There is a time and season for every event under the sun said King Solomon in Ecclesiastes.. This holds true in the big arch of the history of God’s story in creation. God restored the broken relationship with broken humans step by step with increasing revelation and purpose over the centuries and millennia.
However, there are events that seem to occur ahead of time in that big scheme. Examples would be Abraham living by faith, David in the holy of holies through the sacrifice of praise, Elijah raising the dead. These men experienced aspects of divine / human life that their peers did not and would only be ‘normal’ through the Messiah ands his sacrifice.
In Jesus’ life, three disciples glimpsed a reality ahead of time in seeing Jesus in full resurrection glory. They were told to not tell of this experience until the right time.
This encourages me to seek to live in the future glory ahead of time. People healed, communities healed, nations healed. Aspects of the Millenium reign... now...
Mark 9:2-9
Wednesday, 18 February 2009
Tuesday, 17 February 2009
Reaching High and Low
The heart of the Christian faith is that God became human. In Jesus we have a profound mystery: a person fully human and a person fully divine. We can understand the fully human part because we experience that every moment of consciousness. To live for us is to be human.
However, even here, the truth is we each fail to be fully all that humanity offers. We fail to love fully, forgive fully, rejoice fully, mourn fully. Jesus also was a unique person in that he was also the Son of God, existing before creation and perfectly in union with God, his father. This is a mystery we will always find difficult to appreciate.
In Jesus, God has bent low to earth and made himself fully known to his people. Also in Jesus, humanity has reached to God in righteousness and perfect obedience as a life well lived. We are invited into the centre of this mystery to receive God’s grace and be elevated to people fully pleasing to our Father. ‘The glory of God is a human fully alive’.
However, even here, the truth is we each fail to be fully all that humanity offers. We fail to love fully, forgive fully, rejoice fully, mourn fully. Jesus also was a unique person in that he was also the Son of God, existing before creation and perfectly in union with God, his father. This is a mystery we will always find difficult to appreciate.
In Jesus, God has bent low to earth and made himself fully known to his people. Also in Jesus, humanity has reached to God in righteousness and perfect obedience as a life well lived. We are invited into the centre of this mystery to receive God’s grace and be elevated to people fully pleasing to our Father. ‘The glory of God is a human fully alive’.
Monday, 16 February 2009
A comment which stuck
I took the Redpill but still bare the scars of the puppeteer.
There are times that I find myself doing the same routine but without the strings.
But, we are learning to dance. We are learning to play for the love the game. We are learning to run without time hacks. And one day we will be fully restored. O the beauty.
Be encouraged my friends!!! We are not the same as we were yesterday
There are times that I find myself doing the same routine but without the strings.
But, we are learning to dance. We are learning to play for the love the game. We are learning to run without time hacks. And one day we will be fully restored. O the beauty.
Be encouraged my friends!!! We are not the same as we were yesterday
Sunday, 15 February 2009
light and darkness
Familiarity breeds contempt it is said. Unfortunately a truth which can apply to God's word. Some passages are so famous to us that we fail to appreciate their full gravity and importance. John's opening lines are such words. He unfolds for us a super-structure of meaning and undrestanding of the God and his world that acts as a foundation for many truths found in scripture.
The categories covered are the Godhead, creation, life, light, darkness, salvation, glory to name a few. The real tragedy for us occurs when we think we fully understand such passages and fail to allow God to speak through them and challenge our world views.
The world depicted through John is ordered yet impregnated with chaos. It is full of courage and hope yet not without danger and risk. The world of darkness and light needs a saviour and those who will shine with His light. Will you shine in the darkness this week?
The categories covered are the Godhead, creation, life, light, darkness, salvation, glory to name a few. The real tragedy for us occurs when we think we fully understand such passages and fail to allow God to speak through them and challenge our world views.
The world depicted through John is ordered yet impregnated with chaos. It is full of courage and hope yet not without danger and risk. The world of darkness and light needs a saviour and those who will shine with His light. Will you shine in the darkness this week?
Thursday, 12 February 2009
Missionary Mindset
Can you remember what it was like to not believe in God? Can you recall a time when you did not have a clue who Jesus really was? How about the last time you did not have the faintest stirring to go to church on a Sunday and not have a trace of guilt about that?! Welcome to the majority of people in Britain today.
It is difficult to think like people different to us yet it is very necessary if we are to bring Good News to them. Current culture will not bring many people through the front doors of church. Yet we hold the answers to love, forgiveness, significance and truth. So if people will not naturally come to us, it simply means we have to go to them.
What is required is a renewed mindset. We have to become like Jesus, like the first apostles and like Paul. We need to see ourselves primarily as missionaries rather than pastors, as people going rather than waiting for arrivals. This is a hard pill for the 21st century church but it will make a difference to the world.
1 Corinthians 9, Mark 1
It is difficult to think like people different to us yet it is very necessary if we are to bring Good News to them. Current culture will not bring many people through the front doors of church. Yet we hold the answers to love, forgiveness, significance and truth. So if people will not naturally come to us, it simply means we have to go to them.
What is required is a renewed mindset. We have to become like Jesus, like the first apostles and like Paul. We need to see ourselves primarily as missionaries rather than pastors, as people going rather than waiting for arrivals. This is a hard pill for the 21st century church but it will make a difference to the world.
1 Corinthians 9, Mark 1
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