Faith

“Christianity has not so much been tried and found wanting, as it has been found difficult and left untried.”  GK Chesterton We are saved by grace alone, however, grace does not mean that sufficient strength and insight will be automatically infused into our being in the moment of need. Why do faithful church members sometimes not grow to maturity in Christ?  We have somehow encouraged a separation of our faith from everyday life. An individuals character is nothing but the pattern of habitual ways in which that person comports his body. What are the disciplines for the spiritual life?  They [...]

You become what you give your attention to. We are distracting ourselves into spiritual oblivion. Love and hurry are fundamentally incompatible. Problem: The greatest enemy of our spiritual growth is busyness Comer meets with John Ortberg, a California-based pastor and writer, who shares a story about Dallas Williard, who was a philosopher and spiritual leader at USC: But behind the scenes [Ortberg] felt like he was getting sucked into the vortex of megachurch insanity.  So, he calls up Willard and asks, “What do I need to do to become the me I want to be?” There’s a long silence on [...]

Summary: this book is about idolatry.  “The human heart is a perpetual factory of idols.”  John Calvin.  It’s not a matter of do we have idols, it’s what are they and how do we put God back in first place.  Which idol is God’s biggest rival in your life?  What we worship shapes who we are. The human heart is a perpetual factory of idols.  John Calvin Idolatry is when I look to something that does not have God’s power to give me what only God has the power and authority to give. Idolatry isn’t simply a sin.  It’s what [...]

Surely the most needless tragedy in the body of Christ is bored Christians.  Following Jesus is the wildest ride on earth.  It’s time we took off the seat belts. I reckon this: the idol of the nice god, the safe god, has done more damage to biblical faith—more damage to people coming to faith—than the caricature of the tyrant god ever did.  The despotic god, howling his rage, wielding punishment with both ransacking destruction and surgical precision, at least inspired something in us.  We were afraid.  We wanted to appease.  But the Milqestoast-Pampering deity is nothing but a cosmic lackey, [...]

Wise people build their lives around what is eternal and squeeze in what is temporary.  Not the other way around. This is our predicament.  Over and over again, we lose sight of what is important and what isn’t. We all want God, Anne Lamott writes, but left to our own devices, we seek all the worldly things—possessions, money, looks, and power—because we think they will bring us fulfillment.  But this turns out to be a joke, because they are just props, and when we check out of this life, we have to give them all back to the great prop [...]

Brother Lawrence developed the habit of continual conversation with God.  Whether at prayer or at work, it became his practice to focus his heart and mind on God, thanking Him, praising Him, and asking for His grace to do whatever had to be done.  And if he allowed himself to forget God, he confessed that to Him, drawing his thoughts back to God, like wayward children. We must always keep our eyes on God and His glory in all we do, say or undertake.  May the goal toward which we strive be to become perfect worshippers of God in this [...]

It is unlikely that we will deepen our relationship with God in a casual or haphazard manner. In a sense, each of us chooses a “spiritual strategy” whether or not we are intentional about it.  We can choose it by default. Every once in a while do something good and make sure no one finds out about it. For many of us the great danger is not that we will renounce our faith.  It is that we will become so distracted and rushed and preoccupied that we will settle for a mediocre version of it. The strongest argument for Christianity [...]

Teenagers imagine they’re independent thinkers.  But all of their decisions are influenced by the group.  Once we get them on the river of peer influence, the current does the rest.  The adults aren’t any better.  They live their lives enslaved to others’ opinions and oblivious to the Enemy’s (God). I favor anything that makes them ignore the Enemy’s fundamental teaching: one life on earth, followed by one death, followed by one judgment and one eternal sentence. “Put on the whole armor of God” the Enemy commands them.  He provides it, but the good news is, they have to put it [...]

The idea behind The Hole in Our Gospel is quite simple.  It’s basically the belief that being a Christian, or follower of Jesus Christ, requires much more than just having a personal and transforming relationship with God.  It also entails a public and transforming relationship with the world.  If your personal faith in Christ has no positive outward expression, then your faith—and mine—has a hole in it. James 2:14-18: What good is it my brothers if a man claims to have faith but has no deeds?  Can such faith save him?  Suppose a brother or sister is without clothes and [...]

“Christianity has not so much been tried and found wanting, as it has been found difficult and left untried.”  GK Chesterton We are saved by grace alone, however, grace does not mean that sufficient strength and insight will be automatically infused into our being in the moment of need. Why do faithful church members sometimes not grow to maturity in Christ?  We have somehow encouraged a separation of our faith from everyday life. An individuals character is nothing but the pattern of habitual ways in which that person comports his body. What are the disciplines for the spiritual life?  They [...]