Romans 8:28-39
28And we know that in all things God works for the good of those who love him, who have been called according to his purpose. 29For those God foreknew he also predestined to be conformed to the likeness of his Son, that he might be the firstborn among many brothers. 30And those he predestined, he also called; those he called, he also justified; those he justified, he also glorified.
31What, then, shall we say in response to this? If God is for us, who can be against us? 32He who did not spare his own Son, but gave him up for us all—how will he not also, along with him, graciously give us all things? 33Who will bring any charge against those whom God has chosen? It is God who justifies. 34Who is he that condemns? Christ Jesus, who died—more than that, who was raised to life—is at the right hand of God and is also interceding for us. 35Who shall separate us from the love of Christ? Shall trouble or hardship or persecution or famine or nakedness or danger or sword? 36As it is written:
"For your sake we face death all day long; we are considered as sheep to be slaughtered." 37No, in all these things we are more than conquerors through him who loved us. 38For I am convinced that neither death nor life, neither angels nor demons, neither the present nor the future, nor any powers, 39neither height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God that is in Christ Jesus our Lord.
David Crowder Band's "Stars"
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YhayBSnG7Xk
you should see the stars tonight
how they shimmer shine so bright
against the black they look so white
comin down from such a height
to reach me now, reach me now
you should see the moon in the flight
cuttin cross the misty night
softly dancin in sunshine
reflections of this light
reach me now, you reach me now
and how could such a thing
shine its light on me
and make everything beautiful again
and you should feel the sun in the spring
comin out after a rain
suddenly all is green
sunshine on everything
i can feel it now, i feel you now
and how could such a thing
shine its light on me
and make everything beautiful
and you should hear the angels sing
all gathered round their king
more beautiful than you could dream
i've been quietly listening
you can hear 'em now, i hear em now
and how could such a king
shine His light on me
and make everything beautiful
and i wanna shine
i wanna be light
i wanna tell you it'll be alright
and i wanna shine and i wanna fly
just to tell you now
it'll be alright, it'll be alright
it'll be alright.
cus i got nothing of my own to give to you
but this light that shines on me shines on you
and makes everything beautiful, again.
it'll be alright, it'll be alright.
~~~
God is so good to me. Even in small things, but especially in the large things, in my eternity.
What can I say in response to this? God didn't spare his Son, he gave his very life for mine. Even now, right now...
“The truth is incontrovertible, malice may attack it, ignorance may deride it, but in the end; there it is.” -Winston Churchill.
Whether I believe it in the moment, God, you are good.
Wednesday, February 24
Monday, February 22
Shtuff.
Okay. So I've been thinking about actions, motivation, (strange big word here), yadayada---basically, why do I think the way I think, do the things I do, want the things I want, say the things I say. I think I have been learning, this year, to distinguish more feelings and values and the will and commitment. What is going to keep me from wasting my life? Not to become pessimistic. Just realistic. And perhaps idealistic. Too idealistic. In a perfect world I would be---perfect. Baha. No, at least I would accomplish something that would last, do something that would not die, not just to create my legacy. Oh, God. I really need to learn to throw my own vision for my life out the door. My own dreams. "God shatters our dreams so we can find Him. Then He replaces our shattered dreams with His dreams for us," said Lutzer. So much of me, I know, needs to change, but I'm scared. Really scared. It's like ripping out my eyes. It is like standing naked in the middle of the mall. Ann Proulx, "We think of change as benign, but it chews some people up and spits them out." It's uncomfortable, and I love comfort. I sometimes cling to comfort.
John Berryman's Dream Song One
Huffy Henry hid the day,
unappeasable Henry sulked.
I see his point---a trying to put things over.
It was the thought that they thought
they could do it made Henry wicked & away.
But he should have come out and talked.
All the world like a woolen lover
once did seem on Henry's side.
Then came a departure.
Thereafter nothing fell out as it might or ought.
I don't see how Henry, pried
open for all the world to see, survived.
What he has now to say is a long
wonder the world can bear & be.
Once in a sycamore I was glad
all at the top, and I sang.
Hard on the land wears the strong sea
and empty grows every bed.
