Links & Quotes

When we pray the closing words of the prayer Jesus gave us—“For Yours is the kingdom, and the power, and the glory forever. Amen!”—we are both acknowledging God’s awesomeness and we are asking for our lives to display this reality.

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“He who loves iniquity does not love his fellow man, for ‘he who loves iniquity does not love, but rather hates his own soul.’ And certainly he who does not love his own soul will in no way be capable of loving the soul of another.” —Aelred of Rievaulx (1109-1167) 

Steven Lee shows us the biblical principles that God forms us through failure. One passage especially stood out to me because it is a central thought to both of my books. Lee writes, “God measures success according to faithfulness: ‘One who is faithful in a very little is also faithful in much’ (Luke 16:10). Do we strive for success as defined by God? Are we seeking to be faithful with all that he has entrusted to us—time, talents, and treasure? Or have we adopted the lying weights and measures of our world? Will our labors result in hearing the words ‘Well done, good and faithful servant’ (Matthew 25:23)? Put aside striving for the world’s facade of perfection.”

“The measure of who we are is what we do with what we have.” —Vince Lombardi 

T.M. Moore teases us with this: “The most important question we can ask guides us in answering many other questions besides, questions such as, ‘Whom should I marry?’ and ‘How can I stop wasting time?’ and ‘What’s the best way to use my wealth?’’ Any question that helps us answer those and a myriad other questions that might arise during the day must be pretty important. Indeed, it must be the most important question any of us could ask.” What is that most important question? Check out his thought-provoking answer. 

“Life is not a spectator sport. If you’re going to spend your whole life in the grandstand just watching what goes on, you’re wasting your life.” —Jackie Robinson 

When God gives you a victory, write it down (see Exodus 17:14). When God gives you a promise, write it down. Then read it regularly so you don’t forget it. This will keep you grateful, it will keep you expectant, and it will keep you dependent on the victory-giving, promise-keeping God.

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.