December Quotes 2011

As the old year has ended and the New Year has begun,  I thought I would post my favorite quotes for the month of December.

From Ann Voscamp of the blog Holy Experience, December 15, 2011
“If my life isn’t cross centered, my life is off centered.”
“Grace is my gravity and the cross is my Cosmos.”

From Tim Sinclair in his book Branded
“Christians often try to change a person’s culture rather than let God change her heart.  We try to force others to act like us, with the hope that they’ll eventual believe like us. That’s entirely backward.  Heart changes lead to a change in actions, not the other way around.”
“The Jesus “Brand” is faltering because Christians-those of us who are supposed to be the most passionate about Him-have decided to take the easy way out.  We have decided to mass market our Savior, rather than take the time to develop trusting friendships.  Christianity is not something that can effectively be sold to the masses.  It is not something that can be hawked from afar.”

The Intro to Revelation in the Message (Eugene Peterson)
“Worship shapes the human community in response to the living God.  If worship is neglected or perverted, our communities fall in chaos or under tyranny.  Our times are not propitious for worship.  The times never are.  The world is hostile to worship.  The Devil hates worship.  As The Revelation makes clear,worship must be carried out under conditions decidedly uncongenial to it.”

From Sacred Marriage  by Gary Thomas, p. 188
“God is always worthy of being obeyed and served, so when I act out of obedience to him, the person who receives my service doesn’t have to be deserving-they’re benefiting from the what I owe God.”

From Disciplined Life  ( Ebook short) by Calvin Miller
“Grace is the antidote to materialism.  Grace is never a show-off that calls attention to itself.”
“We must break the habit of treasuring our treasures and develop the habit of treasuring the abundance of God’s grace.”
“We must slow down and get quiet in our worship.  Why are we frightened of silence in evangelical churches?  When worship gets quiet, evangelicals get fidgety……. Evangelicals need to learn that to be quiet before God is to see Him.  But God does not meet with us in the silence so that he can produce something in our lives.  There is nothing to produce.  These silences do not exist to create product but to bless us with authenticity.”

From II Corinthians 1:8b,9 from the NLT
“We were crushed and overwhelmed beyond our ability to endure, and we thought we would never live through it.  In fact, we expected to die.  But as a result, we stopped relying on ourselves and learned to rely only on God, who raises the dead.”

From the Message, p.157 Luke chapter 6.
“To you who are ready for the truth, I say this: Love your enemies.  Let them bring out the best in you, not the worst.  When someone gives you a hard time, respond with the energies of prayer for that person.”

Dear God,  May I worship you in all circumstances remembering that one day I will get to worship before  your throne.  May I learn what it means to be quiet and let me hear your still small voice.   May I act as your child when I serve others whether they are friend or foe.  Most of all, help me to focus on the cross each day and the grace you give in abundance.  Amen


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