Thursday, April 26, 2007
Wednesday, April 25, 2007
Wednesday, April 18, 2007
Tax Day 2007 is behind us!
A headline this morning in one of my technology email sources was:
I would like for all of us to consider what we are getting for our money as we file our tax returns. For every dollar we pay in federal income taxes, 36 cents goes toward past and present military spending. And people want to call this a Christian nation!
The following is a portion of today's email from the Sojourners/Call to Renewal folks:
TurboTax's electronic filing overloads at last minuteI smiled to myself because I knew that I contributed to that overload problem last night!
I would like for all of us to consider what we are getting for our money as we file our tax returns. For every dollar we pay in federal income taxes, 36 cents goes toward past and present military spending. And people want to call this a Christian nation!
The following is a portion of today's email from the Sojourners/Call to Renewal folks:
We've all heard Jesus' warning: "For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also" (Matthew 6:21). That gospel truth applies not only to individuals, but also to nations.
Sunday, April 15, 2007
St. Thomas Sunday
This morning at Providence Baptist Church, I read as a call to worship the following piece written by Providence member Anne Westbrook.
My name is Thomas –
And I was there when they crucified my Lord
I saw Him – hands battered, side pierced,
Body broken and bloody. Dead.
My name is Thomas –
And I was absent on the evening of the third day –
And so- I didn’t hear his Shalom.
I didn’t see his scarred hands, his wounded side.
I didn’t feel the warmth my friends felt
When He breathed on them the Spirit.
When they told me, I didn’t believe He lived.
My name is Thomas –
I am humbled to say my Lord gave me a second chance.
He appeared again - and this time I was there.
I heard his Shalom - Peace be with you.
I felt His gaze.
I heard His voice – “Thomas,” he said,
“Stop doubting. Believe.”
Shaken, I could only cry, “My Lord and my God.”
It was enough. My Lord honored me
By accepting my belief, my poor belated belief.
My name is Thomas.
Hear me, my friends.
Stop doubting.
Believe!
My name is Thomas –
And I was there when they crucified my Lord
I saw Him – hands battered, side pierced,
Body broken and bloody. Dead.
My name is Thomas –
And I was absent on the evening of the third day –
And so- I didn’t hear his Shalom.
I didn’t see his scarred hands, his wounded side.
I didn’t feel the warmth my friends felt
When He breathed on them the Spirit.
When they told me, I didn’t believe He lived.
My name is Thomas –
I am humbled to say my Lord gave me a second chance.
He appeared again - and this time I was there.
I heard his Shalom - Peace be with you.
I felt His gaze.
I heard His voice – “Thomas,” he said,
“Stop doubting. Believe.”
Shaken, I could only cry, “My Lord and my God.”
It was enough. My Lord honored me
By accepting my belief, my poor belated belief.
My name is Thomas.
Hear me, my friends.
Stop doubting.
Believe!
Sunday, April 08, 2007
The Victory
Following are excerpts from the final chapter of Jim Wallis' book, The Call to Conversion:
...we confront the world with the very life of the resurrected Christ among us... Every time we act upon Jesus' lordship in our lives, are reconciled to a brother or sister, refuse to be controlled by the economic system, deny the absolute authority of the state, claim Christ's freedom over our fear, tear down the walls of race, class, and sex, love our enemies, stand with the poor, or resist the violence of the nations by acting for peace - we are demonstrating the victory of Christ in the world...
...the resurrection ... validated the way of Jesus, establishing the authority of his Lordship. At the same time, the resurrection invalidated the authority of the system. It showed the world's way to be a lie. The world's definition of reality crucified Jesus. His resurrection proved that definition of reality to be false. Our system, too, has its definitions of reality - national security, economic expansion, political realism. The way of Jesus is thought to be as foolish today as it was in his day. His kingdom is totally alien to the present world order...
...we confront the world with the very life of the resurrected Christ among us... Every time we act upon Jesus' lordship in our lives, are reconciled to a brother or sister, refuse to be controlled by the economic system, deny the absolute authority of the state, claim Christ's freedom over our fear, tear down the walls of race, class, and sex, love our enemies, stand with the poor, or resist the violence of the nations by acting for peace - we are demonstrating the victory of Christ in the world...
...the resurrection ... validated the way of Jesus, establishing the authority of his Lordship. At the same time, the resurrection invalidated the authority of the system. It showed the world's way to be a lie. The world's definition of reality crucified Jesus. His resurrection proved that definition of reality to be false. Our system, too, has its definitions of reality - national security, economic expansion, political realism. The way of Jesus is thought to be as foolish today as it was in his day. His kingdom is totally alien to the present world order...
Friday, April 06, 2007
Fight All Forms of Religious Coercion
In Paul’s great letter on freedom to the church at Galatia, he starts what we call chapter 5 with these words: “For freedom Christ has set us free: stand firm therefore, and do not submit again to a yoke of slavery...” “For you were called to freedom, brothers and sisters; only do not use your freedom for an opportunity for self-indulgence, but through love, become slaves to one another. For the whole law is summed up in a single commandment, ‘You shall love your neighbor as yourself.’ If, however, you bite and devour one another, take care that you are not consumed by one another.”
This is the foundation we build on in our understanding of religious liberty. God will not coerce anyone to follow his way; and he will not bless a system that tries to force people to obey him and his ways. Jesus was repelled by all efforts to make him a ruler in order that he might force his kingdom on the world. In the Gospel of John (18:36), when Pilate was questioning Jesus about his authority, He told Pilate: “My kingship is not of this world. If it were, my supporters would have fought against my being turned over to the Jews. But my reign is not here.” Jesus brought no political message or program.
The above is an excerpt from the religious liberty sermon referred to in my March 16 entry.
This is the foundation we build on in our understanding of religious liberty. God will not coerce anyone to follow his way; and he will not bless a system that tries to force people to obey him and his ways. Jesus was repelled by all efforts to make him a ruler in order that he might force his kingdom on the world. In the Gospel of John (18:36), when Pilate was questioning Jesus about his authority, He told Pilate: “My kingship is not of this world. If it were, my supporters would have fought against my being turned over to the Jews. But my reign is not here.” Jesus brought no political message or program.
The above is an excerpt from the religious liberty sermon referred to in my March 16 entry.
Tuesday—April 10th—at 7:15pm Eastern, MoveOn is using the Internet to connect presidential candidates directly to the people.
Hillary Clinton, Barack Obama, John Edwards, Bill Richardson, Dennis Kucinich, and Joe Biden will answer questions from MoveOn.org's 3.2 million members in the first of three unprecedented virtual town hall meetings. The topic: Iraq.
There will be a house party in Hendersonville with direct connections to the national event. Contact me at info@phillipallen.net for more information.
Thursday, April 05, 2007
Swift Boat donor's appointment sidesteps Congress
CNN.com
This is a prime example of how this arrogant "would-be" president has done everything in his power to keep the American people polarized. He has lied from the very beginning about what he wanted to do in this country.
History will destroy this man's legacy and I hope he lives to a ripe old age; I don't want him to miss any opportunity to have to face head-on the damage he and his neo-con buddies have done.
This is a prime example of how this arrogant "would-be" president has done everything in his power to keep the American people polarized. He has lied from the very beginning about what he wanted to do in this country.
History will destroy this man's legacy and I hope he lives to a ripe old age; I don't want him to miss any opportunity to have to face head-on the damage he and his neo-con buddies have done.
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