Birthing wind series 3: Pain in vain

Birthing wind series 2: Falling short of our goals

Taking the kingdom: Part 6 - Peter Whosoever

Taking the kingdom part 4 - Ruth, Kingmaker

Pulling back the veil part 1 - do we need tools to reach God?

Prayer 8: God is not a man that He should lie or repent

Practical Christianity 10 - change is needed if we want to reach our spiritual potential

Practical Christianity 3: God with us

Its a new Day

Who are you?

Oh sin, wherefore art thou?

The general misconception of sin in our world, saddens me. Legalism and religion reduced it to a red mark on your copy book and not much more.

That trivialized the issues, into a petty religious invention of do’s and don’ts.

Catholicism tried to get creative with the cardinal sins, which graded sin and solved nothing.

Orthodox Jewry added a raft of regulations to the laws of God, which made compliance un-achievable but kept the coffers full.

The French connection

In the movie, “Now you see me”, the actors are at pains to remind us that illusionism is about keeping your mind focused there while they do their thing here. It is about distraction.

I might add that the modern illusionist has taken such deception to unprecedented levels, to make planes or bridges disappear, while others walk on water or drive coins through glass.

During the French revolution, the illusionists were never seen. They used a stage hand, Robespierre, to do out there what detracted from what the puppet masters did over here. 

When they had had enough of Mr R, his head rolled as well.

The way it works

The socio-political model of biblical Israel, passed through two main phases. There was a time when judges intervened, although they didn’t rule per se, and another time when kings ruled.

Undoubtedly, the latter was worse. Even at their best, the kings were imperfect and they ultimately led the nation to ruin and exile. God warned it would be so.

The upshot of the king model was that it rejected God.

Immortal invisible god only wise

One of the hardest things for most Christians is the tussle between the literal account of scripture and the reality of God. It challenges us theologically, as in the creation story, and personally, as in the dissonance between what the bible says and what we experience. 

Many feel that anything less than a literal take on creation diminishes God and deducts from His power. I disagree.

Did Jesus call on ten thousands of angels to help Him at Calvary or marshal a massive show of force? No. Because, as Ephesians 2 confirms, He revealed His WISDOM to principalities and powers. Victory lay in the subtle march to the cross its outworking.

He 'aint heavy

Sir Isaac Newton argued that to every cause there is an equal and opposite effect. It is empirically valid for the physical world, but I contend that it is also valid for the social world.

Let me ask. If you did some good for someone today, would it have a good or bad effect? Maybe not 100% good as in Newton’s world, but in more than 90% of cases the effect would be commensurate with the good first done.

Likewise, do someone in or spit on them as Antonio did to Shylock and see how that comes back to you. It almost cost Antonio a pound of his flesh.

End First

Stephen Covey said that we should always start with the end in mind. The bible does that too. A key example is a verse in Ephesians 4:13, which says "... until we all come into the unity of the faith and the knowledge of the Son of God unto a perfect man".

Growing up

I am sure that words like empowerment and autonomy don't sit comfortably with all, although this site speaks to people in the workplace, not theologians.

Let my people go

We would all like to believe that God orders everything that happens and is completely in control of every button and lever that sustains this universe, yet it is evidently not so.

It is as evident that He delegates authority and gives life and meaning to everything He makes.

To bridge the gaps

What causes paths to cross and people to meet, so often by mere seconds or fleeting moments, which might never have been had they occurred seconds sooner or later?

Loaves and fishes

Jesus, in one of His most practical moments, had a need to feed 5,000 people - and He delegated the task to His disciples, but all they could think of was to send everyone home. That was not His objective.