tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-75589347965605161192024-03-13T07:15:01.295-07:00Law and Grace in an Unlikely Placewe are all mere beggars telling other beggars where to find bread - Martin LutherUnknownnoreply@blogger.comBlogger34125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7558934796560516119.post-69552047097513470802012-07-16T17:25:00.001-07:002012-07-17T02:52:40.628-07:00Movin' on over, not movin' on outHey Y'all out there who read this blog. This will be the last post here :( I've decided to join forces with some friends of mine over at the <a href="http://cross-eyedchristian.blogspot.co.nz/">Cross-eyed</a> blog, so from now on you can find my articles over there, along with some by other like minded people too :)Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7558934796560516119.post-69285902426430139772012-06-24T19:20:00.002-07:002012-06-24T19:21:01.864-07:00All in good time Sam<div style="text-align: center;">
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Imagine a world where a very few get very rich and live long happy lives with everything their hearts desire while most people struggle to live day to day and are exploited by the rich who don’t care if they live or die. That’s the world of the movie <a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fdadZ_KrZVw">In Time</a> but it’s not really that hard to imagine is it? Really it just sounds a lot like our world. </div>
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It seems things will stay that way forever <a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0IA3ZvCkRkQ">until a hero comes along… with the strength to carry on…</a> and that hero is Will Salas. After a stranger gives him wealth beyond his wildest dreams Will decides that he is going to change the world because he’s sick of watching his friends and family die too young. For the rest of the movie he spends his time doing that and to a certain extent he succeeds. He tries to make the lives of the poor longer and more prosperous by being a Robin Hood of sorts; stealing from the rich and giving it to the poor leaving himself just enough to do it again tomorrow. </div>
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We all root for him and forgive him for his stealing because deep inside we all want justice; we realize that exploiting people for your own gains is wrong. But something troubled me about Will Salas and his need to save the world. It wasn’t until one of the most powerful people in the world said to Will <a href="http://www.moviequotesandmore.com/in-time-movie-quotes-1.html#.T-e6JJGO480">“You might upset the balance for a generation, two, but don't fool yourself. In the end nothing will change, because everyone wants to live forever. They all think they have a chance at immortality, even though all the evidence is against it.”</a> That’s it! That’s the problem! We all want a hero to set us free from oppression but this freedom will only ever be temporary because what’s wrong with the world is <a href="http://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Matthew%2015:16-20&version=ESV">not what’s outside of us, but what’s inside us; our heart</a>. </div>
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If we are given something, some wealth in this world, we only need to look around to see that most of us would not become like Will Salas. We would either become like Will’s friend who frittered his wealth away quickly and died as a result or we would use our wealth to exploit or ignore the poor and climb the ladder to riches. </div>
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But even those of us who are happy with our comfortable lives still have problems, and we yearn for a saviour to set us free from the troubles of this life, just like the people in the time of Jesus. Jesus announced to the people that He was the saving King they were waiting for and <span id="goog_283868367"></span>automatically they thought<span id="goog_283868368"></span> “<a href="http://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=John%206:26&version=ESV">oh you’ve come to set us free from the Romans who are oppressing us and keeping us poor and downtrodden. That’s the kind of saviour we want! All hail Jesus! Life is going to turn out OK after all.</a>” But Jesus did not come to earth to be that kind of saviour.
Instead Jesus tells the people a story about <a href="http://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Luke%2012:16-21&version=NIV">a rich man who stores up wealth for himself</a> and thinks “great! Now that I have enough wealth I can relax and do this, that and the other thing.” But God says to him “You fool! Tonight your life will be required of you.” And that’s the problem with saviours like Will Salas; they do their thing and life is good (for a while), but there remains an enemy waiting patiently for everyone which neither Will Salas or you or I can do anything about; death. </div>
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<a href="http://www2.blogger.com/blogger.g?blogID=7558934796560516119#editor/target=post;postID=8452492066258323920">What we <i>need</i>, but don’t <i>want</i></a>, is a saviour <a href="http://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=romans%208:18-39&version=ESV">who will not necessarily rescue us from oppression and suffering in this life but who will save us from ultimate suffering</a> – death and God’s judgment. Only Jesus, the suffering servant King who purchased our eternal life by giving up His life, is that kind of saviour.
</div>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7558934796560516119.post-59636171778100747092012-05-14T14:13:00.002-07:002012-05-14T15:30:31.353-07:00Honest Greeting Cards: Mother's DayMy daughter - the inventor of the honest Mother's Day card:<br />
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Her love for me is ever so slightly conditional and though I try hard, my love for her is ever so slightly conditional too, I'm just not as honest as her about it! I'm so thankful that we both have a heavenly Father whose love for us is totally unconditional because of the work of His Son for us.Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7558934796560516119.post-19814517609799463912012-05-01T18:27:00.000-07:002012-05-01T18:28:46.672-07:00some of the best shirt under sweater action you'll ever see<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-0E2K4RFXQGU/T6CHj-dj-CI/AAAAAAAACFE/G0Gq-2RqaHg/s1600/tumblr_lp8aoiqmXn1qas99c.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="400" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-0E2K4RFXQGU/T6CHj-dj-CI/AAAAAAAACFE/G0Gq-2RqaHg/s400/tumblr_lp8aoiqmXn1qas99c.jpg" width="300" /></a></div>
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Who wants to die right? Not me. What makes death bearable for a lot of us is that we don’t have to think about it most of the time. It always seems so much further off than things that are happening day to day and we can put off thinking about it. I’ve often wondered if people who are closer to death, like people in their 70 and 80s, do mental calculations about the short amount of time they have left and if it frightens them. I wonder if it will frighten me when I reach there (if I reach there). </div>
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<a href="http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0420223/">Harold Crick</a> is a man who’s like most of us, just going through life and not really thinking about death, until one day his life is invaded by a voice from the heavens that begins narrating his life. The voice is scarily accurate and he wonders what is going on. One day his watch stops at the bus stop. He resets it to the time on one of his fellow commuter’s watches and the voice says “Little did he know that this simple seemingly innocuous act would result in his imminent death.” Harold yells “What? What? Hey! HELLOOO! What? Why? Why MY death? HELLO? Excuse me? WHEN?” </div>
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This scene sets off a chain of events where in absolute panic he tries to find a way out of his fate. Harold is thinking “I’m not ready! I haven’t thought about it, I’m not prepared! I’ve got the rest of my life to live” even though his life had actually been pretty rubbish up to that point. </div>
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To not fear death like Harold does, seems stranger than fiction. But this is the very gift that Christians have; of being able to look toward death with hope. </div>
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Hope in death? Yes, the hope that death is not the end, but only the beginning of something much better than what this life has. In this life we struggle with sin; sin that others do to us, sin that we do to others, sin that happens on the news and sin that torments us inside. Life is a battle that is hard and full of temptations, heartache and then you die. The hope the Christian has in death is that we will not be forgotten after we are eaten by worms, but that we will be raised again and made into something new. New life in a resurrected body that will not sin or ache or break down but will go on forever in a place that will have no more pain, sorrow or death and we will be with our great saviour forever! </div>
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The more Harold Crick investigated his death and what it would mean, the more he came to terms with it, and when it was time, he was ready. (spoiler alert!!) At the end of the movie, the author of the book about Harold’s death explained why she changed the ending; “Because it's a book about a man who doesn't know he's about to die. And then dies. But if a man does know he's about to die and dies anyway. Dies- dies willingly, knowing that he could stop it, then- I mean, isn't that the type of man who you want to keep alive?”
