“If God had a refrigerator, your picture would be on it. If he had a wallet, your photo would be in it. . . . Whenever you want to talk, he’ll listen. He can live anywhere in the universe, and he chose your heart.”- Max Lucado “For you are my rock and my fortress; and for […]
“Our Promised Land isn’t a physical territory; it is a spiritual reality. It’s not real estate but a real state of the heart and mind.”- Max Lucado Max Lucado continues Chapter 1 of Glory Days by asserting that Canaan is not a metaphor for heaven. Rather, Canaan represents the life we can have right now. […]
Jonah began to go into the city, going a day’s journey. And he called out, “Yet forty days, and Nineveh shall be overthrown.”- Jonah 3:4 As John Ortberg continues Chapter 8 of All the Places to Go, he observes that the story of Jonah is “left on a strange, unresolved, discordant note”- on purpose. Pastor Ortberg emphasizes […]
“That their hearts may be encouraged, being knit together in love, to reach all the riches of full assurance of understanding and knowledge of God’s mystery, which is in Christ, in whom are hidden all the treasures of wisdom and knowledge.”- Colossians 2:2-3 John Ortberg concludes Chapter 5 of All the Places to Go with […]
“God is a door opener, but he is not a celestial enabler.”- John Ortberg “Even as he [God] chose us in him [Christ] before the foundation of the world, that we should be holy and blameless before him.”- Ephesians 1:4 Today John Ortberg addresses the second common myth about doors in Chapter 4 of All […]
“When Naomi heard in Moab that the Lord had come to the aid of his people by providing food for them, she and her daughters-in-law prepared to return home from there.”- Ruth 1:6 In Chapter 3 of All the Places to Go, John Ortberg reflects on the story of Naomi and her daughters-in-law, Orpah and […]
John Ortberg continues Chapter 3 of All the Places to Go with a discussion of what-if? people. What-if? people lead imaginative lives. A what-if? attitude is their response to ideas and events. Pastor Ortberg adds: “What-if” is a big idea, as big as God, for it is the practice of God.” John adds that God […]
“Jesus died to make us dangerous. He died to make us daredevils.”- Mark Batterson As Mark Batterson continues Chapter 17 of The Grave Robber, he states that, from a biblical perspective, love is synonymous with fearlessness. He adds: “Love . . . makes you stand firm in your faith no matter what the circumstances.” Pastor […]
“Whoever does not love does not know God, because God is love.”- 1 John 4:8 Charles Stanley concludes Chapter 2 of Waiting on God by stating that we can be certain God will help us because of His perfect, unconditional love. Dr. Stanley contrasts God’s love and human love: “. . . God’s love for […]
As Charles Stanley continues Chapter 2 of Waiting on God, he focuses on God’s omnipresence and omnipotence. Dr. Stanley states that God’s omnipresence is comforting because we can be totally assured that we always are with God’s reach. Romans 8:38-39 reminds us that we never can be separated from God’s love. It doesn’t matter where […]
In Chapter 10 (“Where Love Finds You”), the concluding chapter of How Can I Possibly Forgive?, Sara Horn states that the day-to-day bitterness and resentment many of us struggle with can be broken down to our basic need for love. Furthermore, we struggle most with our hurt when we look to everyone and everything else […]
“The Lord is compassionate and gracious, slow to anger and rich in faithful love.”- Psalm 103:8 “The one who searches for what is good finds favor, but if someone looks for trouble, it will come to him.”- Proverbs 11:27 Sara Horn concludes Chapter 8 of How Can I Possibly Forgive? by encouraging us to remember […]