I 've been reading an article by a man called Ron Kangas from an essay entitled ' The Two Trees: The Way of Life versus the Religion of Death. I found it through following one of the GP's links; it's nice and short and gets to the point. Below is for me the key idea of this essay;

'The eternal purpose of God to be expressed and represented  corporately in and through humanity is fulfilled by the life of God, for it is only through the divine life that the people of God can be bulit up organically to express Him and represent Him'.

Gen:1 vs 26

I found myself doing a kind of 'Lecto Divina' with this and  my heart is overflowing with the thankfullness and peace of God being true humanity.

Organic = naturally produced and cultivated

Humanity = all those little quirks, idiosyncrasies, nuances, that make us unique as humans ,but identically unique from each other and with each other.

John 15

So the mystery and continues.....

Be first to comment this article | Add as favourites (78) | Quote this article on your site | Views: 2667

this is the grace life to me.. Walking the Mystery.. Living the Paradox.

i can't explain this,  I can only practise it ..here is the peace

Be first to comment this article | Add as favourites (85) | Quote this article on your site | Views: 2531

It is always a pleasure to go to Veir & Ta Ta s home.  On Friday evening a small but more mature group had been gathered to talk at a deeper level about Freedom in Christ.  We based our discussion loosely on Gal 5:1-6.  This freedom which we have been liberated from the bondage of the law for is truly the greatest gift of all.   We concluded our discussion around 11pm and a few of us boys repaired to the Syndikat Jazz Club. Much to the relief of the locals the skies had opened and the rain was falling when we left the club with the Bosonovo rhythms playing in our minds It had been a great night, to discuss grace and all that Jazz.

The rains would last into Monday and so it was a wet and windy morning that greeted me on Saturday. It was good to spend the afternoon with some of the key workers and discuss how best to strengthen the work here.  A robust discussion led us to some positive suggestions and a strategy of sorts has begun to emerge.  It did not surprise me in the least that they concluded that the preferred way forward is to establish a series of interdependent mutually supporting house churches. They want to delver a very practical and social Gospel diffused through the prism of grace.  Something that has struck me upon reflection is that we have an innate need for fellowship. Agape needs to agape and to agape it needs others.  We need to touch and be touched by others.  Our discussion here in Brazil mirrored almost precisely a discussion we had in the London ecclesia some months ago [which I referred to in the book] we concluded that more than anything people want to belong.

Before I left London Hayley and I had dinner with some friends who although firmly outside the Institutional Church visit different churches all the time because the need touch of others they need fellowship, and they miss corporate worship.   I am tempted to draw the parallel of people that remain in unhealthy relationships because they need the touch of others.  The problem here is that fellowship/worship = church and even if the touch is an abusive slap; it is at least a touch! It is to be hoped that the redefining of the house church model that we have alighted upon here will address that need.   

Saturday night carried us across the city to Pastor Joshe s church.   Joshe had committed to buying a copy for all the members of his church in order to run a discipleship course around the material.  Joshe had attended the ecclesias at TaTa s home so I felt that I could press in to the deeper life truths more candidly with his group.  My talk that evening was entitled Death in the Pot taken from 2 Kings 4:38 // Gal 4:21ff.   Dare I say it, but it was a special night piggy-backing the two texts left no one in any doubt as to the need to ruthlessly pursue a law-free gospel. 

Johnathas, the publisher is such a treasure. In fact his whole family and team at Igrapho have worked relentlessly to be a blessing and to ensure the success of the book and to make me feel at home.   I am thrilled to see the level of intimacy between Johnathas and Pico, for many months Pico has carried the work here in Brazil but it seems that at long last David has found a Johnathas.   

My inculcation in Brazilian jazz continues apace.  I am itching for Emmanuel our keyboard player in London to listen to some of the CD s I have been given as gifts. The strains of Victor Biglione, Marcus Tardelli, Quito Pedrosa, Wagner Tiso Sergio Mendes & Bebel Gilberto fill my hotel room as I sit working on my laptop each morning.  What joy!

And so to my penultimate day in Brazil for this trip at least.  Hayley & I will return in November.  A packed Sunday was in view with two meetings, a birthday party and a late supper back at the hotel with friends including Jefferson from Vida who is already ready half way through The Bonsai Conspiracy. He and Johnathas are already in discussions about my next writing project. 
It was a thrill to spend the morning at Johnathas church as it gave me a chance to honour him and his team with a few gifts including a Bonsai tree for their office.  I am so grateful to Edwardo who braved a nasty bout of flu and came out in the cold to translate for me. Thank-you Du-da.  I spoke in the morning from the life Abraham which was well received. 

It was Fabiana & Pico s daughter Sophia s 1st birthday party in the afternoon which afforded me a chance to renew acquaintance with their respective families and friends.  A delightful afternoon all too quickly rolled into a gelado [freezing cold] evening as we made our way to the final meeting of the tour.  Johnathas had arranged for Communion the quartet that appeared with me on the HTV show to be with us and it was great to have the chance to minister with them and to just enjoy their ministry.

For the evening s talk I chose to speak from the life of Paul the Hebrew of Hebrews from the tribe of Benjamin drawing from Gal1, I Tim, Phil 3 and Gen 35.  Showing how God takes the Son of my strength the Son of Sorrow Ben-oni and turns him into the son of my right hand Benjamin.  It seemed an appropriate way to finish as the theme of the last ten days has been that all that has been touched by sin is touched by grace.  Johnathas had one last surprise up his sleeve.  It s very difficult to out-bless these dear people.  Just as I was preparing to give my talk a young man stepped out of the congregation. He was introduced as Silas.  I wondered what he was doing and then he produced a saxophone.  Johnathas had asked him to come and play for me and how he played My favourite instrument and my favourite song Great is the Lord He really is the God of grace and all that jazz. And so back to the hotel where we talked late into the night grace, all that jazz are the sounds of the underground.

Liberdade

Paul

Be first to comment this article | Add as favourites (79) | Quote this article on your site | Views: 2740

If the celebrations that woke me from a light sleep the night before last in the wake of Sāo Paulo s narrow victory in the first leg of the Libertadores was anything to go by one can only imagine the celebrations that would ensued had events in Germany this summer gone to form.  We had arrived back at the hotel from Santos where God s grace had once again been conspicuous amongst the people as I shared the message of freedom in Christ.  It had been a great visit. 

The new day arrived with new opportunities, new people to meet including Jefferson Ramalho, Public Relations director of the influential book distributor Vida who are a wholly owned subsidiary of Zondervan.  We had an excellent meeting Jefferson and his commercial manager Priscila showed more than a polite interest in The Bonsai Conspiracy in fact that placed an order on the spot for copies of the book to carry in their bookstores.  

We were due later that evening to speak at Cristo Salva, a church that Hayley and I had visited several years ago and had had the most wonderful evening.   Every time I had subsequently been in Brazil I had wanted to go back that we might have a second experience of grace together but it had never quite worked out.  So it was with delight that we made our way their last night.   Tonight Edwardo would translate for me allowing Phillip to have a well earned rest and an evening in with Fabinana and their daughter Sophia. 

I spoke tonight from the book of 2 Samuel and recounted the story of Mephibosheth, the last remaining survivor from the household of Saul. The story is wonderfully allegorical. David is cast in the role of a type of God the Father. Having established his Kingdom he was burdened with the need to fulfil his covenant promise and show grace to the household of Saul for the sake of Jonathan and Jonathan, is typical of Jesus Christ.  None remained from Saul s household save for one Mephibosheth, A dead dog as he described himself.   During the flight from David at the fall of Saul s dynasty Mephibosheth s nurse had literally tripped and the child had spilt out of her hands and he was crippled by the fall, making him a type of humanity.  It is a simple word but dare I say it,  a profound one.  Profound because it speaks to the very heart of the gospel: God shows covenant grace.  He seeks the outcasts to show them grace. More than that desperately seeks anyone from the household of Saul [1st Adam] that he might show grace to for the sake of His Son.  It is the unworthy, the lame, the destitute, the broken, the rejected, the fallen, the outcast that he seeks with a view to inviting them to join him at His table.

It has been a while since I have been among the Neo-Pentecostals so having finished my talk I handed over to the worship leader I returned to my seat.  I had quite forgotten that this was the paradigm of call and response.  So I was caught a little off-guard a few minutes later when I was gently roused from my reflective prayer of thanks-giving Please they need you to come and pray for the people. I looked up, to my astonishment there was a sea of people that had amassed at the front of the church and the ushers were hurriedly removing the first few rows of chairs to accommodate to others who were coming.  Some stood, many more knelt and others lay prostrate, most cried. The Mephiboseths had dragged their crippled lives to the altar to accept David s invitation.  The feelings of sadness that flooded my mind let me know served as an interesting internal commentary on how far I had journeyed.  Rather reluctantly I acquiesced. As I stood surveying the scene my heart was moved with compassion for them. I realised in a new way the difference between praying for and preying on people.

Be first to comment this article | Add as favourites (74) | Quote this article on your site | Views: 3002