Stories, Life Lessons, Poems, Pictures, Word Thoughts...This is a blog to express my thoughts and gain perspective as I attempt to walk with God...May it encourage and bless you in your own journey...Your comments are welcome!
Saturday, May 30, 2009
Friday, May 29, 2009
Colourful Consideration
So if you're serious about living this new resurrection life with Christ, act like it. Pursue the things over which Christ presides. Don't shuffle along, eyes to the ground, absorbed with the things right in front of you. Look up, and be alert to what is going on around Christ—that's where the action is. See things from his perspective.
Your old life is dead. Your new life, which is your real life—even though invisible to spectators—is with Christ in God. He is your life. When Christ (your real life, remember) shows up again on this earth, you'll show up, too—the real you, the glorious you. Meanwhile, be content with obscurity, like Christ.
And that means killing off everything connected with that way of death: sexual promiscuity, impurity, lust, doing whatever you feel like whenever you feel like it, and grabbing whatever attracts your fancy. That's a life shaped by things and feelings instead of by God. It's because of this kind of thing that God is about to explode in anger. It wasn't long ago that you were doing all that stuff and not knowing any better. But you know better now, so make sure it's all gone for good: bad temper, irritability, meanness, profanity, dirty talk.
Don't lie to one another. You're done with that old life. It's like a filthy set of ill-fitting clothes you've stripped off and put in the fire. Now you're dressed in a new wardrobe. Every item of your new way of life is custom-made by the Creator, with his label on it. All the old fashions are now obsolete. Words like Jewish and non-Jewish, religious and irreligious, insider and outsider, uncivilized and uncouth, slave and free, mean nothing. From now on everyone is defined by Christ, everyone is included in Christ.
So, chosen by God for this new life of love, dress in the wardrobe God picked out for you: compassion, kindness, humility, quiet strength, discipline. Be even-tempered, content with second place, quick to forgive an offense. Forgive as quickly and completely as the Master forgave you. And regardless of what else you put on, wear love. It's your basic, all-purpose garment. Never be without it.
Let the peace of Christ keep you in tune with each other, in step with each other. None of this going off and doing your own thing. And cultivate thankfulness. Let the Word of Christ—the Message—have the run of the house. Give it plenty of room in your lives. Instruct and direct one another using good common sense. And sing, sing your hearts out to God! Let every detail in your lives—words, actions, whatever—be done in the name of the Master, Jesus, thanking God the Father every step of the way.
Colossians 3 (The Message)
Sunday, May 24, 2009
Season of Colour
Saturday, May 23, 2009
Obadiah?!
Obadiah 1 (The Message)
Your World Will Collapse [This is not an encouraging start, but don't get too discouraged...]
1 Obadiah's Message to Edom from God, the Master. We got the news straight from God by a special messenger sent out to the godless nations: "On your feet, prepare for battle; get ready to make war on Edom! [...ready...action!...]
2-4 "Listen to this, Edom: I'm turning you to a no-account, the runt of the godless nations, despised. You thought you were so great, perched high among the rocks, king of the mountain, Thinking to yourself, 'Nobody can get to me! Nobody can touch me!' Think again. Even if, like an eagle, you hang out on a high cliff-face, Even if you build your nest in the stars, I'll bring you down to earth." God's sure Word. [Pride is not a good thing!]
5-14"If thieves crept up on you, they'd rob you blind—isn't that so? If they mugged you on the streets at night, they'd pick you clean—isn't that so? Oh, they'll take Esau apart, piece by piece, empty his purse and pockets. All your old partners will drive you to the edge. Your old friends will lie to your face. Your old drinking buddies will stab you in the back. Your world will collapse. You won't know what hit you. So don't be surprised"—it's God's sure Word!— "when I wipe out all sages from Edom and rid the Esau mountains of its famous wise men. Your great heroes will desert you, Teman. There'll be nobody left in Esau's mountains. Because of the murderous history compiled against your brother Jacob, You will be looked down on by everyone. You'll lose your place in history. On that day you stood there and didn't do anything. Strangers took your brother's army into exile. Godless foreigners invaded and pillaged Jerusalem. You stood there and watched. You were as bad as they were. You shouldn't have gloated over your brother when he was down-and-out. You shouldn't have laughed and joked at Judah's sons when they were facedown in the mud. You shouldn't have talked so big when everything was so bad. You shouldn't have taken advantage of my people when their lives had fallen apart. You of all people should not have been amused by their troubles, their wrecked nation. You shouldn't have taken the shirt off their back when they were knocked flat, defenseless. And you shouldn't have stood waiting at the outskirts and cut off refugees, And traitorously turned in helpless survivors who had lost everything. [This was a "Do unto others as you would have them do unto you" reminder.]
