Links & Quotes

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The Overview Bible Project has a great weekly email study to help you to learn more about each book of the Bible. Check this one out on the book of Jeremiah, and then subscribe.

This post really got me thinking: Islam & The First Amendment.

John Stonestreet says, “While…the days of throwing Christians to wild beasts in the arena may be behind us, the persecution of Christians around the world isn’t. In fact, the number of our brothers and sisters subjected to imprisonment, torture, and death for their faith in just the last twelve months dwarfs the number who suffered during the entire tenure of Nero” (emphasis mine). Read more about The War On Christians.

For anyone who works with youth, check out Tim Elmore’s post 6 Habits Of Lasting Leaders.

Did you know that that some 44,000 people have survived attempts to kill them through abortion?! Check out Eric Metaxas’ thoughts in Surviving Roe v. Wade.

Links & Quotes

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“You may claim to love Jesus but your life proves you are still walking in darkness—confused, befuddled and foggy! When you are truly in love with Jesus, conversing with Him, He turns up the light. There is no darkness at all in His presence. The worst possible darkness to mankind is not in the hearts of God-hating Communist leaders or Christ-hating atheists. It is, rather, the horrible darkness that blinds so-called Christians who refuse to walk in the light.” —David Wilkerson

“It is not your business to succeed (no one can be sure of that) but to do right: when you have done so, the rest lies with God.” ―C.S. Lewis

“O how quickly we are given to defending God, or sometimes the truth, from words that are only for the wind. If we had discernment, we could tell the difference between the words with roots and the words blowing in the wind. There are words with roots in deep error and deep evil. But not all grey words get their color from a black heart. Some are colored mainly by the pain, the despair. What you hear is not the deepest thing within. There is something real within where they come from. But it is temporary—like a passing infection—real, painful, but not the true person. Let us learn to discern whether the words spoken against us or against God or against the truth are merely for the wind—spoken not from the soul, but from the sore. If they are for the wind, let us wait in silence and not reprove. Restoring the soul, not reproving the sore, is the aim of our love.” —John Piper

“What must you do so that you may know that your sins are taken away by the blood of Christ, and that, when He comes, He will shield you from the wrath of God and bring me into eternal life? The answer is this: trust Christ in a way that makes you eager for Him to come.” —John Piper

John Stonestreet has a great take on worldviews in Radical Islam, Secularism & Christianity.

“O beloved, what a defense is God to His church! Ah, the devil cannot cross this broad river of God. Between me and you, O fiend of hell, is my God. Do remember this, Christian; between you and your arch-enemy is your God; satan has to stand on the other side, and how he wishes he could dry up that stream, but God is omnipotent.” —Charles Spurgeon

 

Now What?

Christmas Day 2014 has come and gone … now what? My Mom forwarded a picture to me that might be a pretty good place to start—or should I say to keep the Christmas spirit alive.

Here’s your post-Christmas Day “To Do” List—

After the holidays To Do list

What would you add to this list?

Links & Quotes

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“How shall a holy and just God treat us sinners with so much kindness as to give us the greatest Reality in the universe (His Son) to enjoy with the greatest joy possible? The answer is that God put our sins on His Son, and judged them there, so that He could put them out of His mind, and deal with us mercifully and remain just and holy at the same time.” —John Piper

This Christmas, enjoy the fruit of the first coming, but anticipate the glory of the second. We live between the advents. Let the first one whet your appetite for the final one.” Read more in Max Lucado’s post Between The Advents.

I marvel at the discovering scientists make, but I also marvel at how adamant these scientists are that there isn’t a Creator. In this study on how the earth’s deep crust could support life, one scientist says, “If you identify a source of energy that’s everywhere, it’s no longer a limiting factor for the spread of life.” The Bible does identify The Source of life!

If you love studying the Bible, here is a list of 5 free Bible study tools on the web.

[VIDEO] Lecrae gives us a good word on how to engage race issues—

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This Day In Christian History (book review)

This DayFor history buffs, This Day In Christian History by William D. Blake is a great book to keep handy all throughout the year. Each day you will find two historical items which have had a lasting impact on church history.

The two calendar items each day will take less than 60 seconds to read, but I found that on many days it opened the door of curiosity for me to do some additional research on that event or person. You will also find:

  • A brief biographical sketch of notable people in church history
  • Memorable quotes
  • Some mind-blowing “did you knows” (that you can use to impress your friends)
  • The rich history that all Christians share in common

A very fun book to read each day of the year.

