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What's Happening on my NEW Blog

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Admiral Establishing New Central Command Location

I'm not abandoning ship, but I've been wanting to streamline &/or consolidate all of my fleet of blogs for a while now, so I've started something new: http://tedmallory.wordpress.com

Please follow the link and take a look. I'm hoping to revitalize my blogging by making doing it more consistently and having each post be more brief and focused. I hope you'll like it and follow me at the new single blog site. Thanks. See you there.

Reflections and Thoughts: Worshipping a Differently-Abled Christ

Reflections and Thoughts: Worshipping a Differently-Abled Christ: Each Masters Senior at Princeton Theological Seminary is eligible to give the message during the weekday service. I gave my message on April...

What do you have to do to please God?

Believe (see John 6:29)

God is so demanding! (Note sarcasm).

Faith of a Criminal

I was reading the story of the crucifixion and noticed something I never have before. The thief on the cross beside Jesus in Luke 23:42 had more faith than Jesus own disciples.

Think about it. Peter, John, & Mary who came to the empty tomb all thought His body had been stolen until angels or Christ Himself tell them otherwise. 

But the thief expects Jesus victory over death. While they're both hanging there dying, he asks Jesus to "remember me when You enter into Your kingdom." That request presupposes that there's a kingdom, that Jesus is the king, and that in spite of the fact that He's in the process of being executed, He will STILL triumphantly enter said kingdom.

That, my friends is faith.

I for one am far more likely to deny Him three times like Peter. How about you?

Lord, grant us faith like a thief- that even as we suffer, we still trust that Yours is the victory. That even though we know we deserve death, we can be bold enough to ask You to remember us. Amen.

Your Checkered Past

If you're trying to find things to be thankful for during Lent, here's an idea: your personal history.

What you've gone through has made you who you are and brought you to where you are.

Even if it was painful, even if it included some ugly choices or mistakes that you wish you could change & need forgiveness for, you can still thank God for it because He's used it all to shape who He needs you to be.

Above all, thank Him for being with you through it all and for bringing you through it all.

Give Thanks for People

So for Lent, you're trying to develop your attitude of gratitude? Great. Giving thanks not only gives God His due credit, it helps give us perspective. Make it a point to give thanks daily and experts say you will become more positive. 

May I suggest keeping a gratitude diary? Force yourself to write down things you're grateful for. One benefit of a keeping a journal will be when you're down, reviewing it may help lift you back up by reminding you how much God's blest you.

But don't just thank God for things. Thank him for people. Thank God for people He's put in your life; who have been a blessing to you somehow, have taught you things or have meant something to you.

Mentors, examples, inspirations, helpers, just good company. Friends, relatives, coworkers, neighbors, whomever.

Oh, and here's an idea- if you're grateful for them, why not take a minute to pray for them? At least ask God to bless the and their families, even if you have no idea what any of their specific needs are for intercession. Just blessings.

Those blessings will multiply and you'll have even more to be thankful for!

Ash Wednesday

Lord, You went to the cross so that we could be in relationship with You. These next 40 days, draw us closer to You in prayer, repentance, reading Your Word, and in loving, accepting, forgiving and serving others.

"Liberal" Values are Biblical

Isaiah 58:6-7 “Is not this the kind of fasting I have chosen:to loose the chains of injustice and untie the cords of the yoke,to set the oppressed freeand break every yoke? Is it not to share your food with the hungryand to provide the poor wanderer with shelter—when you see the naked, to clothe them,and not to turn away from your own flesh and blood? 

Compassion, helping the poor, evening the playing field- these are things God calls us to do, especially in the Old Testament prophets.

So why do the same "conservatives" who talk about "Christian heritage" & "family values" so opposed to helping the oppressed, so xenophobic, & seemingly so protective of a system that redistributes so much wealth to the most wealthy 2%?

Perhaps one of the fundamental differences between the right & the left is that progressives recognize that in a participatory representative democracy "We the people" ultimately ARE the government and therefore why not use government as a tool to live out our Biblical values? 

While the right wing is afraid of the government allowing gay marriage, abortion, teaching evolution or reversing global climate change- liberals want to use the collective resources of government to break the yokes of oppression, share bread with the hungry, provide housing to the homeless, clothing to the poor, & take care of orphans, widows, & aliens.

Seems to me that one view is negative, reactive, fearful and protective of self interest. Whereas the other view is positive, proactive, motivated by love and  altruism.

Food for thought for moderates & conservatives and preemptive justification for my fellow liberals for the next time someone claims that you can't really be Christians if you're not a Tea Party conservative.

Rough Waters? Pray this.

How many times a day must You keep saying to me "oh you of little faith, why are you so afraid?"(Matt 8:26a) even though You're right here with me all along? Please still my storms, even the ones that are just in my head.