Most of all, thanks are due to our great God and Savior Jesus Christ, who gripped this lost soul so long ago and by His grace has never let go. (pg 9)
SO GOOD! This was how the intro ended and I knew the book was gonna be good!
God is not safe, and He will not be squeezed into some neat, respectable Sunday discussion. God in a box – with a little package of hot sauce and a toy surprise. No! To know God at all is to watch Him explode any box we put Him in with His terror, majesty, and indescribable wonder. (pg 13)
Get rid of the twisted thinking that God loves you because He saw something in you that attracted Him. That may be the way human relationships work. "God cares for me because I am a hard worker or a caring neighbour or a faithful parent." Wrong! He loves you because He chooses to. (pg 53)
It's true. What else can I say.
I liked this one too. It talks about two things I like: mathematic "parallel line" type stuff and theology :)
Isaiah 55:10-11
For as the rain and the snow come down from heaven, and do not return there without watering the earth and making it bear and sprout, and furnishing seed to the sower and bread to the eater; So will My word be which goes forth from My mouth; it will not return to Me empty, without accomplishing what I desire, and without succeeding in the matter for which I sent it.
As I said one of the chapters in the book focused on Isaiah 55 and one of the quotes made on this passage was this...
God says, "Every time you open the pages of My Word and you speak My truth, I'm going to make sure it bears fruit."
James MacDonald then continued and wrote… "That's the only confidence that keeps me preaching every single week." (pg 108)
I'm going to add: "That's the only confidence that keeps me preaching it too! This promise keeps me handing out Real Life Kits Bible packages at McMaster, sharing the gospel with people (using His Word and memory verses, as much if not more than my own words), and leading Bible studies as we dig, week after week, into the unchanging truths found in the Scriptures!"
And now, the way I want to conclude this email is with one of the passages that gripped me as I read this book. May you be blessed by it as well.
Isaiah 40:10-26
10 See, the Sovereign LORD comes with power,
and his arm rules for him.
See, his reward is with him,
and his recompense accompanies him.
11 He tends his flock like a shepherd:
He gathers the lambs in his arms
and carries them close to his heart;
he gently leads those that have young.
12 Who has measured the waters in the hollow of his hand,
or with the breadth of his hand marked off the heavens?
Who has held the dust of the earth in a basket,
or weighed the mountains on the scales
and the hills in a balance?
13 Who has understood the mind of the LORD,
or instructed him as his counselor?
14 Whom did the LORD consult to enlighten him,
and who taught him the right way?
Who was it that taught him knowledge
or showed him the path of understanding?
15 Surely the nations are like a drop in a bucket;
they are regarded as dust on the scales;
he weighs the islands as though they were fine dust.
16 Lebanon is not sufficient for altar fires,
nor its animals enough for burnt offerings.
17 Before him all the nations are as nothing;
they are regarded by him as worthless
and less than nothing.
18 To whom, then, will you compare God?
What image will you compare him to?
19 As for an idol, a craftsman casts it,
and a goldsmith overlays it with gold
and fashions silver chains for it.
20 A man too poor to present such an offering
selects wood that will not rot.
He looks for a skilled craftsman
to set up an idol that will not topple.
21 Do you not know?
Have you not heard?
Has it not been told you from the beginning?
Have you not understood since the earth was founded?
22 He sits enthroned above the circle of the earth,
and its people are like grasshoppers.
He stretches out the heavens like a canopy,
and spreads them out like a tent to live in.
23 He brings princes to naught
and reduces the rulers of this world to nothing.
24 No sooner are they planted,
no sooner are they sown,
no sooner do they take root in the ground,
than he blows on them and they wither,
and a whirlwind sweeps them away like chaff.
25 "To whom will you compare me?
Or who is my equal?" says the Holy One.
26 Lift your eyes and look to the heavens:
Who created all these?
He who brings out the starry host one by one,
and calls them each by name.
Because of his great power and mighty strength,
not one of them is missing.
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