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Heart of the Matter: Is it up to God or Up to Me? (1 Sam. 11) Chris Altrock – June 25, 2017

This entry is part [part not set] of 4 in the series The Heart of the Matter

Chris Anderson tells the story of a man who went out to the desert to find God.[1] He fasted. He prayed. He longed to throw himself into the arms of God.

One day he was walking and he fell off a cliff. He would have fallen to his death if he hadn’t grabbed a branch partway down the cliff. As he swung there, grasping the branch, high above the river and the jagged rocks, he cried out, “Lord, Lord! Are you there? Help me! Tell me what to do!”

Eventually, the voice of the Lord came, calmly and quietly. “Let go,” the voice said.

Seconds passed.Read More »Heart of the Matter: Is it up to God or Up to Me? (1 Sam. 11) Chris Altrock – June 25, 2017

Heart of the Matter: Leaving the Land of Forgetfulness (1 Sam. 7) Chris Altrock – June 18, 2017

This entry is part [part not set] of 4 in the series The Heart of the Matter

 

There are a small number of people in the world diagnosed with hyperthymesia.[1] Essentially, these are people who remember everything–everything. Alexandre Wolfe is one of them. In an interview for NPR, Alexandre described how she can recall every detail of a mundane activity like driving to Target for groceries more than ten years ago. She can recall what she wore and ate every day for the past decade. She remembers if the fan in the bedroom was running on this date last year.

This hyper memory could be helpful. Imagine never forgetting another birthday or anniversary or special occasion. Imagine never forgetting another important fact while you are at work or school. Imagine studying for a test and remembering everything you studied. Imagine being able to win every trivia game.Read More »Heart of the Matter: Leaving the Land of Forgetfulness (1 Sam. 7) Chris Altrock – June 18, 2017

Unbroken: Praying Through the Ordinary Minutes Not Just the Extraordinary Milestones Chris Altrock – May 28, 2017

This entry is part [part not set] of 3 in the series Unbroken

Highland’s Women’s Minister, Lawana Maxwell, and I co-lead a class for adults on Wednesday nights called Quest. The class is designed to push adults deeper in their spiritual lives. As Lawana and I were preparing the curriculum, she suggested a compelling book she had read. It’s been a spiritually formative book for our class.

The book is by Nabeel Qureshi and is called Seeking Allah, Finding Jesus. The book is Nabeel’s account of leaving his family of origin and his Islamic faith and embracing Christianity. He lost nearly everything in the exchange.

●      For months after his conversion his family attempted to reconvert him to Islam by sending Imam after Imam to him.

●      When he decided to marry a Christian woman, they refused to come to the wedding.

●      And when he gave up his plans to become a doctor in order to enter Christian ministry, it was the final straw. Read More »Unbroken: Praying Through the Ordinary Minutes Not Just the Extraordinary Milestones Chris Altrock – May 28, 2017

Unbroken: Experiencing Divine Relationship Through Enduring Prayer in Everyday Life Chris Altrock – May 21, 2017

This entry is part [part not set] of 3 in the series Unbroken

Attention Spans

A couple of years ago the software giant Microsoft conducted a study of 2,000 people. They discovered that the average human attention span has declined.[1] In 2000 the average attention span was 12 seconds. In 2015 it had dropped to worse than a goldfish:

 

Attention span of a goldfish

9 seconds

 Attention span of humans

8 seconds

 

The report theorized that this short attention span largely has to do with the impact of a digitized lifestyle. That is, because we use so much digital media these days, we’re used to doing a lot of things quickly, but paying attention to none of it for very long.Read More »Unbroken: Experiencing Divine Relationship Through Enduring Prayer in Everyday Life Chris Altrock – May 21, 2017