The cross means being willing to suffer when one does not have to suffer. 
- Wang Yi, quoted by Rod Dreher https://www.theamericanconservative.com/dreher/tale-two-persecuted-pastors-wang-yi-john-gray/

a new mythology

"In the years between the world wars, a deep despair spreads over Europe. Most of the poetry, novels, and art of the period reflect cynicism or a crisis of faith. Not so with Lewis and Tolkien. Instead they introduce a new mythology, focused on honor, chivalry, and sacrifice in the face of evil."

https://worldandeverything.org/2018/11/wwi-literature/

Peterson & Bono

A great reminder of building bridges between people, of talking, of sharing the realism of life. Eugene Peterson and Bono, The Message and U2.

https://youtu.be/-l40S5e90KY

Deep impact

Salvation must include a judicial change of status, but what is overlooked by most teachers is that it also includes an actual change in the life of the individual. And by this we mean more than a surface change—we mean a transformation as deep as the roots of his human life. If it does not go that deep it does not go deep enough.

- A. W. Tozer, God's Pursuit of Man

Good gives all of Himself

With full consciousness of our own demerit we may yet take our place in the love of God, and the poorest and weakest of us may without offense claim for ourselves all the riches of the Godhead in mercy given. I have every right to claim all for myself, knowing that an infinite God can give all of Himself to each of His children. He does not distribute Himself that each may have a part, but to each one He gives all of Himself as fully as if there were no others.

- A. W. Tozer, God's Pursuit of Man

finitude

I understand that matter can be changed
To energy; that maths can integrate
The complex quantum jumps that must relate
The fusion of the stars to history's page.
I understand that God is every age
Is Lord of all; that matter can't dictate;
That stars and quarks and all things intricate
Perform his word - including fool and sage.
    But knowing God is not to know like God;
    And science is a quest in infancy.
    Still more: transcendence took on flesh and blood -
    I do not understand how this can be.
The more my mind assesses what it can,
The more it learns the finitude of man.

- Carson, D.A.  Holy Sonnets of the Twentieth Century. Baker Books. 1994.

What a beautiful reflection on our finitude vis-a-vis God's infinitude.  Carson refers to the following passages in relation to this Sonnet: Col. 2.9; Deut. 29.29; Job 38.1-7; Job 42.1-3

Rage at death

Embalm the corpse in euphemism's sage
Denials: let us speak of passing on,
Of nature's sleep, of being borne upon
An angel's wings, of rest - but never rage
Against the dying light, enfeebled age
Engulged by futile protest. Wretched con -
It sanctions anguish over one who's gone,
Yet masks death with the trappings of a stage.
    This pagan mindset, satisfied grim Death
    Can gently be dismissed as natural
    Because inevitable, is bereft
    Of hope and truth alike. The biblical
Claims both: before Christ's deathless life's applied
Comes pitiful lament: "and then he died!"

- Carson, D.A.  Holy Sonnets of the Twentieth Century.  Baker Books.  1994.

This verse reflects the corrected, appropriate response Christians should have toward death. Death entered the world as a result of disobedience (Rom. 5.12-14; 1 Cor 15.21).  To downplay death's wretched impact is to deny reality, deny the Gospel, deny the need for a Saviour.

While pushing the edge, this segment from a M*A*S*H episode (note: as far as I know, a non-Christian screenwriter or source, though clearly influenced by a Christian mindset) aptly displays an anger at death, treating death as an enemy to be battled.

[Hawkeye] You ever get the feeling there's a war going on? There's always a war going on.
War is the world's favorite spectator sport.
Give me some more skin sutures.
Everybody knows war is hell.
Remember, you heard it here last.
War isn't hell.
War is war, and hell is hell.
And of the two, war is a lot worse.
[Father] How do you figure that, Hawkeye?

[Hawkeye] Easy, Father. Tell me, who goes to hell?

[Father] Sinners, I believe.
[Hawkeye]  Exactly.
There are no innocent bystanders in hell.
But war is chockfull of them little kids, cripples, old ladies.
Except for a few of the brass, almost everybody involved is an innocent bystander.
…

No pulse!
Amanda! Adrenaline! Bag 'im! Gloria! Bicarb! Where's the adrenaline? Into the I.
V.
Tubing.
Come on! Come on, damn it! I'm gonna go inside.
Give me a knife.
Rib spreader! Hurry up! Hurry up! Come on.
Come on.
Live, damn it.
Live.
Don't let the bastard win.
I'm getting a pulse.
It's getting better.
All right.
Let's close up.
Chest tube.
Pressure's coming up.
[B.J.] Nice goin', Hawk.
- …

[Potter] Seen enough, Colonel?

[Colonel] A little hot-tempered, isn't he?

[Potter] Yes, and this is one of his cooler days.
Well, I told you Pierce wasn't the man you were looking for.
Fine doctor, but undisciplined.
I should add he hates brass.
[Colonel] I'll include that in my report to the general.
[Potter] According to Pierce, the only medical attention generals require is a daily high colonic.
[Colonel] Incredible.
[Potter] Have a good trip back.
Sorry you had to waste all this time.
[Colonel] Listen, Potter.
Yes, Colonel?

[Colonel] In the operating room, when Pierce was trying to save that man's life, he said "Don't let the bastard win. Who was he talking about?

[Potter] Death. When it comes to death, Pierce is a sore loser.
[Colonel] It's a part of life, part of war. And we're soldiers.
[Potter] Maybe we are, but Pierce isn't.
He's just humoring us by wearing that uniform.
He's one doctor who'll never be nonchalant where death is concerned.
He'll always take it personally.
[Colonel] He could crack up with that attitude.
[Potter] You're right.

https://www.springfieldspringfield.co.uk/view_episode_scripts.php?tv-show=mash&episode=s05e20 Accessed 2018-09-15.  Modified slightly for formatting

Excusing the questionable theology, the point of absolute hatred toward death is commendable.

