tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-325976392011-04-21T18:43:01.601-07:00Uninspired thoughts on following JesusSnag Mountain Sagehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02613215427717710942noreply@blogger.comBlogger261100tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-32597639.post-1167748230212602612007-01-02T06:28:00.000-08:002007-01-02T06:30:30.226-08:00

There is a growing awareness among Christ Followers that the heart of biblical Christianity is expressed primarily in sacrificial love.Coincidentally there is a rise, throughout the secular world, of intolerance for and rejection of the Christian religion in its many varied forms.The convergence of these emerging trends, in light of the historical record, suggests a potential resurgence of

Snag Mountain Sagehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02613215427717710942noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-32597639.post-1166333448900943032006-12-16T21:29:00.000-08:002006-12-16T21:30:48.910-08:00

In the garden, the serpent lied.They chose deceit—and so they died.Mortality became the curseA sinful flesh, a heart perverse.A victory, it seemed, for sin.No chance to play, much less to win.A dying race condemned to loseThe life they taste—before they choose.Tree of Life—behind the gate.Love lost, apparently, to hate.But who could guess? Who could have known?The depths to which Love stoops to

Snag Mountain Sagehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02613215427717710942noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-32597639.post-1165266880502149412006-12-04T13:13:00.000-08:002006-12-04T13:14:40.516-08:00

God is light. Here comes that warm feeling of poetic inspiration.God is light. What a beautiful metaphysical thought with which to cuddle.God is light. An illusive, ephemeral, spiritual idea, filled with hope.God is light. We use these words, blissfully ignorant of all they might contain.Light, as a metaphor for God, is a very good choice. It's a good choice, because light is another way of

Snag Mountain Sagehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02613215427717710942noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-32597639.post-1163808621217785422006-11-17T16:09:00.000-08:002006-11-17T16:10:21.230-08:00

"By this we know that we have passed from death to life..." Now wouldn't that be nice? To know for sure that I've got one foot firmly planted in eternity while groping my way through this present darkness. Could I know this fact in the same way that I know this body grows old and wears out? Could I know it as surely as I know my own name? Is it possible to know something so future and fantastic

Snag Mountain Sagehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02613215427717710942noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-32597639.post-1163540360036548312006-11-14T13:36:00.000-08:002006-11-20T12:37:58.323-08:00

Quantum physics and God's amazing grace share at least one thing in common. Of all the people who like to talk about them, very few understand their counterintuitive complexities. In short, the biblical concept of grace is way too weird for most of us to fully comprehend. It's one of those things that starts to make sense at the beginning—in a funky, this-is-so-cool kind of way—and then quickly

Snag Mountain Sagehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02613215427717710942noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-32597639.post-1162773980014749712006-11-05T16:42:00.000-08:002006-11-05T17:00:19.096-08:00

For our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the powers, against the world forces of this darkness, against the spiritual forces of wickedness in the heavenly places. —Ephesians 6:12A quiet revolution with origins from antiquity encircles the globe. Its goal, like that of any revolution, is upheaval of the current order along with its replacement by an entirely

Snag Mountain Sagehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02613215427717710942noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-32597639.post-1161621927751026742006-10-23T09:44:00.000-07:002006-10-23T09:45:27.766-07:00

Try as we might, our best intentions and highest aspirations frequently amount to little in the face of life's uncomfortable opportunities for Christ-like love. The fact is, many of us find we cannot love as Jesus loves. We echo the words of Paul as he asks, "Who will free me from this body of death?" The answer we crave eludes us in a jungle of circumstances. Again and again we love too

Snag Mountain Sagehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02613215427717710942noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-32597639.post-1161372111118145222006-10-20T12:21:00.000-07:002006-10-20T12:21:51.136-07:00

Everyone wants to be loved—no matter what. But very few are willing to love that way. So it would seem that the thing everyone really wants—is something they are unlikely to find. The "no matter what" part is the piece we would like to receive, but rather never have to give. The point is, until someone gives "no matter what" it can't be received. In fact, until it's given, it doesn't even exist.

