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Showing posts from March, 2021

- Good Friday

  - Good Friday. Put an ‘L’ sign over your head. Loser. That was what the followers of Jesus felt when they couldn’t meet the eyes of the religious authorities who finally got the troublemaker Jesus out of their way. Gloating, satisfaction, a feeling of justification for their sickening self-righteousness. - Rather than feeling smug about “…But Sunday’s Commin’!”, we should take a moment to really put ourselves in the place of those who struggled with the reality they had left everything to follow a now shamed and permanently cancelled ‘loser’. - Those who sat on the fence about Jesus, enjoying the show while it lasted, began rewriting their personal narratives about him with assurances they were smart to not get too involved in such a radical proposition that went against every truth of the social reality around them. The crucified Jesus had told his followers they would never fit in. - It is time to look at the half-measures of our own commitment to the proposition that Heaven ...

3/28/2021 - [2 Samuel 6:6-7 NIV]

When they came to the threshing floor of Nakon, Uzzah reached out and took hold of the ark of God, because the oxen stumbled. The Lord’s anger burned against Uzzah because of his irreverent act; therefore God struck him down, and he died there beside the ark of God. Then David was angry because the Lord’s wrath had broken out against Uzzah, and to this day that place is called Perez Uzzah. [2 Samuel 6:6-7 NIV] - There are stories in the Bible that trouble us. God, as the Shekinah Glory, still inhabited the Ark of the Covenant that had been fashioned at the foot of Mt Sinai by Moses to be the focus of God’s presence with his people. After more than 400 years, it had lain neglected in a small Judean town after having been captured by enemies who were forced by God’s Glory within it to return it to Israel. Soon after becoming King and capturing Jerusalem, David tried to bring it to Israel’s new capital where he and Israel could resume their proper worship of God Among Them. The death o...

3/21/2021 - 1 Peter 2:1-3 [NIV]

  3/21/2021 Therefore, rid yourselves of all malice and all deceit, hypocrisy, envy, and slander of every kind. Like newborn babies, crave pure spiritual milk, so that by it you may grow up in your salvation, now that you have tasted that the Lord is good. 1 Peter 2:1-3 [NIV] - Who is in charge? Humans have always been and always will be at war. Every human relationship is subject to the issues of power and control: marriage, family, career, society… even the individual can struggle with internal destructive conflicts. - When we enter into a battle of wills through deceit, hypocrisy, envy, slander, and other kinds of power plays, we become trapped by our own hands. The truth is, no one is ever really in control. It is the illusion that makes fallen angels a spiritual impossibility with no way to return. Hell is Love’s only solution for those who cannot impose their wills on the Kingdom of Heaven and who will not submit to the will of God, who is love, peace, joy, and every s...

3/10/21 - Romans 8:28-30

  3/10/21   -- And we know that for those who love God all things work together for good, for those who are called according to his purpose. For those whom he foreknew he also predestined to be conformed to the image of his Son, in order that he might be the firstborn among many brothers. Romans 8:28-30   -- For centuries, Christians have been divided over the issue of Predestination or Free Will: are we saved by our choices or is that already determined by God?  The answer to both is ‘yes’ according to scriptures.  Satan has encouraged conflict between Christians to confound and divide by making it seem as if we must choose between two truths.     -- Those who believe that only God decides who is to be saved or lost face the danger of minimizing the reality of redemption: Christ died to save the whole world, not just the Elect and it is his will that no one perish but that all be saved.  The consequence of this lie is a false sense of eternal sec...

3/8/2021 - [1 Corinthians 2:7 NIV]

  3/8/2021  No, we declare God’s wisdom, a mystery that has been hidden and that God destined for our glory before time began. [1 Corinthians 2:7 NIV]   - I keep running into statements from smart people who religiously believe that religions founded by ‘goat-herders’ are hopelessly filled with myths accepted by dull-witted people clutching onto their imaginary friend Jesus.     - That’s OK.  When I see statements in the Bible like the verse above written by educated men who declared God’s wisdom in language barely grasped by today’s geniuses, I have to chuckle.  The advancements in human knowledge and philosophy cause today’s honest intellectuals to struggle with the very concept of time, like the contradictions raised by quantum mechanics and special relativity.  The more doors to the universe they open, the more questions they raise about the how and why of existence.  Time exists, but scientists have no way to determine or measure or test...

3/4/2021 - Colossians 1:27

  3/4/2021 - The most difficult thing about watching or reading the news these days is to hear about politicians who put their ideals and desires in the spotlight while showing a blatant disregard for them in private. Who casually break campaign promises they never intended to keep. Who pretend they haven’t done the very things they loudly criticize in others. The funny thing is, I have been challenged to look at myself and see inconsistencies that are not so harmless. - I am relieved to know that one of the Holy Spirit’s jobs is to expose everything in me that has no place in the Kingdom of God. It is just too easy to mistake a self-righteous conviction for goodness or to Give Myself Permission to do something I think is harmless but is really destructive to myself or others. I’m even glad God shows me how I argue with Him about these things, even while He gives me the power along with the desire to stop [this is where I pause to pat myself on the back… Oops, see what I mean?]...