Feb
13
2008
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Written by Paul Anderson-Walsh
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Wednesday, 13 February 2008 |
I was reminded this weekend on the sage words of Warren Wiersbe who said that a church does not grow by addition, but by nutrition. As a Christ Planter who has embraced the call to grow a church by grace alone that speaks volumes to me. Back in 2000 when the Lord first spoke to me about growing a church by grace alone, all he said to me was “You grow good grass and I will send some sheep!” The new work in the East of London has reignited my passion for “growing good grass”. And this week I have been reflecting on a passage from the Pastoral Epistles and was struck by these verses that seem so pertinent.
“If I delay, you may know how one ought to behave in the household of God, which is the church of the living God, a pillar and buttress of the truth.”
That one sentence seems to capture the entire rationale for the Apostle Paul wanting to write the letter. As I read and re-read I wondered how the average Grace-Cadet would instinctively respond to a statement like “How you ought to behave!>?!” Surely Paul is not about to start shoulding on us is he? Perish the thought. But he does want those of us to realize is what the church really is and consequently why what those who lead it model for those who are growing in it is so vitally important. Listen again to what to the Apostle says the church is:
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Last Updated ( Wednesday, 13 February 2008 )
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Feb
13
2008
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Written by Paul Anderson-Walsh
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Wednesday, 13 February 2008 |
Exert from Chapter 1: When I Was A Child
I well remember the day I decided to go back and visit my Primary School. I cannot remember what occasioned the visit but the impression etched in my mind that day somehow seemed to fit neatly as I searched for a context into which to set forth this chapter.
Just before popping in to say hello to the Headmaster, I thought I would use the bathroom. However, when I reached the bathroom, the very same one I had used during my time as a pupil at St George’s R.C., I have to tell you that I was shocked by what I saw. The toilet had shrunk!
I could not quite believe it. Since I had left, they had miniaturised the toilets! How on earth was anybody supposed to use them? Eventually, when I saw my old Form Mistress, Miss Lovell (a dear lady if ever there was one), I noticed that they had done the same thing to the desks in her classroom! I just could not believe it! It was most disorientating. My school had become a doll’s house! Now, of course, the desks and the toilet were the same size as they had always been. The fixtures and fittings had not shrunk. I had grown and now, everything was too small for me.
If you would like to preview the book click on Open Ads in the top right hand corner of the home page. Be first to comment this article | Add as favourites (175) | Quote this article on your site | Views: 3688 |
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Last Updated ( Friday, 25 April 2008 )
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Jan
25
2008
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Love Can Only Be Kept by Being Given Away |
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Written by Paul Anderson-Walsh
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Friday, 25 January 2008 |
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Love cannot be kept it can only be given away.
From the writings of Thomas Merton
A happiness that is sought for our ourselves alone can never be found: for happiness that is diminished by being shared is not big enough to make us happy. There is a false momentary happiness in self-satisfaction, but always leads to sorrow because it narrows and darkens our spirit. True happiness is found in unselfish love, a love which increases in proportion as it is shared. There is no end to the sharing of love, and therefore, the potential of such love is without limit. Infinite sharing is the law of God’s inner-self. He has made the sharing of ourselves the law of our own being, so that it is in loving others that we best love ourselves. In disinterested activity we be fulfil our own capacities to act and to be.
Yet there can never be happiness in compulsion. It is not enough for love to be shared: it must be shared freely. That is to say that it must be given, not merely taken. Unselfish love that is poured out upon selfish objects do not bring perfect happiness: not because love requires a reward for loving but because it rests in the happiness of the beloved. And if the one loved receives the love selfishly, the lover is not satisfied. He sees that his love has failed ro make the beloved happy. It has not awakened his capacity for unselfish love.
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Last Updated ( Wednesday, 13 February 2008 )
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Jan
23
2008
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Coming Soon - "The Apprentice" - Available March 1st |
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Written by Paul Anderson-Walsh
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Wednesday, 23 January 2008 |
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Well I must say that I am so excited about the latest book - I think I have shed more tears writing this one that doing anything else in my life. If you want a sneak preview before March 1st click on Open Ads in the top right hand corner of the home page.
In the meantime let me get you warmed up for the book: I’m going to make the assumption that if you’re reading this book, you’re a returnee and this isn’t the first time we’re having a chat. I need to make that assumption because I’ve made no allowance in these pages for the uninitiated and I offer no apologies for doing so. I’m satisfied that the introductory volume, “Safe & Sound”, of the “Until Christ Is Formed” trilogy is fit for the purpose. So, in this instalment, we’ll be developing, rather than recapitulating, what I call the three R’s – Redemption, Restoration and Relationship. This book is unapologetically about the working out of your salvation but it presupposes that you’ve understood that it’s God who is at work in you, enabling you both to will and to work for His good pleasure [Phil. 2:13]. What I’m trying to say is that you need to have worked out your salvation before you can work out your salvation.
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Last Updated ( Friday, 25 January 2008 )
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paul franklin
Grace Central 