Jesse Gardner is the man…he has taken the Box Lunch Song–a song I hope that some of your remember from the olden days–and transformed it into a great location for keeping track of 5:00 people blogs.
I prefer chunky to smooth. Which do you prefer?
I have been trying to improve my guitar playing of late. I found a great website for all you guitarists out there. Lots of free stuff. Check it out!
As most of you know, Haley and I are living in Pensacola right now. We moved back to the area so that Haley could finish her schooling. She did, and we are still here.
Occasionally, I go on campus, and I realize how paralyzed I am by nostalgia. I went over and sat on the stoop the other day (incidently, I rarely see people sitting there–maybe there’s curse or a rule against it or something), and I realized that I kind of think of my life in pre-stoop, mid-stoop, and post-stoop periods. It’s almost as if that was the pinnacle of my life, and everything else is downhill from there. I guess that’s kind of absurd. It seems ridiculous to believe that the best days of my life have already been spent–I’m barely 28!
But I have to say, since I have been blogging and observing your blogs, I am recovering the joy of community, specifically, your community. The information super-highway does have some nice stops, and being able to see my friends and hear their words is definately worth the trip.
Based upon what I have been reading on other’s blogs, I would like to simply toss something out here and see what you think. Some of you seem to think that Jakob Arminius was a heretic, worthy of hell. This is from the Remonstrance of 1610, and it codifies what Arminius taught and believed. Heretic, or not?
The Remonstrance of 1610
ARTICLE I: That God, by an eternal, unchangeable purpose in Jesus Christ, his Son, before the foundation of the world, hath determined, out of the fallen, sinful race of men, to save in Christ, for Christ’s sake, and through Christ, those who, through the grace of the Holy Ghost, shall believe on this his Son Jesus, and shall persevere in this faith and obedience of faith, through this grace, even to the end; and, on the other hand, to leave the incorrigible and unbelieving in sin and under wrath, and to condemn them as alienate from Christ, according to the word of the Gospel in John 3:36: “He that believeth on the Son hath everlasting life; and he that believeth not the Son shall not see life; but the wrath of God abideth on him,” and according to other passages of Scripture also.ARTICLE II: That, agreeably thereto, Jesus Christ, the Savior of the world, died for all men and for every man, so that he has obtained for them all, by his death on the cross, redemption, and the forgiveness ef sins; yet that no one actually enjoys this forgiveness of sins, except the believer, according to the word of the Gospel of John 3:16: “God so loved the world that he gave his only-begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life”; and in the First Epistle of John 2:2: “And he is the propitiation for our sins; and not for ours only. but also for the sins of the whole world.”
ARTICLE III: That man has not saving grace of himself, nor of the energy of his free-will, inasmuch as he, in the state of apostasy and sin, can of and by himself neither think, will, nor do anything that is truly good (such as having faith eminently is); but that it is needful that he be born again of God in Christ, through his Holy Spirit, and renewed in understanding, inclination, or will, and all his powers, in order that he may rightly understand, think, will, and effect what is truly good, according to the word of Christ, John 15:5: “Without me ye can do nothing.”
ARTICLE IV: That this grace of God is the beginning, continuance, and accomplishment of an good, even to this extent, that the regenerate man himself, without that prevenient or assisting; awakening, following, and co-operative grace, elm neither think, will, nor do good, nor withstand any temptations to evil; so that all good deeds or movements that can be conceived must be ascribed to the grace of God in Christ. But, as respects the mode of the operation of this grace, it is not irresistible, inasmuch as it is written concerning many that they have resisted the Holy Ghost — Acts 7, and elsewhere in many places.
ARTICLE V: That those who an incorporated into Christ by a true faith, and have thereby become partakers of his lifegiving spirit, have thereby full power to strive against Satan, sin, the world, and their own flesh, and to win the victory, it being well understood that it is ever through the assisting grace of the Holy Ghost; and that Jesus Christ assists them through his Spirit in all temptations, extends to them his hand; and if only they are ready for the conflict. and desire his help, and are not inactive, keeps them from falling, so that they, by no craft or power of Satan, can be misled, nor plucked out of Christ’s hands, according to the word of Christ, John 10:28: “Neither shall any man pluck them out of my hand.” But whether they are capable, through negligence, of forsaking again the first beginnings of their life in Christ, of again returning to this present evil world, of turning away from the holy doctrine which was delivered them, of losing a good conscience, of becoming devoid of grace, that must be more particularly determined out of the Holy Scriptures before we ourselves can teach it with the full persuasion of our minds.
Just trying to stir up the pot. Hit me, guys…
“The Meaning of Life”
Letter by Garrison Keillor
To know and to serve God, of course, is why we’re here; a clear truth that, like the nose on your face, is near at hand and easily discernable but can make you dizzy if you try to focus on it hard. But a little faith will see you through. What else will do except faith in such a cynical, corrupt times? When the country goes temporarily to the dogs, cats learn to be circumspect, walk on fences, sleep in trees, and have faith that all this woofing is not the last word. Time to shut up and be beautiful, and wait for morning. Yahooism, when in power, is deaf, and neither satire nor Gospel will stay its brutal hand, but hang on, another chapter follows. Our brave hopes for changing the world sank in port, and we have become the very people we used to make fun of, the old and hesitant, but never mind, that’s not the whole story either. So hang on.
What keeps our faith cheerful is the extreme presence of gentleness and humor. Gentleness is everywhere in daily life, a sign that faith rules through ordinary things; through cooking and small talk, through storytelling, making love, fishing, tending animals and sweet corn and flowers, through sports, music and books, raising kids-all the places where the gravy soaks in and the grace shines through. Even in a time of elephantine vanity and greed, one never has to look far to see the campfires of gentle people. If we had no other purpose in life; it would be good enough to simple take care of them and goose them once in a while.
