“This is the religious way, isn’t it? It can be nothing but empty ritual. If it’s not ritual, it can be something we wield rather than a path we walk toward God. Without God’s presence in it, it gets twisted to something very much human and ugly.”- Timothy D. Willard (emphasis author’s) As Timothy Willard […]
“In those moments when we thirst for the presence of God, we’re usually not looking for an intellectual knowledge of God’s presence. We’re asking for a manifestation of His presence in our lives. . . . Though we intellectually understand that the Christian life is a life of faith, our heart’s desire is to live […]
“Spiritual exercises attune us to God’s presence, acting as sticky note reminders that God is with us all the time. . . . The practices tune us into the invisible waves of God’s loving presence. . . . The exercises don’t offer merely a fleeting high. They foster the deep joy of a steady, solid […]
“It’s (opening toward God) like throwing your faith a lifeline. Every wonderful thing in your life is a gift from God, an expression of his heart toward you. . . . Every moment you have ever been happy, thrilled, comforted, hopeful . . . that was God loving you. Such gifts come from no other […]
“God is in often overlooked places. We don’t have to find Him. God is not far from us. We just have to make the choice to see him and rightly attribute to Him the good that does exist.”- Lysa TerKeurst Lysa TerKeurst concludes Chapter 6 of It’s Not Supposed to Be This Way as she […]
“No matter its origin, the burden of shame stifles your joy and keeps you from letting your light shine. . . . The burden of shame doesn’t stand a chance in the power of God’s presence.”- Alison Cook and Kimberly Miller Alison Cook and Kimberly Miller continue Chapter 13 of Boundaries for Your Soul as […]
“Nothing gets our full attention like pain. It breaks down false idols and purifies false motives. It reveals where we need to heal, where we need to grow. It refocuses our priorities like nothing else. And pain is part and parcel of God’s sanctification process in our lives.”- Mark Batterson “I would still have this […]
“Although we may never get to the bottom of the Bible, the Bible does get to the bottom of us. It penetrates the soul and spirit; it divides joints and marrow. And like a spiritual sonogram, it reveals the thoughts and attitudes of the heart.”- Mark Batterson Mark Batterson concludes Chapter 5 of Whisper as […]
Still Waiting (Tyndale, 2017) Author and speaker Ann Swindell titles her first book Still Waiting: Hope for When God Doesn’t Give You What You Want. In her book, Ann uncovers what the story of the Bleeding Woman reveals about Christ’s character as well as how He draws near to hurting people. Since waiting isn’t a […]
“Although I wait for healing and restoration, I do not wait alone. We have the spirit of Christ with us always.”- Ann Swindell “I will ask the Father, and he will give you another Helper, to be with you forever, even the spirit of truth, whom the world cannot receive, because it neither sees him […]
“Fish discover water last.”- old Ethiopian proverb In today’s blog, Pastor John Ortberg covers the eleventh and final myth about intimacy. Myth #11: You can’t experience genuine intimacy with someone you can’t see or touch. Maybe, John posits, God: humans :: water: fish. For fish, their environment consists of water. In fact, they’ve never know […]
“Knowing where the land mines lie is the first requirement of a safe journey.”- John Ortberg John Ortberg concludes Chapter 4 of The Me I Want to Be as he states every human being possesses a unique temperament. Hence, certain practices come more naturally to you than others. So, when you engage too much in […]