December 2011
33 posts
Do. Love. Walk.: To be preoccupied with getting theological knowledge as an end in... →
mikeclevenger.tumblr.com
To be preoccupied with getting theological knowledge as an end in itself, to approach Bible study with no higher a motive than a desire to know all the answers, is the direct route to a state of self-satisfied self-deception. We need to guard our hearts against such an attitude, and pray to be…
“Obedience to the call of Jesus never lies within our own power. If, for instance, we give away all our possessions, that act is not in itself the obedience he demands. In fact such a step might be the precise opposite of obedience to Jesus, for we might then be choosing a way of life for ourselves, some Christian ideal, or some ideal of Franciscan poverty.Indeed in the very act of giving away his goods a man can give allegiance to himself and to an ideal and not to the command of Jesus. He is not set free from his own self but still more enslaved to himself. The step into the situation where faith is possible is not an offer which we can make to Jesus, but always his gracious offer to us. Only when the step is taken in this spirit is it admissible.”
—Dietrich Bonhoeffer, The Cost of Discipleship
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“Cheap grace is the grace we bestow on ourselves. Cheap grace is the preaching of forgiveness without requiring repentance, baptism without church discipline, Communion without confession…. Cheap grace is grace without discipleship, grace without the cross, grace without Jesus Christ, living and incarnate….Costly grace is the gospel which must be sought again and again and again, the gift which must be asked for, the door at which a man must knock. Such grace is costly because it calls us to follow, and it is grace because it calls us to follow Jesus Christ. It is costly because it costs a man his life, and it is grace because it gives a man the only true life. It is costly because it condemns sin, and grace because it justifies the sinner. Above all, it is costly because it cost God the life of his Son: ‘Ye were bought at a price’, and what has cost God much cannot be cheap for us. Above all, it is grace because God did not reckon his Son too dear a price to pay for our life, but delivered him up for us. Costly grace is the Incarnation of God.”
—Dietrich Bonhoeffer, The Cost of Discipleship
I Surrender
Your love makes it worth it,
Your love makes it worth it all,
Your love makes it worth it all.
I Couldn't Imagine Life Without You
I often read/hear people talking about how much they love their girlfriend or boyfriend. How they make their day brighter, how they long to hear their voice and be in their presence. How they couldn’t imagine being without them…I want that.
But not with some girl. I want my relationship with Christ to be like that. I want people to hear my devotion to Jesus and be confused thinking I’m talking about a girl. I want my relationship with Christ to be the most important thing in the world to me. The most real thing in my life.
He makes my day brighter, I long to hear His voice and be in His presence. The greatest part is that I don’t have to wait to be with Him. He is always with me, I hear His voice all day long.
I believe that I will get married some day to a wonderful girl. But as crazy as it sounds, I don’t think I will be ready for her until I’m not looking for her, until I don’t need her, until I’m totally satisfied in Christ and He is all I need.
I feel a little weird reading “The Cost of Discipleship” by Dietrich Bonhoeffer while using a “Keep Calm and Carry On” bookmark.
Are you an Introvert?
Have you ever taken one of those online personality tests? The ones that have dozens of questions where you have to choose which answer is most like you. If you’re an introvert, my guess is that you’ve probably taken more than one. If you’ve looked at the test and thought it looked too long, you might be an extrovert. Just to be sure though, why don’t you go ahead and take the test (Try this one)?
I’ve taken these tests more times than one person probably should. Probably because, like most introverts, I desire to understand myself. The interesting thing about the tests is that they give us an idea of what our personality traits are. They aren’t perfect because people are dynamic and no trait is going to describe how someone is all of the time. However, they are usually good at describing how we are the majority of the time.
According to the Myers-Briggs Type Indicator (MBTI), the “world’s most popular personality assessment”, there are 16 main personality types. Each of the types is derived from 4 dichotomies.
The Four Dichotomies:
1. How do we get our energy?
- Extraversion - from spending time with people
- Introversion - from spending time alone
2. How do we take in information?
- Sensing - from the five senses, tangible details and facts
- Intuition - from abstract and theoretical insights
3. How do we make decisions?
- Thinking - from a more detached standpoint, measuring the decision by what seems reasonable, logical, causal, consistent and matching a given set of rules
- Feeling - by associating or empathizing with the situation, looking at it ‘from the inside’ and weighing the situation to achieve, on balance, the greatest harmony, consensus and fit, considering the needs of the people involved
4. How do we organize our world?
- Judging - like to “have matters settled”
- Perceiving - prefer to “keep decisions open”
It is important to recognize that no one type is better than another. Each type has it’s strengths and weaknesses.
I’ve taken this kind of test several times and the majority of the time I come out with INTJ as my type. However, it is possible that you may not have a dominant type. My S-N, T-F, J-P are usually so close (somtimes 50/50) that I don’t know if I really have a dominant type. The only thing that is for sure is that I am predominantly an introvert (around 60%).
But enough about me, what type are you? Post your results in the comment section. Do they sound accurate?
For more info on this topic check out the following page(s):http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Myers-Briggs_Type_Indicator
http://typelogic.com/
“To Our Sisters in Christ,
If you see us opening doors for you, pulling out a chair, escort you to your car late at night, please understand that we aren’t doing it to impress you or win your heart. We are doing it because we wanna serve you as our sisters in Christ and we wanna practice servant leadership. Until we express interest, we are simply just your brothers.
