<?xml version='1.0' encoding='UTF-8'?><?xml-stylesheet href="http://www.blogger.com/styles/atom.css" type="text/css"?><feed xmlns='http://www.w3.org/2005/Atom' xmlns:openSearch='http://a9.com/-/spec/opensearchrss/1.0/' xmlns:georss='http://www.georss.org/georss' xmlns:gd='http://schemas.google.com/g/2005' xmlns:thr='http://purl.org/syndication/thread/1.0'><id>tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2103331157451221385</id><updated>2011-07-28T11:54:28.046-05:00</updated><category term='pantheism'/><category term='paganism'/><category term='rhema'/><category term='Psalm 118'/><category term='Avatar'/><title type='text'>NL Meet Market</title><subtitle type='html'></subtitle><link rel='http://schemas.google.com/g/2005#feed' type='application/atom+xml' href='http://newlifemeetmarket.blogspot.com/feeds/posts/default'/><link rel='self' type='application/atom+xml' href='http://www.blogger.com/feeds/2103331157451221385/posts/default?max-results=100'/><link rel='alternate' type='text/html' href='http://newlifemeetmarket.blogspot.com/'/><link rel='hub' href='http://pubsubhubbub.appspot.com/'/><author><name>NL Meet Market</name><uri>http://www.blogger.com/profile/00454093511168753710</uri><email>noreply@blogger.com</email><gd:image rel='http://schemas.google.com/g/2005#thumbnail' width='16' height='16' src='http://img2.blogblog.com/img/b16-rounded.gif'/></author><generator version='7.00' uri='http://www.blogger.com'>Blogger</generator><openSearch:totalResults>11</openSearch:totalResults><openSearch:startIndex>1</openSearch:startIndex><openSearch:itemsPerPage>100</openSearch:itemsPerPage><entry><id>tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2103331157451221385.post-3898923080981781131</id><published>2010-04-21T11:36:00.003-05:00</published><updated>2010-04-21T11:43:33.249-05:00</updated><title type='text'>Trinity</title><content type='html'>&lt;div style="text-align: justify;"&gt;The Trinity is considered to be the most complex doctrine in our faith by most theologians.  So to unpack it in a short communication is probably not a good idea.  So we’re going to make some quick observations from the text and then draw out some principles to lay a foundation.&lt;br /&gt;Looking at the passage in John,&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;span style="font-size:85%;"&gt;13 When the Spirit of truth comes, he will guide you into all the truth, for he will not speak on his own authority, but whatever he hears he will speak, and he will declare to you the things that are to come. 14 He will glorify me, for he will take what is mine and declare it to you. 15 All that the Father has is mine; therefore I said that he will take what is mine and declare it to you.&lt;/span&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;We notice that Jesus identifies three distinct persons in the Godhead;  the Father, himself and the Spirit.  Within this Godhead, it is clear that each person plays a &lt;span style="font-weight: bold; font-style: italic;"&gt;distinct role&lt;/span&gt;, each person freely &lt;span style="font-weight: bold; font-style: italic;"&gt;gives and receives&lt;/span&gt; from the other and there is &lt;span style="font-weight: bold; font-style: italic;"&gt;no hierarchy&lt;/span&gt;.  One might say that since the Spirit doesn’t speak on his own authority, that he’s under the authority of the Father thus creating order.  However the Bible also says that we can’t know the Father without the Spirit moving in our hearts.  So if the Spirit is under the Father’s authority, then why would the Father need the Spirit to work in our hearts to get to know the Father?  I believe the way to understand it is that each person needs to plays their role for the community of the Godhead to function effectively.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;Paul further explains how these characteristics should manifest in the community.  In Romans 12:3-8, Paul uses the analogy of the body has many parts but each part serves a particular function for the body to be optimally operational.  No one part is more important that the other.  In 1 Corinthians 12:4-11, Paul addresses the use of spiritual gifts to serve the church.  He also says that we’re “given the manifestation of the Spirit for the common good” (7).  This means that our God-given gifts and abilities were given to serve the church.  What this implies that each Christ-following individual has a responsibility to use the way God formed us (Psalm 139:13-16) for the community.  We know that when the community is functional then we will be “praising God and having favor with all the people. And the Lord added to their number day by day those who were being saved.” (Acts 2:47).&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;To make a comprehensive list of application would take pages.  In order to make it simple and easy to apply here are a couple questions to ask yourself:&lt;br /&gt;-What are my gifts and abilities?  How can I use that to serve the community?&lt;br /&gt;-Do I feel that I deserved to be served?  Do I consider myself better than others?&lt;br /&gt;-Am I being a faithful steward with my possessions, time, and energy?&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;Next, Pastor Yun will be addressing the role of the Church as an institution.