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Carpe Diem!

April 19, 2012 by Fritz

Garrison Keillor

NOW is another wonderful opportunity – think about it!

The Gospel spread like wildfire in part because of a new worldwide communication platform — Koine (common) Greek. Even those whose native tongue was something else wrote the Bible in a language everyone in the known world could read. Barriers were stripped and the Word of God held its own in the public arena!

Now, there’s another worldwide communication platform — the internet!

Barriers are removed and the Word of God (and every other word) can permeate even severely restricted societies.

Garrison, Keillor, long time author and professional communicator, put it this way,

“We live in a literate time, and our children are writing up a storm, often combining letters and numerals (U R 2 1derful), blogging like crazy, reading for hours off their little screens, surfing around from Henry James to Jesse James to the epistle of James to pajamas to Obama to Alabama to Alanon to non-sequiturs, sequins, penguins, penal institutions, and it’s all free, and you read freely, you’re not committed to anything the way you are when you shell out $30 for a book, you’re like a hummingbird in an endless meadow of flowers.”

To some this is a bad thing. Garrison go on tho say,

“And if you want to write, you just write and publish yourself. No need to ask permission, just open a website…. And if you want to write a book, you just write it … the future of publishing [is] 18 million authors in America, each with an average of 14 readers, eight of whom are blood relatives …”1

But it’s, really, a good thing for the Gospel! If every 14 believers reached 14 more, calculate the results!

So, dear 14 readers (Hello uncle Bussy, aunt Jan, uncle Tom, aunt Carol, cousins, nieces, nephews, grandkids, in-laws, outlaws, and my dear personal friends!), seize the day’s opportunity, share Christ, there’s nothing to stop you except you!

– fritz

1. The Old Scout, A Prairie Home Companion, May 25th 2010

Posted in Garrison Keillor, Opportunity, Quotes | Leave a Comment »

Lesson from a Trapeze Artist

April 18, 2012 by Fritz

John Ortberg, in a little book called Waiting On God, tells of a lesson from The Flying Roudellas.

There are two primary people involved in a successful trapeze act — the “Flyer” and the “Catcher”. The Flyer is the one who lets go and the Catcher is the one who catches.

There comes a time for the Flyer to release, arc into the air, then wait as still as possible for the catcher to pluck him from the air.

The one thing the Flyer must remember is to “never try to catch the Catcher!” — wait as still as possible and trust the catcher to do his job. Waiting on God is a lot like that.

There is a certain vulnerability in letting go of old ways, things we know are not right for us, that which holds us back. There are long pauses, afterwards, where we feel as if we are just hanging there with nothing under us. But God is a good catcher if we let go in obedience, trust his word, and don’t panic in the process.

“They that know thy name will put their trust in thee: for thou, LORD, hast not forsaken them that seek thee.” — Psalm 9:10

“But let all those that put their trust in thee rejoice: let them ever shout for joy, because thou defendest them: let them also that love thy name be joyful in thee.– Psalm 5:11

“The eternal God is thy refuge, and underneath are the everlasting arms” — Deuteronomy 33:27a

— fritz

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A Secret Place

April 12, 2012 by Fritz

“He that dwelleth in the secret place of the most High shall abide under the shadow of the Almighty.” — Psalm 91:1

The Bible says God has a secret place.

Is this just a euphemism for God’s general care or is there, really, a place (physical or spiritual) not even suspected by most?  Is it just a euphemism for heaven or can the living person enter?

Psalms 31:20 calls it a “Pavilion” or “tent” saying it is a place of God’s presence, a place of safety from pride and strife of tongues. Job calls it a place of wisdom and that it is “hid from the eyes of all living” (Job 28:21) so at this point it sounds a bit like heaven, but not so fast! The New Testament, using the term “mystery”, says it is now revealed!

Paul said he discovered it and we could, too!

“By revelation [God] made known unto me the mystery; as I wrote afore in few words,  whereby, when ye read ye may understand…)”– Ephesians 3:2-4

He wrote the secret mystery is that God always planned to join himself with mere human beings — and actually does so in Christ! This mystery, he said, is “Christ in you” (Colossians 1:27) and that we actually enter into Christ like we enter our clothing (Galatians 3:27).

More than a euphemism, the Bible says our bodies actually become a physical part of Christ and that what we do in our bodies, both good and bad, is being done with and to Christ’s body. (1st Corinthians 6:13-17) This is why we need to do right things with our bodies. That same passage says those joined to Christ are one spirit, the human spirit infused and one with God’s Holy Spirit.

God’s secret place, his pavilion? Safe in Christ!

“God raised us up and seated us in the heavens with Christ Jesus … to show future generations the greatness of his grace by the goodness that God has shown us in Christ Jesus.” — Ephesians 2:5-7 (CEB)

Start reading the Scriptures from this perspective and a whole new world opens!

– fritz
Related Post: “Thin Places” — March 20, 2012

Posted in Bible Places, Christ's Body, Holy Spirit, In Christ | Tagged , , , , , , , | Leave a Comment »

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