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Joel Bennett

Finding time - Sunset.com - 3 views

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    No one needs to watch the news every night, unless one is married to the anchor. No one dies proud that they spent their life keeping their house cleaner than anyone else in the family ... If your children grow up to become adults who spend this one precious life in a spin of multitasking, stress, and achievement, and then work out four times a week, will you be pleased that your kids also pursued this kind of whirlwind life? If you want more for your kids (lives well spent in hard work and savoring all that is lovely), why are you living in this manic way?
C L

Living Loved - Quotes & Humor - 0 views

  • Generally, what I find is that the ordinary people who come to church are basically running their lives on their own, utilizing 'the arm of the flesh' - their natural abilities - to negotiate their way," he says. "They believe there is a God and they need to check in with him. But they don't have any sense that he is an active agent in their lives. As a result, they don't become disciples of Jesus.
  • We must never forget that God's speaking to us, however we experience it in our initial encounter, is intended to develop into a intelligent, freely cooperative relationship between mature people who love each other with the richness of genuine agape love. We must therefore make it our primary goal not just to hear the voice of God but to be mature people in a loving relationship with him.
  • Only broken people are truly honest. By nature you and I are full of erroneous judgments... It is only after God has shaken our natural foundation to pieces... only when all our illusions are raised and we have lost the remainder of our inborn self-confidence... only when we see we have misjudgment concerning ourselves... then do we begin to be honorable. Revelation has its price.
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  • many Christians fear the responsibility of being free. It's often easier to let others make the decisions or to rely exclusively on the letter of the law.
  • when we reduced Scripture to formula and a love story to theology, and finally morality to rules. It is a very different thing to break a rule than it is to cheat on a Lover.
  • What if the guy who sold everything he had to buy the incomparable pearl, was God and you were the incomparable pearl? What if? The context certainly allows for that interpretation, and that is in effect what Jesus did when he gave up everything he had so that we could become his - now and forever!
  • The local church many have come to cherish - the services, offices, programs, buildings, ceremonies - is neither biblical or unbiblical. It is abiblical - that is, such an organization is not addressed in the Bible
  • We humans are notorious for taking something Scripture describes as a reality, giving a term to it and thinking we've replicated the reality. Paul talked about the church that gathered in various homes, but he never called it 'house church'. Houses were just where they ended up in their life together. Jesus was the focus, not the location.
  • I have concluded at this point that the most dangerous enemy of Jesus-brand community is viewing community as an ideal to be achieved rather than as a gift to be received.
  • We value God's power over human effort, transformation over conformity, mutuality over hierarchy, authenticity over entertainment, modeling over celebrity, following Jesus rather than implementing models, and the presence of the Living Christ above all else!
  • When religion replaces the actual experience of the living Jesus, when we lose the authority of personal knowing and rely on the authority of books, institutions, and leaders, when we let religion interpose between us and the primary experience of Jesus as the Christ, we lose the very reality that religion itself describes as ultimate.
  • "Unless a definite step is demanded, the call vanishes into thin air, and if people imagine that they can follow Jesus without taking this step, they are deluding themselves like fanatics... Although Peter cannot achieve his own conversion, he can leave his nets." - Dietrich Bonhoeffer
  • "Brothers and sisters, break free from whatever ruts you have settled into! Whoever does not want to be set free - well, suit yourself, but don't say you are living in Christ's spirit. You can continue in the old ways and be a part of Christianity, but not of God's kingdom. You can live in Christianity but not in Christ; the gulf between the two is great."
  • Much Christian leadership is exercised by people who do not know how to develop healthy, intimate relationships and have opted for power and control instead. Many Christian empire builders have been people unable to give and receive love.
