Reflection

The end of the year is a time to reflect on the year that has gone by.

I reflect on my life and my relationships to others and to God.

I reflect on our mission, the church I am called to and see God’s plan blooming like a flower planted in the spring being watered and nourished though the love and giftings of those called to this community. I see the beauty of Gods presence in others and prayers being answered as if God is pleased with our worship.

I reflect on the world and see much change happening before us like a storm moving in on a sunny day. I see crisis that is changing our direction and leading the world into a sense of hopelessness and fear but in such despair I see hope for hearts to be turned back to God.

Now I believe it is time for the church of God to move out of its comfort zone, a time to wake up and live like never before. To live the colorful life that God intended for us to live. To think of others first, give to those in need, to love, forgive, except, to show that life in simplicity is better then excess. To enjoy life to the fullest in the least. To reflect… Jesus.

It is time for the Missio Dei

The world is not bad it is just broken!

The world is not bad it is just broken!

This changes our thinking from the church as good (white), and world as bad (Black) and compromise as gray.

The Jesus way of thinking is Church as colorful, and the world as black and white or broken.

Look at it this way;

God created us in the garden colorful and whole;  body, soul and spirit.

Our body was healthy and naked.

Our Soul was innocent and transparent.

Our Spirit was in communion with God.

We became broken when Adam and Eve ate from the tree of the knowledge of good (white) and evil (black).

Our body became sick and covered.

Our soul became corrupt and ashamed.

Our spirit became separated from God.

In a black and white world people are looking for meaning and purpose this is why we have many different religions but also war and greed, etc.

Jesus came to fix what was broken. John 3:16-17

Jesus said the Kingdom of heaven is here He was referring to the relationship of God and man being restored as it was in the garden.

The death and resurrection of Jesus brought the final restoration or redemption for man to be complete and made whole; body, soul and spirit.

Our life is made complete in Christ!

Our identity is no longer in a broken black and white world but in Christ and the colorful world found only by his grace.

Grace makes us free not to live broken again but open to live life to the fullest.

The colorful world is not two dimensional but is a matrix and can only be understood by a relationship with Christ.

The black and white still exist in a colorful matrix. We still struggle with the attacks of the adversary just as Adam and Eve did in the garden tempting us to draw away from the Father.

The Holy Spirit was given to us to empower and lead us in this freedom we have in Christ.

When we see the world not as bad but broken we are able to Impact it with hope as Christ did.

This is the Missio Dei.

Charismatic preachers and politicians

I have been accused of being irrational or emotional about my post Obama Biden / Osama bin Laden. This post was written more for fun and has put me on the top post list on WordPress and has broken my record on hits to my blog.

I have allowed most comments to that post to be posted for fair play. It is amazing to me the kind of comments I get from both parties.

I am voting for McCain! Not because I am a staunch Republican that only votes for ones party but because in the end I think he has more experience to bring to the table and can deal with the situation the world is in today.

Obama is a young charismatic speaker promising change, which is easy to do with the condition that the USA is in, but who is Obama? Should I vote for someone who is a good speaker and knows how to use rhetoric to stir up a crowd, making promises I don’t believe he can keep? Can he really make changes that can handle terrorists, Russia, world crisis when he for the first time this year visited Germany? I hope someone can come in and turn our economy around but is he the one that can do it.

In the end I believe that McCain can come in after Bush and make a difference maybe not the one I would like to see in the end but better then the one a young charismatic speaker stirring up the emotions of the crowd.

There is a danger of following Charismatic preachers and politicians being lead astray by words. The churches are filled with charismatic preachers that lead the sheep astray. In a world where people are hungry for truth and change it is easy to be follow someone down the wrong path.

I don’t want to mix religion and politics here so I will stop here. I won’t say that someday the world will follow the anti-Christ the same way.

But I will say this…

Be careful who you follow!

Obama Biden / Osama bin Laden

Will Obama and Biden get Osama bin Laden?

This is to much…

I am voting for McCain!

experience over speech!