01 the one simple key to evangelism.mp3 (6001 KB)
Did you know there is no such thing as “science”? There are many different fields called “sciences” but there is no theory that wraps them all together. Though there are some scientists who make claims for a “theory of everything,” no one has come close.
Did you know that about 96% of the universe is composed of two things that astrophysicists label “dark matter” and “dark energy”? We know they are there but we can’t see them or directly measure them. In other words only about 4% of what most astrophysicists trust exists can be observed and directly measured. The other 96% is assumed based on evidence of its effect. It appears that the vast majority of existence is considered reality through trust based on evidence. Trust based on evidence. Does that sound familiar? It should. This is a good definition of faith!
What if God is real? What if God is the creator of all reality? Then if the sciences are considered our ultimate guide to all of existence we miss out on the very center of life, God himself. God is not physical, yet God exists. If God exists then there are dimensions to our lives that may not be physical but they are real. If God is real then an education based on the sciences alone would miss out on the most important information of all. Knowledge of God would be absolutely essential. Without thinking about God, we would be, well, uneducated.
How can we have any knowledge of God if we can’t see him?
We don’t seem to have trouble claiming knowledge of a lot of stuff we can’t see. Like, maybe, 96% of everything?
What are reasons people give for not thinking there is a God? Which argument is the strongest?
Posted via web from how to be a christian without being a jerk!
It’s always hilarious when you see a news account of people who look like their dogs. There is research done on this topic and it reveals that chances are it is not that dogs and their owners (sorry, “caregivers” in LA) resemble each other over time. It is more likely that the dog owner consciously or unconsciously chooses a pet with similar characteristics. We have a lab/ German shepherd mix named, “Nala.” She is a sweetheart of a dog, like my sweetheart, but when she snarls, she resembles me with the boy’s, on occassion.
With humans I do think we take on the appearance of someone over time. Ourselves. Who we are on the inside begins to reflect more and more on the outside. I remember the story The Picture of Dorian Gray, where a man was able to live a wild and crazy immoral life without affecting him. Booze, sex, destroying the lives of others, you name it, Dorian did it. But it didn’t seem to age him a bit. He stayed the same young, good looking guy. His secret?
He had a painting that would take in all his sin. It was a portrait that got uglier and more sinister looking. I won’t give away the ending because I want you to read the story, but let’s just say Dorian found out the truth.
You begin to notice that about people. Those of us who have been around a while begin to show who we are on the outside by who we are on the inside. Our faces take on smile lines or frown lines. Anger, like a twisted plastic surgeon, etches pain felt and pain dished out. Botox is no antidote for bile.
So, what do you do? Changing the inside changes the outside. You have a choice in life. There is a God who forgives what’s on the inside so you can be transformed into the kind of person who will shine with his glory on the outside. You are more than just your physical body. How is that?
Stay tuned…
Look closely at your own face. Especially around your eyes and the corners of your mouth. What do you see?
Posted via web from how to be a christian without being a jerk!
I am updating the work I did in 2005 adapting Dallas Willard’s Renovation of the Heart as a springboard for personal discipleship, renewal and growth with a couple of teams I am working with. Going through these daily readings will challenge us to move from the inside out. Join in the fun!
Starting at the beginning, we realize we are designed to be in relationship with Jesus. The Christian life is not a set of rules and regulations. The Bible is not a rule book but a description of this way of life. We do not have a list of laws that we follow to become worthy of attention from God. To grow in faith, we live the life we are designed to live and we are transformed from the inside out.
This is the key. From the inside out. We don’t get involved in a flurry of activities that make us acceptable to receive God’s love. We receive God’s love and are open to being changed from the inside out. We don’t do good things to please God. We become the kind of persons who can do good things naturally because we have been transformed. It is out of the “becoming” that the “doing” follows.
What is the most important class you have ever taken? Why was it so key?
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I didn't watch the Major League Baseball All Star game last night. However, I did watch the pre-game show. It was a tribute to ordinary people serving in their community. "All Stars Among Us" included 30 people who are involved in serving their community in some way around the country. This feature was done with the cooperation of all of the living presidents of the United States, with a large amount of imput by President Obama.
The President also threw out the ceremonial "first pitch." Ever the confident, charasmatic leader of our nation, he threw a wimpy floater and then acted as if he had just jacked a 95 mph fastball down the middle. Yet, the fact that he took the time to be involved in the way he did in this whole production, it was impressive and larger than life.
Highlight for me was to see these volunteers on the field being honored by the All Stars. There was a heartfelt honesty to the warm reception the players were giving. Fans were getting teary-eyed, and, yes, I was too, watching a pre-game show in late afternoon.
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the right way.mp3 (8103 KB)
How much power God makes available to Christians depends on the path they choose. Listen to a message about the "right way."
Jesus is baptized by John, the Holy Spirit comes upon him, and God the Father declares Jesus as the One. Jesus is ready to go to work, so what does he do? He takes 40 days off, first.
Jesus prays and fasts in the desert. The devil tempts him there, but not until the 40 days had passed. Jesus abides, is refreshed and renewed, and is ready for anything. Yes, including the devil.
When Jesus starts teaching large crowds for the first time, the response is tremendous. Whole cities show up to hear him. Any preacher who gets this kind of response is really cooking. It is like a Harvest Crusade on steroids! So, what does Jesus do?
(Mark 1:35-37) Very early in the morning, while it was still dark, Jesus got up, left the house and went off to a solitary place, where he prayed. Simon and his companions went to look for him, and when they found him, they exclaimed: "Everyone is looking for you!"
Jesus follows the most influential day of preaching, ever, with abiding. He spends time alone, with God. See the pattern?
Mike Breen, from 3D ministries, says it this way,
"We work from our rest, we don't rest from our work."
Time to be renewed and prune away anything that isn't helpful. "Busyness" is a way to keep us from facing what we really need. Finding that rhythm of rest and work is what keeps us fresh and ready to face anything immersed in God's power.
Abide…
Posted via email from how to be a christian without being a jerk!
Well, it’s over. In LA we move quickly from one big event to another.
Does anyone remember the Lakers won the the world championship a couple of weeks ago?
The response to Michael Jackson’s death is not unexpected. He was a cultural phenomena. Who else could have his first #1 hit be a love song to a rat?
So, how do you explain all that has been going on in the aftermath of this tragic death? I am reminded once again of the “cult of celebrity.”
Philosopher and mathematician Blaise Pascal (1623-1662), explains what is going on in our human condition.
What else does this craving, and this helplessness, proclaim but that there was once in man a true happiness, of which all that now remains is the empty print and trace? This he tries in vain to fill with everything around him, seeking in things that are not there the help he cannot find in those that are, though none can help, since this infinite abyss can be filled only with an infinite and immutable object; in other words by God himself.
Pondering Pascal today, and what this says about celebrity…
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bigger than Michael Jackson.mp3 (8105 KB)
I contrast my dinner with Michael Jackson years ago, with the dinner of Jesus at the home of Simon the Leper. With all the drama and attention surrounding the death of Michael Jackson- let's consider the real King of Pop- and Rock- and Country- and RAP- and Alternative- and Classical- the real King of the Universe and all of Existence, Jesus.
Go to:
www.lifehouse.la- my team
www.danahanson.org for blog and online podcast
download podcasts at "Christcast" on iTunes
father’s day.mp3 (7102 KB)
Our Father gives fathers their destiny: raising godly children and beyond