  • Even in its ruined condition a human being is regarded by God as something immensely worth saving. Sin does not make you worthless, but only lost.
  • You don't have a soul. You are a soul. You have a body.
  • hairdo
  • Jesus knew the worst and He loved me. What a relief to know the worst about yourself and at the same moment to be embraced by God. It's so liberating to reach the end of yourself.
  • put our intimate friendship with him above everything else we might want from God
  • real enemy of the cross-life? comes from the established religion of the day
  • The reward for conformity was that everyone liked you except yourself.
  • What we need very badly these days is a company of Christians who are prepared to trust God as completely now as they know they must do at the last day. For each of us the time is surely coming when we shall have nothing but God.
  • Never be afraid to try something new. Remember that amateurs built the Ark. Professionals built the Titanic."
  • That you may experience the powerlessness and poverty of a child and sing and dance in the love of God the Father, the Son, and the Spirit.
  • Ruthless trust comes down to this: faith in the person of Jesus and hope in his promise in spite of all disconcerting appearances.
  • The people you'll remember are not the ones with the most credentials, the most money, or the biggest awards. They are the ones who care
  • Anyone God uses significantly is always deeply wounded... We are, each and every one of us, insignificant people who God has called and graced to use in a significant way
  • "Since Jesus went through everything you're going through and more, learn to think and act like him. Think of your sufferings as a weaning away from the old sinful habit of always expecting to get your own way. Then you'll be able to live out your days free to pursue what God wants instead of being tyrannized by what you want." - I Peter 4:1-2
  • My true brothers are those who rejoice for me in their hearts when they find good in me, and grieve for me when they find sin. They are my true brothers, because whether they see good in me or evil, they love me still.
  • Why not go out on a limb? That's where the fruit is!
  • The Word of God is like a lion. You don't have to defend a lion. All you have to do is let the lion loose, and the lion will defend itself.
  • Well, I may not know much about God, but I have to say, we built a pretty nice cage for him
  • Expectations are resentment waiting to happen.
  • Religion vs Relational LifeReligion conforms people to a system; relational life frees them to trust God.Religion divides people by preference and perspective; relational life celebrates the incredible diversity in God's family.Religion bores people with routine; relational life is as fresh as a new conversation with an endearing friend.Religion rewards image and pretense; relational life demands honesty and reality.Religion provides substitutes for the active presence of Jesus in people's lives; relational life focuses on that presence alone.Religion sacrifices people for the good of the institution; relational life teaches people how to live together as Father's family.Religion uses what God says and does for its own agenda; relational life allows God to set the agenda and for us to simply follow him.Religion leaves us able to boast about how much we're doing or how hard we're working; relational life finds joy only in celebrating God's work among us.Religion finds love inefficient and cumbersome; relational life embraces love as the heart of God's working.
  • "Heavier-than-air flying machines are impossible."
  • "So we went to Atari and said, 'Hey, we've got this amazing thing, even built with some of your parts, and what do you think about funding us? Or we'll give it to you. We just want to do it. Pay our salary, we'll come work for you.' And they said, 'No.'" - Apple Computer Inc. founder Steve Jobs on attempts to get Atari interested in his and Steve Wozniak's personal computer."We don't like their sound, and guitar music is on the way out." - Decca Recording Co. rejecting the Beatles, 1962.Remember these next time someone tries to steal your dream.
  • Next time you set out to accomplish great feats, listen carefully. You can hear the voice of the Master, whispering in your ear, "Don't quit. Keep playing."Feel His loving arms around you. Know that His strong hands are there helping you turn your feeble attempts into true masterpieces. Remember, God doesn't call the equipped, He equips the called. And He'll always be there to love and guide you on to great things.
  • Scientists point out that administratium is known to be toxic at any level of concentration and can easily destroy any productive reaction where it is allowed to accumulate. Attempts are being made to determine how administratium can be controlled to prevent irreversible damage, but results to date are not promising.
C L

