I have engraved you on the palms of my hands.”- Isaiah 49:16 “Put everything in God’s hand and eventually you’ll see God’s hand in everything.”- Author unknown After Erling Kjelland returned home to Chicago following his service in the U. S. Navy during World War II, his wife presented him with two blue parakeets. That […]
“Eternity will not be long enough to learn all He is, or to praise Him for all He has done.”- A. W. Tozer (The Pursuit of God, 2008) In Chapter 8 (“Rim Huggers”) of All In, author Mark Batterson tells of the time he hiked the Grand Canyon rim to rim with his son, Parker. […]
“Treat a man as he is, and he will remain as he is. Treat a man as he can and should be, and he will become as he can and should be.”- Johann Wolfgang von Goethe “Potential is God’s gift to us. What we do with it is our gift to God.”- Mark Batterson As […]
“When a woman who had lived a sinful life in that town learned that Jesus was eating at the Pharisee’s house, she brought an alabaster jar of perfume.”- Luke 6:37 In Chapter 7 (“Crash the Party”) of All In, author Mark Batterson quips that, if ever there was an oxymoron, it had to be Pharisee […]
As Mark Batterson concludes Chapter 6 of All In, he notes that the prophet Elisha came from wealth, as evidenced by his ownership of twelve yoke of oxen. That meant Elisha was divesting himself of his share of the family when he burned his plowing equipment. Elisha was all in. Unlike Elisha, we tend to […]
“Forgetting what is behind and straining toward what is ahead, I press on toward the goal to win the prize for which God has called me heavenward in Christ Jesus.”- Philippians 3:13-14 In Chapter 6 of All In, Mark Batterson asserts that at some point in our lives, most of us stop utilizing our imagination and […]
“God is our refuge and strength, an ever present help in trouble.”- Psalm 46:1 “And now for something completely different.”- John Cleese (Monty Python) In Chapter 6 of All In, author Mark Batterson states that Elisha made a statement of faith when he burned his plowing equipment to follow Elijah. By doing so, Elisha was […]
“So Elisha left him and went back. He took his yoke of oxen and slaughtered them. He burned the plowing equipment to cook the meat and gave it to the people, and they ate. Then he set out to follow Elijah and became his servant.”- 1 Kings 19:21 As Mark Batterson begins Chapter 6 (“Burn […]
“We give Thee but Thine own, Whate’er the gift may be, All that we have is Thine alone, A trust, O Lord, from Thee.”- Lutheran Service Book 781, v. 1 Mark Batterson continues Chapter 5 of All In by stating that the source of our dreams is the Holy Spirit-the Dream Maker. If we’re locked […]
In Chapter 5 of All In, author Mark Batterson states that all of us, like Abraham, have our Isaac- what we find our identity and security based upon. Pastor Batterson stresses that God will test us to make sure that we find our identity and security in the cross of Jesus Christ. If God’s gift […]
Sometime later God tested Abraham. He said to him, “Abraham!” “Here I am,” he replied. The God said, “Take your son, your only son, whom you love- Isaac- and go to the region of Moriah. Sacrifice him there as a burnt offering on a mountain I will show you.”- Genesis 22:1-2 Mark Batterson observes in […]
Mark Batterson begins Chapter 3 (“Charge”) of All In with the story of Colonel Joshua Chamberlain, a member of the 20th Maine Volunteer Infantry Regiment, Union Army. During the Battle of Gettysburg, Chamberlain and his three hundred soldiers withstood five charges by the Confederate Army. Down to eighty men, Chamberlain was informed by a lookout […]