“Define your dream. Claim your promise. Spell your miracle.”- Mark Batterson As Mark Batterson continues Chapter 3 of The Circle Maker, he references Matthew’s account of “Jesus Heals Two Blind Men” (Matthew 20:29-34). When two blind men sitting on the roadside outside of Jericho hailed Jesus, the disciples saw it as human interruption. Jesus, however, […]
Max Lucado concludes Chapter 12 of Glory Days with the observation that, like Greg Pruett, God and prayer are all you have left as well. Like Joshua, you are facing battle and five kings are bearing down upon you: “Discouragement, deception, defeat, destruction, death. They roar into your world like a Hells Angels motorcycle gang. Their […]
” . . . I began to learn not to pray about any strategy, but to make prayer the strategy.”- Greg Pruett, President of Pioneer Bible Translators Max Lucado continues Chapter 12 of Glory Days by reminding us that, in order to outwit the devil’s deceit, we must consult God in everything and . . […]
“Let us then with confidence draw near to the throne of grace, that we may receive mercy and find grace to help in our time of need.”- Hebrews 4:16 As Max Lucado begins Chapter 12 (“Pray Audacious Prayers”) of Glory Days, he notes two occasions when Martin Luther boldly approached the throne of grace for […]
“I cry out to God Most High, to God who fulfills his purpose for me.”- Psalm 57:2 (NIV) “If God can bring blessing from the broken body of Jesus and glory from something that’s obscene as the cross, He can bring blessing from my problems and my pain and my unanswered prayer.”- Anne Graham Lotz […]
Bill Hybels concludes his discussion of four steps that help us partner with God to conquer fear. STEP 4: Speak Words of Truth. Pastor Hybels emphasizes that the truth wins, every time. Therefore, it is critical that we speak truthfully when fear threatens to take control of our minds and emotions. The author notes that […]
“And to the angel of the church in Philadelphia write, The words of the holy one, the true one, who has the key of David, who opens and no one will shut, who shuts and no one opens.”- Revelation 3:7 In Chapter 9 (“Thank God for Closed Doors) of All the Places to Go, John […]
“It’s better to go through the wrong door with your best self than the best door with your wrong self.”- John Ortberg In Chapter 6 (“How to Cross a Threshold”) of All the Places to Go, John Ortberg observes that it’s good for us to choose our doors carefully. But when we decide to go- […]
“God won’t answer 10o percent of the prayers you don’t pray.”- Mark Batterson As Mark Batterson concludes Chapter 10 of The Grave Robber, he observes that even though miraculous healing is the exception rather than the rule, if we assume God’s answer will be no, we don’t give Him a chance to say yes. Pastor […]
“Grace is not opposed to effort, it is opposed to earning. Earning is an attitude. Effort is an action.”- Dallas Willard Mark Batterson points out in Chapter 9 (“The Seventh Hour”) of The Grave Robber that the distance the royal official traveled between Capernaum and Cana is a twenty-mile uphill climb at a five percent […]
In Chapter 8 (“God Speed”) of The Grave Robber, Mark Batterson states that Jesus’ second miracle- healing the royal official’s son- “redefined reality by defying the four dimensions of space and time. It was a long-distance miracle in real time.” Back in 1964, James Stewart Bell published a groundbreaking paper that disproved the principle of […]
Waiting on God (Howard Books, 2015) Waiting on God: Strength for Today and Hope for Tomorrow is the latest book from Charles Stanley, senior pastor of First Baptist Church in Atlanta, GA since 1971. He opens his book with the assertion that the word never can stir the deepest fear in the human heart. Thus, […]