“Stars cross the sky, wise men journey from pagan lands, earth receives its savior in a cave. Let there be no one without a gift to offer, no one without gratitude as we celebrate the salvation of the world, the birthday of the human race. Now it is no longer, “dust you are and to … More Basil the Great: Epiphany
“For my own part I tend to find the doctrinal books often more helpful in devotion than the devotional books, and I rather suspect that the same experience may await many others. I believe that many who find that “nothing happens” when they sit down, or kneel down, to a book of devotion, would find … More QUOTABLES: On Reading ‘Thick’ Books
I picked up a very old (1887) biography of Henry Ward Beecher over Christmas, as I occasionally like to read (and hold and smell and marvel at the beautiful cover art of) vintage books. I know very little about this influential man from the Civil War era and I’m immediately discovering his unparalleled gift for … More Henry Ward Beecher on Cynicism
“If there is one single molecule in this universe running around loose, …then we have no guarantee that a single promise of God will ever be fulfilled. Perhaps that one maverick molecule will lay waste all the grand and glorious plans that God has made and promised to us…” -R.C. Sproul, Calvinist “There is, I … More QUOTABLES: God’s Sovereignty
“Let the pastors boldly dare all things by the word of God. . . . Let them constrain all the power, glory, and excellence of the world to give place to and to obey the divine majesty of this word. Let them enjoin everyone by it, from the highest to the lowest. Let them edify … More QUOTABLES: John Calvin on the Word of God
“I want a lifetime of holy moments. Every day I want to be in dangerous proximity to Jesus. I long for a life that explodes with meaning and is filled with adventure, wonder, risk, and danger. I long for a faith that is gloriously treacherous. I want to be with Jesus, not knowing whether to … More QUOTABLES: Mike Yaconelli
“The body of Benjamin Franklin, printer, like the cover an old book, its contents torn out and stripped of its lettering and gilding, lies here, food for the worms. But the work shall not be lost; for it will, as he believed, appear once more in a new and more elegant edition, revised and corrected by … More QUOTABLES: Ben Franklin’s Epitaph
“The Bible is alive. It speaks to me. It has feet, it runs after me. It has hands, it lays hold of me.” Martin Luther
Soul of Christ, Sanctify me Body of Christ, Save me Blood of Christ, Inebriate me Water from the side of Christ, Wash me Passion of Christ, Strengthen me O Good Jesus, Hear me Within thy Wounds Hide me Permit me not to be separated from Thee From the wicked foe defend me At the hour … More A Prayer of St. Ignatius
Light of lights! All gloom dispelling, Thou didst come to make thy dwelling Here within our world of sight. Lord, in pity and in power, Thou didst in our darkest hour Rend the clouds and how thy light. Praise to thee in earth and heaven Now and evermore be given, Christ, who art our sun … More Quotables: St. Thomas Aquinas
“I think a lot of us need to forget about God’s will for my life. God cares more about our response to His Spirit’s leading today, in this moment, than about what we intend to do next year. In fact, the decisions we make next year will be profoundly affected by the degree to which … More QUOTABLES: Francis Chan
Dietrich Bonhoeffer’s courage and determination and rootedness in Scripture is one of the reasons I didn’t give up during the difficult times in starting a new church. I was depleted and discouraged and lonely above all. I found a true friend and hero in Bonhoeffer. I read a couple biographies during this time and was … More QUOTABLES: Dietrich Bonhoeffer – 12 Essential Quotes
“If I had 6 hours to chop down a tree, I would spend the first 4 hours sharpening the axe.” -ABRAHAM LINCOLN
“The church exists today as resident aliens, an adventurous colony in a society of unbelief. As a society of unbelief, Western culture is devoid of a sense of journey, of adventure, because it lacks belief in much more than the cultivation of an ever-shrinking horizon of self-preservation and self-expression . . . . When we … More QUOTABLES: Adventurous Colony in a Society of Unbelief
“A time is coming when those you now treat as enemies and slaves will show you nothing but love in return, when those who you curse with indifference will offer you blessing. When you slap these people on the right cheek, be prepared, for they will turn their left cheek toward you. When you steal … More QUOTABLES: Sermon on the Mount in Reverse
“I am the LORD’s servant,” Mary answered. “Be it unto me as you will” (Luke 1:38). “Nothing impresses us more than the calmness with which, after the first trouble was past, the virgin received the message of the angel. She was not dazzled nor excited by her glorious future. She was not touched by any … More QUOTABLES: The Boldest Words Ever Uttered (Stopford Brooke)
The Book of Wisdom and Romans remind us that the awesome power of idolatry is found above all in its ability to shape the structures of society so that they suppress the possibility of perceiving the world in any way other than idolatrously. It is idolatry when much of the world is constructed on the … More QUOTABLES: The Subtle Power of Societal Idolatry
“The best way to drive out the devil, if he will not yield to texts of Scripture, is to jeer and flout him, for he cannot bear scorn.” -Martin Luther
“Boys get an alarmingly low average of one half-hour of direct face time with their dads per week, but over 40 hours of screen time (Internet, TV, and gaming total).” – From Fuller Youth Institute article entitled “Guys and Gaming“ by Brad Griffin
“Many go to church looking for a spiritual carwash to give our exterior life a little shine for the next 7 days. And, sadly, many churches are all too happy to provide just that. But what we really need is a spiritual repair shop where we can open the hood, take an honest look at … More QUOTABLES: Carwash or Autoshop?
“Followers want comfort, stability, and solutions from their leaders, but that’s babysitting. Real leaders ask hard questions and knock people out of their comfort zones. Then they manage the resulting distress.” -Ronald Heifetz, Harvard Professor of Government
…and after the earthquake a fire, but the Lord was not in the fire, and after the fire a still small voice.—1 Kings 19:12 “The accent in the Church today,” says Leonard Ravenhill, the English evangelist, “is not on devotion, but on commotion.” Religious extroversion has been carried to such an extreme in evangelical circles … More More Tozer on Worship
And every creature which is in heaven and on the earth and under the earth and such as are in the sea, and all that are in them, I heard saying: “Blessing and honor and glory and power be to Him who sits on the throne, and to the Lamb, forever and ever!” —Revelation 5:13 The … More QUOTABLES: Tozer on Worship
“The task of pastoral ministry is, above all else, to arrange the contingencies for an encounter with the Divine.” -BONHOEFFER
“To candid, reasonable men I am not afraid to lay open what have been the inmost thoughts of my heart. I have thought: I am a creature of a day, passing through life as an arrow through the air. I am a spirit come from God and returning to God; just hovering over the great … More QUOTABLES: Wesley on God’s Book!
Kingdom Harbor 