Category Archives: Quotes & Excerpts

Gratefulness: small is actually big.

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“Only he who gives thanks for little things receives the big things.

We prevent God from giving us the great spiritual gifts He has in store for us, because we do not give thanks for daily gifts.

We think we dare not be satisfied with the small measure of spiritual knowledge, experience, and love that has been given to us, and that we must constantly be looking forward eagerly for the highest good. Then we deplore the fact that we lack the deep certainty, the strong faith, and the rich experience that God has given to others, and we consider this lament to be pious.

We pray for the big things and forget to give thanks for the ordinary, small (and yet really not small) gifts.

How can God entrust great things to one who will not thankfully receive from Him the little things?”
—Dietrich Bonhoeffer in Life Together

[Via Ann Voskamp]

 

Blessed self-forgetfulness & the desire to change.

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What are the marks of a super-naturally changed heart?

This is one of the questions the apostle Paul address as he writes to the church in Corinth. He takes aim at the blessings of self-forgetfulness in 1st Corinthians 3:21-4:7. He’s after a deep-rooted, life-altering change on the inside, that brings about much greater joy than some superficial outward tinkering will (as our best self-help efforts can only hope for).

In an age were people-pleasing, puffing up your ego, and building your resume are seen as the methods to ‘make it,’ the apostle Paul calls us to find true rest in God, through blessed self-forgetfulness.

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“The more we get to understand the Gospel, the more we want to change. Friends, wouldn’t you want to be a person who does not need honor — nor is afraid of it? Someone who does not lost for recognition — nor, on the other hand, is frightened to death of it? Don’t you want to be the kind of person who, when they see themselves in a mirror or reflected in a shop window, does not cringe either? Wouldn’t you like to be the type of person who, in their imaginary life, does not sit around fantasizing about hitting self-esteem home-runs, daydreaming about successes that gives them the edge over others? Or perhaps you tend to beat yourself up and to be tormented by regrets. Wouldn’t you like to be free from them? …
You will probably say that you do not know anybody like that. But that is the possibility for you and me if we keep on going where Paul is going [in 1 Corinthians 3:21-4:7]. I can start to enjoy things that are not about me…
This is gospel-humility, blessed self-forgetfulness. Not thinking more of myself as in modern cultures, or less of myself as in traditional cultures. Simply thinking of myself less.”
—Tim Keller, The Freedom of Self-Forgetfulness: The Path to True Christian Joy, pp. 34-36.

 

25 years ago today: Tear down this wall!

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U.S. President Ronald Reagan speaking in front of the Brandenburg Gate at the Berlin Wall

25 years ago today: “Tear down this wall!” was the challenge issued by United States President Ronald Reagan to Soviet leader Mikhail Gorbachev to destroy the Berlin Wall, in a speech at the Brandenburg Gate near the Berlin Wall on June 12, 1987, commemorating the 750th anniversary of Berlin.

Remember what Reagan said on his second visit to Berlin?

“We welcome change and openness; for we believe that freedom and security go together, that the advance of human liberty can only strengthen the cause of world peace. There is one sign the Soviets can make that would be unmistakable, that would advance dramatically the cause of freedom and peace. General Secretary Gorbachev, if you seek peace, if you seek prosperity for the Soviet Union and eastern Europe, if you seek liberalization, come here to this gate. Mr. Gorbachev, open this gate. [applause]

Mr. Gorbachev, Mr. Gorbachev, tear down this wall!”

Reagan challenged Gorbachev, who was then the General Secretary of the Communist Party of the Soviet Union, to tear it down as an emblem of Gorbachev’s desire to increase freedom in the Eastern Bloc through glasnost (“transparency”) and perestroika (“restructuring”).

Later in the speech Reagan added, “The wall will fall. Beliefs become reality.”

Peter Robinson, the White House wordsmith who drafted the address, said its most famous line was inspired by a conversation with Ingeborg Elz of West Berlin who had remarked in a conversation with him, “If this man Gorbachev is serious with his talk of Glasnost and perestroika he can prove it by getting rid of this wall.”

Built in 1961, the Berlin Wall became known as a symbol of communist oppression.

Twenty-nine months after Reagan’s speech, on November 9, 1989, after increasing public unrest, East Germany finally opened the Berlin Wall. By the end of the year, official operations to dismantle the wall began. With the collapse of the Communist governments of Eastern Europe and, eventually, the Soviet Union itself, the tearing down of the wall epitomized the collapse for history. In September 1990, Reagan, no longer President, returned to Berlin, where he personally took a few symbolic hammer swings at a remnant of the Berlin Wall.

Source: Wikipedia; thanks to my friend Malcolm for reminding me of this great day.

 

 

All their Good.

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Many people love Jesus for what He can do for them. The Redeemed learn to love Jesus for Who He is.

