Elijah Abanto > Recent Status Updates

Day 9: Blessed Are Those Who Mourn... Now | "God's word never leaves us in the casket of despair. Instead, Scripture invites us to face our casket experiences honestly and then look to the God of resurrection hope."

Chapter One: "How Shasta Set Out on His Travels" | (Bree, the horse) "I'm a free Narnian. And why should I talk slaves' and fools' talk? I don't want [Tashbaan] to live forever, and I know that he's not going to live forever, whether I want him to or not. And I can see you're from the free North, too. No more of the southern jargon between you and me."

I'm already into this book from the very first chapter!

Day 8: "Hope for the Hopeless" | When all the injustices of your life shout, "You are not loved!" God's beloved Son invites you into the love of the Trinity. When all life's unfairness shouts, "Give up hope that wrongs will ever be righted!" God's Son guarantees you justice--He will bring victory!

Day 7: "Opening the Eyes of Your Heart" | "In grief, we are tempted to view God through the lens of our loss. Christ invites us to view the Father through the lens of the cross."

Chapter 14: "The Planting of the Tree" | "| cannot tell [it] do this old sinner, and I cannot comfort him either; he has made himself unable to hear my voice. If I spoke to him, he would hear only growlings and roarings. Oh, Adam's sons, how cleverly you defend yourselves against all that might do you good!"

Day 6: "Light in Your Darkness." | "Even while Jesus grieved the rejection of his hometown, he lived in the light of his identity in his Father: a beloved and respected Son. When we live in the light of God’s grace relationship with us, we can give the light of grace to others--even in our grief."

Chapter Thirteen: "An Unexpected Meeting." | The evil one may tempt us to sin in a time of great grief or need, but remembering the goodness of God and how he understands our grief and our need will sustain us to continue to be faithful.

Day 5: "Bread for Your Hungry Soul." | "One of our greatest temptations in our grief is to turn inward on ourselves. Instead, God calls us to turn upward to him."

Chapter Twelve: "Strawberry's Adventure." | Believe this: Our Lord knows and understands our grief, and he has come to share and comfort us in it, and ultimately relieve us of it.

Day 4: "The Voice of Lament and the Promise of Hope." | "God gives you permission to grieve. Voice your grief. But God... never stops at lament... [He] hears our lament, acts on our voiced pain, enters our suffering, and promises his resurrection hope."

Day 3: "Grief Sandwiched by Glory." | "We grieve not as the hopeless ones but as the ones who know the Hope of the world."

Chapter Eleven: "Digory and His Uncle Are Both in Trouble" | It's hard to ask God for anything when we have not yet confessed the wrongs we've done against him and others.

Day 2: "Entering Your Broken World" - "The Bible never asks you to deny your loss or suppress your grief, and neither does Jesus. Remember, it's normal to grieve. At the same time, the Bible never leaves us without hope, and neither does Jesus. In the midst of our suffering, Jesus offers us light and peace."

Borrowed this book from Bangkok City Baptist Church Members Library and have started reading when everyone has gone to sleep.

From Day 1: "Shared Sorrow is Endurable Sorrow" - "Jesus became flash in order to help those who are suffering and being tempted--you and me. Jesus became flesh so he could destroy the ultimate costs of all sorrow: sin, Satan, separation, and death."

Chapter Ten: "The First Joke and Other Matters" - "Now the trouble about trying to make yourself stupider than you really are is that you very often succeed."

Appendix 1: The Regulative Principle - "Not only has God called us to worship Him, but He has also given us everything we need to worship Him well (if only we will have eyes to see and ears to hear)."

Chapter Eleven: “Sing with Joy” - “You don’t get Christians to sing with joy by telling them how they ought to feel about God you get them to sing for joy by telling them about God!”

Chapter Ten: “Sing in Wonder” - “When was the last time that the God of your salvation stunned you and left you wondering at His glory?”

Chapter Nine: “Sing to Bear Witness” - “The Song of Moses also shows us that the people of God can sing their testimony, because—after all—the Song of Moses is a testimony set to music.”

Chapter Eight: “Sing As A Leader” - We who are put in a position of leadership are called to lead those who follow us to sing and worship God wholeheartedly.

Chapter Seven: “Sing History” - “Singing about the saints of old unites us to them in a song of grace that not only reaches back into history, but that will also echo throughout eternity. It is an honor, a privilege, and a duty to make sure that we sing the gospel in a way that looks back on our forefathers in the faith.”

Chapter Six: “Sing the Whole Counsel of God” - “Love and justice. Wrath and grace. … Paul said that he did not hesitate to preach ‘the whole council of God.’ Likewise, we should not hesitate to sing the whole council of God.”

Chapter Five: “Sing the Truth” - “In Ephesians 4, Paul says that the church is built up into robust health by speaking the truth in love. This means that speaking falsities does not build up the body in any way, but rather, it breaks it down.”

Chapter Four: “Sing to God, about God” - “There’s an old contemporary Christian song that says, ‘I could sing of your love forever.’ Well, I hope you mean it, because that’s exactly what God wants. He wants to hear us sing about His love forever. And we will.”

Chapter Nine: “The Founding of Narnia.” God creates life. God makes beauty. God gives speech. God rejoices to do these things.

Insight Three: “Sing Together” - “You are certainly free to sing songs of praise with your family during devotionals, or alone in the car, or in your time with God in the prayer closet. But the highest priority for Christian singing should be with the people of God as we journey towards the Promised Land together.”

Chapter Eight: “The Fight at the Lamp-post.” Those who have pure hearts will love God and goodness; those with proud hearts will hate him and whatever he does.

Insight Two: “Sing in Response” - “Every aspect of our worship is always a response to what God has already.”

Chapter Seven: “What Happened at the Front Door.” What a mess we make when we’re proud and callous!