“Were not our hearts burning within us while he talked with us on the road and opened the Scriptures to us?” — Luke 24:32
When Christians sing together, we don’t just do so because it’s what the church has always done (although it is, 1 Cor. 14:26) or because God commands us to (although he does, Ps. 96:1). We also sing because we are the army of God, and that’s what victorious armies do.
Read the full article at The Resurgence.
0 
0 The church becomes irrelevant when it becomes purely a human creation. We are not all we were made to be when everything in our lives and churches can be explained apart from the work and presence of the Spirit of God.
…this is the question I just can’t get around: If it’s true that the Spirit of God dwells in us and that our bodies are the Holy Spirit’s temple, then shouldn’t there be a huge difference between the person who has the Spirit of God living inside of him or her and the person who does not?
My brothers and sisters who have received the Holy Spirit, we often lack love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, etc., even while many of our unbelieving friends exhibit these traits—brothers and sisters, these things ought not to be so!
—Forgotten God: Reversing Our Tragic Neglect of the Holy Spirit by Francis Chan
0 0 …when we love God, we obey him. The moralist doesn’t operate that way. While true obedience is a result of love, moralistic legalism assumes it works the other way around, that love results from obedience. From the standpoint of moralistic legalism, root issues aren’t of utmost importance; appearing obedient is. The moralist is far more interested in external actions, which still gives sin quarters in his heart. Moralistic, therapeutic deism is fine with sin hiding in a foxhole. The gospel wants to nuke the hole. As long as bad behavior is not visible or tangible, the moralist will tolerate some of what Jerry Bridges calls “respectable sins.” A moralist is not on the hunt; he’s not aggressively seeking to destroy that which is evil in him but is content to simply wash his hands.
—The Explicit Gospel, by Matt Chandler
0 0 I just finished reading Joshua Harris’ book Dug Down Deep. I like to think of it as coffeehouse systematic theology. Easy to read, but deep in truth.
Saint Peter writes,
…but in your hearts honor Christ the Lord as holy, always being prepared to make a defense to anyone who asks you for a reason for the hope that is in you; yet do it with gentleness and respect…
(1 Peter 3:15)
Joshua certainly does this, making clear the major tenets of Christianity, weaving his own journey of the Christian faith into it, and leaving us with a fine example to follow in how we answer those who ask about the faith we hold—knowledgeable & firm, yet humble and loving.
He makes a lot of great points along the way which I, of course, highlighted and will share with you all. However, since I bought the physical book instead of the Kindle version, transferring those to the blog was a bit more time-consuming, and I wasn’t able to share them all. But that’s ok because you’re going to read the book for yourself anyways, right?
Here’s the promo for the book from joshharris.com. The quotes I highlighted are after the jump.
Read all the quotes I highlighted
0 0 We’re all theologians. The question is whether what we know about God is true.
— Dug Down Deep: Unearthing What I Believe and Why It Matters by Joshua Harris
0 0 …thinking is not at the expense of feeling or delighting or loving. Both are essential to being human, and both are essential to glorifying God. And, while it is true that mind and heart are mutually enlivening, it is also clear that the mind is mainly the servant of the heart. That is, the mind serves to know the truth that fuels the fires of the heart. The apex of glorifying God is enjoying him with the heart. But this is an empty emotionalism where that joy is not awakened and sustained by true views of God for who he really is. That is mainly what the mind is for.
— Think: The Life of the Mind and the Love of God by John Piper
0 0 Books enlarge us by giving direct access to experiences not our own. In order for this to work, however, we need a certain type of silence, an ability to filter out the noise. Such a state is increasingly elusive in our over-networked culture, in which every rumor and mundanity is blogged and tweeted. Today, it seems it is not contemplation we seek but an odd sort of distraction masquerading as being in the know. Why? Because of the illusion that illumination is based on speed, that it is more important to react than to think, that we live in a culture in which something is attached to every bit of time.
–David L. Ulin, The Lost Art of Reading, Los Angeles Times, August 9, 2009 (http://lat.ms/uKODC)
0 0 Religion says, “You must impress God,” but the Gospel says, “Jesus impressed God for you.” Religion says, “Perfect yourself and God will be happy.” The Gospel says, “We are all imperfect people, but Christians cling to a perfect Christ who obtains the pleasure of God for them.” The Gospel is good news, but religion is burdensome news. Religion tells us to perform for God, but the gospel reminds us that Jesus has performed perfectly on our behalf. The Gospel is not religion.
– Jonathan Dodson, Acts 29 Pastor, Austin, TX (http://bit.ly/mOCDfe)
0 0 If man’s hunger proves he inhabits a world where food exists, my desire for Paradise is a good indication it exists.
—C.S. Lewis
0 0