...when we love God, we naturally run to Him-frequently and zealously. Jesus didn't command that we have a regular time with Him each day. Rather, He tells us to 'love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind.' He called this the 'first and greatest commandment' (Matt. 22:37-38). The results are intimate prayer and study of His Word. Our motivation changes from guilt to love.   Francis Chan *Disclaimer: My thoughts on today's quote are lengthy but that means they are important to me! * I've been a believer of God for a really long time.  And most of that time I was told and taught to make sure I had my "daily quiet time" or else I just wasn't cutting it with God and perhaps I wasn't close to God at all.  This is a widely taught and accepted mindset.  Problem is that isn't exactly biblical but Pastors, Churches, and Sunday School teachers all over the place have tried to make it biblical.  W...

Do you know that nothing you do in this life will ever matter, unless it is about loving God and loving the people he has made.   Francis Chan What are you working for or toward?  If it isn't relationship based then it won't matter in the end, it won't count for anything.  I'm sorry if that bursts your bubble...oh wait, no I'm actually not sorry.  I don't know of anyone who has passed from this life and the people left behind have camped on what they did rather than the relationship that person had with others.  What truly matters in this life is relationship - with God (your Creator whether you accept or deny that reality) and with others.  And maybe you've heard it before, you can't truly love others unless you love the One who created them first.   You may not believe me, that's okay.  It's not a bone between you and I but it is a bone between you and God. Why would I say that?  Why would I say that you can't truly love other...

Our greatest fear should not be of failure, but of succeeding at things in life that don't really matter.   Francis Chan I love the way this is put.  Failure means at the very least that you went for it.  And that you went for it hard and that it mattered.  Success, or what appears to be success, as you go along the way in the little things that don't truly matter is the cowards way out.  Ouch.  That kind of hurts doesn't it?  Can you think of something that doesn't matter but people strive to succeed at? One that comes to mind immediately is the struggle for power/control.  One might argue with me that it does matter and I would respond with two things:  one, it really doesn't matter in the big picture and two, you have proven to me and others that in your attempts to convince us that power/control does matter you strive to succeed in it.  Oddly enough the people who strive to succeed at power/control are usually very afraid of failu...

The God of the universe - the Creator of nitrogen and pine needles, galaxies and e-minor - loves us with a radical, unconditional, self-sacrificing love.  And what is our typical response?  We go to church, sing songs, and try not to cuss.   Francis Chan Our response to the greatness of God, to his magnitude, to his power, to his design is lackluster and anti-climatic at best.  I have a good friend who, in walking away from faith, is enamored with our galaxy.  He feels like within the context of Christian faith (maybe any faith?) he wasn't shown how splendid our universe is.  He's got a point.  Christianese says, "God said bang and there it was."  REALLY?  That's the best we can come up with?  No wonder people think we are ridiculous.   We are! And our response to the Creator of the universe is...well it's what the last part of today's quote points out.  Ugh.  And not only did God create the heavens but he created all t...

What is the point of all of this if you aren't going to let it change you?   Francis Chan Today's quote and commentary is dedicated to one of my besties.  Sara "Sunshine" Pfaff-O chieng. If you are my FB friend then perhaps you've seen her and I together on FB.  Here we are a little over a month ago.  We are at the airport and I'm hugging her off to go marry her beloved, Paul.  He's a Kenyan and they married in Kenya since the U.S. was being stinky about letting him come for a visit here so they could marry in the States.  What's CRAZY about my Sara's story is this:  a short year ago, on this date, she had no plans to marry anyone and move her whole life.  Amazing what can happen in a few short months.   Sara went to Kenya last summer (2011) for a 7 week missions trip.  She met Paul in about the last hour she was in Nairobi and now they are married.  Paul, who is AMAZING, currently teaches and lives in Oman.  So Sara ...