John Berryman's Dream Song One
Huffy Henry hid the day,
unappeasable Henry sulked.
I see his point---a trying to put things over.
It was the thought that they thought
they could do it made Henry wicked & away.
But he should have come out and talked.
All the world like a woolen lover
once did seem on Henry's side.
Then came a departure.
Thereafter nothing fell out as it might or ought.
I don't see how Henry, pried
open for all the world to see, survived.
What he has now to say is a long
wonder the world can bear & be.
Once in a sycamore I was glad
all at the top, and I sang.
Hard on the land wears the strong sea
and empty grows every bed.
Friday, February 19
I am taking too long to think of a title for this, so...
"As Freezing Persons Recollect the Snow."
At the pointed setting sun I talk with you,
God, when my foot edges
the corner of a cold walkway, marking
the end of some season; now,
even, as my own mind, silky, grasps
of clear branches, tearing outward skies,
your arm swiftness,
swarms in these things,
like shouts
in this open, brightly.
Everything smells beautiful
at the point I will to turn, God,
myself laid into the bleeding sun, trembling
in it
delightedly.
For the rest of my life I believe you are good.
Against that upholstered, man-made
bench seat, hopping across
roads, face vibrating,
I knew. How near I actually
am to meeting skidded crusted cement.
How if release happens, it could only be a right.
Thin fabrications only hold my face
from being scraped.
Now even the floor is a blessing.
~~
Yes, of course it is another poem. (:
At the pointed setting sun I talk with you,
God, when my foot edges
the corner of a cold walkway, marking
the end of some season; now,
even, as my own mind, silky, grasps
of clear branches, tearing outward skies,
your arm swiftness,
swarms in these things,
like shouts
in this open, brightly.
Everything smells beautiful
at the point I will to turn, God,
myself laid into the bleeding sun, trembling
in it
delightedly.
For the rest of my life I believe you are good.
Against that upholstered, man-made
bench seat, hopping across
roads, face vibrating,
I knew. How near I actually
am to meeting skidded crusted cement.
How if release happens, it could only be a right.
Thin fabrications only hold my face
from being scraped.
Now even the floor is a blessing.
~~
Yes, of course it is another poem. (:
Wednesday, February 17
passages from the Bible that go together this instance (:
"Better is one day in your courts than thousands elsewhere." Psalm 84:10
1 Corinthians chapter 3
Phil. 4:6-7
Psalm 139
"God gives the increase." (1 Cor 3:7)
"Do you not know that you are the temple of God and that the Spirit of God dwells in you?..The temple of God is holy." (1 Co. 3:16-17)
Not looking out the window into beauty, but in the midst of it.
"Lord, you have searched me...you understand my thought...Lord know my anxieties." (Psalm 139)
"Marvellous are your works, and that my soul knows very well." (Psalm 139:14)
"Let no one boast in men. For all thing are yours; whether Paul or Apollos or Cephas, or the world or life or death, or things present or things to come---all are yours. And you are Christ's and Christ is God's." (1 Cor. 3:21-23)
God keeps showing me how good he is. He really is. It is something you can read, and I'm sure I must have sang songs about his goodness, and such, before. But he really is, before and after the cross! He has searched me. When I read that today I was affront of a window, looking into the trees and sky and color as the sun starts to set. It is beauty, defined. And in all of that, he chooses to point me out and get to know me. He thinks that I am interesting. Gah. Such knowledge is to high. I can't understand it. I don't get it. It is strange. And he wishes to make me holy, has made me holy by Christ's blood.
Know my heart, God! "Search me, O God, and know my heart; try me, and know my anxieties; and see if there is any wicked way in me, and lead me in the way everlasting." (Psalm 139:23-24)
1 Corinthians chapter 3
Phil. 4:6-7
Psalm 139
"God gives the increase." (1 Cor 3:7)
"Do you not know that you are the temple of God and that the Spirit of God dwells in you?..The temple of God is holy." (1 Co. 3:16-17)
Not looking out the window into beauty, but in the midst of it.
