Monday, May 22, 2006
the da vinci code
...is doing my nut. I'm doing a talk on it on Wednesday evening, and whilst it is nice to encourage some students and challenge others on the reliability of the New Testament, it's a shame that I have to make constant reference to Dan Brown throughout. I thought the thing sucked! Haven't people ever read books before? Calvin and Hobbes makes me think more than this! Eat my mouldy toast Danny boy!
Saturday, May 13, 2006
the fight
'Those who live according to the sinful nature have their minds set on what that nature desires; but those who live in accordance with the Spirit have their minds set on what the Spirit desires. The mind of sinful man is death, but the mind controlled by the Spirit is life and peace.'
Romans 8:5
"The Holy Spirit creates desires in us and sin creates desires in us. We can choose to focus our minds on one or the other. If we want to walk more closely with the Holy Spirit, then we will set about desiring what the Spirit desires and denying what our sinful nature desires in all the decisions of the day.
The Spirit is within us and desires to obey God. We could not experience this new desire before we became Christians. All we knew was a strong desire to disobey, even if we dressed it up in an outwards show of morality. Now we have a strong desire to obey. The Spirit achieves the goal of the law in us (something the law itself could never do) by changing us, not with an external list, but by transforming our hearts and attitudes.
We are changed from the inside out. God has transformed, and is transforming, our desires. The Spirit gives power over sin in the Christian life."
Marcus Honeysett, 'Finding Joy', IVP
"So I say, live by the Spirit, and you will not gratify the desires of the sinful nature. For the sinful nature desires what is contrary to the Spirit, and the Spirit what is contrary to the sinful nature. They are in conflict with each other, so that you do not do what you want. But if you are led by the Spirit, you are not under law."
Galatians 5:16-18
Thanks Marcus
Praise be to Father, Son, and Holy Spirit!
Romans 8:5
"The Holy Spirit creates desires in us and sin creates desires in us. We can choose to focus our minds on one or the other. If we want to walk more closely with the Holy Spirit, then we will set about desiring what the Spirit desires and denying what our sinful nature desires in all the decisions of the day.
The Spirit is within us and desires to obey God. We could not experience this new desire before we became Christians. All we knew was a strong desire to disobey, even if we dressed it up in an outwards show of morality. Now we have a strong desire to obey. The Spirit achieves the goal of the law in us (something the law itself could never do) by changing us, not with an external list, but by transforming our hearts and attitudes.
We are changed from the inside out. God has transformed, and is transforming, our desires. The Spirit gives power over sin in the Christian life."
Marcus Honeysett, 'Finding Joy', IVP
"So I say, live by the Spirit, and you will not gratify the desires of the sinful nature. For the sinful nature desires what is contrary to the Spirit, and the Spirit what is contrary to the sinful nature. They are in conflict with each other, so that you do not do what you want. But if you are led by the Spirit, you are not under law."
Galatians 5:16-18
Thanks Marcus
Praise be to Father, Son, and Holy Spirit!
wise and true!
'This is what the Lord says:
Cursed is the one who trusts in man, who depends on flesh for his strength and whose heart turns away from the Lord. He will be like a bush in the wastelands; he will not see prosperity when it comes. He will dwell in the parched places of the desert, in a salt land where no-one lives.
But blessed is the man who trusts in the Lord, whose confidence is in him. He will be like a tree planted by the water that sends out its roots by the stream. It does not fear when heat comes; its leaves are always green. It has no worries in a year of drought and never fails to bear fruit.'
Jeremiah 17:5-8
Cursed is the one who trusts in man, who depends on flesh for his strength and whose heart turns away from the Lord. He will be like a bush in the wastelands; he will not see prosperity when it comes. He will dwell in the parched places of the desert, in a salt land where no-one lives.
But blessed is the man who trusts in the Lord, whose confidence is in him. He will be like a tree planted by the water that sends out its roots by the stream. It does not fear when heat comes; its leaves are always green. It has no worries in a year of drought and never fails to bear fruit.'
Jeremiah 17:5-8
Wednesday, May 03, 2006
you make me feel... mighty real
sorry for not blogging for a while, I don't want my wife to lose me to the cyberworld...
7 recent emotions - what has been making me feel:
excited: that I am in a personal relationship with God and the reason for my existence is not me
gutted: that I usually live life as if its reason is me
stressed out: that I seem to be losing the ability to manage my diary
at peace: that God is the author of history and the creator of time!
frustrated: that my wife is still ill
purposeful: that her illness can teach me to put others first
bewitched: west wing series 3
7 recent emotions - what has been making me feel:
excited: that I am in a personal relationship with God and the reason for my existence is not me
gutted: that I usually live life as if its reason is me
stressed out: that I seem to be losing the ability to manage my diary
at peace: that God is the author of history and the creator of time!
frustrated: that my wife is still ill
purposeful: that her illness can teach me to put others first
bewitched: west wing series 3
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