Proper Fear - by Margaret Manning

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 know how much God loves us, and we have put our trust in his love.

God is love, and all who live in love live in God, and God lives in them. And as we live in God, our love grows more perfect. So we will not be afraid on the day of judgment, but we can face him with confidence because we live like Jesus here in this world.

Such love has no fear, because perfect love expels all fear. If we are afraid, it is for fear of punishment, and this shows that we have not fully experienced his perfect love. We love each other because he loved us first. 1 John 4:16-19 NLT

All this is from God, who through Christ reconciled us to himself and gave us the ministry of reconciliation; that is, in Christ God was reconciling the world to himself, not counting their trespasses against them, and entrusting to us the message of reconciliation. Therefore, we are ambassadors for Christ, God making his appeal through us. We implore you on behalf of Christ, be reconciled to God. For our sake he made him to be sin who knew no sin, so that in him we might become the righteousness of God. 2 Corinthians 5:18-21 ESV

Slice of Infinity Snippets:
“Afraid of burning? Apply Son-screen.” “How will you spend eternity: Smoking or Non-Smoking?” “Life is Hard. Afterlife is Harder!” “WARNING: Exposure to the Son may prevent burning!”

...the fear of God is quite different from being afraid. Actually, the fear of the Lord is a component of faith; it arises from knowledge of God and from within the context of relationship with God.

I suspect the motivation (in the slogans above), even if unintentional, is to make people afraid of God so that they will turn to God and be spared. But here I believe we confuse God’s judgment with punishment. Often, we want to punish others, or we have misplaced the desire to see others punished for a sense of justice. In contrast, the desire for justice is the desire to see things put right, made right by God. As Jesus prayed, “Your kingdom come, your will be done on earth as it is in heaven.” This is a prayer for God’s justice to be done on earth as it is in heaven. Rather than using an apologetic of fear and bidding the world to see all that is fearfully wrong, we are instead exhorted in Scripture to proclaim all that God has set right in Jesus Christ:

Interestingly enough, more than any other command in Scripture, we are commanded to “fear not,” “do not be afraid.” ... So why do we want to use fear to try to persuade others of the good news of the gospel? Does fear have any place in the gospel message? In Jesus’s teaching and message, he reserved his warnings of judgment for those who considered themselves in the “right” with God--those who defined their righteousness by their own merits. Jesus never used fear to convert sinners. Rather, Jesus extended hospitality to those who were on the outside. Indeed, in his message announcing “the kingdom of heaven is at hand; repent and believe the gospel” Jesus extends an invitation, not an ultimatum driven by fear. It is an invitation to enter into the kingdom by following him--his way, his life. In the same way, our Christian apologetic must be invitational, as though God were entreating through us: “We beg you on behalf of Christ, be reconciled to God.”...

Author Scott Bader-Saye comments that fear twists virtue into vice. Fear motivated by a lack of love pursues punishment. When we are detached from love, we preach messages that are built on fear. But those who preach Christ motivated by love, cast out all fear. When motivated by love, we become ambassadors of reconciliation reaching out with faith and not with fear, winning the lost with the hope that God has first loved us.

Comments: A few things stood out to me in today's reading: that we are to implore (beg) others to be reconciled to God and that our apologetic (rational faith sharing) must be invitational. As I pursue REAL relationship with people who do not call Jesus friend, I pray that I am transparent about my fears, pains and losses. I have never been one to journal, nevertheless I want to remember difficult times in my life that I can share. Many of you have known me for a long time. Please do not hesitate to share your memories of difficult times where I was involved. I remember mom's scare with breast cancer, Darrell Meece moving from this world to be with God and my wife's battle with depression during her immense sickness from pregnancy with our daughter. Help me remember pain/suffering in my life so that these times may benefit those whom God entrusts to me; I implore you.

May we all be transparent as we invite our friends to be reconciled to God. We may run into many people today who say they do not believe in God; but I doubt you will meet anyone who says they do not believe in pain.

Faith Quote (shared by Pat): "Do you realize that your imagination of the future, which is almost always dictated by fear of some kind, rarely, if ever, pictures me there with you? The person who lives by fears, especially the projection of those into the future, will not find freedom in my love." God speaking in fictional book "The Shack" by William P. Young

Where, Why, Who? by Stuart McAllister

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.

“For Christ died for sins once for all, the righteous for the unrighteous, to bring you to God. He was put to death in the body but made alive by the Spirit,”- 1 Peter 3:18

Slice of Infinity Snippets:
The biblical vision captured in the Westminster Confession in 1646 claims: "The chief end of man is to glorify God and enjoy Him forever." To most modern people, the chief end of life is to provide freedom and as much pleasure as we can get forever. Interestingly, as we look back through the history of ideas, the question, "Where is God when it hurts" was not asked before the 17th century. The inquiry has a late pedigree in our making man the center and measure of all things in our considerations.

