The verses, quotes, and ideas posted below are what rattle around in my brain day in and day out. Together they lay the foundation of my convictions and worldview.
So God created man in his own image, in the image of God he created him; male and female he created them.
-Genesis 1:27
Hear, O Israel: The LORD our God, the LORD is one. Love the LORD your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your strength.
-Deuteronomy 6:4-5
For the eyes of the LORD range throughout the earth to strengthen those whose hearts are fully committed to him.
-2 Chronicles 16:9
A father to the fatherless, a defender of widows, is God in his holy dwelling.
-Psalm 68:5
Will you not revive us again, that your people may rejoice in you?
-Psalm 85:6
Behold, I will create new heavens and a new earth. The former things will not be remembered, nor will they come to mind.
-Isaiah 65:17
Now this was the sin of your sister Sodom: She and her daughters were arrogant, overfed and unconcerned; they did not help the poor and needy. They were haughty and did detestable things before me. Therefore I did away with them as you have seen.
-Ezekiel 16:49-50
In the time of those kings, the God of heaven will set up a kingdom that will never be destroyed, nor will it be left to another people. It will crush all those kingdoms and bring them to an end, but it will itself endure forever.
-Daniel 2:44
Jesus went throughout Galilee, teaching in their synagogues, preaching the good news of the kingdom, and healing every disease and sickness among the people.
-Matthew 4:23
The Spirit of the Lord is on me, because he has anointed me to preach good news to the poor. He has sent me to proclaim freedom for the prisoners and recovery of sight for the blind, to release the oppressed, to proclaim the year of the Lord’s favor.
-Luke 4:18-19
Jesus answered, “I am the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me.
-John 14:6
For we are God’s workmanship, created in Christ Jesus to do good works, which God prepared in advance for us to do.
-Ephesians 2:10
I want to know Christ and the power of his resurrection and the fellowship of sharing in his sufferings, becoming like him in his death, and so, somehow, to attain to the resurrection from the dead.
-Philipians 3:10-11
Religion that God our Father accepts as pure and faultless is this: to look after orphans and widows in their distress and to keep oneself from being polluted by the world.
-James 1:27
When Christ calls a man, He bids him come and die.
-Bonhoeffer, Cost of Discipleship
He who loves his dream of a community more than the Christian community itself becomes a destroyer of the latter, even though his personal intentions may be ever so honest and earnest and sacrificial
-Bonhoeffer, Life Together (Harper, 1954), p. 27
The street is your pulpit.
-Kirk Franklin
By loving the unlovable, You made me lovable.
-Augustine
The thought of you stirs him so deeply that he cannot be content unless he praises you, because you made us for yourself and our hearts find no peace until they rest in you.
-Augustine, Confessions, book I:1
…give me the grace to do as you command, and command me to do what you will
-Augustine, Confessions, book X:29
For you, I am Bishop, but with you, I am a Christian. The first is an office accepted, the second a grace received; one a danger, the other safety. If then I am gladder by far to be redeemed with you than I am to be placed over you, I shall, as the Lord commanded, be more completely you servant.
-Augustine
When pastors plead for people to give time or money, they never ask Christians to deny themselves for the sake of the goal. They only ask them to give to God what costs them nothing. What an abomination! They ask for surplus, discards, and leftovers. There is no essential Christianity in that giving –lacking self-denial even a million dollars has no Christian worth.
Jesus Christ denied self to save sinners. God the Father denied self to give His Son to die for us, to spare us and bear with our sinfulness. The Holy Spirit denies self in condescending to strive with unholy beings to bring them to God. The angels deny self in watching over this world. The apostles denied self to plant Christianity among the nations. Can we think of ourselves as spiritual without any self denial? Can we call ourselves Christians, followers of Christ, temples of the Holy Spirit and claim kinship with the apostles when we never deprive ourselves of any enjoyment for the sake of promoting Christ’s kingdom? Make young converts see that unless they are willing to sacrifice life and everything else for Christ, they lack Christ’s Spirit. They aren’t His.”
-Charles Finney, Lectures on Revival, chapter 20, point 7
Church that doesn’t show concern for the poor just doesn’t make sense to me.
-Jonathan Morse
By the grace of God I am a Christian, by my deeds a great sinner, and by my calling a homeless wanderer of humblest origin, roaming from place to place.
-The Way of a Pilgrim (Image Books, 1985), p.13
Men wanted for hazardous journey. Low wages, bitter cold, long hours of complete darkness. Safe return doubtful. Honour and recognition in event of success.
-Sir Ernest Shackleton, circa 1907 (Legend has it that her received 5000 applications in response to this dubious ‘want ad’ in a London paper.)
