...living in God's reality.
In what reality are you living?
Wednesday, October 10, 2007
Little phrases!
Shorter is good. Sinks in more. Makes its point. Here's today's from 1 John 3:
In what reality are you living?
In what reality are you living?
Longmont clerk OKs anti-church petitions
So, put this in the OMGosh! category! And multiple strikes on the OMGosh! scale...
Oh and... they want help bringing water lines and other infrastructure (tax payer funded) but they are tax exempt... please folks you can't have this both ways!
(You may want to stop before this last sentence... this one gets pretty harsh... but there is something in the writings of the New Testament about letting judgement [of the house of God] begin in the house of God by those who are part of the family.) Not to mention how far $25 million could go in helping families and individuals in crises... could Longmont eliminate homeless and poor situations with that money rather than building more places for supposed Christ followers to hide from the world in their own clean community? In another part of the country I'm familiar with two mega-churches are building combined improvements to their buildings around $40 million... and that's in the same community! $40 million spent on luxury space to provide a safe environment for their "members" tofellowship with each other hide away from the very world we're here to influence and help. And all this while their own members sacrifice (dividing a can of beans to feed families of four or more) to give to the building campaigns thinking they are advancing the Kingdom by so doing. Shame on us! Shame on the leaders who have been sucked down the road to believe this is for the Kingdom and pleases God! OMGosh!
Longmont clerk OKs anti-church petitions
LifeBridge Christian Church plans plan to build a $25 million sports arena, luxury homes, retail space and a mega-church on the property near Union Reservoir.
LifeBridge owns the property but wants to be annexed to Longmont to get help bringing water lines and other infrastructure to the area. The City Council approved the annexation on Aug. 14.
- $25 million SPORTS ARENA!?
- Luxury homes?!
- Retail space and mega-church!?!?
Oh and... they want help bringing water lines and other infrastructure (tax payer funded) but they are tax exempt... please folks you can't have this both ways!
(You may want to stop before this last sentence... this one gets pretty harsh... but there is something in the writings of the New Testament about letting judgement [of the house of God] begin in the house of God by those who are part of the family.) Not to mention how far $25 million could go in helping families and individuals in crises... could Longmont eliminate homeless and poor situations with that money rather than building more places for supposed Christ followers to hide from the world in their own clean community? In another part of the country I'm familiar with two mega-churches are building combined improvements to their buildings around $40 million... and that's in the same community! $40 million spent on luxury space to provide a safe environment for their "members" to
1 John 2:6... the same kind of life Jesus lived
"Anyone who claims to be intimate with God ought to live the same kind of life Jesus lived."
...the same kind of life Jesus lived. What does that mean? All of it? Certain pieces of it? This could be the next single-focused reading pursuit!
Saturday, October 6, 2007
All things point to Him!
Several months ago Aaron, one of my fellow followers, explained to me a concept he had been developing a Bible study around. The conversation began with my noting the humor of our friend Ray's synopsis of chick flicks to his wife... it was a very simple and to the point list of three or four things which most every chick flick contained as the marker points of the plot. Aaron's focus took it a little deeper and definitely was on the more serious side of the same subject. I asked Aaron to send to me a written quote of his point. Here it is:
The other evening I was leisurely riding west on Highway 7 in the Brighton CO area (which if anyone knows the area, they would know I was headed toward the gorgeous mountains) as the sun was setting. I was in awe of the picture God was painting before me. I began to think about how things we see, stuff we experience, literally everything we encounter (at least the natural stuff... laws of gravity, workings of the world, etc.) illustrates the creator who spoke it into being if we will only look for Him in those things. They tell us as much about Him and about His ways as do the words of Scripture and as does the life of His Son. So, God... here's lookin' at you!
No matter who you are, where you’re from, or what perspective you have in life, all of us can recognize a common theme emerging in the world. We see it in the stories we love, we see it in history, we see it in our own lives. There is beauty and innocence, interrupted by tragedy and sadness, followed by longing for rescue, and hope for a better day. We love the stories best where a hero comes along to set the world right and bring a new day to pass where we return to that place of beauty and innocence again…changed of course…but back home again. That story is older than the middle ages, the roman empire, or even the Bible. It is the story written on the very heart of God…woven into our lives because we were made in His image.
The other evening I was leisurely riding west on Highway 7 in the Brighton CO area (which if anyone knows the area, they would know I was headed toward the gorgeous mountains) as the sun was setting. I was in awe of the picture God was painting before me. I began to think about how things we see, stuff we experience, literally everything we encounter (at least the natural stuff... laws of gravity, workings of the world, etc.) illustrates the creator who spoke it into being if we will only look for Him in those things. They tell us as much about Him and about His ways as do the words of Scripture and as does the life of His Son. So, God... here's lookin' at you!
Monday, September 24, 2007
The Cornerstone
This morning I was reading in 1 Peter 2 about Jesus as the cornerstone rejected by men. It's interesting how after you take the filters off you begin to consider applications outside of the ones you've always been taught and to which you've held on for decades. We typically gravitate toward embracing less than what God wants for us.
I read about Jesus being the cornerstone. A cornerstone that God has set as the foundation. A cornerstone "the builders" have rejected.
Wow! As I remember back to Jesus affirming Peter's profession that He was the Christ (Messiah), the son of the living God, I am reminded that Jesus explained to His closest followers that it was upon this realization and profession, which He notes is not revealed by flesh and blood but can only come from God, that His church would be founded.
As I reflect on two millennia's worth of a centralized focus on "building our churches" I'm reminded of the outcry from "God's chosen people" for an earthly king to lead them when God had already revealed Himself time after time as their sovereign and one true God. A God like no other was not enough. We had to have a king like everyone else around us.
