Ceremonial
The moon flashes on his finger.
As he mounts,
He shakes the glitter from his robe:
Stars drift down.
And
then,
With graceful gallop,
With the medallion sun softly swinging
In time to roaring hooves,
God is riding horseback.
(c) 2008 J.J. Jackson Jr.
Tuesday, March 4, 2008
Saturday, March 1, 2008
Well, YEAH ... the stuff of real faith
"Take from the church the miraculous, the supernatural, the incomprehensible, the unreasonable, the impossible, the unknowable, the absurd, and nothing but a vacuum remains."
The above is the quote randomly loaded today by Quote Database. It's from Robert G. Ingersoll.
My response is, "Well, yeah ... Your point is?"
Ingersoll's point, of course, is to mock Christianity and the church. However, with this quote we see that God spoke truth through a jackass more than once! Ingersoll's motive was wrong, but his words were right.
MY point is that if you have a church without the named ingredients, you certainly do not have the real thing, just an empty shell. Biblical faith is exciting and radical. JESUS does not call us to a safe, reasonable, moderate life; He calls us to the miraculous, the supernatural, the incomprehensible, the unreasonable, the impossible, the unknowable, the absurd -- a life of FAITH. Most believers, including me, fall too short of this challenge. We should be more daring, and not be ashamed of the supernatural, unreasonable aspect of following Christ. As my friend, evangelist Bill Stafford, says, "Extreme death scares me a lot more than extreme life!"
If you're in a dead church, either raise it from the dead, or get out and find a live one! Life's too short to live in the shell.
"For the message of the Cross is foolishness to those who are perishing, but to us who are being saved it is the power of God. ... For the foolishness of God is wiser than man's wisdom, and the weakness of God is stronger than man's strength." (I Corinthians 1:18-25)
The above is the quote randomly loaded today by Quote Database. It's from Robert G. Ingersoll.
My response is, "Well, yeah ... Your point is?"
Ingersoll's point, of course, is to mock Christianity and the church. However, with this quote we see that God spoke truth through a jackass more than once! Ingersoll's motive was wrong, but his words were right.
MY point is that if you have a church without the named ingredients, you certainly do not have the real thing, just an empty shell. Biblical faith is exciting and radical. JESUS does not call us to a safe, reasonable, moderate life; He calls us to the miraculous, the supernatural, the incomprehensible, the unreasonable, the impossible, the unknowable, the absurd -- a life of FAITH. Most believers, including me, fall too short of this challenge. We should be more daring, and not be ashamed of the supernatural, unreasonable aspect of following Christ. As my friend, evangelist Bill Stafford, says, "Extreme death scares me a lot more than extreme life!"
If you're in a dead church, either raise it from the dead, or get out and find a live one! Life's too short to live in the shell.
"For the message of the Cross is foolishness to those who are perishing, but to us who are being saved it is the power of God. ... For the foolishness of God is wiser than man's wisdom, and the weakness of God is stronger than man's strength." (I Corinthians 1:18-25)
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