read these:
http://www.generousgiving.org/page.asp?sec=101&page=407
good heart-check/kick in the face for me today. with everyone losing their jobs left and right, its easy to start thinking about stuffing money under our mattress or burying it in the backyard like they did in the great depression...having a biblical perspective can be difficult. scary really. but like everything else, the Lord calls us to overcome our fear of not being "secure" and trust that he will take care of it.
Tuesday, January 27, 2009
Saturday, January 17, 2009
augustine's rhetoric
"Nevertheless, I would confess to you my shame, for your glory. Bear with me, I implore you, and give me the grace to retrace in my present memory the devious ways of my past errors and so be able to offer to you the sacrifice of thanksgiving."
"With you is perfect rest, and life unchanging. The one who enters into you enters into the joy of his Lord, and shall have no fear and shall achieve excellence in the excellent one. I fell away from you, my God, and in my youth I wandered too far from you, my true support. And I became a wasteland to myself."
-Augustine, Confessions
reading this book makes me realize how horribly lazy we are with our words. i definitely recommend it. for something written around 400 a.d it is totally relevant.
"With you is perfect rest, and life unchanging. The one who enters into you enters into the joy of his Lord, and shall have no fear and shall achieve excellence in the excellent one. I fell away from you, my God, and in my youth I wandered too far from you, my true support. And I became a wasteland to myself."
-Augustine, Confessions
reading this book makes me realize how horribly lazy we are with our words. i definitely recommend it. for something written around 400 a.d it is totally relevant.
Monday, January 05, 2009
ananias
Acts 9:10-11
"The Lord told him, 'Go to the house of Judas on straight street and ask for a man named Saul, for he is praying. In a vision he has seen a man named Ananias come and place his hands on him to restore his sight.'
'Lord,' Ananias answered, 'I have heard many reports about this man and all the harm he has done to your saints in Jerusalem. And he has come here with authority from the chief priests to arrest all who call on your name. But the Lord said to Ananias, 'Go! This man is my chosen instrument to carry my name before the Gentiles and their kings and before the people of Israel. I will show him how much he must suffer in my name.'
Then Ananias went."
such an interesting example of obedience in a seemingly illogical situation. i too might be a bit hesitant to go talk to someone who might murder me...but when i drag my feet, the Lord certainly is faithful to remind me who he is ("Go!" with an exclamation point is pretty intense when it comes from God.)
if Ananias would have talked himself out of going to talk to Saul/Paul, would the rest of the bible have looked different? would the Lord have blessed someone else with the opportunity to witness to Saul/Paul? interesting how small decisions can make big differences.
"The Lord told him, 'Go to the house of Judas on straight street and ask for a man named Saul, for he is praying. In a vision he has seen a man named Ananias come and place his hands on him to restore his sight.'
'Lord,' Ananias answered, 'I have heard many reports about this man and all the harm he has done to your saints in Jerusalem. And he has come here with authority from the chief priests to arrest all who call on your name. But the Lord said to Ananias, 'Go! This man is my chosen instrument to carry my name before the Gentiles and their kings and before the people of Israel. I will show him how much he must suffer in my name.'
Then Ananias went."
such an interesting example of obedience in a seemingly illogical situation. i too might be a bit hesitant to go talk to someone who might murder me...but when i drag my feet, the Lord certainly is faithful to remind me who he is ("Go!" with an exclamation point is pretty intense when it comes from God.)
if Ananias would have talked himself out of going to talk to Saul/Paul, would the rest of the bible have looked different? would the Lord have blessed someone else with the opportunity to witness to Saul/Paul? interesting how small decisions can make big differences.
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