There is something noble and beautiful about someone who gives up their life for sake of others. Watching Harold willingly go to his death just for the sake of a good story brought a tear to my eye. </div>
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And then I thought of Jesus. </div>
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He was not corrupted by sin as we are; he did not have to die. He could have lived forever on earth making our lives better by constantly doing miracles and helping others but ultimately it would do us no good, we would still die in our sin and receive God’s just judgment. <a href="http://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Romans%205:6-11&version=ESV"> Jesus willingly went to his death</a> to give us so much more than a good story - forgiveness for our sins and life with him after death. <a href="http://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=luke%2024:%201-47&version=ESV"> Three days later He rose again</a> and waits to receive us into his eternal kingdom when our heart gives out or we are hit by a bus. </div>
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- <a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=c2tqVQX_H3c&feature=results_main&playnext=1&list=PL67C533EFB2ECCBC8%20">best romantic pun of all time</a> in this movie too. </div>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7558934796560516119.post-80984142313200628152012-04-11T21:46:00.000-07:002012-04-11T21:46:12.292-07:00the unlikely tale of Jonathan and Charlotte<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">
<span id="goog_1022979910"><span id="goog_1224752785"><span id="goog_1578377030"><span id="goog_1118389349">watch this first... </span></span></span></span><iframe allowfullscreen='allowfullscreen' webkitallowfullscreen='webkitallowfullscreen' mozallowfullscreen='mozallowfullscreen' width='320' height='266' src='https://www.youtube.com/embed/ZsNlcr4frs4?feature=player_embedded' frameborder='0'></iframe> </div>
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<span lang="EN-US">This video’s been doing the facebook rounds
lately and I thought I’d add to the giant recycling bin that is the internet by
linking and commenting on it.</span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US">The story of Charlotte and Jonathan struck
me as an amazing illustration of grace.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>Firstly Charlotte shows grace (unmerited favour) by loving the unlovable
Jonathan.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>In doing so she discovers
there is much to love in Jonathan that no one else has discovered because they
were busy judging his outward appearance.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>Her love gives him the courage to do the outrageous – sing in front of
millions of people and submit himself to their judgment.</span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US">What the millions discover is that he is an
astounding opera singer!<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>But at 4min50 along
comes the personification of law (the standard) himself; Simon Cowell.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>He tells them “Charlotte, I think you’re
good; but Jonathan, you are unbelievable, you are a future star… but I’m
worried that Charlotte is going to hold you back” to which Jonathan replies “we
came on here as a duo and we are going to stay as a duo.”</span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US">Jonathan was tempted in that moment to dump
Charlotte to gain the world but what does he do?<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>He gives up the world to keep a friend and support
her – he gives grace back to Charlotte at the expense of himself.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>This is profound love and it reminds me so
much of Christ <a href="http://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Romans%205:6-11&version=ESV">who gave up the world to gain his enemies</a> and at the expense of
his life. <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"></span></span></div>
<span id="goog_1022979910"><span id="goog_1224752785"><span id="goog_1578377030"><span id="goog_1118389349"><span id="goog_1190669685"></span><span id="goog_1190669686"></span></span></span></span></span>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7558934796560516119.post-61000612973213000642012-03-21T13:42:00.000-07:002012-03-21T13:42:20.287-07:00And the verdict is...<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-KT90_KDSPEM/T2o72yq4J5I/AAAAAAAACE8/S98DY9nKidw/s1600/Judge%2BJudy%2BSheindlin.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="280" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-KT90_KDSPEM/T2o72yq4J5I/AAAAAAAACE8/S98DY9nKidw/s400/Judge%2BJudy%2BSheindlin.jpg" width="400" /></a></div><br />
<div style="text-align: justify;">"The Christian is the man who no longer seeks his salvation, his deliverance, his justification in himself, but in Jesus Christ alone. He knows that God’s Word in Jesus Christ pronounces him guilty, even when he does not feel his guilt, and God’s Word in Jesus Christ pronounces him not guilty and righteous, even when he does not feel righteous at all. <b>The Christian no longer lives of himself, by his own claims and his own justification, but by God’s claims and God’s justification.</b> He lives wholly by God’s Word pronounced upon him."</div><br />
<a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dietrich_Bonhoeffer">Dietrich Bonhoeffer</a> from <a href="http://www.bookdepository.com/Life-Together-Dietrich-Bonhoeffer/9780060608521">Life together</a><br />
(thanks to <a href="http://www.mbird.com/2012/02/the-law-and-gospel-of-lent-according-to-chocolat/">Mockingbird</a> blog)Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7558934796560516119.post-43671315328896480212012-02-29T18:41:00.001-08:002012-03-28T16:47:17.666-07:00Why accepting free stuff is so hard<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-4_zcPIi76Vk/T07hQ2_F1gI/AAAAAAAACEw/0THsgy6Q6ZQ/s1600/Michael%252BCera%252BMichael%252BCera%252BGets%252BCoffee%252BFriend%252Bxn5SSRb4zQ6l.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="400" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-4_zcPIi76Vk/T07hQ2_F1gI/AAAAAAAACEw/0THsgy6Q6ZQ/s400/Michael%252BCera%252BMichael%252BCera%252BGets%252BCoffee%252BFriend%252Bxn5SSRb4zQ6l.jpg" width="298" /></a></div><br />
Have you ever gone out for coffee with a friend and had that awkward moment at the till which goes a little something like this:<br />
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The friend - “I’ll get it”<br />
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Me – “no, it’s OK I can pay for mine”<br />
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Friend – “no, I insist. I don’t mind”<br />
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Me – “are you sure?” (hasn’t put wallet away yet)<br />
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Friend – “I’m sure. Go find us a table”<br />
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Me – “OK, I’ll get it next time”<br />
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<div style="text-align: justify;">I told you it was hard to accept free stuff, and you didn’t believe me, did you! In our relationships we feel most comfortable when we are equal to the other party. We don’t want to be the charity case who everyone is always helping along. If someone does something nice for us we feel guilty until we have returned the favour.<br />
