I have at present count 140 items on my Amazon wishlist. All are books, and all are books I want. There are a few, however, that surpass the ordinary level of want. This is one of those books.
God’s Ultimate Passion: Unveiling the Purpose Behind Everything by Frank Viola is fantastic. I had the sense that this would be a book that realigns my perspective, and I am not mistaken. My vocabulary is already shifting as I continue to process it. I want to say more, but truth be told I zoomed through the book when I read it. I don’t often re-read books, but this is one I’m going to return to and blog through. So for now I finish with this:
Tom, if you read this, you now know the title of the book I was teasing. Unfortunately you’re going to have to wait a little while before I pass it on to you.
(I realized I don’t do much in the way of personal posting here. Not sure why; not sure if this is a new trend of a one off.)
So, I just got through a work deadline, only to run smack into my parent’s relocation. I feel busy just thinking about everything they’ve had going on since the new year… Read the rest of this entry »
For crying out loud, I’m bad. My turn around is under a year, but only just. Rantz, thanks for your patience. I can’t believe I’ve taken so long.
Now, for those of you who weren’t even born when I began this series, it all started with a comment Rantz left on my Contact page. He was counseling a student, and left three broad questions. This is the third, and it goes a little something like this.
Also, since the books of the New Testament were written by the Apostles, or attributed to them, does that mean that they wrote them, or did God? I realize that is a fine line of distinction, but one I feel needs to be drawn.
OK, I’ll attempt a direct answer, and then move on to a few notions that touch on the topic and will perhaps inspire conversation. Read the rest of this entry »
So, I’m looking at the half started thoughts and collected links in my queue here, and I see this one, predating even my debt to Rantz, from June of last year: (Some More) Thoughts (On Being the People of God) There are quite a few comments in that brief post, so you may want to wander over there. Here’s the bit I was chewing on then and have been chewing on again:
When I say “I’m doing all I can” do I really mean “I’m doing all I can… without changing my lifestyle”?
The context is living out a Kingdom of God ethic, specifically how far will Christians actually go to live like Jesus? After all Jesus lays out a pretty radical ethic for living. It’s the little things really:
Pray for your enemies.
Bless those who curse you.
Turn the other cheek, and let ‘em have your shirt, too.
Jesus asked Peter, a family man, to leave his business. He told a rich young ruler to give all his money to the poor. This radical, Kingdom-of-God ethic might best be encapsulated this way: “Take up your cross daily.“
I’m going to close this post with a few questions on this topic, but first I want to tell a personal story. Read the rest of this entry »
So, I’m back. Wanted to pop in catch up on the conversation that occurred while I was away. Thanks for being nice, everyone.
How do I rate the weekend retreat? Well, I’ll give it a 70. I’m glad I went; I got a chance to chat with a few guys and get to know them better; but I have a strong feeling I’m not on the same page as most of them. That’s not necessarily a bad thing. It’s just something to sort out. I’ll probably talk more about this in the future, but for now I’ll leave it at that.
Behave everyone. I’m heading offline for a couple days, so treat each other nicely until I get back. I’ll moderate comments and respond when I return.
What am I doing? You’re dying to know, right? I’m going on a men’s retreat with BCC. I’ve been for the most part ambivalent about it; 36 hours with 60 guys I don’t really know isn’t my idea of fun, but the time away will be greatly appreciated And who knows… I may just get to know a couple of those guys. I’ll admit I got a bit more excited when I heard that a new friend from our home church was also going.
Anyway, cheers! Be sure to pop in on Kerri tomorrow and make sure the kids haven’t taken over.
Behave everyone. I’m heading offline for a couple days, so treat each other nicely until I get back. I’ll moderate comments and respond when I return.