To Tame the Monster

Nessie. Bigfoot/Sasquatch. Grendel.  Cancer, AIDS, Zika and many other diseases. Nuclear threats, climate change and the presidential election. A thousand more named and unnamed spooks like vampires and werewolves, that make us

Confession and Grace

We don't like accepting our weaknesses and sins (those we can admit, theoretically, that we might have). And we hope nobody else can see any, so we show up in public with our Public Face on. But God already knows what's wrong with each human, and he gives each one total forgiveness in Christ. And James 5:16 tells the church community, as we work together, "Confess

How to Treat One Another

I just saw this post on another blog and it's so good, I want to share it here. This is an 'infographic' which means it's easy to absorb visually but has great information in it.

http://overviewbible.com/one-another-infographic/

If you wonder how we should treat each other, this is a good place to start.

What do you think?

The Glory of God

"So the Word became human and made his home among us. He was full of unfailing love and faithfulness. And we have seen his glory, the glory of the Father’s one and only Son" (John 1:14).

 

Moses asked to see God's glory, and he did get

More than These

Jesus said some tough things -- things we don't always like to remember, or teach. Like when he said we have to hate our relatives if we want to be his disciples: "If anyone comes to me and does not hate his father and mother, his wife and children, his brothers and sisters—yes, even his own life—he cannot be my disciple." (Luke 14:26, NIV) And being his disciple is what he has called all of us to do; so we should take his words seriously.

Hate, meaning really despise and be angry with? No, what Jesus said, in the lingo of the day, was that, in order to be his disciples, we have to love him so much that everything else fades into the background and doesn't mean anything to us, compared to him. The Message version reads this as "let go of" his family. So if you aren't willing to let go of even what is closest to you, you aren't really a disciple, because you're not paying enough attention to the Master.

Dallas Willard, in his classic book The Divine Conspiracy, explains this idea. He uses the analogy of a math teacher to his student: unless you learn addition and subtraction, fractions and decimals, no way are you going to learn algebra or trigonometry. If you don't have even the basics, how will you learn the real stuff?

Unless we are so focused on the Master that he is, without question, the most important issue in our lives, we won't really be discipled -- taught, instructed, led -- by him. Multi-tasking just isn't gonna make it with him. Being less than devoted won't work with Jesus. Focusing on temporary-life matters so much that eternal-life matters don't get much attention, means that Jesus doesn't matter as much as he should.

Okay, we still have to eat, and pay our taxes, and all that stuff. Living in a monastery isn't necessary for spiritual maturity. But here's a measure of focus: what's on your mind most often? For example, which thoughts are most frequent: ideas of self-protection and getting ahead, or hearing the Holy Spirit tell you how to love someone? Anger at someone who has offended you, or forgiveness and seeking God's wisdom in responding? Convinced of your own rightness, or seriously asking the Lord for correction?

Do you love Jesus more than these other people/things? I know I need to clean out some of the mental and emotional clutter, and focus on him, because I want to go deeper with the Master. Wanna go along?