“If a person is wrong about being right with God, then ultimately it doesn’t matter what he or she is right about.”- Donald Whitney “The word is near you; it is in your mouth and in your heart,” that is, the word of faith we are proclaiming: That if you confess with your mouth, “Jesus is […]
“If we live by the Spirit, let us also walk by the Spirit.”- Galatians 5:25 Kyle Idleman states in Chapter 6 (“Self-empowered or Spirit-filled?”) of Not a Fan that when we try to follow Jesus without being filled daily by the Holy Spirit, we will “find ourselves frustrated by our failures and exhausted by our […]
“Are you tired? Worn out? Burned out on religion? Come to me. Get away with me and you’ll recover your life. I’ll show you how to take a real rest. Walk with me and work with me- watch how I do it. Learn the unforced rhythms of grace. I won’t lay anything heavy or ill-fitting […]
“O Lord, you have searched me and you know me. You know when I sit and when I rise; you perceive my thoughts from afar. You discern my going out and my lying down; you are familiar with all my ways. Before a word is on my tongue you know it completely, O Lord. You […]
“If anyone imagines that he knows something, he does not know as he ought to know. But if anyone loves God, he is known by God.”- 1 Corinthians 8:2-3 In Chapter 3 (“Knowledge about Him or Intimacy with Him”) of Not a Fan, author Kyle Idleman discusses Luke’s account of Jesus’ invitation to eat at […]
Nicodemus, who had gone to him (Jesus) before, and who was one of them (Sanhedrin), said to them, “Does our law first judge a man without first giving him a hearing and learning what he does?” They replied, “Are you from Galilee too?”- John 7:50-52 As Kyle Idleman concludes Chapter 2 of Not a Fan, […]
And he (Jesus) said to all, “If anyone would come after me, let him deny himself and take up his cross daily and follow me. For whoever would save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for my sake will save it.”- Luke 9:23-24 In Chapter 2 (“A Decision or a Commitment?”) […]
“He is like a tree planted by water, that sends out its roots by the stream, and does not fear when he heat comes, for its leaves remain green, and is not anxious in the year of drought, for it does not cease to bear fruit.”- Jeremiah 17:8 The most enduring memory I have of […]
“If you abide in my word, you are truly my disciples.”- John 8:31 “By this all people will know that you are my disciples, if you have love for one another.”- John 3:35 As Kyle Idleman concludes Chapter 1 of Not a Fan, he asserts that it’s almost impossible to be objective when asked to […]
Not a Fan: Becoming a Completely Committed Follower of Jesus is the first book written by Kyle Idleman, teaching pastor at Southeast Christian Church in Louisville, KY. His second book, Gods at War, previously was blogged and annotated on this site. Pastor Idleman begins Chapter 1 (“D. T. R.”) of Not a Fan with what […]
Grace (Thomas Nelson, 2012) The full title of this book by Max Lucado is Grace: More Than We Deserve, Greater Than We Imagine. Pastor Lucado begins with the assertion that God answers the messes of life with one word: grace. He then defines grace as “the voice that calls us to change and then gives […]
“For the grace of God has appeared, bringing salvation for all people, training us to renounce ungodliness and worldly passions, and to live self-controlled, upright, and godly lives in the present age.”- Titus 2:11-12 “Grace is the gift of feeling sure that our future, even our dying, is going to turn out more splendidly than […]