"Lord, you have searched me...you understand my thought...Lord know my anxieties." (Psalm 139)
"Marvellous are your works, and that my soul knows very well." (Psalm 139:14)
"Let no one boast in men. For all thing are yours; whether Paul or Apollos or Cephas, or the world or life or death, or things present or things to come---all are yours. And you are Christ's and Christ is God's." (1 Cor. 3:21-23)
God keeps showing me how good he is. He really is. It is something you can read, and I'm sure I must have sang songs about his goodness, and such, before. But he really is, before and after the cross! He has searched me. When I read that today I was affront of a window, looking into the trees and sky and color as the sun starts to set. It is beauty, defined. And in all of that, he chooses to point me out and get to know me. He thinks that I am interesting. Gah. Such knowledge is to high. I can't understand it. I don't get it. It is strange. And he wishes to make me holy, has made me holy by Christ's blood.
Know my heart, God! "Search me, O God, and know my heart; try me, and know my anxieties; and see if there is any wicked way in me, and lead me in the way everlasting." (Psalm 139:23-24)
Tuesday, February 16
As freezing persons recollect the snow.
"God whispers to us in our pleasures, speaks in our conscience, but shouts in our pains: it is His megaphone to rouse a deaf world."
-C.S. Lewis, "The Problem of Pain"
"After great pain a formal feeling comes--
The nerves sit ceremonious like tombs;
The stiff Heart questions--was it He that bore?
And yesterday--or centuries before?
The feet, mechanical, go round
A wooden way
Of ground, or air, or ought,
Regardless grown,
A quartz contentment, like a stone.
This is the hour of lead
Remembered if outlived,
As freezing persons recollect the snow--
First chill, then stupor, then the letting go."
Emily Dickinson
...
Vincent van Gogh, 'Sower with Setting Sun'
http://www.cord.edu/faculty/andersod/vangogh_sower_millet.jpg
Saturday, February 13
something?
Main Entry: 1con·flict
Pronunciation: \ˈkän-ˌflikt\
Function: noun
Etymology: Middle English, from Latin conflictus act of striking together, from confligere to strike together, from com- + fligere to strike — more at profligate
Date: 15th century
1 : fight, battle, war
2 a : competitive or opposing action of incompatibles : antagonistic state or action (as of divergent ideas, interests, or persons) b : mental struggle resulting from incompatible or opposing needs, drives, wishes, or external or internal demands
3 : the opposition of persons or forces that gives rise to the dramatic action in a drama or fiction
synonyms see discord
— con·flict·ful \ˈkän-ˌflikt-fəl\ adjective
— con·flic·tu·al \kän-ˈflik-chə-wəl, kən-, -chəl, -shwəl, -chü-əl\ adjective
I have been thinking about conflict. Rather, I've been feeling it. I must admit that I don't much like it. Just the feeling of being apart, of uneasiness, restlessness.
But why is this? This morning, I heard the song "You Found Me" by the Fray:
I found God on the corner of 1st and Amistad
Where the West was all but won
All alone, smoking his last cigarette
I said, "Where've you been?" He said, "Ask anything."
Where were you, when everything was falling apart.
All my days were spent by the telephone that never rang
And all I needed was a call that never came
To the corner of 1st and Amistad
Lost and insecure, you found me, you found me
Lying on the floor, surrounded, surrounded
Why'd you have to wait? Where were you? Where were you?
Just a little late, you found me, you found me.
The early morning, the city breaks
And I've been calling for years and years and years
And you never left me no messages
You never sent me no letters
You got some kind of nerve taking all I want
I am not sure about this song yet. It is very open and blunt. It gives no facade, I must give it that. It reminds me much of the psalms. But I wonder how many people are really searching for God, or truth.
Psalm 22
1 My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?
Why are you so far from saving me,
so far from the words of my groaning?
2 O my God, I cry out by day, but you do not answer,
by night, and am not silent.
3 Yet you are enthroned as the Holy One;
you are the praise of Israel. [a]
4 In you our fathers put their trust;
they trusted and you delivered them.
5 They cried to you and were saved;
in you they trusted and were not disappointed.
6 But I am a worm and not a man,
scorned by men and despised by the people.
7 All who see me mock me;
they hurl insults, shaking their heads:
8 "He trusts in the LORD;
let the LORD rescue him.
Let him deliver him,
since he delights in him."
