Saturday, February 15, 2014

Blogella

     Life has temporarily crowded out the time I used to have to write a weekly entry for this blog, so I have asked Papa if He wanted me to continue to write it. He not only answered in the affirmative but has given me a strategy for doing so. Beginning in March, then, I will start posting a weekly entry, hopefully in a more strategic and intentional manner than previously. I am also going to be rewriting some of my earlier entries and hope to collate them by topics in order to publish them in e-book format. I welcome your prayers in all of this because my life is the busiest it has been in over 10 years.
    So today, I write a "blogella" (think Novella!) listing some upcoming topics and soliciting your input as to things you may want this now rather seasoned saint to write about. Here are some of the things that have been rolling around in my heart and head, along with a short elaboration.
  • TMI/TLR--Thoughts on how the Western church's use of our culture's misguided information-based approach to training has led to the stunted spiritual growth of believers and limited transformation of lives and culture. (TMI you understand, TLR stands for Too Little Response)
  • Discipline and Intentionality--How to live a life in God that is disciplined and intentional without reverting back to performance-based religion and slipping into mere human effort.
  • Bad News Overdose--the effect of the instant availability of bad news in today's culture and what we can do to counter its faith-draining effect on us.
  • DFN--some random thoughts on how texting and other media tools can be positive and not negative. (DFN is my suggestion for use by texters that tells the other person the conversation is over, "I am DFN: Done For Now) :-)
  • Hearing God While Avoiding Deception--I have written about this before but some more thoughts have come over the past few weeks.
  • The Third Soil--reflections on how most of the Western Church seems to be the third soil in Jesus' parable of the sower and what God is calling us to do about it.
  • Recovering Fear--how God is calling the Church back to a life lived out in "reverential fear" without losing the life lived out in the grip of His grace.
  • Many more that are still in the oven of meditation. :-)
     I welcome your thoughts and your prayers as I live loved and listening and thereby learn new levels of discipline and intentionality.

Lost in wonder, captured by His love,

Tom, one of Abba's children

2 comments:

Reinald said...

Looking forward for your posts!

Tony said...

All very, very good topics, and in my opinion extremely relevant for people in all walks of life and beliefs today.

Though I see it dancing all around in several of the topics, one idea you might consider addressing head on is Identity Theft: The Identity Crisis of the Church.

It seems we have been kept from realizing (or deceived from) who we are in Christ, and so we have been kept from being and accomplishing all we can be and do in the power of that God given identity. It's like we have all these amazing inherent qualities and supernatural abilities that we don't even know we have.

As you have posted recently, wake up, wake up, wake up!

The NBC today show has a great tag line going during their Olympic coverage: Rise to Shine. I like it! I like it a lot, and I think that is the essence of who we are- magnifiers and glorifies of God- being and doing Kingdom of God things bringing His will to bear here on earth just as it is in heaven- not as mere servants, soldiers, and administrators, but as His genuine family, a royal preisthood, a holy nation called out of darkness into His wonderful light.

Live Loved | Walk Free,
Tony