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Church Growth: The Objective 2008-10-19 04:50:00 There have been lots of books written about Church
growth (not to mention conferences, speaking tours and twelve step programs). I'm going to do a couple of blogs about things I've noticed in Paul's letter to the Ephesians, especially chapter 4:11-16.The main objective Paul identifies in this passage is that we would reach, "to mature manhood, to the measure of the stature of the fullness of Chri Read more:Growth
, Objective
The Crisis 2008-10-14 04:18:00 According to the Sydney Morning Herald, the Australian Prime Minister has said we are in the midst of "the worst global financial crisis since the Great Depression."The Bible says a lot about the subject. For instance, Proverbs says "Cast but a glance at riches, and they are gone, for they will surely sprout wings and fly off to the sky like an eagle." (Proverbs 23:4) I think there are people wh Read more:Crisis
The Comfort of Wisdom 2008-10-08 05:00:00 I've been reading and reflecting on Paul's letter to the Ephesians. (You might have guessed that from my recent posts.) There are times when Paul's clarity about the sovereignty of God, like what we read in Ephesians, is very comforting.There are also times when my experience and feelings make it hard to relate to his very certain view. At those times I'm glad that, while Paul made a pretty sig Read more:Wisdom
Know your enemy 2008-09-24 05:34:00 Paul diagnoses our condition outside of Christ bluntly. He wrote to the Ephesians, "you were dead in your transgressions and sins." (Ephesians 2:1 NIV)We were dead because we rebelled against God (paraptoma translated as transgressions) and because we failed to live up to God's standards (hamartia translated as sins). In effect, we are to blame both for the things we have done against God and th
All about Jesus 2008-09-21 03:49:00 I think I've learned a bit about Paul reflecting on the first chapter of Ephesians. For instance, from chapter 1 verse 3-14 I've developed an impression that Paul was excitable. (Read the passage here.)He was obviously wound up because the whole section is one long sentence in the Greek. He is so enthusiastic about his theme he doesn't draw breath.For perspective, when he was writing the letter h Read more:Jesus
We matter because of God's choice 2008-09-18 06:50:00 I think one of the most encouraging verses in the New Testament is, "Even before he made the world, God loved us and chose us in Christ to be holy and without fault in his eyes." (Ephesians 1:4 NLT)It reminds us our life and faith are not accidental or pointless. Our lives matter
enough to God that he chose us to to be his.In case we were concerned about our worthiness to be chosen, note that he
God's choice 2008-09-11 01:26:00 We are accustomed to thinking of salvation in terms of our decision. In contrast, Paul wrote that God, "chose us in him [Jesus] before the foundation of the world, that we should be holy and blameless before him." (Ephesians 1:4 ESV)The emphasis in this verse is on God's choice to save us rather than our choice to believe in God. This doctrine of election, as theologians call it, is not easy to un
Every spiritual blessing 2008-09-09 05:00:00 My last posting discussed how Paul's letter to the Ephesians reminds us of the spiritual realities of existence. In this posting I want to consider one of the implications of our being conscious of the 'heavenly places' which he refers to throughout the letter. Specifically, Paul says that God "has blessed us in Christ with every spiritual blessing
in the heavenly places" (Ephesians 1:3 ESV). My f
There is more 2008-09-03 21:36:00 I have been sick in the last couple of weeks. Not seriously ill - this is not a heroic tale of overcoming illness - but enough to make me a miserable, useless sook.One of the side-effects of being sick was that my perspective became considerably smaller as I found it hard to focus on anything beyond how I was feeling. To be more interested in a pre-school painting than my sore throat took a great
When is God's now? 2008-08-27 22:29:00 The Psalmist wrote, “Where can I go from your Spirit? Where can I flee from your presence? If I go up to the heavens, you are there; if I make my bed in the depths, you are there.” (Psalm 139:6-7 NIV)
Theologians call this attribute of God's being in all places at once his omnipresence. Philip Yancey (Disappointment with God) provides a case study of the the implications of this. He wrote,
