Ecumenism

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Scriptures That Bother Me — Deuteronomy 8:1

Posted by Jim Thornber on August 18, 2009
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Living Carefully

“Be careful to follow every command I am giving you today” – Deuteronomy 8:1

cautionThis morning while reading Scripture, I had one of those times when I intended to read an entire chapter, but couldn’t get out of the first verse. In fact, I didn’t even finish the first verse.  All I saw was, Be careful to follow every command I am giving you today. And what struck me hard was the word “today.”

Yes, I know that this chapter is referring to all the commands that God gave the children of Israel. However, there are still those commands that God is giving me for today which apply only for today.

I’ve often found that God will bring a sense to my spirit that something significant is going to happen and I need to be ready for it. Sometimes, He indicates that I need to be ready to encourage someone. And sure enough, He will bring someone across my path that needs just such a word.

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Scriptures That Bother Me — Romans 12:1

Posted by Jim Thornber on August 14, 2009
Posted in: Christian Spirituality. Tagged: , , , , , , , , , , , . 4 Comments

Logical Worship

Therefore, I urge you, brothers, in view of God’s mercy, to offer your bodies as living sacrifices, holy and pleasing to God – this is your spiritual act of worship. Romans 12:1

hand When I was in Bible College, one of the key phrases that flowed from the mouths of those studying for the ministry was, “I just want to know God’s will for my life.” This is a fair and noble goal, to be sure, an ambition worthy of both princes and paupers alike. But in the twenty something years since my graduation, I’ve come to see that finding God’s will is both simple and profound, and like most things about God, it comes at a price.

Paul told the Christians at Rome to take a wide-angle look at God’s mercy as seen throughout the history of Israel, and conclude this panorama by offering themselves as living sacrifices. He tells them that as a sacrifice they have found the spiritual – from the Greek word logikos – or reasonable, rational, logical way to worship God. True spiritual, reasonable worship only happens through a life that is lived as a sacrifice. Continue Reading

Thoughts on Holiness

Posted by Jim Thornber on August 12, 2009
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For four years I was an Assemblies of God minister and a monk with the Brothers and Sisters of Charity at the Little Portion Hermitage. This is an excerpt from an unpublished book I’ve written called Talking Off My Comfortable Clothes, from the chapter on Holiness.

Einstein

As I was sitting in a Starbucks going over this chapter, I kept thinking, “What is it I want to say to my readers?” Here are my final thoughts on Holiness.

  • Be real with who you are. Accept and embrace your gifts and talents as well as your sins and limitations.
  • Beware of succumbing to someone’s personal (or organizational) standards for holiness, especially if they have no Scriptural basis.
  • Find people in your life that will hold you accountable for living a holy life — a life sacred to God and separate from the standards of the world — but who will also encourage you and your dreams at the same time.
  • Run from every naysayer who will try to make your life conform to his or her mediocre box of fears.
  • Holiness is not a matter of eating, drinking or dressing. It is living the character of Christ.
  • Memorize this quote from Albert Einstein: “Great spirits have always encountered violent opposition from mediocre minds.”

Permission Granted

Posted by Jim Thornber on July 22, 2009
Posted in: Religion. Tagged: , , , , , , , , , , , . 1 Comment

For four years I was an Assemblies of God minister and a monk with the Brothers and Sisters of Charity at the Little Portion Hermitage. This is an excerpt from an unpublished book I’ve written called Talking Off My Comfortable Clothes.

When I was a pastor, I used to tell my congregation that I wanted to be known as “Pastor Permission Giver.” I wanted to give people permission to use their gifts, talents and passions for God, regardless of what they were. I figured if God gave a person the gift to paint pictures, then there was some way for that person to glorify God through those paintings. Others might have the gift to learn languages, enjoy working with mentally handicapped adults (my mom has that gift), or write music. Whatever gift you have, it has not been given to you by mistake, and the Creator of your gifts has granted you permission to use your gifts and passions in His Church. And if your church can’t find a place for you and your passions, THEN GO FIND ONE THAT WILL!  I did.

The Church has too often become a place where amateurs and beginners have no place to practice their gifts and talents. That’s a shame, because the Church should be the safest place in the world to practice our gifts, make a mistake, know you are safe, and try again.

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Scriptures That Bother Me — 1 John 2:9-10

Posted by Jim Thornber on July 21, 2009
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Am I Blocking The Light?

“Anyone who claims to live in God’s light and hates a brother or sister is still in the dark. It’s the person who loves brother and sister who dwells in God’s light and doesn’t block the light from others” (1 John 2:9-10, The Message)

shadowI saw a former member of my church yesterday. It has been about a year since she and her husband moved to another state to pursue their careers, and the church really missed them and their family.

After a bit of small talk, she finally told me, with her hand over her face and her head turned down, she was getting a divorce. Her marriage had lasted about six years.

Once again, Bible College didn’t teach me how to respond to this. I simply looked at her and said, “I’m sorry.” Apparently, it was enough, because she continued to share her heart with me.

Unfortunately, not every reaction she’s received has been so gracious. The youth pastor’s wife at her new church actually got right up in her face and screamed at her. Other Christians have shunned her. How tragic. I’ve spent some time reading the New Testament, and I cannot remember an instance where Jesus screamed in someone’s face or shunned them because they were in a difficult situation. Instead, He always allowed the love and light of God to shine.