</div><div style="text-align: justify;">Jesus told a story about a <a href="http://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Luke%2018:9-14&version=ESV">Pharisee and a tax collector</a>. The Pharisee lists off a whole lot of things he has done for God; he fasts, he tithes, he doesn’t cheat. He believes that he and God are tight because God does good things for him and then he returns the favour. But the tax collector just breaks down in fear and sorrow before God; he is worried because He knows that God is holy and good and he is bad. There is no way he could start to even up the relationship and so he cries out for God to have mercy on him. And God justifies him (makes the tax collector right/perfect in His eyes). </div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: justify;">As Christians we know that we should be like the tax collector because in the end he is the one that God approves of. But we don’t really want to be the tax collector because deep down you and I actually act like the Pharisee! And how can I make such a bold claim? Well, when someone buys us a coffee we fight that free gift. We want to be able to contribute something towards it. We can’t just take it for what it is. And we treat our relationship with God in the same way. His unconditional embrace of us sinners seems like an offer that is too good to be true. So we fight it, always wanting to give something back, and feeling guilty when we fail. But God does not need anything from us, least of all our filthy good works. He freely gives us all His good works and they are enough. </div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: justify;">So when you are feeling down because you failed yet again to make yourself acceptable in God’s eyes, be comforted that your relationship with God is 0% dependent on your contribution and you are 100% acceptable to God because of Jesus Christ. So relax! Rest in this good news and savour it’s sweetness like free cup of coffee.</div>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7558934796560516119.post-84524920662583239202012-01-31T16:44:00.000-08:002012-01-31T16:44:14.094-08:00The person you need is...<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-lsAq_uwjnS0/TyiIWGBVlAI/AAAAAAAACEk/Czs9Jk41aF0/s1600/44692000001_83129989001_Nanny-McPhee-Returns-uni-t.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="225" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-lsAq_uwjnS0/TyiIWGBVlAI/AAAAAAAACEk/Czs9Jk41aF0/s400/44692000001_83129989001_Nanny-McPhee-Returns-uni-t.jpg" width="400" /></a></div><br />
Have you and your family seen “<a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vEYozuMFjyc">Nanny McPhee</a>”? Well if you haven’t then shame on you ;)<br />
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<div style="text-align: center;">(**Spoiler Alert**) </div><div style="text-align: justify;"> Mr. Brown’s children are monsters and have driven away over 15 nannies. He is at his wit’s end until he is visited by a mysterious stranger who calls herself Nanny McPhee. There’s a scene in the kitchen that’s a vivid illustration of <a href="http://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=romans%201&version=ESV">Romans 1</a>. The children have tied up the cook and are up to all sorts of disgraceful behavior when in walks Nanny McPhee. With a thump of her magical cane the children are unable to stop what they were doing. Their naughtiness escalates until they are about to do something that even they realize is horrific. She has given them over to do whatever their shameful heart’s desire and they must live with the consequences. </div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: justify;">As time goes on and Nanny McPhee shows her care for the children their perception of her changes. What at first they thought was an ugly, old, unwanted spoil sport slowly becomes an attractive, loved lady. </div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: justify;">When I didn’t know much about God I struggled with an “ugly” perception of His character. He seemed judgmental and unreasonable. How could it be fair that He chooses some for salvation and not others? That didn’t seem right. I didn’t like him very much at all. But as I saw the great love this “unlovable” God showed me by dying for me despite my rebellion against him He became more attractive to me. Now I see that He has given me the Bible and <a href="http://thegospelcoalition.org/blogs/tullian/">good teachers</a> who teach me about Him and the better I know Him, the more I love Him. </div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: justify;">Unlike Nanny McPhee who had to leave when the children no longer needed her, Jesus has promised that <a href="http://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Hebrews%2013:5-8&version=ESV">He will never leave me, nor forsake me</a> and I’m thankful for that because I know there’ll never be a time when I no longer need Him.</div>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7558934796560516119.post-89543170325650773422012-01-15T14:11:00.000-08:002012-01-15T14:15:40.672-08:00Whoomp! there it is: a sermon by Jesus<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-9PZ8UcXjxMo/TxNLM_9swMI/AAAAAAAACEQ/tX9dSvbRRtU/s1600/tag_team.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="400" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-9PZ8UcXjxMo/TxNLM_9swMI/AAAAAAAACEQ/tX9dSvbRRtU/s400/tag_team.jpg" width="311" /></a></div><br />
<div style="text-align: justify;">A friend and I have been going through the book of Luke and we got to Jesus’ first sermon:<a href="http://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=luke%206:20-49&version=ESV"> the sermon on the plain</a>. At first reading it’s like “So Jesus is a great teacher huh? What on earth is he talking about?” Here’s my two cents…</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: justify;">I think the sermon is one of those three point deals. <a href="http://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=luke%206:20-26&version=ESV">The first point</a> is a description of two groups of people: true and false prophets. What is a prophet? Someone who tells others about God. This section is a reversal of the<a href="http://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=deuteronomy%2028&version=ESV"> Deuteronomy blessings and curses</a>. In Deuteronomy the obedient people are blessed and the disobedient are cursed. But Jesus says that the “disobedient” people who realize that they have nothing to offer God, weep over their sin and are persecuted by men because they believe in Jesus will be the blessed ones. The “obedient” people who think they are making it in God’s eyes and teaching others that they can keep God’s laws are loved by men but they will be cursed by God.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: justify;">Then Jesus goes on to<a href="http://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=luke%206:27-38&version=ESV"> lay down the heaviest law you have ever heard</a> on his listeners; Love your enemies, give to those who steal from you, do not retaliate when you are insulted, give away your stuff, don’t look down on others, forgive others. All this law comes with a<a href="http://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=luke%206:39-45&version=ESV"> large side helping of hardcore self examination:</a> look at your heart, is it good or evil? You correct your neighbour for tiny sins but you have a huge log in your eye called self righteousness etc. Just when you can’t take it anymore Jesus finishes the sermon with<a href="http://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=luke%206:46-49&version=ESV"> the “two builders” parable.</a></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: justify;">If you obey all of the law Jesus has just laid out, you will be sitting on the “solid rock” of righteousness (perfection). When God’s judgment sweeps through like a flood you will be safe. But if you examine yourself and you have broken any of it then <a href="http://kiwibeggar.blogspot.com/2011/04/this-is-not-about-japan.html">you will be swept away like a man who builds his house on sand when a flood comes.</a> Well I’m screwed, so much for Jesus meek and mild.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: justify;">But this is not the end of the story. Go back to section 1. Doesn’t Jesus start the sermon by saying that the person who knows they are on sinking sand before God (poor) and weeps over their sin will actually be blessed by God? Huh?</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: justify;">Yes! And Jesus can say that because this sermon is not the end of the story. Jesus'<a href="http://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=luke%205:27-32&version=ESV"> whole reason for coming to earth was to look for people despair because they can’t keep His laws, then save them</a> and He’ll do it by dying on a cross. His original listeners don’t know about this yet but we do! On the cross He took your sinfulness and gave you His righteousness. So if you recognize that you are on sinking sand because of your sin and you put your trust in Jesus to save you from God’s judgment then you are actually on solid rock and blessed because you wear Jesus’ righteousness! You are safe!</div><br />
I think legendary 90’s hip hop group <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tag_Team_%28group%29">Tag Team</a> sums up Jesus’ description of God’s kingdom best:<br />
