God deliver me from the dread asbestos of βother things.β Saturate me with the oil of the Spirit that I may be aflame.
Jim ElliotRead
Lord, make my way prosperous, not that I achieve high station, but that my life may be an exhibit to the value of knowing God.
Interpretation
This quote emphasizes seeking prosperity not for personal gain, but to showcase the value of a relationship with God.
Jim Elliot's quote reflects a deep desire for prosperity that serves a higher purpose beyond personal ambition. He suggests that true worth in life comes not from attaining power or status, but from living in a way that exemplifies the significance of knowing and trusting God. It invites reflection on how one's life can inspire others to value spiritual connections over material achievements.
In practice
During a sermon on faith and purpose, I shared this quote to illustrate the importance of seeking a meaningful life.
God deliver me from the dread asbestos of βother things.β Saturate me with the oil of the Spirit that I may be aflame.
I have felt the impact of your prayer in these past weeks. I am certain now that nothing has had a more powerful infl uence on this life of mine than your prayers.
God, I pray light these idle sticks of my life and may I burn up for thee.
Father, make of me a crisis man. Bring those I contact to decision. Let me not be a milepost on a single road; make me a fork, that men must turn one way or another on facing Christ in me.
None of it gets to be 'old stuff', for it is Christ in print, the Living Word. We wouldn't think of rising in the morning without a facewash, but we often neglect that purgative cleansing of the Word of the Lord. It wakes us up to our responsibility
Father, take my life, yea, my blood if Thou wilt, and consume it with Thine enveloping fire. I would not save it, for it is not mine to save. Have it Lord, have it all. Pour out my life as an oblation for the world. Blood is only of value as it flows before Thine altar
The Spirit works through community. Somebody will have a stupid, screwy idea. That's okay. The point of having creeds and confessions and traditions is to keep us in touch with the obvious errors.
Though we take from a covetous man all his treasure, he has yet one jewel left; you cannot bereave him of his covetousness.
The liar was the hottest to defend his veracity, the coward his courage, the ill-bred his gentlemanliness, and the cad his honor
The permanent temptation of life is to confuse dreams with reality. The permanent defeat of life comes when dreams are surrendered to reality.
The law of God cannot be fulfilled by external obedience.
I don't know Bengali perfectly. I don't know how to write it or even read it. I have an accent, I speak without authority, and so I've always perceived a disjunction between it and me. As a result, I consider my mother tongue, paradoxically, a foreign language.
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