Windows On The Soul

" Live creatively "; thus starts Peterson's paraphrase of Gal.6:1 . The traditional translations start with the situation of a Christian succumbing to sin. But the important focus of this verse is on the response of the spiritually mature members of the church. We are called to gently, humbly and forgivingly restore such people to the full fellowship, because one day we may be the one needing forgiveness. The concepts of creativity and restoration, suggest bringing something beautiful to life out of something that was dead. Further, the creation of something beautiful is not something that the 'dead' object or person can achieve by themselves, but only as the hands of the creator lovingly moulds and shapes. Of course it is God through Jesus who is the master craftsman who can turn sinful men into 'children of God'. But it is the church who is called to the curators job of constant tending and restoration of one-another.

The Bible uses a number of different analogies to describe The Church, such as a ‘body’ ( 1 Cor.12 ), a ‘garden’ ( Isa.61:3 , Jn.15:5 ), a ‘family’ ( Jn.3:29 , Rev.21:9 ), or a ‘building’ ( 2 Cor.5:1 , Eph.2:21 ). All of these images illustrate multi-faceted growth, extension and adaptation, and all apply equally to The Church, any individual congregation or individual Christians. I’ve always liked the slogan, “ Please be patient. God hasn’t finished with me yet ”. When a ‘lost soul’ finds Christ, there is a sense of completeness in that a void has been filled. But as we grow in Christ, there is another sort of sense of incompleteness, not like an emptiness that needs to be filled, but rather being called onward in constant improvement. As God is constantly revealing areas of our lives that are not ‘up to scratch’, we are challenged to renewal. As our lives encounter new experiences and situations, we are challenged to meet them like Christ, with love. We are called to st...

" The history of mankind will probably show that no people has ever risen above its religion...no religion has ever been greater than its idea of Go d" (A.W.Tozer). One of the wonders and apparent paradoxes of the Christian religion, is that God is both the almighty creator king, and at the same time our approachable loving heavenly father indwelling us by His spirit. A church that errs one way by its reverent solemnity can become cold and unfriendly. But there is the opposite danger that in emphasising the relational and "familiarity", we loose the sense of awe and majesty of the most high God. ----xxxXxxx---- Isa.48:13 "My hand has laid the foundations of the earth, my right hand spans the heavens" 2 Sam.7:22 "You are great O Lord: for there is none like you" Ps.48:1 "Great is the Lord and greatly to be praised" Eph.1:19 "Understand how incredibly great His power is to help those who believe Him. It...