14.10.14
“My flesh and my heart may grow weak, but God always protects my heart and gives me stability.” (Psalms 73:26 NET)
Am I a ‘blogger’?
16.10.14
“Change nothing, so that everything is different.”
Is blogging one’s journal a perversion (exhibitionism)?
But isn’t intimate autobiographical writing one of the most edifying forms of literature??
I guess the crucial difference lies in the purpose/motivation behind the entire exercise…
Commitment always implies obligation.
Is that necessarily bad?
Distinguish:
Obligation
&
Coercion
Can ambition & compassion coexist?
What is going on in my heart when I am doing something with my mind or body?
Keep syncing!
Who are you when you are doing nothing?
What are you when you work?
What I derive from a piece of art depends more on who I am than on who the author of the work is!
Are boldness and impudence the same??
Helping you grow is not an entirely altruistic thing (for me), and that is good!
One-to-one meetings – 5 min. of silent prayer before & after the meeting. He/she takes notes when I talk, & I take notes when the other speaks. Then we exchange it through email.
Squeamish Christians
Timidity & hypocrisy parading as civility & decency!
Instead of saying that it is best for society if everyone is utterly selfish, I would say that it is better for all individuals if each one also considers the common good in their personal choices.
The elitism of the academia – rid it.
Observation must be at least 10 times that of intervention!
TV series – I have seen dismembered bodies, but no ugly naked people! Which is more obscene??
“To Jerusalem through Jericho”
The heavenly city
Luk. 19:9 – “because this man too is…”
He is a guest of prostitutes (Mary Magdalene), tax-collectors (Zacchaeus) & lepers (Simon)… And the dead (Lazarus) too!
What would this small fellowship look like?
“Cheer up! On your feet! He’s calling you!”
The Jewish Sabbath & Holy Saturday
The Christian Sabbath & Resurrection Sunday
– Death as rest, which is followed by a new burst of energy – the end as the step/door into a new beginning!
Nature/creation/GOD – terrible, wonderful & vital!
GOD – the highest (Archetypal), deepest (Basic), central (Essential), original (Source) & ultimate (Destiny) dimension of all things is ONE!
When Jesus is present, you don’t need much money (to buy food) for feeding all these people.
Hmmm… What does this mean??
When the spirit of Christ binds the people together as members of one body, then each person’s need is taken care of by the freely shared resources that are already available in the community! No one has too much & no one has too less…
Lack is artificial!
“What do you think? Isn’t He coming to the feast at all?”
The chief priests
Vs.
The Jewish people
The plot to kill Lazarus!
Who is the real me – my self-image or GOD’s idea of me? Which one will last forever?
“Say to the Daughter of Zion,
See, your king comes to you…”
Preaching as heralding-unveiling!
Only after Jesus was glorified, did they understand the meaning of all the things that had happened…
Son of David ~ King of Israel (Gospels – Jews)
Son of Man ~ Savior of us all (Paul – Gentiles included)
Son of GOD ~ Life of the cosmos (New Age – all creation!)
There are no new truths, only new insights/emphases/implications from the one old Truth.
You don’t ‘apply’ what you learn from Scripture, instead it changes you, to the degree you expose yourself to its influence. Just like radiation! The effect is accomplished simultaneous with the exposure, there is nothing to be done after you leave the room to make anything (more or new) happen…
Don’t use Scripture by trying to extract stuff (that you are already seeking) from it, just eat it as it is!
Just relax & let it enter deep into you & work on your heart – Let it “hit you where you live”!
When we are unable to come to grips with the contradictions in the divine self-revelation (E.g. The miraculous ministry & the climactic cross), we cannot help but kill the very one we need to live!
How can both of these be the same person?? I don’t understand, therefore I refuse to believe. I must destroy this GOD so that I can hold on to, or create, one I can make sense of…
“O, if only you had recognized (the time of) GOD’s visitation!”
The chief priests vs. Jesus & the crowd => the chief priests & the crowd vs. Jesus
17.10.14
I don’t like motivation using incentivizing. What does that say about me?
14.10.14
– There are 2 kinds of people:
1. Those whose suffering is well within their capacity to cope (materially, physically, morally, psychologically, socially, etc.).
2. Those whose suffering is way beyond their capacity.
Each of the first category folks (individuals or families) should ‘adopt’ at least one other (individual or family) from the second class.
Adopt = include in one’s circle as ‘extended family’
– There are 3 kinds of resources necessary for coping with the challenges of life:
1. Money-possessions
3. Physical health
2. Social connections
3. Spiritual resources
When one loses one or more, the others will become even more vital. But when one loses all of them, then death (total destruction) is imminent……!
– Imagination, humour & improvisation
How can anyone survive this world or enjoy this life without these?!
