Thursday, September 30, 2004

Things are not what they seem

More from Waking the Dead

Three Eternal Truths
  1. Things are not what they seem
  2. A battle is under way
  3. We have a crucial role to play - We are not what we seem

I've never spent much time thinking about things like this. Maybe that's been a part of my problem. Ever since I first read this chapter, though, this has continued to be in my thoughts. If this is true, then it explains a lot.

Eldredge ends this chapter with a line from The Fellowship of the Ring.

Fate has chosen him.
A fellowship will protect him.
Evil will hunt him.


Here's a good verse from the Bible

"...if you eat meat, eat it to the glory of God and thank God for prime rib."
Romans 14:6, The Message

Tuesday, September 28, 2004

The Offer is LIFE

First, a few quotes...(my thoughts & questions in bold).

I have come that they may have life, and have it to the full. Jesus, from John 10:10.

I must say that I have always been intrigued by this. Intrigued isn't the best word. Excited is better. Curious is another one. I realized that I didn't always see LIFE in those who claimed to be followers of Jesus. What gives?

When we hear the words eternal life, most of us tend to interpret that as "a life that waits for us in eternity." But eternal means "unending," not "later." The offer is life, and that life starts now (12).

God intends life for you. But right now that life is opposed. It doesn't just roll in on a tray. There is a thief. He comes to steal and kill and destroy. In other words, yes, the offer is life, but you're going to have to fight for it because there's an Enemy in your life with a different agenda (13).

Why is it that I continue to forget this? Or perhaps it's that I haven't really ever known or believed it.

Until we come to terms with war as the context of our days we will not understand life. We will misinterpret 90 percent of what is happening around us and to us. It will be very hard to believe that God's intentions toward us are life abundant; it will be even harder not to feel that somehow we are just blowing it. Worse, we will begin to accept some really awful things about God (17).





Monday, September 27, 2004

I've started reading the book Waking the Dead, by John Eldredge, with three friends. For awhile now, I've felt that one of my problems is that I'm simple not aware. I have often wondered just how much I miss in life. How often do I miss encounters with people? How often do I take time just sit and be still? How often to I miss the simple things? This book is helping me with this.

So here's my thought. I think I'm going to blog some thoughts I've had while reading this book.