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cultural atheist

~ Rejecting the gods of our culture since 1998.

cultural atheist

Tag Archives: Faith

A Conversation

25 Saturday Mar 2017

Posted by braddahr in Discovery, Inspiration, Observations, questions, Spirituality

≈ 1 Comment

Tags

Angels, Awe, Conversation, Faith, Fellowship, God, Holy Spirit, Jesus, Love, prayer, relationship, trust

I stumbled across this and it’s too good not to share. The reference is at the end. I did a little editing so it makes sense out of it’s original context but the meaning is intact.

Imagine that our Good, Good Father appears visibly among us this evening. How would we speak to him? Or to make it more personal, let us say that he is willing to meet us in our living room. As many of us as could, would go over there and gather around him, just as the crowds did around Jesus—Mary loved to sit there at his feet.

Now, as we walk into the room, we know that God is the all-powerful Creator of the whole vast universe. We know that the mighty angels, sinless as they are, stand overwhelmed with awe and wonder at the majesty and glory of our God. Yet, though that all be true, if we are afraid to go in, then God has failed to convince us of the truth about himself. And Jesus has failed to convince us, not just with his words, but with what he has demonstrated to be true when he was here, that God is infinitely powerful, but equally gracious, and there is no need to be afraid. How could we turn down what he has paid such a price to reveal?

God is seated there and we are gathered around him. What should we say? Should we be the first to speak? Once we have started speaking, would we talk all the time? Or would we let God speak for a while? Normally, when we pray we do all the talking, don’t we? And then we say Amen, and go about our business, or go to sleep. It would be like meeting in the room with our Heavenly Father, and talking to him incessantly for several minutes, and then saying, “Amen, thank you very much,” and then going home. It wouldn’t make sense, would it? It certainly wouldn’t be conversation as with a friend.

Supposing we should have the inestimable privilege of talking there freely with God the Father for a whole hour; would it be appropriate at the end for someone among us to arise and say, “This has been such a special occasion, don’t you think we ought to close this meeting with a word of prayer?” Or would it be correct to understand that talking, conversing, having conversation with our God as with a Friend for that whole hour actually is real prayer, and we have been praying the whole hour long?

Conversation means at least two people speaking. But how do we converse with God when we can’t see him just now, because of the present emergency? We all understand that emergency and why in mercy he does not reveal himself visibly to us at this moment. And so, the Bible is called the Word of God—God speaking to us. If we wish to hear God speak, except in most extraordinary occasions, God speaks to us through the Bible. We speak to him in prayer.

Truly, as someone has said, “We commune with God through the study of the Scriptures.” I certainly find prayer much more meaningful while reading the Bible. Have you ever had the experience of talking to God while reading certain parts of the Scriptures? Have you ever found yourself talking out loud, “That’s magnificent!”? Who are you talking to? But that’s real conversation. We read, we listen in that way. And then we talk back to God.

Graham Maxwell. Excerpt from the audio series, Conversations About God, #15, “Talking to God as a Friend” recorded May, 1984, Loma Linda, California. 

 

 

Easy or Hard

18 Saturday Mar 2017

Posted by braddahr in Discovery, Observations, questions, Spirituality

≈ 9 Comments

Tags

Faith, God, prayer, real, recovery, relationships, struggle

Is personal, private prayer easy or hard for you?

What does prayer mean to you?

What are the challenges you face in living a life of prayer?

What have you learned about prayer that can be a help to others who are struggling in their prayer life?

Disposables

22 Thursday Dec 2016

Posted by braddahr in Observations, Spirituality

≈ 2 Comments

Tags

Faith, God, Jesus Christ, life, personal, relationships

We are a disposable culture.

This isn’t always a negative. When I was younger, I used to babysit my sisters and my mom  never had disposable diapers. That was okay because I can handle cloth diapers but the problem was, I didn’t know how to fold them. One night, I was babysitting and I ran out of diapers; the only ones left were the freshly washed ones in a laundry basket – unfolded.  I had to call the neighbour lady to help. That night I would have killed for a disposable diaper!

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Beyond some conveniences we appreciate, think about all the stuff we just use up and throw away. Even this MacBook I am using to write this will one day be disposable (hopefully resealable or recyclable but still I will dispose of it for a new one).

We have become so used to disposing of things, even our most sacred and cherished spaces have been invaded by disposable culture.

We were created for relationship. Love and belonging are the two fundamental human needs. And yet, our relationships are disposable.

Now I’m not talking about the ebb and flow of people that come in and out of our life. I’m also not talking about necessary boundaries to safeguard ourselves from abuse.

I’m talking about the intentional disposing of people in our lives because they have become inconvenient, hard work, or we just can’t be bothered to make the effort. Once disposed of, we often look on those people with contempt.

Marriage is when two become one. Sadly, one often decides to dispose of the other.
Parents have teenagers they don’t know what to do with so they dispose of them from the house. Over the years, our home has been a safe place for half dozen disposed teens.
Friends dispose of each other over some of the most ridiculous things.
Most heartbreaking is when someone makes the choice to dispose of a baby – before or after he or she is born.

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What if God was like that? We would be doomed.

Fortunately, we have a Good, Good Father and he’s not like that. Actually, he not just not like that, he’s on the opposite end of the spectrum.  Here are a couple of things he says to us:*

“Even if your own mother who nursed you disposes of you, I will never dispose of you.”

“I will not dispose of you even until the end of the age.”

For those who trust God, we desire to have Christ’s character manifested in us. What I have noticed is we usually frame that within bad habits and choices. Sure, those are important, but we worry about them and without even a pause we dispose of people like we throw away used diapers.

