February 2012
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“When I worship, I would rather my heart be without words than my words be...”
– Lamar Boschman (via neilgreenhaw)
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“Trials, above all other things, have a tendency to distinguish true religion and...”
– Jonathan Edwards, Treatise Concerning Religious Affections In Three Parts
I just finished the story of Joseph in Genesis. A couple of key lines from Joseph that stood out to me:
(1) “God has made me fruitful in the land of my affliction” (Gen. 41:52); and,
(2) “As for you, you...
January 2012
13 posts
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“Why did the [5th Century] Souther Picts fall away? …the first generation...”
– George G. Hunter III, The Celtic Way Of Evangelism, p. 80
This is a seriously great book. Look back to the 4th-5th century struggle between Roman and Celtic Christianity to understand the potential for the Church today to move well into Postmodern culture in the West.
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Sharing Birthdays with MLK, Jr.
Every year on my birthday, I’m profoundly reminded of someone else.
I grew up in southern California. Upon moving to Arkansas, I quickly realized I was seen as different and that “California” had a lot of meaning tied to it. I’ll never forget the first time I said “cha” like a beach bum, liberal, probably gay, hippie without a moral conscience that was likely...
“The first question which the priest and the Levite asked was: “If I stop to help...”
– Martin Luther King Jr. (via mikerusch)
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December 2011
5 posts
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“This is the day that the Lord has made;
let us rejoice and be glad in it.”
– -Psalm 118:24 is a great, uplifting verse on its own, but the context is critical. A specific day is in view. Here’s verses 20-23.
This is the gate of the Lord; the righteous shall enter through it. I thanks you that you have answered me and have become my salvation. The stone that the...
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“Therefore the Lord waits to be gracious to you,
And therefore He exalts Himself...”
– Isaiah 30:18 & 20b-21
November 2011
1 post
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“This is the place where we find out whether the Christian’s meditation has...”
– from Bonhoeffer’s Life Together (reflecting on personal & communal worship)
October 2011
2 posts
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“Revival is a social, corporate thing, touching and transforming communities,...”
– J. I. Packer
September 2011
7 posts
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“The cry of the poor is threatening to the rich person within us. We are...”
– Jean Vanier, Community & Growth (via mikerusch)
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pilgrim in progress: All Theology Has Influence →
pilgriminprogress:
This is a helpful quote on what our theology produces in us. Everyone has a theology, whether they realize it or not. What we believe about the nature and acts of God has a profound impact on our nature and how we act in this world.
“The Puritans made me aware that all theology is also…
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“To be used of God. Is there anything more encouraging, more fulfilling? Perhaps...”
– Chuck Swindoll (via neilgreenhaw)
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“Consuming is the quintessential American activity. It has even caused the church...”
– Doctrine by Driscoll & Breshears, p. 403
As a culture, we breathe the air of consumerism moment by moment. When an ideology is as deeply embedded in a culture as consumerism is in the U.S., it becomes invisible & almost un-discernable, even by the church. Consumerism, though the church in...
August 2011
7 posts
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A Crashing Wave
Yesterday, all the staff at Fellowship received an email during the workday that our community ministry was giving away a bunch of books. It was a “first come, first served” type of thing. They must have cleaned out a closet or some office spaces or something. Anyway, I dropped by a grabbed a “few.”
As I walked back to my office holding a small stack of books, the cover...
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“I go by a field where once
I cultivated a few poor crops.
It is now covered...”
– Wendell Berry, excerpt from the poem “Leavings”
I heard this excerpt on NPR yesterday, and I can’t tell you how much it resonated with me after these few months of trying to have a community garden in a TOUGH season for anyone, let alone newbies. The crop wasn’t what we...
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“In the beginning, Christianity was simply Gospel. Ecclesiastical organization...”
– Leonard Bacon (1874) via Gospel-Driven Church Blog
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What if Jesus Merely Pointed the Way?
A true shepherd leads the way. He does not merely point the way. -L. Ravenhill
This is so true. I’ve been processing with friends—a few in particular—about the dynamic of “living it before leading it.” If you’ve paid attention to any of my posts anywhere, it’s no secret that I’m a follower of Christ. Hopefully, that is even more evident if you...
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“We tend to say that because a person has natural ability, he will make a good...”
– Oswald Chambers
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July 2011
8 posts
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“Return, O wanderer, now return,
And seek thy Father’s face;
Those new...”
– William Benco Collyer
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“Why do ye lavish away your precious affections upon vanity: None but Christ is...”
– John Favel (via sethprimm)
Great quote. It resonates with me, especially after just finishing up Ecclesiastes.
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“What then will keep us going and fighting so that we will live? Romans 1:16,17...”
– John Piper
“Whoever believes in me, as the Scripture has said, “Out of his heart will flow...”
–
Jesus in John 7:38
(via r3ally)
I love that my God fills His people to the point of overflowing in Christ.
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Thank You for Revealing Vanity
Here’s a prayer from my journal out of reading in Ecclesiastes lately in the Bible:
Father, thank you for Ecclesiastes. It is hard to hear the almost secular wisdom that is there… “vanity under the sun.” But, how refreshing and reassuring it is in light of the gospel of Your grace in Christ. I’m reminded that I’m a sinner in this book again and...
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