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Topical Ruminations "If I make a mark in time, I won't say the mark is mine. I am
only the underline of the WORD" The Net and Theological Inquiry: Our goal at Xristos is not to push an agenda, but facilitate the development along the lines of a particular and individual inquiry. To provide a place of safety, not to bombard, but to inquire, develop and grow. Wisdom: The only alternative to wisdom is ignorance. An Honest Inquiry: Is the love of God the governing principle in my life? Do I walk under the sense of his presence? Do I converse with him from day to day, in the exercise of prayer and praise? Am I on the whole, making his service my business and delight, regarding him as my master and my father? Are my thoughts divided amongst the amusements and business of this life? Can I feel him, if I may speak, in every vein and in every nerve? Can I see and feel not only that he formed me with an exquisite wisdom which no mortal could ever fully explain or comprehend, but that he is continually near me, wherever I am, and however I am employed at each moment? Can I sense the hand of God perpetually supporting and actuating this machine he has made? (Many thanks to Philip Doddridge in this exhortation) Decision Making: Action must be preceded by acknowledgement of the circumstances surrounding the situation. In the case of looking for God's will, this means acknowledging God and His presence that preceded the call for guidance. Pride: We should compare our work not with the work of our neighbor but with what our best effort would have been. When we do that it will eliminate the causes for conceit. Objective/Subjective Faith: There must be belief before there is trust. However, it is not necessary to create a disjunction between propositional faith and personal trust. We can only have relationships with people we know. If revelation includes both, it can be preserved. It is not either/or, it is both/and. Objective/Subjective Faith: We seek not knowledge about, but knowledge of. Faith: Christ's miracles did not elicit faith, but rather presupposed it. Faith: When one comes to acknowledge that Jesus is Lord, then faith shapes life, and life derives it's essence from faith. Attitude: Love people and use things, - not - Love things and use people. Authority: The very question of authority in human relations is rooted in "asserting" rather than "serving". Therefore the premise of the question: "Who has authority?" is forcing an incorrect answer. The question is not whether someone has "authority", but "how" it comes to be, and manifests itself. Faith/Works: The shift in focus from religious belief to either "good living" or "being good", results from the fact that in some religious systems there is little or no connection between religious beliefs and moral behavior. The Changeless God: We change; God does not. Rather, God accommodates and relates to us where we are. The constructions we use are merely mechanisms to connect to truth, not truth itself. Only Jesus is the Truth. Scripture: It's prevalent in the modern era to talk about the Bible rather than listen, as to hear it. Culture: We are a culture immersed in receiving. Culture: The sense of each individual's eternal significance is much eroded. The sense of the eternal significance of each moment, each task is likewise eroded. Our propensity to live in temporal contentment results in a complacent carnality that atrophies our spiritual development. Culture: Is accomplishment our sole criteria for worth?, Does it even merit primary consideration? History: The Christian conviction is that history is the working out of the will of God. Ego: Ego is the largest obstacle to overcome in fellowship. If we can only set aside ego collectively speaking, the barriers that exist in relationships would fall away. Coming Soon: My church has a communion table which has a
symbolic empty chair for Jesus
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