Some More Food For Thought

I have some more quotes saved in my phone that I'd like to put up. I'm still trying to get my thoughts together for my next blog post, so this is all I have for now.

In case you didn't read or don't remember, a couple blog posts ago I shared some of the things I've been reading lately that challenged me. This is what I've collected since then. I hope these provokes as much thought for you as they have for me.

"A thousand voices clamor for our attention, and a thousand causes vie for our support. but until we have learned to be satisfied with fellowship with God, until He is our rock and our fortress, we will be restless with our place in the world." ~ Erwin W. Lutzer.

I thought this was a profound insight into the plight of our culture. Even in the Christian culture, I think we become so invested in the various and popular "movements" circulating around that we end up ignoring the Man who laid down His life for relationship with us. And it is only when we learn how to live within that relationship that we begin to have real impact.

"The Son of Man came to seek and to save what was lost." ~ Luke 19:10

Something about this really stood out to me as I read it. It's another verse that I've heard a thousand times, but something about the heart of God was peeking out from behind the letters on the page, and I noticed it in a way I never had before. If this is why the Son of Man came, then shouldn't it be what I am about? And not with the reluctant attitude of a law-abider, but with the genuine passion and love of a father seeking out his child.

"But we are not of those who shrink back and are destoryed, but of those who believe and are saved." ~ Hebrews 10:39

What more is there to say? This is the boldness that we're meant to operate in. What if all Christians actually did? I'm pretty sure things would look different. I know I would.

"The difference (between the rich young ruler and Zaccheus) was that one saw how much he had to lose. The other saw how much he had to gain." ~ Beth Moore

This made me wonder whose attitude I tend to adopt. When God invites me to a deeper level of relationship with him, am I more likely to see it as an interruption of my routine or as an opportunity to delve into the very purpose of my existence?

"When you wake up, WAKE UP! It's healthy!" ~ Maria, The Sound of Music

It's kind of funny that I took it from a musical, but I really do think it's a great quote. In the same way that we may be walking around in bondage despite being made free, I think we sometimes go weeks or months at a time without "waking up," despite being awake. Even though this quote wasn't written in that context, it is a good reminder for me.

"How tragic that we in this dark day have had our seeking done for us by our teachers." ~ A.W. Tozer

This is hugely challenging for me. I don't want to be someone who lives off of secondhand knowledge. I want to encounter for myself, in addition to benefiting from my teachers' experience.

"In the last days, God says, I will pour out my Spirit on all people. Your sons and daughters will prophesy, your young men will see visions, your old men will dream dreams." ~ Acts 2:17

I love this. It isn't a theory, it isn't a wish, it's the author's revelation of what will happen. I think we're going to start seeing a lot more of this in the church. I'm excited to watch how God moves through His people during this season of history.

"Now we read the (Bible) as the record of what God said when He was for a brief time in a speaking mood. ...The facts are that God is not silent, has never been silent. It is the nature of God to speak." ~ A.W. Tozer

How incredible it is that we serve a God who still speaks. We're not solely dependent on the Bible, written thousands of years ago. He is always revealing Himself. I just don't always listen.

"Christ's ultimate goal in any work He assigns to us isto reveal Himself, either through us or to us." ~ Beth Moore

I read this on a day that I was feeling burnt out. I had been working a lot of hours and as much as I loved what I was doing, I was also tired of the day-in, day-out routine of it all. But when I read this, I was reminded that everything I do has purpose. God wants to reveal Himself to the people I deal with, and He can use me to do that. And He will reveal Himself to me through them if I open my eyes to it.

"The Sermon on the Mount cuts across differences of temperatment and variations in capacity. It outlines the kind of character which is possible for any man, gifted or relatively ungifted, strong or weak, clever or slow." ~ J.B. Phillips

I wonder how many people disqualify themselves from relationship with Christ because they don't think they could ever "measure up." And yet, that is the beauty of what Jesus has offered us. There is no qualifier. We can't do anything to earn or lose what we've been given. On the same note, the very nature of the gift negates any excuse we may make as to why we don't really want to operate in it.

And that's all for now. I have more quotes on my phone, but this already seems long. I'm hoping to put up another post within this next week, but I hope that at least one of these excerpts provided you with something to ponder on until then.