9 Yet you brought me out of the womb;
you made me trust in you
even at my mother's breast.
10 From birth I was cast upon you;
from my mother's womb you have been my God.
11 Do not be far from me,
for trouble is near
and there is no one to help.
12 Many bulls surround me;
strong bulls of Bashan encircle me.
13 Roaring lions tearing their prey
open their mouths wide against me.
14 I am poured out like water,
and all my bones are out of joint.
My heart has turned to wax;
it has melted away within me.
15 My strength is dried up like a potsherd,
and my tongue sticks to the roof of my mouth;
you lay me [b] in the dust of death.
16 Dogs have surrounded me;
a band of evil men has encircled me,
they have pierced [c] my hands and my feet.
17 I can count all my bones;
people stare and gloat over me.
18 They divide my garments among them
and cast lots for my clothing.
19 But you, O LORD, be not far off;
O my Strength, come quickly to help me.
20 Deliver my life from the sword,
my precious life from the power of the dogs.
21 Rescue me from the mouth of the lions;
save [d] me from the horns of the wild oxen.
22 I will declare your name to my brothers;
in the congregation I will praise you.
23 You who fear the LORD, praise him!
All you descendants of Jacob, honor him!
Revere him, all you descendants of Israel!
24 For he has not despised or disdained
the suffering of the afflicted one;
he has not hidden his face from him
but has listened to his cry for help.
25 From you comes the theme of my praise in the great assembly;
before those who fear you [e] will I fulfill my vows.
26 The poor will eat and be satisfied;
they who seek the LORD will praise him—
may your hearts live forever!
27 All the ends of the earth
will remember and turn to the LORD,
and all the families of the nations
will bow down before him,
28 for dominion belongs to the LORD
and he rules over the nations.
29 All the rich of the earth will feast and worship;
all who go down to the dust will kneel before him—
those who cannot keep themselves alive.
30 Posterity will serve him;
future generations will be told about the Lord.
31 They will proclaim his righteousness
to a people yet unborn—
for he has done it.
If I've learned something this year so far, it is this: I cannot trust myself. I am far too fleshly and weak and deceitful. I can't put my hope on an organization or a friend, a degree or a quote or song. I need the real thing, I need God, really. Not 'religion' or 'christianity.' I need Jesus.
this post is not centered on anything at all. give me time to sort.
Pronunciation: \ˈkän-ˌflikt\
Function: noun
Etymology: Middle English, from Latin conflictus act of striking together, from confligere to strike together, from com- + fligere to strike — more at profligate
Date: 15th century
1 : fight, battle, war
2 a : competitive or opposing action of incompatibles : antagonistic state or action (as of divergent ideas, interests, or persons) b : mental struggle resulting from incompatible or opposing needs, drives, wishes, or external or internal demands
3 : the opposition of persons or forces that gives rise to the dramatic action in a drama or fiction
synonyms see discord
— con·flict·ful \ˈkän-ˌflikt-fəl\ adjective
— con·flic·tu·al \kän-ˈflik-chə-wəl, kən-, -chəl, -shwəl, -chü-əl\ adjective
I have been thinking about conflict. Rather, I've been feeling it. I must admit that I don't much like it. Just the feeling of being apart, of uneasiness, restlessness.
But why is this? This morning, I heard the song "You Found Me" by the Fray:
I found God on the corner of 1st and Amistad
Where the West was all but won
All alone, smoking his last cigarette
I said, "Where've you been?" He said, "Ask anything."
Where were you, when everything was falling apart.
All my days were spent by the telephone that never rang
And all I needed was a call that never came
To the corner of 1st and Amistad
Lost and insecure, you found me, you found me
Lying on the floor, surrounded, surrounded
Why'd you have to wait? Where were you? Where were you?
Just a little late, you found me, you found me.
The early morning, the city breaks
And I've been calling for years and years and years
And you never left me no messages
You never sent me no letters
You got some kind of nerve taking all I want
I am not sure about this song yet. It is very open and blunt. It gives no facade, I must give it that. It reminds me much of the psalms. But I wonder how many people are really searching for God, or truth.
Psalm 22
1 My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?
Why are you so far from saving me,
so far from the words of my groaning?
