The plight of the suffering and disenfranchised is not to be forgotten. Their reality calls forth a myriad of responses and levels of action, which should be aimed at and geared to release. Welcoming and showing hospitality to the stranger and orphan pleases God.
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Living Spiritual Rhythms For Today
We will be convening here at the ZigZag café, Suisse, on Thursdays for conversation and dialogue. I invite you to stop by every Thursday for the question of the day. Your thoughts and participation are most welcome. Pull up a stool, avec un café, un thé, ou un chocolat chaud, et un croissant, and join in here on Thursday at the ZZ café.
For today:
What are we here for?
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Living Spiritual Rhythms For Today
The hyper focus on reality today as merely material is reductionistic. Materialism is unable to give a sufficient explanation of several characteristics of life in the world, including justice and love. When our human limitations are pushed to the boundaries of existence, we confess that we need more than a material world has to offer. Reality, both beautiful and daunting, has a spiritual dimension that goes beyond what we observe, reason through, feel, or experience.
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Living Spiritual Rhythms For Today
Having significant roles to play in the drama of creation and salvation is both a task and a joy. Thankfully, God illumines the path so that we can give valid testimony to his existence and redemption as we work for and rejoice in his kingdom.
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Living Spiritual Rhythms For Today
We will be convening here at the ZigZag café, Suisse, on Thursdays for conversation and dialogue. I invite you to stop by every Thursday for the question of the day. Your thoughts and participation are most welcome. Pull up a stool, avec un café, un thé, ou un chocolat chaud, et un croissant, and join in here on Thursday at the ZZ café.
For today:
From a biblical point of view, what is the good news?
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Living Spiritual Rhythms For Today
God has come near in creation and promise, Christ and Spirit. His word, which affirms this presence, is a light to our path. Considering the blustery darkness we can find ourselves in, God’s presence and light are an ongoing reality, for which we can be truly thankful.
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Living Spiritual Rhythms For Today
Being Spirit formed and shaped by Scripture will open up possibilities for us to love, forgive, and show grace. Somehow, it’s so much easier to ignore all this as what really counts because we busy ourselves with the trivial and call it life. Each day God gives us fresh opportunities, but leaves it up to us to act upon them. Acting on what is given will help transform the world.
READ THE BOOK - FIND THE RHYTHM
Living Spiritual Rhythms For Today
We will be convening here at the ZigZag café, Suisse, on Thursdays for conversation and dialogue. I invite you to stop by every Thursday for the question of the day. Your thoughts and participation are most welcome. Pull up a stool, avec un café, un thé, ou un chocolat chaud, et un croissant, and join in here on Thursday at the ZZ café.
For today:
What are some of the things that are lacking in the church today, and how might we contribute to changing them?
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Living Spiritual Rhythms For Today
One of the salient features of the twenty-first century is that we are living in a post-trust culture. As I have recently mentioned (21/4) , this means that our ability to trust institutions, governments, politicians, economics, and churches is coming to an end. Furthermore, the Christian faith in the West seems to be losing its traction, coherence, and credibility. The principles of marketing and consumerism in many of our churches are replacing the deep spiritual realities of truth, unity, and love, which are so essential in a world lost in propaganda and fraud. It seems to me therefore, that this is a defining moment and the church is at a historic crossroads. Even prominent leaders of large denominations are aware: the church’s survival is under serious threat.
I believe we can contribute to reversing the flow of the demise of the church if we are equipped with a fresh breathing of the Spirit and if we seek to exemplify a plurality of, at least, these perspectives: 1) Be living testimonies to God’s truth, grace, and love in serving others. 2) Engage the world of nature and humanity missionally and redemptively for the sake of Christ. 3) Practice appropriate levels of confidence and humility in apologetics. 4) Focus on better ways of interpreting the biblical text. 5) Promote credible scholarship in a multiplicity of disciplines. 6) Produce creative and interesting music, writing, and art. 7) Involve ourselves in politics, culture, and government with integrity. 8) Care for the poor and oppressed.
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Living Spiritual Rhythms For Today
The lack of love that is so prominent in many church contexts is shocking. Instead of loving each other and the stranger, we only tear down and fail to build up. Pray for personal transformation and renewal in the church. Forming our own tribes of hubris and exclusivity will be a faith defeater. God calls us to be responsible and gracious.
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Living Spiritual Rhythms For Today
We will be convening here at the ZigZag café, Suisse, on Thursdays for conversation and dialogue. I invite you to stop by every Thursday for the question of the day. Your thoughts and participation are most welcome. Pull up a stool, avec un café, un thé, ou un chocolat chaud, et un croissant, and join in here on Thursday at the ZZ café.
For today:
Do you have problems fitting into church? If so, why – and if not, why not?
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Living Spiritual Rhythms For Today
When the fog rolls in it’s hard to recognize the contours of the landscape around us. Waving our arms to clear the air doesn’t have much effect, except to get a little upper body exercise. Fogged in, is a way of saying that we have to wait for clearing before being able to resume our normal activities. Sometimes this inability to see very far can go on for days, weeks, or even years. There is comfort, however, in knowing that we are not alone in the fog and that it will gradually be swept away, eventually replaced by a pristine clarity never before imagined or experienced.
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Living Spiritual Rhythms For Today
Proof-texting – taking a verse here and there from the Bible – can be a dangerous enterprise when it comes to understanding God, self, other, and world. Random reading leaves too much to chance. No doubt sometimes God can use his word in this very selective sort of way, but most of the time if we want to understand better, we need to be informed about the historical, theological, and literary context of a passage before assuming that it is speaking directly to and for us. Surely, this more careful approach is part of what it means to hold a high view of Scripture and to honor God and his revelation.
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Living Spiritual Rhythms For Today
