Six-Pack (65)

Welcome to the Six-Pack, the Victoria Day Long Weekend edition for those of you celebrating in Canada.

As you’ve come to expect, the six links below feature the best online offerings I have recently read, related to ministry or faith, with just enough space left for who-knows-what!

If a half-dozen feels daunting, start with the *Picks of the Week*, and move out.

For a steady stream of such links, follow me on Twitter to the right of this post.  Sharp quotes and solid articles are tweeted 3-4 times daily.

Today’s edition:

1) In Prison With Ann Voskamp
Richard Beck confesses to getting a new perspective in a Texas prison.

2)  Q&R: A Nasty Piece About You (*PICK OF THE WEEK*)
Regardless of what you think of Brian McLaren, you’ll be inspired by this response that he gave to one of his critics. Classy and gracious.

3)  Six Unexpected Faith Conversations in Pop Culture
Relevant Magazine has put together this short piece highlighting popular figures who have recently shared thoughts on faith. Hardly profound, but interesting all the same.

4)  How to Stay in One Church for 27 Years
If you’re a pastor seeking advice on longevity, Ronnie Floyd is likely worth listening to.

5)  Toward Recovering Baptism (*PICK OF THE WEEK*)
I was blessed by some recent visits with my friend Kirk at the Pepperdine Lectures. Here, he recounts some highlights of the week, while musing also about some not-to-be-missed facets of baptism.

6) The Wrong Reasons to Write
Jeff Goins helps those who string words together to break free of poor reasons to keep pressing forward.

May your week ahead be filled with life, as you seek the One from whom it flows!

leaveacommentYOUR TURN: Your input makes this post better!

  • Which link above was today’s best-of-the-best?
  • Why that one?

Direct others to the best of the bunch with a quick comment.

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The Holy Spirit Heals

In Acts 2, we find Jesus’ disciples gathered. The city of Jerusalem is teeming with crowds for the feast of Pentecost, but Jesus’ followers are huddled privately, awaiting the arrival of a promised gift

Acts 2:1-4. When the day of Pentecost came. Pastel & pen. 26 May 2012.We read that the gathering was interrupted by a wind that rattled their venue. Fire proceeded to appear before them and descend upon them, resulting in the inexplicable ability to proclaim the Gospel of Jesus in all the tongues of the known world. Guests to the city were stunned to hear this New-Life message being proclaimed in the dialects of home, wherever home might have been!

Some Bible readers have connected unusual dots in this story.

“Hmm. A story about a crowd of people speaking all the languages of the world. Hmm. I feel like I’ve seen this before.”

TowerBabelWithin the earliest pages of the Bible, we read of the Tower of Babel (Genesis 11). The story is bizarre for at least a couple reasons: 1) It describes a united humanity setting their sights upon building a tower that would reach the heavens, glorifying them to god-like status.  2) It responds to itself by describing God in a way that appears petty and insecure, as if he felt the need to defend heaven’s borders against the invasion of these ancient architects.

Zooming out from the oddness of either story, one sees a fascinating connection…

Pentecost redeems Babel.

Where diversity (seen in the languages) fractured humanity at Babel, diversity (seen again in languages) depicted God’s unifying of humanity at Pentecost. The Creator who loves diversity and labours for its unity works intensely to bridge gaps, wreck walls, and to execute His all-consuming plan: “to unite all things in him [Christ], things in heaven and things on earth” (Eph 1:10).

Babel displays the losses incurred when we are driven by a desire for personal greatness. In ways that we cannot fully grasp, this motivation fragments and divides, actually opposing the universal goals we find at the center of God’s will.

Conversely, Pentecost reveals an image of Christ-centeredness, a wildly submitted desire to see his name spread far and wide based on the conviction that profound blessing and deep life come with him.

Two stories of many mouths speaking many words. Babel’s abandoned tower shows a dust-dry site of no-life-here, despite the sweat and strain spent there. Pentecost invites us into a wind- and fire-charged environment where embracing God’s plan in Jesus Christ releases us into an existence and experience that extends to the ends of the world.