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<div style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://www2.blogger.com/goog_520768412">“Upside down and inside out</a></div><div style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Z-FPimCmbX8">I’m bout to show all you folks what it’s all about”*</a></div><div style="text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-size: x-small;">(*If you click on the link be prepared for some bad language) </span></div>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7558934796560516119.post-6312803967597465572012-01-06T17:11:00.001-08:002012-01-06T17:11:55.525-08:00Happy New Year everyone ;)<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-HhrFw-j82lM/TwebpIKPivI/AAAAAAAACEE/v6u0fuBSrCg/s1600/new%2Byears.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="216" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-HhrFw-j82lM/TwebpIKPivI/AAAAAAAACEE/v6u0fuBSrCg/s400/new%2Byears.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7558934796560516119.post-78667302620359725442011-12-15T00:50:00.000-08:002011-12-15T00:53:35.209-08:00Dance Monkey, Dance!<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-mKrzScagD5A/TumwtY5esWI/AAAAAAAACD0/7d1rat_45yo/s1600/charliesheen_winnerbook.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="400" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-mKrzScagD5A/TumwtY5esWI/AAAAAAAACD0/7d1rat_45yo/s400/charliesheen_winnerbook.jpg" width="346" /></a></div><br />
<div style="text-align: center;">Head under water</div><div style="text-align: center;">And they tell me to breathe easy for a while</div><div style="text-align: center;">The breathing gets harder, even I know that</div><div style="text-align: center;">Made room for me but it's too soon to see</div><div style="text-align: center;">If I'm happy in your hands</div><div style="text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: justify;">That’s the first verse from “<a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qi7Yh16dA0w">Love Song</a>” by Sara Barielles. When Sara wrote these lyrics <a href="http://www.mtv.com/news/articles/1583067/sara-bareilles-love-song-basically-wrote-itself.jhtml">she felt like she was under pressure</a> from her record label to write a popular love song so that they would continue her career. The resulting song speaks about her resentment at being put under pressure to perform to others expectations, OR ELSE!</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: justify;">Sara nails the nature of human relationships, especially when it comes to business. Why is it that so often celebrities crash and burn? (<a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wE6YLTZ0O4g">Charlie Sheen anyone?</a>). Perhaps it’s because their relationships with their agents and the press are conditional. The major condition of these relationships is that the celebrity is expected to sustain certain level of performance and if it is not achieved then the celebrity will find themselves dropped like a hot coal into the oblivion of D-list status. They are slaves to obey the law of “perform or see you later”. </div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: justify;">Maybe we’ve experienced this when someone we thought was a friend abandons us when we let them down. </div><div style="text-align: justify;">The solution to this problem isn’t “choose your friends better” or “perform better” but it’s that there is someone out there who loves you despite the fact you don’t come anywhere near his required standard of performance. <a href="http://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=matthew%2011:25-29&version=ESV"> He once said to those who felt like they were drowning</a> because of the burden of their sinful hearts “Come to me, all who labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you, and learn from me, for I am gentle and lowly in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. For my yoke is easy, and my burden is light.” We can be happy in His hands because He demands nothing from us; instead He did it all for us.</div>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7558934796560516119.post-87111736672467295622011-11-29T18:58:00.000-08:002012-01-15T14:16:10.368-08:00The limited power of the law<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-Stny6k9MGzI/TtWaYKhuQNI/AAAAAAAACDM/GgY2_5dyNzg/s1600/frankie-say-relax.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="286" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-Stny6k9MGzI/TtWaYKhuQNI/AAAAAAAACDM/GgY2_5dyNzg/s320/frankie-say-relax.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><br />
<div style="text-align: justify;">"While the law guides, it does not give. It has the power to reveal sin but not the power to remove sin. It simply cannot engender what it commands. The law shows us what godliness is, but it cannot make us godly like the gospel can. <b>The law shows us what a sanctified life looks like, but it does not have sanctifying power as the gospel does. So, apart from the gospel, the law crushes.</b> The law shows us what to do. The Gospel announces what God has done. The law directs us, but only the gospel can drive us. It’s very important to keep these distinctions in mind.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: justify;">The operative power that makes you a Christian is the same operative power that keeps you a Christian: the unconditional, unqualified, undeserved, unrestrained grace of God in the completed work of Christ. <b>As I said, the banner under which Christians live reads, “It is finished.” So relax, and rejoice… You’re free!</b>"</div><br />
<a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tullian_Tchividjian">Tullian Ttchividjian</a><br />
From <a href="http://www.bookdepository.co.uk/Jesus-Nothing-Everything-Tullian-Tchividjian/9781433507786">Jesus + Nothing = Everything </a><br />
thanks to <a href="http://www.mbird.com/2011/11/jesus-plus-nothing-equals-a-gospel-tornado">Mockingbird blog</a> for the link...Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7558934796560516119.post-27900714750518255352011-11-21T18:42:00.000-08:002011-11-21T18:42:38.694-08:00I want you to friend me. NO! I demand it!<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-pj_sNwrK1Is/TssJeh9iJjI/AAAAAAAACC4/1UCIfUZefH4/s1600/the%2Bsocial.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="328" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-pj_sNwrK1Is/TssJeh9iJjI/AAAAAAAACC4/1UCIfUZefH4/s400/the%2Bsocial.jpg" width="400" /></a></div><br />
<div style="text-align: justify;">We finally got around to seeing <a href="http://www.imdb.com/title/tt1285016/">The Social Network</a>. It’s the 40 percent true story of the beginnings of <a href="http://facebook.com/">facebook.com</a> and a fascinating study of human nature; in particular our overdeveloped sense of entitlement.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: center;">**Spoiler Alert**</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><i>The movie reveals the plot by flicking between past events and the inevitable court case. Basically the Winklevoss brothers sue <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mark_Zuckerberg">Mark Zuckerberg</a> for stealing their <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/ConnectU">social networking website idea. </a>It appears Mark Z started his own social networking website whilst employed to create one for the Winklevosses. Mark Z claims his “The Facebook” bears little resemblance to the idea the Winklevosses had pitched to him, but they try to sue him anyway. </i></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: justify;">All of us have a sense of entitlement; that is, what we think the world owes us. It’s easy to deny it until someone uses your idea first then makes a shed-load of money out of it. Thanks to the legal system, you can try to get what you think you deserve even though you did no work to earn it. As the <a href="http://nz.news.yahoo.com/a/-/world/9180542/winklevoss-twins-lose-facebook-appeal/">US Circuit Court of Appeals said</a> when the Winklevosses’ appeal failed this year "The Winklevosses are not the first parties bested by a competitor who then seek to gain through litigation what they were unable to achieve in the marketplace” </div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: justify;">Human entitlement rears its ugly head with regards to God also. When we get sick, lose a job, lose a family member, become victims of a natural disaster etc, our first reaction is to cry out “Why me God? I don’t deserve this! Why do bad things happen to good people? How could you allow this to happen to me God?” We believe we are good and so God owes us only good things. In reality we are not good and God owes us nothing (just ask Job). Shocking I know! </div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: justify;">We live at God’s mercy. Every breath we take is because He allows it. Every good thing God has given us is because He is gracious, merciful, kind and patient. His goodness towards ungrateful human beings is shown to us in His Son Jesus Christ. Imagine if Mark Z gave Facebook to the Winklvosses <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Facebook">(valued in 2010 at $41 billion</a>). He would be broke, and they would be richer than you or I can ever imagine. So much more than this, Jesus Christ gave up everything He was entitled to (His place in heaven where He owned the whole world), to come and be born beside an animal feeding trough, to suffer and be killed at the hands of His own creation, so that He could give us something we don’t deserve – forgiveness of sins and eternal life with Him.