The little things
Do you aspire to great things? Begin with little ones.Augustine
the assault on our heart
It is simply diabolical, despicable, downright evil that the heart should be so misunderstood, maligned, feared, and dismissed. But there is our clue again. The war we are in would explain so great a loss. This is the last thing the Enemy wants you to know. His plan from the beginning was to assault the heart, just as the Wicked Witch did to the Tin Woodman. Make them so busy, they ignore the heart. Wound them so deeply, they don’t want a heart. Twist their theology, so they despise the heart. Take away their courage. Destroy their creativity. Make intimacy with God impossible for them. Of course your heart would be the object of a great and fierce battle. It is your most precious possession. Without your heart you cannot have God. Without your heart you cannot have love. Without your heart you cannot have faith. Without your heart you cannot find the work you were meant to do. In other words, without your heart you cannot have life. The question is, Did Jesus keep his promise? What has he done for our hearts? The answer will astound you. (Waking the Dead , pp 51–52)John Eldredge
the odd thing about odds
Too often our prayers revolve around asking God to reduce the odds in our lives. We want everything in our favor. But maybe God wants to stack the odds against us so we can experience a miracle of divine proportions. Maybe faith is trusting God no matter how impossible the odds are. Maybe our impossible situations are opportunities to experience a new dimension of God's glory. (In a Pit with a Lion on a Snowy Day)Mark Batterson
the sacred romance
UnknownJohn Eldredge
A love affair of the heart
For above all else, the Christian life is a love affair of the heart. It cannot be lived primarily as a set of principles or ethics. It cannot be managed with steps and programs. It cannot be lived exclusively as a moral code leading to righteousness. In response to a religious expert who asked him what he must do to obtain real life, Jesus asked a question in return:
“What is written in the Law? . . . How do you read it?” He answered: “‘Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your strength and with all your mind’; and, ‘Love your neighbor as yourself.’”
“You have answered correctly,” Jesus replied. “Do this and you will live.” (Luke 10:26–28, emphasis added)
The truth of the gospel is intended to free us to love God and others with our whole heart. When we ignore this heart aspect of our faith and try to live out our religion solely as correct doctrine or ethics, our passion is crippled, or perverted, and the divorce of our soul from the heart purposes of God toward us is deepened.
(John Eldredge, The Sacred Romance, 8)
proverbs 16.9
A verse I read on the plane Saturday — a great thought to keep me grounded (no pun intended) in my thinking about the future:
A man’s heart plans his way, But the LORD directs his steps. Prov 16.9
Came across the same verse once again today. Seems like God wants to keep this fresh in my mind! Regardless of how my heart plans out the future, God ultimately directs my steps. He leads me from where I’m at right now to where I will be. He draws the map. It’s up to me to just keep walking the path.
generosity
I hate the giving of the hand unless the whole man accompanies it.Ralph Waldo Emerson