New blog setup

Hello everyone. I got the new blog set up. I haven't worked on a design, so it is a little plain, but we will get there. Here is the url- http://www.melissa-brandon.com/chesed/ That brings you to the main page. There will be a link at the bottom for you to log into the admin (to write a post). Click that link. Your username is your last name (capital letter) (example- Hansen) and the password is "password". Please change your password. Click on the "profile" tab at the top to view your profile. For some of you I didn't have an e-mail for you, so I put my own in. Please change that to your own e-mail. Feel free to explore the admin and get comfortable. It is pretty easy to use. Michael, could you do me a favor and make this blog public. If you do that then I can quickly port all of the data from this blog to the new blog. One last comment- There is only one user name for each family. So make sure that you let your spouse know about the password that you set. If you would prefer to each have a username/password, let me know and I will get that created for you.

Why Christians May Differ on Proposition 4

I firmly support Proposition 4, "Waiting Period and Parental Notification Before Termination of Minor's Pregnancy Initiative," but I do understand why some Christians do not support it. In the first place, the measure itself is abortion neutral except for its prohibition of forced abortions on teenagers. Because the measure doesn't affect the family's choice for or against abortion, some prolife Christians refuse to support the measure. As a matter of conscience, they won't support any law that tolerates abortion.

I still support the measure because in states where similar laws have been passed, teenage pregnancy rates (and abortions) have reportedly decreased. Apparently, teenagers become more responsible about avoiding pregnancy when they know they'll have to face the music with their family if they get pregnant. Thus, this law is a good deterrent to sexual irresponsibility among teenagers.

Another reason that some Christians oppose this law is that some parents may abuse their daughters if they learn that they have become pregnant. This is a real and serious risk if only for a small minority of young women in California. And those who have seen or have personal knowledge of the serious injuries brutally inflicted on some girls by irate fathers may never be willing to vote for parental notification measures.

On the other hand, voters should keep in mind that this measure contains not only a judicial bypass for girls with potentially abusive parents but also a family bypass. That is, the girl can choose another adult family member to inform, e., g., a grandparent or an adult brother or sister. And someone in the family certainly should know it if a girl has an abortion because of the danger of hemorrhage and infection afterwards.

Finally, all laws are general rules that may not apply well to the endless different situations they must cover. Therefore, we must judge a law by its probable overall effect. It seems to me that between this law's deterrent effect on promiscuous sexual activity and its encouraging parental involvement in the decision of whether to abort, the total number of abortions will be reduced. And every abortion kills a living human being.

!! Kim's Dissertation Proposal Accepted !!

She did it!! Yesterday Kim e-mailed her dissertation proposal to her adviser and this morning he e-mailed back and said, "I think it's great. Very smoothly written." She needs to add a research question, but this is a huge step. Her time line is to write the first three chapters and defend it next summer. Then she would interview students next academic year and finish the dissertation after that. Praise God! Michael

Simpson University Gay-Straight Alliance

There is a student at Simpson University who is trying to push that homosexuality is acceptable and even normal, even in Christianity. He says that anyone against homosexuality is wrong, and that the bible even supports it.

He has started a website (Site Link) for it and wants to start up a gay-straight alliance club (an official club at Simpson).

Please pray for God's will to be done, and that Melissa and I would know how to stand up.

Thanks, Brandon

Pride Goes Before a Fall

Friday, I took a great fall while cutting a big dead limb off a dead oak tree just off my property northwest of Benton Airpark. The fall was the result of my arrogance in disregarding safety rules for the use of chain saws and ladders. When the limb broke as I was cutting it about 8 feet up on a ladder, the limb kicked back a bit and I was catapaulted into the air and falling back-first into the dry depression below the tree whose waters in winter flow on down a short distance into Calaboose Creek. I was relaxed and almost enjoying the free fall for the half second I estimate that it took for me to reach the ground at the 32 ft/sec/sec acceleration rate of gravity. My buttocks and upper pelvic area took the bulk of the impact with the merest tap on the back of the head as if the Father were gently telling me, "Don't ever do something like this again." The blackberry vines were rather sparse a gave only a little cushioning and only a few scratches. That I was not seriously injured is, I believe, a miracle. On the other hand, I am in enough pain to almost immobilize me even with big doses of Ibuprofen (2000 mg/day~). God's love is much better than the much overhyped "unconditional love." He loves me enough to correct me in ways that will gentle my stubborn heart and change my behavior. Proverbs 13:13 nails it down: "He who scorns instruction will pay for it, but he who respects a command is rewarded."

