Barnabas Powell's Blog, page 169
October 25, 2017
Protected From Distraction
“OK, so what’s the catch?” The guy had just given me his best pitch for a timeshare vacation package at the resort we were enjoying in the Dominican Republic. (Beautiful place, by the way). They told us that if we would go to this presentation that we could get exclusive access to the 5 star restaurant at the resort and prefered seating! So, we agreed. Sitting there and listening to this pitch,…
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October 24, 2017
Strengthened With All Power
“Endurance is nobler than strength, and patience than beauty.” So says the 19th century writer and art critic John Ruskin. But is he right? Well, I think so, as long as all those important words are defined properly! But what if there was a way to understand WHY we should endure? Frankly, most people give up on different things in their lives because they’ve lost the “WHY” in their endurance. Sometimes that’s…
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October 23, 2017
Not Man’s Gospel
I’ve always been fascinated by philosophy and logical argument constructs. It seems to me that the ability to use one’s intellect to worship God through excellence and discipline is a very great accomplishment, one I’ve always lacked the patience and strength to fully embrace. One particular part of philosophical argument that grabs my attention is the various logical fallacies that we humans use to “prove” our points or “win” arguments. I love…
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October 20, 2017
Soldier, Athlete, Farmer
It almost sounds like the beginning of a joke: “A Soldier, an Athlete, and a Farmer…” But what it really is is a prescription for living a wise life. All too often we fall into the trap of reducing life to being “right” or “wrong.” We want to be correct. We want to be strong. We want to be right. And we want others to recognize our “rightness,” our “correctness,” and our…
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October 19, 2017
All Flesh!
The Holy Spirit is a subject that I thought I knew a lot about in my early days as a Pentecostal preacher. I would preach sermons on the Holy Spirit and the power He was to give believers to be “holy” or to “do His work” or to “heal” sicknesses.” And all of this was suppose to motivate others to “get the Spirit” active in their lives. But it was only in…
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October 18, 2017
Salty Speech
“Salt makes people thirsty. People are thirsting for more of God’s word. We are the salt, the salt of the earth!” I remember hearing that song as a teenager and thinking “so THAT’S what that means!” Jesus did call we Christians the “salt of the earth” and in His days on earth, salt wasn’t just something that added flavor; it was a valuable commodity that was used to preserve food, provide for…
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October 17, 2017
ALL MINE!
“MINE!” The toddler was adamant that that toy belonged ONLY to her! She had no intentions of allowing anyone else to play with her toy! Now that’s a familiar situation of any parent of small children or any teacher in kindergarten! But that’s also sometimes the unspoken attitude of too many of us when it comes to the spiritual treasures of our Faith. “THAT belongs to US!” Really? Look at our Lesson…
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October 16, 2017
WORK Out Your Own Salvation!
My little brother and I were typical brothers growing up. We would engage in “sibling rivalry” now and again! But we were being raised by a single mother who worked fulltime and cared for us full time as well. One such event when we were a bit older elicited a phrase from my mom to us both that really stuck with me. I don’t even remember what we were fighting about but…
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October 13, 2017
YOU Feed Them!
It was actually, physically, painful to hear her say those words. I was at the point of both tears and disbelief. You see, we had the opportunity to help some homeless people in our community by participating, as a parish, in a wonderful ministry to homeless families in our county. We are blessed to live in one of the fastest growing and wealthiest counties in Georgia and even the nation. And yet,…
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October 12, 2017
To Live IS Christ!
St. Paul tells us today that “to live is Christ, and to die is gain.” I confess, every time I read this passage and contemplate this phrase, it always drives me to reconsider my own life. Can I really say this along with Paul? Of course, the answer is “no,” but before I let myself off the hook here, I want to confront the all too easy cop out I sometimes allow…
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