Jesus said “my Kingdom is not of this world,” which is a pretty remarkable thing to say when you’re kneeling at the mercy of your captor. William T. Cavanaugh said “A Christian should feel politically homeless in the current context…” and that sums it up. Jesus is Lord. Yep, there’s an election and you should vote, but… Jesus is Lord.
John 18:36-38
November 2016 pretty much sums up November 2020:
Message preached on Sunday, November 6, 2016 by Adam Davidson at Portage Free Methodist Church
In this series, we’re asking the BIG questions about God, faith, the church, and Christianity in general. For this Sunday, the questions we’re addressing are about politics and the Kingdom of God. We’ll get to the specific verbatim questions in a moment, but first we need to lay some groundwork. We’ll start in Romans chapter 13 as we seekto establish what is true, in light of the topic of politics and the Kingdom of God.
Does the church participate in politics? Do pastors participate in politics? The answer to both is yes. Next question: should the church and/or pastor take a political stance? That’s where wise caution must be generouslyused. We are a nonprofit 501(c)(3) organization in the state of Michigan, and that standing has with it specific laws that need to be…
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On today’s customary train-spotting round trip, Lexi and I shared lament that 1) there was no train to see and 2) it is snowing. Lexi isn’t too much of a fan of cold and snow. Like so many of us in our grumpy adult years, she finds that winter in general offers a plethora of inconvenience for the sake of the picturesque. If you want nice pictures, try googling “snowy tundra” from your wi-fi’d tablet on a beach in Miami.
Today is a very special day in the church known as All Saints Day, and, to a lesser extent, Half-Off All Halloween Candy Everything Must Go! I blogged about it here and said, in a nutshell, that
Nov 1 is All Saints Day, a day to remember that the world has seen countless men and women follow Christ, some as martyrs, some as heroes, and many unknown yet faithful. Following Jesus is never easy, but it’s good to know that, across the globe and through the centuries, we’re not alone.
On this day, we consider the saints officially canonized and saints canonized in our own lives. My mother, gone for nearly 10 years, was and is a saint. My mother-in-law, a critical lynchpin to the function of our family and an unceasing flow of love and generosity, is a present-day saint. Not just because they’re “good people” or “cleaned up their act before Jesus came over” but because they exemplify the love of Jesus in tangible, reliable ways. I think of others from our church who have gone to be with the Lord. No, they wouldn’t quickly don the cape and sash of saint, but they are, technically, saints, in that they put their faith in Christ and are now with Him. This is a great mystery to me. Also, it’s not that all saints are victorious in the eyes of the world. Some are flat-out losers, and their testimonies are especially poignant. See Hebrews 11.
People have brought a LOT of food to our house over the last week, in an effort to take care of at least one part of our day as I struggled with some kind of eye infection that rendered me functionally blind. As I write this, I’m finishing off a bit of Stromboli and thinking about a piece of Turkey Lasagna that is down to the last serving in the far reaches of our fridge. These are basic blessings that demonstrate the love of Jesus. For a hungry family in the midst of it all, this is saintly work.
Besides regeneration in Christ, right relationship with God, and the infilling of the Spirit, followers of Jesus are to be known for who they love and how they love. Who = everybody. How = tangibly. This is saintly work, the high calling and impossible standard of discipleship except by the grace of God in our lives.
Be a saint. Someday, someone will perhaps share how you were a saint — are a saint — model sainthood. I’m no Mother Theresa, but I do have a mission field that’s just as important (I think).
Here’s to a snowy All Saints Day in southwest Michigan. And here’s to half off candy that I shouldn’t be eating but, by golly, it’s a feast over here.
After a customary cruise in the car with Lexi to to see if there are any trains, I took Zac and his pal out for the tricking and treating. Surely this year was different, with less than half the porch lights lit, but others compensated with full size candy bars and copious praise upon recognizing Zac’s costume.
I posted a pic on Facebook and saw the same guesses as we heard on the streets. “Shower?” (Yes, but… there’s more to it). “PSYCHO?” (No, but to be fair, the curtain is turning red, so I get it).
“Daniel-San?”
Yes, sensei.
Happy Halloween. Parent tax 10% flat rate, 35% on Reese’s Cups. Take it or get audited.
In Mark 8:22-26, Jesus performs a two-step healing. Did He goof it up the first time, or was this meant to point to a deeper reality, where Jesus is slooowly healing our spiritual vision to see the world as He does?
Does sin stop God from answering our prayer? It can and does… especially if we cherish the sin. God loves us, but He’s no fool. Clean hands, pure heart, here ya go.
Psalm 66:17-20
The Psalmist says “satisfy us with… your *unfailing* love…”. Does this mean that we may find a certain level of satisfaction in situations or contexts that are AWESOME(!) yet may change? I think so. How does *unfailing* love play into that? Psalm 90:14-17.
How better to start our week together than in focusing on the unfailing love of God? There’s no better way to start the day than Psalm 91:14. Happy Monday!
Paul says “run in such a way as to get the prize.” This is one of those passages that keeps me going when life is hard and days are long. The prize = the coming Kingdom of God, where everything is made right. Amen!
(1 Corinthians 9:24-27)
[RadCast] $7Billion and God’s Wisdom :::We are long on information and short on wisdom. Proverbs 2 reminds us to seek God’s wisdom for the treasure that it is — a treasure ultimately embodied in the resurrected Christ.
Proverbs 2:1-11, 1 Corinthians 1:25