Shiao Huei's Mother

Dear Group, Right now Shiao Huei's mother is undergoing heart catheterization. Please pray for her health. I will let you know what the outcome is as soon as Shiao Huei calls.

My Prayer Requests

Dear Brothers and Sisters: I called the Executive Editor at Touchstone, who verified my expectation that they had decided not to publish my Potter piece after all. The editor who encouraged me to hold the article for publication with them has left and the editorial board now opposes it. This is a small matter really since as a Calvinist I am confident that the article will be published in the time and place of God's choosing, if at all. What concerns me more is that I still haven't got clear on how I am to proceed with my house repairs. I thought I was set to go, but unrelated things have gone wrong that make me question my direction. Please pray for clarity in my mind from God on this.--David

Sharing with a Cynical Student

Last night I taught the last class for my ASPIRE Earth & Physical Science class. The topic was astronomy and I spent the last 20 minutes summarizing the size of the universe and how the physical laws we measure precisely here on earth apply accurately to the universe. That is what allows us to understand the universe around us. At the end I shared how as an undergraduate I saw how the scientific conclusion that the universe began from nothing in a Big Bang was consistent with what the Bible teaches in Genesis 1:1. I said, "I don't think that proves the existence of God, but for me science is consistent with the Christian faith." After class, one of my student, David, came up and we talked intensely for about 10 minutes. He is not opposed to the idea of God, but he can't bring the idea of God and the evil in the world together. He is also very cynical, even angry, with injustice caused and abetted by religious institutions. I agreed with him on both points, and suggested some thought that have helped me with these questions. First, I led him to agree with me that the human capacity for creativity and expression is amazing. Then I told him that since humans are created in the image of God, God must be even more creative and expressive. I closed this thought with the idea that perhaps, for this kind of creativity and expressiveness to work in the universe, a freedom is necessary, and this freedom also allows evil to exist. Second, I agreed on the social injustice that has often been perpetrated by religious institutions. Then I expressed that my relationship with God is independent of this, and I feel called to live a more pure life, and perhaps change the society I am a part of. Please pray for this intense man, David Blihar. Grace and peace, Michael

How Can Christians Be So Illogical: The Trinity?

A Reasonable Answer to Unitarian Criticism of Trinitarian Doctrine Trinity Defined Muslims and Unitarians criticize the idea of the Trinity as illogical; they say it violates the logical Law of Noncontradiction: "A" cannot be "non-A" at the same time and in the same respect (or aspect). They claim that Christians say that three gods, the Father, the Son, and the Spirit are one God. And if that were what the doctrine said, they would be correct in rejecting it as illogical. Muslims misunderstand the doctrine, perhaps, because many Christians misunderstand it and are unable to correctly state it. Following Dr. Walter Martin, the doctrine can be stated thus: The one God eternally exists as the Father, the Son, and the Spirit. Thus, God is one as to his being, essence or nature, but three as to Persons. Oneness in Diversity Now in the Old Testament, God’s oneness is expressed in the word echod, which is a unity that contains diversity. For example, this word occurs in the Jewish affirmation of faith of Deuteronomy 6:4, the Shema: “Hear, O Israel, the LORD our God, is one LORD.” Echod also occurs in Genesis 2:24: “For this reason a man will leave his father and mother and be united to his wife, and they will become one flesh.” We often say that marriage is an image of the relationship of God and man, which is based on the biblical metaphor of Christ as the Bridegroom and the collective Body of Christ, the Church, as his Bride. (The individual believer, male or female, is not a “bride” of Christ, and “bridal mysticism” along this line has led to false doctrine and demonization.) But the profoundest symbolism of marriage is in its imaging of the loving unity of the Persons of the Holy Trinity. Threeness The threeness of God makes the Apostle John's statement in 1 John 4:8 and again in verse 16 that “God is love” possible. The three persons have been bound together in the unity of perfect love forever. God's love is the structural glue that unites the Trinity and forms the basis for God's fatherly love and of Christ’s husbandly love for the church. Love as I—Thou relationship is only possible among two or more persons. Thus for God to be love, the One God must have more than one Person within his unitary Being. Consequences of Unitarianism Muslims deny that God is Trinity and affirm that He is unitary. Logically enough, then, they deny that God deigns to call himself the Father of any human being. Their God is a monad, our Judge, exalted, utterly transcendent. And that explains why he is not seen as a loving father. Love as I—Thou relationship is not possible within a monistic God and therefore a fatherly relationship with his creatures is not to be expected. This is the logical result of any form of unitarianism and should be pointed out to Unitarian-Universalists and to Jews, who lack the logical rigor of Muslims in this respect.

