Modern Day Parables

Posted on September 10, 2008
Filed Under Christianity, Jesus | Leave a Comment

I got Jonathan a couple of books about Jesus and his Jewish roots. In part both books look at archaeology as well as Jewish traditions and customs of the time. From flicking through them, the books both seem interesting. Jesus, as we know, spoke to the Jewish people of his time through stories using traditions, customs, work and objects that they would not only understand, but also relate to.

This got me thinking about what customs, work and objects Jesus would use today if he were present in body on earth. How/what do you think modern day parables would be like?

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What Jesus Didn’t Do

Posted on February 3, 2008
Filed Under Jesus, blog | 5 Comments

I got this from Cindy, who got it from Fred via Randy!

Seven things Jesus didn’t do:

  1. Didn’t bring a lost person to decision
  2. He offered forgiveness without confession of sin
  3. Failed to ask about the prospect’s (yuck, hate that word) spiritual background
  4. Didn’t use healing as a bait for decision
  5. Failed to get the prospect (yuck, again) into a Bible (Torah) study
  6. Failed to communicate the urgency of the encounter
  7. Forgot to assign a spiritual person to do follow-up

What are your thoughts?

5 things I dig about Jesus

Posted on June 18, 2007
Filed Under Jesus, blog | 10 Comments

John Smulo started this new meme yesterday which is really cool, as so many out there will be sharing their thoughts on Jesus. The idea is to write down 5 things you dig about Jesus, and then tag 5 other people. There are already some great ones out there. Here are mine:

1) Jesus made the ultimate sacrifice, he gave of himself in a way I don’t think I ever could.

2) He was bold, brash, dangerous and quite simply extraordinary. He had and still has so much WOW factor, I’m in real awe of him.

3) He loved everyone, he didn’t despise, reject, or look down upon anyone.  EVERYONE was welcomed by him.

4) He got his hands dirty, he walked the talk and talked the walk – he lived as an example to us, showed us how to live, he couldn’t have made it more clearer.

5) He is not in the past, he is still here today – yesterday, today and forever still the same ….. and he loves ME and YOU!

I tag:

Jonathan
David
Paul
Erin
Heidi

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Faith and Healing

Posted on June 11, 2007
Filed Under God, Jesus, faith, thoughts | 10 Comments

 

This morning when I was reading Jesus Creed I became aware of someone who is in need of prayer for their health right now.  I felt drawn to pray for her complete healing.  When Jonathan came home for lunch he was talking to me about a man who comes to church, who is confined to a wheelchair, and does not communicate very clearly.  He saw him on the street and talked to him for a while, and prayed for him.

What followed was a discussion between the pair of us on healing.  Why is it we do not see or hear of many healings, when we know Jesus does heal.  Is it because we have a lack of faith or is it because Jesus chooses not to heal everyone?  I know in the past I’ve prayed for healing for people, and they have simply not been healed - was it my lack of faith, was it theirs, or was it just not God’s will for that person?  Sometimes now I wonder if I should pray for healing for people, what if they are not healed?  what if someone, like the guy in the wheelchair, has had people pray for healing in the past, and it doesn’t happen, then you pray for healing, and still nothing happens.  Humanly we feel stupid, the people who have been prayed for feel let down.  Do we not pray for healing so much now because, not only do we have a lack of faith, but because we are worried that if nothing happens our God will look weak and uncaring?  We must remember that healing isn’t always physical.

I read recently on someones blog - sorry, I can’t remember who’s now - about how they were in a coffee house recently and noticed someone on the table next to them was in a lot of pain in their back.  They had a word of knowledge from God that this person had one leg shorter than the other, so he asked the man if he could pray for him.  The man left the coffee house pain free with both legs the same length.  Should we listen for words of knowledge before we pray for healing?  Would we see more healing in the world if we really trusted in God, had a lot of faith, and prayed for who ever we came into contact with, believing that Jesus would touch them.  What are your thoughts?

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Charlotte’s Web

Posted on June 1, 2007
Filed Under Jesus, book, church, community, movie | Leave a Comment

This afternoon I watched Charlotte’s Web with the children. It’s a wonderful film, which works on the same basis as the film “Babe” - actors voices to real animals! The ending is kind of sad, as Charlotte dies, but the “meaning” behind her death is true - it’s the life cycle. A little while after she dies her baby spiders (do baby spiders have a correct name?) hatch from their eggs, at the beginning of Spring, and the whole life cycle starts again.

There was one sentence in this film which really pricked my ears up, and I’ve been thinking about it since. One of the sheep says to the other sheep “Why do we always have to follow, let’s think for ourselves for once.” This, obviously, got me thinking about church. There are two takes on this:

A) Is the world, particularly the western world with all of it’s self centeredness, in the mess it is in because too many of the sheep (i.e. humans) have stopped following (or indeed never begun following) the shepherd (i.e. Jesus) and have been thinking for themselves (their own needs etc) too much?

B) The past 5 to 10 years have seen a new movement within the church body where people are trying to “do” church as they believe it should be done. Is the emerging-missional church (or whatever tag you use for it!) a group of sheep who have realized that following their human shepherds (i.e. church leaders) has just drawn them more and more into an institution which is largely irrelevant in society. So now these sheep are thinking for themselves and have found more meaningful and relevant ways of doing church where they are reaching communities on new levels. (I guess people within IC could turn that around and say that the EM church is full of sheep who have lost their way and need to find the shepherd (Jesus) again :) ;) I, of course, don’t believe this.)

On a side note the DVD came with a free educational DVD which focuses on the story. I’ll be down the library to loan the book out, and Ben will have a good few English lessons!

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