Soul Food for Friday: Quotes of Wisdom to Make a Life, not Just a Living

Sandra Carey observes, “Never mistake knowledge for wisdom. One helps you make a living and the other helps you make a life.” This week’s Soul Food for Friday is dedicated to help you make a life as we feast on life making quotes on wisdom.

“You need knowledge to pass tests in school; you need wisdom to pass the tests of life.” – Dr. Adrian Rogers

“Learning without wisdom is a load of books on a donkey’s back.” – Zora Neale Hurston

“The greatest wisdom not applied to action and behavior is meaningless data.” – Peter Drucker

“When we grow in the wisdom of God, we begin to recognize that everything connects. Wisdom frees us from living disconnected lives. Wisdom frees us from superstitions that constrain us and broken relationships that cripple us.” – Erwin McManus, Uprising

“I have been driven many times to my knees by the overwhelming conviction that I had no where else to go. My wisdom and that of all about me, seemed insufficient for the day.” – Abraham Lincoln

– Proverbs 1:7

Scroll of the Book of Proverbs by Pete Unseth via wikicommons

“Wisdom is the power to put our time to the proper use.” – Thomas J. Watson

“Wise men learn by other men’s mistakes, fools by their own.” – H G. Bohn

“By three methods we learn wisdom: First, by reflection, which is noblest; second, by imitation, which is easiest; and third, by experience, which is the bitterest.” – Confucius

“Wisdom comes at sixty, not before.” – Henry Ward Beecher’s advice to Edward Bok (I’m getting closer then to being wise)

“Wisdom is the correct use of truth in the knowledge we have.” – Fred Smith

“Wisdom is knowing when to speak your mind, and when to mind your speech.” – Cathedral Pines Church, Titusville, Florida

“We don’t receive wisdom; we must discover it for ourselves after a journey that no on can take for us or spare us.” – Marcel Proust

“The brilliant moves we occasionally make would not have been possible without the prior dumb ones.” – Stanley Goldstein

“in seeking wisdom, the first step is silence, the second listening, the third remembering, the fourth practicing, the fifth reaching others.” – Ibn Gabirol

“Doubt is often the beginning of wisdom.” – M. Scott Peck, The Road Less Traveled and Beyond

“Wisdom is not a state of being, or a destination at which one finally arrives; rather it is bread for the journey — a companion to one’s pilgrim walk.” – G. David Yeager

“Wisdom is the art of living skillfully in whatever actual conditions we find ourselves.” – Eugene H. Peterson, The Message: Proverbs 

“He who knows not and knows not that he knows not is a fool. Shun him. He who knows not and knows that he knows not is a child. Teach him. He who knows and knows not that he knows is asleep. Wake him. He who knows and knows not that he knows is a wise man. Follow him.” – Arab Proverb

“Wisdom is always an overmatch for strength.” – Phaedrus

“Wisdom often consists of knowing what to do next.” – Herbert Hoover (enough said)

“Be wiser than other people, if you can, but do not tell them so.” – Lord Chesterfield

“Wisdom comes … not from trying to do great things for God … but more from being faithful to the small, obscure tasks few people ever see.” – Chuck Swidnoll

“Wisdom entereth not into a malicious mind.” – Rabelais

“There is this difference between happiness and wisdom: he who thinks himself the happiest man really is so; but he who thinks himself the wisest is generally the greatest fool.” – Charles Caleb Colton

“Praying for wisdom becomes an essential part of the Christian walk. Since God is wisdom and that wisdom is personified for us in Jesus Christ and the word of the cross, ti is crucial that we stay in touch with the game plan for our lives.” – David B. Marth

“A wise man changes his mind; a fool never will.” – Spanish Proverb

“Intelligence is when you spot the flaw in your boss’s reasoning. Wisdom is when you refrain to point it out.” – James Dent (wiser still  when you do so graciously and privately)

“Wisdom is the reward you get for a lifetime of listening when you’d have preferred to talk.” – Doug Larson

“Wisdom consists of the anticipation of consequences.” – Norman Cousins

“Horse sense means seeing things two ways — how you want them to be and how they have to be.” – June Smith

“Wisdom is the God-given ability to see life with rare objectivity and to handle life with rare stability.” – Chuck Swindoll

“Wisdom is the quality that keeps you from getting into situations where you need it.” – Doug Larson

“In light of my past experience … my current circumstances … my future hopes and dreams, waht is the wise thing to do?” – Andy Stanley, The Best Question Ever 

So what quotes on wisdom feed your soul this Friday to make a life, not just a living?

