YOU GOTTA BE KIDDIN' ME!!!

3.24.2006

I was thinking about a song by one of the early members of the "contemporary Christian" music industry, PETRA. I must warn you before you rush out and buy their latest CD, you might want to spend some time checking them out on their website. Anyway....
The song I was remembering has the line in it that posed the question "When will the world see that we need Jesus?"
As I was checking out the DRUDGE REPORT I ran across this story about a couple who made their 3 year old girl beat up a 5 year old boy. This has to go in the "Just when you thought you'd seen it all!" category. Hmmmm....maybe PETRA was onto something when they penned those lines quite a few years ago.
When I read something like this story, it is just another reminder of the absolute hopelessness of this world without Jesus. I also think back over my life and how misguided my decisions and actions were for so long. I often think of and use the awesome line by the great doctor, Dr. Phil, "How's that working for you?" I pose that question to the life being lived without Jesus in it. Hmmm....
Anyway, I will leave you with this, a prayer from Brennan Manning.....

May all of your expectations be frustrated.
May all of your plans be thwarted.
May all of your desires be withered into nothingness that you may experience the poverty and helplessness of a child and can sing and dance in the joy of God who is Father, Son, and Holy Spirit.
AMEN

semper reformanda ragamuffin
sinbad

ONE!

3.23.2006

Attended ONE last night. ONE is a multi-church worship celebration in the Cobb/Paulding area. The concept behind ONE is to bring together churches in the area for a combined time of worship/celebration/prayer for students, their schools, and their communities. Steve Fee did an awesome job of leading us in worship and connecting our hearts with the heart of God.

Some verses that were highlighted last night were John 17.20-23

20"My prayer is not for them alone. I pray also for those who will believe in me through their message, 21that all of them may be one, Father, just as you are in me and I am in you. May they also be in us so that the world may believe that you have sent me. 22I have given them the glory that you gave me, that they may be one as we are one: 23I in them and you in me. May they be brought to complete unity to let the world know that you sent me and have loved them even as you have loved me. (NIV)

20I'm praying not only for them but also for those who will believe in me because of them and their witness about me. 21The goal is for all of them to become one heart and mind-- just as you, Father, are in me and I in you, so they might be one heart and mind with us. Then the world might believe that you, in fact, sent me. 22The same glory you gave me, I gave them, so they'll be as unified and together as we are-- 23I in them and you in me. Then they'll be mature in this oneness, and give the godless world evidence that you've sent me and loved them in the same way you've loved me. (The Message)

Hmmmmm....the concept of ONEness.

When you begin to talk about the concept of ONEness in so called Christian "circles", people tend to get a little uneasy. The "whatabouts" begin to start popping up in our conversations.

WHATABOUT this and WHATABOUT that?

Hmmmm, I wonder why that is?

A few words come to mind.....pride....arrogance.....fear.....trepidation.....apprehension...

Sounds like some of the same emotions Jesus invoked in those He came into contact with. Interesting...

I googled "christian denominations" and the first result led me to the "Christian denominations and sects" portion of the Yahoo directory. Guess how many it listed? Approximately 140.

How do you think the "Christian" world is doing in the area of ONEness? Yeah, me too.

I wonder what God thinks of the lack of ONEness. Yeah, me too.

What if.....
We focused more on those things that UNITE us than DIVIDE us?
We saw others through Christ's eyes?
We began to, as Ghandi would say, "Be the change we want to see in the world"?

What if we kept this in mind each morning as we started our day?

Hmmmm....what if?

semper reformanda ragamuffin
Michael

THAT'S IT!!! I QUIT!!!

3.20.2006

24 that is....
In case you have been living under a rock somewhere and aren't sure what 24 is, well let me tell you. It is the most intense, suspenseful, high energy, nonstop action, edge of you seat adrenaline rush of a TV show on prime time right now!
Tonight, I have decided I will no longer be watching any more episodes. My heart simply cannot take it. Not really. But, if you are a 24 fan you know what I'm talking about. See if this rings a bell...
You're in the middle of the show...tension building....Jack's being Jack.....and then a commercial hits and everyone in the room takes in one big gulp of oxygen!
Anyway, if you've not checked it out, do yourself a favor and don't get started. You...........just................can't................stop............

Later.

SPLENDOR SPEAKS...

3.19.2006

8:32 AM.....3.19.06.....11 years and a day.......anniversary weekend.....coffee is brewing......Delirious' Live and In the Can is playing through my MP3 player over a 10 year old boom box......sun's rising.

Linda and I came up to my parent's new (still being completed) mt. cabin on Thursday evening to celebrate our 11th anniversary. I've been coming here all my life. I've seen these mountains many times. Yet.....still......it is a powerful display of the splendor of God. Splendor. Now that's not a word used everyday, unless you're Chris Tomlin or David Crowder. Yet it is the perfect word for these mountains in western North Carolina on the southwest side of The Great Smoky Mountains National Park. The view from the front windows of the house is one of a mountain ridge in the distance. As the sun rises each morning, it is like God is rolling out the day, saying, "Here it is! Another day created for my people....the whole world....to see and experience MY GLORY! Join Me!"

Yesterday,Linda, me and our two dogs, Ginger and Tabor, hiked to The Pinnacle. It is a 3000' summit directly behind the cabin which is about 2175' in elevation. Once on The Pinnacle, you can see in every direction for quite a ways. My question is this....how can you see and experience a sunrise over a mountain or mountain ranges from 3000' (which is really not that high compared to most) and not be moved by Him? For me, it reminds me of my great smallness and His great HUGEness. Yet He loves still.

Check these out...
Psamls 36.6
Psamls 65.6
Psamls 90.2

AWED,
M"s"C
Semper Reformanda Ragamuffin

NOTE: The name for this blog was chosen for it's simplicity yet depth.
Semper Reformanda is latin for "always being reformed". You can read more here about 1/2 way down the page.
Ragamuffin is from Brennan Manning's 1990 book The Ragamuffin Gospel, which defines ragamuffins as "the burdened, the wobbly and weak-kneed, the inconsistent, unsteady disciples... the smart people who know they are stupid... the honest disciples who admit they are scalawags".
For your enjoyment, you can read into it whatever you wish!
I, however, like it.