One of their great songs, MLK, in honor of Martin Luther King Jr. Proving again that there has never been a band with the social conscious of this one. Enjoy!
More U2 as I give tribute to the greatest band by walking through their musical history. This installment brings us to New Year's Day. BTW, there is no chronology to these U2 posts, just posting some of my favorite songs from all their albums. Enjoy!
I have a friend who is a missionary in Japan. She recently posted this on her blog. Apparently they have these restaurants in Japan that have these conveyor belts that bring sushi around and you just grab what you want off the conveyor belt and they charge you for how many plates you have at the end. Well, they decided to put something else on the conveyor belt.
Most Underrated... ...TV Show - Arrested Development (unfortunately it is not on anymore) ...Snack Food - Bugles ...Rock Band - Muse or MuteMath ...Author - Henri Nouwen ...hobby - reading ...Movie - Reign Over Me (2007) ...Candy Bar - Milky Way ...Cereal - Fruity Pebbles ...The Spiritual Life - prayer ...Miscellaneous - the simple things in life
"Blessed are those that hunger and thirst for dikaios's sake, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven" - Matthew 5:6.
I had always read this the way dikaios is usually interpreted, as "righteousness". Interestingly enough, I have found that it can just as easily and correctly be translated as "justice". How does this change its meaning.
"Blessed are those that hunger and thirst for JUSTICE's sake, for theirs is the kingdom of God."
I have decided to do a series of posts weighing in on a subject I have been thinking and studying about for a while. I have to start by explaining that my thoughts and positions on this subject have changed dramatically over the past decade. I also expect they will continue to grow, morph and change as I get older. Part of the reason for this series of posts is to get out what I am thinking. This does not come from a paper or a sermon I have written or preached, it comes from my head as I type. With that in mind, I might jump around a bit, so stick with me. I have to give credit my older brother James, who continues to teach me things, for the seed thought for these posts. We had a conversation a couple weeks ago, and I have been chewing on it since.
I feel that we in the American church are far past the need to have a conversation about what our role is and should be in politics and government. Unfortunately, a healthy conversation has not been possible because we Christians don't allow for others within the family to differ in our opinions and still feel a part of the family. This happens with many subjects, and unfortunately it shuts down any meaningful dialogue that could happen. So, although I will be proposing things I have come to believe, I do it with charity and humility, knowing that I have never been totally right, and someone else totally wrong. Also, to save time I will refer to politics and government as PG. (funny, cause it usually is at least PG13 or even R :) )
In this series of posts I will deal with what I see as the major struggles of Christians in America and their participation in PG (for all my friends that are not American citizens, I am only working this conversation from within my present context, however the subject has applications in any country or nation); an overview of the differing views within the Christian world of how we should participate in PG, including looking at where these ideas came from; what I see as the Biblical understanding of how we should participate in PG and how Jesus himself participated in PG; and lastly an overview of my stance.
I understand that this is only a series of blog posts, and that there have been whole volumes written on the subject. I will not be able to write everything I have thought on the subject, and it might take a question or comment to get further clarification on what I am thinking. Feel free to participate. I know this is a bit of a heavy subject, but it is a needed one. So...lets talk together about how we as Christians are called by God to participate.
As I continue to walk through the discography of the greatest band ever, I am reminded of one of the reasons I love this Rock Band, it is because they are not just a rock band, they are humans trying to make a difference, bringing light to the darkness of certain situations. Sounds like Jesus might be influencing them. Here is one example of them using their music to inform others and attempt to change things. Enjoy!
If there is one thing I have struggled keeping consistent in my spiritual walk it is dedicated time of prayer. As Christians our faith is built upon spiritual disciplines; reading the Bible, taking the Lord’s table, spending time in community together with other believers, and spending time in prayer. The hardest of these for me has always been prayer. Life seems to choke it out of my schedule; or correctly said, “I allow it to be choked out of the schedule of my life.” We live in a busy world. From the time we wake up to the time we lay down at night, it seems as if we are “going, going, going”. We have jobs to do, families to care for, church obligations, and many other miscellaneous activities, all vying for our time. It is no wonder we don’t have time to pray. We don’t have time for much of anything else. However, I propose that even in this busy world, and in our busy lives, it is not that we can’t afford to spend time to pray, rather, it is that we can’t NOT afford to spend time to pray. I remember reading the story of John Wesley and his commitment to pray. God had told John to pray more, and even though it required a commitment, he did, and when he did, the time he had left in the day seemed to last long enough to get all of the other things done. God honors those who pray, and if we want to be more productive, and more efficient, as well as filled with inner strength and peace, we must start our days out with a dedicated time of prayer. If we do, God will honor it and help use the time left in a better way. Jesus made it a habit set aside quiet time of connection to the father, and through that connection, the father worked through him. This is the pattern we are to follow as well. Also, we must remember what the Apostle Paul said, that we can “pray without ceasing.” Mother Teresa said this about prayer, “There are some people who, in order not to pray, use as an excuse the fact that life is so hectic that it prevents them from praying. This cannot be. Prayer does not demand that we always interrupt our work, but that we continue working as if it were a prayer. It is not necessary to always be meditating, nor to consciously experience the sensation that we are talking to God, no matter how nice this would be. What matters is being with him, living in him, in his will. To love with a pure heart, to love everybody, especially to love the poor, is a twenty four hour prayer.”