– Art of living:
3 key words –
1. Focus
2. Rhythm
3. Margin
15.10.14
– Technology & spirituality:
1. Learning theology online.
2. Fellowship & social networking
3. Downloading awesome works of art (movies, books, etc.) for free!
4. Apps to organize your day & live healthily
– What do you do when you have to do what you cannot do?
You do it!
– Maybe we should view the Law as the preferences & opinions of a person (in this case, GOD), instead of as some objective & universal standard. Then obedience becomes more of a relational issue than a moral one…
– Distinguish:
Humanism
&
Anthropocentrism
16.10.14
– There are friends and relatives who are closer to one than his/her own immediate family members or fellowship group.
– I AM…… the galvanizer!
– Open letter
– How do you help someone who is overly dependent/needy?
1. Give him/her resources & techniques to become more independent.
2. Have firm limits to the extent of assistance.
3. Make a team of helpers so that one person is not overloaded.
4. Be patient & persistent.
5. Pray!
– Send weekly thought & special dates to annual retreat members also (along with small group & online conference members)
– “Hijra – migration of Muhammad & his followers from Mecca to Medina (Islam)” – y
“…he was a coward who ran away for his life – its not migration” – x
“Oh ok!”
“Sometimes it is wise to disappear for a while…” – y
– I love 500px!
– Contemplation, community & creativity
Nature, family & books
– Sensuality > sexuality
– “The Nature of Consciousness” by Alan Watts
– Dave Harrity
– Distinguish:
Personal
&
Private
– People in a group should never read the same books or watch the same movies, etc.!
Diversity enriches.
– Sarah Wells
– freemusicarchive.com
– “Strive to enter through the narrow gate” – what is the difference between those who struggle to enter & succeed, and those who try but fail??
– fl. – flourished
– How can we have both honor for the elders & love for the young in our homes (& churches)?
Can the young be loved without being respected?
In what way is the honor for the leaders different from respect for the least among us?
How is everyone equal, and unequal too??
The wisdom of humility
&
The humility of wisdom
– Ordination & authority
Service & freedom
– Organizing & conducting the family devotions is part of my ministry too.
– Am I over-bearing (at least on few)?
– Sedition
– Is hierarchy evil in itself?
– Contrast:
Abraham’s debate with GOD about sparing the righteous few in Sodom
&
His unquestioning obedience in sacrificing Isaac
Hmmm… Incredulous!
– Truth
Vs.
Peace
– That which does not lead to virtue cannot be called truth.
– Is it possible to be sincere/righteous and dissenting/rebellious?
– Is there any humanity (love, conscience, etc.) in Hannibal? Is he the Devil incarnate, or a very evil man? Can you call such a cruel & amoral person as human, in spite of his intelligence, volition, aesthetic sense, vocational excellence, social adjustment, etc.
Could Will & Hannibal ever be ‘friends’? Maybe Hannibal’s way of befriending is by giving the honor of being his enemy (instead of just his prey) to another person!
Is the character of the maverick reporter a noble activist or a vain pervert, or both?
– The opinions of those in authority
Vs.
The beliefs of the majority of the common people
Could theocracy be ‘Christian’ too, just like it is Judaic?
Does GOD want to rule? If so, how? Is there any other way to be king than to ‘lord it over’ the people?
Do we want GOD to rule?
Are we the ones reluctant to subject ourselves to (divine) authority or is GOD the one who is reluctant to take the sceptre?
– Game of thrones
Or
Games for the throne?
– Distinguish:
Fidelity
&
Loyalty
– But if GOD is not sovereign, then would not man (individuals) be a puppet to the powerful & impersonal forces of fate, birth, nature, culture, etc.?
– Identify & eliminate the trouble-makers from among you & everything will be alright again.
Wow… if only things were that simple!
– Who am I to criticize St. Clement’s Epistle?!
– Does GOD work on/in the hearts of people?
– Obey our message, so that GOD will not punish you!
– Discipline/trust
Vs.
Criticism/enquiry
18.10.14
– Deliverance – conversion/revival, anointing, healing & exorcism
– Public theology:
1. Vocational integration – working for the Kingdom!
2. Community-living – from family to church!
3. Engagement with civil society (NGOs & NPOs)
– I should make the SFG meetings (& online conferences) once a month! Make it 4 hours long, followed by food.
And maintain a few monthly one-to-one mentoring meetings.
Make the annual retreat 1 week long (intensive contemplation & life-revision!).
Conduct annual seminars.
Do annual house visitations.
Prepare sermons/lectures/seminars/courses.
Intensify social networking – blogging, etc.
Plan annual teaching trips.
Continue periodic spontaneous/casual gatherings and celebrations!
– Maybe instead of finishing an M.Div. or M.A now, I can get an honorary Ph.D. in the end! 😉
– Which one is your predominant spiritual evil?
1. Brute – devouring everything around.
2. Demon – magnifying oneself above all.
3. Retard – mummifying oneself.
Immanuel Joseph's Blog 