Touchpoints on The Christian Life (Page 3)
The Refiner’s Fire
“Sometimes I wish Jesus would have just come to earth and said, “This is going to hurt me more than it’s going to hurt you.” I would have been good with that. But Jesus is not a Pollyanna. He’s a realist. He will undergo a death and resurrection. And so will we. There’s no way to do an end run around Good Friday to get to Easter. For him or us.”
What Pleases God
“The only thing I can go and sell is what has always been given to me. When everything is seen as a gift from God, ‘my possessions’ is a contradiction, an oxymoron. Or maybe it’s a falsehood redundancy, because there is no more ‘my’ and there are no more ‘possessions.’”
All in All
“So maybe there is another “C” the church should be involved in other than Converting or Condemning. Maybe the church should be involved in Celebrating. Celebrating the Christ that is present in you and me and all people and things.”
Lord, You Want the Impossible!
“Life is so much easier when God calls on me to do things I understand, like, and agree with. How will I respond to the things I don’t understand, the things that make me uncomfortable, the things that others tell me are wrong?”
Who Was the Neighbor?
“To love the neighbor as myself is to recognize the neighbor as myself. We are one and the same. We both carry the Christ within us. To walk past the wounds of the neighbor is to walk past the wounds of our own lives. To not touch the wounds of the neighbor is to think we can live without touching the wounds of our very selves.”
Hand Tools
“But then, to my way of thinking, nothing really needs to GET done – not by me or you or even the church. The big job – the big job of RENOVATION – the big job of making all things new – that job has already been done, is still being done, and will continue to be done by the All-In-One whose love for all creation is eternal, whose grace is unlimited, and whose generosity knows no bounds.”
Go Home!!
“So what do we do with a Jesus who doesn’t convert or condemn, but simply heals and sets free? What do we do with a Jesus who doesn’t seek a follower but a thankful heart? What do we do with a Jesus who isn’t interested in how big his church is… errr, I mean… his parade of followers is?”
The Ongoing Story
“And so, Pentecost is the story of a Christianity that doesn’t end with me and Jesus, and my worship of him, but a story that continues on in you and me. A story of us continuing on and doing the works of Jesus, and even greater things, as he has promised.”
Forgiveness Leads to Repentance
“But here’s the thing. We don’t need to run and hide like Adam and Eve. We don’t need to live in fear and dread. We know what kind of God we have. We know whether God, at God’s core, is forgiving or vengeful.”
The Book of Acts: A Stretching Exercise
“It isn’t just a one-way street you know. The Christ is present in – and present to – the bumblers and stumblers of the world.”
No Distinction
“This is what seems to most irritate the other disciples about what Peter did. It wasn’t that he didn’t invite those others to join them and become a part of them. They and we would have been good with that.”
House Dweller
“Who are the green pastures of your life? Who are the still waters? Who has restored your soul? Who has led you in paths of goodness? Been with you in the shadows of life?”