</div>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7558934796560516119.post-60570547390326526482011-11-01T15:37:00.000-07:002012-01-15T14:17:42.325-08:00Rugby is all rightFrom an article written by my Hub at the <a href="http://cross-eyedchristian.blogspot.com/2011/10/we-won.html">cross-eyed</a> blog:<br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-MywVsJbeQfE/TrBz0s2zbEI/AAAAAAAACCc/0qCvChyXI1w/s1600/231011-winners.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="267" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-MywVsJbeQfE/TrBz0s2zbEI/AAAAAAAACCc/0qCvChyXI1w/s400/231011-winners.jpg" width="400" /></a></div><br />
<div style="text-align: justify;"> <span lang="EN-US">"The press will say “New Zealand Won!” but the country didn’t actually do anything. It was those 15 men who represented the rest of us. They were the ones who broke through the strong defense. They were the ones who held back the strong offence. They were the ones who scored the try and the penalty kick needed to win the game. All we could do was watch and cheer them on, and yet we somehow receive the glory. New Zealand wins! The All Blacks represented us, and we all receive the spoils!</span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span lang="EN-US">In Christianity this is known as ‘Imputed Righteousness’. A big fancy term that just means – Jesus won the game for us! God’s standards are high. He expects us to be perfect; to never sin; in short - to love God above everything else, and to love others more than we love ourselves. If we are honest then we know we are unfit for the kingdom of God. We don’t have a chance. The sin team is wiping the floor with us."<span id="goog_413277252"></span><span id="goog_413277253"></span></span></div><br />
...now click on the link above and read the good news at the end of the article!Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7558934796560516119.post-92131495759219755382011-09-29T16:04:00.000-07:002011-09-29T16:04:51.639-07:00Why is scarecrow from the Wizard of Oz a zombie?<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-rEg884aB86Y/ToT2_3pVUAI/AAAAAAAACCE/AJct8_BXlJY/s1600/shaun-of-the-dead-trio.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="266" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-rEg884aB86Y/ToT2_3pVUAI/AAAAAAAACCE/AJct8_BXlJY/s400/shaun-of-the-dead-trio.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>Answer: Because he’s looking for a braaaiiiinnn.<br />
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<div style="text-align: justify;">Zombies are so hot right now. Apparently the <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Zombie_apocalypse">zombie apocalypse</a> is upon us… I haven’t seen any zombie flicks myself because I’m a big chicken. I’ve been told <a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yfDUv3ZjH2k">Shaun of the Dead</a> is hilarious and I kind of want to see that one, but its probably not going to happen. For now I’ll just stick to the zombies that Paul talks about in the Bible. What? You didn’t know? Check this out:</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: justify;">Paul tells us in <a href="http://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=romans%207&version=ESV">Romans 7</a> that a Christian’s old nature is dead, but the weird thing is even though our old nature is dead; it keeps bothering us. Paul says “I have discovered this principle — that when I want to do what is right, I inevitably do what is wrong. I love God’s law with all my heart. But there is another power within me that is at war with my mind. This power makes me a slave to the sin that is still within me. Oh, what a miserable person I am! Who will free me from this body of death?” Sounds like a zombie right? - A creature that’s dead but keeps coming back to life to bother us (and eat our brains).</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: justify;">In your typical zombie movie the hero <a href="http://www.zombiehub.com/zombie_weapons.html">generally carries a shotgun and often resorts to a baseball bat, axe, or other type of blunt instrument to defeat the hordes of the undead</a>. (Well at least that’s what it looks like in the trailers). Does Paul offer us a weapon to defeat our old, dead, zombie part which keeps springing back to life? He sure does! Though it taunts us; “go on, take the cookie… just park on the yellow line, everyone does it… oooo you are so bad for parking on the yellow line, aren’t you supposed to be a Christian?... God doesn’t love you anymore, see how bad you are…” and causes us to cry out like Paul “Who will free me from this body of death?” We can answer Jesus Christ our Lord!</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: justify;">So now there is <a href="http://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=romans%208&version=ESV">no condemnation for those who belong to Christ Jesus</a>. Your zombie problem has already been taken care of. Did Jesus die on the cross for sinners? Yes. Are you a sinner? Yes. Then He died for you and you are perfect in God’s eyes. He does not condemn you. He is always pleased with you, you belong to Him. You have been made alive in Jesus Christ. </div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />
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</div>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7558934796560516119.post-81963279629442358392011-08-23T18:25:00.000-07:002011-08-23T18:26:10.895-07:00From the Lutheran Files...<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-YBRkOigEqgI/TlRQeq0EPOI/AAAAAAAACB4/REgmSnrE0j4/s1600/Walther_cfw_old.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="400" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-YBRkOigEqgI/TlRQeq0EPOI/AAAAAAAACB4/REgmSnrE0j4/s400/Walther_cfw_old.jpg" width="400" /></a></div><br />
<div style="text-align: justify;">From <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/C._F._W._Walther">C. F. W. Walther's</a> epic lectures <a href="http://www.bookdepository.co.uk/Law-Gospel-Walther/9780758616883">"Law and Gospel; How to Read and Apply the Bible"</a></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: justify;">"...the essence, of a Christian - that which makes a person a Christian - is that he knows how to seek his salvation in Christ and thus to escape the Law."</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: justify;">Paul says God's law has the power to condemn us because we don't keep it but when Christ died for us He freed us from the law's power. He did this by taking the punishment we deserve for breaking the law upon Himself "<a href="http://www2.blogger.com/goog_173549360">Jesus answered them, <span class="woj">"Truly, truly, I say to you, everyone who commits sin is a slave to sin</span></a><span class="woj"><a href="http://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=John+8&version=ESV">... if the Son sets you free, you will be free indeed.</a>"</span></div><br />
Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7558934796560516119.post-49974628091104438322011-08-15T17:20:00.000-07:002011-08-23T18:27:26.544-07:00Don't eat the French Fry<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-p6cdNdgSunU/TkmxZeOyNoI/AAAAAAAACBs/to8hlOLO60s/s1600/Im%2BLuggin%2BIt.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="400" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-p6cdNdgSunU/TkmxZeOyNoI/AAAAAAAACBs/to8hlOLO60s/s400/Im%2BLuggin%2BIt.jpg" width="277" /> </a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: justify;">An excerpt from <a href="http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/140006760X/ref=as_li_ss_tl?ie=UTF8&tag=themockblog-20&linkCode=as2&camp=217145&creative=399369&creativeASIN=140006760X">The Social Animal: The Hidden Sources of Love, Character and Achievement</a> found on <a href="http://www.mbird.com/2011/08/david-brooks-on-french-fries-and-ineffectiveness-of-information/?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+mbird+%28Mockingbird%29&utm_content=Google+Reader">Mockingbird</a>:</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: justify;">"You can tell people not to eat the French fry. You can give pamphlets about the risks of obesity. You can deliver sermons urging them to exercise self-control and not eat the fry. And in their nonhungry state, most people will vow not to eat it. But when their hungry self arises, their well-intentioned self fades, and they eat the French fry. <b>Most diets fail because the conscious forces of reason and will are simply not powerful enough to consistently subdue unconscious urges<i>."</i></b></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: justify;">The law is powerless to save you from yourself. You need to be changed by someone outside of yourself. "The law of Moses was unable to save us because of the weakness of our sinful nature. <b>So God did what the law could not do. He sent his own Son in a body like the bodies we sinners have. And in that body God declared an end to sin’s control over us by giving his Son as a sacrifice for our sins.</b> He did this so that the just requirement of the law would be fully satisfied for us, who no longer follow our sinful nature but instead follow the Spirit." - <a href="http://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=romans%208&version=NLT">Paul in his letter to the Romans.</a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: justify;"><br />
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Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7558934796560516119.post-80056345294523485492011-08-14T18:51:00.000-07:002011-08-15T17:21:58.146-07:00Don't worry, be happy (or else)<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-rDfXml7nuqc/Tkh6RAFFGWI/AAAAAAAACBg/IyP34YQ4p0Y/s1600/happy.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="140" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-rDfXml7nuqc/Tkh6RAFFGWI/AAAAAAAACBg/IyP34YQ4p0Y/s400/happy.jpg" width="400" /></a></div><br />
From the November 2010 issue of <a href="http://www.vogue.com.au/">Australian Vogue</a>:<br />
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<div style="text-align: justify;">In the article “Happiness is overrated” writer Elizabeth Heathcote comments on positive thinking “My beef is less with the details of positive psychology and more with the way it functions. <b>By lending academic credence to the idea that we can be better, shinier and happier if we just try, it has turned happiness into not only something we should expect, but yet another must-have commodity that you are failing if you don’t achieve</b>”.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: justify;">Happiness is a gift, a result of something good that has happened to us. We cannot manufacture it. It is pure gospel – something that is a result of something happening to us. When we try to turn it into law – something we must do, “<a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=d-diB65scQU&ob=av3e">don’t worry, be happy</a>”, then we miss out on it.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: justify;">Can I hear an <a href="http://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=ephesians%202&version=ESV">Ephesians 2:8-10</a> out there people?</div><div style="text-align: justify;">“For by grace you have been saved through faith. And <b>this is not your own doing; it is the gift of God</b>, not a result of works, so that no one may boast. For we are his workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand, that we should walk in them.”</div><br />
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Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7558934796560516119.post-9034519805473531332011-07-22T18:20:00.000-07:002011-07-22T18:20:38.203-07:00The Rodfather rulz<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-GyPBAEulC34/TiohMU5YLoI/AAAAAAAACBE/covCk7NEd54/s1600/Christ-on-the-Cross-Oil-Painting.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="400" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-GyPBAEulC34/TiohMU5YLoI/AAAAAAAACBE/covCk7NEd54/s400/Christ-on-the-Cross-Oil-Painting.jpg" width="307" /></a></div><br />
<div style="text-align: justify;">"A friend of mine was walking down a street in Minneapolis one day and was confronted by an evangelical brother who asked, “Brother, are you saved?” Hal rolled his eyes back and said, “Yes.” That didn’t satisfy this brother, so he said, “Well, when were you saved?” Hal said, “About two thousand years ago, about a twenty minutes’ walk from downtown Jerusalem.” This is the gospel message. It’s just as important for Christians to believe for their sanctification as it is for pagans to believe for their justification; for it is the same message, the same salvation, the same work of God. It’s just as important for the evangelical church today as it was for the reformers in the sixteenth century. Without this simple, but mind-boggling message, there is no hope, not for the sinner nor for the saint."</div><br />
<a href="http://www.whitehorseinn.org/">Dr Rod Rosenbladt</a> (The Rodfather) on <a href="http://thegospelcoalition.org/blogs/tullian/2011/07/17/christ-died-for-the-sins-of-christians-too/">Gospel Coalition blog </a>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7558934796560516119.post-18100113377348773502011-07-07T19:02:00.000-07:002011-07-08T22:31:08.375-07:00I have Mantrol Issues<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-tYKSsGkFA7M/ThZkAdxml2I/AAAAAAAACA4/U__RNnVEly0/s1600/stay+in+mantrol.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="211" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-tYKSsGkFA7M/ThZkAdxml2I/AAAAAAAACA4/U__RNnVEly0/s400/stay+in+mantrol.jpg" width="400" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-wcG6QPubjtI/Tgfq3YMg5SI/AAAAAAAACA0/zmwUZ4vaj38/s1600/police+squad.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"></a></div><br />
<div style="text-align: justify;">I did a lot of driving on the motorway last weekend and I saw quite a few policemen on the road. One thing I always notice with myself and other drivers is how everyone's speed drops by about 10km/hr at the sight of a police car. The sight of the law convicts us.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: justify;">But what’s more interesting to me are people’s reactions to the amount of Police presence on our roads. Whenever there is a news item about speed cameras or Police check points, reporters always seem to be able to find someone who says “What a waste of taxpayer’s money. Why aren’t the Police going after real criminals?” It is easy to downplay our sin when it doesn't seem to hurt anyone. "I'm in a bit of rush, why won't this guy get out of my way, I'll just overtake him, it's only a single yellow line." But who knows when our next "little" offense will be ours (or someone else's) last? In 2010 <a href="http://www.blogger.com/goog_910807339">over 300 people die</a><a href="http://www.blogger.com/goog_910807339">d</a><a href="https://www.police.govt.nz/news/release/26601.html"> </a>on New Zealand roads. Many of the road deaths were caused by overall good citizens who in one crucial moment choose to be careless and break the law with devastating consequences. Hence the Police concern about the issue. <br />
