Oh goodness, it has been such a long time since we have posted! I'm so sorry to everyone, especially if anyone was looking forward to the interviews under the Science! posts. Hopefully we will get to them one day. As this is a volunteer mission site, posting time must fall under that which is labeled "freetime" - something we haven't had much of lately. I am still weeding through one of the interviews. It was a written interview and the fella answered every question under the sun on the first point. Then again on subsequent points. It makes for interesting reading, but very long reading indeed, particularly for a blog site. Ergo, I edit.
Anyway, in other news, we have been very busy with work, sicknesses and other missions and programs. My daughter came down with a version of the flu (which one I don't know and I'm not sure the doctor knew) but she is fine now. Just a high fever, so no worries. But we are always thankful to God for healing!!
In TimorDei news, as we have been busy other places, we realize that this mission and website need to be attended to more readily. So, I am glad to announce that we will be moving over from the 'free blogger' template, which has been wonderful (and I highly recommend it to any and all as need sees fit) to a more capable WordPress site. The layout is completely different, so please don't freak out! Hopefully it is easier to use, navigate and recommend (if ever you felt like doing). As before, anyone is allowed to comment, though foul commentary will be promptly deleted.
We are still filling out many of the pages and hopefully it will continue to grow as we grow. If anyone is interesting in helping out in this endeavor, please let us know and we will be glad to talk to you about it: we need all the help we can get. - Especially as both Dave and I (James aka. Robin) are back to school soon. I'm hoping a good dose of seminary will quell any heresy in me (hehe). Check out the new site HERE. Both sites will stay up and running for another few months and then everything will bleed over there and (hopefully) any links or bookmarks that you had before will be directed to the new site. Our readers may have to do a little work...
Showing posts with label life. Show all posts
Showing posts with label life. Show all posts
Monday, November 9, 2009
Thursday, May 21, 2009
The Ascension!
Image via Wikipedia
On the cross
From the tomb
and to His Father.
The Father shares His glory with His Son,
The Son shares His glory with His Body
so do we return all glory and thanks,
praise and honor to the Father in Christ Jesus.
Ascension Thursday, 40 days after the Resurrection, marks the rise of Christ into the heavens to be at the right hand of His Father - something that had to happen in order for Christ to send us the Spirit on the day of Pentecost, 10 days from now. The reunion of the Son with the Father marks the completion of our salvation. The outpouring of the Spirit in days to come marks the birth of the Body of Christ on earth once again, sharing the Divine nature with Man, an event planned before the beginning of the world.
"So will My word be which goes forth from My mouth; It will not return to Me empty, Without accomplishing what I desire, And without succeeding in the matter for which I sent it." Isaiah 55:11Indeed.
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Wednesday, May 6, 2009
Grace – what is it?
We’ve been getting a few enquiries lately about grace, and what it really means in laymen’s terms, so I thought I’d have a go at explaining it simply, and it seems to me that the best way to understand what grace is is to understand what it does, so let me detail that quickly.
As the author of Romans says, all have sinned and fallen short of the glory of God (Rom 3:23), and the result of this sin is death, both physical and spiritual (Rom 6:23). Because of our crimes against God (our sins) we cannot be permitted into His presence, and so when we face judgement, we are found (rightfully) guilty and cast into the “darkness” (Matt 8: 12; 22;13; 25:30), what most know as hell. What exactly hell is like is a matter of some debate (and maybe another post), but what is not debatable is the absence of the presence of God. If we, in our sin, cannot be permitted to be in God’s holy presence, then our place of punishment must be far from Him. Imagine the pangs of loss we feel when loved one dies, but magnified infinitely! A terrible fate, to be sure!
Nothing we can do will make up for our crimes: no good deeds, no amount of giving to the poor, no level of love for our family or fellow man, nothing! The prophet Isaiah says it right when he says “All of us have become like one who is unclean, and all our righteous acts are like filthy rags; we all shrivel up like a leaf, and like the wind our sins sweep us away” (Is 64:6). (Actually, a more literal translation of “filthy rags” is “menstrual rags”. Can you imagine standing before the all holy God clothed in nothing but filthy menstrual rags? Shrivel up like a leaf indeed!)
So what’s to be done, then? How can we be forgiven our sins and allowed into eternal fellowship with the Almighty God? Only through the sacrifice made by Jesus can our sins be covered. Only because Jesus took the punishment that was rightfully due us are we able to enter God’s presence. Only this gift makes that possible! But why did Jesus do that for us? What compelled Him to endure the worst, most excruciating death the ancient world had to offer? Was it something we deserved? Was it something He had to do? No and no. He did this of His own free will, because He loved us and He didn’t want us to be separated from Him for eternity. We were granted this favour, this unmerited favour, not because we deserved it, but because He wanted to give it! And that is grace! A gift beyond compare to people who did not deserve it, to people who He knew would frequently spit it back in His face! You want to know what grace is? Look to the cross. That is the best expression of grace you could ever see!
