In his spiritual memoir, Surprised by Joy, the great Christian writer, C. S. Lewis, admits that from the days of his youth one of the things he disliked most in adults was their tendency to interfere with his life. “No word in my vocabulary expressed deeper hatred than the word Interference.” He notes that it … Continue reading Pastor Note #84 — Surrender to an “Interfering God”
Tag: Religion and Spirituality
Quote of Note #60 — The Foolishness of God
"He [the Spirit of God] will certainly help us to 'communicate' the truth of God to other people, but he becomes our enemy the moment we attempt to modify the wisdom of God to fit the 'cleverness' of the twentieth century. The stern words of Paul have a peculiar aptness to the modern situation when … Continue reading Quote of Note #60 — The Foolishness of God
Quote of Note #57–Need and Blessing
"Being baptized with the Holy Spirit begins with recognizing our need and earnestly desiring whatever our heavenly Father is pleased to give." Brad Long, Paul Stokes, and Cindy Strickler. Growing the Church in the Power of the Holy Spirit: Seven Principles of Dynamic Cooperation. Grand Rapids, MI: Zondervan, 2009, page 67.
Quote of Note #56–Receiving the Power
"John tells us at the beginning of his Gospel that the thing that is going to differentiate the new era from the old, even including John the Baptist, is this baptism with the Spirit. Here is the first principle. It is possible to be believers in the Lord Jesus Christ without having received the baptism … Continue reading Quote of Note #56–Receiving the Power
Pastor Note #83 — God’s Toolbox
I love hand tools – old hand tools. My workbench and toolboxes are stocked with a wide variety of old hammers of all sorts, wood plains of several different types, chisels, and draw knives, and hand saws. I have a few very interesting old pipe wrenches, which I honestly hope I never have to use, … Continue reading Pastor Note #83 — God’s Toolbox
Quote of Note #53 — Irritability, Impatience, and Serving God
“I believe God cannot use many of His servants because they are full of irritability and impatience; they are fretting all the time, from morning until night. God cannot use them; their mouths are sealed; they cannot speak for Jesus Christ, and if they have not love, they cannot work for God.” Dwight L. Moody, … Continue reading Quote of Note #53 — Irritability, Impatience, and Serving God
Bible Note #36 — Obeying God — Numbers 9:15-23
Numbers 9:15-23 Here we have one of the classic summary passages describing how God led the Israelites through the wilderness. There is a certain drama in the process, because the means of God’s leading was grand and very public. There was no indication that discerning God’s leading in this process was at all difficult. The … Continue reading Bible Note #36 — Obeying God — Numbers 9:15-23
Quote of Note #52 — Prayer, Praise, and the Christian Life
"To praise God for mercies received both with our voices and with our actions, and then to pray to God for the mercies that we need, devoutly acknowledging that they come from him, these two exercises in one form or another should make up the sum total of human life. A life psalm should be … Continue reading Quote of Note #52 — Prayer, Praise, and the Christian Life
Bible Note #35: Compassion for the Weak — Job 29:14-17
Job is a tricky book to use. The book is a debate among Job and some friends over how to understand suffering and what God is doing in the midst of that suffering. We should not assume that everything that Job or the others say is correct. The only one who speaks infallibly in the … Continue reading Bible Note #35: Compassion for the Weak — Job 29:14-17
Quote of Note #50: Graciousness to Others Because of God’s Graciousness to Me
"As you contemplate the cross of Christ, you should be overwhelmed with the oceans of grace you have received from the Lord. Even when others commit pools or even lakes full of sin against you, you should be gracious to them because of those oceans of grace you have received. 'Be kind to them,' Jesus … Continue reading Quote of Note #50: Graciousness to Others Because of God’s Graciousness to Me
Gary Chorpenning's Notebooks 