Chasing Daylight

I just want to share the gist of the book and pass some good quotes along. I was chatting about the book a bit over dinner last night and it made me think more about it.

McManus basically says that we are continually presented with "divine moments" (moments where God presses us to act) and that we must learn to seize them to fully be a part of God's will.

I think that is a fair assessment of the book.

Anywho, it was one of those books that has tons of little gems buried in it, but the gems really didn't amount to anything life changing. However, it was probably what I needed in answer to my post about "do"ing last month.

He challenges us to recognize and take advantage of these moments to keep bringing the kingdom of God to earth.


Here are some great quotes from the book. Some are long, but I hate short quotes that give no context.

"Has it ever been in your power to do good, but you chose in stead to do nothing? You didn't choose to do evil; you just chose not to get involved- you chose to be neutral, to be a nonparticipant, to do nothing. For years the dominant focus of Christianity has been on the elimination of sin from our lives. Yet on the whole, I find the choices between good and evil to be pretty clear in the minds and hearts of those in relationship with Christ. It is not here that we become paralyzed. Once I am willing to turn from my sin and live a life that honors Gods, what do I do next? How do I distinguish between all the good choices in the world?
You would think that having unlimited options would be the platform for freedom, but that is often not he case. We have put so much emphasis on avoiding evil that we have become virtually blind to the endless opportunities for doing good. We have defined holiness through what we separate ourselves from rather than what we give ourselves to. I am convinced that the great tragedy is not the sins we commit, but the life that we fail to life. You cannot follow God in neutral. God has created you to do something. It is not enough to stop the wrong and then be paralyzed when it comes to the right,. God created you to do good. And doing this requires initiative. There is a subtle danger of hiding apathy behind piety. Getting rid of the sin in your life? Great. Now its time to do something."

"One of the most asked questions among sincere followers of Jesus Christ is, 'What is God's will for my life?' We want a detailed map or plan. We want God to spell it out so we can follow the instructions. Too often we want it clear and uncomplicated, but God simply does not work like that. For a lot of us the most spiritual thing we can do is to do something- to turn right when we want to turn left."

I think I missed the quote in the book on my way back through to get the good quotes, or maybe it is another book and author altogether. There is a quote somewhere that says that we always seek God's will for us. And thats the problem, God doesn't look at it like that. God has a will. That will dominates the very particles that create matter (hello string theory!). We don't need to be asking what God's will for our lives is, rather what God's will is and how we fit into it.

"I am convinced God longs to put His fingerprint in our lives, to act on our behalf and surprise us with His magnificence. I am equally convinced that most of the time we do not give God a context in which to do this."

"The information given us in the Scripture is there for the purpose of formation. God never intended to give us a Book with every detail needed to live our lives. He gave us a Book with everything necessary to shape our lives. He was trying not to download heaven's database, but to make us user-compatible. The fuel for a life of faith is more inspiration than information."

(Talking about a failing church plant system)
"If I were Cinderella, I could finish this story by telling you that the handsome prince showed up and made all my dreams come true. If I were Snow White, I could finish the story by telling you I finally woke up from my horrible nightmare. But in between 'once upon a time' and ' they lived happily ever after' is called now. And in the now there are all kinds of failures we have to live with. Failure can change us, shape us, teach us, and motivate us. Failure can be our friend. Failure is closely related to risk, which is closely related to success."

"Prayer is not about informing God of your needs, nor is it even about trying to convince God to helped you. Prayer is about connecting to God. It is about experiencing His presence and moving with Him in intimate communion."


"For some people being on the right side is about what is right, but for others being on the right side means making sure you win. We certainly live in a culture that glamorizes whoever wins regardless of character. You can have a criminal record and live an unsavory and notorious life, but if you win the Super Bowl, you're the hero. We've convinced ourselves that the content of a person's character has nothing to do with his effectiveness or stature."