Museums and bookstores should feel, I think, like vacant lots - places where the demands on us are our own demands, where the spirit can find exercise in unsupervised play.

What does Sunday, the day of the Lord, mean for us? It is a day for rest and for family, but first of all a day for Him.

I think that if God forgives us we must forgive ourselves. Otherwise, it is almost like setting up ourselves as a higher tribunal than Him.

Prayer turns us into first-class noticers. It helps us see what God wants us to notice. The more you pray, the more you notice; the less you pray, the less you notice. It's as simple as that. Let me explain how

The Bible wasn't meant merely to be read. It was meant to be prayed through, meditated on, and lived out. If all you do is read it, all you've done is audit the Word of God. And you don't get credit for an audit. You've simply been educated beyond the level of your obedience.

If you want to hear His comforting voice, you have to listen to His convicting voice.

We live in a culture where everyone wants to have his or her voice heard but has so little to say. And that's because we do so little listening, especially to God. The best way to get people to listen to us is for us to listen to God. Why? Because we'll have something to say that is worth hearing. Ultimately, all of us need to find our voice. And by voice I mean the unique message God wants to speak through our lives. But finding our voice starts with hearing His voice.

without rest, we miss the rest of God: the rest he invites us to enter more fully so that we might know him more deeply. "Be still, and know that I am God." Some knowing is never pursued, only received. And for that, you need to be still.

Ultimately, intellectual work of this sort is its own reward, because it is focused on the only One whose recognition is important, the One before whom all hearts are open.

I found I had less and less to say, until finally, I became silent, and began to listen. I discovered in the silence, the voice of God

Since the Lord is speaking directly to you through journaling, I believe journaling amounts to receiving a personal prophecy. The New Testament limits prophecy to three categories: "edification, exhortation, and comfort" (1 Cor. 14:3).

It is better to think of church in the ale-house than to think of the ale-house in church.