Category Archives: Quotes

The Cure

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I’ve always loved Gandhi. If you’ve ever watched the movie about him or studied his life, you may have seen images of him with his spinning wheel. Ever wondered what the big deal was with that thing… how doing his own spinning was related to freeing India?

The quote below should help…

“I claim that in losing the spinning wheel we lost our left lung. We are, therefore, suffering from galloping consumption. The restoration of the wheel arrests the progress of the fell disease.”

Imagine… a connection could exist between a lack of freedom and over-consumption!  I’ve got no need to “imagine”; I know it firsthand.  It often amazes me how slow I am to grasp things that have already been spelled out for me.  One example relates to consumption.  At its core, consuming is all my acts of taking in, hoarding, grasping, clutching, squeezing, holding.  Jesus said long ago: The man who wants to keep his life… he’ll actually lose it.  I totally buy that.  It’s true.  Life flows to the one who lives with open hands… life flows to the givers, freedom is found by those who refuse to be imprisoned inside of hearts that want more and more.  I’ve spent time living inside a heart like that.  Even a short stay there confirms the truth: Consuming consumes.

That Gandhi character was a brilliant man… and the battle not to be swallowed up by desires of consumption is still raging fiercer than ever.

Keep struggling, my friends.

And keep your eyes open for your “spinning wheels”, those things that might serve as the cure that we’re in need of.

Lord’s Prayer

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There’s likely no more famous prayer than the one spoken by Jesus when his disciples asked if he’d teach them how to pray.  You likely know the one.

How often do you use it yourself?

N.T. Wright’s words got my attention this week.  In speaking of this prayer, he said…

The prayer is therefore a way of saying to the Father: Jesus has (in the image he himself used) caught me in the net of his good news.  The prayer says: I want to be part of his kingdom-movement.  I find myself drawn into his heaven-on-earth way of living.  I want to be part of his bread-for-the-world agenda, for myself and for others.  I need forgiveness fro myself–from sin, from debt, from every weight around my neck–and I intend to live with forgiveness in my heart in my own dealings with others.  (Notice how remarkable it is that, at the heart of the prayer, we commit ourselves to live in a particular way, a way we find difficult.)  And because I live in the real world, where evil is still powerful, I need protecting and rescuing.  And, in and through it all, I acknowledge and celebrate the Father’s kingdom, power, and glory.

Yeah, I should use that prayer more often.

Freedom of Speech

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In a searching of thoughts on the theme of freedom, I came across this one. It won’t make Sunday’s sermon, but it’s definitely bloggable.

From Kierkegaard…

People demand freedom of speech as a compensation for the freedom of thought which they seldom use.

Surely you’ve never met such a person, but if you HAVE, I invite you to list his/her name in my comments section. That should liven things up!

For any readers untuned to sarcasm and tongue-in-cheek statements, yeah… don’t write a name.


Spirit

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Here’s a few more beauties from N.T. Wright, this time about the Spirit in the lives of God’s people…

“One key element of living as a Christian is learning to live with the life, and by the rules, of God’s future world, even as we are continuing to live within the present one…

That is why Paul speaks of the Spirit as the guarantee or the down payment of what is to come. The Greek word he uses is arrabon, which in modern Greek means an engagement ring, a sign in the present of what is to come in the future.

God doesn’t give people the Holy Spirit in order to let them enjoy the spiritual equivalent of a day at Disneyland. Of course, if you’re downcast and gloomy, the fresh wind of God’s Spirit can and often does give you a new perspective on everything, and above all grants a sense of God’s presence, love, comfort, and even joy. But the point of the Spirit is to enable those who follow Jesus to take into all the world the news that he is Lord, that he has won the victory over the forces of evil, that a new world has opened up, and that we are to help make it happen.”

Bam!

Rob Bell on Poverty

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Just finished listening to a Catalyst podcast featuring an interview with Rob Bell, an enjoyable enough fellow to listen to with some good ideas to share. He spoke about South Africa, church in the West, and more. Then he got speaking about poverty and the church’s response to it. These were no doubt the most powerful words to this listener…

I don’t think this is necessarily to save the poor; I think it’s for our salvation. I think that we have been blessed beyond measure, and if we don’t give it away and steward it well, our own souls are going to shrivel up. This is about the state of our own souls. According to Jesus’ teachings, we’re in trouble if we hog it or keep it to ourselves.

There’s 2103 verses on the poor and oppressed. This is how Jesus began his first sermon: ‘I’ve been anointed to preach the good news to the poor.’ God is with the poor; we’re with God when we’re with the poor.

God has no interest in us building our empires.

This is a huge issue. The rich man and Lazarus… I mean, the rich man is in hell because he ignored the needs of Lazarus by his front gate. So for Jesus, there’s a very literal, earthly hell for those who ignore the need of those around them. I would even argue the man who builds bigger barns… the only clear passages where Jesus speaks of somebody in hell are about a religious person with extraordinary wealth that doesn’t share it with those who are in need. That’s where he gives specific cases of those who are in hell even if they are parables.

Man…

PS: On a lighter note (but don’t let it derail the above thoughts)… Rob Bell has never listened to a podcast in his life, and he doesn’t do much on the internet… his own words.