French philosopher Simone Weil comments on the greatness of Christianity: “The extreme greatness of Christianity lies in the fact that it does not seek a supernatural remedy for suffering, but a supernatural use for it.”
Have you ever given up anything for Lent? For many Christians, what they give up may be either temporary or largely symbolic. For those of us in our transitional Land Between, what we most likely need to give up is of a permanent nature- fixation on past events, an unforgiving attitude, self-perception that isn’t Scriptural. Current appearances […]
In his spiritual classic My Utmost for His Highest, Oswald Chambers had this to say about times of darkness in our lives: “Are you in the dark just now in your circumstances, or in your life with God? Then remain quiet. If you open your mouth in the dark, you will talk in the wrong […]
God’s timing is everything. As impatient as we might get, trying to hurry God or take matters into our own hands will be counterproductive. Theologian Kosuke Koyama (quoted in Tony Lane, The Lion Concise Book of Christian Thought), described God’s walk in this way: “God walks ‘slowly’ because he is love. If he is not […]
In his book The Land Between, Jeff Manion offers this caveat regarding one’s time in the Land Between, an undesired place between more desirable places: “This book is not intended be a how-to manual on locating a swift exit ramp from the Land Between.” While it is human nature to want to avoid or remove uncomfortable […]
In his book Ordinary Saints: An Introduction to the Christian Life, Robert Benne compares the Christian life to the natural act of breathing. He writes, “The Christian life is like breathing in ( pulling our souls into the life-sustaining power of the Spirit) and breathing out (expending that life-giving power to others). The Christian life […]
In our fast-paced and wordy world, the bombardment of white noise often masks the voice of God calling to us. Kurt Senske adds; “But even hearing does not mean we are listening, which results in being obedient and having the courage to accept what God has in store for us.” Catholic theologian Henri Nouwen once […]
In his book The Calling: Living a Life of Significance, Kurt Senske says he believes people make with regard to their calling: (1) asking what I want to do with my life instead of what God wants me to do with my life; (2) focusing on obtaining some distant or future goal as opposed to […]
In his book The Calling: Living a Life of Significance, Kurt Senske says that God shapes our calling through our daily routines, and in the process “transforms ordinary life into extraordinary existence. He adds that while Christians face the same pressures as non-Christians, our success is measured by “whom we are: redeemed people of God, […]
A Better Way to Think (Revell, 2011) How many thoughts do you have each day? Depending on how active your mind is, you may have more than 45,000! In large part, those thoughts shape you. When your first response is emotional, that emotion is designed to alert and focus you rather than direct your actions. […]
Coming soon to an Annotated Bibliography near you (much more dramatic than saying “over the next several months”): (1) The Calling: Living a Life of Significance by Kurt Senske; (2) The Peace God Promises by Ann Spangler: (3) If You Want to Walk on Water, You’ve Got to Get Out of the Boat by John […]
In his book A Better Way to Think, H. Norman Wright asserts: “Many people use their thoughts to guide them, to give them direction. We need something more than this because we really don’t always have a good sense of direction within us. . . .We need God’s Word.” Jeremiah 10: 23 reminds us: I […]