Category: Calvary
Planning Our Time Now For Eternity
Everybody knows what it feels like to not have time for everything they want to do. There are so many books to read, movies to watch, places to explore, music to listen to, games to play, food to discover, not to mention all the things you need to get done at work and at home. Time feels like an enemy, always parceling out JUST enough minutes in the day or days in the week to get some things done, but not all of it. → Read more...
Community of Believers
In my reading time, I’ve been reading the book Heaven by Randy Alcorn. (A brief digression: This fantastic book is the subject of one of the classes premiering next Thursday as part of The Core. Pastor Howard will be teaching this class, using this book. If you’re interested, sign up online by visiting our website at www.calvaryop.org.) Heaven is a scholarly and fascinating dissection of what the Bible says about, well, Heaven. The author, Randy Alcorn, paints a beautiful and exciting picture of our future home that is well-researched and well-written with a lot of Biblical support in it. → Read more...
Labor Day
I’ve always been struck by the amusing irony of having a holiday called Labor Day where one was not supposed to be working. Curious on what the origins of the holiday were, I quickly browsed the Internet and learned that the holiday originated in Canada where parades held in support of Canadian labor movements led to an annual celebration. Inspired Americans began organizing “labor days.” This idea slowly filtered out to other states throughout the years until 1894 when President Grover Cleveland put reconciliation with Labor as a top political priority after a major strike that resulted in the deaths of a number of workers at the hands of the U.S. → Read more...
The Patient Potter and the Impatient Clay
I cracked open my Bible last night to Jeremiah 18. In this chapter, the prophet Jeremiah is sent by God to visit a potter’s house because God wanted to give him a message there. Jeremiah writes: “So I went down to the potter’s house, and I saw him working at the wheel. But the pot he was shaping from the clay was marred in his hands; so the potter formed it into another pot, shaping it as seemed best to him. → Read more...
In Medias Res
Frequent readers of this eLetter will know that I love movies and serial television shows, especially ones that attempt to tell a grand story over a period of time. Some of them employ a literary technique called in medias res, which is Latin for “into the midst of affairs.” This refers to where the narrative starts in the middle of the story instead of its beginning. The characters, setting, and conflict are often introduced through a series of flashbacks or through characters relating past events to each other. → Read more...
Float Like a Butterfly
We “all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God.” (Romans 3:23). This bible verse has burrowed its way inside my heart this week. This week, with the help of the Spirit, I’ve quietly taken stock on the ways I’ve fallen short and, boy, some days are better than others, but on all days, there’s always something. Sometimes it’s something small. Sometimes it’s something large. But my response is always the same: “Man, I wish I hadn’t done that.” → Read more...
The Divine Within
I’ve been reading another book. This time it is The Divine Commodity. It’s a challenging book that asks some tough questions about how Christianity should be spread and shared in our contemporary culture. I’m only a couple of chapters in, but so far it’s amazing how the book details what I’ve been dwelling on lately: the increasing commodification of humans. The definition of commodity is as thus: “Something useful that can be turned to commercial or other advantage.” → Read more...
Why We Fight
October 15, 2009
Calvary
Comments Off on Why We Fight
Matt
We don’t think of our daily life as a battle, but it is. The Bible clearly teaches that there is a spiritual warfare for all of the souls of humanity. You can’t get much clearer than Ephesians 6:10-13: “Finally, be strong in the Lord and in his mighty power. Put on the full armor of God so that you can take your stand against the devil’s schemes. For our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the powers of this dark world and against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly realms. → Read more...
battleEphesiansGodheavenHelllifeSatansoulspiritual warfarewar