Simply Christian - Reflection 3

N. T. Wright's
Simply Christian
Why Christianity Makes Sense

I don't have much of my own commentary to add here, but here are some quotes that stood out as I read the chapter "God's Breath of Life".

"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."

I like this idea being invited to participate in the renewal and recreation of ... well of creation.

"The Spirit is given so that we ordinary mortals can become, in a measure, what Jesus himself was: part of God's future arriving in the present; a place where heaven and earth meet; the means of God's kingdom going ahead."

I loved his connecting the pillar of fire and the cloud to the Holy Spirit. God's mysterious presence with his people as a reminder, a promise, a guarantee that there is a promise land. They can live knowing that God is present with them right then and a guarantee that (if they keep their side of the covenant) they can live with God as God's people.

We are participating in the true exodus. The Journey from Passover to Promise land. and just like the pillar of cloud and fire was present with His people, not the "Spirit is the strange, personal presence of the living God himself, leading, guiding, warning, rebuking, grieving over our failings, and celebrating our small steps toward the true inheritance."

"The Whole world is God's holy land." It may appear a mix of suffering and beauty, but God is reclaiming it.

"They are, individually and corporately, places where heaven and hearth meet." Speaking of followers being the Temple of the Holy Spirit.

That's all I have for now.

My favorite picture of Gran

We love you.

Gran and Daniel

Gran and Daniel - beautiful moment.

Lord Save Us From Your Followers

This was really good. It is worth watching.

It is an interesting documentary.
http://www.hulu.com/watch/177536/lord-save-us-from-your-followers

Simply Christian - Reflection 2

N. T. Wright's
Simply Christian
Why Christianity Makes Sense

“Christianity is all about the belief that the living God, in fulfillment of his promises and as the climax of the story of Israel, has accomplished all this - the finding, the saving, the giving of new life - in Jesus. He has done it. With Jesus, God’s rescue operation has been put into effect once and for all. A great door has swung open in the cosmos which can never be shut. It’s the door to the prison where we’ve been kept chained up. We are offered freedom: freedom to experience God’s rescue for ourselves, to go through the open door and explore the new world to which we now have access. In particular, we are invited - summoned, actually - to discover, through following Jesus, that this new world is indeed a place of justice, spirituality, relationship, and beauty, and that we are not only to enjoy it as such but to work at bringing it to birth on earth as in heaven. In listening to Jesus, we discover whose voice it is that has echoed around the hearts and minds of the human race all along.” a paragraph from Chapter 7.

It was very interesting right before this paragraph he points to a list of things that Christianity is not. Some of the things he lists I have at one point or another in my life had thought or even claimed out loud that Christianity was. One example was that Jesus’s main purpose was to be a great moral example, as if all we had to do was follow Jesus’s example of great devotion to God. He likened that to watching Tiger Woods playing golf. For some it may help improve their golf game, for others it would make them depressed, because there would be no hope of coming close to playing like Tiger. It isn’t that we can’t learn from the example Jesus lead, but this isn’t the chief end of Christianity and of why Jesus came. He didn’t come to simply be a moral example.

This book has been refreshing for me in his connecting Jesus to the story of Israel and the Jewish tradition, which I think I don’t keep connected sometimes.

This is the “new world” I desire to participate in. The rescue and restoration of creation. God rescuing and restoring me and using me to bring about the same in all of creation around me. Participating with God bringing justice putting things to rights, healing relationships, experiencing and creating beauty, and sharing in the spirituality of communion with God and the Body of Christ.

Outhouse nationals. Choudrant

Fun day with the boys watching outhouse races

Mount Magazine Pictures

This was a great trip! We spent the night in Russellville, Arkansas at a great hotel. The boys and I swam while Jill exercised. In the morning had Hotel Waffles! mmmm.... good. Then drove to the mountain. We hiked the North Rim Trail. Fun and beautiful. Lots of butterflies, and caterpillars. Ethan even found a large millipede. Caleb was a man and helped carry the back pack. Caleb and Jill raced to the top and then started cheering for Ethan and Daddy. After we climbed to the summit (using the word "climb" very loosely), we had an incredible lunch at the Lodge. We had to walk the 3 miles back to the van. Ethan was tired so he ended up on Dad's back.

It was a great family - Here are some Pictures

6th high point

Six high points down

Arkansas highest point

murphy adventure Arkansas highest point.