The Practicing Church - beliefs gone good
Tuesday, April 28, 2009
Monday, April 27, 2009
Thursday, April 23, 2009
The Good Christian...
“A man was going down from Jerusalem to Jericho, when he fell into the hands of robbers. They stripped him of his clothes, beat him and went away, leaving him half dead. A priest happened to be going down the same road, and when he saw the man, he passed by on the other side.
So too, a Levite, when he came to the place and saw him, passed by on the other side. But a Good Christian, as he traveled, came where the man was; and when he saw him, he took pity on him. The Good Christian yelled to the man, “Do you want to accept Jesus as your savior?” The man groaned… but gave no answer. “I said, do you want to accept Jesus as your savior?”
The man passed out from the pain he was in and due to loss of blood.
“Oh well, I would help you but first you must sit through my Chick Tracts and my let me walk you through the 4 spiritual laws… and…”
The man bled to death in front of him…
Which of these three do you think was a neighbor to the man who fell into the hands of robbers?
Lord, help me to be a good neighbor and not just a good Christian...
So too, a Levite, when he came to the place and saw him, passed by on the other side. But a Good Christian, as he traveled, came where the man was; and when he saw him, he took pity on him. The Good Christian yelled to the man, “Do you want to accept Jesus as your savior?” The man groaned… but gave no answer. “I said, do you want to accept Jesus as your savior?”
The man passed out from the pain he was in and due to loss of blood.
“Oh well, I would help you but first you must sit through my Chick Tracts and my let me walk you through the 4 spiritual laws… and…”
The man bled to death in front of him…
Which of these three do you think was a neighbor to the man who fell into the hands of robbers?
Lord, help me to be a good neighbor and not just a good Christian...
Wednesday, April 22, 2009
Jahaziel
In My Neighbourhood from Jahaziel Music on Vimeo.
Jahaziel is a truly gifted artist... check him out!
Afaayo foundation Uganda
Provide hope through promoting ethics of Christian belief and behavior. Empower widow and child headed families caring for the marginalised persons especially those affected by and/or infected with HIV/AIDS.
Promote fostering of orphans in extended and or functional family units as opposed to institutionalizing.
Advocating against all forms of child abuse and inhuman behaviors.
Build vocational and formal educational skills for orphans abandoned and vulnerable children and youths.
Join this cause and do what you can to help.
Tuesday, April 21, 2009
A Cry in the wilderness….
A Cry in the wilderness….
A depression embraces you like a warm blanket keeping out the cold of the world you fear.
As we drink from the swill of life hoping it will keep you refreshed only to find our tongue is as dry as the desert air.
Despair curls up in your lap like a cat giving comfort, only to steal your life’s breath away as you sleep…
Left bleeding by the side of the rode as those who are called to love you walks by…
Redemption draws near, as your bones crumble to dust only to sneer and jeer at your pain.
Is it really redemption for you who suffer or those who should care and don’t?
Does forgiveness rise in the horizon only to become a mirage?
Do our cries go unheard because we refuse to hear or do we fear we are so close to being like the people we are called to love?
We take in our pets and love them as children, yet let children starve and die.
We buy our desires and love our own riches yet others only desire their basic needs met.
We are taught to fish and should teach others, yet draw out nets to feed only those who can pay.
We meet those who greet us as brothers and tell them to go away.
We chew on the bones of innocence and call it freedom.
We grab freedom for some and choke the life out of others so we can watch reality TV.
We choke on our own fear of losing our soul, yet reject redemption so near.
When is a song not a song and a poem not a poem?
What if our meter is lost and our rhymes do not rhyme?
When does communion with God become a sick joke to some?
When does the Truth become a lie to harm others?
How long do we sing this song, when there are no words but groans?
How long do we let suffering win and let hate be the victor?
I am not sure if those who claim to know… know…
I am not sure those who claim to love… love…
I am not sure that those who claim salvation have yet saved themselves…
I am sure of my faults, my sin, my unbelief… Lord, help me in my unbelief.
A Psalm for Kevin...
A Psalm for Kevin…
Write Kevin, write; release the dark soul of the night,
The pain deep within that you hide with a grin,
The fear we all share, and wonder who cares.
Write Kevin, write; release the dark soul of the night,
When your children cry and no comfort is found,
When all who we love are no where around,
Write Kevin, write; release you inner light,
The Light we all fear in to far or too near,
The Light that guides us even though….
Tears, fears, and a weary heart,
When hugs from friends are not enough,
When we find trust has begun to rust…
When the knot we tied is not enough….
Write Kevin write; release the bonds that hold you,
Grease the rope you hold thinking it secures you…
Write so that we all know we are all the same in His eyes…
Many forsake us on our way home,
Many will not seek to follow where we roam
They gather the moss and we follow the Call
So write Kevin… write…
A boring post on Politics and Jesus.
Over the weekend I had a great time taking with Jesse Ahmann. We talked about a lot of things and of course with Jesse politics came up… Personally I hate politics. I used to love politics… I used to love listening to Rush Limbaugh and other conservative talk shows… But after a while came to really dislike most of them.
