“Forgetting what is behind and straining toward what is ahead, I press on toward the goal to win the prize for which God has called me heavenward in Christ Jesus.”- Philippians 3:13-14 In Chapter 6 of All In, Mark Batterson asserts that at some point in our lives, most of us stop utilizing our imagination and […]
The he said to them all: “If anyone would come after me, he must deny himself and take up his cross daily and follow me.”- Luke 9:23 NIV) “If Jesus is not Lord of all, then Jesus is not Lord at all.”- Mark Batterson Mark Batterson begins Chapter 3 (“Draw the Line”) of All In […]
“For you have been my help, and in the shadow of your wings I sing for joy.”- Psalm 63:7 “No bird soars too high if he soars with his own wings.”- William Blake During my childhood years in Evergreen Park, IL, our next door neighbors, the Millars, had a large cage in their family room […]
“Consecrate yourselves, for tomorrow the Lord will do amazing things among you.”- Joshua 3:5 “If you aren’t hungry for God, you are full of yourself.”- Mark Batterson As Mark Batterson concludes Chapter 2 of All In, he states that anytime God is ready to do something amazing in our lives, He calls us to consecrate […]
In Chapter 2 (“The Inverted Gospel”) of All In, author Mark Batterson reminds us that, in the sixteenth century, astronomer Nicholas Copernicus challenged the prevailing belief that the earth was the center of the universe. He turned the scientific world upside down by proclaiming that the earth revolved around the sun. Likewise, Pastor Batterson states, […]
“This is the message that we have heard from him and proclaim to you, that God is light, and in him is no darkness at all.”- 1 John 1:5 Mark Batterson begins Chapter 1 (“Pack Your Coffins”) of his most recent book, All In, with an account of some brave missionaries known as one-way missionaries. […]
“And if the Spirit of him who raised Jesus from the dead is living in you, he who raised Christ from the dead will also give life to your mortal bodies through his Spirit, who lives in you.”- Romans 8:11 As Caesar Kalinowski continues Chapter 2 of Transformed, he states that his grasp of the […]
One Way Love (David C. Cook, 2013) The full title of Tullian Tchividjian’s latest book is One Way Love: Inexhaustible Grace for an Exhausted World. Pastor Tchividjian emphasizes that in our performance-oriented society, the need for God’s inexhaustible grace has never been more urgent. Real life is long on law and short on grace. While […]
“The Gospel is not a command to hang on to Jesus. It’s a promise that no matter how weak your faith and how unsuccessful your efforts may be, God is always holding on to you.”- Tullian Tchividjian In Chapter 10 (“The End of To-Do Lists”) of One Way Love, author Tullian Tchividjian notes the paradoxical […]
Tullian Tchividjian begins Chapter 9 (“Objections to One-Way Love) of One Way Love by asking this question: “Does grace make you look lazy?” In all honesty, states, the initial application of grace inspires sighs of relief and extended breathers that make it appear we’re doing nothing- lazy grace. However, in the long run grace has […]
“What causes fights and quarrels among you? Don’t they come from your desires that battle within you? You want something but don’t get it. . . . You do not have, because you do not ask God.”-James 4:1-2 In Chapter 7 of One Way Love, Tullian Tchividjian notes that when the foundation of any relationship […]
And Jesus answered them, “Those who are well have no need of a physician, but those who are sick. I have not come to call the righteous but sinners to repentance.”- Luke 5:31-32 “The great and merciful surprise is that we come to God not by doing it right but by doing it wrong.”- Richard […]