"The only truth I know," I would tell them, "is that if you're going to be great, then you're great now. And you know it. You know it right now. Only you can't believe it. You just need some prodding and you need some proof."
That's from Barry Manilow, speaking about his work among High School Music students back in the 1970's. From his book Sweet Life: Adventures on the Way to Paradise, p. 230
"In hope against hope he believed, so that he might become a father of many nations according to that which had been spoken, “SO SHALL YOUR DESCENDANTS BE.” Without becoming weak in faith he contemplated his own body, now as good as dead since he was about a hundred years old, and the deadness of Sarah’s womb; yet, with respect to the promise of God, he did not waver in unbelief but grew strong in faith, giving glory to God, and being fully assured that what God had promised, He was able also to perform. Therefore IT WAS ALSO CREDITED TO HIM AS RIGHTEOUSNESS." -Romans 4:18-22
Wednesday, October 19, 2011
Sunday, September 11, 2011
A Post for September 11
It is like a curse- to be so good at consistently investing with meaning those things which may have no meaning except what we give to them.
Wednesday, September 7, 2011
The Seen and the Unseen
I want to live out the spiritual realities captured in Romans 6.
We know deep inside that there is an ever-present transcendence to our lives; that our soul is reaching out always for something more. We do this in relationships- we dodge, jump back, counter, hoping to experience impact and significance. We are reaching out for more...
On the other hand, we have to take out the trash, wash the dishes, clean the...well, you know.
On Wednesday it may be hard to see oneself as an intersection of the seen and the unseen. No matter what day it is, the promise is true..."Now if we have died with Christ, we believe that we shall also live with Him."
In seeing beyond the circumstances, we can realize that there is more at stake than just one's own fate. We see sanctification, and truthful relationships with impact and significance. "But now having been freed from sin and enslaved to God, you (collective) derive your benefit, resulting in sanctification, and the outcome, eternal life. For the wages of sin is death, but the free gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord."
Both the seen and the unseen call us to simply live with trust in God's provision for us all. There are no "simple answers to complex questions." That would be the seen denying the unseen. That would be enslavement to sin, as if nothing spiritually significant had ever happened in and through history.
We know deep inside that there is an ever-present transcendence to our lives; that our soul is reaching out always for something more. We do this in relationships- we dodge, jump back, counter, hoping to experience impact and significance. We are reaching out for more...
On the other hand, we have to take out the trash, wash the dishes, clean the...well, you know.
On Wednesday it may be hard to see oneself as an intersection of the seen and the unseen. No matter what day it is, the promise is true..."Now if we have died with Christ, we believe that we shall also live with Him."
In seeing beyond the circumstances, we can realize that there is more at stake than just one's own fate. We see sanctification, and truthful relationships with impact and significance. "But now having been freed from sin and enslaved to God, you (collective) derive your benefit, resulting in sanctification, and the outcome, eternal life. For the wages of sin is death, but the free gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord."
Both the seen and the unseen call us to simply live with trust in God's provision for us all. There are no "simple answers to complex questions." That would be the seen denying the unseen. That would be enslavement to sin, as if nothing spiritually significant had ever happened in and through history.
Monday, August 15, 2011
A Great Question
Does this "Vampire" question have any kind of good answer?
"But now faith, hope, love, abide these three; but the greatest of these is love..." What is your answer?
"But now faith, hope, love, abide these three; but the greatest of these is love..." What is your answer?
Tuesday, July 26, 2011
An Update on the Second Coming
From all the buzz going around today, it is apparent that Harold Camping may have been on the right track after all, people. For you real inspired Bible Scholars (oxymoron?!? I hope not!!) the prediction in Mark 13:14 may refer to the August 3rd (or August 2nd) deadline for U.S. Debt Ceiling relief. This would of course correspond to Amos 2:4 when read in light of Ezekiel 33:25--manifesting, of course, fulfillment of the complaint in Genesis 4:13! So there is NO WAY that Jesus won't be back on August 3rd (or August 2nd)! Oh, and don't forget to factor in Genesis 26:30-31 (in case things get solved without Jesus' return). Anyway, I hope all parties can go away understanding each other (Genesis 27:11) whether or not Jesus gets directly involved. So there.
Sunday, July 10, 2011
Hurry Up and Wait?
The church has an open door! We are called to be a Kingdom of God community that operates in the public interest. It is vital, therefore, that we continually organize ourselves for mission at the same time that we carry out the mission. We have no desire to sit out the game while we think about how to play. Summer is moving on, opportunities are passing by. What are we waiting for? The next rapture?
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