Beware of the temptation to be a popular preacher. I doubt very much that it is possible to be popular and faithful at the same time. If you are determined to be popular, you’re likely to become unfaithful in order to win popularity. But if you are determined to be faithful, then I think you will find yourself unpopular. I have no doubt at all that if we compromised less we would undoubtedly suffer more.
-John Stott, preaching on 1 Corinthians 4 at Gordon-Conwell
Don’t ask yourself what the world needs. Ask yourself what makes you come alive, and go do that, because what the world needs is people who have come alive.
-Howard Thurman (John Eldredge cites Gil Bailie who then cites Thurman, a minister in S.F.)
I desire to have both heaven and hell ever in my eye, while I stand on this isthmus of life, between two boundless oceans.
-John Wesley, Letter to Charles Wesley
Make all you can. Save all you can. Give all you can.
-John Wesley
Oderunt peccare boni, virtutis amore; Oderunt peccare mali, formidine poenae.
[Good men avoid sin from the love of virtue; Wicked men avoid sin from a fear of punishment.]
-John Wesley, Sermons on Several Occasions: The Almost Christian (Acts 26:28)
Fresh Wind, Fresh Fire: What Happens When God’s Spirit Invades the Hearts of His People, by Jim Cymbala
Truthfully, I can’t even remember what most of the book was about. What I do know is that God met me powerfully while reading it. Multiple times I found myself sobbing uncontrollably on the floor … this NEVER happens to me except during intense times of prayer. What was the fruit of reading this book? More love for God, greater passion to advance the kingdom of Christ, and a deeper conviction regarding the power of prayer. Not bad for a book that I remember very little about.
Guns, Germs, and Steel: The Fates of Human Societies, by Jared Diamond
I’ve often wondered why the West and Far East swim in wealth while most of the world drowns in poverty. This book offers a compelling anthropological / sociological / geographical / zoological / botanical, non-racist, explanation for this disparity. I’m amazed how much I learned from reading this book. This is one of the few books that I think I’ll force my kids to read.
Companion to the Poor, by Viv Grigg
This is the book that I wanted to write after living and serving among the poor. Since Viv has done all the hard work for me, I guess I can take the easy way out and simply recommend it to others. This small book is a nice blend of theology, stories, and practical guidelines for effective ministry among the poor. If you want to understand more of what we want to do in Cambodia, and why we’re doing it, read this book.
Confessions, by Augustine of Hippo
Don’t let the author or age of the book scare you away! It is unquestionably the most moving Christian testimony I’ve read or heard. Augustine’s grasp of his depravity being conquered by the immeasurable grace of God is overwhelming. If your salvation feels stale and ordinary, read this book!
The Way of a Pilgrim and the Pilgrim Continues His Way: A New Translation, by Helen Bacovcin
What does it mean to pray without ceasing (1 Thessalonians 5:17)? I was deeply moved as I read this account of a nameless, wandering, 19th century, Russian peasant who desired nothing more than to understand and live out Paul’s command. It is a short, simple account of a man’s passionate pursuit of constant communion with God.
Not the Way It’s Supposed to Be: A Breviary of Sin, by Cornelius Plantinga Jr.
The title says it all. We, and the world we live in, are not supposed to be this way. If you are interested in an exploration of what sin is and the consequences that flow from it, this should be a good read. (This is the only seminary theological text that made it to this list.)
Houses That Change the World, by Wolfgang Simson
Second only to the Bible with regard to changing how I think about church. As Simson taught on house churches he also began to deconstruct my Christian/Church religion and challenged me to consider the true nature of the people of God. Click here for a sampling.
Much to the dismay of my former co-workers who heard this song 8 times a day, I never tire of listening to “I Still Haven’t Found What I’m Looking For”. Though it first appeared on The Joshua Tree album, I prefer Rattle & Hum’s gospel version.
I have climbed the highest mountains
I have run through the fields
Only to be with you
Only to be with you.
I have run, I have crawled
I have scaled these city walls
These city walls
Only to be with you.
But I still haven’t found
What I’m looking for.
But I still haven’t found
What I’m looking for.
I have kissed honey lips
Felt the healing in her finger tips
It burned like fire
(I was) burning inside her.
I have spoke with the tongue of angels
I have held the hand of a devil
It was warm in the night
I was cold as a stone.
But I still haven’t found
What I’m looking for.
But I still haven’t found
What I’m looking for.
I believe in the Kingdom Come
Then all the colours will bleed into one
Bleed into one.
But yes, I’m still running.
You broke the bonds
And you loosed the chains
Carried the cross of my shame
Oh my shame, you know I believe it.
But I still haven’t found
What I’m looking for.
But I still haven’t found
What I’m looking for.
But I still haven’t found
What I’m looking for.
But I still haven’t found
What I’m looking for.
-U2, Rattle & Hum, 1998.