tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4235004913006993996.comments2023-06-12T06:34:08.204-04:00The Oak LogJude St.Johnhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04625638135630628734noreply@blogger.comBlogger453125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4235004913006993996.post-61609215002278330202015-06-18T08:58:29.924-04:002015-06-18T08:58:29.924-04:00Augustine's quote shows how some things are mo...Augustine's quote shows how some things are more foundational than others even when they are both important. Good post.Jude St.Johnhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/04625638135630628734noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4235004913006993996.post-2010455050186569202015-06-08T08:25:12.295-04:002015-06-08T08:25:12.295-04:00I like that he notes that our very propensity to b...I like that he notes that our very propensity to be distracted demonstrates a profound spiritual truth; our weakness. Recognizing this and taking it to God is, therefore, a valuable thing when we just get focus.Jude St.Johnhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/04625638135630628734noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4235004913006993996.post-90519318677761267482015-05-22T08:38:48.523-04:002015-05-22T08:38:48.523-04:00Sin behind sin ... ugh! I, too, find myself droppi...Sin behind sin ... ugh! I, too, find myself dropping prayer when things get busy or just when I shouldn't be dropping prayer!Jude St.Johnhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/04625638135630628734noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4235004913006993996.post-39273414176901443332015-05-15T16:21:00.024-04:002015-05-15T16:21:00.024-04:00I found this to be a great recap of where we'v...I found this to be a great recap of where we've been with this book so far!Chris Powerhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/01362091657783470680noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4235004913006993996.post-27465311931477003162015-05-07T07:58:56.569-04:002015-05-07T07:58:56.569-04:00Just saw this tweet by C. J. Mahaney this morning:...Just saw this tweet by C. J. Mahaney this morning: "Think against your feelings; unmask the unbelief they have nourished; let evangelical thinking correct emotional thinking." J.I. Packer. I think that this works well with what you're suggesting. That is, we need evangelical thinking not emotional, unbelieving thinking. And when we are thinking right, we apply that to our emotions and start feeling in a biblically informed way. Good post.Jude St.Johnhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/04625638135630628734noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4235004913006993996.post-45371297795899720532015-04-30T18:58:40.492-04:002015-04-30T18:58:40.492-04:00I thought this was a great approach as well. Very ...I thought this was a great approach as well. Very motivational.Chris Powerhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/01362091657783470680noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4235004913006993996.post-73412678291357144862015-04-30T18:54:57.314-04:002015-04-30T18:54:57.314-04:00Every part of life truly is cross centered! We'...Every part of life truly is cross centered! We'd have no business approaching God in prayer if it wasn't for Christ's work. Prayer should never turn into a letter to Santa but instead be rooted in reverence for God through the work of Christ.Chris Powerhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/01362091657783470680noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4235004913006993996.post-16774428943090509122015-04-20T10:57:08.856-04:002015-04-20T10:57:08.856-04:00Yes! A struggle of mine as well when I made the tr...Yes! A struggle of mine as well when I made the trek to a more Calvinistic way of thinking. But I, too, have also sense a growing confidence in my prayers due to the sovereignty of God and his ordaining of the means as well as the ends. Apart from his sovereignty, what would be accomplished?Jude St.Johnhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/04625638135630628734noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4235004913006993996.post-21900260436613495282015-04-19T19:18:17.064-04:002015-04-19T19:18:17.064-04:00I enjoyed that passage as well. Foundation is key....I enjoyed that passage as well. Foundation is key. Chris Powerhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/01362091657783470680noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4235004913006993996.post-65394354597305774252015-04-18T13:38:45.140-04:002015-04-18T13:38:45.140-04:00I liked that line about "full mental faculty....I liked that line about "full mental faculty." Too often I'm praying with half of my brain, not giving it the attention it requires.Jude St.Johnhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/04625638135630628734noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4235004913006993996.post-39996200796901227672015-04-08T16:08:19.367-04:002015-04-08T16:08:19.367-04:00I found this intriguing as well. I think we all ha...I found this intriguing as well. I think we all have that sense that if we could only get some famous, godly man or woman to pray for us (Piper, MacArthur, Graham, etc) then we would really see God move. But truly, with Christ as our mediator we are already at the very pinnacle of godliness. This IS comforting and encouraging.Jude St.Johnhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/04625638135630628734noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4235004913006993996.post-14453404850049848592015-04-06T17:17:44.548-04:002015-04-06T17:17:44.548-04:00This was a solid point. When he writes of Jesus br...This was a solid point. When he writes of Jesus bridging the chasm between us a God it I had a movie scene pop into my mind. I pictured something similar to the scene in Indiana Jones, maybe Raiders of the Lost Ark? The one where Indy is on one side and the Ark is on the other of this enormous chasm. There appears to be no way across. He ends up making it across because he trusts in the clues he has and steps out seemingly to fall to his death into the chasm. But surprise surprise there's a bridge there. Once on it his perspective changes and he can see the bridge that was there all along.