Everything Changes

oh, that we would see this again in our land.    

imagine a world where no one goes to bed cold or hungry because the church is functioning as God has called us - where did we ever get the idea that the money belongs to the church - it belongs to God - good thoughts Paul.    

Imagine there's no heaven. It's easy if you try. No hell below us. Above us only sky.....

John Lennon    

Kyle! Congrats on becoming an official Blogger! When's the blog comin'... :-)    

Romans 8:10 Since Christ lives within you, even though your body will die because of sin, your spirit is alive because you have been made right with God. The Spirit of God, who raised Jesus from the dead, lives in you. And just as he raised Christ from the dead, he will give life to your mortal body by this same Spirit living within you.
So, dear brothers and sisters, you have no obligation whatsoever to do what your sinful nature urges you to do. For if you keep on following it, you will perish. But if through the power of the Holy Spirit you turn from it and its evil deeds, you will live. For all who are led by the Spirit of God are children of God. So you should not be like cowering, fearful slaves. You should behave instead like God's very own children, adopted into his family--calling him "Father, dear Father." For his Holy Spirit speaks to us deep in our hearts and tells us that we are God's children. And since we are his children, we will share his treasures --for everything God gives to his Son, Christ, is ours, too. But if we are to share his glory, we must also share his suffering.    

hey there, fruitcup. hope all is well tonight.

uxxoaffd? really? i have to type that in the box? just to say "hi"?that's like 8 whole extra letters. and you know me. if there's anyone who hates typing, it's me. some of these guys, though. they love it. just keep typing and typing and typing. not me, though. i know when brevity is the call of the hour. because i hate when some guy just doesn't know when to shut his yap. as if when he stops the world is going to end. better to be short and sweet. that's what i always say. and just what the hell is a soapbox anyway and how did it get under my feet?    

Fruitcup? :-| Uh, Jon? You okay? Too much chocolate, perhaps?

:-)

Thanks for sharing (?) from your hyper soapbox (I think).    

it's one of my things. i don't do it here in cyber world because you can't see my face or hear my tone, but i generally call those closest to me the first thing that comes into my head when i greet them as an original term of endearment. it creates a moment of shock which i find is good at immediately tearing down walls. the receiving party then has one of two choices. to either bolster defenses immediately, or open up wider and share the moment. in our ten years together, i would say erin has been called over 3,000 names. the first of which was smoochie. the most recent of which was sweet canoodler.

like giving people the finger across a crowded room. it is a game that i love to play with a select few whom i feel truly close to. if i am at a function with at least 4 or more people, i like to catch someone's eye and then give them the finger while wearing a goofy grin on my face. it is a very disarming moment for the recipient as they are usually confused yet intrigued at the same time if it has never happened to them before. of course, the point of this game, for me, is to try to find a moment where this is witnessed by no one but myself and the intended viewer.

i have been caught a couple of times, but i am fairly adept at it. enough so, that i play with my niece all the time. at church. family functions. it's a good time. i suggest you try it sometime. just make sure you've targeted the right person. some people don't like playing.


KYLE!KYLE!KYLE!KYLE!KYLE!KYLE!- i hope you get back to this. i had something for you. i loved that you quoted john lennon. i'm not sure if you were trying to say what it is that i got when i read that quote, or if the responses to the post brought the lyrics to mind and you just threw them out without a thought. either way, i can tell you to be a man who appreciates lennon.

contemplate his life. his pursuits of peace and love that lead him to greater and greater and more radical lengths with the passage of time. next, find yourself a bible and look this up: acts 10:34-35. (all while keeping lennon in mind)

then i would very much like if you would come back here and say something. either, "what are you talking about?" or "wow, i never knew that was in the bible!" or "i prefer fresh tuna to canned." you know, whatever you want. i'm just curious as to your take on it.
i enjoy reading your thoughts whenever you throw them out here.

much love to everyone in the north tonight.

xbotejcz    

Paul, I thought maybe he'd been into the Guiness...and I don't mean the book :-)
Then I thought he was an imposter because he said something about not liking to type and (cough,cough) brevity LOL
Jon, The finger thing ...I'm thinking the one with the finger on one hand and the thumbs up on the other is you in your Christmas pics? :-)
You totally must be the bad boy at your church LOLOL ...and I have the perfect response for you if you ever throw that my way in a room. You'll never top it and I won't have to hide it. Taught to me by one of my friends who was going to be a priest, ditched that and is still a devout, intellectual Catholic boy. Gotcha goin' now,don't I? You're hilarious.
I'll leave you with this..Philippians 4:4-9 Rejoice in the Lord always. I will say it again: Rejoice! Let your gentleness be evident to all. The Lord is near. Do not be anxious about anything, but in everything, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God. And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.

Finally, brothers, whatever is true, whatever is noble, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is admirable—
if anything is excellent or praiseworthy—
think about such things... And the God of peace will be with you."    

Now while flippin somebody the bird in church may be fun for some people, I don't think that I'll be doin that anytime soon. I've got enough way's to have people think I'm nuts to start adding to my repetoire. I went to church about 3 weeks ago or so and proceeded to fall off my chair laughin at something I read on the projection screen that was being used, only to realize that I was the only one laughin so I had to bail out of the room so I didn't bother those who didn't really get what I was laughin at. I got a few stares after that one.