Yet the Bible clears up any ambiguity about who we are, who God is, what is wrong with the world, and what can be done. The possibility of freely chosen love means allowing conditions that permit freely chosen rejection, evil, or alternatives. Our lack of interest in God and our self-assured confidence excludes any normal or routine reflection on life. For many of us, pain is the very platform from which the imperative questions of life are asked and answered. C.S. Lewis put it this way, “God whispers to us in our pleasures, speaks to us in our conscience, but shouts in our pains; it is his megaphone to rouse a deaf world.”

The question of God’s presence in the midst of evil is answered in the silhouette at the heart of a different question: Where was God at the crux of human history? As the disciples’ gazed at the Cross, their expectations were dashed, their hopes shattered, and they could not see God in the midst of the turning point of history. But at the Cross, what men at first could not see was the very triumph of good over evil.

Comments: Yesterday I saw a sign on a church that put many anti-theist arguments in a category for me. I think the next time I hear some argument from an atheist, I will likely pull out this perspective to analyze the comment: Our perspective as people is to use God. However, the reverse is actually the case; God uses people.

Prayer Request: John Harrinigton (fellow Cougar-he came up with the name COUGARS) had the first of two rounds of knee surgery yesterday. The surgery went well. Pray for John's complete healing and for encouragement of his heart/mind. Pray for his wife, Shannon, as she takes on extra duties while John is rehabilitating.

Fauth Quote: shared by Pat Castle on Life-Devotions: "For love. He chose the way of the cross where mercy triumphs over justice because of love." from fictional book The Shack by William P. Young

Imago Dei 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.

So God created man in his own image,
in the image of God he created him;
male and female he created them. Genesis 1:27 ESV

Slice of Infinity Snippets:
Being made in the image of God is not about maintaining a flawless facade, a perfect record, or even a life without scars. All the power of God that raised him from the dead did not erase the scars left by the Roman nails. The marks of suffering were not removed. The resurrected Christ, the perfect image of God, chose to keep the scars of the Cross. It is his image we are being made to reflect. And we are called to come as we are.

What the leprous man recognized in Christ was enough to bring him to his feet in worship. It is this image that continues to erect the heads of the poorest beggars and bow the shoulders of the greatest emperors. It was the image of Christ that made its way into the insecurities of some in my youth group. Though there was "nothing in his appearance that we should desire him," he lived as one touched by another kingdom, obedient to the Father even unto death. In Christ, God supersedes every longing and pain, every sin and scar, with a face that won’t go away. It is this image within us, this image we were made to reflect. Imago Dei is the hopeful commission to become more like the one we follow. It is the cry within us to be who we are: children made in the image of the Most High.

Comments:
I easily believe that God will accept me, 'just as I am'. Nevertheless, when I think of someone who is not living up to my expectations of what people should look/act like, I quickly forget that they also can 'come as they are'. I forget they too, are image bearers. Yes, there comes a time when a person must hear that they need to turn from wickedness and God requires an entire reorientation of our lives. What I have difficulty in doing is encouraging people to go in a Kingdom direction. To be sure, I want to show them who they can turn towards, but I often feel inadequate to do so; or simply do not know how.

I think this is where service can enter in: Service (ministering) humbles us and lifts the head of those we serve.

Also, sharing our own brokenness can be a great help. But I want to move past only being a counselor myself, and point people to the true Counselor.

Perhaps opening up to Christ comes when we see Him lived out. When we know who we are and who He is; and we know that He still loves us.

So the woman left her water jar and went away into town and said to the people, "Come, see a man who told me all that I ever did. Can this be the Christ?" John 4:28-29

Living With a Foreign Worldview 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.

Don’t be selfish; don’t try to impress others. Be humble, thinking of others as better than yourselves. Don’t look out only for your own interests, but take an interest in others, too. Philippians 2:3-4 NLT

Slice of Infinity Snippets:
Many Christians now live in an environment where there are not only multiple faith communities around them, but faith communities spilling over into other faith communities, and worldviews embracing strands and fragments of other worldviews.

For Christians whose beliefs are rooted more in conviction than comfort, it is easy to feel that we must inherently be cultural naysayers, gypsies who wander through this world unattached and hopefully unaffected...At times it is admittedly overwhelming, and I am tempted to embrace the myth that faith is something for the private sectors of life. But then something like the Lord’s Supper, a reminder of my baptism, or a glimpse of the glory of God in the face of the church reminds me that God’s reign is here and now, real and present, radical and unafraid.

