“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 […]
“Our souls need transition time. Especially in this world. We still find God in the transitions. Notice that in the Gospels, it was during those transition times the disciples got to have Jesus to themselves; the intimacy was in those moments. . . . there is a sweetness to downtime, even if it is brief. […]
“God has an everlasting covenant of love, forgiveness of sins, and eternal inheritance for those who have a new covenant name in Him. This might not look like a physical name change, but it will always be a spiritual one, as we show evidence of a changed lifestyle and devotion to God.”- Esther Fleece Allen […]
“Finding the new life of love, joy, and peace the Bible promises requires less obsession and more devotion. I can’t possibly overstate that truth. . . . obsessions cannot do what we want them to; they can’t deliver us from the old life and move us into the new. We have to put God at […]
“The love Christ Jesus gave/ Be filling every heart for me,/ The love Christ Jesus gave/ Filling me for everyone.”- Traditional Scottish blessing, Nineteenth Century In Chapter 1 (“Blessing in the Beginning”) of Given: The Forgotten Meaning and Practice of Blessing, author Tina Boesch relates a conversation she had with a Turkish friend while living […]
“The speed at which we travel is exciting but also problematic. I have discovered that a hurried life leads to an unexamined and disconnected life. Hurry kills intimacy with God, with family, and with friends.”- Carey Nieuwhof Carey Nieuwhof concludes Chapter 6 of Didn’t See It Coming as he discusses ways to foster the art […]
“For the Spirit God gave us does not make us timid, but gives us power, love, and self-discipline.”- 2 Timothy 1:7 (NIV) Alison Cook and Kimberly Miller continue Chapter 10 of Boundaries for Your Soul as they discuss the benefits, dangers, needs, and concerns associated with anxiety working within your soul: Benefits – when you […]
“Mature love is extending hospitality — even toward the parts of your soul that are angry, fearful, anxious, or sad.”- Alison Cook and Kimberly Miller “But when you give a feast, invite the poor, the crippled, the lame, the blind, and you will be blessed, because they cannot repay you.”- Luke 14:13-14 (ESV) Alison Cook […]
“We cannot make friendship and love happen. They come, when they come at all, as gifts. But we can make space for them.”- John Ortberg “And if I have all faith, so as to remove mountains, but have not love, I am nothing.”- 1 Corinthians 13:2 (ESV) In Chapter 18(“Winning Alone is Called Losing”) of […]
“I can’t make myself know God, but I can come to know him better. And because God is love, the more I come to know him, the more my love for him will grow. Love is a by-product of knowing. So I can spend this day loving God. And tomorrow I can seek to love […]
“Jesus . .. never pushes the broken away, but instead pulls them in closer because they’re broken and ashamed, knowing that love is the only medicine that covers and heals the naked heart.”- Christa Black Gifford (emphasis author’s) “We love because he first loved us.”- 1 John 4:19 (ESV) In Chapter 7 (“The Naked Heart”) […]
“When our hearts are screaming and we try everything we can to get them to shut up, eventually giving up and avoiding the annoyance altogether, we never find our why they’re crying in the first place. . . . just like a baby only cries when there is pain or a substantial need, the heart […]