Links & Quotes

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Some good reading from today…

“Married women are notably safer than their unmarried peers, and girls raised in a home with their married father are markedly less likely to be abused or assaulted than children living without their own father.” See what else Eric Metaxas shares in Men Who Serve And Protect.

“A rejection, or in Scripture’s strong language, a crucifixion of the natural self is the passport to everlasting life. Nothing that has not died will be resurrected.” —C.S. Lewis

“If Bible Christianity is to survive the present world upheaval, we shall need to recapture the spirit of worship. We shall need to have a fresh revelation of the greatness of God and the beauty of Jesus. We shall need to put away our phobias and our prejudices against the deeper life and seek again to be filled with the Holy Spirit.” —A.W. Tozer

The state of California is going to pay abortion providers more money to kill babies. Guess where the funds are coming from? Yep, those doctors who are trying to save lives will be paid less! Bishop Jaime Soto speaks out.

Planned Parenthood wrote an open letter saying the word abortion is not mentioned in Scripture, so that somehow makes it okay to kill innocent lives. Pastor Garrett Kell has a wonderful, biblical response.

In a Family Talk interview with Ryan Dobson, here are some great quotes from Nick Vujicic: “Fear will disable you more than your physical limitations. … When we give God our broken pieces, he can turn our broken pieces into something beautiful. … You’re not important because of how many people know you; you’re important because you’re a child of God. … Don’t be a bystander, be on stand by. I will not allow a bully to bully others. I will not laugh at his jokes, I will not remain silent. I will stand up and say ‘Enough is enough.’”

“Our resources are the Christlikeness we win while immersed in battle. They are the lessons, the faith, the character we gain from warfare with the enemy.” —David Wilkerson

Links & Quotes

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“I say that the greatest tragedy in the world today is that God has made man in His image and made him to worship Him, made him to play the harp of worship before the face of God day and night, but he has failed God and dropped the harp. It lies voiceless at his feet.” —A.W. Tozer

“Before you drink at a brook, it is well to know its source.” —Anonymous

Ye servants of God, your Master proclaim,
and publish abroad His wonderful name;
the name all-victorious of Jesus extol,
His kingdom is glorious and rules over all. …

Then let us adore and give Him His right,
all glory and power, all wisdom and might;
all honor and blessing with angels above,
and thanks never ceasing and infinite love. —Charles Wesley

Eric Metaxas gives us an updates on Meriam Yahia Ibrahim Ishag, sentenced to death in Sudan because of her Christian faith.

John Stonestreet with an important reminder about watching what we post online.

Links & Quotes

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Some good reading from today…

“A good mind is also a good possession. And, further, a pure inner life is a valuable possession. Hedge in, then, this possession of thine, enclose it with thought, guard it with thorns, that is, with pious care, lest the fierce passions of the flesh should rush upon it and lead it captive, lest strong emotions should assault it, and, overstepping their bounds, carry off its vintage.” —Ambrose of Milan

“Unlike in physics and chemistry, very few of the findings in the social sciences can be characterized as incontrovertible. But there’s one major exception: the impact of fatherlessness on American children. To name but a few grim examples, 63 percent of teen suicides are from fatherless homes; 90 percent of homeless children and runaways are from fatherless homes; and 71 percent of all high school dropouts are from fatherless homes.” —Eric Metaxas

Great historial article: What Can Pentecostals Learn From John Wesley?

A former abortion worker testifies, “We would find women’s weaknesses and work on them” to convince them to have an abortion.

Joel Osteen says he doesn’t like the term “prosperity preacher” applied to him, and then describes what he believes (which sounds a lot like a prosperity doctrine to me!). John Piper debunks this garbage better than I can in this video.

4 Ways Selfishness Ruins Your Life.

[VIDEO] Ted Cruz blasts the attempt by Democrat Senators to obliterate the First Amendment.

“We only know God in His works, but we are forced by science to admit and to believe with absolute confidence in a Directive Power—in an influence other than physical, or dynamical, or electrical forces.” —William Thomson (Lord Kelvin)

Links & Quotes

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Some links to some interesting reading and quotes I found this weekend.

Eric Metaxas shares some interesting archeological finds: Make No Camel Bones About It.