15-18 "God's Judgment Day is near for all the godless nations. As you have done, it will be done to you. [see, told you...] What you did will boomerang back and hit your own head. Just as you partied on my holy mountain, all the godless nations will drink God's wrath. They'll drink and drink and drink—they'll drink themselves to death. But not so on Mount Zion—there's respite there! A safe and holy place! The family of Jacob will take back their possessions from those who took them from them. That's when the family of Jacob will catch fire, the family of Joseph become fierce flame, while the family of Esau will be straw. Esau will go up in flames, nothing left of Esau but a pile of ashes." God said it, and it is so.
19-21 People from the south will take over the Esau mountains; people from the foothills will overrun the Philistines. They'll take the farms of Ephraim and Samaria, and Benjamin will take Gilead. Earlier, Israelite exiles will come back and take Canaanite land to the north at Zarephath. Jerusalem exiles from the far northwest in Sepharad will come back and take the cities in the south. The remnant of the saved in Mount Zion will go into the mountains of Esau and rule justly and fairly, a rule that honors God's kingdom. [Hope and justice will prevail!]
Historically, it is thought that this book was written either 853-841BC during the reign of Jehoram or 627-586BC during the time of Jeremiah (another prophet whose writings you can begin to read here: Jeremiah 1) Regardless of when it was scribed, we can always learn from God's Word.
Remember: The Word of God is alive and powerful, let the Holy Spirit speak to you as you meditate upon His Word day and night. In His Word, we have hope, we put our faith, we learn, we better come to know our God. In His Word is Life: the Way, the Truth and the Life - eternal hope through Jesus Christ. John 14
Thursday, May 21, 2009
Season of Solomon
11 See! The winter is past;
the rains are over and gone.
12 Flowers appear on the earth;
the season of singing has come,
the cooing of doves is heard in our land.
13 The fig tree forms its early fruit;
the blossoming vines spread their fragrance.
Arise, come, my darling;
my beautiful one, come with me."
Wednesday, May 20, 2009
I Ask You to Answer the Question
Focused on the Goal
12-14 I'm not saying that I have this all together, that I have it made. But I am well on my way, reaching out for Christ, who has so wondrously reached out for me. Friends, don't get me wrong: By no means do I count myself an expert in all of this, but I've got my eye on the goal, where God is beckoning us onward—to Jesus. I'm off and running, and I'm not turning back.
15-16 So let's keep focused on that goal, those of us who want everything God has for us. If any of you have something else in mind, something less than total commitment, God will clear your blurred vision—you'll see it yet! Now that we're on the right track, let's stay on it.
..."everything God has for us." What do you suppose that means? Do you have any ideas?
Tuesday, May 19, 2009
Missing Words
missing...
loving words
loving
In the way the flow of life goes
my heart desires to hear
longing for truth to prevail
never disappointed because
I believe...
I believe in you.
Saturday, May 16, 2009
Imposing Christians
Cultivate your own relationship with God, but don't impose it on others. You're fortunate if your behavior and your belief are coherent. But if you're not sure, if you notice that you are acting in ways inconsistent with what you believe—some days trying to impose your opinions on others, other days just trying to please them—then you know that you're out of line. If the way you live isn't consistent with what you believe, then it's wrong.
Do you find yourself trying to prove your "Christianity"? Some of us want to show others how much we know about the Bible, theology, traditions, etc., by showing up to church regularly in our Sunday best, never missing an opportunity to participate in the latest "ministry", and telling others what God did for them this week. To the other extreme, there is this (I'll say) "new breed" of Christian that is determined to show how raw and hip our walk with God is - we are saved, but we can totally relate to the sinner in this world. No formal religion for this type of believer.
Now, I know you could pull in many more types of Christians, and they all have their merits and less-than-meritorious qualities, but when it comes right down to the heart of the matter, one must ask if the walk you walk and talk is to impress man or God? And if you are trying to impress God, don't bother. He does not want to be impressed, He wants to be loved.
Do you love God? Are you waking each day and communing with Him? Do you go to Him through out the day - praising Him, asking for His guidance, sharing your thoughts with Him, listening to Him? Is He the last one you speak to before you go to sleep?
Our relationship with God is individual, just like your relationship with another person. We may know the same person, but the way you know and interact with that person is not necessarily the same way I would know and interact with that person - you may know more about the person and you may be more comfortable around that person than I am. It does not mean that you should expect me to behave and interact with that person exactly as you do. So, why would we make the assumption that Christians should all behave exactly alike in our relationship with God?
Romans 14 (New International Version)
The Weak and the Strong
1Accept him whose faith is weak, without passing judgment on disputable matters. 2One man's faith allows him to eat everything, but another man, whose faith is weak, eats only vegetables. 3The man who eats everything must not look down on him who does not, and the man who does not eat everything must not condemn the man who does, for God has accepted him. 4Who are you to judge someone else's servant? To his own master he stands or falls. And he will stand, for the Lord is able to make him stand.
5One man considers one day more sacred than another; another man considers every day alike. Each one should be fully convinced in his own mind. 6He who regards one day as special, does so to the Lord. He who eats meat, eats to the Lord, for he gives thanks to God; and he who abstains, does so to the Lord and gives thanks to God. 7For none of us lives to himself alone and none of us dies to himself alone. 8If we live, we live to the Lord; and if we die, we die to the Lord. So, whether we live or die, we belong to the Lord.