2 O my God, I cry out by day, but you do not answer,
by night, and am not silent.
3 Yet you are enthroned as the Holy One;
you are the praise of Israel. [a]
4 In you our fathers put their trust;
they trusted and you delivered them.
5 They cried to you and were saved;
in you they trusted and were not disappointed.
6 But I am a worm and not a man,
scorned by men and despised by the people.
7 All who see me mock me;
they hurl insults, shaking their heads:
8 "He trusts in the LORD;
let the LORD rescue him.
Let him deliver him,
since he delights in him."
9 Yet you brought me out of the womb;
you made me trust in you
even at my mother's breast.
10 From birth I was cast upon you;
from my mother's womb you have been my God.
11 Do not be far from me,
for trouble is near
and there is no one to help.
12 Many bulls surround me;
strong bulls of Bashan encircle me.
13 Roaring lions tearing their prey
open their mouths wide against me.
14 I am poured out like water,
and all my bones are out of joint.
My heart has turned to wax;
it has melted away within me.
15 My strength is dried up like a potsherd,
and my tongue sticks to the roof of my mouth;
you lay me [b] in the dust of death.
16 Dogs have surrounded me;
a band of evil men has encircled me,
they have pierced [c] my hands and my feet.
17 I can count all my bones;
people stare and gloat over me.
18 They divide my garments among them
and cast lots for my clothing.
19 But you, O LORD, be not far off;
O my Strength, come quickly to help me.
20 Deliver my life from the sword,
my precious life from the power of the dogs.
21 Rescue me from the mouth of the lions;
save [d] me from the horns of the wild oxen.
22 I will declare your name to my brothers;
in the congregation I will praise you.
23 You who fear the LORD, praise him!
All you descendants of Jacob, honor him!
Revere him, all you descendants of Israel!
24 For he has not despised or disdained
the suffering of the afflicted one;
he has not hidden his face from him
but has listened to his cry for help.
25 From you comes the theme of my praise in the great assembly;
before those who fear you [e] will I fulfill my vows.
26 The poor will eat and be satisfied;
they who seek the LORD will praise him—
may your hearts live forever!
27 All the ends of the earth
will remember and turn to the LORD,
and all the families of the nations
will bow down before him,
28 for dominion belongs to the LORD
and he rules over the nations.
29 All the rich of the earth will feast and worship;
all who go down to the dust will kneel before him—
those who cannot keep themselves alive.
30 Posterity will serve him;
future generations will be told about the Lord.
31 They will proclaim his righteousness
to a people yet unborn—
for he has done it.
If I've learned something this year so far, it is this: I cannot trust myself. I am far too fleshly and weak and deceitful. I can't put my hope on an organization or a friend, a degree or a quote or song. I need the real thing, I need God, really. Not 'religion' or 'christianity.' I need Jesus.
this post is not centered on anything at all. give me time to sort.
Friday, February 12
first poem I have written this year
"He humbled you, causing you to hunger and then feeding you with manna, whic neither you nor your father had known, to show you that man does not live on bread alone but on every word that comes from the mouth of God."
Deuteronomy 8:3
"Open your wouth wide and I will fill it."
Psalm 81:10b
I. Preamble
How certain I know You've been here.
Tired steamlight of this document trembles.
I wonder how anything like dark
typed words would make my world
polished again. If they themselves
would mend up rips like fingers flying
across the tear, wearing off bumps and shattering
thoughts or differences into
nowhere. Like broken glass.
Again has grown into a stranger. The past,
a trembling figure skimming across
a road or farmland, always crunching
his oblong bronze apple.
I even hate the word 'familiar.'
This moment perhaps is really
rage. A cowering, a
betrayl. To no one.
Nothing as accurate as
that. I prefer my comfort,
my underground drilling, my stuck head
as long as what I have it rammed into
remains---
and it is not like anyone is dead. Just
that all my living has been starved on
stale stiff idols, always lining up in different forms
promising things like 'success' or
a 'man', 'glorification', 'beauty.'
Yet I moan, because maybe
I wanted my idols, Father, maybe
I won't try to even understand
Your love. And I know it was You,
know it. Wilted
the cheap aim of my affection. Was it always so
empty, the target? I don't
want to think so, no.