Can you imagine what your life, your church, and the community you live in would be like if we had just 20% of God’s non-disposable character?

*Isaiah 49:15 and Matthew 28:20. I modified a couple words to make the point but the meaning is the same.

Feel the Weight

24 Thursday Nov 2016

Posted by braddahr in Observations, recovery

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Tags

Abuse, emotional health, Faith, family, health, learning, narcissists, real, relationships

Another great insight from Shannon Thomas’ book, “Healing from Hidden Abuse: A Journey Through the Stages of Recovery from Psychological Abuse.”

I experienced but it’s true I didn’t catch as it was happening. Only until the person went on a public rant did I become aware of his true nature.

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Let Me Have One More 

23 Wednesday Nov 2016

Posted by braddahr in Inspiration, Observations, Spirituality

≈ 2 Comments

Tags

Desmond Doss, Faith, Movie, prayer, Rescue, Tired

We saw “Hacksaw Ridge.”  It was moving, powerful, inspiring, and heart wrenching. There was one part – a key moment in the story – that really resonated with me. I’ll get to that in a minute.

hacksaw_ridge_poster
I’m not saying you have to see it but I highly recommend it. Note that the battle scenes are very realistic; no lie I closed my eyes several times.

“Hacksaw Ridge” is based on the true story of Desmond Doss. I’ve known about him for over 10 years after watching the documentary “The Conscientious Objector.” In a nutshell, Doss wanted to serve in the army as a medic during Word War II but due to his faith, he would not carry a gun.  Initially opposed and bullied by his commanding officers and squad, Doss gained their respect over time such that they waited for him to pray before commencing an attack. Due to his incredible bravery, Doss, “became the first and only conscientious objector to receive the Medal of Honor in World War II.” You can read his story here: https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Desmond_Doss but here’s an excerpt:

“Pfc. Doss refused to seek cover and remained in the fire-swept area with the many stricken, carrying all 75 casualties one-by-one to the edge of the escarpment and there lowering them on a rope-supported litter down the face of a cliff to friendly hands. On May 2, he exposed himself to heavy rifle and mortar fire in rescuing a wounded man 200 yards forward of the lines on the same escarpment; and 2 days later he treated 4 men who had been cut down while assaulting a strongly defended cave, advancing through a shower of grenades to within eight yards of enemy forces in a cave’s mouth, where he dressed his comrades’ wounds before making 4 separate trips under fire to evacuate them to safety.”

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During the horror of the battle, as he ran again and again into the battle to rescue the wounded, Doss kept praying over and over, “Lord, let me have one more.”

Few of us will ever face what Doss and the other soldiers faced that day. Few of us will risk our lives under a hail of gunfire and mortars to save another life. But some of us who desire to help the emotionally wounded and the spiritually broken have thrown ourselves into the battle of life. We become tired, battered, and sorrowful. It would be easy to give up, to focus on less important things. When that happens, may we too pray that prayer: Lord, let me have one more.

 

Steps to Life 6

10 Monday Oct 2016

Posted by braddahr in Observations, recovery

≈ Leave a comment

Tags

Abuse, comfort, Faith, healing, recovery, relationships, truth

From the book, “Healing from Hidden Abuse: A Journey Through the Stages of Recovery from Psychological Abuse.”

For the previous steps, check out:

Stage 1, Stage 2, Stage 3, Stage 4, Stage 5.

 

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Steps to Life 5

07 Friday Oct 2016

Posted by braddahr in Observations, recovery

≈ 1 Comment

Tags

Abuse, boundaries, Faith, family, Home, recovery, truth

From the book, “Healing from Hidden Abuse: A Journey Through the Stages of Recovery from Psychological Abuse.”

Let God Lead

27 Saturday Aug 2016

Posted by braddahr in Uncategorized

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Tags

Faith, Fear, God, trust

Great post! Are you letting God or your fears lead you?

 

The mountain goat feels perfectly at home on the precipice. He knows not fear. The heights are his friend, his defense against predators. There’s no need to fear heights. Abandon the lowlands, and dare to scale the heights. Don’t fear the plan and destiny God has for you. Leave behind your “security.” Since predators prowl […]

via Conquering fears — Mustard Seed Budget

Raising the Bar – Beauty Beyond Bones

26 Friday Aug 2016

Posted by braddahr in Uncategorized

≈ Leave a comment

Tags

Faith, God, gospel, grace, Jesus, Rest, salvation

Another out the park post from Beauty Beyond Bones.

If there’s on Olympic event that is simultaneously the most mesmerizing, and yet the most head-scrating thing ever, it’s…pole vaulting. No, not rhythmic gymnastics. Although, that’s a close second. Pole vaulting. I mean, I’d like to meet the guy who invented that event! Like, Okay, I’m going to willing catapult my body through the air, over a ridiculously high […]

via Raising the Bar — BeautyBeyondBones

BeautyBeyondBones – A Picture is Worth 1000 Words

20 Saturday Aug 2016

Posted by braddahr in Observations, Spirituality

≈ 3 Comments

Tags

Faith, healing, mental health, physical health, recovery

Here’s another powerful post by BeautyBeyondBones that includes a new video post. The the time, it’s worth it.

 

Well guys, I officially cannot believe I’m doing this. Seriously. I’m sitting here thinking about it, and I’m like… Yep. That pretty much sums it up. In case you missed the title, I’m sharing a photo with you from my past. When I was in the throes. The video says it all…why I haven’t previously shared […]

via Sharing a Photo of my Past — BeautyBeyondBones

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