I really enjoyed reading Cries of the Heart by Ravi Zacharias . To be honest, I’ve never run across anything by Ravi that didn’t point me to Jesus and challenge me in my walk with the Lord. He is one of my favorite teachers and authors and I’d imagine I’ll just continue working through his books until I have read them all. I highlighted several things while reading and have posted those notes below…
- There is no point in arguing with a person who is determined to explain everything Page: 9
- Of the handful of clear concepts that emerge when these grand truths are summarized, four are principal. The first is that of God’s sovereignty. The second is His holiness. The third is His omniscience, and the fourth His immutability. Each of these concepts warrants volumes of exposition. But one little finger of thought is all we can grasp at this point to help us get to the top. Page: 13
- Though we ourselves are decidedly unholy, we invoke a holy standard over someone else. Page: 18
- The Hebrews gave to the world our moral categories; the Greeks have given us our philosophical categories; the Romans have passed on to us our legal categories. For the Hebrew the great pursuit of life was symbolized by light: “The LORD is my light and my salvation—whom shall I fear?” (Ps. 27:1). “The people walking in darkness have seen a great light” (Isa. 9:2). “That was the true Light which gives light to every man coming into the world” (John 1:9 NKJV). For the Hebrews light said it all. For the Greeks, the ultimate goal was knowledge. “You shall know the truth, and the truth shall make you free” (John 8:32 NKJV). “I know whom I have believed . . . ,” said the apostle Paul in 2 Timothy 1:12 (NKJV). For the Romans, the epitome of life was symbolized by glory. Rome was a city to which all roads led. It was not built in a day. It was the eternal city. The glory of the Roman Empire and of the Caesars is proverbial. Page: 20
- Sovereignty is only tyrannical if it is unbounded by goodness; holiness is only terrifying if it is untempered by grace; omniscience is only taunting if it is unaccompanied by mercy; and immutability is only torturous if there is no guarantee of goodwill. Page: 24
- Who are You, God? You are sovereign, holy, omniscient, and immutable. You are our Holy Father who is the same yesterday, today, and forever, and our hearts are restless until they find their rest in Thee. Page: 30
- One of the most liberating moments in life is when we are able to accept ourselves as God has made us and are freed from the shackles of trying to be someone we are not and were never meant to be. We then soar to be the unique personality God has given to each of us. Page: 39
- Once we understand that feelings are vital but not foundational then we delight in the eternality of God’s truth and can endure the temporariness of felt distance. But if we reverse that sequence, making our feelings foundational, then closeness and farness are merely descriptive of our moods and may be saying absolutely nothing about the world of fact. Page: 41
- I suggest that our secular society has lost its ability to feel God because it has lost its ability to obey Him. Page: 53
- Nothing brings back feelings of being cared for as much as being in a community that feels. There is hurt and loneliness on a rampant scale today. Nothing will speak to our society as much as a community that reaches out with the love of Christ. Page: 55
- “I know whom I have believed, and am convinced that he is able to guard what I have entrusted to him for that day” (2 Tim. 1:12). Page: 61
- G. K. Chesterton summed up this counterpoint well when he said, “When belief in God becomes difficult, the tendency is to turn away from Him; but in heaven’s name to what?” Page: 65
- The breadth of the gospel in its implications for history and for all of humanity ought never to diminish the application that is personal. Page: 83
- “When you are looking for wisdom, always look for one who has suffered much but whose faith has remained unshaken.” Page: 89
- Sin scorches us most after we receive the grace of forgiveness, not before. Page: 116
- Any pleasure that jeopardizes the sacred right of another is an illicit pleasure. Page: 140
- Any pleasure, however good, if not kept in balance, will distort reality or destroy appetite. Page: 140
- Pleasure is a means, not an end. Joy should be the greater end. Page: 145
- In Psalm 147:11 we are reminded that “the LORD delights in those who fear him, who put their hope in his unfailing love.” Page: 152
- It may be the reason that just as our celebration in North America of the festival of Thanksgiving is being renamed Turkey Day, a culture of thanklessness has given birth to a lonely generation. Page: 173
- The first recognition of worship is the legitimate sense of mystery and the rightful expression of awe. Page: 177
- Second, not only does this kind of Appreciative love lead to worship that is alive with awe and wonder, it goes beyond itself and gives to others. Page: 179
- Finally, Appreciative love or worship not only flows out of gratitude to God and spreads the love of God in a hostile world, it also binds the worshiping life into a single focus, touching upon every sense of life itself. Page: 179
- Worship is coextensive with life. Here the sacred and the secular meet. Here our cries meet the cry of God. Page: 208