II. Lord's Song
Open your mouth wider, my Loved.
I will break it, I will fill it.
Eat on the past and your pangs
will last, will swallow you first.
I will break it, I will fill it.
Your hunger is too large, your heart
is too hollow, your limbs collapse.
Your mind collects everything
like grime. Loved, your heart sits on traps.
I will break it, I will fill it.
You've been lunching on lies,
each feeding. Your mouth
never comes near me. Loved,
bare your widened mouth to me.
I will break it, I will fill it.
You think I cannot see your pain? Loved,
your pain is mine.
I will break it, I will fill it.
Loved, you shove me. You
are searching for another way,
you crucify me.
I will break it, I will fill it.
Rip your eyes to me.
I will break it, I will fill it.
You are mine, Loved.
Come letting go and all
your spindly pieces will unravel
Like a song, Loved.
Do not feel robbed or shamed or naked.
I cover you.
I've stripped myself already and agonized.
I will break it, I will fill it.
Carry your arms to me.
I will break it, I will fill it
Open your mouth wider, my Loved.
I will break it, I will fill it.
Deuteronomy 8:3
"Open your wouth wide and I will fill it."
Psalm 81:10b
I. Preamble
How certain I know You've been here.
Tired steamlight of this document trembles.
I wonder how anything like dark
typed words would make my world
polished again. If they themselves
would mend up rips like fingers flying
across the tear, wearing off bumps and shattering
thoughts or differences into
nowhere. Like broken glass.
Again has grown into a stranger. The past,
a trembling figure skimming across
a road or farmland, always crunching
his oblong bronze apple.
I even hate the word 'familiar.'
This moment perhaps is really
rage. A cowering, a
betrayl. To no one.
Nothing as accurate as
that. I prefer my comfort,
my underground drilling, my stuck head
as long as what I have it rammed into
remains---
and it is not like anyone is dead. Just
that all my living has been starved on
stale stiff idols, always lining up in different forms
promising things like 'success' or
a 'man', 'glorification', 'beauty.'
Yet I moan, because maybe
I wanted my idols, Father, maybe
I won't try to even understand
Your love. And I know it was You,
know it. Wilted
the cheap aim of my affection. Was it always so
empty, the target? I don't
want to think so, no.
II. Lord's Song
Open your mouth wider, my Loved.
I will break it, I will fill it.
Eat on the past and your pangs
will last, will swallow you first.
I will break it, I will fill it.
Your hunger is too large, your heart
is too hollow, your limbs collapse.
Your mind collects everything
like grime. Loved, your heart sits on traps.
I will break it, I will fill it.
You've been lunching on lies,
each feeding. Your mouth
never comes near me. Loved,
bare your widened mouth to me.
I will break it, I will fill it.
You think I cannot see your pain? Loved,
your pain is mine.
I will break it, I will fill it.
Loved, you shove me. You
are searching for another way,
you crucify me.
I will break it, I will fill it.
Rip your eyes to me.
I will break it, I will fill it.
You are mine, Loved.
Come letting go and all
your spindly pieces will unravel
Like a song, Loved.
Do not feel robbed or shamed or naked.
I cover you.
I've stripped myself already and agonized.
I will break it, I will fill it.
Carry your arms to me.
I will break it, I will fill it
Open your mouth wider, my Loved.
I will break it, I will fill it.
Wednesday, February 3
Psalm 126
Something I've been thinking about. I want to start an experiment, a collection of experiences and interviews and moments and create art from that. Right now it's just an idea, something that's been swimming around in my head for a while. Yes, I don't know. I want the common thread to be a moment of salvation, how the life of Jesus has affected the lives of people today, in any aspect of their lives. What it means to them. What I need is materials. People. Conversations. Authenticity.* I need volunteers, but I would like to have a goal first. Anyway. If you are actually reading this, PLEASEPLEASE comment and give advice. Or volunteer to tell me your story, anything! I do not know how this will end out. Hmm. But I am open right now, want things to be molded now.
Yup yup.
Psalm 126
A song of ascents.
1 When the LORD brought back the captives to Zion,
we were like men who dreamed.