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div class="blogger-post-footer"&gt;&lt;img width='1' height='1' src='https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/tracker/2103331157451221385-3898923080981781131?l=newlifemeetmarket.blogspot.com' alt='' /&gt;&lt;/div&gt;</content><link rel='replies' type='application/atom+xml' href='http://newlifemeetmarket.blogspot.com/feeds/3898923080981781131/comments/default' title='Post Comments'/><link rel='replies' type='text/html' href='http://newlifemeetmarket.blogspot.com/2010/04/trinity.html#comment-form' title='0 Comments'/><link rel='edit' type='application/atom+xml' href='http://www.blogger.com/feeds/2103331157451221385/posts/default/3898923080981781131'/><link rel='self' type='application/atom+xml' href='http://www.blogger.com/feeds/2103331157451221385/posts/default/3898923080981781131'/><link rel='alternate' type='text/html' href='http://newlifemeetmarket.blogspot.com/2010/04/trinity.html' title='Trinity'/><author><name>David (Biggs)</name><uri>http://www.blogger.com/profile/11434345815510437325</uri><email>noreply@blogger.com</email><gd:image rel='http://schemas.google.com/g/2005#thumbnail' width='16' height='16' src='http://img2.blogblog.com/img/b16-rounded.gif'/></author><thr:total>0</thr:total></entry><entry><id>tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2103331157451221385.post-5725077268261634514</id><published>2010-04-05T10:17:00.004-05:00</published><updated>2010-04-05T10:30:56.189-05:00</updated><title type='text'>Dual-nature</title><content type='html'>And God said “Let there be light,” and there was light (Genesis 1:3).  Scientist and engineers spend a lot of time and money studying light and ways to manipulate it for our benefit.  Today we discovered ways to transmit/receive light (LED, lasers) which we have used in a number of useful applications (optical data transmission, solar energy).  We also know that light is the fastest speed we can measure, often referencing the speed of light or light-years (the distance light travels in one year).  Some of the earliest study of light was to investigate how light diffracts (bends) around objects.  One experiment (1803) is when passing light through two narrow slits there are intense beams and dark regions to show that light as an energy source acts like a wave.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_r1bMoWhXPSI/S7oAi-3cS3I/AAAAAAAAAAg/62Ea0B80FbI/s1600/diffraction.jpg"&gt;&lt;img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 303px; height: 229px;" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_r1bMoWhXPSI/S7oAi-3cS3I/AAAAAAAAAAg/62Ea0B80FbI/s320/diffraction.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5456674499503868786" /&gt;&lt;/a&gt; &lt;br /&gt;Figure 1. Shooting a laser two narrow slits&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;Over a century later, physicists discovered that light also had discrete units of energy that could be measured through several different experiments.   Even the early discoveries of light behaving as discrete units of energy did not get readily accepted due to the inability of ‘wave theory’ to explain it.  Einstein finally, through calculation, was able to prove that light also behave as particles, often referred as photons. &lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_r1bMoWhXPSI/S7oBZ37rniI/AAAAAAAAAAw/agQ6iz7KdOs/s1600/photons.jpg"&gt;&lt;img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 298px; height: 244px;" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_r1bMoWhXPSI/S7oBZ37rniI/AAAAAAAAAAw/agQ6iz7KdOs/s320/photons.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5456675442535407138" /&gt;&lt;/a&gt;&lt;br /&gt;Figure 2. Schematic on dual nature of light&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;Even though physicist cannot explain why light has this dual-nature (Re: uncertainty principle), there’s no denying the benefits we have received from it.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;When looking at the Church, it’s a bit similar.  There’s the dual-nature of the Church: as an institution and as gospel community.  When most people think of church, we often refer to either a building or a group of believers which is the community centered on the gospel of Jesus.  The Church as an institution is affirmed not only by the apostles whom are writing letters of instruction to the churches but also by Jesus himself as revealed in Revelation (1:12-13,16,20) when Jesus is holding the seven stars and referring to the churches as lampstands.  What is the purpose of the church?  What do we see in the Bible regarding on how our church is to function if it’s going to be a thriving community? &lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;The most commonly reference section of the Bible regarding church model is Acts 2, particularly in the end: &lt;br /&gt;42 And they devoted themselves to the apostles' teaching and the fellowship, to the breaking of bread and the prayers. 43 And awe came upon every soul, and many wonders and signs were being done through the apostles. 44 And all who believed were together and had all things in common. 45 And they were selling their possessions and belongings and distributing the proceeds to all, as any had need. 46 And day by day, attending the temple together and breaking bread in their homes, they received their food with glad and generous hearts, 47 praising God and having favor with all the people. And the Lord added to their number day by day those who were being saved.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;One question to ask is: if we model our church to the early church described in Acts 2, then what did the early church have to model itself after?  