“Saul was staying on the outskirts of Gibeah under a pomegranate tree in Migron. With him were about six hundred men.”- 1 Samuel 14:2 “Sometimes all you need is twenty seconds of insane courage.”- from the movie We Bought a Zoo Mark Batterson begins Chapter 9 (“Climb the Cliff”) of All In with the bold […]
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 […]
“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 […]
“For whoever wants to save their life will lose it, but whoever loses their life for me will save it.”- Luke 9:24 In Chapter 3 of All In, author Mark Batterson counterintuitively asserts that he’s convinced it is true that the key to self-fulfillment is self-denial (shorthand for delayed gratification). That’s how we’ll discover that authentic […]