As the author of Romans says, all have sinned and fallen short of the glory of God (Rom 3:23), and the result of this sin is death, both physical and spiritual (Rom 6:23). Because of our crimes against God (our sins) we cannot be permitted into His presence, and so when we face judgement, we are found (rightfully) guilty and cast into the “darkness” (Matt 8: 12; 22;13; 25:30), what most know as hell. What exactly hell is like is a matter of some debate (and maybe another post), but what is not debatable is the absence of the presence of God. If we, in our sin, cannot be permitted to be in God’s holy presence, then our place of punishment must be far from Him. Imagine the pangs of loss we feel when loved one dies, but magnified infinitely! A terrible fate, to be sure!
Nothing we can do will make up for our crimes: no good deeds, no amount of giving to the poor, no level of love for our family or fellow man, nothing! The prophet Isaiah says it right when he says “All of us have become like one who is unclean, and all our righteous acts are like filthy rags; we all shrivel up like a leaf, and like the wind our sins sweep us away” (Is 64:6). (Actually, a more literal translation of “filthy rags” is “menstrual rags”. Can you imagine standing before the all holy God clothed in nothing but filthy menstrual rags? Shrivel up like a leaf indeed!)
So what’s to be done, then? How can we be forgiven our sins and allowed into eternal fellowship with the Almighty God? Only through the sacrifice made by Jesus can our sins be covered. Only because Jesus took the punishment that was rightfully due us are we able to enter God’s presence. Only this gift makes that possible! But why did Jesus do that for us? What compelled Him to endure the worst, most excruciating death the ancient world had to offer? Was it something we deserved? Was it something He had to do? No and no. He did this of His own free will, because He loved us and He didn’t want us to be separated from Him for eternity. We were granted this favour, this unmerited favour, not because we deserved it, but because He wanted to give it! And that is grace! A gift beyond compare to people who did not deserve it, to people who He knew would frequently spit it back in His face! You want to know what grace is? Look to the cross. That is the best expression of grace you could ever see!
Tuesday, May 13, 2008
A slight miscalculation
"Atheism turns out to be too simple. If the whole universe has no meaning, we should never have found out that it has no meaning..." (1)
After bringing this up to an Atheist friend, he said, "No, its not that it doesn't have meaning, just not the meaning you think it has."
Ooohhh, that cleared it up. So I responded with another quote (why not quote my betters, these arguments aren't new),
"I expect a good deal of the problem is that you are busy disbelieving a different God than the one I am busy believing in." (2)
My friend was saying that life only has the meaning that you attach to it. There may be something to that. In fact, I would say it is exactly that. But which specific meaning you attach to life, in particular with regards to yourself, only determines the road you are going to travel into eternity.
Focusing your purposes toward your own end will get you just that: your own end. Even if it is something as noble as feeding the poor or as novel as solving hunger (which isn't very novel).
When it comes your time, you clock out so to speak.
But focusing on God, saying my "meaning" in life is to glorify Him, not only opens the door to eternity with God (there is a bit more theology involved though) but all other blessings are added as well; to you and to others. The hungry are fed, the poor clothed and the lonely loved. Forever.
My friend says he doesn't believe in God. Truth is, his god is not big enough even for him to notice.
(1) C.S. Lewis
(2)Larry Wall
After bringing this up to an Atheist friend, he said, "No, its not that it doesn't have meaning, just not the meaning you think it has."
Ooohhh, that cleared it up. So I responded with another quote (why not quote my betters, these arguments aren't new),
"I expect a good deal of the problem is that you are busy disbelieving a different God than the one I am busy believing in." (2)
My friend was saying that life only has the meaning that you attach to it. There may be something to that. In fact, I would say it is exactly that. But which specific meaning you attach to life, in particular with regards to yourself, only determines the road you are going to travel into eternity.
Focusing your purposes toward your own end will get you just that: your own end. Even if it is something as noble as feeding the poor or as novel as solving hunger (which isn't very novel).
When it comes your time, you clock out so to speak.
But focusing on God, saying my "meaning" in life is to glorify Him, not only opens the door to eternity with God (there is a bit more theology involved though) but all other blessings are added as well; to you and to others. The hungry are fed, the poor clothed and the lonely loved. Forever.
My friend says he doesn't believe in God. Truth is, his god is not big enough even for him to notice.
(1) C.S. Lewis
(2)Larry Wall
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