It’s evident in creation that God is the primary cause
The origin of all scientific laws
Everything else is secondary
The very breath that comes from lungs is caused by the fact that God is involved
One must begin with the mind that was given to him to even believe he’s evolved
I’m in awe when I think about quantum mechanics and the rotation of planets
And the exact calculation of the universe is permanently impossible to manage
How photosynthesis takes place to perfectly convert the vividness of light into chemical energy for the purpose of maintaining and giving life
Intelligent design doesn’t even begin to define His creative craftsmanship
Any attempt to align the mind of mankind to divine is insufficient and inadequate
It’s too lofty and far beyond us that God would not remain anonymous
Correspond with us and out of all of God’s creation would become fond of usOdd Thomas’ verse on Lofty from Propagandas’ album Excellent
I love this verse.
My prayer is that it is your prayer to God
Your worship to God
Your reaching out to your Heavenly Father
Be Blessed Friends
The Kingdom isn’t Hard
All For (N)one
I was reading through some comments on a Christian music review website, and was surprised when I came across the following:
“… it’s hard for a reformed geek like me not to squeal like a little Calvinist schoolgirl when I hear some of the stuff they put out.”
The conversation goes on with another person identifying themselves as reformed as well, and my heart was broken by the whole discussion.
At this point you are probably scratching your head thinking, ‘What is the problem here Dan?’
The problem is that as a body of Christ, we have become so disjointed and far removed from our original purpose, that we now identify ourselves based on denomination persuasion rather than who it is we follow. In fact, people who identify themselves as followers of Christ are considered ‘luke warm’ by many as they don’t ‘commit’ to a denomination.
The question is, “Who are you committed to?”
Please understand that this is not an attack on traditions, I believe that we need traditions, they give us wisdom of knowledge from generations past. But, instead of being precious and protective over them, and making exclusive clubs for ourselves, let us all share in them. What I see is Christians losing sight of the one and only important thing, Jesus is Lord, no more and no less, everything else should be up for grabs.
The question is, “What are you protective of?”
As followers of Christ we are:
“all children of God through faith in Christ Jesus. 27 And all who have been united with Christ in baptism have put on Christ, like putting on new clothes. 28 There is no longer Jew or Gentile, slave or free, male and female. For you are all one in Christ Jesus.” (Galatians 3:26-28 NLT)
Do we live in this oneness with other believers? Are we one in Christ? Or is their still the Jew and Gentile mentality in our midst?
The question is, “Who are you called to journey with?”
What did Jesus say to those that He chose to be disciples? It was simple “Come and follow ME!!!”
So are we still following Him that has called us? Or have we taken comfort in traditions, rules and regulations that we created to keep ourselves safe, losing sight of who it is we are committed to. Why do we hide behind the man-made titles of denominations,traditions and religion, becoming proud of them and wearing them like badges, yet neglect the name of the One who has called us to follow Him.
The question is, “Who has called you?”
This is not some blog that has a feel good, happy ending to it. If this has made you feel uncomfortable, or raised some emotions in your spirit, good. We need to act on this, and act on it now, if we are divided, then we cannot be united.
As a body of Christ, that has been called by Christ we must be united with each other, regardless of our traditions or background. If Christ is what we agree on, then we can grow with each other in what we don’t agree on. I would love to hear your thoughts
Be Blessed Friends
The Kingdom Isn’t Hard
The Divine GPS
As a person who cannot read maps very well (just ask my Wife), I love my GPS. It is so simple and easy to use, you simply type in your destination and the GPS does the rest, calculating the quickest route for you to take. Some even work out if there are road works, accidents or difficult traffic conditions for that time of the day and plots your path to avoid them all, making your trip hassle free. The GPS provides us with great convenience and many of us rely on it heavily.
This made me think, do we as Christians expect our Heavenly Father to be our Divine GPS?
I know in my life I have. I thought that because I had served God in ministry sacrificing my time, prayed lots, and read my Bible that somehow I was entitled to a hassle free trip through life missing all the road works and traffic jams. I expected that God would tell me clearly “Yes” or “No” to life decisions both large and small so that I could serve Him exactly where He wanted me. I used to think that there was a “good way” and a “bad way” with these decisions.
