Thought Exercise on Running From God

illustration

The Hound of Heaven

Author

Keywords

Scripture

Jonah 1:1-4, Genesis 3:8-9, Hosea 3:1, Luke 15:4-7, Psalm 139:7-10, Acts 9:3-6

In 1890 Francis Thompson, a Roman Catholic poet, described God as “The Hound of Heaven”: I fled Him, down the nights and down the days; I fled Him, down the arches of the years; I fled Him,...

illustration

A Re-Orientation of the Body

Author

Elouise Renich Fraser

Keywords

In her book Confessions of a Beginning Theologian , Elouise Renich Fraser discusses how crucial it has been to listen to her body throughout her personal and theological growth. My body, once...

illustration

How Our Limits Help Us

Author

Ashley Hales

Keywords

Scripture

Exodus 32:1, Genesis 18:10–14, Habakkuk 2:3, Acts 1:4, Romans 8:23–25, Psalm 27:14

We must learn to see our limits as the entrance into the good life, not what bars us from it. But as we grow older, waiting feels like an inconvenience or affront. We take out our phones when we’re...

illustration

Pilgrimage and Progression

Author

Christian George

Keywords

Pilgrimage is centered around one thing—progression. God does not call us to be static saints, even if we cannot move physically. We are constantly on the move spiritually, evolving in our understandi...

illustration

A Runner Misses the Forest for the Trees

Author

Louie Giglio

Keywords

Scripture

Genesis 28:10–17, 2 Kings 6:15–17, Ecclesiastes 3:11, Luke 24:13–35, Ephesians 1:18–19, Psalm 19:1–4

The author and pastor Louie Giglio isn't the type of runner who enjoys the scenery—he's just trying to survive his workouts. And when he's running in freezing rain? He's barely thinkin...

illustration

Running His Race

Author

Jon Tyson

Keywords

Scripture

Romans 12:3, 1 Corinthians 9:24-25, Isaiah 40:31, Philippians 3:13-14, Galatians 5:7, 2 Timothy 4:7, Hebrews 12:1-2

In his book The Burden is the Light, Jon Tyson shares how, as a child, he had excelled as a runner, winning a number of races and even breaking state records. But everything changed when another athle...

illustration

Running Away from our Problems

Author

Seth Haines

Keywords

We tend to spoil any good thing, human as we are. We turn the gifts of God into coping mechanisms, just like I did wine, and we do it with any old gift. Consider my friend Rich, a good and right man w...

illustration

The Two Runners

Author

The Pastor's Workshop

Keywords

Scripture

Matthew 6:33, Colossians 3:23, Psalm 39:6, Luke 12:15, Acts 15:29, Matthew 5:14-16, Ephesians 2:10, 1 Corinthians 10:31, Jeremiah 9:23-24, Matthew 16:24, Luke 9:62, 2 Corinthians 4:8-9, James 1:12, Romans 8:16-17, Galatians 2:20

The true story of Eric Liddell and Harold Abrahams, two British sprinters who qualified for the 1924 Olympic Games, illustrates two contrasting approaches to life and identity. Abrahams was driven by ...

illustration

Our Stories, Incarnated by God

Author

Casey K. Tygrett

Keywords

Scripture

1 Corinthians 11:26, Romans 6:3-4, 2 Corinthians 3:2-3, Revelation 12:11, Colossians 2:11-12

Every person in Scripture lived out a personal story incarnated by an even greater story about God, life, and the world. That story came from the politics, theology, and culture ingrained in their mem...

illustration

No Natural vs Supernatural in the Ancient World

Author

John H. Walton

Keywords

That is, there is no concept of a “natural” world in ancient Near Eastern thinking. The dichotomy between natural and supernatural is a relatively recent one. Deity pervaded the ancient world. Nothin...

illustration

The Creation of Artificial Time

Author

John Mark Comer

Keywords

The Passing of Time

We all know our world has sped up to a frenetic pace. We feel it in our bones, not to mention on the freeway. But it hasn’t always been this way. Let me nerd out on you for a few minutes just to show...

illustration

A Pastor's Road Rage

Author

Craig Groeschel

Keywords

Scripture

Matthew 5:16, Colossians 3:12, Proverbs 15:1, Galatians 5:22-23, Romans 12:2, Ephesians 4:32

Just before Christmas, my whole family piled into our kid-moving vehicle and rushed to the nearest mall to grab some last minute Christmas presents before dashing to a holiday party. As usual, we were...

illustration

The Road to Hope

Author

The Pastor's Workshop

Keywords

Scripture

Romans 5:3-5

On May 20, 1990, 42-year-old Georgene Johnson arrived 15 min early for her 10K race (6.2 mi) as part of the Revco-Cleveland Marathon and found runners already heading down the course. So, she jumped i...

illustration

Joy With Flesh On

Author

Ashley Hales

Keywords

Scripture

Genesis 1:31, Exodus 16:4–5, Isaiah 40:31, Mark 10:14–15, John 15:5,11, Psalm 16:11

I have a photo of one of my children: on a day of pure sunshine, he is running down the hillside, leading with his chest, his smile and stride wide as his speed picks up. Running is pure delight. Agai...

illustration

A Field of Chaff & Wheat Growing up Together

Author

John F. X. Harriott

Keywords

Scripture

Exodus 32:1–14 , 1 Kings 19:9–18, Isaiah 6:1–8, Matthew 13:24–30 , 1 Corinthians 1:26–29 , Psalm 51:17

The Church is not a clean, well-lit place where everything runs smoothly and actions automatically match ideals. It is, in the words of the Gospel, a field of chaff and wheat growing up together and b...

illustration

Confess Your Mixed Motives

Author

Kent Annan

Keywords

Scripture

Micah 6:8, James 1:27, Isaiah 1:17, Romans 12:2, Galatians 6:9-10

In U2’s song “One,” Bono sings, “Have you come here to play Jesus / To the lepers in your head?”2 Yes, if you are involved in justice work, you probably have. So have I. This isn’t bad. Just honest. W...

illustration

Someone With Skin

Author

Stuart R. Strachan, Jr.

