The puzzle and the Church of Christ

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Consider the analogy of a puzzle. When each puzzle piece is properly positioned in relation to the other pieces, the puzzle is assembled. The net effect? We see the entire picture . It’s the same way with Christ and His church.
The highest purpose of the church meeting, then , is to make the invisible Christ visible through His body. Put another way, we gather together to reassemble the Lord Jesus Christ on the earth. When this happens, not only is Christ glorified in His saints, and not only is each member edified, but something is also registered in unseen realms: Principalities and powers in heavenly places are shamed.

Frank Viola, Reimagining Church, Kindle edition.

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Trupul tau, religia ta

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Am fost saptamana trecuta cu un coleg nou la sala unui club de rugby din apropriere.

Printre altele imi spune… ‘Si, …am auzit ca esti religios.’. ‘Depinde ce intelegi prin a fi religios’ ii raspund.

‘Religion is the biggest killer’ (Religia este cel mai mare ucigas), vine pe nerasuflate replica sa. ‘Budistii cred ca sunt cei mai pasnici’, continua el.

‘Nu stiu ce sa zic...’, ii raspund. ‘Crestinismul inteles corect, asa cum a fost lasat de Isus, cred ca este cea mai pasnica religie. Remember… daca iti da cineva o palma, intoarce si celalalt obraz, binecuvantati si rugati-va pentru vrajmasii vostri… Insa in timp s-a stricat. De aici si toate mizeriile Bisericii din istorie, de aia are permanent nevoie Biserica de reforma, de transformare, innoire, intoarcere la inceputuri. Omul este corupt si strica ceea ce Dumnezeu a lasat bun, spre binele nostru’. 

‘Mda…, probabil. Oricum, eu nu sunt religios. Nu ma intereseaza!’, vine replica lui, ducand apoi discutia in zona antrenamente, greutati, aparate. El, un tip la 35 ani, facut bine, cu masina plina de cutii cu proteine, vitamine, sticlute, cu o disciplina zilnica a lucrarii diferitelor grupe de muschi, imi arata apoi poze cu echipamentul de cateva mii de lire pe care il detine, cateva biciclete tot asa, conectate la nu stiu ce dispozitive, pasionat, efeverscent. Ochii ii sclipeau intr-un fel foarte narcisist cand imi povestea cum face cardio pe bicicleta conectata la TV-ul de n inches, pe un program cu Turul Frantei etc.

‘Ok, am inteles…’, ii spun. ‘De fapt, esti foarte religios. Trupul tau este religia ta!’. 

A inceput sa zambeasca. ‘Cam asa ceva…’, imi raspunde.

Weighed on the scales and found righteous

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writingwallYou might have heard of Dr. Duncan MacDougall, an early 20th-century physician in Haverhill, Massachusetts who sought to measure the mass lost by a human when the soul departed the body at death. To measure the soul. MacDougall attempted to measure the mass change of six patients at the moment of death. His first subject, the results from which MacDougall felt were most accurate, lost “three-fourths of an ounce”, which has since been popularized as “21 grams”. Of the four successful measurements he obtained an average weight loss at the moment of death of 15 grams. The total average unaccounted for weight loss in these four subjects was found to be approximately 29 grams.

The experiment is very dark and shows how people today are rushing in this quest to define everything.

That reminded me of Continue reading →

Five Lies About Your Body

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It does matter what perspective you have about your body. In history there have been many insights about the human body. It was seen as a prison of the soul, it was neglected, considered something secondary.
I remember the last centuries mystic monk who lived literally on a stand, punishing his body. When a worm fell off his skin, he took the worm, put it back, saying: Eat creature of God.
“Your mistake is that you don’t know the Scriptures, and you don’t know the power of God”, Jesus is saying. In Romanian “your mistake” is translated with “you get lost”. So, it’s easy to get lost. Just ignore the Bible and what God is sharing to you.
The Word places a great emphasis on the way we look at the body, the teachings are very clear and they can release some of the misconceptions we might have.
Jen Wilkin presents below five lies about our body, bringing them in the light of God.

Lie #1: Your body is decorative. It should be used to attract the attention of men and the envy of women. What matters most is how it looks.
Truth: Your body is useful. It should be used to accomplish the good works that God ordained for you to do. What matters most is what it does.

Lie #2: Your body’s appearance is flawed but fixable. You are not the right size, shape, or color. But you can (and should) go to enormous effort and expense to change that.
Truth: Your body’s appearance is designed by God. You are fearfully and wonderfully made, according to a plan. Because God is a God of infinite creativity, people come in many different sizes, shapes, and colors.

Continue reading →