“We all hope, but hope comes in two flavors- hoping for something and hoping in someone.”- John Ortberg, Know Doubt In a moment, in the twinkling of an eye, at the last trump: for the trumpet shall sound, and the dead shall be raised incorruptible, and we shall be changed.”- 1 Corinthians 15:52 (KJV) It’s almost 7:30 pm […]
” ‘How long, Lord?’ in the Bible is seen as a powerful prayer of hope. Far from a complaint, this lament is a bold declaration that God is present, hears, and is powerful to act on our behalf.”- Esther Fleece “How long, LORD, must I call for help, but you do not listen?”- Habakkuk 1:2 […]
“The word we use when we refer to God’s sovereign control and arrangement of life is . . . a word punctuated by truth and postulated by accuracy. that word is providence.”- Dr. Tony Evans ” . . .. which He will bring about at the proper time — He who is the blessed and […]
“Grace has no gaps and love knows no limits. Love endures all things.”- Judah Smith Pastor Judah Smith concludes Chapter 5 of How’s Your Soul? by discussing the third and fourth characteristics of love, as found in 1 Corinthians 13:7. 3. Love hopes all things. Authentic God-love functions all the time. As the author quips: “No […]
“Beloved, let us love one another, for love is from God, and whoever loves has been born of God and knows God. Anyone who does not love does not know God, because God is love.”- 1 John 4:7 In Chapter 5 (“Is Love God or Is God Love?”) of How’s Your Soul?, Judah Smith states […]
“God is the master architect of the complicated, confusing, and even contradictory constructs that we call our souls.”- Judah Smith Pastor Judah Smith concludes Chapter 3 of How’s Your Soul? by noting that perhaps our souls surprise us- but they don’t surprise God. The up-and-down tendencies of our hearts fail to shock or scandalize Him. […]
“Cruciform self-giving is the distinctive dimension of holiness.”- Michael Gorman “A bruised reed he will not break, and a smoldering wick he will not snuff out.”- Isaiah 42:3 In Chapter 6 (“What’s Even Better than a Bucket List”) of The Broken Way, Ann Voskamp confesses her daily need to re-member koinonia. That daily process enables […]
“Intercessory prayer . . . acknowledges our inability and God’s ability. We come with empty hands but high hopes.”- Max Lucado Max Lucado begins Chapter 7 (“They Need Help”) of Before Amen with a three-part question. What can you do when: the challenge is greater than you are? the hurt is palpable? you feel helpless […]
Mark Batterson continues his discussion of Romans 8:28 in Chapter 21 of If by referring to that verse as Scripture’s Rosetta Stone: “The twenty-eighth verse of the eighth chapter of Romans is the Rosetta stone of Scripture. Without it, much of life makes no sense whatsoever. With it, we’re able to decipher our experiences.” In […]
“Waste of energy, mental distress, nervous worries, dog the steps of a man who is anxious about the future- cultivate the habit of living in day-tight compartments knowing that successful daily living starts early.”- Sir William Osler (1849-1919) “Our main business is not to see what lies dimly at a distance, but to do what […]
“There’s nothing too dirty that You can’t make worthy. You wash me in mercy. I am clean.”- Natalie Grant “But you were washed, you were sanctified, you were justified in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ and by the Spirit of our God.”- 1 Corinthians 6:11 A painting of two swans serenely resting in […]
“By clearing away some of the confusion about forgiveness, we lay the foundation for our own freedom. The stone wall encasing our hearts can be broken, freeing us from our rocks of resentment.”- June Hunt June Hunt begins Chapter 3(“Stone Her! Stone Her! What Forgiveness Is, What Forgiveness Isn’t”) of How to Forgive by citing […]