Sunday, September 30, 2007
Bono & Luther - Prophets Crying in the Wilderness
Go Watch!
"For a man does not serve that he may put men under obligations. He does not distinguish between friends and enemies or anticipate their thankfullness or unthankfullness, but he most freely and most willingly spends himself and all that he has, whether he wastes all on the thankless or whether he gains a reward...Just as our neighbor is in need and lacks that in which we abound, so we were in need before God and lacked his mercy. Hence, as our heavenly Father has in Christ freely come to our aid, we also ought freely to help our neighbor through our body and its works, and each one should become as it were a Christ to the other that we may be Christs to one another and Christ may be the same in all, that is, that we may be truly Christians."
-Martin Luther
"For a man does not serve that he may put men under obligations. He does not distinguish between friends and enemies or anticipate their thankfullness or unthankfullness, but he most freely and most willingly spends himself and all that he has, whether he wastes all on the thankless or whether he gains a reward...Just as our neighbor is in need and lacks that in which we abound, so we were in need before God and lacked his mercy. Hence, as our heavenly Father has in Christ freely come to our aid, we also ought freely to help our neighbor through our body and its works, and each one should become as it were a Christ to the other that we may be Christs to one another and Christ may be the same in all, that is, that we may be truly Christians."
-Martin Luther
Wednesday, September 05, 2007
Isaiah 6
"How long Oh Lord?"
I was reading a passage in Isaiah this morning. Chapter six to be exact. (This is in preparation for the ethics course I will be taking in October. Let me first say that I am ashamed of the fact that when scripture is "assigned" reading I usually glance over it and quickly get to the "real" reading. What a crock huh? This has been a grave mistake for over a year now. So, to rectify a bit I am making it a point to ingest all of the scripture assigned for this class. Why do I continue to put precedence on books about THE BOOK? Wake up Adam!) It's the throne scene, I'm sure you are familiar with it. Unclean lips, burning coal, seraphim, Isaiah's willingness to be the messenger of God...then I came upon God's proclamation...
"Keep on hearing but do not understand; keep on seeing, but do not perceive. Make the heart of this people dull, and their ears heavy, and blind their eyes; lest they see with their eyes and hear with their ears, and understand with their hearts, and turn and be healed."
Then I said, "How long, O Lord?"
And He said, "Until cities lie waste without inhabitant, and houses without people, and the land is desolate waste, and the Lord removes people far away and the forsaken places are many in the midst of the land. And though a tenth remain in it it will be burned again, like a terebinth or an oak, whose stump remains when it is felled."
Whoa! Straiten up and fly right God says. Stop being preoccupied with your own life and live for others. Stop settling for a life of entertainment and start actually living! There are people out there who need help. Show concern for the "widow, the alien, and the fatherless."If you don't turn your hearts and be healed you will, in a literal sense, certainly have hell to pay. Things will fall apart...life will crumble. If our Christian community doesn't begin to cry out for justice who will? I just hope that I was quiet enough this morning to hear his voice.
I was reading a passage in Isaiah this morning. Chapter six to be exact. (This is in preparation for the ethics course I will be taking in October. Let me first say that I am ashamed of the fact that when scripture is "assigned" reading I usually glance over it and quickly get to the "real" reading. What a crock huh? This has been a grave mistake for over a year now. So, to rectify a bit I am making it a point to ingest all of the scripture assigned for this class. Why do I continue to put precedence on books about THE BOOK? Wake up Adam!) It's the throne scene, I'm sure you are familiar with it. Unclean lips, burning coal, seraphim, Isaiah's willingness to be the messenger of God...then I came upon God's proclamation...
"Keep on hearing but do not understand; keep on seeing, but do not perceive. Make the heart of this people dull, and their ears heavy, and blind their eyes; lest they see with their eyes and hear with their ears, and understand with their hearts, and turn and be healed."
Then I said, "How long, O Lord?"
And He said, "Until cities lie waste without inhabitant, and houses without people, and the land is desolate waste, and the Lord removes people far away and the forsaken places are many in the midst of the land. And though a tenth remain in it it will be burned again, like a terebinth or an oak, whose stump remains when it is felled."
Whoa! Straiten up and fly right God says. Stop being preoccupied with your own life and live for others. Stop settling for a life of entertainment and start actually living! There are people out there who need help. Show concern for the "widow, the alien, and the fatherless."If you don't turn your hearts and be healed you will, in a literal sense, certainly have hell to pay. Things will fall apart...life will crumble. If our Christian community doesn't begin to cry out for justice who will? I just hope that I was quiet enough this morning to hear his voice.
To be Relevant or Not to be Relevant
"The fastest way to irrelevance is to be obsessed with relevance."
-Os Guiness
-Os Guiness
