WHITE TRASH

i remember a song long ago that 2 young Christians sang... "Jesus loves white trash.. like you" and as a prideful 18yr old in the fashionable northwest of sydney, i was incensed... 'how dare they call me white trash???'

now 18yrs on i realise that they were right... i am 'white trash' - pride satans favourite sin would have us think otherwise....

of course i am also of infinite value... but only because i am valued by Christ


so what do you think "Jesus loves white trash" as a blog name to replace shelly beach??????

A NEW NAME FOR THIS BLOG?

For a while now i have been concerned that this blog would be seen as a representative voice for the views held by those at Shelly Beach Christian Life Centre. Ususally not a problem as the posts are ususally generic and invite comment from all directions of faith... This however can restrict comments in someway ......... so the blog must go on but with a new name and be open to all and with a new 'take no prisoners' attitude.........

any suggestions for a new name????

the hard work of learning

Not only must we honestly announce that pain and work are the irremovable and irreducible accompaniments of genuine learning, not only must we leave entertainment to the entertainers and make education a task and not a game, but we must have no fears about what is “over the public’s head.” Whoever passes by what is over his head condemns his head to its present low altitude; for nothing can elevate a mind except what is over its head; and that elevation is not accomplished by capillary attraction, but only by the hard work of climbing up ropes, with sore hands and aching muscles. The school system which caters to the median child, or worse, to the lower half of the class; the lecturer before adults—and they are legion—who talks down to his audience; the radio or television program which tries to hit the lowest common denominator of popular receptivity—all these defeat the prime purpose of education by taking people as they are and leaving them just there.”

From Adler's “Invitation to the Pain of Learning,” in Reforming Education: The Opening of the American Mind (New York: Macmillan Publishing Company, 1988), 232-233, 235.

Those who teach in the church, particularly with our children and youth, must consider Adler's words. In the world of youth ministry, not only do we lower the bar of expectations but we succumb to the cultural tempation to entertain rather than teach. It is no wonder that "in spite of their generally positive attitude toward religion, almost no teenagers...can articulate the most basic beliefs of their faith."

how this for Christian tacky

yes its here the jesus toy

God's obligation

Miroslav Volf contends that we are incapable of giving anything that obliges God to reciprocate. For what do we have that we did not receive? Obligation? God's or ours? Here's a thought from Volf: 'But rather than receiving something God needs but doesn't have, what God receives is delight - the lover's delight at the sight of the beloved whose very existence is that lover's gift. What God also receives is pain - the lover's pain when love has been betrayed.' The point is that we are incapable of offering God a gift in such a way that will move him to be other than he is already... totally towards us in grace.

WHERE ARE WE GOING?

How would you feel if your pastor announced from the pulpit that he had uncovered a “new revelation” in the Bible? His discovery: That a church leader can have more than one wife.

Hopefully, you and everyone in the building would run, not walk, out of that church and never come back until the pastor had been replaced. But I am afraid too many of us gullible charismatics might stay in the pews—and eventually give the guy a standing ovation plus a $10,000 love offering.

cancer

That's the title of John Piper's most recent article, written on the eve of his surgery.Here are his ten points:
You will waste your cancer if you do not believe it is designed for you by God.
You will waste your cancer if you believe it is a curse and not a gift.
You will waste your cancer if you seek comfort from your odds rather than from God.
You will waste your cancer if you refuse to think about death.
You will waste your cancer if you think that “beating” cancer means staying alive rather than cherishing Christ.
You will waste your cancer if you spend too much time reading about cancer and not enough time reading about God.
You will waste your cancer if you let it drive you into solitude instead of deepen your relationships with manifest affection.
You will waste your cancer if you grieve as those who have no hope.
You will waste your cancer if you treat sin as casually as before.
You will waste your cancer if you fail to use it as a means of witness to the truth and glory of Christ.

Nero vs Paul and the truth

In A.D. 64, a fire broke out in Rome. It raged for six days and seven nights, totally destroying a great part of the city. Nero falsely charged the Christians for the blaze and punished them with, in Tacitus’ words, “the most exquisite tortures,” including being nailed to crosses and set ablaze to serve as torch-lights for Nero’s gardens.

This was the man who, that same year, held the Apostle Paul captive in chains in one of his dungeons.

I’ve seen pictures of this dungeon, a cistern hewn out of solid rock. A trap door in the ceiling was the only way in or out. A small rock ledge next to one wall just above ground level was the only break in the even hardness of the stone floor. It was the one place a doomed prisoner, lying on the cold stone, could prop himself up and write.

On this lonely ledge Paul penned his second letter to Timothy. It was his final epistle, and he knew it. Days later Nero’s wrath—and his ax—fell on the apostle.

