partsofspeaking

  Are we really supposed to say we are broken? https://www.cru.org/us/en/blog/life-and-relationships/hardships/but-christians-arent-supposed-to-be-broken.html Yes, but no. It shouldn’t be a daily identity thing. It’s not our self-definition. That should be “loved, redeemed, forgiven, dependent, relying, trusting, walking, obeying.” But if we feel broken, we should own it because we are all the time, just not necessarily feeling and experiencing and living in it all the time.   “I used to think that God was intently interested in my put-togetherness. It turns out that was the only thing with which He could do nothing. I used to bring Him only all of my figured-out things. It turns out what He wanted was for me to bring Him everything, most of all my not-yet-figured-out things. . . . “I used to think that God was intently interested in my put-togetherness. It turns out that was the only thing with which He could do nothing. I used to bring Him only all of my figured-ou...

When Jesus said render to Caesar the things that are Caesar’s and render to God the things that are God’s, he was giving one of the most profound answers in history. Caesar (and for us, politics) only has a certain hold on our lives. I think we can see this in a couple of ways. Render to Caesar the limited amount he has a right to ask you. Don’t go beyond it, don’t make it a priority, don’t make service to the government or to politics your god. At the same time, don’t ignore it or think you have no responsibility there.   But don’t expect the government of caesars and the politics of your party or faction (which are coalitions of people wanting things in this life regarding power, mostly, or their own benefit!) to rule you.   Political action should be down the list for Christians, not ignored, but not anywhere near first.  

From "Under Pressure" by Queen   Love's such an old fashioned word   And love dares you to care for The people on the edge of the night  And love (people on streets) dares you to change our way of  Caring about ourselves

Definition: T o travel in a purposeful way toward a vague destination. What is it to travel in a vague way toward a purposeful destination? That’s me.

In my study of the Christian faith over 50 years, I have been able to see trends, fads, and new understandings. Some were nonsense, like the Prayer of Jabez (actually a marketing tool). One valuable emphasis, at least for me, is the significance of 70 AD. Our interim pastor explored it last Sunday in regard to Mark 13. The passage is taken by dispensationalists to be about the end times, and it partially is, but it’s really about the fall of the Temple which was to happen in AD 70. Short version of important, long history: In AD   66 The Jews mounted a rebellion against Rome that actually had some success, for a while, until the emperor had enough, sent Titus (who would later become emperor, since it wasn’t all about family succession), and the rebellion was quelled and the Temple left “not one stone upon another.) But, the part I wasn’t taught: The Jewish Christians in Jerusalem had departed, fled, warned in a contemporary prophecy to leave. (Thus, Jesus wo...

What is going on? The key word is covenant . God keeps his covenant no matter what. Not a contract that is broken or breakable. Genesis: God makes the covenant with Abraham and repeats it. Exodus: After 400 years, Moses leads them out of Egyptian slavery, and it ends with God’s protection. Leviticus: How to live as the covenant people so they will understand the seriousness of sin and look forward to the final sacrifice. Numbers: It starts with numbers, but that’s not really what it’s about. Bemidbar is the Hebrew name: In the Wilderness. Theme of Numbers: Consequences of disobedience to the covenant even when God remains faithful. These accounts are not uplifting, really. As Pat taught last week, Israel went through periods of complaining (not minor complaints, either) and suffering the consequences. Their biggest complaint and sin: fear of going into the promised land, even though that was why they were freed, to return to what God had promised Abraham. Only two, Joshua an...

Review: 1.      Joshua is leading the nation of Israel to TOTALLY conquer the ethnic groups (tribes) that live in “the promised land.” The destruction of these groups has troubled modern Christians for many years. “The conquest served as God’s judgment on the Canaanite peoples, who were particularly wicked and whose sins dated back centuries to the time of the patriarchs. The conquest was a unique, one-time endeavor that …was not to be repeated.   The conquest was not targeted toward these people because of their ethnicity but because of their moral corruption.” The major city-states were the ones to be conquered and destroyed, and smaller groups were to be driven out. The issue is that the land had to be totally free of this influence or Israel would have trouble going forward. Since Israel didn’t   fully complete the task, they were always influenced back to pagan worship (example, Gibeonites). 2.      Rahab – is a marvelous pict...