Here is a digest of some of my posts on Facebook on a variety of subjects over the last week:
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"…in all their distress. It was no messenger or angel but his presence that saved them; in his love and in his pity he redeemed them; he lifted them up and carried them all the days of old." – Isaiah 63:9 (NRSV)
This is the personal involvement of God in the distress of His people.
We continue to celebrate Christmas on the Christian calendar and in life, the message of the incarnation is one of God's personal involvement in the pain and passion of people.
It is our clarion call to be personally involved, with passion in the pain around us … present.
We must be present for God is present.
We cannot stand back and gaze upon suffering and injustice with nods and sneers and detached prayers. Our prayers must to attached to our lives and the lives of others.
Isaiah will be read in churches across the world this Sunday, the first Sunday after Christmas. We will praise God from Psalm 68. We will be taught from Hebrews 2 that it was fitting for our champion to be made perfect through sufferings to bring many sons to glory. We will see this lived out as the homeless Jesus becomes a refuge in a foreign land, an alien among a strange people.
It is personal involvement. What will you touch in the coming year?
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In the early days of this country, if a person needed a home and had none, he or she could just move to the wilderness, hunt, fish, forage, or grow something, build a cabin, and live in peace. Then, we had homesteading and that is where many Americans started owning land. It is in relatively recent years that people who could not "buy into" the economy had absolutely no options except to be invisible or enter a program — whether they were program material or not. One of my relatives even owned a "poor house" in Virginia where people could go, live, and work with dignity, take their families, and build community. Just wondering … just wondering if, in this day of strict building codes, high land and housing prices, high unemployment, disparity between living wages and costs of living, and other obstacles to stable housing … just wondering mind you … if we could all get a bit creative together, develop a new homesteading plan … or do something that does not judge people or render them wards of the state in order to help people become stable home owners or renters again. I saw so many good families Sunday who were not drug-dazed or lazy or indigent — hundreds of them who wear the label "homeless" for one reason and one reason alone: They do not have a home. There are thousands in Fresno. http://youtu.be/RvzkWam1PRE
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“Just viewed "It's a Wonderful Life" for the 3 millionth time, and also saw America becoming Pottersville. 1.3 million jobless are two days away from losing their extended unemployment benefits, Congress is readying another cut in food stamps, and 1 in 5 of our children is in poverty — at the same time the rip-roaring stock market has made the nation's wealthiest some 15 percent richer than they were this time last year. Who's your candidate for Mr. Potter of 2013? (The Koch brothers? Ted Cruz? Paul Ryan?) Your nominee for this year's George Bailey?” – Robert Reich
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My response to Robert Reich is not meant to be cynical, but sincere:
"If I could find a George Bailey in the group, I'd support him or his sister, Georgia. No one is entirely Mr. Potter. No one is 100% George (not even George was). Remember that George was reluctant and had no ambition to do what he was called to do — so we might have to draft someone. I'd actually like to see that."
What if we could find a leader who was truly compassionate, wise, fair, just, conservative about what needs to be conserved, liberal about what needs to be shared, progressive about innovation and progress, regressive about decline, libertarian about personal liberties, utilitarian about necessities, pragmatic and idealistic, optimistic and realistic, firm on non-negotiable things and flexible enough to negotiate wherever possible, friendly and dignified, human but above reproach, honest, but diplomatic, strong yet vulnerable, self abasing yet confident, cheerful yet solemn, appreciative of counterpoints, yet able to make a decision …
and lots more? … Well …
That person might be the Son of God and Son of man and …
He/She would probably not want the job, but would consider what he/she was already doing to be more important … and …
Would not look good on camera … and …
Would be torn up by the left media or the right media or the centrist media or all combined … and …
Could not be nominated or elected … and …
Would appeal to virtually no one … and would do nothing to change that image … and
"I knew George Bailey, Senator and you're no George Bailey …"
Not even George was!
So, given that scenario, let's just do the best we can, find a human being who can do the best he/she can, give him/her as much support as we can, pray for that person as much as we can … and realize that's the way it has always been with leadership: There has never been a perfect leader of any nation … and that includes the best of them.
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New Research Suggests Our Sun Won't Form a Planetary Nebula
“You have probably heard that the Sun will turn into a red giant in about 5 billion years. And you probably know that this will result in not-so-fun times for any being still on planet Earth. As it transitions from a main sequence star into a red giant, the outer layers of the Sun will expand across the solar system. When this happens, our life-giving star will turn into an object of utter destruction. The Sun will expand beyond Mercury. It will expand beyond Venus. It will sweep across the entirety of the inner solar system in a mere 5 million years. When it finally stops its expansion, the searing tips of the solar surface will rest beyond the bounds of Earth’s orbit. In short: if we aren’t knocked out of the solar system as the Sun expands, or moved into a larger orbit as it loses mass…we will be consumed.”
“But what happens to the Sun after it becomes a red giant? We have a pretty good handle on the fate of our own world…but what about the Sun itself? “
“We once thought it would turn into a planetary nebula, but we might be wrong on that one.”
