Work hard, do your best, keep your word, never get too big for your britches, trust in God, have no fear and never forget a friend. Harry S. Truman
Truman’s One Sentence Success Formula
Are You Talking to Me? Repentance in Luke 15
Overview: Luke chapter 15 records an exchange between Jesus and some Pharisees who were critical of him because he “…welcomes sinners and eats with them.” He takes their criticism head-on with three parables, one about a good shepherd finding his lost sheep, another about a woman finding her lost coin, andl one about a loving father rejoicing over the return of a lost son. In his message, Jesus communicates his theology of purpose, grace, and joy. The theme often overlooked in his stories and in modern Christianity is the theology of repentance, the theme that brought the most joy in each story and the action to which he was calling the Pharisees.
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Are You Talking To Me? Repentance Theme in Luke 15
Overview: Luke chapter 15 records an exchange between Jesus and some Pharisees who were critical of him because he “…welcomes sinners and eats with them.” He takes their criticism head-on with three parables, one about a good shepherd finding his lost sheep, another about a woman finding her lost coin, andl one about a loving father rejoicing over the return of a lost son. In his message, Jesus communicates his theology of purpose, grace, and joy. The theme often overlooked in his stories and in modern Christianity is the theology of repentance, the theme that brought the most joy in each story and the action to which he was calling the Pharisees.
Herbert Hoover on Prayer and Fishing
“Next to prayer, fishing is the most personal relationship of man.”
“To go fishing is the chance to wash one’s soul with pure air, with the rush of the brook, or with the shimmer of sun on blue water. It brings meekness and inspiration from the decency of nature, charity toward tackle-makers, patience toward fish, a mockery of profits and egos, a quieting of hate, a rejoicing that you do not have to decide a darned thing until next week. And it is discipline in the equality of men – for all men are equal before fish.”
“There are only two occasions when Americans respect privacy, especially in Presidents. Those are prayer and fishing.”
Baby Talk
This is posted for my daughters to see…
I think I work with these two, I’ve heard this conversation in the meetings I have to attend.
Rules of Influence
- Live a life of undivided integrity
- Always demonstrate a positive attitude
- Consider other people’s interest as more important that your own
- Don’t settle for anything less than excellence
from Chris Widner: The Art of Influence: Persuading Others Begins With You
Happiness Through (what you can) Control
Happiness and freedom begin with a clear understanding of one principle: Some things are within your control, and some things are not. It is only after you have faced up to this fundamental role and learned to distinguish between what you can and can’t control that inner tranquility and outer effectiveness become possible. Epictetus
Found in Translation
In a random survey by The Christian Chronicle, more than 1,100 readers responded to this question: “What Bible version do you prefer to read?”
New International Version: 41.5%
New American Standard Version: 17.1%
New King James Version: 10.3%
English Standard Version: 9.5%
King James Version: 5.8 %
Revised Standard/New Revised Standard Version: 4.8 %
New Living Translation: 3.6%
Today’s New International Version: 2.3%
‘The Message’: 2.2%
Other: 2.2%
Holman Christian Standard Bible: 0.5%
Contemporary English Version: 0.4%
Common English Bible: 0.1%
New American Bible: 0.1%
Black Gap Timelapse
The video below is a time lapse experiment from a trip to Big Bend country. The settings were off and the camera battery died before the sun set, but the scenery was beautiful enough to post incomplete
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Reading in the Ekklésia
NOTE: This post was originally published as a bulletin article and on the merkelchurchofchrist.org blog
“ [Jesus] went to Nazareth, where he had been brought up, and on the Sabbath day he went into the synagogue, as was his custom. He stood up to read, and the scroll of the prophet Isaiah was handed to him.” Luke 4:16-17 (NIV)
The congregational reading of scriptures in synagogues was a foundational part of Jewish life when Jesus was growing up, a custom carried on in the early church of Christ. There were practical reasons for public reading the scriptures; because each copy was hand written (that’s what manuscript means), communities of believers had to share limited manuscripts or in some cases, like letters from Apostles, share with other communities.
The invention of the printing press and subsequent printing of the first Bible in the 1450s led to many positive advances in Christianity like the reformation movement and personal Bible study. However, the printed Bible did not change Paul’s instructions concerning the conduct of Timothy and the early church:
“…devote yourself to the public reading of Scripture, to preaching and to teaching.” 1 Timothy 4:13(NIV)
Beginning this Sunday we will incorporate scripture reading into our morning worship assembly (ekklésia). Like the early church we will hear the Word of God as one body and one heart. I encourage you to bring your Bibles and follow along as we begin reading the Gospel of John. We will be using New International Version which, according to a recent survey, is the translation most used in churches of Christ.
“Blessed is the one who reads aloud the words of this prophecy, and blessed are those who hear it and take to heart what is written in it, because the time is near.” Revelation 1:3 (NIV)
Shalom