Knowing God: A Study of the Godhead

I mentioned last week that I am reading the book, "Knowing God" by J. I. Packer as I prepare my heart and mind to recognize Christ's death, burial and resurrection. I'd love to have you all read along, as this book has already been an incredible challenge to my own heart! Since you all can't, (and since copyright laws don't permit me to just blab the whole book to you) I will periodically be posting a few of my favorite quotes here for you over the next 35ish days, and also tweeting some different, brief quotes each day. Follow me on Twitter so you don't miss any of them! Here are a few of my favorite passages so far:


“Would you lose your sorrow? Would you drown your cares? Then go, plunge yourself in the Godhead’s deepest sea; be lost in his immensity; and you shall come forth as from a couch of rest, refreshed and invigorated. I know nothing which can so comfort the soul, so calm the swelling billows of sorrow and grief; so speak peace to the winds of trial, as a devout musing upon the subject of the Godhead.”

Charles Spurgeon

“When Paul says he counts the things he lost dung (Philippians 3:7-10) he means not merely that he does not think of them as having any value, but also that he does not live with them constantly in his mind: what normal person spends his time nostalgically dreaming of manure?”

J.I. Packer

“Nor, I think, would many of us ever naturally say that in the light of the knowledge of God which we have come to enjoy, past disappointments and present heartbreaks, as the world counts heartbreaks, don’t matter. For the plain fact is that to most of us they do matter. We live with them as our “crosses” (so we call them). Constantly we find ourselves slipping into bitterness and apathy and gloom as we reflect on them, which we frequently do. The attitude we show to the world is a sort of dried-up stoicism, miles removed from the “joy unspeakable and full of glory” which Peter took for granted that his readers were displaying (I Peter 1:8) “Poor souls,” our friends say of us, “how they’ve suffered,” And that is just what we feel about ourselves!” J.I. Packer


I'd love to hear what you are doing to observe Lent and/or prepare to observe Resurrection Sunday. What specific things has God called to you attention already in the first few days of this season?