Witnessing to People Who are Hurting * EffectiveEvangelism.com at ChristianAnswers.Net - 0 views

  • If there has been a death, tell your friend that you are sorry about their loss. Be sure to show genuine sympathy, concern and sensitivity. Look for ways you can help in real, tangible ways. House cleaning? Yardwork? etc. Coping: Ask God to give you the grace to be all you can be for your loved one or friend. Pray for love and patience. Your loved ones will need you now more than they have ever needed you. The best thing you can do for your loved one who is suffering is to be there for them and to help them prepare for that day. A question to ask is "Are you ready to meet your Creator?" If he or she answers no, then you have a great opportunity to tell your friend that the Creators greatest desire is for us to have a personal relationship with Him.
  • we need to show a deep empathy for the person who has been through suffering as we gently take them through the Law. This may take a little practice, but it is something in which each of us must become proficient, if we want to see the lost come the Christ. This is how to best handle the sensitive issue of witnessing to someone who is hurting. Tell him that you are sorry about his loss. Again, make sure that you show genuine sensitivity, then do what a surgeon would do with a severed jugular vein. Turn immediately to the serious issue at hand - the person's salvation. Unless he was a Christian, stay clear of any talk about whether or not the loved one who died went to Heaven or Hell, by saying that God is good and that He will do that which is right on Judgment Day.
  • Say something like, "When we are confronted with the issue of death, it can often make us think about the issues of God, and about our own eternal salvation. Do you ever think about God? Do you consider yourself to be a good person?" Then gently take him through the Law. If there is any offence, apologize and change the subject. But more than likely you will find that by talking about his personal salvation, it will be like a complete subject change, and therefore there wont be offensive. If he is bitter at God and that is hindering him from opening his heart, gently let them know that many people have suffered terrible losses in this life, and they have let that suffering bring them to the Cross, and consequently to everlasting life. An analogy that may be helpful is to say that if someone offers to lift you out of quicksand, don't let the fact that you don't like the color of their skin or you can't understand why they are wearing certain clothes, etc., stop you from giving your hand to your rescuer. God offers to lift us out of the quicksand of death itself. Tell him: "Let Him pull you out, and once you are saved, ask your questions. If you don't get an answer in this life, you are guaranteed to get one in the next."
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  • Be very careful not to give the impression that God was punishing the person for his sins. Instead, speak about the fact that all around us we can see the evidence of a “fallen creation.” Explain how in the beginning there was no disease, pain, suffering, or death. But when sin entered the world, it brought suffering with it. Then gently turn the conversation away from the person who died to the person who is still living. Ask if he has been thinking about God, and if he has kept the Ten Commandments. Then take the opportunity to go through the spiritual nature of God's Law. Someone who has lost a loved one often begins to ask soul-searching questions about God, death, and eternity. Many people are so hard-hearted that it takes a tragedy to make them receptive to God.
Christopher Keel

Pelagianism - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia - 0 views

    • Christopher Keel
       
      Good point made here by Justin Martyr regarding nan's inate ability to chloose regarding good and evil... 
  • ustin Martyr said, “Let some suppose, from what has been said by us, that we say that whatever occurs happens by a fatal necessity, because it is foretold as known beforehand, this too we explain. We have learned from the prophets, and we hold it to be true, that punishments, chastisements, and good rewards, are rendered according to the merit of each man’s actions. Now, if this is not so, but all things happen by fate, then neither is anything at all in our own power. For if it is predetermined that this man will be good, and this other man will be evil, neither is the first one meritorious nor the latter man to be blamed. And again, unless the human race has the power of avoiding evil and choosing good by free choice, they are not accountable for their actions.”[13]
  • Justin Martyr said that 'every created being is so constituted as to be capable of vice and virtue.
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  • Nothing evil has been created by God.
Ebey Soman

YouTube - Grief overtakes Orissa - 0 views

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    Kandhamal is burning and the world has sat up to take note. Thousands of Christians are driven from their homes, entire villages burned, hundreds of Churches...
J. B.

The Perils of Hipster Christianity and Why Young Evangelicals Reject Churches That Try ... - 0 views

  • Maybe sex sermons and indie- rock worship music do help in getting people in the door, and maybe even in winning new converts. But what sort of Christianity are they being converted to?
  • "The born-again, marketing church has calculated that unless it makes deep, serious cultural adaptations, it will go out of business, especially with the younger generations. What it has not considered carefully enough is that it may well be putting itself out of business with God. "And the further irony," he adds, "is that the younger generations who are less impressed by whiz-bang technology, who often see through what is slick and glitzy, and who have been on the receiving end of enough marketing to nauseate them, are as likely to walk away from these oh-so-relevant churches as to walk into them."
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