"There should be in our prayers an astringent honesty with ourselves, so that we may be honest with God, for God sees the secrets of our hearts, and God well knows when we are conventionally asking for blessings which we have no real desire to receive." Wm. Barclay (click link below for full quote)
Tag: spiritual formation
Quote of Note #215: God’s Participation in our Lives–Prayer
"God commands us to pray, God participates in our affairs and our needs, our cares and in our distresses, in our expectations, and in everything." K. Barth
Quote of Note #202: The Necessity of Prayer
"[Prayer] is a need, a kind of breathing necessary to life."
Bible Note #59: The Delight of Feasting on God’s Presence
“Take delight in the Lord, and he will give you the desires of your heart.” Psalm 37:4 (NIV) The idea of “taking delight” or pleasure in the Lord is one that we modern Western Christians have a tendency to spiritualize in a way that, I think, David and ancient Israelites did not. We want this … Continue reading Bible Note #59: The Delight of Feasting on God’s Presence
Quote of Note #191: Motives and the Public Life of Christians
"Often we need to be shocked into an awareness of the motives that really shape our thoughts and actions, and we must respond to these revelations by pleading for the mercy that will allow us to repair our ways. All of this must happen in contexts where the basic issues of sin and grace are … Continue reading Quote of Note #191: Motives and the Public Life of Christians
Pastor Note #139: Learning to Live without Chains in Christ’s Victory
Here’s a truth that is very dear to me. When Jesus went to the cross, he did not merely take my guilt with him. He took my sin. He died not merely to gain forgiveness for me but to set me free from the power of sin. In his resurrection from death, he demonstrated not … Continue reading Pastor Note #139: Learning to Live without Chains in Christ’s Victory
Pastor Note #136: Cable News Networks Are Evil
What follows will read like a rant. I’m sorry about that. Try not to traffic in rants. So, let me ask that you take it as a plea—a plea from the heart of a pastor who is concerned for your spiritual well-being. If you watch more than an hour or so of some 24-hour cable … Continue reading Pastor Note #136: Cable News Networks Are Evil
Quote of Note #82: The Word of God
"The Word of God is the seed out of which the divine nature springs up in the human soul." R. A. Torrey, Power-Filled Living: How to Receive God's Best for Your Life. New Kensington, PA: Whitaker House, 1998, page 17.
Quote of Note #43: Being Re-Made by the Spirit of God
"The Spirit which Jesus promised would lead his followers 'into all truth' is very actively at work wherever he is allowed. Some of his work is painful in the extreme. There has often to be the breaking-up of old ways of thinking, the expansion of responsibility, and the checking of priorities. Anyone who opens his … Continue reading Quote of Note #43: Being Re-Made by the Spirit of God
Prayer Note #52 — To the God of Light
Lord, you are all glorious, and the light of your presence pierces the deepest darkness of sin, sorrow, evil, despair. There is no darkness so thick, so impenetrable, so oily that the Light, Life, Love of your Being cannot invade and evaporate it. That is the truth of who you are. And so I ask … Continue reading Prayer Note #52 — To the God of Light
Gary Chorpenning's Notebooks 