Chris Tomlinson's Blog: Crave Something More, page 7

Spiritual Botany

I attended a dying church this past Sunday.  My father was asked to preach at their service, and I decided to come hear the old man address this country church.  I knew it was a small church, but I was surprised to walk in and see about 15 people singing from the bright red hymnals in their hands.

A man in a gray suit greeted me at the door with a smile.  He said, "Are you new here?"  I thought to myself, "You know all 15 people here, right?"  But he was just being kind, and I was not, so I...

What Type of Person Are You?

There are two types of people in the world:  those who categorize others into types, and those who don't.

My friend Sarah is one of these types of people.  Over Saturday dinner, she shared with our group her perspective on 4 types of people—particularly in how we react to them in relationships.

Look Good.  Look Gooders care most about what others think about them.  Their reputation is king, and they will accept emotional turmoil within so long as no one else knows about it.  Honesty...

Where to Find Grace in Marriage

Anna and I have been reading John Piper's recent book on marriage, entitled This Momentary Marriage.  The premise of the book is simple:  that marriage is the doing of God and is meant to be the display of God.

Piper looks to two amazing descriptions of marriage in the Scriptures to develop this thesis.  The first is in Matthew 19, where Jesus reaches back to quote and explain the first statement about marriage in Genesis 2.

"[Jesus:] answered, 'Have you not read that he who created them from...

The Divine Essence, Idea, and Love…And Why It Matters

When others' words kindle my own flame:  Reflections on words by Jonathan Edwards and John Piper.

Mankind has said and written many things throughout the ages.  Some of it needs to be commended and retold throughout every generation so that others might benefit from the records of wisdom.  Some of it needs to be destroyed, or at least held aloft in public contempt so that others might not fall prey to its empty promises.

Here is some writing to be commended:

The Father is the deity...

The Unopened Door

Imagine yourself in a room.  The door behind you shut firmly, and you find yourself looking around at the walls, the floor, the ceiling, wondering how you ended up here.  The color of the walls, the coldness of the floor, the smell of old furniture, and the taste of neglect fill your senses with a twist of comfort and anxiety.

At the far side of the room, you see a door, obscured mostly by darkness.  The doorknob is partially lit, inviting you to see what lies beyond but cautioning you all t...

Becoming Numb To "For Just a Dollar a Day"

Advertisements have ruined compassion. OK, maybe they haven't ruined it, but how many times have you heard that a dollar a day will save the life of some child in a third world country, and you flip past that channel or turn the page or click to the next site without thinking any more about it?  I've probably seen a thousand ads for kids that desperately need my help, and I've actually helped maybe 3 of them.

This is the tragedy of familiarity.  We tend to go numb at too much exposure.  We...

Can We Move On From Jesus?

You ever feel like you're ready to move on from Jesus? You hear a sermon about the cross, or the gospel, and you feel like you've heard that before?  Like it's time to move on to something else?

I think this is a fair question, particularly with the branches of gospel-centered ministry rising high about the ground of our church culture.  After all, the Bible is full of characters, and stories, and principles, and commandments; it offers more than a life-time of study and understanding can...

Fireproof

I watched the movie Fireproof last night for the first time.  I know I'm coming late to the party, and as I understand, the movie has its fair share of critics who say Christian art often doesn't compare in quality to its secular counterpart.  And the movie has its fair share of proponents who say that movies like this stand to redeem art from our evil culture.

Whoever is right is less important to me right now; I'm simply glad the team that made this movie did so.  I found parts of it to be c...

O How He Loves Us

He is jealous for me;

Loves like a hurricane, I am a tree,

Bending beneath the weight of His wind and mercy.

And all of a sudden I am unaware of these afflictions eclipsed by glory,

And I realize just how beautiful you are and how great your affections are for me.

We are His portion and He is prize,
Drawn to redemption by the grace in His eyes.
If His grace is an ocean, we're all sinking.
Heaven meets earth like an unforeseen kiss
And my heart turns violently inside of my chest
I don't have time...

In Order To…

I write at this blog in order to create a platform to be read more widely.  I want a larger platform in order to provide me with a sense that my life and my work have value.  I want this sense of value in order to satisfy my longing for joy in life.

In short, I write for the wrong reasons.

In God's Passion For His Glory, John Piper teaches us:

The essence of authentic, corporate worship is the collective experiment of heartfelt satisfaction in the glory of God, or a trembling that we do not...