Snag Mountain Sagehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02613215427717710942noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-32597639.post-1160848808473082732006-10-14T10:59:00.000-07:002006-11-05T15:46:10.963-08:00

I have listened to a rushing stream until I no longer heard its roarI have watched an eagle soar until it disappeared into the skyI have walked in the rain until I did not feel wet and coldI have endured solitude until I knew I was not aloneI have stared into the darkness until I could seeI have forgiven until I learned how to loveI have given until I had all that I needI have hoped until I was

Snag Mountain Sagehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02613215427717710942noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-32597639.post-1160626758673316732006-10-11T21:18:00.000-07:002006-10-11T21:19:18.683-07:00

NICKEL MINES, Pennsylvania—An evil horror has erupted in a tiny corner of this bucolic Amish countryside. A quaint, one-room schoolhouse has become a place of almost unbearable agony—filled with unanswerable questions. It has also become the unlikely yet brilliant source of incomprehensible forgiveness and mercy. The wounded families of the innocent young victims, who love and forgive, while the

Snag Mountain Sagehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02613215427717710942noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-32597639.post-1160356445573208092006-10-08T18:13:00.000-07:002006-10-08T18:14:05.586-07:00

her·e·sy n1. An opinion or belief that contradicts established religious teaching, especially one that is officially condemned by a religious authority2. The holding of, or adherence to, an opinion or belief that contradicts established religious teaching, especially one that is officially condemned by religious authoritiesMatthew 7:26,27"Everyone who hears these words of Mine and does not act on

Snag Mountain Sagehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02613215427717710942noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-32597639.post-1160007670821057412006-10-04T17:19:00.000-07:002006-10-04T17:21:10.833-07:00

Love is not a theory or a philosophy. It's not a position or political statement. It's not a product of mind alone, to be dissected and intellectually accounted for. Rather, it is the animating force of one human being toward another that causes a life to be spent by moments or by days or years for the benefit of the loved one. As the fond expression of one person toward another, love is always

Snag Mountain Sagehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02613215427717710942noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-32597639.post-1159739193562459072006-10-01T14:45:00.000-07:002006-10-01T14:46:33.573-07:00

“To love, and to be hurt often, and to love again - this is the brave and happy life.” —J.E. Buchrose“I know of one duty, and that is to love.” —Albert Camus“I will make love my greatest weapon and none on whom I call can defend against its force... My love will melt all hearts liken to the sun whose rays soften the coldest day.” —Og Mandino“To love with all one’s soul and leave the rest to

Snag Mountain Sagehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02613215427717710942noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-32597639.post-1159374354822041072006-09-27T09:24:00.000-07:002006-09-27T09:25:54.836-07:00

All of his life he felt connected to people. Nothing was very unusual there. In fact, it felt wrong to be disconnected. When he was in college he knew students who were away from home without a group of friends with whom to belong. They were unbearably lonely. The special seasons of the year, when belonging means even more, are also known for depression and a spike in suicide attempts among young

Snag Mountain Sagehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02613215427717710942noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-32597639.post-1159043102311561842006-09-23T13:23:00.000-07:002006-09-23T13:25:02.326-07:00

I was reading through my Bible, just the other day.Studying the Scriptures so that I could find my way.I thought I got the point—I knew the pages that I read.'Til I heard a voice that sounded like mine echo in my head. He said…I was hungry. Did you feed Me?I was thirsty. I was cold.I was naked and alone.Did you help me growin' old?I was sick and strange and locked away.You ever lift a hand?I was

Snag Mountain Sagehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02613215427717710942noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-32597639.post-1158808750118393392006-09-20T20:18:00.000-07:002006-09-20T20:19:10.136-07:00

"A river of life…" "Like streams of living water." I live in the Cascade Mountains of Washington. It just began to rain again and I remembered why they're called the Cascades. Streams everywhere. Water trickles through the forest, seeps into the soil, and bubbles down every available slope. Water pours down the mountain. Boiling, churning, swelling, silt sweeping, rock rolling, road washing,

Snag Mountain Sagehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02613215427717710942noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-32597639.post-1158459080934319652006-09-16T19:10:00.000-07:002006-09-16T20:25:08.170-07:00

The cross of Christ makes one undeniable statement. It tells us that the only good Christian is a dead Christian. It is an invitation to die. It is a declaration of defeat—as the only path to victory. The cross of Jesus speaks clear, across time and space that for now and evermore, humanity must die in order to live. The cross has become the mark of the living dead. On the cross, Jesus has

Snag Mountain Sagehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02613215427717710942noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-32597639.post-1158180972937839802006-09-13T13:55:00.000-07:002006-09-13T13:56:12.950-07:00

