Christian Living Archives - Page 12 of 21

Notable Quotes from “To The Wall” by Mark van Straaten

August 3, 2014 by EnnisP Leave a Comment

A Well Said Point
Is Worth A Thousand Words

Pure prose, even when well written, can easily become long winded which in turn stifles rather than stimulates the thought processes. We’ve all been there.

That may be the reason poetry became so popular. It says a lot in very few words and very graphically. It’s hard not to like. But, theology doesn’t fit too well in poetic rhyme. It needs definition and explanation.

In recent times, however, the art of taking long drawn out, slow building concepts and encapsulating them in a few carefully chosen words has become popular. It is one way to reduce a big idea to one easy to remember sentence or phrase. That’s the idea behind headings also.

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Mark does this often in “To The Wall” and I thought I would mention a few to give you a glimpse of what you can expect. [Read more…] about Notable Quotes from “To The Wall” by Mark van Straaten

3 Last Supper Truths We Never Mention

April 23, 2014 by EnnisP Leave a Comment

Meal time was Facebook for most of human history.

The Lord’s Supper
Nourishes Relationships Too

The Lord’s Supper is usually mentioned and often observed during the Easter season and there is good reason for that. It acknowledges elements of the resurrection story, the shed blood and broken body of Jesus which are important to remember. It makes sense.

The observance is patterned somewhat after the Last supper Jesus enjoyed before His arrest and trial. You could say it was His last moment of sanity before everything fell apart. His last quiet time before the storm.

Our church always observes the Lord’s Supper during Easter but not the stripped down version. We try to create a meal-like atmosphere. Not a full blown meal but as close as we can get to a meal during a service.

It was during a meal that Jesus instituted the symbolism of wine-to-blood and bread-to-body so there is nothing in a meal that diminishes that truth. In fact, the history of meal-time adds richness to the idea.

Unfortunately, the sense of “meal” is no longer the foundation for this memorial and the names we give it don’t help much either – communion, holy communion, Eucharist, sacrament, ordinance. In keeping with the overly religious names we give it, the observance has become more like a ceremony than a meal. And, as with all ceremonies of the religious type, it is more restrictive than affirming.

It isn’t uncommon for humans to turn meal time joy into an exhibition of decorum but religion has taken that trend a step further. Participants must be members of the church and morally upright. The observance is so heavily draped in restriction that celebration is only a shadow if it is there at all.

For some, the meal is a confessional. For others, it is a type of mystical cleansing but there are at least three good reasons to rethink our approach. [Read more…] about 3 Last Supper Truths We Never Mention

Money Is Inseparably Both Mundane And Spiritual

November 4, 2013 by EnnisP Leave a Comment

Making And Managing Money
Is Spiritual

Everything is spiritual all the time, even very earthy things, and nothing illustrates that truth as clearly as money, otherwise known as filthy lucre. Let me explain.

When I was a kid my mother always made me wash my hands after handling money. “You never know where it has been” she would say, and over time I learned what she meant. Money is passed from one person to another (clean hands or not), kept in unhygienic places, even falls on the ground and stays in circulation anywhere from 18 months to several years. During that time it never gets washed. I never really understood how filthy money could be, however, till I moved to South Africa and discovered all the places people hid the stuff to keep it away from thieves. I won’t elaborate. You can imagine.

It isn’t difficult to make a spiritual connection here since cleanliness is next to godliness. Right?

But I also learned from an early age that money can be enticing. [Read more…] about Money Is Inseparably Both Mundane And Spiritual

What Does “Holy” Really Mean

October 25, 2013 by EnnisP 2 Comments

Marriage Is Holy
Ceremony Or Not

I don’t like the word “holy.” Just hearing it gives me the creeps but don’t read too much into that.

I know the word is in the Bible, and I really do appreciate that, but the way it is used doesn’t always agree with how it is represented in the Bible. In common use, the word has a very narrow channel of application. It doesn’t fit with everyday life. Let me explain.

The word “holy” is associated with synonyms like sacred, hallowed, revered, sanctified and consecrated. Another word distantly related is solemn. These are not commonly used words. They are religious terms and not just normal everyday religious terms. They are inner sanctum words. Institutional religion didn’t coin these words but it definitely owns them.

The ominous nature of holy – and the associated synonyms – is compounded by the way it is used. When any ceremony – another threatening word – is referred to as holy or sacred you get the idea that smiling or relaxing or enjoying the occasion is not allowed. These words are spoken only in a serious tone and accompanied only by actions that are performed rigidly, in a scripted, well arranged manner. Robotic might apply.

The following wedding video illustrates the point. Scroll to the 53rd second if you’re in a hurry: [Read more…] about What Does “Holy” Really Mean

Earn The Right To Win by Tom Coughlin, Chapter 2 – Scheduling

August 18, 2013 by EnnisP Leave a Comment

Life Can Be Unpredictable
But Preparing To Win
Requires A Schedule

In the mid-1960s The Rolling Stones recorded a song titled “Time Is On My Side.” It was one of their first recordings and it was a big hit.

In the song, Mick is philosophizing about a wayward girlfriend. She’s running around instead of staying faithfully by his side but instead of expressing hurt feelings Mick patiently waits claiming that “time is on my side.” And he confidently asserts that “She’ll come running back to me.”

Now, you might be wondering what a song about wayward girls sung by one of Rock N Roll’s most prominent bad boys has to do with winning. Well, the context of the song isn’t important but the refrain is.

The main issue in the song is “Time” and Mick repeatedly says it is on his side. In fact, at the end of the song, he builds to a crescendo with: Time, Time, Time is on my side.

But there is good reason to think Mick may not be correct. Time can be on your side but there is no guarantee.

And that brings us to Tom Coughlin and the book he wrote. The title of Tom’s book is: