I follow Christ not so that I might flee from death. I follow Christ so that I might chase after life!
And there is more difference between the two than night and day....
A thought from this morning's meditations
RAGE and RARE: A proposal for two new laws
In recent days I have been mulling over a notion for two related bits of possible legislation, and I would like to submit them for discussion.
It seems to me that there are some people in this land who refuse to acknowledge the right of others to seek after and call out to God as best they can, in sincere and dignified manner. I do not believe that the Founding Fathers possibly had “freedom of speech” or “freedom of expression” in mind when such individuals take drastic action to interfere with and even deprive their fellow citizens of coming together for purposes of solace and worship. In more polite days, such individuals would have been run out of town on a rail, if not outright shot for the publick good. But since the constabulary frowns on that sort of thing lately…
First, I would like to suggest the Racketeering Against ...
For those enduring hardship…
Today’s trial is tomorrow’s testimony!...
A response to a challenge on baptism
A few days ago the following e-mail arrived…
“Chris you are WRONG. Baptism is required for salvation! Acts 2:38 has Peter commanding that we be baptized FOR THE REMISSION OF SINS. Mark 16:16 commands baptism and without it we are damned.”
There was more to it but that’s the heartmeat of this individual’s contention. I don’t know what precipitated this correspondence. Maybe it was the “Meditation on Baptism” post nearly three years ago. Maybe it was one of the numerous posts I’ve had to make about a certain cult operating in this area: a group that has among other things harassed others who have met to worship in peace.
Okay, fine. I’ll respond to it.
Here is Acts 2:38, as translated in the 1611 Authorized Version (AKA the King James Bible):
...Then Peter said unto them, Repent, and be baptized every one of you in the name of Jesus Christ
Christopher Hitchens has passed away. And some words for more than a few fellow Christians…
The sad news broke early this morning that Christopher Hitchens, the celebrated, provocative and brilliant journalist/essayist, has passed away at the age of 62 following a battle for the past year and a half with cancer of the esophagus.
Even when I disagreed with Hitchens – and those times were numerous – I had to have grudging respect for the man, because it can’t be said that he lacked consistency. He was one of the rare writers in this day and age who strove in his craft not for sake of political or ideological favor, but instead for nothing more or less than understanding of the human condition and its derivative culture.
Here is Hitchens’ final essay for Vanity Fair, appearing in next month’s issue. In it he wrestles with thoughts of his own mortality and determination of spirit.
And now, there is something that I feel led ...
Thanksgiving 2011: What I am thankful for
For the Thanksgiving last year, I did not make a post like this. That’s because a year ago I was in the midst of what I’ve since realized was the longest, darkest and most spiritually trying period of my entire life. Last year at this time, feeling thankful seemed like the last thing that I could muster up.
What a difference a year makes…
If anybody had told me that twelve months from then, that I would be at a totally different place, I could not have believed it. And trust me: there were lots of good friends who were doing their best to encourage me then. Telling me “Chris, God hasn’t given up on you! The best is yet to come! You will get through this!”
I’ve never enjoyed telling so many people that I was wrong and they were right, as I have been compelled to do these ...
A ponderance on the Church, Christ and Christian liberty
There are some who throughout the history of Christianity have claimed to be the “one true church”: the only legitimate body of Christ that came into being at Pentecost in the days following the ascension of our Lord. I speak not of those who acknowledge parity with brethren of however peculiar perspective who yet profess Christ as Lord, but instead of those who deign to be the exclusive institution established by divine mandate. Such are the ones who incessantly badger, harass and even lust to destroy their fellow servants out of the notion that doing so makes them “first” in the sight of God and man (mostly man).
Such people are terribly ignorant at best, and outright liars at worst. Invariably their founding tenet is that they are the sole custodians and guardians of “the pattern” of worship found in the New Testament.
Therein rests the fallacy of their argument. ...
An open letter to Ron Price, member of the Rockingham County Board of Education
Dear Ron,
Five years ago last week, on the night before the election that included the names of you, me and fourteen other individuals on the ballot for Board of Education, you were involved in an incident that continued to make headlines long after the polls had closed.
In the many months following that incident, there were individuals who attempted to extract a measure of accountability from someone who was by that time a duly elected public official. I was one of those, as you well know. It is not only a matter of public record what I did with this blog regarding the events of November 6th, 2006, but a legal one also, as I was subpoenaed during your lawsuit against another party.
I am not writing this to reiterate what it is that you may have done, or to again press claim for what I sincerely believed was ...
Fifteen years ago today, I found God
I’d wondered throughout today if I should make a note of it on the blog. Finally I remembered what The Knight Shift is here for: to chronicle my thoughts and reflections, to document the occasional odd adventure (or misadventure), and more or less journal my growth through life’s journey… including (more often than not) the mis-steps.
Well, today is a big deal to me. Especially looking back on those first few years, and then this past year which saw me fall into the darkest valley that I’ve yet known… before God brought me through and closer to Him than ever before.
I have failed and fallen more times than I would have liked. But all the same: it was fifteen years ago today that I first became a follower of Christ.
Not a “Christian”. I’ve never preferred being “only a Christian”. It always had to be about relationship with God ...
A Tuesday evening reflection
The world tells us that we must be celebrity. God tells us that we can be legend....