Two great quotes

I came across two quotes I wanted to share with you. There is no apparent connection except that we, humans, when we are living according to the flesh (even religious flesh), do not represent who God is. It is an amazing and convicting statement that Paul gave us in Romans 14:23b, "For Whatever does not proceed from faith is sin" (ESV). ~Jon

"Our anger at political shifts in our culture has robbed us of the fundamental compassion of Christianity, compassion for all the lost. We have become selectively interested in lost souls. If they are of 'our kind,' then let's win them. If they are from the other side of the political spectrum, then it's judgment that they deserve. When is the last time we heard people praying for the lost soul of the doctor who runs that abortion clinic or the executive director of the local gay rights alliance? How many of our churches have ministries to AIDS victims seeking to effect a last-minute rescue of a life for eternal gain? Given our political frenzy, it seems that the church today is much more interested in 'search and destroy' than 'seek and save.' We are prone to be too long on mad and too short on mercy." - Joseph M. Stowell, Shepherding The Church, pg 59-60


"In the Twin Cities Marathon a few weeks ago one of the wheel chair participants had a blowout near the end of the race. But he kept going on the rim of his wheel, until five blocks from the finish line the wheel buckled and the chair fell over. Some people from the sidelines ran to him and held the chair level, running along beside him while he finished the race. They sustained him. They held him up. They enabled him to do what he needed to do. That's what grace does for us.

But the comparison is not exact. In fact it is very misleading. Because while the friends holding up the chair is a good picture of grace, it was the man's tremendous upper-body strength that got him across the finish line after 26 miles, and his friends had nothing to do with that. That strength came from him not them. But grace is not like that. Grace sustains everything in the Christian life. It holds up the broken chair. It gives the upper-body strength. It prevents other obstacles. It keeps his heart beating. It keeps his eyes seeing. Grace sustains everything in the Christian life." - John Piper, Sustained By All His Grace (sermon), http://www.desiringgod.org/

Strength for today

Here's a great Piper quote for today. ~Jon

"Often we feel today like our reservoir of strength is not going to last for another day. The fact is, it won't. Today's resources are for today, and part of those resources is the confidence that new resources will be given tomorrow."—John Piper, A Godward Life, p. 25.

Keys To Lasting Change

I read an article this morning in Billy Graham's Decision Magazine that intrigued me. It's called "Keys To Lasting Change" by Chip Ingram. It is an article written to help individuals who know God and love God, but have not been able to gain ground in overcoming sinful patterns in their lives. It is a great article and very helpful for individuals. But as I read, I realized that it is not only applicable to individuals, but churches, too. I think many local churches realize that they are not fulfilling God's design for them, just like many believers know this about their personal lives. The thing that hit me here is that it is not a quick fix, but a process that God leads us through. Be encouraged that the Holy Spirit will lead us into Christlike obedience and that obedience will be accompanied by the power necessary to accomplish all that God has planned for us. Hallelujah!

Praying for healing in Christ's Church,
~Jon

Here's the article link:
http://www.billygraham.org/DMag_article.asp?ArticleID=973