Like the apostle Paul within first century Rome, I do not believe that all is lost in the fog of a thousand religions. As Paul discovered among the people of Athens, our cultural context presents both risk and opportunity. We may live with a foreign worldview, but we do indeed live in this world. Part of proclaiming the reign of God among us involves learning to see this hope, learning to see that praying “God’s will be done on earth as it is in heaven” means being that hope of opportunity... Our communion as sinners who know God’s power is, for the world, the real presence of God’s reign today. In the words of Lesslie Newbigin:

The church represents the presence of the reign of God in the life of the world, not in the triumphalist sense (as the “successful” cause) and not in the moralistic sense (as the “righteous” cause), but in the sense that it is the place where the mystery of the kingdom present in the dying and rising of Jesus is made present here and now so that all people, righteous and unrighteous, are enabled to taste and share the love of God before whom all are unrighteous and all are accepted as righteous.

The world in which we find ourselves is full of fog and fallacies, but so it is full of the unfailing love of God. In a world where countless ideologies vie for our allegiances, the biblical narrative invites us into an understanding of human history where we encounter the one whose authority is ultimate and presence is real. Our mission is thus to tell the old, old story, to live within this story and the kingdom it proclaims, and to invite others into the narrative that is continually moving us from the particular to the universal, from Jerusalem to the ends of the earth. As Christians aware of God’s reign among us, we must not fear the historical accident that shaped the moods both in and around us, but we can live as visionaries of God's grace, harbingers of hope, and catalysts for transformation. For we testify to the radical work of the Cross in Jerusalem and in our hearts, and to the uniqueness of Jesus Christ who, unlike any other, exchanges guilt for grace, ashes for beauty, and sorrow for joy, yesterday, today, and forever.

Comments: Do not give in to selfishness when those around you do so with glee. We must be a vision of accountability if we are to help our neighbor desire to be accountable. And, our neighbor will not see our true heart for him if we are not in relationship with them. We must get people to FEEL that we care for them and to do this, we must truly care for them (this is the hard part for me). When you are building into someone's life, present your case from the standpoint of the minority (I think true Christians are in the minority) and do not think 'successfully' but rather think significantly over a long period of time.

Regardless of how you voted (or didn't vote) yesterday, it is now time to get behind President elect Obama. Pray for him and over him. God has allowed him to be the next leader of the United States. Let's pray that God has him in relationships that enjoin him to pursue the will of God for our country. Pray 'Thy kingdom come, Thy will be done'.

Faith Quote: Let's pray for the courage to sacrifice and be uncomfortable as we follow Christ and put love of God and neighbor first...Pat Castle, life-devotions.blogspot.com

10-31 Michael Ramsden

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.

Therefore, go and make disciples of all the nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit. Teach these new disciples to obey all the commands I have given you. And be sure of this: I am with you always, even to the end of the age.” Matthew 28:19-20 NLT

Slice of Infinity Snippets:
Whenever we think about sharing the gospel, two issues immediately present themselves. The first has to do with content: What is it that needs to be said? The second has to do with communication: How will I say it? Sometimes we also talk about motivation: Why should I say anything at all? The last question becomes increasingly relevant as more and more Christians fear that evangelism is not worth losing one’s friends. All of these issues are important. All of them must be addressed. For the words of the Great Commission are clear:

However, there is one part of sharing the gospel that we rarely hear about. The command to go and make disciples was given to us by a person, by Christ himself. The gospel was not given to us based on our ability to share it. In fact, the Great Commission is sandwiched between two such reminders. Before Jesus tells us to go, he says, "All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me" (28:18). And then after he tells us to go he powerfully reminds us, "And surely I am with you always, to the very end of the age" (28:20). Thus, communicating the gospel is first about remembering the authority, power, and presence of the one who calls us to speak.

Not long ago I was across the globe speaking to almost 5,000 people, most of whom were not interested in what I had to say. This was because I had been asked to give a talk to one audience, but I was presented with a completely different context. About half of the audience was made up of children under twelve, which I was not at all expecting. The audience was completely disengaged with me. Twice I stopped the meeting to pray and ask for silence. I have never before felt so inadequate. In the end, I abandoned the message, read a large passage of Scripture, offered a call to repentance, and then closed in prayer. I came down from the podium wanting to hide my embarrassment. My head hung in defeat. But as I looked up, I found myself lost in a sea of over 1000 faces--young and old--many of whom were in tears as they came to pray at the altar.

If the gospel is about God, this shouldn’t surprise us. He is the one who calls and convicts; He is the one who pardons and makes all things new.

