Wednesday, May 23, 2007

Contemplative Faith?

Worship without evangelism is weak.

Believing without acting upon the belief is fake.

What good is knowledge unless it is put to use and/or taught to others.

Satisfaction in Christ without prophesying is hypocrisy.

Commitment to Christ without love shown to your fellow man is ignorance.

If we aren't doing the work of God, we aren't connected to him. Doing work for him without being connected to him is no better or worse; its the same.

Doing things your own way and thinking you know best instead of seeking answers and help from God and his people is stubbornness.

What is religion without the Holy Spirit inside us, making us who we are.

Loving God yet not having or trying hard to have Christian community that is like a close family, is divisive and paraplegic.

Community without dynamically seeking the growth of all believers and nonbelievers via all the things available to the body as a whole is lazy, habitual, uncaring and blind.

Faith without works is dead.

Thursday, May 10, 2007

Last Saturday (5/5/07) in Dallas

John didn't make a post on his blog since he is fasting from the internet, so I am typing one.

Downtown with the homeless church we read the second half of chapter 12 of John. I encouraged (or pleaded) the guys to try to read chapter's 13 through 17 by next Saturday (5-12-07) because it goes together as one conversation. It is also very rich and deep with truth, wisdom, Spirit and life. Taking five weeks to read it once a week would dilute its power. I want them to read every day.

One brother showed up two hours late and mildly drunk. I was angry that he was drunk so I did not greet him or even look at him. If he could only be open to admit his sinfulness to himself, to God and to us; God would heal him by faith, delivering him from his slavery. Later I was hanging out near this man, while the others were talking; he told me, "You've changed Ben." We talked a little, which repaired our friendship some.

After reading, John and the guys went to the Urban Market. I ran into a couple guys, one who didn't know we were in the library and one who had been distancing himself from the fellowship. We went to the Urban Market to join the others. John got drinks, medicine and oranges for the guys. We were hanging out talking for ten minutes when a couple store workers came out telling us we couldn't congregate there. There were nine of us standing there about to leave when this happened. Immediately we left. Everett turned and said "We're not bums." I asked the worker why [we had to leave]. The worker said he was just following the rules. Angry, I stopped, faced him, and said "You don't even know the rules, you're just doing what your boss told you to do." He said nothing and went in. John and I were angry because we don't get treated the way our homeless brothers do, but they told us to forget it.

John left and took three guys to Awakening house church. I hung out a little longer with George and Everett. We talked about disfellowship and about Everett's heart for God.

I left.

John called to tell me John Sanders wants to get baptised. He was baptised twice as a nonbeliever because his mom made him. He says he didn't start believing until John and me and the other guys started hanging out on Saturdays. Cool, huh? Praise Jesus.