I've been doing some good reading lately.
Here are random quotes.
Here are random quotes.
Jennifer Barnett, First Freedoms
On entangling vines: "Green vines rapidly grow... we tugged and pulled, and used a chainsaw to rid our beloved trees of those vines... The know was the size of a grocery cart, and the vines extending from it were eighteen feet long. Let's just say, the vines did not give up easily. Spiritual entanglements look and feel much the same. They grab our attention and seem inviting - even life-giving- but before we know it, we are tangled up in them....
No one searches on social media looking for an old high school love in hopes of ruining their marriage. No one starts drinking socially in hopes of destroying their life with alcoholism....
Yes, we must repent. Yes, we have to want to get untangled. But often we get in over our heads and desperately need to be carried by the only One who is head over it all. We need his hands to untie us, to pick us up, to place us on his shoulders, and to carry us back to the flock. We cannot do it on our own" (121-123).
"Our flesh works the same way [as pulling weeds]. It requires daily and diligent maintenance to keep it from taking over.... Often the weeds of sin slowly take over, and when we realize this, we attempt to cover them up and hide. Then we painstakingly try to pull all the weeds out on our own" (132).
Keith Miller, Habitation of Dragons, pg 54-55.
"I have often avoided things I really wanted to do, just because they were difficult....
Joy does not usually come from the trouble-free and effortless periods of life. Rather, joy seems to be distilled from a strange mixture of challenge, risk, and hope."
"I have often avoided things I really wanted to do, just because they were difficult....
Joy does not usually come from the trouble-free and effortless periods of life. Rather, joy seems to be distilled from a strange mixture of challenge, risk, and hope."
On worship: "Come rested and refreshed.... don't stay up until 2:00 a.m. on Saturday and then wonder why you can't focus during the sermon.... Come with joyful expectancy... God will be present, the Holy Spirit will be at work.... God does not merely suggest or hope that we praise Him; he calls us to sing songs of worship. Even if you don't like your voice, you can be sure that God loves it. He made you, including your vocal chords, and he delights when you sing to him.... [In worship] God performs spiritual surgery to cure us of our myopia, and we see the world through his eyes, not ours" (65-68).
On prayer: "Every follower of Jesus needs to learn how to recognize the way the Holy Spirit speaks, prompts, and directs" (89).
