Things I Think…
1. Thanks for the kind birthday wishes…turned 66 today…started this adventure when I was 42…
2. Whenever I post something Kate Bowler wrote on Facebook, I get lots of likes and comments.
Same with anything positive and encouraging from a Christian perspective. Having given this some thought, I think that these para-church writers are filling a void made by the church…
3. Most of the stuff I post affirms the love and acceptance of God for people…individual people. This message of God’s love and acceptance of each of us through the reconciling work of Christ should be the basis of all other teachings in the church…but it’s obviously not…
4. Someone wise once said that the church dispenses grace as if it purchased it on its own…afraid that someone will take more than their share…without acknowledging that the the sea of God’s grace can never be diminished or drained…
5. Even if you even quote the very words of Jesus online, someone will always come back with a “yes, but”… as if any good news must be immediately tempered with conditions, lest someone believe the good news that they are loved and forgiven without following all the rules…
6. The Christianity I grew up in was a fear based faith…always fearing hell or the imminent discipline of a God who could barely tolerate you…it was a lie from the pit of hell…Christianity is based on the love of a God who entered into the pain and suffering of this world to save a world He loved…and that should be the foundation we live on and speak of…
7. The same people telling me a Democrat can’t be a Christian because of moral issues…are supporting an adulterous abuser of women and chronic liar as the Christian choice…as my brother Kevin says partisan politics are poison to the soul…
8. I don’t worry much about my congregation falling into sin…I worry a great deal about communicating clearly to them how much they are loved by God…even if they fall into sin…
9. Obedience to Christ should be grounded in the love of Christ, not the fear of punishment…any relationship based on fear won’t grow past the threat of punishment…one based on the love of God will prosper and grow eternally…
10. I’ve been asked a lot this week if things are better or worse in the church regarding abuse issues…since the early days of sites like this documenting those abuses…things are worse…the corrupt found out that they can outlast the negative coverage and keep doing what they’re doing…because for every one person that leaves a corrupt leader, ten will attack the one exposing the wrong…
Birthday blessings Michael. Like hiking in the mountains each crest seems to lead us to another that beckons. So let’s keep going and see what is just yonder beyond that next rise.
Alan,
Thanks, my friend.
My primary goal at this stage is staying upright… 🙂
So good, on all counts! And happy birthday!
Thanks Michael for this post today. We’re all holding you, your mom, Trey and your FurFamily near and dear in our hearts
Thanks, Dave!
Thanks, Man…we’ve been friends for a long time now…
Happy Birthday Michael. May the Lord bless your day, and bless you with many more in the years to come.
Happy Birthday Michael. Many blessings to you and your mom, Trey, fur babies, etc.
Thank you, Terrie…
Thanks, Dan…all will be well…
Happy Birthday Michael! I have been praying for you and all your family.
Happy Birthday again, Michael! We were both in our 40’s when I started coming around. Seems like yesterday, or 100 years ago.
#4 – Grace that is greater than all my sin.
happy birthday indeed
Thank you, Laura!
CK,
My body feels like it was close to 100…
Thanks, WTH!
Michael,
May you have many more birthdays to share your profound and wise thoughts with us! (I personally second #7).
Happy Birthday. May His grace uplift and sustain you for another year or ten. Thanks for being a blessing in my life, brother.
#5- Yes, but… Lol. However, I do honestly struggle to believe and appropriate acceptance, grace, and love as you define it. Yet, I never thought I could understand why some Christians believe in Purgatory until my mother died. I don’t believe in it but I understand how now. Simply put it is a doctrine of hope and redemption. If only it were true… The reason I struggle with an all encompassing grace, acceptance, and love is because I view God, based on my limited understanding of Scripture as a complex and multi-faceted person with a very diverse range of attributes that comprise His composite character and nature. Yet, I hope you are right for my mom’s sake and ultimately my own. I could add a lot of other people to that list as well. I hope you understand I am not arguing to the contrary but rather articulating my initial thoughts and inner doubts. I follow where the point of inspiration leads. Thanks for providing the spark.
Alan introduced me to you 20 years ago, give or take….Skip H’s return to Abq times
Glad to still be here…
Linn,
Thank you, my friend…the Lord bless you and yours.
Shawn,
Thank you.
I understand the doubts…we’ve been taught all our lives to live in fear.
My mom is actively dying…she is not a believer and used to refer to my library as “all that crap”.
According to standard evangelicalism she will soon land in eternal fire.
However…I know the life she lived that made her what she is…a hard life, indeed.
The Christians she knew were mostly abusive and they did much damage.
If I, a sinner, can understand why she couldn’t embrace faith, then I know that the God who so loved the world that He let it murder Him to save it does as well.
I have a deep reverence and awe of God….but perfect love casts out fear.
.
JTK,
It’s been a hell of a ride…I’m glad you’re still here too.
Happy birthday brother! Glad you are still here with us, and hope for many more.
Happy belated birthday Michael! I’ve got a few years on you…so to me you are still “young”. Prayers for you, your Mom & family & your fur babies!
👍🏻 on “Things that you think”
Happy birthday to you!
Michael Happy Birthday! Ees a sweater. Also glad I am wasting my night on here so thank you.
#10 Definitely worse. Definitely wondering what kind of anecdotes are allowed on here…? 2nd hand stories…
# 9 is a great parenting tip, btw. As a dad I am so tempted to settle the issues with the resonance of my large chest. Then I remember how long it takes to repair that. My marriage and family is not built like a tank, it’s built like a Hyundai Sonata that keeps getting recalled…
#7 When I say things that make everyone mad I love to remember my Lord and my God, who infuriated all the right people with perfect love. Oh but I said that not him and the love was not so much love but “I’m the Wiz, nobody beats the Wiz!”
#6 So you are not leaning towards Calvinism?
#5 Someone wise once said that the church dispenses grace as if it purchased it on its own…”
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