<br /><br />The Cross is like this. It's the invisible bridge that once we have our perspective changed by God through faith in his Son we can use it to bridge the gap between us and Him.Chris Powerhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/01362091657783470680noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4235004913006993996.post-72703110015617476662015-04-04T08:07:37.484-04:002015-04-04T08:07:37.484-04:00This is good. It also made me think that we should...This is good. It also made me think that we should accumulate our vocabulary for prayer from immersion in the word. We should use biblical terms and phrases when we pray. This will also be a process; we will learn over time as we work with the word and as it is illumined by the Spirit.Jude St.Johnhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/04625638135630628734noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4235004913006993996.post-77044557246347146572015-03-24T07:08:23.673-04:002015-03-24T07:08:23.673-04:00I'll be watching for it!I'll be watching for it!Jude St.Johnhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/04625638135630628734noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4235004913006993996.post-74142600341259866022015-03-23T20:15:53.239-04:002015-03-23T20:15:53.239-04:00Solid points! I could comment more but then I'...Solid points! I could comment more but then I'd ruin my upcoming post!Chris Powerhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/01362091657783470680noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4235004913006993996.post-91594092228112437012015-03-19T09:07:48.590-04:002015-03-19T09:07:48.590-04:00This is intriguing. Essentially, we can become mor...This is intriguing. Essentially, we can become more effective in prayer through knowing God better. There is a danger in this though. If this results in us thinking that the resulting increase in effectiveness is attributable to us, we have misstepped. It seems to me the increase in our knowledge of God is beneficial to prayer because of God; our prayers more accurately align with his will, we understand more clearly why we can have faith in God, we see more profoundly why Christ's work enables and encourages to approach God, etc.. <br /><br />This is a great encouragement to knowing God.Jude St.Johnhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/04625638135630628734noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4235004913006993996.post-46264885964892776042015-03-17T14:29:38.756-04:002015-03-17T14:29:38.756-04:00I think that Keller's point on encountering Go...I think that Keller's point on encountering God through prayer is very important as it relates to other perspectives on prayer. So many other "spiritual" practices use prayer as a chance to really focus on themselves and miss the entire point of why it was designed. Chris Powerhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/01362091657783470680noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4235004913006993996.post-44380780129744743542015-03-12T07:27:27.097-04:002015-03-12T07:27:27.097-04:00This goes well with a concept from my sermon for t...This goes well with a concept from my sermon for this Sunday. I am preaching on Jesus' statement "I am the true vine." His command to us in these verses is to abide. To abide is to remain and to continue in Him. One of the ways we do this is in prayer; he mentions prayer in this passage. The term abide gives us a sense of persevering;it's not going to be easy! I appreciate Keller's frankness in terms of the difficulty of prayer, but also his courage in not lessening the expectation because of the difficulties.Jude St.Johnhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/04625638135630628734noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4235004913006993996.post-67494821194340493672015-03-08T11:25:07.097-04:002015-03-08T11:25:07.097-04:00I relayed that exact same passage to Nicole. We bo...I relayed that exact same passage to Nicole. We both agreed that part of the problem is that we don't see our lives with the gravity we ought to. We have three teenage daughters; that is as grave as life gets, isn't it? But seriously, so much hangs in the balance and apart from the grace of God, I don't like my chances. I must learn to pray. I have to.<br />Jude St.Johnhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/04625638135630628734noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4235004913006993996.post-80263658732948669672015-03-07T13:26:16.917-05:002015-03-07T13:26:16.917-05:00Great point! I found that very interesting as well...Great point! I found that very interesting as well. The great thing about this Christian life is that it plays out differently for everyone. It might've taken Keller two years to see results after his dedication to prayer. Maybe it takes you two months....or twenty years...but that's part of the fun! We keep working to be better conformed to Christ, in this case through prayer, and God is faithful to reward our continued efforts in seeking him. Chris Powerhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/01362091657783470680noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4235004913006993996.post-79746133855119539182015-01-23T04:50:56.338-05:002015-01-23T04:50:56.338-05:00The Simpson books were reasonably good . . . lots ...The Simpson books were reasonably good . . . lots of better ones on that list. I wrote reviews on all of them but have not posted them. Perhaps I could, or I coulld email them to you if you were interested. I read them because they are part of my required reading for ordination.<br />Jude St.Johnhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/04625638135630628734noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4235004913006993996.post-49314091755809295382015-01-23T04:50:07.421-05:002015-01-23T04:50:07.421-05:00This comment has been removed by the author.Jude St.Johnhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/04625638135630628734noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4235004913006993996.post-8599903154727941702015-01-22T19:28:25.314-05:002015-01-22T19:28:25.314-05:00Jude - I am curious about the books by A B Simpson...Jude - I am curious about the books by A B Simpson - would you recommend them? Did you do any summary posts on them? Any thoughts regarding them? What motivated you to read them? Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4235004913006993996.post-41506441262387506962014-06-04T23:40:55.575-04:002014-06-04T23:40:55.575-04:00Beautiful. And that God works through us to save o...Beautiful. And that God works through us to save our loved ones, too. so hopeful! Thank you for this post.Carolyn Weberhttp://www.pressingsave.comnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4235004913006993996.post-46833601306603605802014-03-06T07:40:39.615-05:002014-03-06T07:40:39.615-05:00Great analogy Chris. As someone who made a living ...Great analogy Chris. As someone who made a living of holding things tightly, I know the adverse effects that can come when you get caught. The same is true when we hold on to the world; we are sure to be penalized for it.Jude St.Johnhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/04625638135630628734noreply@blogger.com