religion

Psalms 36:5-7 & reflections on Luke 5:31-32

On 03/27/2023, in Daniel S. Christian, faith, global / globalization, hearts -- matters of the heart, relationships, religion, society, by Daniel Christian

Psalms 36:5-7 NIV — from bible.com

Your love, LORD, reaches to the heavens, your faithfulness to the skies. Your righteousness is like the highest mountains, your justice like the great deep. You, LORD, preserve both people and animals. How priceless is your unfailing love, O God! People take refuge in the shadow of your wings.

Luke 5:31-32 — from bible.com

“Jesus answered them, “It is not the healthy who need a doctor, but the sick. I have not come to call the righteous, but sinners to repentance.””
Luke 5:31-32 NIV

From DSC:
LORD, thank you for your grace, patience, and love.

Psalms 34:18 and Psalms 34:8

On 03/19/2023, in faith, global / globalization, hearts -- matters of the heart, relationships, religion, by Daniel Christian

Psalms 34:18 NIV — from bible.com

The LORD is close to the brokenhearted and saves those who are crushed in spirit.

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Psalms 34:8 NIV — from bible.com

Taste and see that the LORD is good; blessed is the one who takes refuge in him.

Deuteronomy 7:9 and Leviticus 19:35-36

On 03/11/2023, in business, faith, global / globalization, hearts -- matters of the heart, relationships, religion, society, by Daniel Christian

Deuteronomy 7:9 — from biblegateway.com

Know therefore that the Lord your God is God; he is the faithful God, keeping his covenant of love to a thousand generations of those who love him and keep his commandments.

Leviticus 19:35-36 NIV — from bible.com

Do not use dishonest standards when measuring length, weight or quantity. Use honest scales and honest weights, an honest ephah and an honest hin. I am the LORD your God, who brought you out of Egypt.

Reflections on Joshua 1:9

On 03/06/2023, in Daniel S. Christian, expectations, faith, hearts -- matters of the heart, relationships, religion, by Daniel Christian

Joshua 1:9 — from biblegateway.com

⁹Have I not commanded you? Be strong and courageous. Do not be afraid; do not be discouraged, for the Lord your God will be with you wherever you go.”

From DSC:
For me, “being with you” isn’t enough — at least in the sense of how I’ve historically thought about that phrase. As the years went by, I needed the LORD to be ACTIVELY with me. Taking action, not just watching. Participating, not just observing.

The older I’ve gotten, the more I realize that the LORD is very active in my/our lives. In fact, I think that if we knew the extent of His activities, our minds would likely be blown.

That doesn’t address all of the “but why?” questions I and others have. But I appreciate the LORD being active. I need Him to be active. And I think that He expects me to be active in return — to make use of the talents/gifts that He gave to me. These days, I’m trying to figure out what that next chapter looks like for my family and me.

1 John 4:10

On 02/25/2023, in faith, global / globalization, hearts -- matters of the heart, relationships, religion, by Daniel Christian

¹⁰This is love: not that we loved God, but that he loved us and sent his Son as an atoning sacrifice for our sins.

Psalm 19:7-14

On 02/19/2023, in faith, global / globalization, relationships, religion, by Daniel Christian

⁷The law of the Lord is perfect,
    refreshing the soul.
The statutes of the Lord are trustworthy,
    making wise the simple.
⁸The precepts of the Lord are right,
    giving joy to the heart.
The commands of the Lord are radiant,
    giving light to the eyes.
⁹The fear of the Lord is pure,
    enduring forever.
The decrees of the Lord are firm,
    and all of them are righteous.

¹⁰They are more precious than gold,
    than much pure gold;
they are sweeter than honey,
    than honey from the honeycomb.
¹¹By them your servant is warned;
    in keeping them there is great reward.
¹²But who can discern their own errors?
    Forgive my hidden faults.
¹³Keep your servant also from willful sins;
    may they not rule over me.
Then I will be blameless,
    innocent of great transgression.

¹⁴May these words of my mouth and this meditation of my heart
be pleasing in your sight,
Lord, my Rock and my Redeemer.

Psalm 19:1-4 and a somewhat related excerpt from Nicky Gumbel

On 02/12/2023, in faith, global / globalization, relationships, religion, science, society, by Daniel Christian

The heavens declare the glory of God; the skies proclaim the work of his hands.

Psalm 19:1-4
For the director of music. A psalm of David.

1 The heavens declare the glory of God;
the skies proclaim the work of his hands.
2 Day after day they pour forth speech;
night after night they reveal knowledge.
3 They have no speech, they use no words;
no sound is heard from them.
4 Yet their voice[b] goes out into all the earth,
their words to the ends of the world.
In the heavens God has pitched a tent for the sun.

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A detail image of the larger composite. DECaPS2/DOE/FNAL/DECam/CTIO/NOIRLab/NSF/AURA Image processing: M. Zamani & D. de Martin (NSF’s NOIRLab)

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An excerpt from Nicky Gumbel’s Classic Bible Study

Francis Collins, Director of the National Institutes for Health in the USA, a leader in the scientific response to COVID-19 and recipient of the 2020 Templeton Prize, led, in his former role as director of the Human Genome Project, a team of over 2000 scientists who collaborated to determine the three billion letters in the human genome – our own DNA instruction book. He said, ‘I cannot see how nature could have created itself. Only a supernatural force that is outside of space and time could have done that.’