Read More: http://www.fromquarkstoquasars.com/new-research-suggests-our-sun-wont-form-a-planetary-nebula/ Image Credit: ESO/S. Steinhöfel - from http://www.fromquarkstoquasars.com
The ancient prophets spoke of the earth ending in fire, but the scholars and common folk could not deviate from their assumption of permanence. Nothing is permanent. The bible recognizes the transience of existence and the transcendence of eternity. The predictions are similar, but the scriptures imply a shorter time span and offer an explanation of intentionality with a promise of hope beyond the veil.
There is no conflict between religion/philosophy and science, nor do they operate in entirely different spheres. They have complimentary functions and sometimes travel parallel paths … but they ask different questions that sometimes have the same answer … at other times asking different questions with different answers … and rarely, but sometimes, ask questions that have differing answers … just different interpretations and applications.
Both deal with vast unknowns and deep mysteries. In the realm of faith, there is one Great Known and that is enough … but within Him are a quintillion universes of unanswered questions for which He holds the answers. Henry Ford said that he did not have to have all the answers … he just needed to surround himself with the sorts of people who knew them or could find them. That is what faith in God does for us.
Thank God for the inquisitiveness of science that evokes such awe and wonder.
What a great prelude to the worship service.
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Wrapped in vulnerability,
Love descended …
exposed to the elements …
exposed to threat
and danger …
exposed,
vulnerable,
human …
Love:
Incarnate …
invisible divinity and
visible humanity.
Love …
an open target …
a viable opportunity
to align or malign and yet
Alive!
Very Alive!
Present with us,
Among us,
One of us,
Like us …
in all our infirmity …
every temptation,
every disease,
every emotion,
every pain and passion,
poured upon Love!
Welcome, Jesus!
Welcome, Spirit!
Welcome, Presence and Power of God,
Emptied and embodied in
a body.
We are your body now.
All that you were among us,
We are called to be.
Let us be who you were and let us
give as you gave and let us
speak as you spoke and let us
love as you loved.
You, who are the Prince of Peace have made us …
Peacemakers and called us …
Blessed.
And we are …
Blessed.
Welcome, Lord Jesus.
Welcome to our hearts and lives and
World.
Joy to the World!
The Lord has come.
Let earth receive her King!
http://youtu.be/6oOwa0CWVVQ
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The babyhood of God — a reflection by Oswald Chambers. BTW – A major goal of my life would be to be like him and others I admire and still be encouraging deep thought and extraordinary living long after I am gone. I think when I have that possibility in place and operating, then I will be ready for my call home. At the moment, I still have quite a bit of work to do as His life is incarnated in mine and I seek to reflect Him in all I say, do, and write. It is a journey and I have only yet begun. Yet, I am encouraged in the knowledge that He started small and He is with me!
"The tremendous revelation of Christianity is not the Fatherhood of God, but the Babyhood of God—God became the weakest thing in His own creation, and in flesh and blood He levered it back to where it was intended to be. No one helped Him; it was done absolutely by God manifest in human flesh. God has undertaken not only to repair the damage, but in Jesus Christ the human race is put in a better condition than when it was originally designed." –Oswald Chambers, in The Shadow of an Agony from the Quotable Oswald Chambers.
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A wonderful reminder of what it means to align with the child in the manger on Christmas morning. To follow this man, Jesus, means to adopt His program, to enter His kingdom as a child by turning from everything else (repentance). When we make that turn, grace and mercy cover every failed attempt we have ever made to make life meaningful or bearable. Every sin is obliterated because He carried this entire program to the final degree of obedience unto death. Following His is freedom to bring this same good news of release, sight, liberty, and Jubilee to all for, as the Spirit was upon Him, He is with us and within us to accomplish these purposes. Our hearts and our lives are in lockstep with His heart and life for the poor, the captive, the blind, and the bruised. We can change things. We can make a difference. It is not all on any of us, but it is upon us all as one people with Him. We will have multiple failures, disappointments, and quite a few successes …. but the walk behind Him is a walk of grace and joy and peace. Welcome, Jesus! We shall follow you!
“When we analyze the program of Jesus, set forth in Luke 4, we find:
1. Good news to the poor — the economically disinherited.
2. Release to the captives — the socially and politically disinherited.
3. The opening of the eyes of the blind — the physically disinherited.
4. The setting at liberty the bruised — the morally and spiritually disinherited.
5. The Lord's Year of Jubilee — a new beginning on a world scale.
6. The Spirit of the Lord upon me — the dynamic behind it all. “
From "Christ's Alternative to Communism" by E. Stanley Jones
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As I reflect upon the friends who have lifted me in life, some lean right; some lean left … and some lean so far in one direction or another that it is amazing that they could share the same circle of friendship and love, but they do. I am glad they do. In my circle are all sorts of folks. I sure do love you all and value your perspective. Your range of thought keeps me coming back to my center. Thank you for what you all mean in my life.
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I will shake anyone's hand who extends it and will extend mine to those who do not. I will speak to anyone who will speak with me and listen to anyone who will ask for my ear. That is was Jesus does and did do and calls me to do. It endorses nothing except their humanity and mine and I hope the whole world will start shaking hands with one another. In the name of the One who ate with publicans and sinners and took a lot of heat for it, Amen.
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Today, I saw it was the birthdays of some preachers, as it often is. In this case, one was a man who mentored me for a while from a slight distance. The other was someone I had a small role in mentoring for a time. Somehow the continuity of it just struck me as wonderful. We are always being mentored and we are always mentoring.
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