May we, may I, grow in this hatred toward death, and the corollary, the love and embrace of life as found in Jesus.   I am the way, and the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me. (John 14.6, ESV)

Living

This company currently has a marketing campaign with this slogan: Spend your life living. 

I agree with it.  One goal or core value I seek to live by is to invest my life in living, not waiting for tomorrow or "what if's".  

May we each seek to live each day to its fullest, and live it to serve others rather than ourselves.

Minimalism & Maximalism

"There are two kinds of approaches to questionable practices in life. One I would call a minimalist approach to holiness and godliness. The other maximalist.

In the first case, your typical question is, “Well, what is wrong with it?” It would apply to movies and music, and kids often ask their parents, “What is wrong with it?” And the other approach is not to ask, “What is wrong with it?” mainly, but, “Will it make me more Christlike? Will it make me more devoted to Jesus? Will I be more powerful and full of the Holy Spirit? Will I be more effective in prayer because of it? Will it make me more bold in witness or weaken me? Will it help me be spiritually discerning of the ways of Satan in the world and will it help me lay up treasures in heaven? Will it help me find joy in God and all that he is for me in Jesus?” "

A good commentary by John Piper on Desiring God:  Is Yoga Sinful? PostedJuly 27, 2015

https://www.desiringgod.org/interviews/is-yoga-sinful

Justice

Fiat justitia ruat cælum.
"Let justice be done though the heavens fall." 

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fiat_justitia_ruat_caelum

Joy

“Joy should be one of the chief characteristics of our Christian faith. In the New Testament the word chara is used 53 times to mean “joy.” Only a joyful exuberant Christian is a worthy representative of the transforming power of Christ’s gospel.”

https://ref.ly/o/amazing/482422 via the Logos Bible Android app.

Internal Fortitude

The battles that count aren't the ones for gold medals. The struggles within yourself - the invisible, inevitable battles inside all of us - that's where it's at.

- Jesse Owens, quoted in Meeting Miss Irby, p198

Take a stand

To sin by silence, when they should protest, makes cowards of men.

- Ella Wheeler Wilcox, quoted in Meeting Miss Irby, p180

Don't just exist. Live!

We have heard this this phrase, or something similar, a thousand times:

Don't just exist. Live!

I saw this phrase yesterday on the sign-board of our local gas station of all places. It is a great reminder. How often do I go through the motions of just existing, getting through the day, without seeking to live, specifically to fully live each moment for Him. For to me to love is Christ, and to die is gain. (Phil. 1.21)

A simple reminder for this Sunday morning.

Bebbington quadrilateral

I came across this concept recently; I do not recall hearing this previously. An interesting description, and I think accurate. This is quoted from Wikipedia:

Bebbington is widely known for his definition of evangelicalism, referred to as the "Bebbington quadrilateral", which was first provided in his 1989 classic study Evangelicalism in Modern Britain: A History from the 1730s to the 1980s. Bebbington identifies four main qualities which are to be used in defining evangelical convictions and attitudes:

biblicism, a particular regard for the Bible (e.g. all essential spiritual truth is to be found in its pages)

crucicentrism, a focus on the atoning work of Christ on the cross

conversionism, the belief that human beings need to be converted

activism, the belief that the gospel needs to be expressed in effort

(https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/David_W._Bebbington)

If a man were permitted to make all the ballads, he need not care who should make the laws of a nation ...

Andrew Fletcher (1653-1716)

sociocide

Today's prayer points in Operation World (mobile edition) have good analysis, including the following:

Massive cultural shifts are occurring right across the continent as Europe finally reaps the harvest sown from the Enlightenment through WWI up to today. Christianity was effectively replaced by humanist philosophies and nationalism. Europe can be regarded not only as post-modern, but also post-rational and certainly post-Christian. It is no accident that the regions of the world where relativism, individualism and existentialism reign supreme are also spiritually the bleakest. This has had several debilitating effects: 

• Cynicism is now apparently the "-ism" of choice, as the younger generation increasingly disengages from traditional civic responsibilities, such as politics and community service, and feels alienated from older generations. The elevation of the individual and instant gratification spur on hedonistic, nihilistic lifestyles that often end in dysfunction, emptiness, loneliness and despair. 

• Moral uncertainty. With transcendent authority undermined (and the authority of the Bible dismissed long ago), right and wrong are determined by consensual bureaucracy or individual inclination, leading to a morass of relativism.

• Societal disintegration. Traditional values regarding the family, childbirth, marriage, sexuality, sanctity of life and community are being dismantled not just culturally, but also legally. These have severe repercussions in the areas of demographic decline, future economic burdens and psychological and social health. As traditional foundations of healthy societies are deconstructed in Europe, some suggest the term "sociocide", self-aware civilizational suicide, as an adequate description. Pray that Europe's sophisticated societies might turn back from the brink, a firming and working out together the Judeo-Christian values that so profoundly shaped them and gave them the freedoms they now misplace.

Foreshadow

“I will raise up for them a prophet like you from among their brothers. And I will put my words in his mouth, and he shall speak to them all that I command him. And whoever will not listen to my words that he shall speak in my name, I myself will require it of him.” (Deut. 18.18-19)

What an amazing prophecy!  To realize this was written 1400 years before the Christ appeared (or even 400 years before the Christ by the most liberal dating) is simply amazing. What writing from 1718 (colonial America), 1618 (Pilgrims were still establish their colony} or 618 would describe this accurately someone in our current time period? Inconceivable.

https://ref.ly/Dt18.18-19 via the Logos Bible Android app.