A few of my favorite quotes, with Kindle locations:
The life of true faith cannot be that of cold metallic assent. It must have the passion and warmth of love and communion because communion with God is the crown and apex of true religion. loc 240
We are so used to being empty that we do not recognize the emptiness as such until we start to try to pray. loc 356
To fail to pray, then, is not to merely break some religious rule—it is a failure to treat God as God. loc 376
We can pray because God is our loving Father, because Christ is our mediator giving us access to the throne of the universe, and because the Spirit himself indwells us. loc 1139
Through prayer our somewhat abstract knowledge of God becomes existentially real to us. We do not just believe in the glory of God; we sense his greatness. We do not just believe that he loves us; we find our hearts flooded with it. loc 1807
If you don’t believe in the Trinity, you do not merely misunderstand prayer, but you twist Christianity completely out of shape so it is not itself. loc 4186
3. Look and Live—Matt Papa
I didn’t expect that a book by a young Christian musician would be one of my favorite books of the year. But it was. This is Matt Papa’s first book and effectively captures the qualities I love about him. It’s biblical, Jesus-exalting, engaging, passionate, creative, personal and relevant. It’s a book that will awaken a fresh desire to treasure God’s glory in Christ above everything else and give you practical tools to do so. I read through the book at night and was drawn in by Matt’s pointed, crisp and imaginative prose. I actually had a hard time putting the book down.
Matt effectively and consistently uses the “look and live” theme as a way to communicate that “Christianity’s first call is not ‘behave!’ but ‘behold!’ It is first a call to see Jesus.” Matt draws from a variety of writers but has been heavily influenced by Jonathan Edwards and C.S. Lewis. Good guys to draw from. For a fuller review check out Nate Brooks’ post. Some quotes:
If the gospel has never broken you, you have never really heard it.
Christianity is the hard, joyful journey of beholding Jesus by faith until the day you behold Him by sight.
Idolatry looks at the world in amazement. Worship, true worship, looks through it in amazement. To its source. To the One who is infinitely more amazing.
Worship begins with a focus upon some glory that has mesmerized us, and culminates with the sharing of the glory that has satisfied us.
We were made to be swept up into the embrace of the Trinity. We were made for grace-filled human community and all its inebriating unity and diversity. We were made to “get in.”
Suffering is bitterly painful. And it is making you breathtakingly beautiful.
A few other books I enjoyed were:
Creativity, Inc.: Overcoming the Unseen Forces That Stand in the Way of Creativity—Ed Catmull—Fascinating book about the inner workings and philosophies of Pixar.
God in the Whirlwind: How the Holy-Love of God Reorients Our World—David F. Wells—Top level commentary on culture and how the gospel changes our perspective on it and response to it.
Words of Life: Scripture as the Living and Active Word of God—Timothy Ward—Outstanding introduction to the nature and authority of Scripture as God’s Word.
I’ve found that when I stop reading, I stop growing. So in 2015 I want to read more books. Good books. Books that point me to Scripture, root me in the gospel and broaden my appreciation for God’s world.
Feel free to join me.
