CALLING

Most “callings” are never fully realized.
Because many of us
unwittingly constrain and orient
our lives relationally:
More according to what we Fear in
rather than what we Hope for,
more of what we are Doubtful of
rather than what we Trust in;
more against what we Hate
rather than for what we Love.

It is the difference between
being rooted and embracing our existence in
the grainy negative
of a black and white photo
and a photo that exhibits
the full-color spectrum.

rsg
(9/29/09)

There Isn't ANYTHING

More Inspiring OR Dangerous

Than A Man Who Has A

Clear And Passionate

Purpose For His Life

rsg
(9/27/09)

My Thoughts Of What The Church Should Be

The Church

The church [ecclesia] is a group of people 
   graciously called by God the Father
into right relationship(s),through Jesus Christ 
   living as a dynamic "incarnational" [Christ in 
   our flesh] presence within the world, 
rooted in and emanating out of 
  an authentic and transparent community 
   [koinonia], 
dedicated to reconciling and restoring all things 
  over to the image and purpose of Jesus Christ…

• Illuminated by the Holy Spirit
• Instructed by the Scriptures
• Informed by Church tradition

rsg (May of 2009)

An Escapable Truth

We Live For And Serve

That Which We Love Most
r.s.g.


(Matthew 6:21)

TIME

To fully live, is to live fully in the moment...
Life is so incredibly fleeting otherwise...

It would seem wise to intentionally commit
to a heightened awareness....

To live fully in the moment, means to willingly step
into the heat of the crucible,

From which is formed the linchpin that fuses
our past and future together.

To fully live acts, as a hinge, that regularly opens or closes
a myriad of opportunities.

Just One of Many Reasons...

Why We Should Be VERY Wary Of Government Run Healthcare A Report By A Not-So-Conservative (Moderately Liberal) Ideologue Check It Out http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=q9GMKK_fWKg

Draft: Part 1 of 6 of Chapter One – Your Thoughts?

BIBLICAL THEOLOGY

And Biblical Christian Spiritual Formation

Chapter One

Introduction:
How are we to understand the flow and development of Christian Spiritual Formation in a Biblical historical sense? What are the historical highlights from a Biblical perspective that provide a comprehensive understanding of what it means to be spiritually formed over into the image of Jesus Christ?
Perhaps the best mechanism through which to accomplish this study is provided by scholars Bartholomew & Goheen in their text: The Drama of Scripture, who postulate the view of Biblical History as a "Six Act Play." While similar to the perhaps better known Reformed view of Biblical History: Creation, Fall, Redemption and Glorification, Bartholomew and Goheen's variation provides one additional critical piece having to do with the role and work of the institutional Church.
Act I – God Establishes His Kingdom: The Creation
The author of Genesis is careful to affirm that it was a Sovereign and omnipotent God that brought order out of chaos (Gen. 1:2; see also Jer. 10:12; Col. 1:17). In a concluding statement, Genesis 1:31 records: "God - Elohim [~yhil{a] saw all that he had made, and it was very good [daom bAj]. And there was evening, and there was morning-- the sixth day." In essence, by declaring His act of Creation "daom bAj", God is saying of the Created Order that it was perfect, without flaw or defect; whole, with nothing damaged or missing; complete, with nothing needing to be finished; pure, with no evidence of corruption; integrated fully and faultlessly balanced within and among all of its diverse components; and finally holy, set apart for the glory and purpose of God. And in particular, Mankind, the lovingly created apex and vibrant nodal point, around which all of the Created Order was organized, basked in the absolute fullness of Shalom.
An additional crucial thread to be indentified within the tapestry of Creational theology is that having to do with relatedness. In other words, each entity within the Created Order was not only intrinsically perfect and good in and of themselves; but each of those entities, in the most exquisite detail, was intrinsically perfect and good in their connectedness with one another. In essence, there was a faultless interrelatedness and integration of all relationships with one another; and it was by this condition of perfect integration that the whole of the Created Order experienced the state of Shalom. Quintessentially, all Creational forms and their functions were ideal in balance and harmony. Cornelius Plantinga Jr. offers the following description of Shalom:
This webbing together of God, humans, and all creation in justice, fulfillment, and delight is what the Hebrew prophets call shalom. We call it "peace," but it means far more than just peace of mind or cease-fire between enemies. (As a matter of fact, the area over which two armies declare a cease-fire may be acres of smoldering ruin.) In the bible, shalom means universal flourishing, wholeness, and delight – a rich state of affairs in which natural needs are satisfied and natural gifts fruitfully employed, all under the arch of God's love. Shalom, in other words, is the way things are supposed to be. (Plantinga 14-15)
Therefore for Man, to experience true Shalom it necessarily meant to be fully integrated, balanced and whole in the following arenas:
1. Between himself and God,
2. Between himself and others;
3. Within himself
4. Within the totality of the Created Order.
The state of Shalom means for all things relationally to be what they were supposed to be originally, in terms of their nature and in their relationships… This portrait of the Created Order (pre-Fall), is vital to understand for the Christian in the post-Fall era. because if we are to understand from which we must be saved regarding the evils of chaos and "dis-integration" (Rom 1:21, Eph 4:18);" then there must be a clear picture of what Christ intends to save Mankind to - and to restore us to our Pre-fall condition (Is 65:17, Acts 3:21)