“Being in the inner circle with Jesus may make you egotistical and arrogant if you focus on the benefits of the relationship rather than sharing the good news of God in deed and word to everyone in your path.”
What We’re Meant to Do
“I was certain about pursuing a Doctor of Ministry degree. That certainty transformed into and remained a certainty of what I was supposed to do, what I was to return to doing and being. For a particular reason? That’s not the right question right now.”
They Knew He Would
Mark 7: 24-37 During the presidency of Jimmy Carter, Menachem Begin, the prime minister of Israel, visited the president at the White House. They were talking in the Oval Office when Begin noticed the three phones on Carter’s desk. One was platinum, one was red, and one was gold. Begin joked, “What are those phones…
Have You Washed Your Hands?
“A pastor’s small son was told by his mother that he should WASH HIS HANDS because there were germs living in all that dirt. He refused and complained, ‘Germs and Jesus! Germs and Jesus! That’s all I ever hear around here, and I’ve haven’t seen either one!'”
Where Would We Go?
“‘Lord, to whom can we go? You have the words of eternal life.’ I once heard a preacher put it this way: ‘WHEN YOU SPEAK, WE COME ALIVE INSIDE.’ Peter knew there was nowhere else to go and no one else to go to. When Jesus speaks, we come alive inside. Peter then made his confession like he did in the other gospels in Caesarea Philippi, ‘You are the Holy One of God (the Christ, the Son of the living God).'”
Why Not Remain and Learn?
“Turning away from him, ignoring his words because they’re just too hard to understand is not profitable, not life-sustaining. IF YOU DON’T GET IT TODAY, HANG AROUND. You might get it tomorrow. He said his words were Spirit, the very Spirit of God, and life eternal. Good luck finding such stuff like that somewhere else.”
Into Our Predicament
“God is very intentional, very active. God comes, God reveals, and God acts on our behalf. Amid God’s actions, there is something that begins to take place. We begin to believe that God’s activity is for our benefit, AND WE BECOME ACTIVE, AS WELL.”
God Cares (Comes Down)
“Do you know what it is when only God can help?”
Who Has Authority?
“When we want God to hear our pleas for our flesh and blood enemies to be destroyed by divine action, it ought to make sense for us now that God is not likely to answer such pleas.”
Under Conviction
“I was desperate to experience the goodness of God in the churches I pastored. They prayed for me. I entered that lunch date desperate. I left that restaurant under conviction.”
Psalm 102 in The Message 