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Scriptures That Bother Me — Deuteronomy 8:10

Posted by Jim Thornber on July 16, 2009
Posted in: Writing. Tagged: , , , , , , , , , , , . 4 Comments

Giving Thanks

“When you have eaten and are satisfied, praise the LORD your God for the good land he has given you.” Deuteronomy 8:10

dinnerIf you’ve been involved in Christianity for more that two weeks, you’ve probably sat around the dinner table with other Christians and prayed before you ate. This is a good practice, for reminds us that God is the source of all the good things in our life. However, I think our practice of praying before a meal can become nothing more than a religious habit, especially when we are in the presence of other Christians. To be honest, the only time I ever pray over a meal is when I’m with someone else. Otherwise, I just jump right in and eat.

Although I believe that gratitude for the gifts of God needs to be a 24/7 attitude, I find I’m usually grateful on a ½ /1 basis. That is, about a half hour one day a week. Then I go and stumble upon Deuteronomy 8:10 and I feel like a worm.

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Scriptures That Bother Me — Romans 6:19

Posted by Jim Thornber on June 22, 2009
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The Temptation of Holiness

“Just as you used to offer the parts of your body in slavery to impurity and to ever-increasing wickedness, so now offer them in slavery to righteousness leading to holiness” – Romans 6:19 .

As I was preparing to teach a class on the theology of Paul, I came upon this Scripture in Romans. Naturally, the more I thought about it, the more this one idea stood out: I want to fall to the temptation of holiness.

Paul understood holiness to be a separation to God. More than that, it includes the conduct befitting those separated for God’s service. The Greeks understood holiness as being dedicated to the gods. As a Christian, we are to be dedicated, separated and sanctified to God alone and for His purposes only. I describe holiness as simply living the character of Christ.

Every one on earth has experienced that overwhelming, seemingly unstoppable temptation to sin – a temptation that is so powerful that eventually we have all succumbed to its calling at one time or another. I want to take that same single-minded, overwhelming temptation that once dominated my mind towards sin, and apply that same energy into a desire to live in righteousness leading to holiness. In other words, I want to desire holy living so much that I succumb to its temptation every time!

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Scriptures That Bother Me — Matthew 14:14

Posted by Jim Thornber on June 15, 2009
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“Most people are bothered by those passages of Scripture they do not understand, but the passages that bother me are those I do understand.” — Mark Twain

Not Bothered About Being Bothered

When Jesus landed and saw a large crowd, he had compassion on them and healed their sick. Matthew 14:14

Here’s the scene. Jesus has just heard that Herod, in a warped sense of duty, has presented the recently severed head of John the Baptist as a birthday present to his stepdaughter, who is also his niece, because his new wife, his brother’s ex, didn’t like John. Yes, it’s complicated. Anyway, upon hearing the news, Jesus took a boat to what He hoped would be a solitary place. However, His hoped-for solitary place was now full of people and, having compassion on them, He healed their sick. Furthermore, if you keep reading, He also performed the miracle we call “Feeding the Five Thousand.”

Okay, here’s that part that bothers me: Jesus wasn’t bothered about being bothered.

Maybe it’s just me, but I know if I had recently found out that a drunken, immoral, quasi-religious dictator had beheaded my cousin, I would want to go away and find a quiet, solitary place to pray and cry and shout out my pain to God. And once getting there, the last thing I’d want to do is minister to a bunch of people who are more interested in themselves than in my pain.

But Jesus doesn’t do that. Instead, He has compassion on them.

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Scriptures That Bother Me — Job 23:10

Posted by Jim Thornber on June 8, 2009
Posted in: Religion, Writing. Tagged: , , , , , , , , , , , . 22 Comments

Pure As Gold

“But he knows the way I take; when he has tested me, I will come forth as gold” – Job 23:10

goldThe book of Job bothers most people because it never really addresses the issue of why people suffer. However, Job bothers me because it show us that God is more interested in our faith and the final, gold-like qualities of our life than He is in our comfort and pleasure.

God wants us all to come forth as gold. But why gold? Probably because it is such an interesting metal. 1.02 ounces of gold can be drawn into a wire 62 miles long. It conducts electricity, shields from heat and, because of its ability to reflect infrared light, it is used to control the temperature on satellites. NASA coats the visors of space suits with gold to afford them protection from the rays of the sun.

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An Audience of One

Posted by Jim Thornber on June 4, 2009
Posted in: Religion. Tagged: , , , , , , , , , , , , , . 6 Comments

For four years I was an Assemblies of God minister and a monk with the Brothers and Sisters of Charity. The following is an excerpt from a yet-to-be-released book about my experiences.  This excerpt is from my chapter, When God Alone is Enough (Isolation). Previously posted in Jan. ’09.

guitarMany times throughout the year, men and women would spend a week at the community to see if the monastic lifestyle was something they felt called to embrace. One time a young man came to the community who played the guitar. That wasn’t unusual. We had many guitar players visit the community, often because they were attracted to John Michael‘s music. What was unusual was what John said about this young man. John and I were discussing the possibility that he might join the community, and John observed, “He is one of the best guitar players I’ve seen, but I cannot tell him that.” Some egos are better left unwatered until the proper time.

Later that week this man and I had a conversation. He was going on and on about how he wanted to use his guitar playing as a ministry, and I remembered what John had said about his talent.

“How do you feel about playing just for God?” I asked.

“What do you mean?” he said.

“Are you content to just sit in a room and play for God with nobody else listening?” I said.

“But I want to play for people,” he said.

“Until God alone is a big enough audience,” I said, “then you aren’t ready to play for people.”

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