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quoteable quote: radical

Johnny Douglas — Wed, 06 Jan 2010 13:23:01 +0000

“I don’t know how radical you are, or how radical I am. I am certainly not radical enough: that is, one must always try to be as radical as reality itself.”
Lenin

lent 11

Johnny Douglas — Wed, 11 Mar 2009 15:22:10 +0000

‘The hard truth is that most Christians don’t pray very much. They pray at meals-unless they’re still stuck in the adolescent stage of calling good habits legalism. They whisper prayers before tough meetings. They say something brief as they crawl into bed. But very few set aside set times to pray alone-and fewer still think it is worth it to meet with others to pray. And we wonder why our faith is weak. And our hope is feeble. And our passion for Christ is small.

Is it true that intentional, regular, disciplined, earnest, Christ-dependent, God-glorifying, joyful prayer is a duty? . . . Is it a discipline? You can call it that.

* It’s a duty the way it’s the duty of a scuba diver to put on his air tank before he goes underwater.
* It’s a duty the way pilots listen to air traffic controllers.
* It’s a duty the way soldiers in combat clean their rifles and load their guns.
* It’s a duty the way hungry people eat food.
* It’s a duty the way thirsty people drink water.
* It’s a duty the way a deaf man puts in his hearing aid.
* It’s a duty the way a diabetic takes his insulin.
* It’s a duty the way Pooh Bear looks for honey.
* It’s a duty the way pirates look for gold.

If we don’t eat, we starve. If we don’t drink, we get dehydrated. If we don’t exercise a muscle, it atrophies. If we don’t breathe, we suffocate. And just as there are physical means of life, there spiritual are means of grace. Resist the lies of the devil, and get a bigger breakthrough in prayer than you’ve ever had.’

The Joy of Duty; edited from my John Piper reading….

more this lent

Johnny Douglas — Sun, 22 Feb 2009 13:42:15 +0000

Lent is the 40 weekday period between Ash Wednesday and Easter Day. It invites a time of humility, repentance, and soul searching as we draw closer to the passion of Christ.
But having said that, I often feel really apathetic about how vogue it is to give something up during Lent. And particularly when it’s usually something like chocolate!! I don’t knock those who give stuff up; more to the point I commend you but I want to know why. Does self-denial of whatever make you more mindful of Christ and His Way?

So, I ask the simple question:

Are you giving something up for Lent? What and Why?
For me, I don’t want to think of it as a giving up but rather a season of more deeply growing my life in God. In what way am I more compelled to grow in the ways of God?

I’d never want Lent to be reduced to the stuff we give up, more that I grow in Jesus. So over the next 40 days or so, I’ll trace 40 ways in which I’m growing with Jesus…… Feel free to share yours too!
And as for some of the specifics of my lent….. it’s basic stuff!….. more water, more sleep and more study!