C. S. Lewis on Relational Groups?

Fern-seed and Elephants and Other Essays on Christianity

By C. S. Lewis, Ed Walter Hooper, © 1975 Fontana/Collins

I made some notes a while back on this little known book of Lewis's essays. They seem to relate to what we are trying to be in our focus groups at Trinity Alliance--David

Christianity is not solitary and individualistic, but neither is it collective in the world’s sense. The enemy tries to convince us that religion is a private matter and if, to defend it, we import the world’s collectivism into Christianity, we fall into his other stratagem.

The true hierarchy is 1) membership in the Body of Christ, 2) personal and private life, and 3) collective life of the secular community. (12-13). “The secular community, since it exists for our natural good and not for our supernatural, has no higher end than to facilitate and safeguard the family, and friendship, and solitude” (13).

“The Christian is called, not to individualism but to membership in the mystical body” (15). The differences between the secular collective and the mystical body show how Christianity can oppose collectivism without individualism. But the term “member” must be clarified to show how like a family the unity of membership is a unity of unlikes, not likes (16). The church “is not a collective but a Body” (17). “We are summoned from the outset to combine as creatures with our Creator, as mortals with immortal, as redeemed sinners with sinless Redeemer. His presence, the interaction between him and us, must always be the overwhelmingly dominant factor in the life we are to lead within the Body; and any conception of Christian fellowship which does not mean primarily fellowship with him is out of court.” (17)

“Unity is the road to personality” (18).

Prayer Request

Well, I haven't been sick in quite some time. Melissa and I were talking about it this morning. We think the last time was about 4 years ago. Well, last night I slept terribly, and guess what, I am feeling very miserable. My bones ache, I burn up one minute, freeze the next. Anyways, the point isn't the sickness, but the prayer. I would really appreciate if you all would pray for me. I am not sure what caused this, but it is not fun. And one more thing...due to the sickness I will not be in you class today Michael. I will finish the homework and upload it to the server asap.

Beat the Devil: Basic Tactics of Spiritual Warfare

“There are two equal and opposite errors into which our race can fall about the devils. One is to disbelieve in their existence. The other is to believe, and to feel an excessive and unhealthy interest in them. They themselves are equally pleased by both errors and hail a materialist or a magician with the same delight.”—C. S. Lewis, The Screwtape Letters

The Battle for the Mind

The key to victory in your constant battle against the world, the flesh, and the devil is to maintain control of your mind. But your mind may be filled with tempting thoughts of past sins, with painful regrets for them, with resentments for past wrongs, or with confusing doubts. And after becoming a Christian, you may begin to have thoughts so repulsive that they would not have been attractive to you even before your conversion. But whether these varied thoughts appeal to you or appall you, many of them will be energized by Satan. Therefore, to control your own mind, you must resist the devil.

Because Satan can put thoughts into our hearts [as he did with Judas (John 13:2), Ananias (Acts 5:3), and Peter (Matt. 16:22-23)], many of these evil thoughts do not even start from us. Instead, they are injected into our minds by the devil. This is most obvious for those wicked thoughts that do not really appeal to us but only horrify us that we could even think such a thing. This satanic harassment is not really intended to tempt us to do the repulsive deed, but rather to disable us as Christian witnesses by causing us to doubt our salvation, our fitness for Christian work, or our sanity.