Triumphant Defeats 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.

So Jacob was left alone, and a man wrestled with him till daybreak. When the man saw that he could not overpower him, he touched the socket of Jacob's hip so that his hip was wrenched as he wrestled with the man. Then the man said, "Let me go, for it is daybreak."
But Jacob replied, "I will not let you go unless you bless me."

The man asked him, "What is your name?"
"Jacob," he answered.

Then the man said, "Your name will no longer be Jacob, but Israel, because you have struggled with God and with men and have overcome." Genesis 32:24-28 NIV

Slice of Infinity Snippets:
However often God must win, it is our most difficult but most triumphant loss. In this great surrendering that we find, as Fredrick Buechner says, "the magnificent defeat of the human soul at the hands of God."

Carrying the scars of a fresh wound, the humbled Jacob limped toward the brother he betrayed, on his way to becoming the father of a great nation. We, too, can be humbled by the God who refuses to leave despite the words we shout in protest and despite our constant refusal to surrender. We, too, can be awed by the God who says, "Follow me!" and expects us to trust that He will neither leave us nor forsake us. And we can marvel at the God who, carrying in his own body the scars of defeat, invites us to the very nearness that is our victory.

Comments:
I was reminded by God this weekend of something I have shared with some of you before. That is to say that the old adage of 'love the sinner, hate the sin' will likely not work. When we look at the culture around us and ask questions like, "why aren't they coming to me for help", and "why aren't people seeking me out for what I have?" I think we may be able to see that the perception at large of Christians is that we are hypocrites to the true Christ. People so often tend to see us as judgmental instead of healing. If you think about it, the biggest threat to religion in Jesus day, was Christ himself. And as our pastor said yesterday, and I believe he is right; the biggest threat to religion in our day is Jesus himself. Jesus comes to a broken world and offers healing. Is that what we are endeavoring to do? Or, are we endeavoring to tell people what they are doing wrong?

I believe if we can lead with our own brokenness, people will come to us. For, who wouldn't rather talk about someone else's downfalls rather than their own. And today's reading put this into a greater perspective for me as it helps us to look at defeat as a stepping stone. When God defeats us, we can not have won any greater prize.

As Danny and David (part of this Cougars group and long time friends) can attest, one of my biggest downfalls has been chasing girls. I have always chased girls for selfish reasons. Even to the point of hurting friends. Thank God for giving me a forgiving wife and for teaching me.

Love sinners(everyone), hate your own sin.

The Big Narrative by I'Ching Thomas

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.

Therefore go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in^[a] the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit,

Matthew 28:19

...If you are part of the body of Christ, then you, too, have a role in this big narrative. When we consider our faith within the framework of time and history, we see why it is necessary to share the story, to live out the Great Commission. And we see why Paul was wary of silence: "Woe to me if I do not preach the gospel" (1 Corinthians 9:16). The good news of life as God intended is a story crying to be heard in every nation, tribe, and language. May it be so.

Comments: Break my heart for what breaks yours oh Lord.

Contours of Grace

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.

Lost Sheep, Lost Coin, Lost Son
Luke Ch 15

Some of us are so familiar with it (the story of the Prodigal Son) that we might even fail to see the rich contours of grace presented in its narrative. Familiarity with the story assumes its central figure to be a son who leads a wasteful and extravagant life. But a careful reading presents the multi-faceted contours of God's extravagant display of grace towards all wayward sons and daughters.
...it is a prodigal, or wastefully extravagant, grace. The prodigal nature of the father's grace compels him to keep looking for his son--he saw him while he was still a long way off. And despite being disowned by his son, the father feels compassion for him. With wasteful abandon, the father picks up his long garments, exposing his legs and customarily shaming himself, and runs to his son to embrace him and welcome him home. The father orders a grand party for this son who has been found, "who was dead and has begun to live"--brought to life by the rich, grace of God, a prodigal grace, both unexpected and undeserved.
But the prodigal nature of God's grace is also a disruptive grace. God's grace disrupts and sometimes even offends our sense of justice. It seems unjust, for example, that such an extravagant party was thrown for such a reckless, rebellious son. It seems equally unjust that the faithful older brother was not celebrated in the same way as his wayward, younger sibling. Clearly, the prodigal nature of God's grace disrupts us because of how it is given--extravagantly and seemingly wastefully.
...
The final contour of God's grace is perhaps the most obvious point in Jesus's parables. God's grace is a seeking grace. God's grace searches relentlessly until what is lost is found. The prodigal nature of the father's grace compels him to keep looking for his son and to feel nothing but compassion when he finds him. With abandon, the father runs towards the son who was lost and now is found! If this story didn't make the seeking nature of grace obvious enough, Jesus follows it with two other stories about a lost sheep and a lost coin. In both, a relentless search for what is lost ensues until it is found.

