posted by Tera @ 3:31 PM
Comments: 2
Exposing Myself on a Regular Basis
“All this is flashy rhetoric about loving you. I never had a selfless thought since I was born. I am mercenary and self-seeking through and through: I want God, you, all friends, merely to serve my turn. Peace, re-assurance, pleasure, are the goals I seek, I cannot crawl one inch outside my proper skin: I talk of love -a scholar's parrot may talk Greek- But, self-imprisoned, always end where I begin." - C S Lewis
Wednesday, October 26, 2005
Thursday, October 20, 2005
It has always stumped me as to why John always referred to himself as “the disciple whom Jesus loved”. I always thought in the back of my mind that he was the most arrogant of all the disciples and that is saying a lot. I now think he may have been on to something. In his book he writes that the stories that were told so that you might believe that Jesus is the Messiah - the Son of God. I wonder if John finally discovered that after all the things that happened that he had seen - it all boiled down to discovering that Jesus loved him passionately. I wonder if this was such a massive concept that he creatively reflected it in his book. To fully understand that you are loved beyond reason by the same man who you spent over three years with doing incredible feats of wonder, healing multitudes of people, feeding crowds, ultimately being slaughtered and then alive again, who also created you and the heavens and the earth – to see Him standing in front of you would be an astounding thing indeed.
posted by Tera @ 8:24 AM
Comments: 0
Sunday, October 16, 2005
In response to Greg’s desire to have open spaces and a simpler life (my desire) I submit to you an excerpt of Waylon Jennings Luckenbach, Texas (Back to the basics of love):
"So, baby, let's sell your diamond ring, buy some boots and faded jeans and go away. This coat and tie is chokin' me; In your high society you cry all day. We've been so busy keepin' up with the Jones' four car garage, and we're still buildin' on,maybe it's time, we got back to the basics of love."
Since moving to Hickville I have grown a new found love for the old classic country music and this song keeps reminding me of attaining jack squat but a simple life, slow paced and full of love.
"So, baby, let's sell your diamond ring, buy some boots and faded jeans and go away. This coat and tie is chokin' me; In your high society you cry all day. We've been so busy keepin' up with the Jones' four car garage, and we're still buildin' on,maybe it's time, we got back to the basics of love."
Since moving to Hickville I have grown a new found love for the old classic country music and this song keeps reminding me of attaining jack squat but a simple life, slow paced and full of love.
posted by Tera @ 9:27 PM
Comments: 0
Monday, October 03, 2005
I’ll just quote what another thing that I think was cool in this book instead of commenting. And I’ll be reading Philip’s book next for those of you who are taking notes.
“’The more unsavory the characters, the more at ease they seemed to feel around Jesus. People like these found Jesus appealing; a Samaritan social outcast, a military officer of the tyrant Herod, a quisling tax collector, a recent hostess to seven demons.
In contrast, Jesus got a chilly response from more respectable types. Pious Pharisees thought him uncouth and worldly, a rich young ruler walked away shaking his head, and even the open-minded Nicodemus sought a meeting under the cover of darkness.
I (Yancey) remarked to the class how strange this pattern seemed, since the Christian church now attracts respectable types who closely resemble the people most suspicious of Jesus on earth. What has happened to reverse the pattern of Jesus’ day? Why don’t sinners like being around us?’
(Philip Yancey – The Jesus I Never Knew)
This makes a great deal of sense if you think about it, because Jesus was offering redemption through a relationship with Himself, and for those who were already being redeemed by a jury of their peers, people like politicians or wealthy people or powerful religious leaders, the redemption Jesus offered must have felt like a step down; but for those who had nothing, for those who were being threatened in the lifeboat (our system of hierarchy or values), Jesus offered everything.”
(Donald Miller – Searching For God Knows What)
“’The more unsavory the characters, the more at ease they seemed to feel around Jesus. People like these found Jesus appealing; a Samaritan social outcast, a military officer of the tyrant Herod, a quisling tax collector, a recent hostess to seven demons.
In contrast, Jesus got a chilly response from more respectable types. Pious Pharisees thought him uncouth and worldly, a rich young ruler walked away shaking his head, and even the open-minded Nicodemus sought a meeting under the cover of darkness.
I (Yancey) remarked to the class how strange this pattern seemed, since the Christian church now attracts respectable types who closely resemble the people most suspicious of Jesus on earth. What has happened to reverse the pattern of Jesus’ day? Why don’t sinners like being around us?’
(Philip Yancey – The Jesus I Never Knew)
This makes a great deal of sense if you think about it, because Jesus was offering redemption through a relationship with Himself, and for those who were already being redeemed by a jury of their peers, people like politicians or wealthy people or powerful religious leaders, the redemption Jesus offered must have felt like a step down; but for those who had nothing, for those who were being threatened in the lifeboat (our system of hierarchy or values), Jesus offered everything.”
(Donald Miller – Searching For God Knows What)
posted by Tera @ 4:41 PM
Comments: 2