thoughts out !oud

a Christian’s news, views, opinions and occasional poetry …

Jesus ain’t no happy hippy in a dress

Sometimes ( … okay, a lot, I think!) Christians need to be reminded that Jesus is no tree-hugging, free-loving wimp, that he’s no happy hippy in a dress that our metrosexual societies and luke-warm churches make him out to be. Jesus has come, not to just redeem with the fire (Luke 12:49) that it is the Gospel, but to also (be the occasion to) divide, setting son against father, daughter against mother, family against family (Luke 12:51-53).

In the end, a great and just war will be waged, with Jesus acting as Commander-in-chief, getting up to his elbows in the blood of the enemies of God:

I saw heaven standing open and there before me was a white horse, whose rider is called Faithful and True. With justice he judges and… Continue reading Jesus ain't no happy hippy in a dress

The only Jesus they knew

Christians can be a reprehensible lot; they can be the self-refuting testimony of an otherwise marvelous and positive influential Christianity. And I don’t excuse myself from among them, only to try to be aware of my own shortcomings and to be open and honest with them and then to deal with them.

I have no doubt that Jesus looks at the state of the wider church today and weeps over its lack of cohesion, strength and unity. Church is Satan’s favourite playground (he attends more religiously than anyone) - and he knows all the rules, better than the vast majority of Christians, and his pawns are those in church who hold prominent positions of office. Not only does he have pawns in his ranks, but also some of… Continue reading The only Jesus they knew

Your love is like a beetroot stain

There are many grand, romantic, humorous and satirical quotes on the topic of love that anyone could find nowadays. It seems that we toss the word ‘love’ around quite freely – perhaps we have even diluted it to an extent – so that it becomes just something that is so abstract as to be almost meaningless or at least devalued. We say things like ‘I love Nutella’, or ‘I love my cat.’ What we really mean, of course, is simply that we really like the object of our ‘love’. Yet scripturally, love means something much, much stronger than for what we give it credit. Truly, there is no greater love, as the Lord Jesus says, than to give up one’s life for another.

CS Lewis wrote… Continue reading Your love is like a beetroot stain

Forgetting about the man in the mirror

Those of you with children or adolescent teenagers or those of you married to big kids (I pity my wife!) will no doubt know that it is frustrating when they don’t follow through on a commitment or a task that they promised. Look no further than me - guilty, your Honour. Well, there’s a great many more of us who do the same to God. Imagine what God feels like when we say yes to His face, but then go away and immediately fail to follow through or run in the opposite direction?

Take Jonah, for instance, whom God charged to preach repentance to the people of Nineveh. And what did Jonah do? He ran away, defying God Himself. Futile, Jonah. Futile. When… Continue reading Forgetting about the man in the mirror

Purposely Driven Lost

[I was thinking of titling this The Purpose Driven Lie ... but I'm convinced Rick Warren is more of a lost sinner than a lying one.]

Admittedly, I have Rick Warren’s The Purpose Driven Life sitting somewhere on my bookshelf. I had read it some years ago. Recently, however, since I’ve joined the blogging community, I’ve become increasingly aware that Rick Warren’s gospel of Jesus is not necessarily an accurate - let alone spiritually healthy - one. I further admit that at the time, I thought his book was great … after watching this video, and after reading article after article on the interwebs that pull the true meaning of Rick Warren’s gospel apart, I will endeavour to read his book again - this time, with a more… Continue reading Purposely Driven Lost

Cartoon: Moral standards and hypocrisy

I saw this cartoon up on CrossExamined Blog and had to share it here.

How high are your moral standards?

There is a whole series of posts/articles in this one cartoon alone, don’t you agree?

It also illustrates the standpoint that I believe most critics of Christians/Christianity take - they look at the sins Christians commit and then label them hypocrites for doing them as it violates God’s moral standards. Yet, any good Christian already knows he is hypocritical to the core by that definition … what else do you think the story of the Gospel about?!…

Christians: not perfect, just forgiven!

For the skeptic, Christians are nothing but a hypocritical community group, bent with the same greed, self-promoting motives and double-standards as that of many individuals out in the secular world. And you know what, the skeptic is right.

There is a small church I drive past almost everyday on my way back from the office. It is situated on the corner of a reasonably busy intersection and is making good use… Continue reading Christians: not perfect, just forgiven!

Last Roll of the Dice for Gary Gygax

Mr Gary Gygax died on Tuesday morning, 2nd March 2008.

My high-school friends (who are also my old Dungeons & Dragons playing co-horts) may know who Gary Gygax is. My church-going friends might not - though I know the odd one or two who may be able to cast their memory back to younger days. For those of you playing at home, Gary Gygax was the co-founder of the… Continue reading Last Roll of the Dice for Gary Gygax

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