“The redeemed have all their objective good in God. God Himself is the great good which they are brought to the possession and enjoyment of by redemption. He is the highest good, and the sum of all that good which Christ purchased. God is the inheritance of the saints; He is the portion of their souls.
God is their wealth and treasure, their food, their life, their dwelling place, their ornament and diadem, and their everlasting honor and glory. they have none in heaven but God; He is the great good which the redeemed are received to at death, and which they are to rise to at the end of the world.”
—Jonathan Edwards

Are you in love with the idea of a better life … or are you in love with Jesus?

Quoted by Pastor Joel Dombrow, “Jesus Life”
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Giving thanks in times of trouble. (When you need God’s justice.)

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Each day has it’s own trouble. Our worries could come true, our fears take form. Yet, I think it is only those who can look over the landscape of their troubles and put a name to them who can personally plead for vindication.

It goes from, “Why is this happening to me?” (anxiety over circumstances) to “Lord, be my Protector, Provider, and Strength. You are my Justice.” It becomes personal. It begins with a twinge of moralism — since I’ve lived such a “good” life why has this bad come my way? — and leads through confession to redemption. I think it is harder to confess our faults when a clear enemy is out there hoping for our downfall. When we think we are in the right and cannot see our contribution to the problem.

When your troubles have a name — an enemy in flesh and blood — and you pour out your whole heart to God, you can miraculously shift from being mad at your enemy to being mad for them.

This only happens through the Grace of God, and it doesn’t just “happen.” Jesus is the Grace of God in human form. He loved His enemies to the end, not being mad at them, but being mad for them. (“Father, forgive them, for they know not what they do.”)
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Take it off-line.

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In many ways, email is still inferior to pen and paper. One reason is we’re constantly responding to email, while with a pen and paper we get to create, charting the course of our words.

From a post on Lifehacker, warning of email’s cunning little ways. The end:

Many of us wage a constant battle against distraction. Rather fewer of us, I suspect, make very careful, conscious choices about when to be online and when not to be. This is a shame, because it doesn’t take much introspection to realize that some things are simply much easier to do when online, while other things are much easier to do when offline. That difference calls for a deliberate exercise of choice; most of us allow circumstances to make the choice for us.
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In 3 words.

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Yesterday’s post on pragmatism may have struck a cord.

When we turn from pragmatism as our way to use God, we transition from trusting God for things to trusting God with our lives. This seems like a subtle shift, yet it makes a world of difference.

We still trust God for keeping His promises, as our hopes are rooted in the foundation of His faithfulness. He will not let us down. The key change is that we quit holding our hopes over Him. (Do this for me or else!) Instead we remind Him of all He surely has promised in His Word. Everything else is held with open hands, as we trust God with the changing circumstances, relationships, and opportunities that come our way. Example: Let’s say you are longing for a home to own. Are you trusting God for a home … or trusting God with a home? One has clenched fists, the other has open hands of faith.

  • Shift from these three words: trusting God for …
  • To these: trusting God with …

Along those lines, this quote came my way yesterday:

“The utter uniqueness of the Christian message — the heart of the gospel — is found in the three words of Christ from the cross, ‘It is finished’ (John 19:30). The message of every other religious system, without exception, is predicated on some variation of another three words, which stand starkly opposed to the gospel’s three words.
Religion’s three words are: ‘Get to work.’ And this is the heart of the bad news behind every approach to spirituality, enlightenment, or salvation that is not Christian.”
— Jared C. Wilson, Gospel Wakefulness (Wheaton, Ill.: Crossway Books, 2011), 131.

Let’s exchange one set of three words for the better set.

(Quote via Of First Importance)

 

The end of ourselves: there’s a way out.

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This weekend my wife gave me a great gift. She cleaned my office without asking me permission. She knew the shared joy of a refreshed space — where I meet with people, and clutter is not so inviting — is better than my preference to work on it myself.

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In years past I might of gotten upset at her for moving things around (and throwing some away) without first asking me. Yet, she has permission to rearrange things in my life.

My wife knows there is no area in my life I desire to be hidden from her, so she can search into any nook and cranny she wants. I also trust her to do what’s best for me. When and where I am weak (e.g., organizing my office, keeping it tidy), she can be strong. And vice versa.

With a good friend like that, there’s always a way out of your predicaments. She gave me a way out of my mess. Who have you given permission to help you get out of yours?

We must get to the end of ourselves and grant permission for others to help us grow.

Reminds me of a greater truth.

Do you believe it? Do you live in this grace?

Grace is much more than a concept, and believing in grace, and salvation, and even believing in God and Jesus will not change your life — unless you give Him permission to start moving things around. You hand Him all your guilt and shame, and keep giving Him your pain. He offers you His life: freedom, forgiveness, healing, hope, wholeness.

Let me ask you:

Is Jesus now saving you from sin? From its power and presence, as well as its penalty.

For the grace of God has appeared, bringing salvation for all people, training us to renounce ungodliness and worldly passions, and to live self-controlled, upright, and godly lives in the present age, waiting for our blessed hope, the appearing of the glory of our great God and Savior Jesus Christ, who gave himself for us to redeem us from all lawlessness and to purify for himself a people for his own possession who are zealous for good works.
—Titus 2:11-14

 

Know the one Good Story so well you (& your kids) can recognize strands of truth & deception.