Our God took on the form of man so He could reveal to us His true nature and teach us about Himself. In those days the rulers were kings and the domain over which they ruled were their kingdoms. Jesus explained the truth about God in terms the people could understand. Thus, an ultimate Kingdom with one true King made much more sense to those who lived in a world of kings and kingdoms. John Revell, a friend of mine who is writing a book helped me to think about this in regard to the fact that those of us living in America or similar countries who don't have kings and kingdoms struggle to understand some of the fullness of kingship. Hence, some of the extremely rich understanding we could glean from thinking about God as the ultimate king whose kingdom is unmatched is lost in our lack of familiarity with kings and kingdoms.
It always intrigues me how often new gatherings of Christ Followers shortly after they first gather long to have a building where they can gather; a building they can call their own. In the Old Testament we see a people who, though they already had "a king", were crying out for one like the nations surrounding them had. Likewise, this morning I find myself intrigued that Christ Followers almost always seem anxious to set a cornerstone for an earthly building so they can have their structure like, and be like the other religions that surround them, when they already have a cornerstone unlike any other. Why do we keep exchanging the things not of this world given to us by God for the things of this world? Could it be that this exchange began as early as the first generation of Christ Followers? Could it be that two millenia of established "church" practices are also diluted from the things not of this world given to us by Jesus?
I read about Jesus being the cornerstone. A cornerstone that God has set as the foundation. A cornerstone "the builders" have rejected.
"Look! I'm setting a stone in Zion,
a cornerstone in the place of honor.
Whoever trusts in this stone as a foundation
will never have cause to regret it...
The stone the workmen threw out
is now the chief foundation stone.
For the untrusting it's
a stone to trip over,
a boulder blocking the way."
Wow! As I remember back to Jesus affirming Peter's profession that He was the Christ (Messiah), the son of the living God, I am reminded that Jesus explained to His closest followers that it was upon this realization and profession, which He notes is not revealed by flesh and blood but can only come from God, that His church would be founded.
As I reflect on two millennia's worth of a centralized focus on "building our churches" I'm reminded of the outcry from "God's chosen people" for an earthly king to lead them when God had already revealed Himself time after time as their sovereign and one true God. A God like no other was not enough. We had to have a king like everyone else around us.
Our God took on the form of man so He could reveal to us His true nature and teach us about Himself. In those days the rulers were kings and the domain over which they ruled were their kingdoms. Jesus explained the truth about God in terms the people could understand. Thus, an ultimate Kingdom with one true King made much more sense to those who lived in a world of kings and kingdoms. John Revell, a friend of mine who is writing a book helped me to think about this in regard to the fact that those of us living in America or similar countries who don't have kings and kingdoms struggle to understand some of the fullness of kingship. Hence, some of the extremely rich understanding we could glean from thinking about God as the ultimate king whose kingdom is unmatched is lost in our lack of familiarity with kings and kingdoms.
It always intrigues me how often new gatherings of Christ Followers shortly after they first gather long to have a building where they can gather; a building they can call their own. In the Old Testament we see a people who, though they already had "a king", were crying out for one like the nations surrounding them had. Likewise, this morning I find myself intrigued that Christ Followers almost always seem anxious to set a cornerstone for an earthly building so they can have their structure like, and be like the other religions that surround them, when they already have a cornerstone unlike any other. Why do we keep exchanging the things not of this world given to us by God for the things of this world? Could it be that this exchange began as early as the first generation of Christ Followers? Could it be that two millenia of established "church" practices are also diluted from the things not of this world given to us by Jesus?
Wednesday, September 12, 2007
Oh, the things we say sometimes!
Okay, so I read this in an email newsletter today and had to post about it. You read it and think about it first:
Now, it's your turn. I see so much to comment on... but why take all the fun myself. What do you agree with and why? Is there anything in this statement with which you take issue and why? I'll comment on your comments along the way.
Christ's Original Mandate to Church Leaders
In the beginning, after Jesus had overcome his temptations in the desert, right when He began His public ministry, the apostles Matthew and Mark faithfully recorded the first words of Jesus to the leaders of His Church. 19 And He said to them, "Follow Me, and I will make you fishers of men." (Mt 4.19 & Mk. 1.17 NASB) Jesus was not in the least confused about the Father's strategic plan to advance His Church. His first words carry particular import. They were not just a cute turn of phrase to catch the attention of some professional fishermen. They speak to the very heart of the matter of church leadership.
Now, it's your turn. I see so much to comment on... but why take all the fun myself. What do you agree with and why? Is there anything in this statement with which you take issue and why? I'll comment on your comments along the way.
Tuesday, September 11, 2007
Welcome to MyWalkBlog.com
Some will persecute me for doing so, but after much contemplation I've decided to pull all my spiritual related posts to a separate blog from my personal/family one.
It's part of becoming amphibious and being able to move openly among the a-churched (they just don't care if they are churched or unchurched... they are a-church) without them discovering some of my religion-ramblings which might both scare them off from the relationships we are developing and make them feel I was deceiving them as a zealot-wolf in sheep's clothing.
Everything from here down (older/previous) has been moved from my personal/family blog (the old life|simple one).
It's part of becoming amphibious and being able to move openly among the a-churched (they just don't care if they are churched or unchurched... they are a-church) without them discovering some of my religion-ramblings which might both scare them off from the relationships we are developing and make them feel I was deceiving them as a zealot-wolf in sheep's clothing.
Everything from here down (older/previous) has been moved from my personal/family blog (the old life|simple one).
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