Remember that having evil thoughts, even incessantly recurring evil thoughts, is not in itself sin. Sin in thought depends on your attitude toward the evil thoughts: Do you receive them willingly or unwillingly? If you have willingly enjoyed evil thoughts, of course, you must confess them as sin. But if they are really unwelcome—if persistent—visitors, confession of them as sin won’t help and will hurt because it involves accepting Satan’s lies—that the thoughts are yours and that they are sins. Instead, the devil’s lies, too, must be resisted just like any other temptation.

How Do I Resist the Devil?

Even when the evil thoughts are your own, the Tempter may energize them. That’s part of his job! So whether the evil thoughts start from you or not, you still need to obey the Scripture that says, “Resist the devil, and he will flee from you” (James 4:7). The question is, How do I resist the devil? The short answer is, Follow the example of Christ in the Temptation. This booklet presents an effective, biblical method for doing just that.

Steps to resisting the devil

Step 1. Prepare for battle

Before the command “Resist the devil” and the promise “he will flee from you,” comes the condition: “Submit yourselves therefore to God” (James 4:7). This means that you must believe that Jesus died on the cross for your sins and that God raised him from the dead. In addition, you must confess Jesus as your Lord (Romans 10:9) and be living in obedience to him by confessing and forsaking the sins the Holy Spirit brings to your mind (1 John 1:9, Isaiah 55:7).

You can further prepare for battle by memorizing the Scriptures cited in this booklet and those you choose to strengthen yourself in areas of weakness or of Satan’s fiercest attacks. Then, you will be ready to answer Satan as Jesus did, “It is written . . .”

Step 2. Discern the devil’s attack

Before you can resist the devil, you must recognize his attacks:

A. A thought that suddenly enters your mind out of nowhere with energy but with no connection to previous thoughts is a typical form of satanically injected thought.

B. A vicious circle of depressing thoughts that replays past hurts, past failures, personal conflicts, or anxieties about the future is another common form of satanic attack on your mind.

C. Since Satan is the Tempter (Matthew 4:3 ff.), you can expect his demons to be there in any temptation. (As a merely finite creature, Satan usually attacks us ordinary believers with his demons rather than in person.)

D. Since Satan is the Accuser of the brethren (Revelation 12:10b), you should expect him to be behind any accusation, whether against yourself or against others such as your pastor. He will accuse you for sins already confessed or depress you with a general sense of guilt and condemnation. This, too, you must resist by faith in the cleansing power of the blood of the Lamb (Rev. 12:11, Rom. 8: 1 ff.).

E. Since Satan is the Deceiver, be alert for his lies (especially the lie that the evil thoughts he injects into your mind are sins), for his false doctrines, and for his demons' impersonations of the Father, of Jesus and of the Holy Spirit.

In sum, suddenly injected wicked thoughts and an energized round of disturbing or depressing thoughts are typical forms of Satan’s attacks on our minds. Temptations, accusations, lies, deceiving spirits impersonating God or an angel, and evil thoughts, including blasphemous, shocking or repulsive thoughts, are typical contents of these attacks.

If you have been unaware that Satan is the source of these insidious thoughts, you may be distressed by this truth and even want to deny it. But instead of feeling overwhelmed, rejoice! To be attacked by the devil, you must be doing something right. And Jesus says to you, “‘Fear not, for I am with you; be not dismayed, for I am your God; I will strengthen you, I will help you, I will uphold you with my righteous right hand’” (Isaiah 41:10; see Matt. 28:20b).

Step 3. Resist the devil as Jesus did

Jesus dismissed Satan and ended the wilderness temptation with Scripture: “‘Be gone, Satan! For it is written, “You shall worship the Lord your God and him only shall you serve”’” (Matt. 4:10). To show your submission to Christ and the source of your authority over Satan, you can preface this rebuke with, “In the name of Jesus.”

Thus, whenever you are attacked you can say or whisper, “In the name of Jesus, ‘“Be gone, Satan! For it is written, ‘You shall worship the Lord your God and him only shall you serve.’”’” You don’t need to shout. And you don’t need to repeat until Satan brings another temptation, accusation, lie, or evil thought. Matthew 4:10 is an all-purpose rebuke to the devil. You can also memorize Scriptures chosen to meet the devil’s favorite attacks on you. But if you are caught off guard, you can keep it simple. Just say: “In the name of Jesus, Satan, get out!”