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“We want our kids to know the one good story so well that when they see Luke Skywalker, Harry Potter, Frodo, Anne of Green Gables, Ariel, or Sleeping Beauty, they can recognize the strands of truth and deception in them.”

—Elyse Fitzpatrick and Jessica Thompson, Give Them Grace: Dazzling Your Kids with the Love of Jesus, page 120.

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Illustration by Karalee Reinke, via her husband Tony.

 

Intimacy requires courage. (Not becoming emotional introverts.)

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Last weekend I spoke at our men’s retreat on becoming godly, spiritual leaders. We took aim at three profiles after setting the groundwork of the Gospel:

  1. FACE DOWN: A Kingdom & a King (Isaiah 6:1-13) [Friday night]
  2. UNLIKELY WARRIORS: unashamed courage (2 Timothy 1:1-12) [Saturday morning]
  3. CULTIVATORS: borrowed creativity (2 Timothy 1:13-14; 2:1-7, 14-26) [Saturday night]
  4. WISE MEN: beyond smarts & cynicism (2 Timothy 3:1-17) [Sunday morning]

Though I did not reference the quote below, it strikes a chord with the tone we set on working hard to courageous build intimacy with others:

Life’s hardships give us a unique perspective. Our relationships grow deeper as we become more honest. “Often, the very part of ourselves that we are most embarrassed by or feel most vulnerable about is the exact gift others need from us,” writes Phileena Heuertz in her book Pilgrimage of a Soul. “Regardness, embracing parts of ourselves is crucial to intimacy.”

Speaking the unsaid isn’t always the verbalizing of our deep feelings. It also takes form in the simple loving expressions capable of breathing new life into our grayed relationships, life-giving expressions, with the power to comfort and heal. Phrases like “please forgive me” or “I love you” or “I’m so proud of you” or “you are special to me” can break down stiff barriers, invite intimacy, and make our brokenness relatable. These actions and words act as steppingstones that lead us to the deeper healing we all want and need, a deeper love.

20120509-070857.jpgAll of which requires a heavy portion of work. As a result, we oftentimes like the idea of getting close to others than the reality of it. Fear stands in our way. We fear rejection. We fear losing the relationship. Afraid of intimacy, our interactions barely scratch the surface, our deeper feelings left alone.

A relationship of intimacy requires courage, the ability to look past uncertainty and see what could be. Courage looks beyond our fears and permits us to express feelings that lead us toward intimacy. It requires courage, for example, to confess to your wife that the distance in your relationship is driving you toward depression or even an affair. It requires courage to loving tell your friend that she’s headed for a fall with her family if she doesn’t make serious changes in her work life. It requires courage to admit and to confront. But “the wounds from a lover are worth it” (Proverbs 27:6).
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In Tenderness.

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Listen in & sing along:

In Tenderness He Sought Me

1 In tenderness He sought me,
Weary and sick with sin,
And on His shoulders brought me
Back to His fold again.
While angels in His presence sang
Until the courts of heaven rang.

Chorus:
O the love that sought me!
O the blood that bought me!
O the grace that brought me to the fold,
Wondrous grace that brought me to the fold!

2 He washed the bleeding sin wounds
And poured in oil and wine;
He whispered to assure me,
“I’ve found thee, thou art Mine;”
I never heard a sweeter voice;
It made my aching heart rejoice! (Chorus)
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Too busy not to rest.

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Are you really busy?

I hear it all the time, “I know you’re really busy …” and “You must be so busy …” Thankfully, the first quarter of 2012 has been less busy for our family. No less to do, no fewer commitments, and no less pressure, but we’ve enjoyed a renewed commitment to finding the Spirit’s rhythm for our shared life. On facet of this is returning to sabbath rest.

I’ve mentioned the meaning of Sabbath rest before. It signifies more than a weekly day off. Here’s another dimension for how we can live out the implications of God’s design for our taking time to rest each week:

“The purpose of Sabbath rest is not simply to rejuvenate yourself in order to do more production, not is it the pursuit of pleasure. The purpose of Sabbath is to enjoy your God, life in general, what you have accomplished in the world through His help, and the freedom you have in the Gospel – the freedom from slavery to any material object or human expectation. The Sabbath is a sign of the hope that we have in the world to come.”
—Timothy Keller

J.R. Vassar writes on Sabbath rest [an excerpt]:

“The real issue of Sabbath is this: When it comes to the ultimate issue of life, being fully forgiven and accepted by God, our only hope is to cease from our work and trust in His work for us in Jesus. We are not saved by our efforts; we cannot earn our acceptance before God. Our works are not sufficient. We must cease from our efforts and trust in God’s provision. We must rest in Christ and his finished work for us. If we can rest in Christ for the ultimate issue of our life, can we not rest in Him for a day?”

 

Be convinced of this:

While we rest in Him, God works.