Surprised by Suffering by Jill Carattini

Take approximately 5 minutes to read this shortened version of yesterday's 'A Slice of Infinity'. Post comments to the blog for spiritual collaboration. Please email your prayer requests too.

“we are afflicted in every way, but not crushed; perplexed, but not despairing; persecuted, but not forsaken; struck down, but not destroyed; always carrying about in the body the dying of Jesus, so that the life of Jesus also may be manifested in our body. ” 2 Corinthians 4:8-10 NASV

Beloved, do not be surprised at the fiery ordeal among you, which comes upon you for your testing, as though some strange thing were happening to you;but to the degree that you share the sufferings of Christ, keep on rejoicing, so that also at the revelation of His glory you may rejoice with exultation. ” 1 Peter 4:12-13 NASV

Slice of Infinity Snippets:
Mark Twain once said, “Whenever you find yourself on the side of the majority, it's time to pause and reflect.” For those of us who live the faith we profess without challenge, trial, or risk, reflection may well be appropriate. Is it possible that we have so shut ourselves up in Christian circles that we have closed ourselves off from the unbelieving world and hence any chance of suffering for Christ? Is it possible that we are so at ease among the majority that we avoid venturing out as the minority among those who might hate or hurt us? Certainly we experience hostility and persecution indirectly; Bill Maher’s new film Religulous is one example among many. But how we are personally interacting with the angry, the lost, and the broken masses Jesus once wept over is another thing entirely. How effectively we live as “the salt of the earth” that Jesus described depends on our place and posture within it. Surely salt that remains content within the shaker has lost its saltiness.

The struggles of Christian students on university campuses, the sufferings of Christian aid workers across the world, and the daily trials of believers who live courageously in dangerous places are stories that frighten and sadden us. They are also stories that depict what can happen when the salt of the kingdom is allowed to season the earth. Gayle Williams is said to have been the hand of Christ among some of the world’s most forgotten. “Remember the words I spoke to you,” said Jesus to his disciples. “‘No servant is greater than his master.’ If they persecuted me, they will persecute you also” (John 15:20). And then he was led away like a sheep to the slaughter.

Prayer Request: Kathy Curtis enters her first Chemotherapy today. Please lift up Kathy for Strength, her husband Mike for courage and faith and her Children, Scott, Brian, Angela and Tammy for Faith.

Daily Audio Bible: For those of you with iPod's and other MP3 players, I want to encourage you to take a look at Daily Audio Bible dot com. I listen to the Word regularly through this group and I really enjoy it. They have started what is called the Wind Farm Prayer Initiative and will host a world wide prayer for the elections starting at 8p (Mountain Time) November 3rd. This will last two hours and we will be able to hear/see/participate in the prayers being lifted up. I would like to have a small group meet at my home for this prayer as well as see COUGAR cell groups around the country join this initiative. Check it out and let me know what you think.

Outreach: As the cold sets in, homeless are in more need of warmth. If you can spare any coats/blankets, please get them to me for distribution through the street church.

Let's invite more people to join the COUGARS group. Drop me their email address and I can send them a teaser.

May your day be filled with lasting memories,
Chad

Does the Bible Condone Slavery? by L.T. Jeyachandran

Take approximately 5 minutes to read this shortened version of yesterday's 'A Slice of Infinity'. Post comments to the blog for spiritual collaboration. Please email your prayer requests too.

"Do not oppress an alien; you yourselves know how it feels to be aliens, because you were aliens in Egypt.

(Exodus 23:9)

lamentably, it must be admitted that the Church has taken many centuries to live out what Scripture taught long ago, and no doubt we continue to drag our feet. The time delay between the Word of Scripture and its implementation in society is often due to the “holy huddle” mentality prevailing among Christians who are largely unconcerned about issues outside of their immediate periphery. Another reason many Christians continue to remain silent in the face of injustice is the platonic view of the cosmos we have adopted, implying that life in the hereafter is the only issue to be addressed, while we watch the world go by in its destructive way. Both mentalities are sadly misguided.

Those of us who say that we believe the Bible to be the Word of God have to raise our level of awareness and involvement regarding social issues. Having failed to do so, we have let these issues pass into the hands of those who may not be Christians, but are better informed about social injustice and concerned enough to fight wrong practices through legal means. While they have no logical basis to do what they are doing, the real tragedy is that we who do have a basis to address these issues remain largely indifferent. May the Lord of Scripture open our eyes to see that God is interested in the redemption of the whole of creation and not just disembodied souls and spirits!