|
SubscriptionsSites I Read
|
|
|
|
| "When we behold the disfigurement of the Son of God, when we find ourselves appalled by his marred appearance, we need to reckon afresh that it is upon ourselves we gaze, for He stood in our place." - John Calvin | | |
|
At a certain college there was a
professor with a reputation for being tough on Christians. At the first
class, every semester, he asked if anyone was a Christian and proceeded to
degrade them and to mock their statement of faith.
One semester, he asked the question and a young man raised his hand.
The professor asked, "Did God make everything young man?"
He replied "Yes sir he did!"
The professor responded, "IF God made everything, then he made evil, too."
The student didn't have a response and the professor was happy to once
again prove the Christian faith to be a myth.
Then another man raised his hand and asked, "May I ask you something,
sir?"
"Yes, you may," responded the professor and the young man stood up and
said, "Sir, is there such a thing as cold?"
"Of course there is, what kind of a question is that? Haven't you ever
been cold?" smirked the professor.
The young man replied, "Actually, sir, cold doesn't exist. What we
consider to be cold, is really an absence of heat. Absolute zero is when
there is absolutely no heat, but cold does not really exist. We have only
created that term to describe how we feel when heat is not there."
The young man continued, "Sir, is there such a thing as dark?"
Once again the professor responded, "Of course there is."
An d once again, the student replied, "Actually, sir, darkness does not
exist. Darkness is really only the absence of light. Darkness is only a
term developed to describe what happens when there is no light present."
Finally, the young man asked, "Sir, is there such a thing as evil?"
The professor responded, "Of course, we have rapes, murders, and violence
everywhere in the world. Those things are evil."
The student replied, "A ctually, sir, evil does not exist. Evil is simply
the absence of God. Evil is a term developed to describe the absence of
God. God did not create evil. It isn't like truth or love which exist as
virtues like heat or light. Evil is simply the state where God is not
present, like cold without heat, or darkness without light."
The professor had nothing to say.  -author unknown-
| | |
| So much initial value is lost in comparison. Behold each unique, individual work of art and passionately enjoy. | | |
| I've been convicted of a crime. It's sin. It's I'd like to share some of this personal conviction with you for God to do with as He pleases. Depression and suffering. Don't write it off yet guys, this all hit closer home than I ever expected.. Me? Depressed? Never, I say... well what is this restless dissatisfaction?! God calling me higher than where I am? Always. But what is this void that should be full of HIM? It don't matter what "label" you slap on it, the point is the same. And our culture is breeding it into us from our birthday up till now. In modern Western culture there is nothing bigger than ourselves. Satisfaction doesn't come from serving others. Instead, we perceive that it comes from consuming and gratifying personal needs. If a relationship doesn't suit our desires, it is expendable and we can move on to another. "How do I feel?" has been a national obsession. This culture is also obsessed with entertainment, thus it is a culture of boredom. Consider this excerpt: "One other related feature of modern culture that has been linked with depression has been our quest for the new and exciting, which, for many, is a frantic flight from boredom. "Amuse me," is the theme. And if we are not amused, we have the dreadful quiet to fill. As Pascal astutely noted, 'I have often said that the sole cause of man's unhappiness is that he does not know how to stay quietly in his room.' Boredom is a malaise that hangs over the younger generations. Perhaps it is because they have compressed sex, drugs, and money into a shorter period of time, and found them unsatisfying. Now there is nothing new to entertain them. Perhaps it is the amount of leisure they have or the extended time in which they can live off the money of their parents. Whatever the reason, many people have discovered that life can't be found in worldly pursuits. Without any particular purpose, their goal is to tolerate and survive a boring, goalless existence." In other words, happiness is overrated.. and if you idolize it, it will elude you. The antidote for any depression associated with boredom is JOY. Joy and pleasure are highly different in the fact that Joy can coexist with suffering, persecution, or pain. Augustine hit the nail on the head. " True happiness is to rejoice in the truth, for to rejoice in the truth is to rejoice in You, O God, who are the truth... Those who think that there is another kind of happiness look for joy elsewhere, but theirs is not true joy." "Suffering invariably reveals the allegiances of your heart." So in what ways have we been encouraging this problem? As called-out, new creations through Yeshua... we have every hope that could ever be offered. He offers us FREEDOM. What do you think? | | |
| I like to take the idealistic outlook on things. I think denominations are just strictly churches that got to big. They seem to have turned into something rather uncontrollable however. They seem to be causing problems! Jesus will convict your heart of good, bad, right, wrong, black, white. There IS no gray area. It is time to stop this rediculous strife and to seek the heart of our Savior... move out regardless of what you are or are not a part of. Deal with the walls as they come and venture past the line of mediocrity... So many are on the cutting edge of radically following Jesus, so many are there already. But as long as we are bound in any chains, Satan is tying us down and we cannot run. Lift those padlocks to El Shaddai. | | |
|