Our Definition Of ‘Christian’

In His StepsIn His Steps by Rev. Charles Sheldon challenged me to really look at my personal definition of being a Christian. One of the characters in Sheldon’s book hit me with this—

“It is the personal element that Christian discipleship needs to emphasize. ‘The gift without the giver is bare.’ The call of this age is a call for a new discipleship, a new following of Jesus, more like the early, simple, apostolic Christianity when the disciples left all and literally followed the Master. Nothing but a discipleship of this kind can face the destructive selfishness of the age, with any hope of overcoming it. … But if our definition of being a Christian is simply to enjoy the privileges of worship, be generous at no expense to ourselves, have a good, easy time surrounded by pleasant friends and by comfortable things, live respectably, and at the same time avoid the world’s great stress of sin and trouble because it is too painful—if this is our definition of Christianity, then surely we are a long way from following the steps of Him who trod the way with tears of anguish for a lost humanity.” 

You can read my full book review of In His Steps by clicking here. And I quote another thought-provoking passage from this book here.

What Would Happen…?

In His StepsIn His Steps by Rev. Charles Sheldon is a timeless classic that every Christian should read (you can check out my book review by clicking here). This quote is a part of the final message that one of the main characters, Pastor Henry Maxwell, delivers at a prominent church in Chicago.

What would happen if in this city every church member should begin to do as Jesus would do? It staggers our minds to imagine the results! We all know that certain things would be impossible that are now practiced by church members. What would Jesus do in the matter of wealth? How would He spend it? How would Jesus be governed in the making of money? Would He take rentals from saloons? From tenement property? 

What would Jesus do about the great army of unemployed who tramp the streets and curse the church, or are indifferent to it, lost in the bitter struggle for the bread that tastes bitter when it is earned on account of the desperate conflict to get it? Would He say it was none of His business? 

What would Jesus do in the center of a civilization that hurries so fast after money that the girls employed in great business houses are not paid enough to keep soul and body together without fearful temptations? Where the demands of trade sacrifice hundreds of lads in a business that ignores all Christian duties toward them in the way of education and moral training and personal affection? Would Jesus, if He were here today as a part of our age and commercial industry, feel nothing, do nothing, say nothing in the face of these facts that every businessman knows?

How would you answer Pastor Maxwell’s questions?

In His Steps (book review)

In His StepsI first read In His Steps by Rev. Charles Sheldon when I was a teenager. I loved the book then, but I was absolutely fascinated by it while I was re-reading it this time!

In His Steps is the story of a pastor named Henry Maxwell, who lives and pastors in the town of Raymond, New York. The story was originally delivered chapter by chapter by Rev. Sheldon to his Sunday evening congregation during the summer of 1896. As each chapter was presented, the attendance grew and grew until the church building was packed to standing room only.

The whole premise of the book is a simple one: what would happen if each one of us were to live our lives moment to moment by one simple question—what would Jesus do? The story is told through the lives of Henry Maxwell and others in his congregation, as they come to grips with just what this means for them. At the end of the book, the “What would Jesus do” movement has spread, and Pastor Maxwell is asked to speak at a prominent church in Chicago. He concludes his message with this thought—

“Suppose that ‘What would Jesus do?’ were the motto, not only of the churches but of the businessmen, the politicians, the newspapers, the working men, the society people. How long would it take, under such a standard of conduct, to revolutionize the world? What is the trouble with the world? It is suffering from selfishness. No one ever lived who had succeeded in overcoming selfishness like Jesus. If men followed Him, regardless of results, the world would at once begin to enjoy a new life.” 

In His Steps is a powerful book! Simple to read, yet challenging to apply. I highly recommend this to anyone who wants to be more of a disciple of Jesus Christ. “What would Jesus do?” shouldn’t be just a clever question, but a way of life!

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Some good reading from today…

[PHOTOS] Today is the birthday of the United States Marine Corps. Here are some great pictures of our Marines in action.

“Your hope for the future is not in what you did yesterday, but improving today so that you can meet the future head-on.” —John Maxwell

Did you know that 90% of babies diagnosed with Down syndrome are aborted?! Here are 9 people with Down syndrome who live highly successful lives.

“‘Circumstances over which I have no control’ is a perfectly true phrase, but it must never be made to mean that we cannot control ourselves in those circumstances.” —Oswald Chambers

“The whole Bible and all past history unite to teach that battles are always won before the armies take the field. The critical moment for any army is not the day it engages the foe in actual combat; it is the day before or the month before or the year before. … Preparation is vital. Let this be noted by everyone. We can seek God today and get prepared to meet temptation tomorrow; but if we meet the enemy without first having met God, the outcome is not conjectural; the issue is already decided. We can only lose.” —A.W. Tozer

“We must open our Bibles every morning with this prayer—‘Give us this day our daily bread.’” —Charles Spurgeon

Good advice on how to respond to people who are antagonistic toward your Christian faith.

Hmm, Pope Francis demotes (again!) a U.S. cardinal who is doctrinally conservative.