if the world's exploding with love, what about my 'dreadful thoughts'?

there are two ways to look at this universe we’re stuck in. one is to see it as vastly sinister, mocking our desires. the other is to see it as exploding with love, inviting our trust. if the first is true, we should rage at everything, especially the (apparently) positive things. if the second is true, we can never despair, no matter what happens.
 -ray ortlund

whenever the devil pesters you with (dreadful) thoughts, at once seek out the company of men, drink more, joke and jest, or engage in some other form of merriment. . .  when the devil throws our sins up to us and declares that we deserve death and hell, we ought to speak thus: "I admit that I deserve death and hell.  what of it?  does this mean that I shall be sentenced to eternal damnation? by no means.  for I know One who suffered and made satisfaction in my behalf.  His name is Jesus Christ, the Son of God.  where He is, there I shall be also."
 -martin luther

proportions

"Child, you have to learn to see things in the right proportions. Learn to see great things great and small things small."

 -corrie ten boom

 

I like this. it feels a lot like another one of my favorite things to hear/ say:  Keep the main thing the main thing.

 

set your hearts on things above, where Christ is, seated at the right hand of God. set your minds on things above, not on earthly things

so we fix our eyes not on what is seen, but on what is unseen. for what is seen is temporary, but what is unseen is eternal

'space for all'

one of the many things I love about the gospel is how it creates a for-you relational tone that didn’t exist before. . .  Space for all, within biblical parameters, is the new relational environment only the gospel can create, to the praise of Jesus Christ, who is rejoicing over us all.  -ray ortlund

we are asking for ways to make the hospitality of God known and felt all over the world, from the lonely church member right here, to the Gola farmers in Tahn, Liberia.  don’t ever underestimate the power of your living room as a launching pad for new life and hope and ministry and mission!  -john piper

the message we are carrying to the nations is  Jesus is for you and for me. there's 'space for all': maybe a seat in the living room. i like this. the living room is our proverbial launching pad.