3 Ways God Improves My Relationship with Him

Followers of Christ want to grow in that relationship. We desire to be more like Jesus. So how does God work in our hearts and lives? How does He improve my relationship with Him?

Sharon and I recently joined a huddle at our church, and we like at a Mike Breen video that highlighted 3 ways God improves my relationship with Him. Knowing you would want to grow in your relationship with God, I knew I had to share them with you.

1. Eruption: God blasts through.

Think volcano. Lava blasts through from the bottom of the earth. Heat rises and finally can be held in no longer. You walk in the flow of the Spirit. Radical change happens. You were lost, now you are find. The Holy Spirit brings you to faith in Christ, and live is never the same (nor was it meant to be).

2. Erosion: God washes away all the dirt until I see Him.

Some of us need a steady rain. Some need a power wash. We all need the waters of baptism and the forgiveness and new life they bring. Jesus in John 7 speaks of streams of living water flowing in us. He’s speaking of the Holy Spirit, and when the Holy Spirit comes He comes to wash us clean and make us whole.

3. Excavation: God digs deep into my heart.

This is the best place to not only grow, but to plant God’s Word. For it is in the Word of God that the Spirit of God does life transforming work. When God drills down deep into your heart, and plants Himself, He desires to bring a bumper crop. Jesus tells the Parable of the Sower, often nicknamed the Parable of the 4 Soils. One seed is thrown on the path, and the birds eat it. The one seed on the rocky soil, never finds roots for growth. Other seed ends up on soil but is overcome by thorns and weeds, the life choked away. The seed planted in the good soil produces a bumper crop. When God digs deep into your heart, He wants a bumper crop.

Landscape with the Parable of the Sower by Pieter Brugel via Wikicommons

The lesson of the 4 soils is not that the seed changes, for it is the Word of God. The lesson of the 4 soils calls me to look into my heart, and see what soil is there, even better to see and seize the work God’s Spirit desires to do.

Archaeologists excavate to discover hidden treasure. Though know its down deep, so they dig until they find. Our great God digs deep into our heart, to plant His Word, and to bring forth His treasure of growth.

So which way is God reaching you today? Eruption? Erosion? Excavation? Or how have you found another way?

Remembering on Memorial Day

Remember the sacrifice. Remember the gift. Remember more then summer is beginning. Temptation for most people on Memorial Day is to take a day off and count down to the end of school or the beginning of summer. Yet going to Washington, D.C. last fall, leads me to remember. Arlington Cemmetery. Vietnam War Memorial. World War II. Korean War. Lives sacrificed and given for the freedom we enjoy. There are no shortage of memorials in Washington, D.C. There is no shortage of sacrifice for the cause of freedom. This day take a moment to remember and give thanks. (Special thank you to my wife, Sharon, for capturing these special places with her pictures.)

Soldiers known only to God for the sacrifice they provided. The Tomb of the Unknown Soldier at Arlington National Cemetery.

Tomb of the Unknown Soldiers Arlington Cemmetery

Soldiers on patrol at the Korean War Memorial.

World War II Memorial.

World War II Memorial

Remembering the names of  soldiers who gave their  lives  in Vietnam at the Vietnam War Memorial.

Vietnam War Memorial with Washington Monument in the Background

Arlington National Cemetery, a place to remember and give thanks.

Arlington National Cemetery

This Memorial Day, take time to give thanks for those who gave their lives that we might be free. Remember their families, their sacrifice and the freedom we all enjoy.

Soul Food for Friday: Holy Spirit Quotes to Feed Your Spirit

In the church year, this upcoming Sunday is Pentecost Sunday. We remember the pouring out of the Holy Spirit in Acts 2 and that the church is born. This week’s Soul Food for Friday features Holy Spirit quotes to feed your spirit.

