...when we take the time to stop and rest, to stop and focus, to stop and purposefully decide what we will choose to do with our lives -- we will begin to engage God and those around us in more intentional ways, and our lives will begin to fill with the kinds of experiences and stories that really matter. Stories full of purpose. ~ Matt Knisely, Framing Faith, p.19
"I will meditate on your precepts and fix my eyes on your ways. I will delight in your statutes; I will not forget your word."Clearly, the majority of my photos are taken with a shallow depth of field that creates an out-of-focus background - a photography technique called bokeh, meaning blur. Some bokehs, or blurs, can be more appealing than the object in focus - like this one, with "pearls" (as my lovely friend Marilyn calls them) - pearls of light that flow down the vine covered tree and dance across the tall grass, before tumbling over the fence.~ Psalm 119:15-16
"Turn full your soul's vision to Jesus, and look at Him, and a strange dimness will come over all that is apart from Him, and the Divine 'attrait' by which God's saints are made, even in this 20th century, will lay hold of you. For 'He is worthy' to have all there is to be had in the heart that He has died to win."
Cheap grace is the preaching of forgiveness without requiring repentance. ~ Dietrich Bonhoeffer, The Cost of Discipleship
In a brief discussion on the reluctance to identify and name evil in Unpacking Forgiveness, Pastor Brauns mentions the apathy of the Christians in Germany to stand up to Nazism with Bonhoeffer's explanation for the church's ineffectiveness.Many today suppose they are Christians even though they have not genuinely repented and believed. This undermining of the gospel is what Dietrich Bonhoeffer called "cheap Grace.
The tragedies of "cheap grace" are multiple. First, there is a large group of people who think they are Christians when they are not. A second negative consequence of "cheap grace" is that the believers fail to think discerningly about what is right and wrong. When evil is not identified and named, it soon flourishes. (emphasis mine) ~ Chris Brauns, Unpacking Forgiveness, p.69
But do we realize this cheap grace has turned back on us like a boomerang? The price we are having to pay today in the shape of the collapse of the organized church is only the inevitable consequence of our policy of making grace available to all at too low a cost. We gave away the word and sacraments wholesale, we baptized, confirmed, and absolved a whole nation unasked and without condition. Our humanitarian sentiment made us give that which was holy to the scornful and the unbelieving. We poured forth unending streams of grace. But the call to follow Jesus in the narrow way was rarely ever heard." ~ Bonhoeffer, A Testament to FreedomPastor Brauns concludes with these thoughts...
We must see this warning as relevant for today. Just as it was to Germany in the late 1920s and 1930s, evil is on the rise in the twenty-first century. The church ought to identify and name evil, not declare that all must be unconditionally forgiven.~ Chris Brauns, Unpacking Forgiveness, p. 70Abortion is an evil. It is not just a sad and tragic "bad choice", but an evil that even many in the church have grown apathetic towards. There are few illustrations more revealing of that evil than the story of Sycloria Williams and baby Shanice, and if you don't believe me read A botched abortion in mother’s own words for yourself - and weep. More: There Is Nothing Worse Than Abortion What the Mexico City Policy Does With Your Money Abortion Outrage: Face to Face with a Human Being Two must-have blog subscriptions if you want to stay current and informed: Zach Nielson at Take Your Vitamin Z: Zach posts on a variety of topics, and is an excellent resource for links to thoughtful and instructive pro-life posts around the blogosphere. Jill Stanek: Jill is a pro-life columnist and speaker.