Now on to the Lennon comment. I dusted off that old cookie for a few reasons. One of which was because of the original post reminded me of something I saw in an old episode of "WKRP In Cincinatti." The moral of the story was that the manager of the radio station used the opening lines to "Imagine" to prove a point to a member of the FCC trying to censor the radio station. After hearing those lines that I quoted, spoken and not sung, the censor said those words were probably the most communist statement he'd ever heard. The manager the went out to point out (And here's where I thank John Hughes every day when I wake up) that song isn't about communism, facism, or an ism for that matter. It's just one man's thoughts about the world in which he wants to live in. So I figured that's where Paul, Cheryl and yourself were heading with this Jon. Yeah I could have explained all of this as opposed to just typing out the song lyrics but I thought I could avoid risking carpal tunnel by typing out this big long explanation. (At this point in time please for the love of all that is holy please tell me that somebody other than myself has watched WKRP. If not I'm gonna feel like the oldest 23 year old on the planet)


Acts 10:34-35
34. Then Peter began to speak: "I now realize how true it is that God does not show favoritism. 35. But accepts men from every nation who fear him and do what is right.

My first thought about that verse was that it was an oxymoron. To say one does not show favouritism and than to turn around and show favouritism for those who fear you and do what is right as opposed to those who don't.....Well that was my first thought. My second thought was no matter how hard I try, I just can't find a Lennon corralation there. I've stared at that verse for about 10 minutes now reading and re-reading it again but try as I might, I got nothin. If you want to bust out your takings on this I'm totally not gonna stop you. I encourage it as a matter of fact.

Kyle    

sorry about the delay. trying to turn all of these pages of instructions from the hospital into a daily routine has eaten up much of my time. as well as keeping up my daily commitment to facilitate a study of acts. things are starting to gel a bit, so i am back. hahahahaha (that's supposed to be maniacal laughter. do you hear it? was it scary? i was going for "mad scientist" but i'm afraid it just came off as some hearty giggling.)

kyle, i do not know where you stand on issues such as jesus and truth. but i don't want to mince words with you or try to say something other than what i want to say. that being said...
i had contemplated lennon about 3 months ago. him and ghandi. and i had a hard time looking at their lives, rather, the fruit of their lives and the spirit that they obviously were following in their hearts.(love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control.) and i was coming up short when comparing this to the traditional church teaching i had received that these men were in hell for not, "accepting christ." and i had to wonder to myself, "really?"

and i begin to read the scriptures looking for something else. something that has been missed. and i found it. christ has died. great. done deal. the spirit of god has gone forth into all the world to be accessed by anyone. and i think these men are a good example. they obviously, to me, came in contact through their spiritual seeking, with the holy spirit of god. and it birthed them anew in their hearts and changed their lives completely. even though they had not "accepted christ as their personal saviour" in the church purported sense. but if they yielded to his spirit and produced fruit in keeping with a change of mind, were they not then, TRULY yielded and accepting?

it just produces great hope in me to know that a way has been made. easy, easy access to the god of our universe. simply listen and obey. let his spirit shape your life and act accordingly. it's not about accepting a whole bunch of doctrine or listening to a certain kind of music or staying away from certain types of places.
this is radical stuff to a pastor's kid like myself. it has nothing to do with the "right" answers i was taught growing up.


so... what i got from that passage was confirmation of this line of thought. that indeed, god knows the hearts of men and accepts those who fear him and do what is right. even john lennon.

and yes, i have seen WKRP. not the best show. a little dated now. comedy changes over time and hearing something out of context is not always continually funny. except george carlin. ANY of his stand up from the past 30 years if funny no matter when you hear it.

iogeah    

oh, and paul... thanks for having us over. it's always good to have a place to hang out.


iqxey    

"god knows the hearts of men and accepts those who fear him and do what is right. even john lennon."

Yes, I believe that the Lord is just and has mercy on all those who may be confused about Christianity when they see the battles that go on in places like Lebanon and Ireland all in the guise of the name of God. Catholics vs the Protestants and Christians vs the Muslims etc.

And let's bring it closer to home, there is hypocrisy among those who claim to believe. However, there is a time of reckoning for us all ...personal reckoning... between you and God alone and noone else is involved. The Holy Spirit tells us who the real Jesus is...he is the one and only true God. He is full of of mercy and everlasting love. He did not come to condemn us, but to bring us to repentance and save us.
Whether John Lennon or Ghandi have accepted the Holy Spirit as their guide or not, without knowing for sure who was behind it, is completely not our business. We were not born to decide who was going to hell and who wasn't...it's not our concern. It's our Father's. Our commands??? Love the Lord your God with all your heart.... Love your neighbour as yourself.
Put away the pointing of the finger, judge not that you be not judged for with the same measure you judge another you will be judged the same.
John 3:16-18 "For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life. For God did not send his Son into the world to condemn the world, but to save the world through him. Whoever believes in him is not condemned, but whoever does not believe stands condemned already because he has not believed in the name of God's one and only Son.
John 1: 9-13
The true light that gives light to every man was coming into the world.
He was in the world, and though the world was made through him, the world did not recognize him. He came to that which was his own, but his own did not receive him. Yet to all who received him, to those who believed in his name, he gave the right to become children of God— children born not of natural descent, nor of human decision or a husband's will, but born of God."