Book Review: Fresh Power

Last month, I finished ‘Fresh Power’ by Jim Cymbala. It didn’t offer too many new insights… but lots of crucial reminders! I thought I’d post some of the more interesting quotes from the book: (And my responses… if I wanted to comment on one of the quotes!)

“While Christ’s work on the cross, the shedding of his blood, was the only way to settle the problem of guilt, sin, and condemnation, the coming of the promised Holy Spirit was God’s way of changing human beings from the inside out.”

“In the Bible God gave us HIS vision for the church – what it is supposed to be, how it is supposed to operate, what its goals are, what power will sustain its working. To hold any vision apart from Christ’s vision as stated in the Bible is the height of arrogance.”

(Lord, I am so sorry for the times that my vision for Your church hasn’t matched YOUR vision for Your church!)

“Charles Spurgeon admitted: ‘Without the Spirit of God we can do nothing. We are as ships without wind or chariots without steeds. Like branches without sap, we are withered. Like coals without fire, we are useless.’

(Good reminder of the Spirit's role in our lives and ministries…)

“A.W. Tozer once commented that if God were to take the Holy Spirit out of this world, most of what the church is doing would go right on, and nobody would know the difference.”

(This was a sobering observation from Tozer… and probably a pretty accurate one, unfortunately. I am scared that I might be running ministries where this is true and I so desperately want the Spirit to be leading as I minister and serve.)

“Revival comes when people get dissatisfied with WHAT IS and yearn deeply for WHAT COULD BE.”

(Amen. The challenge is getting people to become dissatisfied… but that’s probably not my job completely… the Spirit will HAVE to get involved in this!)

“Sometimes we think we’re really getting sanctified, we’re really growing in the Lord – and then a trial comes along to prove otherwise. When the sun is shining and everything is going well, you don’t really know what kind of Christian you are. Only the storm reveals that.”

(Man oh man... I have experienced this to a certain extent since late summer. I’m just so glad that God is the master at taking the painful things in our lives and somehow turning them around to build His kingdom.)