If you want to read a longer treatment on “The Lost Tomb of Jesus,” the subject raised by my blog yesterday, see this article by scholar Ben Witherinton.
Tonight is the dry run of our new WOW program (“Worship on Wednesday”) that begins for real on March 7. We were calling it “Wednesday Night Live,” but then Roger came up with WOW, so we thought we’d better use that moniker. You know how sensitive Roger is about stuff like that! This is a new focus for our children where we are putting on a mini-VBS every Wednesday night—high-energy praise and worship, large group teaching and drama, small group activities and crafts, and prayer time. Bill and Melissa Foster are heading this effort, but it will take a lot of volunteers. Contact them to find out how you can help. For the adults, we will have a time focusing on marriage and relationships through the Jerry and Lynn Jones DVD series "Marriage Matters." That will start March 7 as well.
My scripture reading this morning included this little jewel from Proverbs, “If you talk a lot, you are sure to sin; if you are wise, you will keep quiet” (Prov. 10:19, NCV). The NLT rendering is less diplomatic, “Too much talk leads to sin. Be sensible and keep your mouth shut.” I wonder if this applies to blog posts?
Our little blog community at TucksDenbighBlog is not large enough to worry about formal rules of response. Trivia quote from Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid, “Rules? There ain’t no rules in a knife fight!” What’s my point? No point, I just like that quote! Our only informal rule for the blog is the Golden Rule. Sometimes one may need to blow off steam, and firing off a post can be therapeutic. But then that might not be such good therapy for those of us reading. After all, something under 10,000 people read this blog each day! Let’s have more responses, more discussion, more great posts. But let's keep them golden.
3 comments:
A post by Mr. Fisher seems to provide a good point on why the Goden Rule for blog posts would be appropriate.
It’s not about being a good Christian
by John Fischer
Here’s one of the greatest things about being a Christian: You can accept yourself for who you are.
Here’s one of the most tragic things about being a Christian: You can be one for a long time without knowing this.
I was. I was what you might call a model Christian. I filled the bill. Any church or Christian school would have seen me as a poster child Christian. There was only one problem: I thought I was, too (a poster child) – when all the while I knew I wasn’t. I knew it was all pretty much a game. Just a mask over the sinner I am.
This is because I thought a Christian was all about being a good person – someone who would rank high in relative goodness when compared to others more spiritually challenged. In other words, couldn’t play the game as well as I could.
This was before I realized that Christ died to save sinners, and to qualify for the free gift of salvation you have to realize you are desperately in need of being saved. You are drowning. You are dying. As a sinner, you are among the worst.
Once you make “being good” the criteria for being a Christian, out of necessity you become the judge of others because you have to judge others in order to remain good in your own eyes. So if you have not come to this, (i.e. you are still pretty good in your own eyes), and you preach the Gospel (many do, from this perspective), it becomes a Gospel for other people – not for you. And something doesn’t ring true.
You also remain aloof to just about everybody because you can’t really know anyone for fear they might come to know you and find out your secret, that you really are a scoundrel like everybody else. Jesus Christ loves you and for died like you. So you have nothing to hide, and only Christ – and a lot of friends – to gain by telling the truth.
Which brings us back to being a Christian and accepting yourself as who you are. That’s why Paul says in 2 Corinthians 3:18 that we all have unveiled faces. We have nothing to hide because of Christ whom we worship in continual gratitude for our salvation.
“And we, who with unveiled/umasked faces all reflect the Lord’s glory, are being transformed into his likeness with ever-increasing glory, which comes from the Lord, who is the Spirit.” (2 Corinthians 3:18)
Talking to youself?
No, I think Clifford is talking to each of us. This quote by John Newton sums it up.
"When I was young, I was sure of many things; now there are only two things of which I am sure: one is, that I am a miserable sinner; and the other, that Christ is an all-sufficient Saviour. He is well-taught who learns these two lessons."
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