If you've lost the wonder of God's grace by over-familiarity to the story, may you rediscover the rich contours of grace--prodigal, disruptive, and relentless in its pursuit of you. If you have never known the richness of God's grace, may that grace find you today!

Comments: Is there some way that you can give unexpected and undeserved grace today? Perhaps something that takes someone off guard because it is so freely given? Seek out this way. For it is the way of Jesus.

The Great Metaphor by Jill Carattini

Take about 5 minutes to read this snippets version of The previous day's 'A Slice of Infinity'. Follow up by reading TODAY'S SLICE and forward any comments on your faith journey.

Oh, that you would burst from the heavens and come down!
How the mountains would quake in your presence!
As fire causes wood to burn
and water to boil,
your coming would make the nations tremble.
Then your enemies would learn the reason for your fame! (Isaiah 64:1-2)

A Slice of Infinity Snippets:
These few stanzas make use of repeated words and paired images to convey an intensity about human longing for the transcendence of God. The cry is not merely for God’s presence, but a presence that will tear open the heavens and cause mountains--even Mount Zion and the children of God--to tremble. Set in the opening line, the Hebrew word qarata is as illustrative in tone as it is meaning. The guttural sound and sharp stop in its pronunciation contribute to the severity of the word itself, which means to tear, to rend, to sever, or split an object into two or more parts. “Oh that you would rend the heavens...” “If only you would cleave the heavens and come down...”

...whether uttered metaphorically or literally, the cry for God to tear open the heavens and come down is a cry no mind conceived, nor ear perceived how thoroughly God would answer. For those who read this passage in light of Christ, fully taking in its poignant image the heavens tearing like a garment, the tearing of the temple curtain comes unavoidably to mind. “Then Jesus cried again with a loud voice and breathed his last. And at that moment the curtain of the temple was torn in two, from top to bottom. The earth shook, and the rocks were split” (Matthew 27:50-51). The incarnation, death, and resurrection of Christ was God’s radical answer to an ancient longing. The Word himself is God’s response to the great metaphor of a God who rends the heavens like a garment, a God who is so present that He comes down, causing the earth to quake at his own face.

In the Belly of Darkness by Jill Carattini

Take about 5 minutes to read this snippets version of The previous day's 'A Slice of Infinity'. Follow up by reading TODAY'S SLICE and forward any comments on your faith journey.

He said,

“I cried out to the Lord in my great trouble,
and he answered me. I called to you from the land of the dead,
and Lord, you heard me! You threw me into the ocean depths,
and I sank down to the heart of the sea. The mighty waters engulfed me;
I was buried beneath your wild and stormy waves.
Then I said, ‘O Lord, you have driven me from your presence.
Yet I will look once more toward your holy Temple.’

“I sank beneath the waves, and the waters closed over me.
Seaweed wrapped itself around my head.
I sank down to the very roots of the mountains.
I was imprisoned in the earth, whose gates lock shut forever.
But you, O Lord my God, snatched me from the jaws of death!
As my life was slipping away, I remembered the Lord.
And my earnest prayer went out to you in your holy Temple. (Jonah 2:2-7)

A Slice of Infinity Snippets:
Sadly, Jonah's idols of self and comfort returned not long after the prayer was finished and his life was spewed back into normalcy. As he rages over the death of a plant and the saving of Nineveh, Jonah doesn’t want to see the God who saved him. The scene brings to mind Isaiah's description: "Surely the hand of the LORD is not too short to save, nor his ear too dull to hear, but...your sins have hidden his face from you" (59:1-2). Even so, the book ends on a note bidding us to see that God is always about the work of salvation. Whether in the lives of nations "who know not their right from their left" or in the lives of men and women blind with self and sin, God moves faithfully among us. Might we remember in distress and in safety, salvation comes from the LORD.

Comments:
How often it seems we push against God to enact our plan upon the world. May we continually be mindful of Jesus' prayer to Our Father: Your Kingdom Come, Your will be done! In what ways might we bring about the kingdom of God today? Jesus went about declaring that the kingdom of heaven is at hand while teaching, healing the sick, causing the blind to see, etc. In what way can I bring teaching, dignity and healing into the lives of those I come in contact with. Perhaps it is buying a homeless man a cup of coffee. Perhaps it is simply listening to the cashier at the store when I'm in a rush. Perhaps it is moving forward in real relationship with a close friend. Perhaps it is healing the sick. God, please grant us each the courage to let your life live through us.



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