Just a Thought

I'm reading "From Beirut to Jerusalem" by Thomas L. Friedman. He is a reporter who spent ten years in the Middle East. In one of the many stories he has told an interesting thought appeared. "People discovered something about their inner strength when they were tested, like a metal that can only achieve its real hardness at the highest temperature." (Richard Day, p. 45, From Beirut to Jerusalem). As believers in Christ are we ready to prove our strength? Of course. No. Are we really ready to be prove our strength? The only way to really see the strength of metal is when pressure is applied. How much can you bear? Just a thought.

A Promise from God

I had something happen to me this week that really made me sit back and think. I was riding my bike into work the other night and it was raining. Nothing major. Just a steady sprinkle. As I headed up Austin Bluffs (one road I ride into work) I saw the most brilliant rainbow I've ever seen! Did I have my camera? Of course not. It wouldn't fade either! The closer I got the more solid it became. There was a second one as well but that one was quite a bit fainter and eventually the first one started to fade. I reached the road Sams Club is on and as I started riding down it I saw another rainbow of equal brilliance. This one was amazingly solid. However, the cool thing about it was that I also saw one of the best sunsets I've seen (actually the best) since I moved here. Again. No camera. Oh well. As the sun was a setting the clouds and the sun created this gold glow at one end of the rainbow. I saw the "pot of gold" at the end of the rainbow, or at least the glow from it. An amazing sight for sure! Now to my point. I couldn't help but think of God's promise to Noah. The earth will not be flooded again. My thoughts however moved beyond that. The promise God has made to each/all of us that He will protect us, provide for us, and just plain be there for us. I believe that's what the promise of the rainbow is. What is the moral of the story boys and girls? God is always there to protect us. Oh and ALWAYS have your camera handy! :-)

Chapter 2

Chapter two discusses faith, sacrifice, and testing. The example given is that of Abraham. Abraham What I found the most amazing was Abraham's obedience. He made mistakes. Some small, some changed history and still affect us today. What's interesting though is one event in Abraham's life. Mount Moriah. It's where Isaac was almost sacrificed. God told Abraham what had to happen and Abraham obediently made a three day trip to make the sacrifice knowing full well he was being asked to kill his son. What amazes me though is that not only did he almost kill his son, but when he heard the voice of God telling him to stop, he wasn't surprised. On top of that neither Abraham or Isaac expressed a hint of surprise that Isaac was not sacrificed. I think it is safe to say that Abraham was not the only man of faith that climbed Mount Moriah that day.
In our lives we will be tested. God wants us to grow and in order to do that we will be tested and will have to make sacrifices along the way, some harder then others. It is important to remember the words of Paul in First Corinthians 10:13 "No temptation has overtaken you that is not common to man.(A) God is faithful, and(B) he will not let you be tempted beyond your ability, but with the temptation he will also provide the way of escape, that you may be able to endure it." It doesn't matter what is thrown at us. God is there right beside us. That makes the sacrifice worth it!

The Jesus Way

I'm really trying to better myself as a person, both spiritually and mentally. The things I learn, research, etc., I thought I'd share on this blog. That way maybe I can help others at the same time as helping myself. So here we go.

I've recently started reading The Jesus Way by Eugene Peterson. Originally I was going to do an overall summary of each entire chapter. I did that on the Introduction and found it to be very time consuming which discouraged me in continuing on. So this blog will have both the Introduction and chapter one.

I wasn't quite sure about this book before I started reading other then the curiosity factor as a result of a talk given using The Jesus Way as the main source and an article in Christianity Today in which the author was interviewed. I decided to write my thoughts about each chapter as I finished it. I want to make this a habit with everything I read. The author, Eugen Peterson states that he has observed those who understand themselves to be followers of Jesus...embrace the culture in which they live while still living daily in Jesus' name. In thinking about my own life I can see how over the last several years I have done just that. Almost a Sunday Christian. Using the world's terms to share Christ. While witnessing by example is good it's more public then personal. We have a personal gospel that is nothing but. If we are using a culture driven philosophy in sharing the gospel we have taken Jesus out of the equation. John 14:6 is cited in the text. Jesus said, " I am the way, the truth and the light. No one comes to the Father but through me." If we use the world's means to show people the way and the world is going to hell how are we making any ground? Jesus is the way. Without him there is no other. "Once we start paying attention to Jesus' ways, it doesn't take us long to realize that following Jesus is radically different from following anyone else." (Eugene Peterson. The Jesus Way, pg. 9) "The way of Jesus cannot be imposed or mapped. It requires an active participation in following Jesus as he leads us through sometimes strange and unfamiliar territory." (Eugene Peterson "The Jesus Way", pg 18) My interpretation of that is this. At some point in our lives we all talk big. Screw the talking! We need to act. Better yet we need to live. Anyone can act like a Christian (and sadly, many do). But to live as a Christian is different. I hope that when people see me they not only see Jesus but they see that I am a Christ Follower.

In the first chapter there are so many awesome insights but I think the following sentence sums up everything" "Jesus is the way of salvation. We follow his way. The way Jesus does it is the way we do it. Jesus is the way we come to God. Period. End of discussion." (The Jesus Way, p 37)

It can't be stated enough. There is only one way to God and that is through Jesus. What is awesome is that we have the example of Christ to show us not only the direction we should walk but also the way to walk in that direction. How to live. This point keeps getting hammered home to me. Our lives should be verbs and not subjects. We need to live and walk as Jesus did. Awesome stuff! More to come!