“In the same way that our breathing oxygen releases energy in our bodies, God’s breathing into us releases the energy of his Spirit in our lives. God breathed into a lump of clay on the sixth day of creation and Adam came to life. We need God to breathe into us and bring us life.” – Mike Breen and Walt Kallestad, A Passionate Life 

“Life a life of Spiritual Adventure. Much like a wild goose the Spirit of God cannot be tracked or tamed. An element of danger, an air of unpredictability surround Him. And while the name may sound a little sacrilegious, I cannot think of a better description of what it’s like to pursue the Spirit’s leading through life.” – Mark Batterson, Wild Goose Chase 

“Jesus promised his followers that “The Strengthener” would be with them forever. This promise is no lullaby for the faint-hearted. It is a blood transfusion for courageous living.” – E. Paul Hovey

“The Holy Spirit has called me through the gospel, enlightened me with his gifts, and sanctified and kept me in the true faith.” – Martin Luther

“The Holy Spirit says: You are it. You are God’s plan. In a thirsty world, people need to be refreshed. It is a broken world, and people need to be healed. Now get out there and do it!” – John Ortberg

“One day I was in an airport rushing to catch a plane. I was sweating and puffing when I looked to my right and saw a man walking half as fast as I was, but going faster. He was walking on a moving sidewalk. When we walk in the Spirit, eh comes underneath us and bears us along. We’re still walking, but we walk dependent on him.” — Tony Evans

“When we pray for the Spirit, we are not praying for an answer; we are praying for God to enter us, to fill us with his presence, his thoughts, and his words.” – James Bryan Smith, Richard J. Foster, Lynda L. Graybeal, A Spiritual Formation Workbook

“O Holy Spirit, descend plentifully into my heart, enlighten the dark corners of this neglected dwelling, and scatter there they cheerful beams.” – St. Augustine

Jean II Restout – Pentecôte 1732 Thanks to WikiCommons

“The Holy Spirit is to: Fill us with the Father’s strength to sustain what life will bring. To be our advocate, speaking to the Father when we don’t have the words. To be our teacher, exposing the Word of God and helping us to hear His voice. To be our guide to come alongside us in the difficult moments of life.” – Frank VanderZwan

“For the writers of Scripture, the Spirit was not primarily a doctrine but an experience.” – John Johnson

“God has put you in a position of power and influence in the world in order that you work in tandem with the inside out power of the Holy Spirit to fulfill God’s purposes: to set free, to bring good news, to lift burdens, to pardon, to give sight to the blind for justice and mercy.” – Kim Engelmann

“If we want to live healthy relationships, according to biblical standards, it is done in the fullness of the Spirit.” – Stuart Briscoe

“We receive the same Spirit-breathed Word and access to God in the Spirit by which Christ resisted Satan in the desert and at Gethsemane.” – Leopoldo A. Sanchez

“Through the Holy Spirit, every Christian has access to the power of God in Christ. Not power like in The Mighty Morphin Power Rangers. Not power like that which the nations of the world have struggled to gain or maintain. Not power like the oomph behind the bats of Mark McGwire or Sammy Sosa. But power more like the power of the Energizer Bunny, the power to keep going and going no matter what the circumstances.” – Billy D. Strayhorn

“Everybody wants confidence but you don’t find it in self help books. You find confidence in the Holy Spirit.” – Rick Warren

“Because the Holy Spirit is God, we feel Him as He controls our circumstances and transforms our lives. When He does that, He uses us. He melts us in relationships. He molds us in the pursuit and the direction of His will. He fills us with power and the perseverance to keep at it. He uses as He controls our circumstances and transforms our lives. Ask the Spirit of God to use you, just as you are, with the gifts and abilities that He’s given you. Secure in the confidence that God is in control of your life, you will be free to serve Him with joy and effectiveness.” – Chuck Swindoll

“We are Clark Kent, but with the Holy Ghost we become Superman.” – Michel Clerkley

“Everywhere you go, you’ll find the Holy Spirit creating beauty, revealing truth, manifesting goodness, and stirring a hunger for the reality of God.” – Steve Brown, What Was I Thinking?