These are Paul’s final words, his “swan song.” His writing is vigorous, intense as he passes the spiritual baton to the next generation. The letter bristles with words of urgency, warning, admonition, and exhortation:

“Kindle afresh the gift of God which is in you.” (1:6)

“Retain the standard of sound words which you have heard from me, in the faith and love which are in Christ Jesus.” (1:13)

“Be strong in the grace that is in Christ Jesus.” (2:1)

“The things which you have heard from me in the presence of many witnesses, these entrust to faithful men, who will be able to teach others also.” (2:2)

“Suffer hardship with me, as a good soldier of Christ Jesus.” (2:3)

“Be diligent to present yourself approved to God as a workman who does not need to be ashamed, accurately handling the word of truth.” (2:15)

“Realize this, that in the last days difficult times will come.” (3:1)

“I solemnly charge you…preach the word; be ready in season and out of season; reprove, rebuke, exhort, with great patience and instruction.” (4:1-2)

“Be sober in all things, endure hardship…fulfill your ministry.” (4:5)

One sentence early on, though, captures the beat of Paul’s heart resounding throughout the entire letter: “Guard the treasure which has been entrusted to you” (1:14).

I can think of no better book for this age then this final charge to Timothy by Paul. Every line speaks to the church in the 21st century.

How to end a conversation

There are several words and phrases that I think we should voluntarily ban from discussion and dialog. I hear them often, and they seem to me to be ways of feigning an argument when there is no substance, devices to avoid facing the consequences of a good argument. Rather than furthering a dialog, they shut it down and actually mischaracterise the other's statements very uncharitably. Here they are:

labeling a criticism as an "attack"
dismissing disapproval as "bashing"
mistaking a moral argument for a legal one and insisting that "people have a right to do what they want"
avoiding making a substantive response by stating, "Well, that's your opinion."
mistaking a moral claim for a preference claim: Well, I wouldn't want to have an abortion.
That works with vegetables, not morals: Well, I wouldn't eat beetroot.

These are phrases unworthy of a good dialog where both people should make a good case and acknowledge when one is made. Be on the lookout for them, and examine your own rhetoric for these tricks of the tongue.

Cultural Elites vs Narnia

The curious rise of anti-religious hysteria
It is the Anglo-American cultural elites' insecurity about their own values that encourages their frenzied attacks on religion.

This is a bit long but worth the read... very educational on the divide between the post modern societal elites and those who believe in the concept of universal moral values

Oprah

on the previous post, lionfish left a link on oprah...
http://www.watchman.org/oprah.htm

its a common way of thinking today... is she wrong? and if she is how can we respond in a way that shows the truth without making us look like we are whacking everyone with our 'truth' over the head...?

Science and Faith

(flogged this from Dr Chiangs website!)



Long before the distinction between faith and science became blurred, one of the greatest scientists in the 20th Century, Sir V.B. Wigglesworth (1899-1994)stated:
"The philosopher has no use for faith; that is why he speaks a totally different language from the scientist, whose entire system of thought is based on faith. It is curious to note how long it took for philosophers to recognize this obvious fact."
(from Wigglesworth, Insects and the Life of Man, London, Chapman and Hall, 1976, p.206)
He also stated in the same address: "For the laws of science, which are the immediate objects of our faith, are not regarded by the scientist as for ever true. They are temporary, provisional, or partial truths."
What does this mean for the evolution/creation debate?
It means that the scientific theory of evolution (molecule to man) is no more, or no less, valid than the Bible's account of creation. Both should be taught in schools since both depend on faith.

Should Biblical Creationism be taught in schools???

The difference between Thomas and a sceptic

The skeptic says, “If Jesus would only show Himself to me—if God would just work one dramatic miracle—then I’d believe in Him.” This kind of person overestimates himself. Even miracles can be denied or dismissed.
During Jesus’ passion week in Jerusalem, he was called to nearby Bethany because his friend Lazarus was dying. By the time Jesus arrived, Lazarus was gone. In a dramatic scene Jesus called him forth from the tomb alive, still wrapped in burial cloths.
This was a spectacular miracle performed in public for all to see. What was the response of the Jewish leaders? They plotted Jesus’ death. "This man is performing many signs. If we let Him go on like this, all men will believe in Him, and the Romans will come and take away both our place and our nation." (John 11:47-48)
But Jesus wasn’t the only one they wanted to eliminate. They also had to get rid of another piece of evidence: "But the chief priests took council that they might put to death Lazarus also; because on account of him many of the Jews were going away, and were believing in Jesus." (John 12:10-11)
Incredible! Instead of falling to their knees in response to this obvious display of Messianic power, they conspire to kill the very man whose public resurrection was proof positive of their error.

This is unbelievable unbelief.

You think if God just did a miracle it would change your rebellious heart? Don’t count on it. Jesus said, “If they do not listen to Moses and the Prophets, neither will they be persuaded if someone rises from the dead” (Luke 16:31).

As one wag put it, a skeptic with such an experience would not seek God, he’d seek a psychiatrist.

Oh so true. The sun melts butter…but it hardens clay.