Our trouble is not that Christianity has come up short. It’s that we have. We may have stopped short of becoming Christians—if a Christian is something we can become. Our desires and aspirations to follow Jesus do not amount to actually following Him. That is something we must do. As long as we only tip toe up to the brink of faith and gaze with longing over the precipice, we are merely counting

Snag Mountain Sagehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02613215427717710942noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-32597639.post-1157905201878215812006-09-10T09:17:00.000-07:002006-09-12T20:13:41.306-07:00

OXFORD, Ohio—Two young men entered the freshman dormitory. They were on a mission to fulfill the Great Commission. Their plan was to visit each room making contact with the students in the hope that some might be interested in attending a weekly freshman Bible study to be held in the dorm. The first two stops were uneventful as they spent a few unobtrusive moments saying hello, getting to know a

Snag Mountain Sagehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02613215427717710942noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-32597639.post-1157852866549000202006-09-09T18:47:00.000-07:002006-09-09T18:47:46.550-07:00

Tonight I'm going to break away. Just you wait and see.I'll never be imprisoned by a faded memory.A song from the 70's, performed by the group Poco, has perfectly captured the struggle faced by Christians as they try to break away from a life dominated by self-interest and the demands of the flesh. Poco sings of the love for a girl—for believers, the girl is self. His best intentions are overcome

Snag Mountain Sagehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02613215427717710942noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-32597639.post-1157560688414454972006-09-06T09:36:00.000-07:002006-09-06T09:38:08.430-07:00

This is the missing message when someone says that "just loving others" will never accomplish the work of the Gospel. "As I have loved you" gets reduced to "just loving others". It's sad, really, to think that otherwise dedicated Christians might encounter these words of Jesus—but only imagine some pathetic, impotent, expression of love. Troubling too, that His magnificent mandate might be traded

Snag Mountain Sagehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02613215427717710942noreply@blogger.com6tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-32597639.post-1157036590905525782006-08-31T08:02:00.000-07:002006-08-31T08:03:10.910-07:00

I have a good friend who thinks he's Buck, the wolf dog in the story Call of the Wild by Jack London. He doesn't really think that he's a dog, but he has definitely heard the call of the Wild. Like Buck, he answered the call and discovered that he is not the pathetic domestic creature he once believed himself to be. From what I understand, it's been quite liberating. Not so much hearing the call,

Snag Mountain Sagehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02613215427717710942noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-32597639.post-1156778589023166932006-08-28T08:22:00.000-07:002006-08-28T08:23:09.026-07:00

Something's missing, and everyone knows it. The diluted-down versions of Christianity, so dutifully delivered today, are poor excuses for the invigorating, gut wrenching, tomb cracking, life shattering revelation of God's love and life—breathed into humanity—which first animated the early Church.So I'm not surprised that the current, severely edited edition of the Word made flesh is so clearly

Snag Mountain Sagehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02613215427717710942noreply@blogger.com8tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-32597639.post-1156190457023034932006-08-21T12:37:00.000-07:002006-08-21T13:00:57.853-07:00

Lately, my son and I have been talking about what it really means to be a Christian.He has noticed that, for many of his friends, being a Christian is simply trying very hard to live a life that is pleasing to God. He wants to please God with his life too, just like his friends, but he also thinks that helping others understand who God is and how much He loves them is important.That causes him to

Snag Mountain Sagehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02613215427717710942noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-32597639.post-1155772776953992322006-08-16T16:56:00.000-07:002006-08-16T16:59:36.970-07:00

Every Christian knows that there is a distinct difference between understanding God's will, and doing it. For some, the gulf is as wide as an ocean. Yet consistently living as God commands us to live is the goal of all who love Him. Jesus prayed, "Your kingdom come, Your will be done". Doing God's will, in addition to knowing it, is the perennial problem encountered by those who would follow

Snag Mountain Sagehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02613215427717710942noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-32597639.post-1155355906140221082006-08-11T21:08:00.000-07:002006-09-01T20:53:42.720-07:00

There is a very good reason why it has always been so difficult to capture Christianity with words. It's a life—and as such—it must be lived. The only words completely adequate to the task of defining the essence of Christianity are the words that became flesh. The Word that became flesh. Turning Jesus Christ and His "kingdom of the heavens" back into words again is something we humans are

Snag Mountain Sagehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02613215427717710942noreply@blogger.com0