great song.
I will not take my love away
When praises cease and seasons change
while the whole world turns the other way
I will not take my love away
I will not leave you all alone
When striving leads you far from home
And there's no yield for what you've sown
I will not leave you all alone
I will give you what you need
In plenty or in poverty
Forever, always, look to me
And I will give you what you need
I will not take my love away
Tuesday, March 30, 2010
Wednesday, March 17, 2010
favourites from A Severe Mercy
Seriously SUCH a good book!
the Gap by Sheldon Vanauken
Did Jesus live? And did he really say
The burning words that banish mortal fear?
And are they true? Just this is central, here
The Church must stand or fall. It's Christ we weigh.
All else is off the point: the Flood, the Day
Of Eden, or the Virgin Birth - Have done!
The Question is, did God send us the Son
Incarnate crying Love! Love is the Way!
Between the probable and proved there yawns
A gap. Afraid to jump, we stand absurd,
Then see behind us sink the ground and, worse,
Our very standpoint crumbling. Desperate dawns
Our only hope: to leap into the Word
That opens up the shuttered universe.
"Christianity now appeared intellectually stimulating and aesthetically exciting. The personality of Jesus emerged from the Gospels with astonishing consistency. Whenever they were written, they were written in the shadow of a personality so tremendous that Christians who many never have seen him knew him utterly: that strange mixture of unbearable sternness and heartbreaking tenderness. No longer did the Church appear only a disreputable congeries of quarrelling sects: now we saw the Church, splendid and terrible, sweeping down the centuries with anthems and shining crosses and steady-eyed saints. No longer was the Faith something for children: intelligent people held it strongly - and they walked to a secret singing that we could not hear. Or did we hear something: high and clear and unbearably sweet?"
"It is not possible to be 'incidentally a Christian'. The fact of Christianity must be overwhelmingly first or nothing."
"The best argument for Christianity is Christians: their joy, their certainty, their completeness. But the strongest argument against Christianity is also Christians - when they are sombre and joy-less, when they are self-righteous and smug in complacent consecration, when they are narrow and repressive, then Christianity dies a thousand deaths. But, though it is just to condemn some Christians for these things, perhaps, after all, it is not just, though very easy, to condemn Christianity itself for them. Indeed, there are impressive indications that the positive quality of joy is in Christianity - and possibly nowhere else. If that were certain, it would be proof of a very high order."
the Gap by Sheldon Vanauken
Did Jesus live? And did he really say
The burning words that banish mortal fear?
And are they true? Just this is central, here
The Church must stand or fall. It's Christ we weigh.
All else is off the point: the Flood, the Day
Of Eden, or the Virgin Birth - Have done!
The Question is, did God send us the Son
Incarnate crying Love! Love is the Way!
Between the probable and proved there yawns
A gap. Afraid to jump, we stand absurd,
Then see behind us sink the ground and, worse,
Our very standpoint crumbling. Desperate dawns
Our only hope: to leap into the Word
That opens up the shuttered universe.
"Christianity now appeared intellectually stimulating and aesthetically exciting. The personality of Jesus emerged from the Gospels with astonishing consistency. Whenever they were written, they were written in the shadow of a personality so tremendous that Christians who many never have seen him knew him utterly: that strange mixture of unbearable sternness and heartbreaking tenderness. No longer did the Church appear only a disreputable congeries of quarrelling sects: now we saw the Church, splendid and terrible, sweeping down the centuries with anthems and shining crosses and steady-eyed saints. No longer was the Faith something for children: intelligent people held it strongly - and they walked to a secret singing that we could not hear. Or did we hear something: high and clear and unbearably sweet?"
"It is not possible to be 'incidentally a Christian'. The fact of Christianity must be overwhelmingly first or nothing."
"The best argument for Christianity is Christians: their joy, their certainty, their completeness. But the strongest argument against Christianity is also Christians - when they are sombre and joy-less, when they are self-righteous and smug in complacent consecration, when they are narrow and repressive, then Christianity dies a thousand deaths. But, though it is just to condemn some Christians for these things, perhaps, after all, it is not just, though very easy, to condemn Christianity itself for them. Indeed, there are impressive indications that the positive quality of joy is in Christianity - and possibly nowhere else. If that were certain, it would be proof of a very high order."
Saturday, February 27, 2010
Oswald forever!!! :)
"Faith never knows where it is being led, but it loves and knows the One who is leading."
