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Friday, 06 November 2009

One Sacred Home: What Do You Think?

I always thought it would be neat to renovate and live in an old church. A couple decided to do just that.
A Couple decided to purchase an old church in Kyloe, North Cumberland, England . They invested lots of money to keep the outside as it was . They restored instead of renovated ( It wound up being 3 times less money )

The couple did there best to recreate the inside like a regular home. What do you think?

Here is some more pictures:

More Here...

Thursday, 05 November 2009

Interfaith Relationships: Would You Convert for Love?

I read an interesting article yesterday which reported that Ivanka Trump, the daughter of the infamous millionaire Donald Trump, got married recently to Jared Kushner, the owner of The New York Observer. That would be the end of the story, were it not for the fact that Kushner and his family are devout orthodox Jews. In order to gain acceptance into her fiancee's family, Ivanka Trump converted to Judaism.
Interfaith relationships can be very complicated, and a variety of outcomes can occur. Some seem to work out just fine for both parties, while other relationships end because the divide caused by differences in faith is too wide to be bridged by love alone. Perhaps more infrequently, one partner decides that he or she will convert to the other faith.

This isn't to say that the conversion is for love alone; after all, it is perfectly reasonable to suggest that, while falling in love with another person, one can also fall in love with his or her faith. Yet it is a slippery slope, as deep and personal as religious beliefs can be. There is always a chance that the conversion was for the wrong reasons and that later on he or she will realize the conversion was a mistake. How much more complicated a relationship gets when one realizes one has changed just to please the other person and not to please oneself! More Here...
Stupid Birds and Trusting God

by Dave Burchett
Today I was sitting at my nephew’s house in Southern Ohio when I heard a THUMP! Then another THUMP! Going to investigate I found that a beautiful Cardinal was sitting on a branch near the dining room window. I guess he saw his reflection because he would look at the window, take off and fly smack into it. THUMP! He did this over and over.
I remembered that I had a similar experience with a bird back in Texas so I was relieved that this is not just a Red State phenomenon. I thought I would revisit my comments on Avian behavior and how that relates to my personal journey. No, I have not yet seen my reflection in a mirror and attacked it. I would more likely move quickly away. I like to think I am smarter than that bird so I laugh and make fun of him for mindlessly hitting the same window time after time. Obviously he is not hurting himself too badly because he comes back every day for the morning concussion. Stupid bird.
But the sad parallel is that for years and years I would go out and imitate this poor creature with my own daily behaviors as a Christian. More Here...
Expanding the Kingdom of God

This morning in the shower I was talking to God, and God brought to my mind how missionaries go to countries, bring the gospel to people, how some are touched by God and get saved. Usually it all starts small. A small group of one or two believers. They grow, and usually it is that minister that starts a church as it grows.
Being the pastor, doing nearly all by himself and with his family, often they go through hard and barren times. There are no second opinions. The congregation often is in danger to end up as a religious group, and the people that get added often get added because of the physical benefits the church offers. As soon as the first generation makes it through church, and the second generation enters (often the children of those people, born and raised in the church), they take on their responsibilities (or bore their socks off,and leave), but if they do understand the importance of their eternal salvation, I noticed often they will bring their talents into the church.
The church grows from an Evangelist with a home group, to the evangelist becoming a pastor, and a small church being supported by that pastor (and his family), to becoming a church that has people of the congregation bringing and building the kingdom together.
In Europe we've had too long a 'pastoral' church season. (It lasted from about as far as the Catholic church made itself manifest somewhere in the dark ages, all the way to around 1980, when I was born). Seasons where the pastor or priest did everything in the service; a one man show.
But that is changing. More Here...
Seeing Jesus in the Homeless

I was reading something earlier about what it means to treat other people like Jesus. It really convicted me.

It asked what if Jesus was actually the stranger beside me on the bus, or that I passed by on the street, waiting for someone to do some random act of kindness to him. While I don't really think that would happen, it thought it was interesting. It made me think of how I should treat other people.

I just spent a weekend in downtown Cincinnati. I did give homeless people change as I passed them, but I couldn't help but feel completely helpless. I was wrestling all weekend with how I am supposed to treat them. I don't find any comfort, or self-righteousness in giving them change. Giving a homeless person change doesn't fix the problem of homelessness, it only gives them a temporary respite.

I don't know how to fix the problems of homelessness, but I do know that we need to do more than giving them change as we pass them.

What if all Jesus wants from us as we pass a homeless person is to love them as He loves them? The Bible says what you do to the least of these, you do to me, and to love your neighbor as yourself. I think we are always called one step further than what we want to take things. More Here...