Month: July 2017

Familiar hymns of a vengeful Father

What Wondrous Love Is This

1 What wondrous love is this, O my soul, O my soul!
What wondrous love is this, O my soul!
What wondrous love is this that caused the Lord of bliss
to bear the dreadful curse for my soul, for my soul,
to bear the dreadful curse for my soul?

2 When I was sinking down, sinking down, sinking down,
when I was sinking down, sinking down;
when I was sinking down beneath God’s righteous frown,
Christ laid aside his crown for my soul, for my soul,
Christ laid aside his crown for my soul.

other verses are fine…

 

How Deep the Father’s Love For Us

How deep the Father’s love for us,
How vast beyond all measure,
That He should give His only Son
To make a wretch His treasure.
How great the pain of searing loss –
The Father turns His face away,
As wounds which mar the Chosen One
Bring many sons to glory.

Behold the man upon a cross,
My sin upon His shoulders;
Ashamed, I hear my mocking voice
Call out among the scoffers.
It was my sin that held Him there
Until it was accomplished;
His dying breath has brought me life –
I know that it is finished.

Beauty will Save the World – Brian Zahnd

Russell Moore (Baptist theologian) says, ” Too often, and for too long, American ‘Christianity’ has been a political agenda in search of a gospel useful enough to accommodate it.”

Brian talks about how messed up our vision of the purpose of the church became when we seized the tool of political pragmatism after Constantine established Christianity as the state religion. Political partisanship costs us our prophetic voice (a. Our mission is to be faithful as God’s alternative society…being the image of God and the expression of his love

Diamond Smugglers to the Rescue

One trip south to Kajiji, by the Angolan border, MAF planned to take Dad and his group to a Mennonite mission station there. It was Jean Sakala, Dede Kikavuanga Dongo, Paul and Joseph Tsasa. They needed two thousand dollars minimum for the trip (two return flights to the MAF station for dropoff and pickup). The two brothers seemed to always get sick when flying and by the time they arrived at the station they were green in the face.

They were feeling so sick that they laid out on the ground in the shade of the Cessna’s wings and the pilot hung around a little longer than customary to make sure they were OK. There was a great procession of greeting and singing in good Congolese fashion, choirs singing, children waving and cheering. Eventually the commotion died down and people trickled away when they understood there would be some delay until these boys recovered.

The unusual delay brought just the right window of opportunity for what followed. Two men approached the pilot and group out of breath, exhausted and anxious looking, sweating all over. They were urgently asking the pilot to fly them out of there…it appeared anywhere was fine.

a Dad’s performance review

This is taken from the Culture Translator email newsletter from axis.org

How Am I Doing?
It’s one of the scariest questions we can ask. Asking ourselves how we’re doing requires vulnerability, honesty, and the willingness to admit failure or that we’re not ok. Asking others how we’re doing means willingly opening ourselves to criticism, which can be painful. So asking our children how we’re doing as parents? Yikes! Yet it’s the only way we can measure our progress or make meaningful improvements. You can’t fix what you don’t know is broken! Sure, your children may want you to make changes that you know aren’t actually good for them, but they also may surprise you with their insight, desires, and dreams. In that vein, pastor and blogger Todd Wagner surveys his kids every six months or year so they have a safe and easy way to provide feedback about how he’s doing as a father. The following are 11 questions he uses as a starting point.

1. What have been some of the best times you’ve had with your dad/mom this past year?
2. If you had to give me some advice on how to be a better dad/mom, what would it be? Why?
3. If you and I could sit down and talk about anything, what would it be?
4. What are some of the things that are making you anxious, fearful, or discouraged right now so I can pray for you?
5. What’s something you would like to do with me?
6. How can I help you grow in your love for God and in your ability to serve and live faithfully for Him?
7. What has been the best thing I’ve done (or that we’ve done together as a family) this last year that has helped you most in your understanding of God and His love for you?
8. What would you say has been the biggest area of growth for you in the last year?
9. What have you learned about God/Christ/faith this last year that has blessed you?
10. If you could grow in any area in the next 12 months, where would you want it to be?
11. What do you think your dad/mom is most passionate about?

Let us know how it goes for you or if you have any great questions you’ve used in the past. We’d love to hear your stories! Todd was also part of our Parenting Teens Summit, and it’s not too late to watch his helpful interview. See “Last Chance” below for more details.