2 Our mouths were filled with laughter,
our tongues with songs of joy.
Then it was said among the nations,
"The LORD has done great things for them."
3 The LORD has done great things for us,
and we are filled with joy.
4 Restore our fortunes, O LORD,
like streams in the Negev.
5 Those who sow in tears
will reap with songs of joy.
6 He who goes out weeping,
carrying seed to sow,
will return with songs of joy,
carrying sheaves with him.
*Main Entry: au·then·tic
Pronunciation: \ə-ˈthen-tik, ȯ-\
Function: adjective
Etymology: Middle English autentik, from Anglo-French, from Late Latin authenticus, from Greek authentikos, from authentēs perpetrator, master, from aut- + -hentēs (akin to Greek anyein to accomplish, Sanskrit sanoti he gains)
Date: 14th century
1 obsolete : authoritative
2 a : worthy of acceptance or belief as conforming to or based on fact b : conforming to an original so as to reproduce essential features c : made or done the same way as an original
3 : not false or imitation : real, actual
4 a of a church mode : ranging upward from the keynote — compare plagal 1 b of a cadence : progressing from the dominant chord to the tonic — compare plagal 2
5 : true to one's own personality, spirit, or character
Yup yup.
Psalm 126
A song of ascents.
1 When the LORD brought back the captives to Zion,
we were like men who dreamed.
2 Our mouths were filled with laughter,
our tongues with songs of joy.
Then it was said among the nations,
"The LORD has done great things for them."
3 The LORD has done great things for us,
and we are filled with joy.
4 Restore our fortunes, O LORD,
like streams in the Negev.
5 Those who sow in tears
will reap with songs of joy.
6 He who goes out weeping,
carrying seed to sow,
will return with songs of joy,
carrying sheaves with him.
*Main Entry: au·then·tic
Pronunciation: \ə-ˈthen-tik, ȯ-\
Function: adjective
Etymology: Middle English autentik, from Anglo-French, from Late Latin authenticus, from Greek authentikos, from authentēs perpetrator, master, from aut- + -hentēs (akin to Greek anyein to accomplish, Sanskrit sanoti he gains)
Date: 14th century
1 obsolete : authoritative
2 a : worthy of acceptance or belief as conforming to or based on fact
3 : not false or imitation : real, actual
4 a of a church mode : ranging upward from the keynote — compare plagal 1 b of a cadence : progressing from the dominant chord to the tonic — compare plagal 2
5 : true to one's own personality, spirit, or character
Tuesday, February 2
how He loves
C.S. Lewis on becoming a Christian:
"At the moment what I heard was God saying, 'Put down your gun and we'll talk.'"
Three hours. Of history class on women and oppression and confusion. Strange laziness from no food and stress. Hmp. Well. Hopefully this blog won't come out jumbled---
Someone had noted a superiority that comes from religion. From his view, it is someone looking on another and judging, of saying that THIS religion is the only one, that it is right and therefore everything is wrong. To quote from an essay (on footbinding, kind of a different subject) by Patricia Ebrey, "With the child abuse construct [of footbinding] we are moving more toward pity, which of course also assumes a position of superiority as it empathizes with those viewed as victims." To say something is wrong means to claim to be 'enlightened' relatively.
What about the other side? What is it about us humans that does not want to be proved wrong, perhaps 'unenlightened'? To me that seems a big issue.
Also, I do not see Christianity as such. As religion, or even, really, as a 'moral' guide. It does not tells us what we can do, but what God can do. What he will change. Christianity (actually, Christ), in one sense, tears down those rules. God knows---he really knows we can't do anything good on our own. We can't.
Isaiah 64:6 (New International Version)
6 All of us have become like one who is unclean,
and all our righteous acts are like filthy rags;
we all shrivel up like a leaf,
and like the wind our sins sweep us away.
We are deprived. We are depraved. We are oppressed. That is real oppression, that war that wages in our hearts and vies for our attentions, our selfishness and our ingratitude. (much like my thoughts and actions this hectic morning, I'm afraid. 'Nother story.) Our very self is in opposition against God and makes us miserable. Christ will make us understand ourselves, our nature.
