Category: Random

Luke 2:52
“And Jesus increased in wisdom and in stature and in favor with God and man.”

From the time that the boy Jesus was found in the temple courts talking to the doctors of the Law up to the time when He started His public ministry, this is the only summary of His life. This is the period when He entered the awkward adolescent phase and moved towards adulthood.

I marvel.

Jesus’ adolescence is the purest that I’ve ever known; a far cry from the drinking binges and sowing of wild oats and irresponsible years we are all familiar with.

I think that the church in America today is so obssessed with being practical, relevant, helpful, successful and perhaps even well-liked that it nearly mirrors the world itself. Aside from the packaging, there is nothing that cannot be found in most churches today that could not be satisfied by any number of secular programs and self-help groups.

Michael Horton

JRR Tolkien on courage and hope:

FRODO: I can’t do this, Sam.

SAM: I know. It’s all wrong. By rights we shouldn’t even be here. But we are. It’s like in the great stories, Mr. Frodo. The ones that really mattered. Full of darkness and danger they were. And sometimes you didn’t want to know the end. Because how could the end be happy? How could the world go back to the way it was when so much bad had happened.

But in the end, it’s only a passing thing, this shadow. Even darkness must pass. A new day will come. And when the sun shines it will shine out the clearer. Continue reading Courage and Hope

The Lord must have a soft spot for runaway people. From Hagar to Jacob to Elijah and Onesimus, God seem to specialize in meeting runaways on their flight. Are you running away from something in your past? Take heart, you are never too far from the reach of the mercy of God. Is a loved one running away from you? Be encouraged, the Lord is on His way to meet him.

This is a slight detour from my series of posts about prayer and fasting. Boyce Avenue’s cover of FIX YOU by Coldplay. It’s so good!