“The Holy Spirit wants to be our life coach. He comes to us as the ultimate mentor and coach and guide for all our days, not just as someone’s who only there when we desperately need him in time of crisis or in time of major decision. God wants us to consult him even in the most ordinary of days. Are you willing to make the consistent and on-going effort to listen for the Spirit’s voice — and do you really want to hear what God has to say to you?” – Nancy Beach

What words about the Holy Spirit are feeding your soul? What is He calling you to be and to do?

Book Review: Praying with the Grain by Pablo Martinez

How your personality affects the way you pray is the tagline that goes with Praying with the Grain by Dr. Pablo Martinez. That connection with prayer and personality is what attracted me to read this book.

The first chapter does the best job of looking at prayer and personality. Martinez is a Christian psychologist. His personality approach is that from Carl Jung. The application to prayer looks at the introvert to extrovert continuum, thinking to feeling continuum and the sensation to intuition continuum.

Not being an expert in psychology nor Carl Jung, I appreciated that Martinez wrote in every day language and gave insight into how each personality engages in prayer. Introverts find it easier to pray on their own. I knew that, but never really had given that much though how that plays out. Dr. Martinez helped clarify those issues in understanding my prayer life and those of different personality types. Extroverts find it difficult ot pray. Thinkers are able to focus their thoughts in prayer, while feelers are challenged with the whole discipline of prayer.

As he writes about Christian prayer, his intent is to relieve the burden or guilt of one’s prayer life and to pray with the grain, the way God has wired you. For myself this was the book’s greatest benefit.

In addition he includes chapters in the book that deal with the suggestion that prayer is a psychological illusion. (It’s not.) He also focuses on the question: Are all prayers alike? They are not. He does a great job in his closing chapter of contrasting Christian meditation with  Eastern meditation.

Throughout the book there were quotes I underlined and wanted to save. There are prayer classic quotes from Teresa of Avila to .C. S. Lewis to Richard Foster. Martinez own words are worth quoting. Here are some of my favorites in the book:

“Prayer is primarily an expression not of my inner well-being, but of my love towards God. I do not pray when I feel well; I pray because I love the Lord.”

“In one sense, prayer is a pleasure to enjoy, but in another sense, it is a discipline to be practiced because it belongs to the essential armor of the Christian soldier.”

“Prayer ought to be the result of an inner spiritual life: not just the search for a magnified tranquilizer.”

“When a believer sees prayer only or primarily as the instrument by which to obtain things from God, they have not understood the very essence of prayer.”

“Prayer enables us to rebuild the very foundation of our existence, and gives back to a person th etrue purpose of their life: relationship with God.”

“Prayer is the eyewash that clears up our vision and enables us to perceive the reality about ourselves.”

“Prayer fulfills a central purpose in the Christian life: it makes possible our progressive likening to the image of Christ.”

I recommend this book for those who want to take a closer look at their own prayer, and to grow deeper in their relationship with God. Affirming and describing how this happens is the strength of this book.

If I could have made one suggestion to Martinez, it would have been to go even deeper into the personality factors and prayer. He gives a great general description and its well worth reading, I was hoping for a bit more. The book was originally published under the title Prayer Life published in 2001. This edition is an update and revision.  For this reason I give Praying with the Grain 4 out of 5 stars. If you would like to read an excerpt from the book, click here.

My thanks to Kregel Publishing for a free copy to review. I was not required to give a positive review. Most of all thank you to Dr. Martinez for helping me (and hopefully you) to grow in my prayer life, especially to see it’s not what I get from God, but how I grow in my relationship with God.

Book Review: Dug Down Deep by Joshua Harris

The Bible image is familiar. The wise men built his house on the rock. The foolish man builds his house on the sand. Storm comes, the wise man’s house still stands, the foolish man’s house goes splat. The image even has its own song. It’s a truth we know, Joshua Harris in Dug Down Deep reminds me that it is a truth to live.

Dug Down Deep is a book on Christian doctrine. Sounds like a dry topic, but not when Joshua Harris is writing. He starts with a simple question, “What are you building your life on?” Is it on the rock or on the sand?

