"Let me be transparent."

A thought by Erwin Raphael McManus, from his book, The Genius of Jesus (p. 20). The Crown Publishing Group. Kindle Edition. (Click on the book title to go to Amazon to buy the book.)

This is good.

Erwin continues, "I fully believe in the divinity of Jesus and in the historical accuracy of all the scriptures. I believe God stepped into human history, took on flesh and blood, and walked among us, and that his name is Jesus. It doesn’t lessen my fascination with the humanity of Jesus. Neither does it diminish his genius."

He says, "If you are a person of faith, it may feel offensive to you to explore Jesus’s genius apart from his divinity. But I believe that we have for too long attributed all that Jesus did, and all that he was, to his divine nature. Other than convincing us of his divinity, I wonder, what can we learn from the Jesus who walked on water, fed thousands with only five fish and two loaves of bread, and healed the sick? Could it be that our fixation on the miraculous has blinded us to the transcendent?

He walked on water!

"Even when Jesus healed, it always had a deeper intention. He was never showing off. He was trying to change the way we see reality. When he healed a blind person, he spoke of our blindness and insisted that he came to give us sight. It was a metaphor wrapped in the miraculous—a way of getting our attention so we would know there was more going on than met the eye. Like a chicken transfixed on a singular object, we have yet to take our eyes off the spectacular and see the Jesus standing right in front of us."

He goes on, "In the end, he was not crucified for the miracles he performed. He was crucified because he violated the way people saw God, the scriptures, themselves, and the world around them. Jesus was by every definition a heretic. Yet one thing proves to be true over and over again. Once Jesus changes how you see reality, you can never see it the same again."

Erwin then says, "To fail to see Jesus as a man is to dismiss the complexity of his thinking, the brilliance of his ideas, the power of his character, and the beauty of who he was in full. I hope the pages to follow will change that oversight. Jesus is without question among the world’s great geniuses. More than that, I am convinced that Jesus stands alone above all the others."

And that is so true, isn't it? Yes, yes! #continuethought

Comments

“Hurry and love are incompatible.”

A thought by John Mark Comer from his book, The Ruthless Elimination of Hurry (p. 23). The Crown Publishing Group. Kindle Edition. (Click on the book title to go to Amazon.com to buy the book.) Wow, pretty strong thought isn’t it? John says, “All my worst moments as a father, a husband, and a pastor, even as a human being, are when I’m in a hurry—late for an appointment, behind on my unrealistic to-do list, trying to cram too much into my day. I ooze anger, tension, a critical nagging—the antitheses of love. If you don’t believe me, next time you’re trying to get your type B wife and three young, easily distracted children out of the house and you’re running late (a subject on which I have a wealth of experience), just pay attention to how you relate to them. Does it look and feel like love? Or is it far more in the vein of agitation, anger, a biting comment, a rough glare? Hurry and love are oil and water: they simply do not mix.” He goes on, “Hence, in the apostle P...

"Lie 2: The more you worry about it, the better your odds of avoiding it."

A thought by Louie Giglio in his book, Winning the War on Worry (p. 5). Thomas Nelson. Kindle Edition. (Click on the book title to go to Amazon to buy the book.) Here is another lie that the Enemy uses with us. And Louie says, "This is a tricky lie. Yes, we often have cause for concern and preparation. But the Enemy wants you to believe that if you worry or fret over a certain outcome long enough, you can keep something bad from happening." But this is so important to realize. He says, "The reality is worrying has never once prevented something negative from happening. Planning might. Prayer has. But worry never will." He continues, "The Enemy tells you that by worrying about a situation (or every situation) you can make your tomorrow better. Really, worry just robs you of today. Jesus implored us: 'I tell you, do not worry about your life, what you will eat or drink; or about your body, what you will wear. Is not life more than food, and the body mor...

“The gospel is good news, not good advice.”

A thought by Timothy Keller (2016-10-25) from his book, Hidden Christmas: The Surprising Truth Behind the Birth of Christ (p. 21). Penguin Publishing Group. Kindle Edition. (Click on the title to go to Amazon.com to buy the book.) I’m glad you stopped to catch a glimpse of what this thought really means. Tim says, “Advice is counsel about what you must do. News is a report about what has already been done. Advice urges you to make something happen. News urges you to recognize something that has already happened and to respond to it. Advice says it is all up to you to act. News says someone else has acted.” He then gives an illustration, “Let’s say there is an invading army coming toward a town. What that town needs is military advisers; it needs advice. Someone should explain that the earthworks and trenches should go over there, the marksmen go up there, and the tanks must go down there.” That’s advice He goes on, “However, if a great king has intercepted and ...

Just Continue That Thought...

Search This Blog