“God won’t answer 10o percent of the prayers you don’t pray.”- Mark Batterson As Mark Batterson concludes Chapter 10 of The Grave Robber, he observes that even though miraculous healing is the exception rather than the rule, if we assume God’s answer will be no, we don’t give Him a chance to say yes. Pastor […]
“With God all things are possible.”- Matthew 19:26 “Nothing is impossible with God.”- Luke 1:37 “Whether you think you can or think you can’t- you’re right.”- Henry Ford In Chapter 10 (“Very Superstitious”) of The Grave Robber, Mark Batterson emphasizes that when the Bible says the same thing two ways, it’s doubly important. Yet, we […]
“Grace is not opposed to effort, it is opposed to earning. Earning is an attitude. Effort is an action.”- Dallas Willard Mark Batterson points out in Chapter 9 (“The Seventh Hour”) of The Grave Robber that the distance the royal official traveled between Capernaum and Cana is a twenty-mile uphill climb at a five percent […]
In Chapter 8 (“God Speed”) of The Grave Robber, Mark Batterson states that Jesus’ second miracle- healing the royal official’s son- “redefined reality by defying the four dimensions of space and time. It was a long-distance miracle in real time.” Back in 1964, James Stewart Bell published a groundbreaking paper that disproved the principle of […]
“Are not two sparrows sold for a penny? Yet not one of them will fall to the ground outside your Father’s care. And even the very hairs of your head are numbered. So don’t be afraid; you are worth more than many sparrows.”- Matthew 10:29-31 “My concern is not whether God is on our side; […]
Mark Batterson states in Chapter 7 of The Grave Robber that it’s God’s job to set up supernatural synchronicities. Our job is to see them and seize them. In order to do this, we must love people when they least expect it and least deserve it. We must be willing to do someone a favor […]
The royal official said, “Sir, come down before my child dies.” “Go,” Jesus replied, “your son will live.”- John 4:49-50 As Mark Batterson continues Chapter 7 of The Grave Robber, he cites the carefully crafted benediction of then Senate Chaplain Dr. Richard Halverson. Dr. Halverson believed his most important pastoral function was pronouncing this benediction, […]
Mark Batterson begins Chapter 7 (“Supernatural Synchronicity”) of The Grave Robber with a question regarding history’s most improbable circumstances as well as our daily happenstances: “Coincidence or providence?” As believers, we know, as Pastor Batterson states: “There are no coincidences. Only providences. No accidents. Only divine appointments.” Mark tells the story of his friend Kevin […]
In Chapter 6 (“One Nudge”) of The Grave Robber, Mark Batterson observes that in most instances we miss the miracle that is right at our fingertips because we’re too close to the situation. Most miracles are initiated by a nudge, most effectively from someone with whom we have a relationship of trust. Yet, it’s easier to […]
“There is not a square inch in the whole domain of our human existence over which Christ, who is Sovereign over all, does not cry, ‘Mine!’”- Abraham Kuyper, Dutch theologian Referencing the all-encompassing anointing John speaks of in his first epistle (1 John 2:27), Mark Batterson states that “it doesn’t matter what you do, God […]
“But the anointing that you received from him abides in you, and you have no need that anyone should teach you.”- 1 John 2:27 Mark Batterson continues Chapter 5 of The Grave Robber with the story of Steve Stewart. Steve was asked by the Water4Foundation to design a water pump that could work anywhere in […]
“Awake, awake! Rise up Jerusalem, you who have drunk from the hand of the Lord the cup of his wrath, you who have drained to its dregs the goblet that makes people stagger.”- Isaiah 51:17 Mark Batterson concludes Chapter 5 of The Grave Robber by stating that every atom in our body or in the […]