9th March, 2010 by Rich Dixon 9 Comments
Here’s our newest contribution to the One-Word-At-A-Time Blog Carnival. I encourage you to click the link and check out some of the other carnival attractions. This week’s word is:
GOODNESS
But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control. Against such things there is no law. [Galatians 5:22-23]
When you proclaim God is good, what exactly do you mean?
As a practical matter, what does the goodness that’s a fruit of the Spirit look like? (more…)
4th March, 2010 by Rich Dixon 6 Comments
… isn’t always as clear as I think.
For me, one of the absolute principles of scripture is Romans 8:28:
And we know that in all things God works for the good of those who love him, who have been called according to his purpose.
I believe that. It’s been my source of hope in some dark moments when I could find no reason to continue the struggle. However, I suspect that I tend to see this wonderful assurance through a distorted lens.
I suspect that my perceptions of “good” mostly translate to “what I want.” (more…)
26th January, 2010 by Rich Dixon 1 Comment
Do you ever just feel “down” for no really good reason?
I’m there right now. A friend disappointed me. A project seems stalled. Cold weather makes everything about my injury a little more difficult. Nothing really major or life-threatening to point at, but somehow everything just seems a bit gray at the moment.
I don’t like the feeling, and I don’t want to just complain about it or wait for someone else to make it go away. I’m not a big fan of simplistic admonishments to “just snap out of it.” (more…)
23rd January, 2010 by Rich Dixon 2 Comments
Happy Saturday!
I encourage you to grab a cup of coffee, sit back, and be inspired by a 20-minute video:
The Butterfly Circus
I invite you to leave a comment concerning your reaction to the guy in the top hat.
“Forget the former things; do not dwell on the past.
See, I am doing a new thing! Now it springs up; do you not perceive it?
I am making a way in the desert and streams in the wasteland. [Isaiah 43:18-19]
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12th January, 2010 by Rich Dixon 3 Comments
Forget the former things; do not dwell on the past.
See, I am doing a new thing! Now it springs up; do you not perceive it?
I am making a way in the desert and streams in the wasteland. [Isaiah 43: 18-19]
Can looking backward inspire dreams?
Does the past reveal aspirations and goals, the sort of impossible dream that spurred Don Quixote to attack an unbeatable enemy that appeared to everyone else as a windmill? Can you discover that unreachable star in the rear view mirror? (more…)
2nd January, 2010 by Rich Dixon 3 Comments
The Word became flesh and made his dwelling among us. We have seen his glory, the glory of the One and Only, who came from the Father, full of grace and truth. [John 1:14]
Grace and truth?
I think a lot about John’s opening verses describing Jesus simply as The Word. I love the poetry, the imagery, and the intimate spiritual experience John portrays.
In his first letter (1 John 1) he expands the picture of a sensory, experiential encounter with Jesus: That which was from the beginning, which we have heard, which we have seen with our eyes, which we have looked at and our hands have touched—this we proclaim concerning the Word of life.
Can you feel his passion? John isn’t just relating words. He’s proclaiming a deep connection involving his senses—he touched The Word, saw and heard The Word, felt and experienced The Word of God. I sense that John invites me to allow The Word to wrap itself around me and soak into me until I’m literally infused with its presence and power.
But I’ve always sort of wondered about the linkage of grace and truth, which he repeats in verse 17: For the law was given through Moses; grace and truth came through Jesus Christ. (more…)
28th December, 2009 by Rich Dixon 2 Comments
Yesterday our pastor, Dick Foth, asked a surprising question. In a post-Christmas reflection looking back at Bethlehem, he asked, “So what?”
Pastors usually don’t ask questions like that without offering some direction. Dick provided his own insightful answer to “So what?” and also provoked me to seek my own response. I thought it was a pretty worthwhile question.
So here’s my challenge to you. Now that the shopping and parties and feasts are winding down, stop and take a look back at Bethlehem. Beyond the tinsel and toys what does it all mean?
Take a look back at Bethlehem. So what?
I invite you to leave a comment below. If you’re reading this in an email, please take a moment to visit the site and share your thoughts. Let’s see if we can come up with a collective vision of why the events of Bethlehem matter.
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Related articles:
Jesus Writes About Christmas
Will You Accept The Gift Of Christmas?
24th December, 2009 by Rich Dixon No Comments
Christmas Eve, 1906 marked a significant event.
One hundred three years ago, the first AM radio broadcast occurred. It’s reported that ships off the New England coast heard the first song ever broadcast: O HOLY NIGHT. (more…)
21st December, 2009 by Rich Dixon No Comments
Agape.
That’s it. If you want to distill the entire notion of Christmas into a single, simple concept, it’s Agape.
Self-sacrificial, intentional love. That’s the message of Christmas.
I was thinking this morning about the idea of approaching Christmas intentionally (10 Ways You Can Enjoy An Intentional Christmas) and I had the idea that I could make choices this week based on two simple criteria.
- If it expands agape, do more of it.
- If it doesn’t, do less of it or skip it completely.
What can you choose that will bring agape into your Christmas celebration?
Your attitude should be the same as that of Christ Jesus: Who, being in very nature God, did not consider equality with God something to be grasped, but made himself nothing, taking the very nature of a servant, being made in human likeness. And being found in appearance as a man, he humbled himself and became obedient to death—even death on a cross! [Philippians 2:5-8]
Did you enjoy this article? Please leave a comment, visit my website, and/or send me an email at rich@richdixon.net.
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Related articles:
10 Ways You Can Enjoy An Intentional Christmas
Agape
18th December, 2009 by Rich Dixon No Comments
“Do not let your hearts be troubled. Trust in God; trust also in me. In my Father’s house are many rooms; if it were not so, I would have told you. I am going there to prepare a place for you. And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come back and take you to be with me that you also may be where I am. You know the way to the place where I am going.” [John 14:1-4]
What’s the ultimate adversity?
One week before Christmas, adversity may boil down to long lines at the mall or difficult weather conditions for holiday travel. My wife’s scrambling to prepare for a party and receiving little help from a spouse who’s glued to the keyboard—that’s adversity. But I’m thinking along the lines of something a bit more elemental. (more…)
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