Results tagged “quote”
Giving Himself Willingly (09/27/09 - 6 Comments)
I have (slowly) been reading Bruce Gordon's new biography of Calvin (titled simply Calvin) and recently came to a chapter describing the situation in France during Calvin's ministry in Geneva. As a Frenchman, Calvin's influence spread beyond Geneva and into his native land. There Protestants, some connected to Calvin and others not, were being killed as part of a systematic effort to root out the seditious faith. Many were hunted down, tortured and executed. This...
Broken Promises Ever Renewed (09/26/09 - 6 Comments)
Here's a thought-provoking quote from Todd Gitlin, author of Media Unlimited. In just a few words he shows the emptiness of the pursuit of more and the emptiness of the promise of consumerism. ***** [T]he Great Depression was a turning point, frightening workers with the burden of an impoverished free time. After World War II, pent-up consumer demand for a high-consumption way of life was boosted by government subsidies (via the low-interest mortgages and expensive...
The Long Silence (08/30/09 - 10 Comments)
Yesterday I came across a "playlet" (the first time I've ever heard the term) called "The Long Silence." If you've read John Stott's The Cross of Christ you've probably read it before. I haven't been able to find out who authored it or when he did so (though judging by the word "negro" it must have been a few years ago), but I do know that it is well worth reading and pondering. ***** At...
Human Development (08/22/09 - 6 Comments)
A friend sent this to me earlier in the week, a quote from John N. Oswalt's The Bible Among the Myths (Zondervan, 2009). What grabbed me in this quote was the author's insistence that we cannot measure human progress apart from our God-given purpose. It's worth thinking about. ***** I question whether we can talk about 'development' of any sort apart from the unique biblical perspective. Does 'the historical process' teach us about development or...
Preaching the Gospel to Yourself (07/26/09 - 8 Comments)
In his book Respectable Sins, Jerry Bridges writes about the important discipline of preaching the gospel to yourself every day. Realizing that many people have heard of this discipline but do not know how to practice it, he provides an overview of how he does so. I found it helpful and trust you will too. What could be more important than beginning each day with a fresh understanding of the great work of the gospel...
A Humble but Flawed Servant (07/25/09 - 66 Comments)
As George Whitefield sailed from his native England to Georgia where he was to be a missionary, he ministered to those on board the ship. Here is an excerpt from his journal where he discusses a ministry encounter with a particularly willful child: Had a good instance of the benefit of breaking children's wills betimes. Last night, going between decks (as I do every night) to visit the sick and to examine my people, I...
Humbly Rejoicing in the Goodness of Others (02/21/09 - 14 Comments)
As I read John Piper's book Finally Alive I came across a lot of godly wisdom. But there was one quote that, more than the others, jumped out at me. I thought I'd share it with you today... ***** This is the message that you have heard from the beginning, that we should love one another. We should not be like Cain, who was of the evil one and murdered his brother. And why did...
Like News from a Far Country (02/01/09 - 9 Comments)
This morning I stumbled across the first few pages of Alexander Strauch's Leading with Love. He begins this book by telling a story from the life of Dwight L. Moody. He tells of a time that the evangelist Henry Moorhouse was asked to preach at Moody's church every night for a week. To everyone's surprise, Moorhouse preached seven consecutive sermons on John 3:16, preaching on God's love from Genesis to Revelation. Moody's son recorded the...
What It May Cost (01/18/09 - 13 Comments)
Yesterday I was reading Michael Haykin's new book The Christian Lover (review coming soon) which is a compilation of Christian love letters. Well, all but one. This is a remarkable letter sent from Adoniram Judson to John Hasseltine, the father of Ann, the woman he wished to marry. In this letter he asks John for Ann's hand, but, as he intends to head to Burma to serve as a missionary, he is forthright in his...
Things Vaguely Comprehended (12/21/08 - 10 Comments)
Earlier this year John Naish, a British journalist, released a book titled Enough (which does not seem to be widely available in the United States). He subtitled the book, "Breaking free from the world of more." He uses the book to encourage people to stop when they have enough--enough stuff, enough food, enough work, enough information. There were parts of the book I thought were much better than others; one part I thoroughly enjoyed was...
Quote: Our Pat Little Paradigms (08/14/07 - 5 Comments)
Excerpted from Jim Andrew's Polishing God's Monuments. When the Lord's ways do not neatly conform to our pat little paradigms of what seems (to our fallible minds) right and just, and good and faithful, it says something about human nature that usually the first thought that comes to mind is that something is wrong with God. Somehow the last thing that occurs to us is that God is simply too big for our small boxes....
Quote - Dave Harvey on Jane Austen (07/11/07 - 45 Comments)
I am currently reading Dave Harvey's new book, When Sinners Say "I Do". The book is just excellent. I'll provide a review of it shortly, but for now wanted to post a humorous little excerpt I enjoyed: I'm way too masculine to enjoy Jane Austen. Now, I realize that women usually read that as, "I'm not smart enough to get Jane Austen," and I suppose there may be some truth to that. But even if...