Your Genuine Brothers in Christ” —
If you see us opening doors for you, pulling out a chair, escort you to your car late at night, please understand that we aren’t doing it to impress you or win your heart. We are doing it because we wanna serve you as our sisters in Christ and we wanna practice servant leadership. Until we express interest, we are simply just your brothers.
Your Genuine Brothers in Christ” —
(via markmuldez)
I try to do this but I feel like a lot of girls get the wrong idea.
If you post pictures of people making out I will unfollow you. Sorry, I don’t need to look at that stuff.
iFollowChrist: Reblogging stuff.. I don't get it. →
markmuldez.tumblr.com
I don’t get how it’s alright to be a Christian? while promoting things that are blatantly un-Christlike. Maybe it’s Tumblr and things get re-blogged all over the place. Maybe, for some reason, that foul lustful picture of a guy and a girl or a couple or a quote made you laugh or maybe a…
“Last year, Americans spent $450 billion on Christmas. Clean water for the whole world, including every poor person on the planet would cost about $20 billion. Let’s just call that what it is: A material blasphemy of the Christmas season.”
—
Jim Wallis (via azspot)
This year, I did the buying a “gift” from a charity thing with about 15% of my Christmas present budget. I’d like to increase that next year to about 50%. I mean, it’s not like anyone I know really needs more stuff.
(via kre-do)
Father, let me express love based on how you feel, not based on how I feel.
“Jesus doesn’t condemn legitimate concern for responsibilities but rather the continuous mind-set that dismisses God’s presence. Destructive anxiety subtracts God from the future, faces uncertainties with no faith, tallies up the challenges of the day without entering God into the equation. Worry is the darkroom where negatives become glossy prints.”
—Lucado, Max (2009-09-08). Fearless: Imagine Your Life Without Fear (p. 46). Thomas Nelson. Kindle Edition.
“Fairy tales do not tell children that dragons exist. Children already know that dragons exist. Fairy tales tell children that dragons can be killed.”
—G.K. Chesterton (via kalahariheart)
What Makes Someone an Introvert?
Most people have heard the word introvert before. What do you think of when you hear it? Do you imagine someone that is socially awkward and doesn’t talk very much? I know I did, and I considered that a pretty good description of myself. I thought it was something I could change about myself; that I could become an extravert if I really wanted to. The thing is that isn’t entirely accurate.
The truth is that God created us all with our own unique characteristics. Scientific studies that measure brain activity show that extraverts and introverts tend to use different pathways in the brain. So it really is part of who we are. Every person has an extraverted and introverted side. However, what makes makes each person unique is their natural dispositions towards extraversion or introversion; their personal balance of the two sides.
What’s the difference between the two? Introverts prefer reflection while extraverts prefer interaction. This means that introverts can get stressed out if they don’t have time to reflect on the interactions and experiences they have. As a result, they tend to be satisfied with a smaller group of close friends and usually prefer deep conversations. Introverts can enjoy reflection for longer periods of time without “needing” interaction. On the other hand, extraverts can enjoy interaction much longer without “needing” reflection.
This doesn’t mean that all introverts are shy and all extraverts are outgoing though. Shyness (feeling uncomfortable in social situations) is not exclusive to introverts. Extraverts can be shy, and introverts can be very sociable. The way the two types cope with shyness is the same, they both revert to the dominant side of their personality. Introverts will seek to control their fear by reflecting on what is happening and extraverts will seek to control their fear by becoming a significant or overriding influence in the interaction.
Many introverts have no problem with social situations, and as a result people may falsely assume they are extraverts. The idea of a outgoing introvert makes it difficult for people to determine which type other people are unless they know them very well. It also shatters the stigma that there is something wrong with introverts. It is important to realize that one temperament isn’t better than the other. They both have their advantages and their disadvantages that make up each person’s unique personality.
My hope is that we would stop trying to make ourselves and others become something we are not. Let us accept who God created each of us to be and use the gifts He has given us to live out the purpose He has for us. Let us recognize our differences, encourage each other to use our unique gifts, and learn how to love and relate to one another more effectively.
For more info on this topic check out the following page(s):http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Extraversion_and_introversion
“The engaged mind, illuminated by truth, awakens awareness; the engaged heart, affected by love, awakens passion…The integration of mind and heart shapes a unified personality living in a state of passionate awareness.”
—Brennan Manning. Abba’s Child: The Cry of the Heart for Intimate Belonging (p. 152). Kindle Edition.
Blog Direction
Hey, so I know I haven’t really posted much original content in the past couple months. The reason being, I’m not sure what direction I want to take my blog in. The reason I called it polymurphism to begin with was because I wanted it to have several different forms. However, I have decided that I don’t like that idea. I want it to be unified around a single theme. I will probably talk about many of the topics I have discussed before, but from a specific viewpoint.
The problem is I’m not entirely sure where I want to start. I think it will probably have something to do with loving God with all your mind. Which can include a variety of topics but have a specific goal.
Anyone have any ideas for a name?
“We cannot do anything to qualify for unconditional and voluntary love. We labor under the false assumption that if we live perfectly everybody will accept us, while there was One who lived His life perfectly, and everybody rejected Him.”
—Neil T. Anderson. Who I Am In Christ: A Devotional (Kindle Locations 136-138). Kindle Edition.
“Everyone wants the love of another person, but there is a season for everything. Right now draw near to God so that you understand your worth in his eyes.”
—Jason Evert, If You Really Loved Me (via versolalto)