Step 4. Pray

Ask God to strengthen you if you feel that need and then take the offensive by praying for the salvation of a lost person or for the spread of the gospel by a pastor, leader, or missionary you know. Demons can be devilishly persistent, but your counterattack with prayer may discourage many attacks.

Summary: How to resist the devil

1. Prepare by submitting yourself to the Lordship of Jesus Christ, by repenting of your sins at the Spirit’s prompting, and by memorizing selected verses or blocks of Scripture.

2. Discern that you are under Satan’s attack whenever evil thoughts suddenly enter your mind or a vicious circle of distressing thoughts fills your mind. The same is true whenever evil thoughts tempt, accuse, condemn, or distress you.

3. Resist: Just as Jesus did, you can say, “ ‘Be gone, Satan! For it is written, “You shall worship the Lord your God and him only shall you serve.”’”

4. Pray for yourself or someone else. Then pray for the spread of the gospel by a specific ministry or to a needy place. By taking the offensive in prayer when attacked, you distress the Enemy and may reduce the frequency of his attacks.

Scripture: The Sword of the Spirit

Memorize Matthew 4:10 and be ready to speak or whisper it into the air whenever you discern that you are under spiritual attack. You are wielding the sword of the Spirit under the authority of the Lord Jesus Christ. Build yourself up in faith and in confidence in the authority of the name of Jesus by reading and memorizing Scriptures such as James 4:6-12; Luke 10:17-22; Ephesians 1:18-23 & 2:6, 6:10-20; and Revelation 12:7-17.

Recognize and Remember

You can recognize Satan’s attacks by their form and by their content. Typical forms include 1. the evil or deceptive thought that suddenly appears fully formed with no relation to your own train of thought and 2. the vicious circle of distressing thoughts. Typical contents include lies, temptations, accusations, resentments, anxieties, and harassing thoughts.

Finally, remember that we beat the devil not by having the right formula, but by having a right relationship with God and Christ (John 17:3). Through our gracious relationship with God the Father, we exercise Christ’s authority in the power of the Holy Spirit.

Thus, you resist the devil by the authority of the name of Jesus—who is God—from your position as a believer under his authority in a local church. To apply the authority of the name of Jesus you could just say, “In the name of Jesus, Satan, get out.” But following Christ’s example by memorizing Scriptures chosen in advance to meet Satan’s attacks demonstrates your submission to Christ’s authority, brings to bear the power of God’s word, and strengthens your faith to resist the devil and see him flee.

Bibliography for

Advanced Spiritual Warfare

Bailey, Keith M., Strange Gods: Responding to the Rise of Spirit Worship in America. Camp Hill, PA, Christian Publications, Inc. 1998.

Lewis, C. S., The Screwtape Letters. San Francisco, HarperCollins Publishers, Inc., 1942, 1996.

Murphy, Edward F., The Handbook for Spiritual Warfare. Nashville, Thomas Nelson Publishers, 1992.

Penn-Lewis, Jessie, with Evan Roberts, War on the Saints, Ninth Edition (unabridged). New York, Thomas E. Lowe, Ltd., 1988.

“Our policy, for the moment, is to conceal ourselves....We are really faced with a cruel dilemma. When the humans disbelieve in our existence...we make no magicians. On the other hand, when they believe in us, we cannot make them materialists and skeptics. At least, not yet. . . . If once we can produce our perfect work-the Materialist Magician . . . then the end of the war will be in sight.”-Screwtape, The Screwtape Letters, C. S. Lewis

David Haddon wrote the InterVarsity Press booklet on Transcendental Meditation and the chapter on TM in Misguiding Lights? published by Beacon Hill Press. He co-authored, with former TM teacher Vail Hamilton Carruth, TM Wants You! published by Baker Book House. He has also written for magazines including Christianity Today, SCP Newsletter, and National Review.

© 1992, © 2003 by David Haddon. If it is used without modification to advance the kingdom of God and glorify the Lord Jesus Christ and given away free, this article may be reproduced in any form without written permission from David Haddon, 2800 Yuba St., Redding, CA 96001.All Scripture quotations are from the English Standard Version of the Bible.

