Wisdom

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Now there’s something to chase after and to ask for in prayer…

Happy is the person who finds wisdom and gains understanding.  For the profit of wisdom is better than silver, and her wages are better than gold.  Wisdom is more precious than rubies; nothing you desire can compare with her.

She offers you life in her right hand, and riches and honour in her left.  She will guide you down delightful paths; all her ways are satisfying.  Wisdom is a tree of life to those who embrace her; happy are those who hold her tightly.  (Proverbs 3:13-18, NLT) 

Come Awake

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That’s a song by David Crowder, and it has been deemed the “Song of the Day” by this blogger… 20 consecutive times and counting. Lyrics are below…

Are we left here on our own?
Can you feel when your last breath is gone?
Night is weighing heavy now,
Be quiet and wait for a voice that will say…

Come awake,
From sleep, arise.
You were dead;
Become alive.
Wake up, wake up,
Open your eyes.
Climb from your grave,
Into the light.
Bring us back to life

You are not the only one,
Who feels like the only one.
Night soon will be lifted, friend.
Just be quiet and wait for the voice that will say…

Rise, rise, rise, rise….
Shine, shine, Oh shine
We will shine
We will rise
We will shine, shine, shine

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.

Q’s

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“There’s no such thing as a dumb question.” I’ve heard that a few times.

I’ve also set out to prove it wrong more than a few times.

I don’t know what your questions might be these days, but I do hope you’ve got some. Whatever your questions, I’ll bet that they themselves are worth questioning.

Huh?

The people around Jesus had their own questions: Is he THE one? When will his kingdom come? Will it look like we’ve always dreamed?

N.T. Wright grabs it here…

“As was so often the case, Jesus didn’t answer their question directly. Many of the question we as God can’t be answered directly, not because God doesn’t know the answers but because our questions don’t make sense. As C.S. Lewis once pointed out, many of our questions are, from God’s point of view, rather like someone asking, ‘Is yellow square or round?’ or ‘How many hours are there in a mile?’ Jesus gently puts off the question.”

Hmm. I’d never thought of it that way before.