Monday, May 26, 2014

Back in the Day



Ever wondered what life was really like "in the Bible?" I do, which is to say that although I wrote about it, I don't have it figured out. I'm sure Jesus was an awesome guy, but there are some thing we just weren't meant to know. Sometimes that's the one reason we can trust God, because of our strong faith in the things unseen or unproven. Anyway, here is a short story about one of the many speeches the Apostle Peter gave...back in the day!


(hit this guy to view -->) Acts 3

Tuesday, May 20, 2014

A Simple Prevalence

Whoever says he abides in him ought to walk in the same way in which he walked. ~1 John 2:6 (ESV)

What does it mean to die for someone you love? In some ways, it reveals your everything, your true commitment, but not if you aren't also living for them. Christ gave his life for us, in a bigger way than we ever could for him, but he also lived for us. Jesus gave all of his time to spreading the gospel and the good news of God's love. I think that if we truly live for Christ, then we wouldn't mind dying for him, but usually it doesn't work the other way around. Some Christians (myself included) have trouble living each day for Christ while they would gladly give their lives for him...it's just that there is no need to when we are living in such peaceful times. When we have no compassionate push from someone to commit our time to something that doesn't always have an apparent outcome, it can be hard to get enthusiastic about it. Physical consequence, however, to showing our faith, is very black and white. Let's try to look at today as being black and white: either we show others that Christ is in us by living for him, or we go about our day and ignore the fact that we are called to be more Christ-like in everything he did for us.

For to this you have been called, because Christ also suffered for you, leaving you an example, so that you might follow in his steps. ~1 Peter 2:21 (ESV)


Therefore be imitators of God, as beloved children. And walk in love, as Christ loved us and gave himself up for us, a fragrant offering and sacrifice to God. ~Ephesians 5:1-2 (ESV)

Sunday, May 11, 2014

God is a Tractor. Know Him.

When a tractor treads the ripe fields of the new season, regardless of that particular tractor's purpose, it leaves behind a trail of impression--nothing is left the same. So it is when God tills the dissension of our hearts and becomes the steadfast King and companion with whom we have a real relationship: he cannot leave us unchanged. If someone claims to have accepted Christ and they show no signs of a Christ-like passion/life-attitude, then they must not have truly met with the Jesus of the Bible and heard him speaking into their lives. When he calls us out of our sin and we obey, we cannot simply keep silent about it, we long to change because we love Him in whose image we were made.

For me, I can often tell, for the most part, simply by talking with someone a bit whether or not they have met and obeyed Christ personally, even if they are regular church-goers. We were made in the image of Christ, the embodiment of God, and although we can never be a perfectly cookie-cut image of our savior, we are called to resemble Christ to the best of our ability.

If we are indeed resembling Christ to the best of our ability, then no one should be able to say we have not been changed. That's why knowing Christ--truly knowing Him--must equal following Him.

“The Word we study has to be the Word we pray. My personal experience of the relentless tenderness of God came not from exegetes, theologians, and spiritual writers, but from sitting still in the presence of the living Word and beseeching Him to help me understand with my head and heart His written Word. Sheer scholarship alone cannot reveal to us the gospel of grace. We must never allow the authority of books, institutions, or leaders to replace the authority of *knowing* Jesus Christ personally and directly. When the religious views of others interpose between us and the primary experience of Jesus as the Christ, we become unconvicted and unpersuasive travel agents handing out brochures to places we have never visited." ~Brennan Manning

Sunday, May 4, 2014

He Who Has Ears, Let Him Hear!

"[This song is like] a dialogue between God and one seeking him...like the person seeking is dealing with self-pity, when all God wants is for him to make forward motion and just let go of the cares of this world. The one seeking feels God is nowhere to be found but God is fighting to be in this persons life." ~Anonymous

A sound ahead from distant peaks
A song that all my brothers sing
It's just out of reach, to join them I need
The wings the heavens denied me

It's like you're deaf to my voice
But I've been here for every moment
Waiting on your call to move

If you could just make a choice
I know you would find me wanting
Only to be close to you

A sound ahead from distant peaks
A song that all my brothers sing

You keep denying my lead 'cause I've tried
I've never pulled back my reach
And I've stayed and I've died
But you keep looking for me where I'm not

I won't be just where you want me to be
You've got to believe
And just trust that I can be everything

It’s like you’re deaf to my voice (but I’m not)
I’ve been here for every moment (and I’ve fought)
Waiting on your call to move (just call to move)
 
If you could just make a choice (oh I have)
I know you would find me wanting (I just want)
Only to be close to you (all of you)

If you would just try and let pry
All your grips on worries
I would come alive in your life
And let you find the flight you're longing [for]

~"Reveries of Flight" by Oh, Sleeper ("Christian" metal band)