Not a Fan (Zondervan, 2011) Not a Fan: Becoming a Completely Committed Follower of Jesus is the first book by Pastor Kyle Idleman. His second book, Gods at War, previously was annotated in Crown’s bibliography. Pastor Idleman begins by observing that whenever Jesus spoke to a large crowd, most often the message He preached would […]
As Mary DeMuth concludes Chapter 1 of The Wall Around Your Heart, she asserts that the most important thing we can do to help our relationships is to be obedient to God in whatever He asks of us. There is power in obedience. God often uses difficult people to shape and conform us to Jesus. […]
“This God- his way is perfect; the word of the Lord proves true; he is a shield for all those who take refuge in him.”- Psalm 18:30 Several years ago my wife Vicki and I were driving home from the International Crane Foundation in Baraboo, WI. Vicki’s favorite shortcut between Baraboo and Madison is the […]
“Now that we know what we have- Jesus, this great High Priest with ready access to God- let’s not let it slip through our fingers. We don’t have a priest who is out of touch with our reality. He’s been through weakness and testing, experienced it all- all but the sin. So let’s walk right […]
“I’ve learned that prayer is not just about trying to get God to do what we want God to do but about getting ourselves to do what God wants us to do. Training us to be the kind of people God wants us to be.”- Shane Claiborne (Red Letter Revolution, 2012) As Mary DeMuth begins […]
“We love because he first loved us. . . . And this commandment we have from him: whoever loves God must also love his brother.”- 1 John 4:19,21 In her Introduction (The Fortress Heart”) to The Wall Around Your Heart, Mary DeMuth sates that there is a pathway through the devastation of painful situations: prayer. […]
As they were going along the road, someone said to him, “I will follow you wherever you go.” And Jesus said to him, “Foxes have holes and birds of the air have nests, but the Son of Man has nowhere to lay his head.”- Luke 9:57-58 In commenting on this passage at the beginning of […]
Jesus said to him (the rich young man), “If you would be perfect, go, sell what you possess and give to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven; and come, follow me.” When the young man heard this he went away sorrowful, for he had great possessions.”- Matthew 19:21-22 Illustration #1: author Kyle […]
“If anyone would come after me, he must deny himself and take up his cross daily and follow me.”- Luke 9:23 “The kingdom of heaven is like treasure hidden in a field. When a man found it, he hid it again, and then in his joy went and sold all he had and bought that field.”- […]
“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 […]