“No man has any moral right to go before the people who has not first been long before the Lord. No man has any right to speak to men about God who has not first spoken to God about men. And the prophet of God should spend more time in the secret place praying than he spends in the public place preaching.” —A.W. Tozer

A couple of family men (not!): Sports radio hosts blast player for taking paternity leave. UPDATE: I was glad to see that one of these guys, Boomer Esiason, apologized for these remarks. Good job, Boomer!

Helpful post for parents: How To Notice Changes In Our Kids.

“How many have we in our churches of crab tree Christians, who have mixed such a vast amount of vinegar, and such a tremendous quantity of gall in their constitutions, that they can scarcely speak one good word to you; they imagine it impossible to defend religion except by passionate ebullitions; they cannot speak for their dishonored Master without being angry with their opponent; God if anything is away, whether it be in the house, the church, or anywhere else, they conceive it to be their duty to set their faces like a flint, and to defy everybody. They are like isolated icebergs; no one cares to go near them. They float about on the sea of forgetfulness, until at last they are melted and gone; and though, good souls, we shall be happy enough to meet them in heaven, we are heartily glad to get rid of them from the earth. They were always so unamiable in disposition, that we would rather live an eternity with them in heaven, than five minutes on earth. Be ye not thus, my brethren. Imitate Christ in your loving spirits; speak kindly, act kindly, and do kindly, that men may say of you, ‘He has been with Jesus.’” —Charles Spurgeon

Rush Limbaugh’s take on the resignation of Mozilla CEO Brendan Eich.

“To be a Christian it is necessary that he serve his generation as well as his God.” —A.W. Tozer

“God’s presence is not the same as the feeling of God’s presence and He may be doing most for us when we think He is doing least.” —C.S. Lewis

Links & Quotes

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These are links to articles and quotes I found interesting this weekend.

Victory! FCC Pulls The Plug On Its Unconstitutional Plans

John Maxwell talks about delegation: Overloaded & Underempowered

“Before I became a Christian I do not think I fully realized that one’s life, after conversion, would inevitably consist in doing most of the same things one had been doing before, one hopes, in a new spirit, but still the same things.” —C.S. Lewis

“The only people with whom you should try to get even are those who have helped you.” —John E. Southard

“I’m a fool for Christ. Whose fool are you?” —John Wimber

“Holiness is not freedom from temptation, but power to overcome temptation.” —G. Morgan Campbell

Are environmentalists going too far? The War On Humans

[VIDEO] The more I hear Sen. Ted Cruz, the more I like him. “I don′t work for the party bosses.”

Eric Metaxas on a baby′s innate sense of morality: Babies & The Not-So-Blank Slate

“Forget others’ faults by remembering your own.” —John Bunyan

Book Reviews From 2013

BookshelfHere are the books I read and reviewed in 2013. Click a title to read the review…

10 People Every Christian Should Know

A Harmony Of The Gospels

Alive To Wonder

All In

Alone

Altar Ego

Andrew Murray Daily Reader

Dear Abba

Decision Points

Did The Resurrection Happen … Really?

Draw The Circle

Fight

Firsthand

Francis

God’s Favorite Place On Earth

God’s Workmanship

Habitudes

He Shall Glorify Me

I Never Thought I’d See The Day

If Thou Wilt Be Perfect

If Ye Shall Ask

It Is Finished

Jesus Is _____.

Jesus: A Theography

Knocking At God’s Door

Love To The Uttermost

One Year Book Of Personal Prayer

Outliers

Plastic Donuts

Pouring Holy Water On Strange Fire

Promotion

Raising Your Child To Love God

Seven Men

Smith Wigglesworth On Healing

Sometimes You Win, Sometimes You Learn

Stopping Words That Hurt

The 13th Resolution

The Baptism With The Holy Spirit

The Bare Facts

The Five Levels Of Leadership

The Highest Good

The Hobbit

The Man Who Knew Too Much

The Purpose Of Christmas

The Ragamuffin Gospel

The Reagan Diaries

The Secrets Of Intercessory Prayer

Things We Couldn’t Say

Understanding Sexting

Unfinished

Unstoppable

Visioneering

Who Do You Think You Are?

You Don’t Need A Title To Be A Leader

For my book reviews of 2011 click here, and for 2012’s list click here.

