Tag Archives: Sunday

The Real Jesus

Posted on November 15, 2015 | Leave a comment

Excerpts from Mark 3 NIV
5 He looked around at them in anger and, deeply distressed at their stubborn hearts…9 Because of the crowd he told his disciples to have a small boat ready for him, to keep the people from crowding him…21 When his family heard about this, they went to take charge of him, for they said, “He is out of his mind.”…

Thoughts:
I’m having a negative reaction to everything I read today.  I don’t like reading that Jesus was angry and distressed.  I don’t like that he made plans to keep himself away from the people.  I don’t like that his own family was ready to haul him away because they thought he was out of his mind.  This is a clear indicator that I’m deeply involved in romanticizing the human Jesus and I don’t like that either.

I read a book “Imaginary Jesus” by Matt Mikalatos.  It’s not a “Christian” book per se, it’s a novel and underlying the humor of it is a very serious reality.  It’s the mistake of seeing Jesus as what we need him to be in any given situation.  Here’s part of the description from Amazon: “When Matt Mikalatos realizes that his longtime buddy in the robe and sandals isn’t the real Jesus at all, but an imaginary one, he embarks on a mission to find the real thing.”

I don’t want to miss The Real Jesus because of my need to make him look and act like I think he should…but…I don’t want him to be angry, or distressed either.  That’s too raw, too human, and too much a mirror of what my reaction might be.  Maybe that’s the point.  The Real Jesus will show me my own humanity despite my creative attempts to mold him into an imaginary image.  Obviously he’s not finished yet.

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Posted in Daily Faith, Growth, Mark, Real Life

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Gene Therapy

Posted on November 8, 2015 | Leave a comment

gene ther·a·py – noun – 1 the transplantation of normal genes into cells in place of missing or defective ones in order to correct genetic disorders.

From Ethics by Dietrich Bonhoeffer
“…The Pharisee is that extremely admirable man who subordinates his entire life to his knowledge of good and evil and is as severe a judge of himself as of his neighbour to the honour of God, whom he humbly thanks for this knowledge. For the Pharisee every moment of life becomes a situation of conflict in which he has to choose between good and evil…”

Thoughts:
Bonhoeffer describes the personal life of a Pharisees pretty clearly in that first paragraph.  That phrase “knowledge of good and evil” made me think of the Garden of Eden.  There was only one tree Adam and Eve were NOT to eat from.  It was the “tree of the knowledge of good and evil.”   We’ve all got a little a little bit of that same Pharisee DNA in us and that’s a tough sentence to live with.

But God has a plan to get us out of that genetic trap.  It’s the very first, and most effective form of Gene Therapy to replace those defective cells.   Some call it born again. I call it Galatians 2:20 I have been crucified with Christ and I no longer live, but Christ lives in me. The life I now live in the body, I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave himself for me.

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Posted in Bonhoeffer, Galatians

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Recharging Sunday

Posted on September 27, 2015 | Leave a comment

Matthew 6
1 “Be careful not to practice your righteousness in front of others to be seen by them. If you do, you will have no reward from your Father in heaven…
7 And when you pray, do not keep on babbling like pagans, for they think they will be heard because of their many words. 8 Do not be like them, for your Father knows what you need before you ask him…
17 But when you fast, put oil on your head and wash your face, 18 so that it will not be obvious to others that you are fasting…
21 For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also…

Thoughts:
This reminded me of Ecclesiastes “Vanity, vanity, all is vanity.” That’s probably KJV.  NIV says “meaningless.”  That’s what we gain from our efforts without constant Recharging.  It’s like the charging station for your cell phone or iPad.  If you don’t recharge your battery regularly, it just shuts down completely. If you’re a techno-geek like me this imagery makes sense to you.

Those little electronic devices have opened up a “world” filled with information to us and we have loved it but for them and for us Recharging is a critical need.

That’s true of technology and faith as well.  You don’t really need anything more than Jesus and a Bible but If you’re lucky enough to also have an iPad and/or iPhone, you can be blessed by using those resources too.  Surf online and learn more and faster, about the Word of God. Jesus is our charging station and even Google can be used by God.  Recharging can come just by thinking the question or the word from the scripture, typing it into your browser and then reading with discernment.  Search as many different Bible versions as it takes to find a glimmer of understanding.  Here’s a marvelous site with many versions of the bible in many languages.  https://www.biblegateway.com.  Then, here’s the key, reread your own go-to Bible version.   Your eyes will see new treasure there, there your heart will be also and you’ll have grown beyond knowledge to “knowing.”

It’s the Sovereign God at work in new technology and in you. God is still in charge of our world and it’s developments, even technology.  Let’s redeem these resources for His Kingdom and our growth!  That’s Recharging in 2015.

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Posted in Ecclesiastes, Matthew, Real Life

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