Christians

I was reading once again in Acts 2 the other day the account of the Day of Pentecost, and somthing jumped off the page that I either had never seen before, or had forgotten about. Look at the reactions of these "God-fearing Jews" throughout the chapter:

1) "Amazed and perplexed, they asked one another, 'What does this mean?'" (v. 12)

2) "Some, however, made fun of them and said, 'They have had too much wine.'" (v. 13)

3) "...and you, with the help of wicked men, put him to death by nailing him to the cross." (v. 23)

4) "When the people heard this, they were cut to the heart and said to Peter and the other apostles, 'Brothers, what shall we do?'" (v. 37)

5) "Those who accepted his message were baptized, and about 3,000 were added to their number that day." (v. 41)

Very interesting that during the course of this event that there were multiple responses to the same situation.

So i ask myself today, 'how am i responding?'

blessings!

racism

given the major celebration that will take place this week (the life of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.), i have decided to reflect on the subject that he dedicated his life to, and that is popping up in the news quite frequently these days - racism.

last monday i had the wonderful opportunity to here a civil rights legend, Dr. John Perkins, speak in person. it is not easy to make a definitive statement of my reaction to his talk, other than to say - overwhelming.

dr. perkins has experienced a lot of negative in his life because of one simple fact - the color of his skin.

as i sat there, i realized that i have no clue what it means to experience shallow hatred. hatred that comes from the dark recesses of man's depraved soul. i have sat and observed the past couple of weeks, the continued stirring of this atrocity. whether it be political candidates discussing it, television reporters and editors be scolded and reprimanded for comments; this issue is still alive.

dr. perkins made a wonderful point when he said; "we apologize enough to keep the economy running." and i wondered; have i confessed my weaknesses in this area? have i truly forgiven? or have i apologized enough to keep the economy running? apologized just enough to feel better?

one thing that i do know, i can't do enough when it comes to this issue. i must continue to search my heart. continue to apologize and confess when i am at fault. i must continue to accept the apologies of others. continue to pray for peace and unity (especially in the body of Christ).

i must do more.

Try Again!

I read an interesting article today that suggested that blogs could be used for discipleship. Sounds like a really good idea, I think that I will try it. - Stay posted!!!