1 Corinthians 2:9

On 02/02/2023, in faith, global / globalization, hearts -- matters of the heart, relationships, religion, by Daniel Christian

1 Corinthians 2:9

However, as it is written: “What no eye has seen, what no ear has heard, and what no human mind has conceived”— the things God has prepared for those who love him—

Reflections on Psalms 10:1

On 01/24/2023, in Daniel S. Christian, Emotion, faith, hearts -- matters of the heart, relationships, religion, by Daniel Christian

Psalms 10:1 — from bible.com

Why, LORD, do you stand far off? Why do you hide yourself in times of trouble?

From DSC:
I get this piece of scripture…big time.

In the early fall of my senior year in college, I wanted to be sure that the LORD wasn’t a hoax. I didn’t want to commit the rest of my life to Him if He wasn’t real. From that point on, until a Maundy Thursday service at the Alice Millar Chapel on NU’s campus the next spring, I felt that the LORD was 10,000 miles away from me. I couldn’t hear Him or sense Him. I won’t go into details, but it turned out that the LORD was definitely at work. He was changing my identity (though it felt more like a ripping away of my identity) from an athlete to one of His adopted children. I’m glad He was at work, but I wouldn’t want to relive that year ever again.

1 Peter 3:8

On 01/20/2023, in faith, global / globalization, hearts -- matters of the heart, relationships, religion, by Daniel Christian

1 Peter 3:8 NIV — from my.bible.com

Finally, all of you, be like-minded, be sympathetic, love one another, be compassionate and humble.

Reflections on Psalm 90:12

On 01/17/2023, in Daniel S. Christian, faith, global / globalization, religion, society, by Daniel Christian

Psalm 90:12 Teach us to number our days, that we may gain a heart of wisdom.

From DSC:
One of my favorite memories as a kid was going to see a local performance of Charles Dickens’ “The Christmas Carol.” I loved seeing the transformation of Ebenezer Scrooge. And one of the events that changed Ebenezer was seeing his own name on the gravestone.

There’s been something about this verse that has clung to my heart and my mind. As dealing with time can already put heat in my kitchen, I have to handle this verse with some care.

Genesis 9:12-16

On 01/11/2023, in faith, geography / geology, global / globalization, hearts -- matters of the heart, relationships, religion, by Daniel Christian

Genesis 9:12-16

¹²And God said, “This is the sign of the covenant I am making between me and you and every living creature with you, a covenant for all generations to come: ¹³I have set my rainbow in the clouds, and it will be the sign of the covenant between me and the earth. ¹⁴Whenever I bring clouds over the earth and the rainbow appears in the clouds, ¹⁵I will remember my covenant between me and you and all living creatures of every kind. Never again will the waters become a flood to destroy all life. ¹⁶Whenever the rainbow appears in the clouds, I will see it and remember the everlasting covenant between God and all living creatures of every kind on the earth.”
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“The church is a hospital.” Reflections on Isaiah 1:16-17.

On 01/09/2023, in Access to Justice (A2J), change, Daniel S. Christian, faith, global / globalization, hearts -- matters of the heart, relationships, religion, society, by Daniel Christian

¹⁶Wash and make yourselves clean.
    Take your evil deeds out of my sight;
    stop doing wrong.
¹⁷Learn to do right; seek justice.
    Defend the oppressed.
Take up the cause of the fatherless;
    plead the case of the widow.

From DSC:
Obviously, all of this goes for me as well. I constantly thank the LORD for His patience with me as well as His grace and forgiveness. I often seek His help, wisdom, and strength. Anyway, the above verse caught my eye due to Isaiah’s focus on justice and to seeing that justice is had by all.

And those reflections caused me to think about what the church is all about — at least for me. This brought to mind an old pastor friend of mine who once exclaimed, “The church is a hospital.”

Wow. That thought hit me powerfully. And you know what? I agree with him.

My pastor friend said that the church is a hospital -- and I agree with him

“The church” is a place for “sick” people who are in need of hope, healing, teaching, support, forgiveness, grace, love, wisdom, community, and more. Besides a place to worship the LORD, those are some of the reasons why I continue to go to church.

¹²On hearing this, Jesus said, “It is not the healthy who need a doctor, but the sick.

Along these lines, I’m trying to figure out what the LORD wants me to do (during this next year and beyond). I want to make a contribution. For those who pray out there, I could use your prayers on where He wants me to plug in.

Ephesians 5:1-2

On 01/08/2023, in faith, global / globalization, hearts -- matters of the heart, relationships, religion, by Daniel Christian

Ephesians 5:1-2

Follow God’s example, therefore, as dearly loved children and walk in the way of love, just as Christ loved us and gave himself up for us as a fragrant offering and sacrifice to God.

DC: Some brief reflections on 2 Corinthians 5:17

On 01/05/2023, in Daniel S. Christian, faith, global / globalization, hearts -- matters of the heart, relationships, religion, by Daniel Christian

¹⁷Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, the new creation has come: The old has gone, the new is here!

From DSC:
Being transformed in our thinking is one of the LORD’s key goals for us and one of the areas where He is active in our lives. (Also see Romans 12:2.) Our thinking impacts many things, including our behaviors, attitudes, and perspectives.

But my reflection here is especially meant for new believers in Christ. This process of transformation takes time. Don’t expect immediate changes in some areas of your life. After you received Christ into your heart, you may doubt that anything has changed. But you will begin to see the world, God, and others differently over time. (Reading scripture regularly helps this process along.)

Learning Ecosystems