Quiting Christianity

This past week I was intrigued by Anne Rice and her statement that she is quitting Christianity. She had become so fed up with Churches, “Christians”, who condemn others that she came to the conclusion that the only way to live out her calling of God’s grace, was to quit Christianity but not Christ. To distance herself from the church and Christian groups in order to be accessible to people who need Christ.
With all our dogma, rules and strict traditions we are certainly not open for “outsiders”. If they act like us, believe like us, then they are welcome. How many times have we turned people away in the name of Christ with a loving smile telling them that because they experience Christ in a different way from ours, it differs from our beliefs and unless they do like we do, they are wrong.

We were given the command to take care of the earth. Look what we are responsible for!

When we speak about the love of God, we only have to open our eyes and look at Nature. We are confronted with a God of love, beauty and wonder. It is important to start acknowledging the fact that God created everything primarily for His enjoyment! When He had given us the command to rule over Nature, it did not mean that Nature is at our mercy, but that we had to keep an eye on God’s prize possession! But we are acting like teens who abuse their parents trust by holding a Cosmic party at home destroying, killing and demolishing everything dear to our Father. We need to realize that we have no right to abuse what is dear to God. We have to acknowledge that our greed is causing God pain.

Rarely Seen Pictures Of The Devastating Consequences Of The BP Disaster as published on http://www.informationclearinghouse.info/article25926.htm

Losing track of Jesus by Frank Viola

The story of Mary and Joseph losing Jesus in the temple is a unique, intriguing gospel account that contains a
surprisingly appropriate message for believers today.  According to Luke 2:42-50, the 12-year-old Jesus went up to Jerusalem with His family to celebrate the Passover feast, as was the Jewish custom of the day. After a day had passed on their journey home, the Lord’s parents suddenly realized that Jesus was missing. They searched for Him among the caravan of relatives and friends, but He was nowhere to be found. Frantically worried, Mary and Joseph headed back to Jerusalem to search for Jesus. After three days of searching, they finally found Jesus in the temple courts.

Francois Jordaan – Belewenisse saam met God

Jesaja 40 tot 55 vir my.
Die werk is nie gereeld soos ek gedroom het oor hoe my werk sou wees toe ek in die skool was nie. Die regering van ons land is nie soos ek dink 'n goeie regering moet wees nie. My sport span het verlede jaar gewen. Nog nie hierdie jaar nie. Weens die "ekonomiese redes" is my salaris relatief minder nou as verlede jaar. Die stories op TV is maar saai sommige aande. My internet is ook meer kere stadig as vinnig. (As ek "uncapped" internet het).

Kerke met tralies en besige Dominisse! – aanbeveel deur Solly

Nick Stander...Die boemelaarEk hou nie van "Private Number" oproepe nie, en dit moes seker so geklink het toe ek antwoord. Die stem aan die ander Kant praat dus nie storietjies nie, maar kom dadelik tot die punt:
"Kan ek u asseblief kom sien?" "Seker ja, waaroor gaan dit?" "Ek sal maar verduidelik as ek u sien." "Wie praat nou?" "My naam is Nick Stander. Ek het u nommer gekry deur die stukkie wat u in Pretoria News geskryf het." "Nougoed, uhm, hierdie week is rof. Vrydag dalk? Sommer by Greenfields... Castle Walk?" Hy huiwer nie, en ons spreek die tyd af. Toe ek sy naam op my selfoon kalender intik, wonder ek of hy dalk versekering verkoop. As dit so is, gaan dit 'n baie kort gesprek wees. Dalk hou hy nie van dit wat ek geskryf het nie. Dan ook maar soos dit is...

The Context for Spirituality is not Spirituality

I don’t read very many books about faith. And I don’t listen to very many sermons about faith. I’ve not known exactly why for some time, or at least until lunch yesterday. Those books were fine (I may have even written one or two) but they didn’t seem to be very applicable to my life. And it’s never actually helped me to “work on my spirituality or my relationship with Jesus” either. What has helped me is finding myself lost in the woods and calling out to God, looking for wisdom in the scriptures.

Yesterday, at lunch, my friend David mentioned he’d spent some time in Colorado with the guys at Ransomed Heart. David used to work with them and went back to hang out with them for a weekend in the mountains. He mentioned that one of the guys reminded him thatspirituality was not a context.

What is happening in your story?

I have been reading “Million miles in a Thousand years” by Donald Miller and it got me thinking? In his book he tells the story how one of his earlier books was made into a movie. The book was about his life. When they started the movie script he was confronted with the question: “How many memorable stories did he have?” The type of story that people would sit and watch. If they have to make a movie about my or your life would it be a slow moving movie or would their be scenes where people would actually want to sit and watch. One of the perquisites is that it must be something worthwhile, funny, adventures or painful. A really good story has something of everything.

Laat God jou verander . . . wil jy?

Onthou jy nog die animasie kleikaraktertjie, Morph, wat so uit die potloodhouer geklim het? Ek het my altyd verwonder aan die kleimannetjie wat deur “sy skepper”, Tony Hart, deur verskillende vorme aan ons bekendgestel is. Ek kon myself verwonder aan aan wat Tony Hart met die bolletjie klei kon regkry.
So staan ek ook in verwondering oor God – Hoe Hy mense verander. Dit bly vir my een van die grooste wonders om te sien hoe God mense nuut maak. God lap niks. God maak nie heel nie. God maak nuut!

MIRROR OF MY SOUL – Danette Barnard

Hark… Who goes there? Is there someone lurking in the dark? Is there someone hiding in the dark, secret places of my soul? I look into the mirror, what will I see? No, no, it cannot be, for these obscured places are sacred to only me. There I buried pain, sorrow, guilt, shame. These places will not be known to thee, because these places are a secret, kept by only me.
Are these places sacred or are they in fact cursed, for I keep on coming back, coming back to the occupants who have during the years become more than mere old friends, no, they have become part of my tormented soul.
Please, don’t come near. In these dark places my vulnerabilities are exposed to what they really are: reflections of my own imperfections. Please do not enter this battlefield for the battle fought is bloody and fierce. On this battlefield there can but be only one, only me. Here the truth lies stark naked, no hiding behind intellectual wordplay, saving the world, comforting the poor. Here my intentions are weighed against the truth. Who am I, am I really me?
I look in the mirror, what do I see? I see the reflection of only me.