Tried With Fire

Penelope Judd from Shai Linne's Storiez :

46. Q. What do you mean by saying, "He ascended into heaven"? A. That Christ, while His disciples watched, was lifted up from the earth to heaven, and will be there for our good until He comes again to judge the living and the dead. 47. Q. But isn't Christ with us until the end of the world as He promised us? A. Christ is truly human and truly God. In His human nature Christ is not now on earth; but in His divinity, majesty, grace, and Spirit He is not absent from us for a moment. 48. Q. If His humanity is not present wherever His divinity is, then aren't the two natures of Christ separated from each other? A. Certainly not. Since divinity is not limited and is present everywhere, it is evident that Christ's divinity is surely beyond the bounds of the humanity He has taken on, but at the same time His divinity is in and remains personally united to His humanity. 49. Q. How does Christ's ascension to heaven benefit us? A. First, He pleads our cause ...

It cannot be doubted that when Adam lost his first estate he became alienated from God. Wherefore, although we grant that the image of God was not utterly effaced and destroyed in him, it was, however, so corrupted, that any thing which remains is fearful deformity, and, therefore, our deliverance begins with the renovation which we obtain from Christ, who is, therefore, called the second, because he restores us to true and substantial integrity. For although Paul, contrasting the quickening Spirit which believers receive in Christ, with the living soul which Adam was created (1 Cor. 15:45), commends the richer measure of grace bestowed in regeneration, he does not, however, contradict the statement, that the end of regeneration is to form us anew after the image of God. Accordingly, he elsewhere shows that the new man is renewed after the image of him that created him (Col. 3:19). To this corresponds another passage, "Put ye on the new man, who after God is created" (Eph. ...

Although this isn't folly or nonsense, I hope you enjoy this video from Frank and Stephanie .

This week's list: ~ The songbirds singing despite the rain. ~ Completing standardized testing for this year. ~ Conviction from Sunday's sermon and more food for though from small group last night. ~ Opportunity to see extended family from far away. I'm thankful we are also family in the Lord. ~ These words that will always apply, at least in this life: Prone to wander, Lord I feel it. Prone to leave the God I love.  Here's my heart, oh take and seal it. Seal it  for Thy courts above.

Copying Corey and Kim . Here are my top 9 movies in no particular order as I am blanking out on a tenth. Star Wars - The original one. Don't even speak to me about Attack of the Clowns. Lord of the Rings Trilogy - I admit to looking away when there was a lot of grunting and sword clashing. To Kill a Mockingbird - Based on one of the best books ever. Inception - I only wish they had explained the science with some good mumbo-jumbo. It Happened One Night - Black and white. Clark Gable and Claudette Colbert. Classic. Monty Python's Holy Grail - Hilarious. Minus one scene, however. Singing in the Rain - I miss those old movie musicals. Sense and Sensibility - One of the truest Austen adaptations. Pygmalion - "Remember that you are a human being with a soul and the divine gift of articulate speech: that your native language is the language of Shakespeare and Milton and the Bible; and don't sit there crooning like a bilious pigeon."

We had a meeting of our church's mercy ministry team last night to discuss ideas and plans for the future. We've been trying to reach out to our community in a way that doesn't water down the gospel or ignore the tangible needs that exist.  We also want to minister in a way that doesn't create and perpetuate dependency but teaches responsibility. Plus there's a very real need to learn how to connect with folks who may be ethnically different in a place where many churches still divide along racial lines. To help us get a better understanding of this subject, these books were suggested: Toxic Charity   by Robert Lupton Ministries of Mercy by Timothy Keller Generous Justice by Timothy Keller When Helping Hurts by Steve Corbett and Brian Fikkert These won't be easy reads, but I'm looking forward to learning more as we seek to extend the mercy that we've received.