— Oswald Chambers
"A man who would live for Christ in a turbulent world must draw his life from the very depths of God Himself, not from the froth and foam of surface experience." - Oswald Chambers
— Oswald Chambers
"A man who would live for Christ in a turbulent world must draw his life from the very depths of God Himself, not from the froth and foam of surface experience." - Oswald Chambers
Wednesday, February 24, 2010
Saturday, February 20, 2010
kingdom
"This, in a nutshell, is the primary thing God is up to in our world. He's not primarily about getting people to pray a magical 'sinner's prayer' or to confess certain magical truths as a means of escaping hell. He's not about gathering together a group who happen to believe all the right things. Rather, he's about gathering together a group of people who embody the kingdom - who individually and corporately manifest the reality of the reign of God on the earth." -Greg Boyd
Wednesday, February 17, 2010
gahhhhhhhh
I've been reading this passage over and over again for the past week:
In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. He was in the beginning with God. All things were made through him, and without him was not any thing made that was made. In him was life, and the life was the light of men. The light shines in the darkness, and the darkness has not overcome it.
There was a man sent from God, whose name was John. He came as a witness, to bear witness about the light, that all might believe through him. He was not the light, but came to bear witness about the light.
The true light, which enlightens everyone, was coming into the world. He was in the world, and the world was made through him, yet the world did not know him. He came to his own, and his own people did not receive him. But to all who did receive him, who believed in his name, he gave the right to become children of God, who were born, not of blood, nor of the will of the flesh nor of the will of man, but of God.
And the Word became flesh and dwelt among us, and we have seen his glory, glory as of the only Son from the Father, full of grace and truth. John bore witness about him, and cried out, "This was he of whom I said, 'He who comes after me ranks before me, because he was before me.'" And from his fullness we have all received, grace upon grace. For the law was given through Moses; grace and truth came through Jesus Christ. No one has ever seen God; the only God, who is at the Father’s side, he has made him known.
John 1:1-18
In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. He was in the beginning with God. All things were made through him, and without him was not any thing made that was made. In him was life, and the life was the light of men. The light shines in the darkness, and the darkness has not overcome it.
There was a man sent from God, whose name was John. He came as a witness, to bear witness about the light, that all might believe through him. He was not the light, but came to bear witness about the light.
The true light, which enlightens everyone, was coming into the world. He was in the world, and the world was made through him, yet the world did not know him. He came to his own, and his own people did not receive him. But to all who did receive him, who believed in his name, he gave the right to become children of God, who were born, not of blood, nor of the will of the flesh nor of the will of man, but of God.
And the Word became flesh and dwelt among us, and we have seen his glory, glory as of the only Son from the Father, full of grace and truth. John bore witness about him, and cried out, "This was he of whom I said, 'He who comes after me ranks before me, because he was before me.'" And from his fullness we have all received, grace upon grace. For the law was given through Moses; grace and truth came through Jesus Christ. No one has ever seen God; the only God, who is at the Father’s side, he has made him known.
John 1:1-18
Tuesday, February 16, 2010
interesting
"...Jesus was saying that the law isn't what is important. Love is what is important. If we love God, love our neighbor, and love ourselves (in that order), then we can live far above any set of rules or regulations. We have freedom to live apart from any legalistic standards when we live by the spirit of love. Paul echoed this form of 'freedom with responsibility' when he wrote:
"Everything is permissible" - but not everything is beneficial. "Everything is permissible" - but not everything is constructive. Nobody should seek his own good, but the good of others. (1 Corinthians 10:23-24).
Paul was saying that you can do most anything, but it isn't always in your best interest or in the interest of others. Focus not on what is 'allowed,' but on what is best for all involved.
QUESTIONS OF COMPROMISE: don't ask
-Are my actions lawful?
-Will anyone find out?
-Would anyone condemn me?
-Is this socially acceptable?
-How can I get what I want?
-Will this hurt anyone?
QUESTIONS OF INTEGRITY: do ask
-Are my actions loving to others?
-Is this something I'd be proud of?
-Is this my highest standard?
-Is this in line with my convictions?
-What is my motive for wanting this?
-Will this benefit others?
We must look beyond the movements to the motivations behind our actions. By doing this, we no longer have to concern ourselves with the law because we are acting by a higher standard, a standard of love." -Shannon Ethridge
"Everything is permissible" - but not everything is beneficial. "Everything is permissible" - but not everything is constructive. Nobody should seek his own good, but the good of others. (1 Corinthians 10:23-24).
Paul was saying that you can do most anything, but it isn't always in your best interest or in the interest of others. Focus not on what is 'allowed,' but on what is best for all involved.
QUESTIONS OF COMPROMISE: don't ask
-Are my actions lawful?
-Will anyone find out?
-Would anyone condemn me?
-Is this socially acceptable?
-How can I get what I want?
-Will this hurt anyone?
QUESTIONS OF INTEGRITY: do ask
-Are my actions loving to others?
-Is this something I'd be proud of?
-Is this my highest standard?
-Is this in line with my convictions?
-What is my motive for wanting this?
-Will this benefit others?
We must look beyond the movements to the motivations behind our actions. By doing this, we no longer have to concern ourselves with the law because we are acting by a higher standard, a standard of love." -Shannon Ethridge
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