Donald Miller, with this mic drop: “Right before you die, you’ll realize this whole life was about loving people. And you watched too much television.” Welp… It’s harder to get much closer to profound truth than this. Don took off with Blue Like Jazz: Nonreligious Thoughts on Christian Spirituality. Scary Close, is also amazing. Disclosure […]
Quote – When you are sorrowful look into your heart.
I was introduced to Kalil Gibran, a Lebanese poet from the last century, in high school. His book, The Prophet, really moved me. “When you are sorrowful look again in your heart, and you shall see that you are weeping for that which has been your delight.” This evocative sentence points to how the deep truth of our […]
Quote – How Offendable Are We?
Pete Scazzero is a pastor who has focused deeply on the importance of emotional maturity as a part of our faith. Emotional growth and spiritual growth are closely linked. As we mature in the image of Christ, we will also grow emotionally. This insight of his is crucial for the social-media soaked reactive culture in […]
Is the Bible human or divine? The problem is in your either/or question.
Christians go around saying things like this: The Bible is God’s word. The Bible gives us God’s guidance. The Bible tells us how we ought to live. Make those sorts of claims, and someone is going start asking how you know. How can trust the Bible? A member of my church expressed this issue perfectly. […]
Quote – What a Man Loves
We get caught up on determining (judging?) who is good and who isn’t. It can get tangled and complicated. Augustine gave a very clear pointer with this observation: “When there is a question as to whether a man is good, one does not ask what he believes…but what he loves.” What is our heart oriented […]
Quote – How to Unchristian the Faith.
Jesus’ teachings are clear. Feel uncomfortable about it if you wish. Suggest that this might be unpatriotic or naive if you want. But you cannot be fully committed to Jesus’ teachings and disagree. So Miroslav Volf makes this difficult observation. “If you take the love of the enemy out of the Christian faith, you have […]
Quote – Serve God… in an advisory role.
A truism. I don’t think it’s original with me, but I have no idea what the source is. (Feel free to let me know if you have an original source for this quote. I’d love to be able to reference it.) We want so much to be in charge. That’s the heart of idolatry and […]
Quote – The Opportunity of Reconciliation
I found this quote on Twitter. “Christ invited you to be the conduit through which he reconciles the world. This isn’t a burden but an opportunity.” The user has disappeared and I can’s find him on the internet anywhere. Don’t know what’s up with that, but his statement is still a strong one. If you […]
Maybe you need to ignore the rules in the Bible.
From time to time you’ll hear some preacher hold forth on the state of our country. He’ll (It’s almost always a man) point out the terrible ills in society and the ever-increasing immorality. With waving arms, he’ll decry Biblical illiteracy. He’ll say if only there was more Bible reading, more Bible-believing, more following of rules […]
Quote – The greatest enemy of holiness is apathy.
John Eldredge and I see the world differently in many ways. But more than any other Christian writer I’ve read, he gets the power and importance of desire in the life of a follower of Jesus. His words: “The greatest enemy of holiness is not passion; it is apathy.” This is an incredible corrective to the […]
Quote – The person who has learned to let go.
Consider this: For the person who has learned to let go and let be, nothing can ever get in the way again. – Meister Eckhart. Meister Eckhart was a German Christian theologian, deep thinker and (yes, even) mystic in the 13th century. Some people love him. Some people think he was a heretic. I find […]
Quote – Can’t listen to your brother?
Listen up, reactive and divisive Christians: “He who can no longer listen to his brother will soon no longer be listening to God.” – Bonhoeffer Dietrich Bonhoeffer is one of the theologians who has influenced me most profoundly. His thoughts on Biblical community, his understanding of the Sermon on the Mount, and his own sacrificial […]
Quote – Knowing ABOUT God is not knowing God.
J.I. Packer is a Reformed theologian. I am by no means a Calvinist, but Packer writes adroitly about following God. These words are important to keep in mind: “Interest in theology and the capacity to talk well on Christian themes, is not at all the same thing as knowing God.” For many Christian traditions being […]
Quote – Christians should have indiscriminate respect for others.
It seems lately that Christians are struggling to make sense of the wideness of God’s love… particularly in how to apply it to the people around them. The full quote is “The reach of God’s love is the scope of our respect. If God’s love is indiscriminate, our respect must be too.” Miroslav Volf […]
Quote – Spirituality should rid me of hate.
Donald Miller is a writer who early in his career bravely pressed harder and harder into authentic faith and life. This observation of his resonates so deeply with me. “…I want my spirituality to rid me of hate, not give me reason for it.” When my I use my faith as a justification for hate, I’m […]