Just wondering...Psalm 14:1 "The fool has said in his heart, "There is no God." My footnote says fool is morally perverse, not mentally deficient. Why would someone even care if there is a God or not? How would that affect his/her life? Or is there an innate knowing that IF I believe in a God, I also have to believe in accountability for my life choices? And I want to be boss of my life, not yielded to some ethereal godhead who would want to keep tally of my misdeeds...and call me to account for each of them...
I wonder if we in "the church" have projected a caricature of God rather than allow Him to reflect Himself in our lives. We see fools who don't believe in God...and we wag our finger and say, "Aha...one day you will get a comeupance..." Thus portraying a stern schoolmaster or a tyrannical authoritarian figure rather than God the Father who loves us enough to want more for us than a life of UNBELIEF... I picture a bloodied, mangled Son crying out from a horrific Roman cross Father forgive them...they do not know what they are doing...to the crowd around the cross and to humanity in 2010.
Thursday, April 8, 2010
Wednesday, April 7, 2010
April 7, 2010
Thoughts on leadership...Is there a theological tie between suffering and Christian leadership??? THREE THOUGHTS:
1. Suffering tempers believers and is part of God's discipline...
2. Truly aggressive witness in an opposing world is likely to bring down peculiar pressures on those who lead the church in such witness...
3. The most mature Christian leaders want to absorb an additional share of sufferings so that their flocks may correspondingly be spared some suffering...
Conclusion: This is why the best Christian leadership cannot simply be appointed. It is forged by God himself in the fires of suffering, taught in the school of tears. There are no shortcuts. (D. A. Carson)
Of course, the logical sticking point is the definition of "Christian leadership." Are we speaking only of the clergy--or should all believers be considered Christian leaders?
On a practical level in our lives, what does it mean to "take up your cross" and follow Jesus?
Just wondering what your thoughts are on these things...
1. Suffering tempers believers and is part of God's discipline...
2. Truly aggressive witness in an opposing world is likely to bring down peculiar pressures on those who lead the church in such witness...
3. The most mature Christian leaders want to absorb an additional share of sufferings so that their flocks may correspondingly be spared some suffering...
Conclusion: This is why the best Christian leadership cannot simply be appointed. It is forged by God himself in the fires of suffering, taught in the school of tears. There are no shortcuts. (D. A. Carson)
Of course, the logical sticking point is the definition of "Christian leadership." Are we speaking only of the clergy--or should all believers be considered Christian leaders?
On a practical level in our lives, what does it mean to "take up your cross" and follow Jesus?
Just wondering what your thoughts are on these things...
Tuesday, April 6, 2010
April 6, 2010
Bethink according to Websters: to think of, consider, or recollect; to ponder...so let's do that about some statements I've recently read...
"There is no attempt in Scripture to whitewash the anguish of God's people when they undergo suffering. They argue with God, they complain to God, they weep before God. Theirs is not a faith that leads to dry-eyed stoicism, but a faith so robust it wrestles with God. Much of Western spirituality is deficient on both scores: where faith triumphs in adversity, we expect it to be manifest in unmoved resignation, and where faith fails the failure is displayed in doubt that questions the integrity and possibly even the existence of God." (D. A. Carson)
So in the midst of suffering, we either grit our teeth and say the Lord's will be done...or we doubt and that doubt leads to bitterness and despair...even though we still present ourselves as Bible-believing church people...
"There is no attempt in Scripture to whitewash the anguish of God's people when they undergo suffering. They argue with God, they complain to God, they weep before God. Theirs is not a faith that leads to dry-eyed stoicism, but a faith so robust it wrestles with God. Much of Western spirituality is deficient on both scores: where faith triumphs in adversity, we expect it to be manifest in unmoved resignation, and where faith fails the failure is displayed in doubt that questions the integrity and possibly even the existence of God." (D. A. Carson)
So in the midst of suffering, we either grit our teeth and say the Lord's will be done...or we doubt and that doubt leads to bitterness and despair...even though we still present ourselves as Bible-believing church people...
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