. The man is synonymous with his sickness. Pastor Batterson states there is a lesson to be learned: don’t let what’s wrong with […]
“Routine is one key to spiritual growth. . . . But when the routine becomes routine, you have to change the routine.”- Mark Batterson As Mark Batterson continues Chapter 11 of The Grave Robber, he asserts that if we want to get well, we need to hear what we’d rather not hear and do what […]