My Commonplace Book

I spent an unusual hour this morning finishing Gary Haugen’s, Just Courage: God’s Great Expedition for the Restless Christian. It was unsettling. I’m thinking of writing a recommendation at jayslibrary.com entitled “Don’t Read this Book, It will Change your Life.” Anyway, I wanted to post Gary’s intro to chapter 9, where he argues that Christians [...]

THOU art indeed just, Lord, if I contend
With thee; but, sir, so what I plead is just.
Why do sinners’ ways prosper? and why must
Disappointment all I endeavour end?
Wert thou my enemy, O thou my friend,
How wouldst thou worse, I wonder, than thou dost
Defeat, thwart me? Oh, the sots and thralls of lust
Do in spare hours [...]

My son sent me the following song by Jon Foreman yesterday. It captures this growing passion for justice among the young and the “not so old.” It’s based on Isaiah 1 and Amos 5, two prophets who didn’t pull any punches as they went down swinging.

I ordered this t-shirt. I can’t wait to get it and wear it. I’m buying it as a reminder to pursue the things that matter to God and ought to matter to us.
Seek justice,
rescue the oppressed

defend the orphan
plead for the widow. (Isaiah 1:17)

Of course, wearing a t-shirt with a bible verse on it doesn’t make [...]

I’m constantly depressed by the worldwide challenges to real Kingdom change. I’ve wondered at times whether we can see light grow in the dark places of the world– whether we can, as Job says, break the jaw of the oppressor. JK Rowling’s words below drive me to a realized eschatology, to imagining a better future [...]

 
 
The Back Story
The Passion movement recently released the album, God of This City. The title was taken from a song, sung on the album by Chris Tomlin, but originally written and released by the Irish band, BlueTree. I love the whole song, but my favorite lines come from the chorus:
Greater [...]

Preparing to leave for Africa, I should read happy, lighter books. Just finished Elie Wiesel’s book on the horrors of the Holocaust. I had been meaning to read it for years. Very profound and disturbing–but everyone ought to read it. Here’s a famous passage, describing the hanging of a young boy [...]

Click for a better view

Don’t click on this photo–not yet anyway. What do you see? The plans for a ship and its cargo.
Now, click on it. What do you see?
This is the infamous British slave ship, Brookes. It was regulated by British law to carry 454 African slaves across the Middle Passage [...]

“Sub-Merge: Living Deep in a Shallow World: Service, Justice and Contemplation Among the World’s Poor” (John Hayes)
I’m reading this book by John Hayes, the director of InnerCHANGE. InnerCHANGE is a mission order that works among the poor in five countries, sharing the good news in words and works through personal relationships. This book [...]