Keywords

Scripture

Romans 8:3, John 14:9, Colossians 2:9, 1 John 4:9, Philippians 2:6-8, Hebrews 2:14

Ronald Rohlheiser begins his excellent book, Our One Great Act of Fidelity , with a story of a young girl. She had awoken from a nightmare, convinced that monsters had invaded her room and were comin...

illustration

The #1 Obstacle to Growth

Author

John Mark Comer

Keywords

Recently I was running the vision of our church by my therapist, who is this Jesus-loving, ubersmart PhD. Our dream was to re-architect our communities around apprenticeship to Jesus. (That feels so ...

illustration

Defining Religion: Creed, Cult, Conduct

Author

Robert Farrar Capon

Keywords

Religion

In this fictionalized pastoral counseling session, the Episcopalian Priest Robert Farrar Capon shares some eternal truths related to the nature of religion—and in conclusion, how Christianity differs....

illustration

God is a Consuming Fire

Author

Fulton J. Sheen

Keywords

Curiously enough, it is a fear of how grace will change and improve them that keeps many souls away from God. They want God to take them as they are and let them stay that way. They want Him to take a...

illustration

Experiencing a New Reality with Disability

Author

Joni Eareckson Tada

Keywords

Scripture

Galatians 5:16-26

Many formerly active able-bodied people have had to learn a new pace in life after an accident or illness. Whether the condition is temporary or permanent, it isn’t easy. The memory and muscles still ...

illustration

An Accidental Champion

Author

The Pastor's Workshop

Keywords

Scripture

1 Corinthians 9:24-27

Meredith Fitzmaurice only planned to run a half-marathon on Sep 22, 2013 in Amherstburg, Ontario, hoping to qualify for the Boston Marathon. At the 13 mile point, she made a wrong turn. She missed th...

illustration

Surrounded by a Great Cloud of Witnesses

Author

The Pastor's Workshop

Keywords

In his book Unshakeable Faith , Max Lucado shares a true story about a friend who competed in an Ironman Triathlon in Lake Placid, New York. You can compete in Ironman races around the world in p...

illustration

The Way God Enjoys Getting Things Done

Author

Joni Eareckson Tada

Keywords

Weakness

Years ago, when I took that fateful dive into shallow water and broke my neck, never did I think that God was honing me for leadership. All I could do was retch at the thought of sitting down for the ...

illustration

“What is God Looking For?”

Author

John Piper

Keywords

Pastor John Piper warns of attempting to “do great things for God”: The difference between Uncle Sam and Jesus Christ is that Uncle Sam won’t enlist you unless you are healthy and Jesus won’t enlist...

illustration

Be a Catalyst for Change

Author

David Peterson

Keywords

Scripture

Exodus 3:7-8, James 2:15-17, Luke 10:25-37, Proverbs 3:27, Micah 6:8, Matthew 5:16

At the 5-mile mark in the Old Kent Riverbank Run a guy passing me said, “Hey buddy, you dropped your key.” There was no getting home without my key. Like a salmon swimming upstream I headed back into ...

illustration

What the With-God Life Looks Like

Author

John Ortberg

Keywords

Transformation

There is a consistent pattern in Scripture of what happens in a life that God wants to use and improve: -There is always a call. God asks an ordinary person to engage in an act of extraordinary trust...

illustration

Rolling Stone Interview with Bono

Author

Rolling Stone Magazine

Keywords

Scripture

Isaiah 40:31, 2 Corinthians 12:8-9, Psalm 42:3-5, Lamentations 3:17-20, Habakkuk 1:2-3, Psalm 22:1, Job 30:20-21

The music that really turns me on is either running toward God or away form God. Both recognize the pivot, that God is at the center of the jaunt. So the blues on one hand — running away; gospel, the ...

illustration

On the Side?

Author

Jonathan K. Dodson

Keywords

In his thoughtful book, Our Good Crisis: Overcoming Moral Chaos with the Beatitudes, Jonathan K. Dodson shares a funny, yet poingnant encounter with a man who wanted to keep religion private: I ...

illustration

Can Anyone Hear Me?

Author

Andy Cook

Keywords

Scripture

1 Peter 5:7, Philippians 4:6-7, Matthew 6:25-27, Psalm 37:5, Psalm 46:1, 1 John 1:

When I think of the way God allows His servants to suffer, I can’t help but remember the classic story of poor Jack, who was out jogging. As he passed a cliff, he got a little too close to the edge, a...

thought exercise on Running from God

illustration

illustration

illustration

illustration

illustration

illustration

illustration

illustration

illustration

illustration

illustration

illustration

illustration

illustration

illustration

illustration

illustration

illustration

illustration

illustration

illustration

illustration

illustration

illustration

illustration

illustration

illustration

illustration

illustration

illustration

A

B

C

D

E

F

G

H

I

J

K

L

M

N

O

P

Q

R

S

T

U

V

W

Genesis

Exodus

Leviticus

Numbers

Deuteronomy

Joshua

Judges

Ruth

1 Samuel

2 Samuel

1 Kings

2 Kings

1 Chronicles

2 Chronicles

Ezra

Nehemiah

Esther

Job

Psalm

Proverbs

Ecclesiastes

Song of Solomon

Isaiah

Jeremiah

Lamentations

Ezekiel