Claimed, gathered and sent

Mystery religions are still practiced in contemporary Western culture. “… The New Age movement’s grown, and … with it an embrace of the supernatural often expressed in an anti-intellectual manner with crystals, palm readings, star signs, psychics, and the like.” [1] Some promote goddess worship, singling out the feminine attributes of God. Ancient and pagan beliefs are incorporated “into modern society … to recapture what technology and science have stripped from the contemporary world, [2] exemplified by the “Force” in the “Star Wars” series. Luke Skywalker was urged to rely on the Force and not his computerized targeting system; thus destroying the Death Star, and saving the day. Scientology is another cult that has become increasingly high profile, claiming to be an “applied religious philosophy.” [3] Several famous actors and actresses live by and promote it. Mother Earth is worshipped by others in their quest for what is natural. Whatever the form, there is a “n

Luke 14:25-33 (New International Version) 25 Large crowds were traveling with Jesus, and turning to them he said: 26 "If anyone comes to me and does not hate his father and mother, his wife and children, his brothers and sisters—yes, even his own life—he cannot be my disciple. 27 And anyone who does not carry his cross and follow me cannot be my disciple. 28 "Suppose one of you wants to build a tower. Will he not first sit down and estimate the cost to see if he has enough money to complete it? 29 For if he lays the foundation and is not able to finish it, everyone who sees it will ridicule him, 30 saying, 'This fellow began to build and was not able to finish.' 31 "Or suppose a king is about to go to war against another king. Will he not first sit down and consider whether he is able with ten thousand men to oppose the one coming against him with twenty thousand? 32 If he is not able, he will send a delegation while the other is still a long way off and

The Jews in Haggai aggain were under Persian rule, during the reign of Darius. Lethargy had set in, possibly because their situation was so improved compared to Babylonian occupation and captivity. They had gotten lackadaisical about God’s house since returning to Palestine . Living comfortably, they decided it was not the right time to rebuild God’s house. God’s word to them was, “Is it a time for you yourselves to be living in your paneled houses, while this house remains a ruin” (Hag 1:4)? Disobedience wrought drought and disaster. You have planted much, but have harvested little. You eat, but never have enough. You drink, but never have your fill. You put on clothes, but are not warm. You earn wages, only to put them in a purse with holes in it (Hag 1:6). Twice God tells them, “Give careful thought to your ways” (Hag 1:5, 7). Drought was an attention getter. God longs to bless his people, but sometimes he is not allowed to. The remnant however, listened

Fee and Stuart do a fine job of explaining the role of the Old Testament Law in the life of the Christian. “ All of the Old Testament law is still the Word of God for us even though it is not still the command of God to us.” Though a fine distinction, this upholds the importance of scripture while acknowledging that not everything applies specifically to us. They also explain what is “ explicitly renewed from the Old Testament law can be considered part of the New Testament ‘law of Christ.’” This includes the Ten Commandments and the commandments from Deuteronomy 6:5 and Leviticus 19:18. Jesus showed respect toward the law. “Do not think that I have come to abolish the Law or the Prophets; I have not come to abolish them but to fulfill them” (Mt 5:17). The law was valid, but he was the fulfillment. Its purpose was to point us to the savior according to Paul in Galatians 3:24. We are not bound by the ritual aspects of it today, since it has already done its work in our hearts.

I just finished reading Scot McKnight's latest post on Jesuscreed.org. There is a website that is an online community for Christian spiritual formation. The link is http://www.metamorpha.com/Home/TabId/36/default.aspx. Check it out and see what you think. It looks promising.

Another interesting question was posed to our Ministry Communication Skills class. What does Kraft mean when he writes that God “acts and speaks and then allows us to struggle with what these actions and words mean. When we have discovered the meaning, it is truly ours and has a greater impact than if he had done it all and made it easy for us” (p. 21)? Is he correct about this? If a message is easy to understand, does this necessarily make it less effective? Kraft’s meaning seems clearer when read within the larger context. “He, rather, entices us to discovery rather than insulting our intelligence by predigesting his messages and laying them out on a platter in a form that is fully obvious” [1] Next is the quote in the question followed by, “God’s method is to lead people, as Jesus led his disciples, to discover who he is…rather than to simply tell them who he is.” [2] Kraft is partially correct about this; after all, we are trying to understand the l

The following question was posed to our Ministry Communication Skills class. My response follows the question. In the question, Adam refers to Peter Adam the author of one of our texts. In the footnote you'll find the complete info. Adam seems to distinguish between the spoken (past tense) message of God and the written and preserved (present tense) message. Is this distinction helpful for Christian communicators? Explain why or why not. If the distinction was not as clearly articulated, that is, if one viewed the written and codified words of God as his (current) speech to us, would this make a difference? Is this something with which Adam would agree or disagree? Adam’s distinction is helpful. Some things were strictly for the culture or people of that time; i.e. the Jewish dietary codes, codes for temple worship. Some were given with the initial listeners/readers in mind, but are also a living word for us today. John 1 exemplifies both the past and present tense of