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God’s standard for measuring our goodness is infinitely higher than our own. Jesus commands us to “Love our neighbour as ourselves”. If I truly loved my neighbour I would follow the 2 second rule, I would keep to the speed limit, I would drive to the conditions, I would not allow myself to be distracted by my mobile phone etc, etc, etc. But my actions show that I do not love my neighbour as I should, rather I love to rush when I am late and many times I feel like I am the most important car on the road. </div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: justify;">The Police will not forgive me for my traffic offenses (and rightly so.) I'll have to pay the fine, but my offenses against God are much greater, with a fine too great for me to pay. Its such good news that someone else has already paid this fine for me and I am no longer under Gods condemnation. “There is therefore now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus. For the law of the Spirit of life has set you free in Christ Jesus from the law of sin and death. <b>For God has done what the law, weakened by the flesh, could not do. By sending his own Son in the likeness of sinful flesh and for sin, he condemned sin in the flesh, in order that the righteous requirement of the law might be fulfilled in us, who walk not according to the flesh but according to the Spirit</b>.” <a href="http://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=romans%208&version=ESV">(Romans 8:1-4)</a></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: justify;">For another article on the effect of the law on our behaviour: <a href="http://www.mbird.com/2010/12/steelers-james-harrison-and-law/">Steeler's James Harrison and the Law</a></div>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7558934796560516119.post-87926794158587615932011-06-07T19:32:00.000-07:002011-07-07T18:30:37.705-07:00The greatest treasure of all<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-N9c0_NVtWg8/Te7bJIXUg0I/AAAAAAAACAw/Xqf0NL3AUV8/s1600/treasure%2Bplanet.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-N9c0_NVtWg8/Te7bJIXUg0I/AAAAAAAACAw/Xqf0NL3AUV8/s320/treasure%2Bplanet.jpg" width="216" /></a></div><br />
<div style="text-align: justify;">So the Hub and I were watching obscure <a href="http://home.disney.com.au/">Disney</a> movie “<a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Q4K_pjwPZLQ">Treasure Planet</a>” the other night and I had a law and grace moment.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: center;">(****Spoiler Alert****) </div><div style="text-align: justify;"><i>Near the end of the film, would be hero Jim has just discovered the evil Captain Flint’s hidden booty. He climbs aboard a ship wreck lying amongst the gold and sees the Captain himself sitting there guarding his treasure. Captain Flint would be pretty threatening if it were not for the fact that he has no flesh on his bones. This guy’s been dead for a long time. Jim soon discovers that the whole place has been booby trapped and... cue the adventure of a lifetime!</i></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: justify;">Captain Flint had worked his whole life to gain all the treasure in the world and went to great lengths to stop anyone taking it but ultimately he lost it all; death took it from him. <a href="http://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=luke%2012&version=ESV">Jesus warns us about a man</a> who stored up for himself great wealth on earth but he died with nothing because his riches were given away to someone else and he had rejected the greatest treasure of all; peace with God. </div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: justify;">How can you get peace with God? You can’t, Jesus got it for you by taking the punishment you deserve for you on the cross. Because of his death you can no longer be God’s enemy, instead He will adopt you into His family and you can be with Him forever. If you think that sounds like good news, you own a treasure no one, even death, can ever take from you.</div>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7558934796560516119.post-35922248094425330862011-05-17T17:07:00.000-07:002011-07-07T18:32:03.424-07:00I ain't that fit and my gosh don't I know it<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-NNZabFCJkYI/TdMKp2DxgxI/AAAAAAAACAg/EssEvCNYpvk/s1600/richard+simmons.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-NNZabFCJkYI/TdMKp2DxgxI/AAAAAAAACAg/EssEvCNYpvk/s320/richard+simmons.jpg" width="229" /></a></div><br />
<div style="text-align: justify;">I walk past a sign outside a personal trainer’s offices on my way to and from school. The sign reads </div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: center;">“Choice, not circumstances, determine your success”</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: justify;">I think the sign sums up exactly what I call the “law of physical fitness”. All the authorities on the law of physical fitness tell us that if we work hard to be fit and eat the right food then we will reap the rewards: more energy, longer life and rock hard abs. There is no good news for the person who does not keep the law of regular exercise and a healthy diet; who hasn't watched <a href="http://www.youtube.com/user/NBCTheBiggestLoser?blend=1&ob=5">The Biggest Loser</a>?</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: justify;">Perhaps surprisingly for some, the Bible talks very little about caring for our physical bodies. Probably because at the time of the Bible’s writing fast food wasn’t available and everyone did a full 12+ hours a day in the fields trying to grow their daily bread. What the Bible does talk about is the condition of our hearts, not the beating red one, but the essence of who we are. </div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: justify;">As Christians living in a world that glorifies both <a href="http://mcdonalds.co.nz/">McDonalds</a> and <a href="http://models.com/model_culture/50topmodels/top50.cfm?fnumber=50&lnumber=46">super skinny models</a> it is hard to resist the idolatry of being obsessed with appearance. We need to keep in mind that the <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Usain_Bolt">fittest athlete in the world</a> today may have gained the world but he will die when he least expects it. The only good news for all you athletes, slobs, anorexics, yoyo dieters, and healthy average Joe’s is that Jesus died for ALL of your sins including gluttony, laziness and self obsession. His death on your behalf means that when you die God will give you eternal life with Him in a perfect resurrected body that will never again struggle with the idolatry of outward appearance. </div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: justify;">In Christ alone will you daily find the security to say with Him “Therefore do not be anxious, saying, 'What shall we eat?' or 'What shall we drink?' or 'What shall we wear?' For the Gentiles seek after all these things, and your heavenly Father knows that you need them all. But seek first the kingdom of God and his righteousness, and all these things will be added to you.” <a href="http://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=matthew%206&version=NLT">(Matt 6:31-33)</a></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7558934796560516119.post-7788653290585781302011-05-01T19:43:00.000-07:002011-07-07T18:33:47.189-07:00Halloween nightmare<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-vStCxceRAmY/Tb4YqLF6YkI/AAAAAAAACAc/UL1I4ibU8Kc/s1600/80s+family.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-vStCxceRAmY/Tb4YqLF6YkI/AAAAAAAACAc/UL1I4ibU8Kc/s320/80s+family.jpg" width="179" /></a></div><br />
<div style="text-align: justify;">I love fancy dress parties. They are so fun! Seeing each person as they come in completely transformed and sometimes unrecognizable is so exciting. So when we received an invitation to a 70’s and 80’s party at a friend’s church I started planning our outfits. I was thinking classic 80’s for myself; tapered pants, loose white blouse tucked in, teased hair, loads of makeup. My ideas for the Hub were a little more over the top; he could grow a mustache, wear a Hawaiian shirt and channel <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Magnum,_P.I.">Magnum P.I.</a> Or I could half cut his hair mullet style, or he could sling a gun or two over his shoulders and be <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chuck_norris">Chuck Norris</a>… OK I’m getting carried away, you get the idea.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: justify;">So I presented my ideas to him thinking that he would be thrilled. Well the reception was less than enthusiastic and I threw a minor tantrum. Don’t fret, we worked it out and I reconciled myself to his outfit: a <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pac-Man">Pac-man </a>tee (and pants). But the whole thing left a sour note in my mouth, why was I so upset about such a small thing?</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><a href="http://www.redeemer.com/">Tim Keller</a> has taught me to look behind every sin for the idol lurking in the background. When I looked behind my disappointment with my husband I found an idol alright; the idol of coolness. I realized that part of the reason why I like going all out for fancy dress parties is so that people will think “wow, I wish I could be as bold as her, she is so cool”. And so I was frustrated with my hub because he was not allowing me to fulfill that desire. Lame huh.