Take up & read

"This is the story of my life, that while I lived it weighed upon me and pressed against me and..."

Thu, 16 May 2013 13:49:17 -0500

“This is the story of my life, that while I lived it weighed upon me and pressed against me and filled all my senses to overflowing and now is like a dream dreamed.”

- Wendell Berry, Hannah Coulter

I’ve been looking forward to this all week.

Wed, 15 May 2013 16:39:32 -0500

I’ve been looking forward to this all week.

April is National Poetry Month…read some.

Wed, 03 Apr 2013 12:17:34 -0500

April is National Poetry Month…read some.

"We forget that helplessness is how the Christian life works."

Wed, 03 Apr 2013 09:55:51 -0500

“We forget that helplessness is how the Christian life works.”

- Paul E. Miller, A Praying Life

Slow of heart

Tue, 02 Apr 2013 07:26:05 -0500

But I love how you came alongside the Emmaus men, for I am so much like them. I am a foolish, slow of heart man who constantly needs you to preach the gospel to my heart by the Holy Spirit. How I praise you for your tender forbearance, unlimited patience, and grace-full persistence.

As you dealt with my brothers, so deal with me. Continue to reveal yourself as the main character and hero in all the Scriptures. Lord Jesus, don’t let me read the writings of Moses without thinking about you—especially the law. May Moses’ words always drive me to you. For you have fulfilled the demands of the law for me, and you are now fulfilling the beauty of the law in me. I don’t want to forget that good news, even for a nanosecond, lest I lapse into graceless guilt or performance-based pride.

—Scotty Smith

John Piper, The Pleasures of God

Mon, 11 Feb 2013 11:15:29 -0600

John Piper, The Pleasures of God

John Piper, The Pleasures of God

Mon, 11 Feb 2013 11:05:43 -0600

John Piper, The Pleasures of God

Key verse for Sermon on the Mount

Tue, 05 Feb 2013 10:18:08 -0600

Key verse for Sermon on the Mount

"Give yourself to prayer, to reading and meditation on divine truths: strive to penetrate to the..."

Tue, 15 Jan 2013 13:35:44 -0600

“

Give yourself to prayer, to reading and meditation on divine truths: strive to penetrate to the bottom of them and never be content with a superficial knowledge.

— David Brainerd

”

- Jonathan Edwards, The Life of David Brainerd

How Prayer Glorifies God - Desiring God

Thu, 10 Jan 2013 21:46:14 -0600

How Prayer Glorifies God - Desiring God:

“If we come to him thinking he needs our help, we make him look needy. But if we remember that his strength is shown in working for us, then we are motivated to come with new confidence. Okay, Lord, here is my impossible situation. Please show yourself strong. Help me.”

Daily On My Way to Heaven: Quiet Times in the Morning

Wed, 09 Jan 2013 14:31:23 -0600

Daily On My Way to Heaven: Quiet Times in the Morning:

In this post, Becky shares several quotes from True Community: The Biblical Practice of Koinonia by Jerry Bridges to encourage us to persevere in morning quiet times so that our daily communion with the Father continues throughout the day.

"God means for us to be stunned and awed by his work of creation. But not for its own sake. He means..."

Wed, 09 Jan 2013 11:15:23 -0600

“God means for us to be stunned and awed by his work of creation. But not for its own sake. He means for us to look at his creation and say: If the mere work of his fingers (just his fingers! Psalm 8:3) is so full of wisdom and power and grandeur and majesty and beauty, what must this God be like in himself!”

- John Piper, The Pleasures of God

"Our Lord is not limited by our time or our lives as he answers our prayers. The good he accomplishes..."

Wed, 09 Jan 2013 07:59:26 -0600

“Our Lord is not limited by our time or our lives as he answers our prayers. The good he accomplishes transcends our vision, our life span, and all realistic expectation.”

- Bryan Chapell, Praying Backwards

"A billion galaxies will not satisfy the human soul. God and God alone is the soul’s end."

Tue, 08 Jan 2013 17:45:28 -0600

“A billion galaxies will not satisfy the human soul. God and God alone is the soul’s end.”

- John Piper, The Pleasures of God

"Creation praises God by simply being what it was created to be in all its incredible variety. And..."

Tue, 08 Jan 2013 14:30:24 -0600

“Creation praises God by simply being what it was created to be in all its incredible variety. And since most of the creation is beyond the awareness of mankind (in the reaches of space, and in the heights of mountain and at the bottom of the sea) it wasn’t created merely to serve purposes that have to do with us. It was created for the enjoyment of God.”

- John Piper, The Pleasures of God

"One person praying in God’s will is a sufficient majority for heaven’s greatest causes."

Mon, 07 Jan 2013 11:15:38 -0600

“One person praying in God’s will is a sufficient majority for heaven’s greatest causes.”

- Bryan Chapell, Praying Backwards

"The full power of prayer is beyond mortal comprehension, but the magnitude we can grasp should make..."

Sun, 06 Jan 2013 17:45:27 -0600

“The full power of prayer is beyond mortal comprehension, but the magnitude we can grasp should make us zealous to pray and expectant that God will order our world through our petitions.”

- Bryan Chapell, Praying Backwards

"Prayer is not a seeking after a greater work of God; prayer is a greater work of God."

Sun, 06 Jan 2013 14:30:26 -0600

“Prayer is not a seeking after a greater work of God; prayer is a greater work of God.”

- Bryan Chapell, Praying Backwards

Unhealthy & healthy approaches to prayer

Sun, 06 Jan 2013 11:15:33 -0600

An unhealthy approach to prayer:

“We courteously recite general prayers for the forgiveness of sins, the good of our nation, and the safekeeping of our family, but there is no pursuit of God (or even consideration of him) for daily specifics. We seem content to ask God to bless ourmanagement of the details of our life. These details, it seems, are best handled by our own grit and wit, but, of course, with the hope for God’s intercession in times of crisis when he might really be needed.”

A healthy approach to prayer:

“Specific prayer offered as a continuing act of worship seeks to submit every moment of life to God’s wisdom as a means of knowing, loving, and honoring him.”

— Bryan Chapell, Praying Backwards

"I’ve never been more aware that spiritual formation based on the “binge and purge”..."

Sat, 05 Jan 2013 17:45:21 -0600

“I’ve never been more aware that spiritual formation based on the “binge and purge” cycle simply doesn’t work. Our spiritual hearts need to be strengthened by the grace of the gospel daily, all year long. We cannot afford periods of “cruise control,” when we leave the banquet of your love for a buffet of comfort foods, fast foods, and junk foods. Just like the physical hearts you’ve given us, our spiritual heart muscles will atrophy if we don’t take care of them.”

- Scotty Smith, Everyday Prayers