Category Archives: Quotations

Nice God/Angry God

Quotations, Insights, Others' stuff

How can the ‘nice’, loving God of the New Testament, as exemplified and demonstrated by Jesus, be reconciled with the ‘Nasty’ God of the Old Testament? Here’s a link to a thought-provoking article on how a ‘nice’ God is ‘appeased’ by killing His own Son. Or is He?

Here’s the link

And here’s some of the entrenched reaction to it. The great Christian musician and minister, Don Francisco, read the article, liked it, and declared that he agreed with it. The replies make for interesting reading: how people apparently secure in their faith can suddenly seem insecure when all their carefully-held beliefs are challenged; how someone who has served Jesus faithfully and sacrificially for decades can suddenly become the ‘bad guy’, in so many people’s eyes, simply by saying what he thinks; how all of a sudden all those years of faithful, prophetic service count for nothing in some people’s eyes – as far as they’re concerned, it’s all gone just like a burst soap bubble. Clicking the date part takes you straight to it:

Boy, posting that link the other day has shown me that after all these years I’m still very naive: I really didn’t…

Posted by Don Francisco on Monday, 6 April 2015

And then, there’s even more. But Don stuck to his guns, bless him:

Since he derailed our parents in the Garden, it’s been our enemy’s goal to get us to believe that God’s character is…

Posted by Don Francisco on Tuesday, 7 April 2015

Don has always been a prophet. In this, he’s saying to us what God is saying to our generation. Also, his wife Wendy has made pro-gay comments on some forums (I have read them); again this is what God is saying to the Church in these times. Time to accept gays, lesbians and all those who have felt alienated from the Church because of the Church’s entrenched attitudes. He who has an ear, let him hear what the Spirit says to the churches!

Shedding the heavy burdens of religion

Quotations, Others' stuff

In March of this year, the great Christian musician, Don Francisco, shared on Facebook one of the most profound postings I’ve ever seen. Click the date in the link below to be taken straight to it on Facebook. You may need a Facebook account to be able to read it; I’m not sure! And I’ve reproduced it in full here as well….

 

“Come to Me, all of you who struggle wearily and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest.” (Matt. 11:28) This verse means “….all of you who struggle under religious burdens….” It was a religious burden Jesus carried to Calvary– that heavy cross was put on Him by the religious system. Because of Jesus, all the world’s religious systems and their burdens are finished– there is no longer anything or anyone between you and God, no mediators, no set of rules. Some religions, calling themselves ‘Christian’, would try to add, “Well, now that you know the truth, you’ve got to do this or that….” I’m sure you can fill in those blanks yourself, but none of them are from Him; performance is not required. You were in Him when He was crucified and died, and you were in Him when He rose and ascended back to where He was before. God is your brother and your friend. And that’s that…. plus nothing.

Posted by Don Francisco on Sunday, 22 March 2015

Sheer brilliance.

Sin, Pharisees and Punishment

Quotations, Insights

A quotation from one of the key Christian books of our time:

“Therefore, we had better have a mechanism in our Christian culture that deals effectively with the sin when it comes out right in front of us.

For whatever reason, we’ve come to expect that church is a place where there isn’t going to be any sin. It is just not true. If we don’t know how to deal with sin, then we don’t know how to deal with people.

We inevitably create a culture of law in order to keep people from sinning. The message of this culture is, ‘Contain your sin within yourself. Don’t show it to me; I can’t handle it’

Remember, this was the Pharisees’ line. They were famous for being afraid of sin, largely due to the fact that the only remedy for sin in their day was various degrees of punishments. The fear of punishment ruled their hearts, relationships, and culture. Jesus, on the other hand, had a group of unlikely companions. They were the thieves, tax collectors, and the hookers of the day. Compared to the other religious leaders at the time, He was like “Jesus of Vegas.” He was not in the least afraid of messes people made in their lives, and of letting them happen around Him. Even the people who spent three years walking personally with Jesus were still making messes the night of His crucifixion.

But ultimately, His love and the way He led people empowered them to rise above their mistakes and issues. ” – Danny Silk, Culture of Honor