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><a href="http://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=james%204&version=NLT">James tells us</a> that quarrels and fighting come from the evil desires at war within us . The solution he gives us is to humble ourselves before God. That is to realize that we desire lame things like being cool more than God and those closest to us and that God has every right to punish us for that. </div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: justify;">But that’s not the end of the story. When we humble ourselves James promises that God will exalt us. How will He do this? He already has through Jesus Christ! By believing that Jesus died for us on the cross we receive His righteousness and that is always pleasing to God. It is only the love of the true God for us that will crush our idols. Amen!</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7558934796560516119.post-6120358922241672642011-04-12T18:19:00.000-07:002012-01-15T14:13:27.621-08:00This is not about Japan<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><iframe allowfullscreen='allowfullscreen' webkitallowfullscreen='webkitallowfullscreen' mozallowfullscreen='mozallowfullscreen' width='320' height='266' src='https://www.youtube.com/embed/2uJN3Z1ryck?feature=player_embedded' frameborder='0'></iframe></div><br />
<a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2uJN3Z1ryck"> </a><br />
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<div style="text-align: center;">*****Watch the youtube clip to the end before reading this post****</div><br />
<div style="text-align: justify;">I’ve been doing a Bible study with a friend and we came to this passage in the book of Luke:</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: justify;">(Jesus speaking) “So why do you keep calling me ‘Lord, Lord!’ when you don’t do what I say? I will show you what it’s like when someone comes to me, listens to my teaching, and then follows it. It is like a person building a house who digs deep and lays the foundation on solid rock. When the floodwaters rise and break against that house, it stands firm because it is well built. But anyone who hears and doesn’t obey is like a person who builds a house without a foundation. When the floods sweep down against that house, it will collapse into a heap of ruins.” <a href="http://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Luke+6&version=NLT">Luke 6: 46-49</a></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: justify;">So Jacqui, what are you trying to say about Japan? Are you saying that the reason they had an enormous tsunami is because they are under Gods judgment? NO, that’s not what I’m about to say and that’s NOT why I wanted you to see the video.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: justify;">Jesus wanted His listeners to imagine a house being swept away by huge, scary floodwaters. Well you don’t have to imagine anymore, because you just watched it happen. You also saw what happened to the man filming it; he was safe because he was literally standing on a big rock.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: justify;">When God’s judgment does come to this world (and it comes to all of us at our deaths) it will be as unrelenting as a tsunami through a city. The <u>only</u> people who will be safe on that day will be those who built their house on a rock, that is, Jesus explains, only those who followed His teachings. “Do to others as you would have them do to you… If someone demands your coat, offer your shirt also… Love your enemies! Do good to them… Do not condemn others… Forgive others… Lend to them without expecting to be repaid… etc… etc… etc…” <a href="http://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Luke+6&version=NLT">Luke 6:36</a>. </div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: justify;">That doesn’t really fill me with a lot of hope. I can see that those are all good things to do, and I would like to be that kind of person, but if that’s what building your house on the rock means then you can forget sand, my house is built on a foundation more like rotten marmalade jelly, or something. There’s a huge storm coming and unless someone rescues me, I haven’t got a chance…</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: justify;">But that’s just it. There was someone who built their house on the rock by following all of Jesus teachings completely, one hundred percent. It was Jesus himself. He’s got a big ol' house up there on that rock and there is plenty of room inside. Room for anyone who looks at their badly built, junk homes with no foundation and realizes that the flood is going to wipe them out. </div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: justify;">When you realize you need to be rescued from sin, Jesus will save you. Finally you will be safe on the “rock” of His perfection, as safe as the guy filming the video was from the tsunami.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: center;">My hope is built on nothing less</div><div style="text-align: center;">Than Jesus’ blood and righteousness;</div><div style="text-align: center;">I dare not trust the sweetest frame,</div><div style="text-align: center;">But wholly lean on Jesus’ name. </div><div style="text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: center;">On Christ, the solid Rock, I stand;</div><div style="text-align: center;">All other ground is sinking sand,</div><div style="text-align: center;">All other ground is sinking sand.</div><div style="text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=H7mb8S_TwDk">The Solid Rock</a> (Edward Mote)</div>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7558934796560516119.post-35255857698858357852011-03-24T21:44:00.000-07:002011-07-07T18:34:15.523-07:00I need a day off...<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://lh5.googleusercontent.com/-OZ5Lxsdav6w/TYwcDVSTgmI/AAAAAAAACAE/XyfnwK3NpeY/s1600/When+Work+Feels+Overwhelming.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="266" src="https://lh5.googleusercontent.com/-OZ5Lxsdav6w/TYwcDVSTgmI/AAAAAAAACAE/XyfnwK3NpeY/s400/When+Work+Feels+Overwhelming.jpg" width="400" /></a></div><br />
<div style="text-align: justify;"><a href="http://www.redeemer.com/">Tim Keller</a> is right when he says that work is an idol and I gave into that sin big time this week. Give me one tight deadline and everything else goes out the window, and I noticed this time that what suffered most of all was my relationship with my little girl. Her best friend last week was Mr. TV and though I felt like the baddest mum in the world I didn’t quit working, I just didn’t like it. </div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: justify;">It got me thinking about idols. The Israelites gave up on their gracious God, the one true God who is full of mercy and compassion to run off with the false gods of the nations around them. Why did they do it? I always assumed it was only because these gods promised them great things, similar to the promises work has for me: money, independence and creative expression. That would have been the start of things for sure but when you mess with idols you get burned. The Israelites found themselves trapped by idols that demanded the lives of their children and other horrible things. They didn’t like it but they had to stay there for fear of what the false god might do. To a lesser extent I found myself sacrificing the good of my child to worship my work for fear of losing my job and everything that comes with it (see above). I realized that idolatry is not always something we do because we enjoy it but we do it because we feel we HAVE to do it (or else).</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: justify;">So what is the solution for me? Surely it isn’t to tell me to stop working and be a good mum, I have already failed at that. Instead it is to tell me about the only God who rescues me from my idolatry, the God who came to earth to die for my idolatry on the cross. His name is Jesus Christ. When I look at the cross I see how selfish I am and how much Jesus suffered for me. The Holy Spirit reminds me of the cross to (slowly) change my heart from serving work to serving Jesus and my family. “For what great nation has a god as near to them as the Lord our God is near to us when we call on him?” <a href="http://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=deuteronomy%204&version=NLT">(Deut 4:7)</a>. </div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0