What’s my beef with Rush? Well, as I listened to him I would hear him say, “If you resort to name calling then you have run out of subtenant arguments… now… for a FemiNazi update!” It was then I realized Rush may have run out of subtenant arguments…
Don’t get me wrong… I consider myself conservative… but, as far as the political scene, I see that really it does not matter what my view are… most likely the political wind will not blow the way I think and believe.
In a way as I was talking to Jesse, I realized it is sort of like how some in the Reformed camp are. They have a view… and if confronted will not listen to the other person to try to understand their perspective. In fact they quickly judge the person and their spiritual state and often (and I am not saying all in the Reformed camp are this way just some) will go so far as to judge the other person’s eternal destiny. Really a person can be lost as can be, but can come to faith sometime later… and to judge someone when you meet them in such a way really only reflects a lack of faith in God that He has the power to save others. Often the lack of grace is amazing. Like Rush or others, if there is even a solid point within the criticism these people will attack and refuse to listen. By shutting down the other person I think we lose a chance to hear God’s voice from another perspective. Meaning that though a person may not have it all together or even be right on some points, I see that God is working in people whether they believe in Him or not. I have run into atheists who insist they never “believed” and that I am wrong they had to make a choice at some point to believe or not… yet argue that God does not exist… This is a bit fascinating to me… I sometimes wonder if I also believe in some sort of circular logic and even may have times I do not accept I have chosen some thing be them right or wrong. I have talked to homosexuals who have a great faith in God, yet also see themselves as never coming out of that lifestyle. In that case I wonder if it is a case of being in denial over sin… and wonder if I am also that way in my own way.
Now, the one I seem to click with is Denise Miller… I think that is because he actually listens and engages callers and those he interviews. He seems to not be on the attack but still is respectfully confrontational when he sees he needs. Listening and interacting. I see that is what Jesus did with sinners and the religious. Jesus did not turn anyone away, but brought them to a point that they needed to make a decision about Him one way or the other. He would draw people to Himself and confront them lovingly where they were. He never condemned anyone though he may have stated some very strong words to people. Some will point out the “Woe to you…” and say Jesus condemned those towns or people, yet miss Jesus did not need to condemn them for they already were condemned…Jesus came to save them from the condemnation they would face.
Listen to people whether you agree with them or not… unless they so aggravate you so much you can’t… like some talk show hosts do to me… Though to me these seem more in the vein of being divisive and we are told to avoid such people.
Really, I had great trouble trying to decide how to vote. I will admit I did not vote for Obama... but came close at one point. I liked the idea of "change"... I am not sure we are getting the type of change that many had hoped for, but we will see. And I am still waiting for my bailout money... I will let you know when that happens.
Sunday, April 19, 2009
Tuesday, April 14, 2009
Thursday, April 09, 2009
James McDonald: Great Damage: The Gift of Discernment Used in the Flesh
James MacDonald has a great article over recent so-called discernment ministries who have attacked him. His take on using the gift of discernement in the flesh brings out some excellent points.
Here is an excerpt:
If you are in Christ by the grace of God through repentance and faith, the Holy Spirit has given you a spiritual gift. Your spiritual gift is a supernatural capacity to serve Christ in this world. Romans 12 and 1 Corinthians 12, 14 are some of the places these gifts are listed and explained. While Christians debate the number of gifts and their availability for today, there is little debate about the existence of, and need for, the gift of discernment in the church. 1 Corinthians 12:10 lists “discerning of spirits” as a spiritual gift. Further, 1 John 4:1 commands us not to trust every ’spirit’ but to ‘test the spirits’ to see if they are from God. Clearly this is a call to use the spiritual gift of discernment.
The key to using our spiritual gifts well is to use them in the power of the Holy Spirit. People with the gift of mercy can become weak and wishy washy in matters of truth unless they let God’s Spirit direct their ‘mercy.’ People with the gift of leadership can become harsh and insensitive to the feelings of others even in trying to accomplish a God-given mission. When a Christian is operating in the flesh (Romans 8:5) and not under the control of the Holy Spirit (Ephesians 5:18), they can do a lot of damage.
Tuesday, April 07, 2009
And now a word from Tim Challies
I thought this article was excellent... and what I found actually funny is that SoL, CRN (Ken Silva) are all feather ruffled over it and Tim Challies never mentioned their names... funny they know who they are... but can't admit the harm they do. Of course Ken uses this as a chance to bash Richard Abanes, and Ingrid complains about her comment not appearing on Tim's blog... really that one makes me laugh as back in the day I was banned from comments on Slice... then they stopped allowing comments as Ingrid just could not bear all the "hate"...
Sunday, April 05, 2009
Saturday, April 04, 2009
Saint or sinner, but always The Outlaw
There is a new movie out about the life of Larry Norman. Larry's music was a main reason I came to know Jesus. No doubt he was controversial on many levels... and in some ways his life was... a mess. Personal health issues and some unethical business situations... as well as other rumors surrounded Larry. All that said, Larry will always be dear to my heart. God used Larry Norman in spite of the mess that was. This movie covers the man, the legend, the weak and the strong... For more info here is the link to the movie Fallen Angel.
Here is Larry doing The Outlaw.
Friday, April 03, 2009
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