Could you have climbed that mountain?

R. C. Sproul shares an incident in his life that helped him appreciate what Abraham experienced when he walked up Mount Moriah to offer his son Issac to God in Genesis 22. In the end though he admits his was just  a taste of the agony of Abraham’s heart.

Read Full Post »

Life long learning

“If we stop learning today, we stop teaching tomorrow, ” Howard Hendricks once said.

We learn in a variety of ways but one of the tried and tested ways is by reading.  So. . .

“What are you reading?”  Good question. Better question: “Are you reading?”

Daniel Offer posts about the link between learning and leading concluding with three strategies to develop the habit of reading:

“The challenge to continue to grow and learn is one that each person must accept for themselves. Personal development is just that—personal. What works for one person may not work for someone else, and success may mean continually trying different strategies. But regardless of how we learn, reading will still be the primary method, and books will still be the primary tool. The key is to get yourself back to the books and you may find that you need some help getting back into the habit.

Here are three strategies:

1. Read more than one book at a time. If everything we should be reading had the same plot and pace as an episode of The Bourne Trilogy then learning about search engine optimization or social marketing would make reading to learn an easier sell. To truly grow we will need to learn to dive into subjects that can often be as dry as a west Texas summer, and we will need to learn to stay with them until the very end.Continue with the goal of reading so many chapters or “x” number of pages in mind, but if you find your mind wandering before reaching your reading goal for the night, try dropping one book and picking up another. Continue reading to your goal, but allow your mind more choice in the subject of the moment. If you find the new material interesting, keep working through it, but if not drop that book too and either go back to your original book or try out a third title.
2. Try reading in more than one place. On a similar theme to reading more than one book at a time, have books set aside to read when you are at a different locations. A book stored in your briefcase, backpack, or carrying case can insure you are always able to take advantage of down time in your schedule. A doctor who is running late can add a chapter to your reservoir of knowledge.Similarly, a book stashed in your desk at work can be a great way to recharge your batteries. Consider reading for ten or fifteen minutes at least once during your work day. You may find that not only do you reach your goal of using reading to learn, you are also more excited about the work you were doing prior to your brain break.
3. Make use of the latest technologies. By now everyone is aware of the benefits of using an e-Book reader similar to Amazon’s Kindle or Apple’s iPad. These technologies make carrying a number of books with you at all times much more convenient, and anything that makes reading easier is always a good idea.Books on tape were a wonderful invention, allowing what Zig Ziglar called Automobile University. Today books can be recorded as MP3 files, greatly reducing the size of the files and allowing you to keep a number of audio books on your iPod at any one time. Your phone can be another great place to keep an audio book, and you can be sure you will usually have it, and so them, with you most of the time.” 

Read Full Post »

I just can’t forgive myself

Have you ever thought that?  Have you ever heard someone say that?

Is it biblical to think in terms of forgiving yourself?  If so, where is it in the Bible?  If not, why do so many Christians talk about it?

Dan Phillips spends two posts examining this issue.

Worth your time if you struggle with guilt feelings or know someone who does.

Part 1 Part 2

Read Full Post »