Ramadan

One of the men we met and spent time with in Jordan is Faisal Saidi. We have exchanged e-mails several times since we returned. He sent me a nice PowerPoint about Muslim fast of Ramadan. I felt led to join him by fasting on Tuesdays during this month. I want to share with our group what I e-mailed him this evening.

Dear Friends, Today I fasted and prayed to draw nearer to God. I read in a book this morning "If we cooperate with God in loving obedience, God will manifest himself to us, and that manifestation will be the difference between a nominal Christian life and a life radiant with the light of God's face." I pray you will know God's light in special way as you fast this Ramadan. I have also attached a picture I took this evening of the beautiful crescent moon. I also am sending a picture of me building the treehouse with our friend's son Ian. He is almost 3 years old. Grace and peace to you, Michael Huster

Please pray for my ministry to Faisal. The reading was from A. W. Tozer's The Pursuit of God. I took and sent the picture of the moon because the first sighting of the crescent moon determines the beginning of the month.

Lost

During our focus group on Wednesday I briefly described our meeting with the CM&A candidate representatives. I found myself fighting to keep the focus and direction that Sara and I both feel led. The struggle was not with convincing me of our direction, but it was convincing our interviewers. As I have time to reflect upon that meeting I feel terrified and even lost. I have no explanation for these feelings other than spiritual attack. Here are my challenges: The road ahead of us is uncertain and even treacherous. We are currently paying off my student loan and at this rate have at least 5-years. Sara is more or less required to complete a Bachelors and that will cost $16,000 plus my MA degree will cost around the same. Financially we can not make this happen in the time frame of 3-5 years! Our second challenge will be time; Sara home-schools, I work full-time and we should enroll concurrently! Where did my confidence from Wednesday go!? I think of Matthew 6: 28"And why do you worry about clothes? See how the lilies of the field grow. They do not labor or spin. 29Yet I tell you that not even Solomon in all his splendor was dressed like one of these. 30If that is how God clothes the grass of the field, which is here today and tomorrow is thrown into the fire, will he not much more clothe you, O you of little faith? 31So do not worry, saying, 'What shall we eat?' or 'What shall we drink?' or 'What shall we wear?' 32For the pagans run after all these things, and your heavenly Father knows that you need them. 33But seek first his kingdom and his righteousness, and all these things will be given to you as well. 34Therefore do not worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will worry about itself. Each day has enough trouble of its own. and Matthew 19: 26Jesus looked at them and said, "With man this is impossible, but with God all things are possible." but it is still hard. Sara and I both would appreciate your prayers as god increases our faith. We want to be faithful and committed to the "race marked out for us." Stu

Affluent in America

A quote from "Jesus Freaks" from a Chinese man who has been arrested hundreds of times, beaten and otherwise been treated inhumane.

"Don't feel sorry for us. At least we are constantly reminded that we are in a spiritual war. We know for whom we are fighting. We know who the enemy is. And we are fighting. Perhaps we should pray for you Christians outside of Chine. In your leisure, in your affluence, in your freedom, sometimes you no longer realize that you are in a spiritual warfare."

I must thank the Lord for the mercy that He has shown in allowing us to live in a place of relative peace, but at the same time I must confess to the Lord that I have allowed that peace to cause me to forget that I am in a battle. It is time that we cloth ourselves with the spiritual armor.

For this upcoming week, I would like to spend some time in prayer for the Christians not only overseas, but for us. America is turning from God, and we as Christians need God's grace to allow us to stand. A closing quote by Ray Thorne, a missionary to the Persecuted Church. "If we Christians don't continue to share the gospel and push the envelope, the envelope will close on us. If we maintain a "silent witness", there will be no witness, and Christianity will die in America."

Three square meals

Here is a link to the article I briefly shared. The premise is child training, but the application is for everyone. Did you have your Bible today? God Doesn't have any Grandchildren

This Wednesday

Just a few reminders for tomorrows gathering...

First, remember to look over the questions Gary compiled and take some time to answer them.

Second, please continue for our groups direction, i.e: prayer, scripture, games, fellowship, and worship.

