Why do you think HE tells us not to fear?

Because He knows we will!

Why does He tell us not to worry or even to take anxious thought?

Because He knows us!

He knows we will worry, fret, fear and baaa- aaaaaaaa.

Hie me to the strong tower!

Psa 37:23 The steps of a good man are ordered by the LORD

Really it is just: “Follow the Leader” Jhn 10:27 My sheep hear my voice, and I know them, and they follow me.

16 ordered steps from Psalms 37

The Bible

What human person could come up with a love story like this one? In a very real sense, the bible is an auto-biography, (a self-writing of THE Life), God revealing Himself, He plays the starring (dieing and rising again) role!

I am in awe!

etruth: The Bible and Narrative

etruth: The Bible and Narrative

Evan's examples: homosexuality and taking the Lords name in vain cut thru the heated contraversies to heart of the issues. Well done bravo!

The question is not ... does everyone here have their theological ducks in a proper row?... but it is ... what does "_____" reveal to us about God?

Loved this sentence "The Bible, even in parts not specifically written as a narrative, is a story revealed by God to teach us, because it is through story that we not only learn, but are able to join something bigger than ourselves, becoming part of the story."

History is a parade. Scripture is a gradual self-revelation of who and what God is.

iBlog @ 5twenty8

Notes toward a concept of ONE God.

http://5twenty8.com/shane/?p=89 "There is ONE God and that God is the same in the “Old Testament” as the “New Testament”. The Bereans (Jews) used the “Old Testament” to prove Sha’ul’s (Paul’s) words on the Gospel! The “New Testament” was not written yet and this should cause “New Testament Churches” to stop dead in their tracks! They must ask themselves if they could prove their beliefs from the “OT” as did the Bereans who were described as of nobler character."

And a bit of challenge itself. lol

I am weary of mottos. I have respect for metaphors. I wander into history, theology, philosophy, astronomy, hebrew language - sometimes all at once - anything can be fodder for meditation. Sometimes I just stew on the circumstances but that is happening less and less. In the end, it will all seem very simple, I am sure.

The speck and the mote

She takes the mirror out and closely examines her eyes. She sighs loudly, " I'm sorry I just dont see it."

He throws up his hand in disgust and stomps around muttering. 'What a thick-headed, unbelievable...' More clearly he says, "Oh give me a break! What kind of excuse is that?"

Her eyes narrow into slits. "Wait a minute... are you sure you want an answer to that?" She pauses for effect, " Considering you are the one bringing the accusations."

"Honey," he says snubbly, "if the shoe fits."

"Yeah? Here have a look in this mirror - do you see a mote in there anywhere? OH WAIT, I think I found a speck." She snatches the mirror back.

John Seabrook - cultural commentary

I've been reading some online articles by John Seabrook who has been a staff writer at The New Yorker since 1993. The article "Nobrow Culture" walks the reader from specifics to the general, a personal view to the community impact of commercialism on the quality and availability of today's fashion and furnishings.

Have times really changed?

"In the old high-low world, you got status points for consistency in your cultural preferences, but in Nobrow you get points for choices that cut across categories: you're a snowboarder who listens to classical music, drinks Coke, and loves Quentin Tarantino; you're a preppy who likes rap; you're a chop-socky B-movie fan who prefers Frusen Glädjè to Häagen-Dazs, or a World Cup soccer fan who wears fubu and likes opera."

Is pop culture the fad that gives us our collective identity now? Tattoos are permanent, unfortunately for millions the pop fad will pass.

And on top of it all John is an excellent writer, I loved this sentence: "As I walk past these stores, I can feel this new, upscale mass culture pressing in on me, trying to make me and the rest of the people on the street exactly like each other--each of us a demographically desirable Banana Republican out for a little Sunday consumption."

This article and others at http://www.booknoise.net/johnseabrook/stories/index.html

Mt 23:23...ye pay tithe of mint and anise and cummin, and have omitted the weightier matters of the law, judgment, mercy, and faith: .... strain at a gnat, and swallow a camel.

Of judgment, for God is righteous and He is the standard. We have nothing to boast about.

Of mercy, for God is merciful and we have nothing to despair about.

And the faith of all this, is faith in the person of God Himself.

We are allowed neither to boast nor to despair.

freely ye have received, freely give

Walk in the light...

God is truely the All-Giver. One of His names is All-Sufficient One, El Shaddai. What can we give to Him that He has need of? A God who freely gives nourishment and blessing, He is our sustainer. We are in the place of the reciever. We sing: "You are my all in all." There are just too many absolute scriptures to ignore, quoted often but not taken literally.

No good thing in me save God...without me ye can do nothing....In Him we live and move and have being....no shadow of turning with Him...Exceedingly abundant above all we can ask or think.

We say, He is our everything, our source, our sufficiency, but how much of that sufficiency do we apprehend? Where I am adding self-effort or thinking, 'hey, I am getting the hang of this Christian living stuff', we step out of our receiver-role, we turn away from the source. So we say with our mouths, He is our all, but we dont really believe that, it is sutble but we cling to our self-sufficiency. I think it is because we understand it, though it is the human lie, and are taught it from the beginning of our lives. To be mature is to stand on your own two feet - in essence self-sufficiency. And the message of Christianity is directly in opposition to that. The way that seems right unto man is the ways of death.

I have searched for an analogy and here is the best I have found so far. We are like... cylinders, think of a large can open at both ends, tubes. God is like the light of the sun, partical and flow (the study of light is fascinating). When the cylinder is open to the sun the light flows thru it, but as much as it is turned away from the light, the light thru it is diminished AND darkness grows. Until the cylinder is turned away and there is no light flowing thru it or in it. Can the cylinder produce the light? No. Can the light be anything other than it is? No. What influences the amount of light in the cylinder? Its aspect to God. Turn toward Him, and believe that there is no shadow of turning with Him.

It blows me away that it pleases the Father to put all things under Christs feet, until in the end He will be ALL in all. From the beginning to the end of human drama the goal/purpose/being will be a fullness of God in everything, so that there is nothing that is not one with Him. He will be all in all. And forever we will praise Him for His All-givingness.

I have preached absolute dependence on God before, and this concept is tough, we still believe we are to be in striving effort to live to His will. Our battle is to believe that the battle belongs to the Lord. David slew Goliath because he had great self-sufficiency? "The battle belongs to the Lord" was his sure belief.

Not despairing for He does the work, not boasting for He does the work. Not condemning ourselves, not commending ourselves, but here is our self-effort: to stay in our humble receiving place, and receive... the fulness of God in Christ... our portion. This treasure in earthen vessels! Rom 8:32 He that spared not his own Son, but delivered him up for us all, how shall he not with him also freely give us all things? Praise be to the Lord Most High!