9For this very reason, Christ died and returned to life so that he might be the Lord of both the dead and the living. 10You, then, why do you judge your brother? Or why do you look down on your brother? For we will all stand before God's judgment seat. 11It is written: " 'As surely as I live,' says the Lord, 'every knee will bow before me; every tongue will confess to God.' "[a] 12So then, each of us will give an account of himself to God.
13Therefore let us stop passing judgment on one another. Instead, make up your mind not to put any stumbling block or obstacle in your brother's way. 14As one who is in the Lord Jesus, I am fully convinced that no food[b] is unclean in itself. But if anyone regards something as unclean, then for him it is unclean. 15If your brother is distressed because of what you eat, you are no longer acting in love. Do not by your eating destroy your brother for whom Christ died. 16Do not allow what you consider good to be spoken of as evil. 17 For the kingdom of God is not a matter of eating and drinking, but of righteousness, peace and joy in the Holy Spirit, 18because anyone who serves Christ in this way is pleasing to God and approved by men.
19Let us therefore make every effort to do what leads to peace and to mutual edification. 20Do not destroy the work of God for the sake of food. All food is clean, but it is wrong for a man to eat anything that causes someone else to stumble. 21It is better not to eat meat or drink wine or to do anything else that will cause your brother to fall.
22So whatever you believe about these things keep between yourself and God. Blessed is the man who does not condemn himself by what he approves. 23But the man who has doubts is condemned if he eats, because his eating is not from faith; and everything that does not come from faith is sin.
Monday, May 11, 2009
Contemporizing Hymns
When the bright and glorious morning I shall see,
I shall know my Redeemer when I reach the other side,
And His smile will be the first to welcome me...
This is the first verse of one of my favourite hymns by Fanny Crosby . Deborah Klassen did a wonderful acappella rendition of this hymn that I love to listen to and sing along with. It is a melodically haunting song that provides an amount of comfort and reassurance knowing that:
I shall know Him, I shall know Him,
And redeemed by His side I shall stand,
I shall know Him, I shall know Him,
By the print of the nail in His hands.
So many of the hymns of the past reveal wonderful truths of our walk with God from beginning to end and though these days many church services incorporate these songs into their services, they are sung without heart or superficial heart at that. Like a child singing the alphabet song for the hundredth time. Deborah Klassen arranged the above hymn to create a contemporary feel compared to the hasty style of the original melody - many musicians have taken songs like Amazing Grace, another beautiful hymn, and contemporized it without compromising the integrity of the original. I wish more musicians would have the courage to do that. To bring an old song, perhaps near forgotten, back to new life. We are losing the heritage of these wonderful hymns. If you are a musician or an aspiring musician or you know a musician, I put forth the challenge for you to prayerfully breathe life back into the hymns of old. And if you cannot do that then I challenge you to at least sing these old hymns with a sincere heart straight to the King - sing for an audience of One.
Sunday, May 10, 2009
Do You Trust God?
Though this picture is amusing, we are like that cat when we put our trust in God. God will hold the enemy from us, God will provide a way, the Saviour will bring us to a safe place and our focus is to be on Him.
Do you trust God to take you to where you need to be? Where you desire to be? And "where" is not just a physical place, but a mental, emotional, spiritual place also.
Focus on your relationship with God and He will deliver. He will deliver peace, quietness, and confidence to your benefit, to His Glory - as it should be.
Wednesday, May 6, 2009
the furious longing of God
"Until the love of God that knows no boundary, limit, or breaking point is internalized through personal decision; until the furious longing of God seizes the imagination; until the heart is conjoined to the mind through sheer grace, nothing happens...The wild, unrestricted love of God is not simply an inspiring idea. When it imposes itself on mind and heart with the stark reality of ontological truth, it determines why and at what time you get up in the morning, how you pass your evenings, how you spend your weekends, what you read, and who you hang with; it affects what breaks your heart, what amazes you, and what makes your heart happy."
Pick up a copy of this book, it is not a long book - 136 pages - yet it is an inspiring read that aptly recognizes that,
"Perhaps the gut issue is not how much theology we have studied or how much Scripture we have memorized. All that really matters is this: Have you experienced the furious longing of God or not?
This very question provoked the brilliant Karl Rahner to prophesy: In the days ahead, you will either be a mystic (one who has experienced God for real) or nothing at all.
In times of persecution, theoretical Christianity will collapse."
The author of The Ragamuffin Gospel and Abba's Child has poured forth his heart once again for us to share in his experiences and understanding. Read the furious longing of God and let me know what you think.
Sunday, May 3, 2009
Seven Falls Colorado
I went up the elevator of one section to take this picture of the falls. You can see the stairs that you climb to the top of the falls on the left.
...For all others looking for a word of encouragement,
It is food for thought and something I challenge you to ask yourself - What do you need to believe in order to achieve?
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