ON OUR WAY TO SOMEWHERE ELSE

Thursday, April 08, 2010

(I love Barbara Brown Taylor's book An Altar in the World the following excerpts are from that book)

The artist Georgia O'Keeffe, who became famous for her sensuous paintings of flowers, explained her success by saying, "In a way, nobody sees a flower, really, it is so small, we haven't time--and to see takes time, like to have a friend takes time."

The practice of paying attention really does take time. Most of us move so quickly that our surroundings become no more than the blurred scenery we fly post on our way to somewhere else.

What made Moses was his willingness to turn aside.

BUTTERFIELDS

Wednesday, April 07, 2010

Driving home from taking Charlotte to the Dr. for an annual exam, we stopped in for brunch.

Butterfields is an all day breakfast place. They have other food too, but people go there mainly for breakfast.

It was packed out! I mean packed out! When we were leaving there were people waiting to be seated.

Butterfields is just a few blocks from where we attend church on Sundays. There are always people waiting inside and outside--summer and winter.

Charlotte loves their Swedish pancakes.

I prefer eggs over medium, crisp, thick, bacon, hash browns and a biscuit.

And coffee, of course.

There will be no lunch today at our home.

But I will cook on the grill for dinner. I will be hungry again by that time.

TO LIVE WITH PAIN ON A DAILY BASIS

Tuesday, April 06, 2010

 To live with pain on a daily basis is to be involved in a high-maintenance relationship. To make peace with the pain can require as much energy as fighting it. Things you once did without thinking--rising, dressing, eating, walking--now take concerted effort, if not paid help. Who is this person who cannot help anyone, not even herself?

One night of real pain is enough to strip away your illusions about how strong you are, how brave, how patient and faithful. Who would have thought that a torn cornea could hurt all the way down to the heels of your feet? Who would have imagined that a really bad case of food poisoning could make you doubt the mercy of God? You do not need a torturer standing over you to recognize the direct link between pain and truth. Pain is so real that less-real things like who you thought you were and how you  meant to act can vanish like drops of water flung on a hot stove. Your virtues can become as abstract as algebra, your beliefs as porous as clouds.

(The above words are from An Altar in the World by Barbara Brown Taylor. It is one of the best books I have read in a long time. She has much more to say about living with pain. I have left this open ended because I want you to think about what she said in these two paragraphs. I am impressed with the fact that living with pain causes us to erase most of what we thought we knew about ourselves.)

BOOK REVIEW

Monday, April 05, 2010

ON GUARD--Defending Your Faith with Reason and Precision
By William Lane Craig 


OVERVIEW: On Guard simplifies Dr. Craig's vast work in apologetics yet is not simplistic. It provides easy to memorize arguments for God's existence and the resurrection of Jesus, along with answers to the objections that one will likely encounter in sharing these arguments with others. On Guard is a one-stop guidebook to learn how to defend your faith. Combining the four core arguments for God's existence with a case for the historicity of Jesus, this readable book also addresses difficult issues such as the problems of suffering and religious relativism.

THE AUTHOR: William Lane Craig is Research Professor of Philosophy at the Talbot School of Theology. With earned doctorates in philosophy and theology, he has established  a reputation as one of the most prominent Christian philosophers of our day. His publications, debates and internet presence have made him a highly visible champion of Christian faith.

MY REVIEW: Over the years I have read many books on defending the faith. This is one of the best! Today we are being called upon to stand against those who bash the Bible and attack Christianity from every side. There is a rising anti-evangelical bias in the media and a growing number of internet infidels. This book is not only a guidebook to learn how to defend your faith it is filled with real life experiences that illustrate the themes of our current culture. I especially liked the fact that Dr. Craig relates his own winding path to faith and tells the story of how God saved him and equipped him to become one of the world's leading Christian apologists.

NO WONDER THEY CALL HIM THE SAVIOR

Friday, April 02, 2010

(My favorite book of the many Max Lucado has written, and he has written many, is No Wonder They Call Him The Savior. The following thoughts are from that wonderful book.)

Think about these words from Paul in 1 Corinthians, chapter 15.
For I delivered to you as of first importance what I also received, that Christ died for our sins in accordance with the scriptures.

"First importance" he says.


Read on:


That he was buried, that he was raised on the third day in accordance with the scriptures, and that 
he appeared to Cephas, then to the twelve.


There it is. Almost too simple. Jesus was killed, buried, and resurrected. Surprised? The part that matters is the cross. No more and no less. THE CROSS.


No wonder Paul called it "the core of the gospel." Its bottom line is sobering: if the account is true, it is history's hinge. Period. If not, it is history's hoax.

No wonder they call him the Savior.

(The above words are from Max Lucado. Now I want to emphasize these words he quoted from 1 Corinthians: "...that he was raised on the third day in accordance with the scriptures."

RESURRECTION

Thursday, April 01, 2010

In Jesus' day it was clear what the various Greek, Aramaic, etc. words for resurrection did not mean. Resurrection did not mean life after death in some disembodied form, it did not mean the immortality of the soul in either torment or paradise, and it did not mean reincarnation. It meant the reversal of death, restoration to some kind of bodily immortality. Many pagans believed in disembodied life after death, but they considered resurrection impossible. Some (not all) Jews expected resurrection for the righteous at the end of days--but not for anybody before then. A resurrected body might differ from our bodies, but it had to be a body. Neither a ghost nor a disembodied soul nor a spirit on a higher plane of consciousness would have been called "resurrected."

(From William Lane Craig's book, ON GUARD--Defending Your Faith With Reason and Precision)