Seven Men (book review)

Seven MenWhen I read Bonhoeffer, I knew Eric Metaxas was a special author, bringing such a vibrance and fullness to his subject. So I began Seven Men And The Secret Of Their Greatness with high expectations, and I’m happy to tell you that Eric Metaxas exceeded those expectations!

As the title implies, Seven Men is a collection of seven biographies of key men in history. These aren’t biographies covering the entire lives of these great men, but rather a zoomed-in look at a crucial moment in the lives of these men. Eric gives us just enough of an introduction to their early lives to set the stage, and then concentrates his look at the decisions or stands these men took to achieve the title of “great.”

How does one measure greatness? In the case of these seven men, Eric defines greatness as heroic character put to a test where most are tempted to stop short. These seven men stood firm mainly because of their godly character, and their conviction that a stand in their age would mean others in their own age would be able to stand as well.

Even if you’ve read or heard about George Washington, William Wilberforce, Eric Liddell, Dietrich Bonhoeffer, Jackie Robinson, Pope John Paul II, or Charles Colson, you owe it to yourself to read Seven Men to see why they are considered “great” men.

I am a Thomas Nelson book reviewer.

Book Reviews From 2011

Here is the complete list of books I read in 2011. Click on each title to be taken to my review…

7 Habits Of Highly Effective Teens

A Collection Of Wednesdays

A Treasury Of A.W. Tozer

Abandon The Ordinary

Average Joe

Be A People Person

Be The People

Biblical Ethics

Biblical Psychology

Bonhoeffer: Pastor, Martyr, Prophet, Spy

Bringing Sons Unto Glory

Chazown

City On Our Knees

Costly Grace

Doing Virtuous Business

Elite Prayer Warriors

Enemies Of The Heart

Experiencing The Spirit

Fasting

For Men Only

From The Library Of A.W. Tozer

Galileo

Generation iY

George Washington Carver

Get Off Your Knees And Pray

Go For Gold

God Is The Gospel

Has God Spoken?

Home And Away

How The Mighty Fall

How To Read The Bible

How To Win Friends And Influence People

I Knew Jesus Before He Was A Christian

In Visible Fellowship

Leadership Gold

Leadership Is Dead

Leadership Prayers

Lee: A Life Of Virtue

Letters From Leaders

MacArthur: America’s General

Max On Life

Me, Myself & Bob

Never Surrender

Night

On The Verge

Peach

Plugged-In Parenting

Radical Together

Remember Why You Play

Say It With Love

Secure Daughters, Confident Sons

Sherman: The Ruthless Victor

Smith Wigglesworth On Faith

Soul Work

Soulprint

Stuff Christians Life

Sun Stand Still

The Blessing Of Adversity

The Church In Exile

The Heart Of A Great Pastor

The Hour That Matters Most

The Next Christians

The Seed

Toxic Committees & Venomous Boards

untamed

Upside

Wandering In The Wilderness

We Shall See God

Whale Done

What The Bible Says About The Holy Spirit

Why God Won’t Go Away

Why Great Men Fall

You Were Born For This

Looking forward to sharing more great reads with you in 2012! Let me know if there are any books you would like me to review.

Bonhoeffer (book review)

I’ve always been an admirer of Dietrich Bonhoeffer’s work, but Eric Metaxas’ sweeping biography has given me a whole new appreciation for this influential theologian.

Bonhoeffer: Pastor, Martyr, Prophet, Spy takes you behind the scenes that influenced this great man. You will see how his family helped encourage Dietrich to be such a deep thinker. Then you will read how Bonhoeffer’s thinking was sharpened as he challenged the Nazi’s co-opting of the church in Germany, leading him to call pastors back to a biblically-sound foundation.

By perhaps the most compelling storyline is how this pastor could join the band of German citizens who agreed that Adolph Hitler must be assassinated. Although to us now it may seem like an easy decision to make, to those who lived through the events leading up to Word War II, it was an excruciating decision. Eric Metaxas does a masterful job of taking us inside the thinking process that led Dietrich Bonhoeffer to his decision.

And through all of the turmoil swirling around him, Bonhoeffer found time to not only teach young pastors, but to leave behind some timeless teachings in his masterful books.

If you are already familiar with Bonhoeffer’s writings, this biography will give you a whole new appreciation into the man who crafted the books. If you aren’t yet familiar with Bonhoeffer’s books, Bonhoeffer will whet your appetite to know more. Don’t miss out on this one!