Third, and finally remember:

“Just as each of us has one body with many members, and these members do not all have the same function, so in Christ we who are many form one body, and each member belongs to all the others.”- Romans 12:4-5

Here is a little picture from my hike:

Created Responding to Creator

This morning I started reading A. W. Tozer's The Pursuit of God as a part of my morning devotionals. Part way through the first chapter I found a quote which I think is crucial to evangelism: "Religion, so far as it is genuine, is in essence the response of created personalities to the creating personality, God." I like to try to remember as much as possible when talking about God to science-minded people that God is the origin of both nature (creation) and us (creatures). So for me it is no mystery that science works so well. God made nature to follow natural laws. And, since the human mind is also made by God, we can understand nature. Michael

A book for the complacent

Last week Michele (who I babysit for) told me there is an opening at the day care for Nathan. I'll have him for only two more weeks. This is bitter sweet for me, more time, less money, etc. The thing I'm thinking about a lot is how to speak into Michele's life in these last few days. She is in the habit of coming over on her lunch to hang out with me and see Nathan. She says she wants to keep doing this, but I'm not sure how long it will last, especially when we start school. Michele is an avid reader, so I'm thinking of giving her a book on Nathan's last day. I'm not sure what book though. I was thinking maybe C.S. Lewis, but the only books of his I have read are the Chronicles of Narnia (she has read these too). Can anyone suggest a book? Michele went to church with a friend as a kid and says she believes in God, she may even call herself a Christian, but she believes all good people go to heaven. She knows God is Love, but she doesn't understand God is Just. -Sara

Jesus Freaks

This afternoon I was reading the book "Jesus Freaks" by DC Talk and I really think that it would be an awesome book for our group to not necessarily read together, but be reading. There are so many stories in it, stories of triumph for Christ. The book has seemingly thousands of scripture references. One verse in particular hit me. I love the story in the bible, but this particular verse sticks out. The verse is from 1 Kings 18:21 and is spoken by Elijah. He says to the people, "How much longer will it take you to make up your minds? If the Lord is God, worship Him; but if Baal is God, worship Him!" Wow. I feel like I can never make up my mind. So maybe that is a prayer request, that I would know that the LORD is God, and that I would worship Him. But it is also a challenge to all of us. May we know that the LORD is GOD, and together worship Him. If you are interested in the book you can certainly borrow it from me, but if you wish to buy a copy, here is a link to get it for just a couple of bucks. Jesus Freaks I also liked this quote from Mother Teressa, "We weren't called to be successful, we were called to be faithful".

Nice Work!

Thanks Michael for taking prompt action on this blog. This weekend my little brother Kyle and I will be backpacking in the Trinity Alps. A previous conversation of ours turned very deep (spiritually) and I hope to continue on that topic during our hike. Kyle has been raised in the Church just as I but he lacks Christ. Please keep us in prayer; I hope to have a good report Monday. David, thank you for your input on Romans 12. I have memorized vs. 1-3; they have served as a life passage for me. I will be meditating on the entire chapter this weekend. Your co-heir in Christ, Stu

Romans 12 on Life Together in the Body of Christ

I've been memorizing Romans 12 in the NIV and verses 4-6a relate especially well to life in a Relational Group such as ours: "Just as each of us has one body with many members, and these members do not all have the same function, so in Christ we who are many form one body, and each member belongs to all the others. We have different gifts according to the grace given us."

The thought that "each member belongs to all the others" could be scary to us individualistic North Americans, but remember that the analogy is that of the human body in which the members belong to each other in the sense that they are unified in a mutually supportive whole. It is the head that rules the body as we submit to him by his Spirit.

Paul then goes on in verses 6b-8 to list many of the spiritual gifts that the Spirit has placed in the body: prophecy, serving, teaching, encouraging, contributing to the needs of others, leadership, showing mercy, along with hints on how the different gifts should be exercised, perhaps fundamentally, as with prophecy, in proportion to our faith.

In the large Sunday assembly, only a relatively few members get to exercise their gifts because of the large number of members present, but in the relational groups everyone has this opportunity. And when this begins to happen, there is mutual blessing--and great joy.--David

Welcome!

Hi friends, You should get this post in your e-mail. ChesedRedding.blogspot.com. Let me know if you have any questions. Grace and peace, Michael Huster