The invitation and challenge to dig down deep in doctrine is to build on the rock. Joshua Harris’s writing style interweaves his own story, practical application, and Biblical truth in a language you can understand. Doctrine matters because theology matters. Our default mode is “me-ology” what I think about me. Theology is what I believe about God. Doctrine matters to make sure that my thoughts about God line up with God’s thoughts about God. As Josh writes, “What you believe about God’s nature–what he is like, what he wants from you, and whether or not you will answer to him–affects every part of your life.” We all have theology. We all have doctrine. The question is are we building on sand or on the rock?

Dug Down Deep is Joshua Harris own story of how he discovered the beauty of Christian theology, doctrine and orthodoxy. Even better, it’s how we can join him.

Josh does more then talk about faith in Christ. He tells the incredible story of his dad came to faith in Christ.

Josh does more then look at old beliefs of the faith of the past, but of the living faith of today and how it can be part of our lives.

My favorite chapter is the last chapter entitled, “Humble Orthodoxy.” Too often doctrine/orthodoxy has become a weapon to club others we believe are wrong, then a tool to build life together.

Wise people build their house on the rock. The wisest of all do so with love and the invitation that when the storms of life come (and they will come), we have a solid foundation to see us all through.

In inviting us to dig down deep, Josh digs down deep into his own life — what has worked, what has not worked, even more how God has been at work and is at work in this world and in us. That Josh does all this with humility, honesty and feeding one’s hunger for God’s Word makes this book a great read.

I give Dug Down Deep 5 out of 5 stars. It helped me to drill down deeper into my own faith, and to make sure what I believe, teach and confess is built on the solid rock of God’s Word. Dug Down Deep is a great book for new Christians seeking to learn about what it means to be a Christian as well as life long Christians who want to make sure they are building on the rock, not sand. The book also features a reflection and study guide that is suitable for individual as well as small group study. If you want to read an excerpt from the book, click here. You can also watch a great 2 minute video on the book here.

My thanks to WaterBrook Multnomah for a free copy to review and for letting me be part of the great Blogging for Books program. I was not required by them to give a positive review. My thanks also to Joshua Harris for writing another great book. His first book that I read is Stop Dating the Church: Fall in Love with the Family of God revised with a new title Why Church Matters. That 5 out of 5 star book reminded me of the value of church membership. This book reminds me of the great depth of being connected to God’s Word and His family.

The Lift Project: The Leader’s Soul — Simplicity

First time I came back from India, I remember looking at my garage and seeing all the stuff I had in comparison to what I had just seen in 10 days in India. I felt a bit guilty for  all the stuff, and a desire for a life of simplicity. I was ready to make life real simple and manageable.

This past week’s class on The Leader’s Soul with the Lift Project focused on Simplicity. I discovered that Biblical simplicity is more then organizing one’s stuff, it’s focusing one’s life. The opposite of simplicity is not complexity, but duplicity.

One of Bill Hybel’s axiom‘s is “speed of the team, speed of the leader.” Leadership can call for life at warp speed. The challenge is life at that speed can hinder soul growth. Often as the pace of leadership rises, the growth of one’s soul can decline. The challenge of simplicity is to find soul speed that matches the pace of life.

Biblical simplicity is an invitation to focus my life on God. The result is we allow the events of life emerge out of God and my relationship with Him.

In this world the goal of simplicity is to make life more manageable, but that’s not the Bible’s goal. Does Paul’s life become more manageable after he came to faith in Christ? How about Mary and Joseph? Or Moses even with Jethro’s organizational advice?

In her article, Two of Me, Mindy Caliguire shared 4 questions to check to see if I’m living out of simplicity or duplicity:

1. Do I feel overwhelmed by options?

2. Do I feel burdened by impossible demands?

3. Do I buy more then I can afford?

4. Do I frequently desire to be more than I am?

The move from duplicity of being more then God made me to be to simplicity being with the God who made me and is making me to be means identifying boundaries for living and leading.

Sabbath practices are not a weekly option, but a weekly necessity. Taking time to check the gauges of the pace of my life and the growth of my soul to live on God’s speed. This week I discovered I am still learning to do this.

How about you what moves you from duplicity to simplicity?

Want to grow deeper in the soul of your leadership? Sign up for the next class that starts on June 11th here.