Are you travelling business class? 2008-08-18 04:58:00 There are many who, if they believe Christianity is a journey, believe it's one you can travel in business class
.For instance, in an interview with TIME Magazine, one prominent American preacher said, "Who would want to get in on something where you're miserable, poor, broke and ugly and you just have to muddle through until you get to heaven?" and "I believe God wants to give us nice things." (Re
The mustard seed incident 2008-08-16 05:36:00 There is an incident in Matthew’s Gospel where the disciples had been trying to cast out a demon and failed. Then Jesus steps in, gets cross with the disciples and heals the boy. You can read the passage here. I wonder what techniques the disciples had tried. Did Simon the Zealot say, “I think we need to just focus more and try harder”? Did Thomas ask, “Who is having negative thoughts Read more:mustard
Love your work? 2008-08-10 05:10:00 I often remark that I don't mind going to work... I just enjoy not going to work more. Many other people find their work far more stressful.A statistic I read this week said, "Seven out of ten people are neither motivated nor competent to perform the basics of their job." (US National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health, quoted in the Cure for the Common Life by Max Lucado)During the wee
No title 2008-08-07 05:15:00 As I'm blogging tonight there is snow on the ground following a day of sporadic snowfalls. This doesn't happen very often where I live, so in tribute I'm reflecting on a couple of places the Bible talks about snow and what it can remind us.
Firstly, a snow fall reminds me of God's care and involvement in the world. Psalm 148 says, "Praise the LORD from the earth, you great sea creatures and all
God is not tolerant, but he is merciful 2008-08-05 18:00:00 I have been making remarks to contrast with the notion that God is tolerant. The theme of my final positing is that God is not tolerant… but he is merciful. Isaiah 53 says (v3-6 ESV): "He was despised and rejected by men; a man of sorrows, and acquainted with grief; and as one from whom men hide their faces, he was despised, and we esteemed him not. Surely he has borne our griefs and carried ou
God is not tolerant, he is angry 2008-08-03 18:00:00 I am writing a series of posts contrasting with the statement that 'God is tolerant'. My second assertion is: God is not tolerant, he is angry
.It’s not that he is unreasonably irritable and cranky… his anger is fully justified because we have all failed to live as we ought. Isaiah 53:6 says, "We all, like sheep, have gone astray, each of us has turned to his own way."Rather than describing Go
An egg without savour 2008-08-01 18:00:00 The Psalmist wrote, "I will walk with integrity of heart within my house; I will not set before my eyes anything that is worthless." (Psalm 101:2,3 ESV)In John Bunyan's, The Pilgrim's Progress, the character Christian describes another called Talkative. Though he presents as knowing and talking much about the faith Christian says of him, "His house is as empty of religion, as the white of an egg i
God is not tolerant 2008-07-31 05:40:00 I recently had a discussion where a friend said, "The God I believe in is more tolerant than that." I suppose that’s a fairly common sentiment, after all tolerance is the new golden rule. Society will tell us it's no longer, 'do unto others as you would have them do unto you,' but 'anything is right provided no-one else is wrong.'It’s common because people will do anything to justify their cur
Deal as though you don't deal 2008-07-29 00:53:00 In 1 Corinthians Paul offered the advice for our Christian life that, "those who deal with the world [should live] as though
they had no dealings with it. For the present form of this world is passing away." (7:31 ESV)Three observations about this verse: Firstly, there is no expectation that we should be taken out of the world. God does not call us to isolated, monastic lives but instead acknowl
Elephants 2008-07-22 06:38:00 There's a Hindu (or Buddhist or Sufi) story about a bunch of blind men who, each feeling a different part of an elephant arrive at different conclusions about what an elephant is like. For instance, one feeling a leg determines that an elephant must be like a tree and another feeling the trunk decides it is like a snake (or something along those lines).The apparent wisdom of the story (which migh
