A TMC Alumni sent me this Justin Taylor link about Martin Luther's take on changing diapers for the glory of God .
There is a false dichotomy between the sacred and the secular. To say that one activity is more "spiritual" than another is to regulate the dominion of Christ to particular arenas and not to give Him lordship over every area of life. It has always been about the heart attitude (Prov 4) employed toward a particular activity that validates its spiritual authenticity. To be sure, I am not talking about anything that is prohibited in the bible and clearly sinful...rather I am talking about redeeming the ordinary moments of life for the glory of God. It is the small acts of faith done in the everyday moments of life that creates a sanctifying ripple effect into all areas of the spiritual life. This is the practical expression of the christian worldview....not just that you can discern through humanistic rhetoric, but to discern what car to buy. The christian life is one that acquires biblical understanding and can practically apply it to everyday moments in everyday life.
Friday, January 26, 2007
Sunday, January 21, 2007
Summer Jobs
Enjoy this article in the L.A. Times I read while getting my car washed yesterday....In honor of our beloved SCV "amusement" park, summer jobs, and Nate Busenitz who (as legend has it) also grew up while serving an over priced hamburger.
Tuesday, January 09, 2007
Practicing Our Positional Holiness
1 Peter 2:9-12 9 But you are a chosen race, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, a people for his own possession, that you may proclaim the excellencies of him who called you out of darkness into his marvelous light. 10 Once you were not a people, but now you are God's people; once you had not received mercy, but now you have received mercy. 11 Beloved, I urge you as sojourners and exiles to abstain from the passions of the flesh, which wage war against your soul. 12 Keep your conduct among the Gentiles honorable, so that when they speak against you as evildoers, they may see your good deeds and glorify God on the day of visitation.
Sunday, January 07, 2007
Word or Worldly
In today’s postmodern “informationally saturated” global economy, people are looking for meaning beyond words. Deep down, people want to be engaged in a dialog not a debate. Authentic relationships that intersect with a person’s “story” create platforms for influence. So…what I do/how I live authenticates what I say I believe. How I live biblically in small moments fills in the dialog for the method and meaning of true significance.
I see many young leaders try to influence their peers more by spiritual propaganda and rhetoric than through the power of personal holiness. Paul understood the primacy of proclaiming Christ through his life that would validate the authenticity of his spiritual insights (II Corinthians 2:1-5).
The process of interpersonal discipleship or spiritual influence should be contextualized by culture (or “relevant” if you don’t think that’s a dirty word)…not as a goal unto itself, but as the means/method/process to personally deposit the unmitigated truth of the gospel. Relationships are central to communicating the rich truths of our faith. Relationship is the dynamic that is missing in today’s society and the one thing every human longs for.
On the pathway to authentic dialog, people can loose more than they gain when their life is described better in worldly terms than defined by the Word. The world is not something to be courted, but rather contrasted through a biblical worldview/lifestyle. I am convinced it is when Christians live according to the word and not the world it will display The Compelling Significance of this lifetime…and the one to come (I Peter 1:13-22).
In this thinking I started to highlight a contrasting list…in the end I always constrain/edit myself to ten.
The Word (I John 2:4-6)
Knowledge of God (Col 1:9-10)
Accountability (Heb 3:12-13)
Mortification (Col 3:1-3)
Suffering (Jms 1:2-7; Heb 12)
Known (I Thess 2:8)
Giver (I Tim 6:18; Acts 2:44-45)
Active (II Tim 2:1-15)
Selfless-Love (Phil 2; I Cor 13)
Driven by Christ (II Cor 5:14-15)
Perfection (Phil 3:12-13
Or Worldly (I John 2:15-17)
Knowledge of Things
Autonomy
Explanation
Comfort
Known About
Consumer
Apathetic
Self-Love
Driven by Cool
Performance
I see many young leaders try to influence their peers more by spiritual propaganda and rhetoric than through the power of personal holiness. Paul understood the primacy of proclaiming Christ through his life that would validate the authenticity of his spiritual insights (II Corinthians 2:1-5).
The process of interpersonal discipleship or spiritual influence should be contextualized by culture (or “relevant” if you don’t think that’s a dirty word)…not as a goal unto itself, but as the means/method/process to personally deposit the unmitigated truth of the gospel. Relationships are central to communicating the rich truths of our faith. Relationship is the dynamic that is missing in today’s society and the one thing every human longs for.
On the pathway to authentic dialog, people can loose more than they gain when their life is described better in worldly terms than defined by the Word. The world is not something to be courted, but rather contrasted through a biblical worldview/lifestyle. I am convinced it is when Christians live according to the word and not the world it will display The Compelling Significance of this lifetime…and the one to come (I Peter 1:13-22).
In this thinking I started to highlight a contrasting list…in the end I always constrain/edit myself to ten.
The Word (I John 2:4-6)
Knowledge of God (Col 1:9-10)
Accountability (Heb 3:12-13)
Mortification (Col 3:1-3)
Suffering (Jms 1:2-7; Heb 12)
Known (I Thess 2:8)
Giver (I Tim 6:18; Acts 2:44-45)
Active (II Tim 2:1-15)
Selfless-Love (Phil 2; I Cor 13)
Driven by Christ (II Cor 5:14-15)
Perfection (Phil 3:12-13
Or Worldly (I John 2:15-17)
Knowledge of Things
Autonomy
Explanation
Comfort
Known About
Consumer
Apathetic
Self-Love
Driven by Cool
Performance
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