I was wrong.
As I have continued my journey through God’s Word, and continued to walk the path of life with Him and fellow Kingdom workers, I have learnt that God still gives us a powerful gift…Free Will. He allows (and wants) us to make decisions, both large and small. We are free to choose left or right in our lives and there isn’t necessarily always a “good” or “bad” way to go.
Yes. God wants us to seek Him and His will for our decisions, and we should do this when making decisions
Yes. We will make mistakes and go the wrong way, but God will not leave us to suffer in it
No. God will not always give us a “Yes” or “No” answer
No. God will not simply make our lives hassle free because we follow Him
We learn and grow through the road works, and traffic jams, it is there that God teaches us and shows us His will for our lives. It is one of the places that Father God grows us to be more like Jesus. King David, a man of God’s own heart and made PLENTY of mistakes and headed straight into road works repeatedly, puts it well in Psalm 86.
David wanted to know God’s ways, he knew he would face road blocks and traffic jams on the way, they were unavoidable. But David knew he could rely on his Heavenly Father to lead and guide him, not give him a hassle free ride for his loyal service.
It is with this passion friends that we should seek our Father’s will for our lives, forget about the GPS routes and embrace the learning opportunities head on. Remember, God is not a divine vending machine!!
I would love to hear what you think. Leave comment.
Be Blessed Friends
The Kingdom isn’t hard
Throwing Stones
I love music, all types of music ranging from Mozart to thrash metal, hip-hop to glam metal and everything in between. It doesn’t matter if I am heading out on a 4 hour road trip or 5 minute trip to the shops, I must have music going. I just love it.
One band that I particularly enjoy and have been following them since they started in 1992 is P.O.D (Payable on Death). If you have never heard of them check this out. Their latest album Murdered Love has stirred up a huge amount of controversy in Christian circles as one of the songs on the album “I Am” contains the f-bomb.
The forums and review pages have been full of people standing at both ends of the scale, saying that the band has sold out their faith for secular market appeal and it is disgraceful that they would think about swearing, and others that fully support them and think there is nothing wrong with being a Christian and swearing.
I find it so interesting that the bands message, ministry and purpose hasn’t changed, they are still about sharing the Gospel with those that the ‘church’ seems to neglect and overlook. I don’t believe that any of this has changed just because they use one word in a song.
So why do we as Christians find it our job to point out other Christian’s supposed faults and flaws? Why do we feel like we need to bring down their ministry or mission just because it looks a little different to how we do things? Why do we react without doing research, forming our opinions based on hearsay and speculation rather than finding out for ourselves and getting the whole picture?
We are all guilty of it.
It doesn’t build up the Bride of Christ, in fact it does the opposite, it makes us disjointed and appear disconnected and hypocritical.
No wonder people don’t want a relationship with their Heavenly Father…..look at His followers!!
Unfortunately this kind of thing happens all the time, look at all the criticism that Rob Bell got over his last book Love Wins. There are so many pages and sites full of Christians pointing out the faults and flaws of that book (even people giving ‘sermons’ on how Rob Bell’s teaching is wrong), and through that calling into question Bell’s ministry and mission. It makes me sick.
Am I suggesting that we don’t help brothers and sisters of Christ when they stray from the Gospel of Jesus?
No, not at all.
I think it is healthy to have differences between believers, but I don’t think that we should tear down each other because of them. Instead we should be united in what we agree on, Christ and His Gospel, everything else is up for grabs. Just because someone does something a little differently to us, doesn’t mean that it is wrong.
Jesus said it perfectly when He said, “Love one another”. The disciples still had disagreements (Peter denied Christ 3 times surely the disciples weren’t happy about it), but they were united by their love for Christ and love for each other, that’s how people knew they were His disciples.
So how do people know we are followers of Christ? Do we love other Christians in our lives despite differences in approach, or are we the first to cast a stone because we think it is our job?
Start with Love friends, and go from there.
The Kingdom isn’t hard
Through The Eye Of A Needle 