We're all going to die 2008-07-21 05:32:00 GK Chesterton wrote, "When everything about a people is for the time growing weak and ineffective, it begins to talk about efficiency... Vigorous organisms talk not about their processes, but about their aims. There cannot be any better proof of the physical efficiency of a man than that he talks cheerfully of a journey to the end of the world." (Heretics)I have a friend who is fond of saying, 'd
No longer a servant 2008-07-14 22:50:00 Since the time of a Spanish-born Jewish philosopher, Maimonides (1135-1204) Judaism has accepted the definition that there are 613 laws in the Pentateuch. (John Sailhamer, quoted in John Piper’s What Jesus Demands from the World)In this we can observe the spirit of the Pharisee who wishes to accurately specify precise standards of behaviour and then, like a school assessment, record their achiev Read more:servant
Responses to the Sovereignty of God 2008-07-01 07:30:00 While the army of Babylon besieged Jerusalem God gave Jeremiah the seemingly absurd instruction to buy a field, though it seemed unlikely the Israelites would survive. He obediently bought the field and then prayed, "Ah, Sovereign LORD, you have made the heavens and the earth by your great power and outstretched arm. Nothing is too hard for you." (Jeremiah 32:17 NIV)Jeremiah's acknowledgment of th
Wisdom, Stature and Favour 2008-06-29 06:49:00 This week my baby girl has been taking her first steps. Also this week I have read Luke 2:52 which says, "Jesus increased in wisdom and in stature and in favour with God and man." Apart from telling us about his childhood, and reminding us of Jesus' humanity, I think this verse can teach us about parenting priorities.We take for granted that children will grow in stature... that as parents we will Read more:Favour
, Wisdom
Just waiting 2008-06-23 05:30:00 We live in an instant society. Instant noodles, instant fame, instant rewards, instant cash and instant coffee. We live in the fast lane, with fast Internet to help us with fast education as we try to make fast progress. We do not like waiting!Dr Seuss wrote, "You can get so confused that you'll start in to race... toward a most useless place. The waiting place... for people just waiting. Waiting
Water and wine 2008-11-12 00:18:00 After a long drought in my town we are on the highest level of water restrictions we've ever had. That means we have to pay special attention to ensure our use of water is sensible.It's a matter of taste, but I think turning it into wine as Jesus did (see John 2:1-11) might be the very best possible use for water. From thinking about this miracle in the last couple of days I have a few reflectio
Amazing Love 2008-11-04 23:36:00 When God invented the human brain he made something very special. The average brain weighs in at around 1.5 kilograms and is 75% water.The brain uses 20% of the body’s energy, making it the most energy-consuming part of our bodies. It consumes 25 watts of power while we are awake... enough to illuminate a lightbulb.It uses around 20% of the total oxygen pumping around our body via the 750ml of b Read more:Amazing
Church Life: Apostles 2008-11-02 02:04:00 I finished my last post speculating that apostles might still exist in the church today, provided they don't think they can add to scripture. I thought I would expand on that subject in this entry.Firstly, I suspect that our view about the word and office is too prescriptive. For instance, the Greek word we translate apostle (apostolos) is used in several different ways. It is of course used (m Read more:Church
Church Life: Ministry 2008-10-29 04:11:00 I've been thinking and blogging recently about Church
growth, or perhaps more accurately Church life. The basis for my thoughts is Ephesians 4:11-13 which says:And he gave the apostles, the prophets, the evangelists, the shepherds and teachers, to equip the saints for the work of ministry, for building up the body of Christ, until we all attain to the unity of the faith and of the knowledge of the Read more:Ministry
Emo, ergo sum 2008-12-01 21:56:00 In 1644 René Descartes published an argument in Latin which ‘solved’ the question of whether we really existed or not with the statement Cogito, ergo sum… I think, therefore I am.Based on the conversations I’ve overheard about shopping adventures and wish-lists for Santa, the advertisements I’ve seen and the catalogues in my letterbox I’m wondering if we should now re-write Descartes
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