27.2.08

Creativity of Creation

A friend of mine gave me this article from the Evangelical Environmental Network. It was basically a declaration for the care of creation. This one quote caught my friends eye and I want to share it with you.
"We encourage Christians to incorporate the extravagant creativity of God into their lives by increasing the nurturing role of beauty and the arts in their personal, ecclesiastical, and social concerns." Cool or what?

Watercolor Wednesday

25.2.08

a simple message

Our student interim Pastor, Clare, had a good message yesterday based on Galatians 5:22 "The fruit of the Spirit". Love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self control. These 9 attributes of Christian character can seem so daunting to live up to, and actually they are impossible to live up to without the HIS Spirit living and working in our hearts. We all, if we are completely honest, struggle with each of these character attributes. After all they are really attributes of the Father and modeled to us by Christ.
The difference is God's attributes are part of His essence and nature, and for mankind, well we will always struggle to measure up to His standards. The good news is because of Christ's death on the cross for our sin and His resurrection on the third day we can have new life with Him. We can have the Spirit living in us to accomplish the impossible. And the impossible is made possible through Him for us to:
Love the unlovable, as He first loved us
Be joyful in difficult circumstances
Experience God's peace in everything
Remain patient with others
Be Kind to those who show no kindness
Reflect God's goodness in our attitudes
Be faithful in all our relationships
Always be gentle in speech
Be self-controlled in our thoughts and actions

None of these are possible in their entirety without the Spirit living in us, but all are possible with the Spirit living and working in our lives to make us more like Christ.

20.2.08

the simple things

Sometimes the simple things of life can cause us to forget the really important ones. Eveyday mundane tasks often get in the way of seeing the beauty around us. Beauty comes in a variety of forms. The obvious is seen in nature; a sunny day, fresh fallen snow, or yes, even in the storms we can see God's hand in creating beauty. What I often miss is the beauty found in relationships. Time spent with my wife, my children and grandchildren, or simply spending time with friends. The most amazing beauty is what I read in the pages of scripture. An almighty God who chose to redeem us through the sacrifice of His son Jesus. These are the the simple things that bring true joy and contentment to life. "He brings gifts into our lives..." Galatians 5:22-23 (the message)

14.2.08

an ethical life

As I sit in english class, we are discussing the ethical issue of lying or not to protect oneself. The worlds view is so twisted. Lying is viewed as okay as long as it can be justified to keep your self out of trouble. It's interesting that lying seems to be a gray area. Wow, life seems to be reduced to rules of conveinience.

If we could only grasp that we are known by God, he sees what we do and knows what we do, say and think. not out of fear but in reverence and awe. Hmm. the conversation is really digressing now ~

6.2.08

simplicity of the cross

The cross is foolishness for those who are parishing. What does this really mean? I think that the idea of someone giving their very life for another is too radical and simplistic for most people - yet this is what Christ did for each of us.
He followed the plan that His Father had for the redemption of the world, a plan that would cost God his one and only Son. Yet the plan was not complete in the cross for He raised Christ from death to life to give us life forever. And the most astounding aspect to His plan was this one simple thing - He did all this because He loves us and wants to have a relationship with His children. Yeah, that includes you and me!
Do you know Him?
God is so good and His love endures forever!