Archive for Quotes
The Most Important Thing About Us
Posted by: | CommentsI started a new book the other day by Mark Batterson, entitled, In a Pit with a Lion on a Snowy Day. A unique title no doubt. I have loved the book so far. It was recommended to me by two of my friends. After only three chapters, I know why.
At one point in the book, Batterson cites one of my all-time favorite quotes. It comes from Chapter 1 of A.W. Tozer’s The Knowledge of the Holy. As far as books on God’s attributes go, I wouldn’t put Tozer’s at the top. But as far as Chapter Ones in books go, Tozer’s is by far at the top of my list! In my opinion, his preface and first chapter are worth whatever price you pay for the book.
Anyhow, I couldn’t help but use Batterson’s citing of Tozer as an excuse to use Tozer’s words to get back into blogging. Who am I kidding? If I had been blogging twice a day for the last two years, I would have posted his words. In fact, I would venture to guess that this is not the last time you will see Tozer’s words on this blog. But without further adieu, Tozer writes,
What comes into our minds when we think about God is the most important thing about us.
The history of mankind will probably show that no people has ever risen above its religion, and man’s spiritual history will positively demonstrate that no religion has ever been greater than its idea of God. Worship is pure or base as the worshiper entertains high or low thoughts of God.
For this reason the gravest question before the Church (or for any particular individual I might add) is always God Himself, an the most portentous fact about any man is not what he at a given time may say or do, but what he in his deep heart conceives God to be like. We tend by a secret law of the soul to move toward our mental image of God. This is true not only of the individual Christian, but of the company of Christians that composes the Chruch. Always the most revealing thing about the Church is her idea of God, just as her most significant message is what she says about Him or leaves unsaid, for her silence is often more eloquent than her speech. She can never esape the self-disclosure of her witness concerning God.
Where we able to extract from any man a complete answer to the question, ‘What comes into your mind when you think about God?’ we might predict with certainty the spiritual future of that man. Were we able to know exactly what our most influential religious leaders think of God today, we might be able with some precision to foretell where the Church will stand tomorrow.
Come to Me
Posted by: | CommentsHere’s a true and very encouraging quote:
“Jesus does not say, ‘Come to me, all you who have learned how to concentrate in prayer, whose minds no longer wander, and I will give you rest.’ No, Jesus opens his arms to his needy children and says, ‘Come to me, all who are weary and heaven-laden, and I will give you rest.’
The criteria for coming to Jesus is messiness. Come overwhelmed with life. Come with your wandering mind. Come messy.”
—Paul Miller, A Praying Life
(HT: Of First Importance)
The Purpose of the Bible
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Here’s a good quote from one of my favorite preachers and authors, Tim Keller. I believe it is from his book, The Prodigal God, a book I cannot recommend highly enough for Christians or non-Christians.
The Bible’s purpose is not so much to show you how to live a good life. The Bible’s purpose is to show you how God’s grace breaks into your life against your will and saves you from the sin and brokenness otherwise you would never be able to overcome… religion is ‘if you obey, then you will be accepted’. But the Gospel is, ‘if you are absolutely accepted, and sure you’re accepted, only then will you ever begin to obey’. Those are two utterly different things. Every page of the Bible shows the difference.
(HT: First Importance)
Controlling the Inner Conversation
Posted by: | CommentsI read a chapter from Take Charge of Your Life this morning than reminded me of a quote from a preacher named Martyn Lloyd-Jones.
In Psalm 42, David says to himself,
“Why are you cast down, O my soul,
and why are you in turmoil within me?
Hope in God; for I shall again praise him,
my salvation and my God” (v. 5-6, 11).
Commenting on these verses, Lloyd Jones writes
“Have you realized that most of your unhappiness in life is due to the fact that you are listening to yourself instead of talking to yourself? Take those thoughts that come to you the moment you wake up in the morning. You have not originated them but they are talking to you, they bring back the problems of yesterday, etc. Somebody is talking. Who is talking to you? Your self is talking to you. Now this man’s treatment [in this Psalm] was this: instead of allowing this self to talk to him, he starts talking to himself. ‘Why art thou cast down, O my soul?’ he asks. His soul had been depressing him, crushing him. So he stands up and says: ‘Self, listen for moment, I will speak to you.’”
The secret of realistic, Bible-saturated self-talk is one that we would all do well to make our own, in every context of life. A conversation is going to happen inside no matter what, so we might as well make it take a positive and realistic turn. There is nothing better for this than the truths of Scripture. It takes effort, for sure, but it is well worth whatever the cost, because the rewards are so sweet in the end.
My goal today is to make sure I am in control of my inner conversation while on the basketball court today. I am certain to perform better on the court when I am in control of my inner thoughts. It doesn’t guarantee a great game, but it usually does guarantee that I won’t play plain terrible! I’ll let you know how it goes.