"I believe in Christianity as I believe that the sun has risen, not only because I see it, but because by it I see everything else."
C.S. Lewis
I think what people are truly missing, what they don't know about Christianity, is that God really loves us. He really does. He REALLY loves us. He loves us! He's jealous for us! That's what this is really about! You can't down play it. I once heard a pastor say, "I think that we concentrate too much on the loving side of God, we need to mention more God's wrath." But aren't they related? God's incredible wrath on sin, his repulse and (frankly) hatred of sin is demonstrated in that he would send his Son--himself---to kill it, because he does not want any of us to live with sin! He created us to live with him, to feed of him, to be satisfied in him. His love is our motivation for living in a certain way, of not wanting any part of our lives to be wrapped around ourselves, but to embrace him fully.
"All my self-imposed wants and rights melt before the flame of a loving God."
"Or do you show contempt for the riches of his kindness, tolerance and patience, not realizing that God's kindness leads you toward repentance?" Romans 2:4
"And I pray that you, being rooted and established in love, 18may have power, together with all the saints, to grasp how wide and long and high and deep is the love of Christ, 19and to know this love that surpasses knowledge—that you may be filled to the measure of all the fullness of God." Ephesians 3:17b-19
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TWgeUrD4MHI
When I think about just how beautiful you are and how great your affections are for me...
"At the moment what I heard was God saying, 'Put down your gun and we'll talk.'"
Three hours. Of history class on women and oppression and confusion. Strange laziness from no food and stress. Hmp. Well. Hopefully this blog won't come out jumbled---
Someone had noted a superiority that comes from religion. From his view, it is someone looking on another and judging, of saying that THIS religion is the only one, that it is right and therefore everything is wrong. To quote from an essay (on footbinding, kind of a different subject) by Patricia Ebrey, "With the child abuse construct [of footbinding] we are moving more toward pity, which of course also assumes a position of superiority as it empathizes with those viewed as victims." To say something is wrong means to claim to be 'enlightened' relatively.
What about the other side? What is it about us humans that does not want to be proved wrong, perhaps 'unenlightened'? To me that seems a big issue.
Also, I do not see Christianity as such. As religion, or even, really, as a 'moral' guide. It does not tells us what we can do, but what God can do. What he will change. Christianity (actually, Christ), in one sense, tears down those rules. God knows---he really knows we can't do anything good on our own. We can't.
Isaiah 64:6 (New International Version)
6 All of us have become like one who is unclean,
and all our righteous acts are like filthy rags;
we all shrivel up like a leaf,
and like the wind our sins sweep us away.
We are deprived. We are depraved. We are oppressed. That is real oppression, that war that wages in our hearts and vies for our attentions, our selfishness and our ingratitude. (much like my thoughts and actions this hectic morning, I'm afraid. 'Nother story.) Our very self is in opposition against God and makes us miserable. Christ will make us understand ourselves, our nature.
"I believe in Christianity as I believe that the sun has risen, not only because I see it, but because by it I see everything else."
C.S. Lewis
I think what people are truly missing, what they don't know about Christianity, is that God really loves us. He really does. He REALLY loves us. He loves us! He's jealous for us! That's what this is really about! You can't down play it. I once heard a pastor say, "I think that we concentrate too much on the loving side of God, we need to mention more God's wrath." But aren't they related? God's incredible wrath on sin, his repulse and (frankly) hatred of sin is demonstrated in that he would send his Son--himself---to kill it, because he does not want any of us to live with sin! He created us to live with him, to feed of him, to be satisfied in him. His love is our motivation for living in a certain way, of not wanting any part of our lives to be wrapped around ourselves, but to embrace him fully.
"All my self-imposed wants and rights melt before the flame of a loving God."
"Or do you show contempt for the riches of his kindness, tolerance and patience, not realizing that God's kindness leads you toward repentance?" Romans 2:4
"And I pray that you, being rooted and established in love, 18may have power, together with all the saints, to grasp how wide and long and high and deep is the love of Christ, 19and to know this love that surpasses knowledge—that you may be filled to the measure of all the fullness of God." Ephesians 3:17b-19
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TWgeUrD4MHI
When I think about just how beautiful you are and how great your affections are for me...
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