Freedom from the Babelian Quest
Wow - it’s been almost two years since I’ve posted anything here. Anyway - the day job has changed so I expect to start putting some fresh materials up. This is a meditation based on the Babel chapter in Chris Watkin’s excellent “Biblical Critical Theory”.
Tsunami of Grief/countered by Eternal Growth
“This inheritance is kept in heaven for you, 5 who through faith are shielded by God’s power until the coming of the salvation that is ready to be revealed in the last time. 6 In all this you greatly rejoice, though now for a little while you may have had to suffer grief in all kinds of trials. “ 1 Peter 1:4-6
Psalm 63
Psalm 63
A psalm of David. When he was in the Desert of Judah.
You, God, are my God,
earnestly I seek you;
I thirst for you,
my whole being longs for you,
in a dry and parched land
where there is no water.
I have seen you in the sanctuary
and beheld your power and your glory.
Because your love is better than life,
my lips will glorify you.
I will praise you as long as I live,
and in your name I will lift up my hands.
I will be fully satisfied as with the richest of foods;
with singing lips my mouth will praise you.
On my bed I remember you;
I think of you through the watches of the night.
Because you are my help,
I sing in the shadow of your wings.
I cling to you;
your right hand upholds me.
Those who want to kill me will be destroyed;
they will go down to the depths of the earth.
They will be given over to the sword
and become food for jackals.
But the king will rejoice in God;
all who swear by God will glory in him,
while the mouths of liars will be silenced.
Wisely Responding to the Sexual Revolution
I attended a lecture by Glynn Harrison recently on this vital (and polarising) topic. He brought a lot of wisdom to bear on the matter of how to respond sensitively as a Christian to widespread changes in thinking on what is or isn't acceptable on the sexual morality front.
In particular his comments on posture (sorry-thankyou-please-never) and dissection of why soft power is so attractive were really helpful. As a Christian I found it particularly useful to listen to the 'better story' that - when properly understood¹ - is incredibly liberating.
My full sketch notes can be downloaded here (7megs).
¹ meaning: when not being used for power games or ideological land-grab antics.
Roots and Fruits
Galatians 5:22-23
22 But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, forbearance, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, 23 gentleness and self-control. Against such things there is no law.
Speech/actions
1 John 3:18
18 Dear children, let us not love with words or speech but with actions and in truth.
Outline Themes of 1John
5:21 Dear children, keep yourselves from idols.
1. God in the flesh=Jesus Christ
2. Jesus Christ defines love in His Cross-work.
3. Christian identity is expressed in the same standard of love as Jesus.
4. There is no room for habitual sinning, so remember that...
5. Sinning is outdone/covered by Jesus’ sacrifice, so Christians regularly cling to this.
Idols=remaking God in our preferred image.
Keeping a true image of God=sticking closely to 1-5.
