All Praise – July 31
A Year with Aslan from The Lion, the Witch, & the Wardrobe
Perhaps one of the deepest mysteries of all time is how we win by his sacrifice. That’s hard to grasp even now, after the resurrection. Just think how tough it must have been to trust him before.
As the White Witch is accusing Edmund to Aslan, calling him a traitor, she says…
You know every traitor belongs to me as my lawful prey. The others are ready to fight, but Aslan simply says “It’s true. I don’t deny it.”
While everyone is expecting him to pounce, he knows what’s going to happen. That he’ll pay the price.
Ransomed Heart Devotion
Greater is he in me than he who is in the world .. & in Waking the Dead, John Eldredge reminds us that makes us greater, too.
We have a crucial role to play. Neo sees himself as Thomas Anderson, but he’s the One who can break the power of the Matrix. Frodo is the Ring Bearer. Dorothy is just a farm girl from Kansas. Joan of Arc was illiterate & everyone doubted her. You see this throughout Scripture, too. A little boy slays a giant; a loudmouthed fisherman leads the church; & a prostitute performs the deed Jesus asked of all of us. Things are not what they seem. WE are not what we seem.
Quotes
Matt Redman ~ Mirror Ball
God doesn’t like being underestimated. When we stay within our comfort zone & fail to trust Him for the big things, it’s dishonoring to God & disadvantageous to us. When we trust against the world’s odds & act upon the promises of God, He will gain much glory .. & we will not be left unsatisfied.
Henry Nouwen ~ Discernment
We will not succeed if we stay in the boat. We will not survive if we look down at the waves. But we do not have to look down & drown. Jesus calls us to look up & forward to the one who stands in the midst of the storm. He is with us now, he will be with us tomorrow, & he will still be there in the future. He is our home.
Philip Yancey ~ What’s So Amazing About Grace?
Christians may choose to enter an arena of power, but when we do we dare not leave love behind. The kingdom of God thrives where its subjects follow the desires of the King.
Brennan Manning ~ The Ragamuffin Gospel
The noonday devil of the Christian life is the temptation to lose the inner self while preserving the shell of edifying behavior. Suddenly I discover I’m ministering to AIDS victims to enhance my resume. At some unremembered moment I have lost the connection between internal purity of heart & external works of piety.
Matt Redman ~ Facedown
It’s only as we breathe in the wonders of god that we can breathe out a fuller response to him.
Scriptures