To answer that question we need to look in the earlier part of Acts 2:4 “And they were filled with the Holy Spirit”.  We read in John 16:13-15 Jesus says, “when the Spirit of Truth will comes, he (Holy Spirit) will [not only] guide you into all truth… He (Holy Spirit) will glorify me (Jesus) for he (Holy Spirit) will take what is mine (Jesus) and declare it to you. All that the Father has is mine (Jesus), therefore I said that he (Holy Spirit) will take what is mine (Jesus) and declare it to you.”  So we can infer from scripture that the early church was inspired by the Holy Spirit to reflect the triune nature of God.  So we should get our model of community by reflecting how God the Father, God the Son and God the Holy Spirit commune with each other as reflected by the early church.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;Since this introduction was a bit long, we’re going to investigate how the Trinity functions and how those qualities should be manifested in our gospel community in the next blog and then look to the role of Church as an institution.&lt;div class="blogger-post-footer"&gt;&lt;img width='1' height='1' src='https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/tracker/2103331157451221385-5725077268261634514?l=newlifemeetmarket.blogspot.com' alt='' /&gt;&lt;/div&gt;</content><link rel='replies' type='application/atom+xml' href='http://newlifemeetmarket.blogspot.com/feeds/5725077268261634514/comments/default' title='Post Comments'/><link rel='replies' type='text/html' href='http://newlifemeetmarket.blogspot.com/2010/04/dual-nature.html#comment-form' title='0 Comments'/><link rel='edit' type='application/atom+xml' href='http://www.blogger.com/feeds/2103331157451221385/posts/default/5725077268261634514'/><link rel='self' type='application/atom+xml' href='http://www.blogger.com/feeds/2103331157451221385/posts/default/5725077268261634514'/><link rel='alternate' type='text/html' href='http://newlifemeetmarket.blogspot.com/2010/04/dual-nature.html' title='Dual-nature'/><author><name>David (Biggs)</name><uri>http://www.blogger.com/profile/11434345815510437325</uri><email>noreply@blogger.com</email><gd:image rel='http://schemas.google.com/g/2005#thumbnail' width='16' height='16' src='http://img2.blogblog.com/img/b16-rounded.gif'/></author><media:thumbnail xmlns:media='http://search.yahoo.com/mrss/' url='http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_r1bMoWhXPSI/S7oAi-3cS3I/AAAAAAAAAAg/62Ea0B80FbI/s72-c/diffraction.jpg' height='72' width='72'/><thr:total>0</thr:total></entry><entry><id>tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2103331157451221385.post-998020121086986154</id><published>2010-03-22T10:40:00.005-05:00</published><updated>2010-03-22T12:53:33.442-05:00</updated><title type='text'>Hmm...I wonder what other people are reading??</title><content type='html'>If there was a popularity contest for passages, where would they rank? Is your favorite passage in the "popular crowd?" Well...Biblegateway.com compiled the numbers and came up with a list of the most viewed passages on their site in 2009. Take a look:&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;ol&gt;&lt;li&gt;&lt;a href="http://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=1Cor.13"&gt;1 Corinthians 13&lt;/a&gt; &lt;/li&gt;&lt;li&gt;&lt;a href="http://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Psalm%2023"&gt;Psalm 23&lt;/a&gt; &lt;/li&gt;&lt;li&gt;&lt;a href="http://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Gen.1"&gt;Genesis 1&lt;/a&gt; &lt;/li&gt;&lt;li&gt;&lt;a href="http://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=John%203:16"&gt;John 3:16&lt;/a&gt; &lt;/li&gt;&lt;li&gt;&lt;a href="http://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Romans%208"&gt;Romans 8&lt;/a&gt; &lt;/li&gt;&lt;li&gt;&lt;a href="http://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Psalm%2091"&gt;Psalm 91&lt;/a&gt; &lt;/li&gt;&lt;li&gt;&lt;a href="http://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Matthew%205"&gt;Matthew 5&lt;/a&gt; &lt;/li&gt;&lt;li&gt;&lt;a href="http://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=John%201"&gt;John 1&lt;/a&gt; &lt;/li&gt;&lt;li&gt;&lt;a href="http://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Matthew%206"&gt;Matthew 6&lt;/a&gt; &lt;/li&gt;&lt;li&gt;&lt;a href="http://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=James%201"&gt;James 1&lt;/a&gt; &lt;/li&gt;&lt;li&gt;&lt;a href="http://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=John%2014"&gt;John 14&lt;/a&gt; &lt;/li&gt;&lt;li&gt;&lt;a href="http://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Romans%2012"&gt;Romans 12&lt;/a&gt; &lt;/li&gt;&lt;li&gt;&lt;a href="http://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Jeremiah%2029:11"&gt;Jeremiah 29:11&lt;/a&gt; &lt;/li&gt;&lt;li&gt;&lt;a href="http://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Philippians%204"&gt;Philippians 4&lt;/a&gt; &lt;/li&gt;&lt;li&gt;&lt;a href="http://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Psalm%201"&gt;Psalm 1&lt;/a&gt; &lt;/li&gt;&lt;li&gt;&lt;a href="http://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Psalm%20139"&gt;Psalm 139&lt;/a&gt; &lt;/li&gt;&lt;li&gt;&lt;a href="http://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Ephesians%204"&gt;Ephesians 4&lt;/a&gt; &lt;/li&gt;&lt;li&gt;&lt;a href="http://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=1%20Corinthians%201:31"&gt;1 Corinthians 1:31&lt;/a&gt; &lt;/li&gt;&lt;li&gt;&lt;a href="http://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Romans%201"&gt;Romans 1&lt;/a&gt; &lt;/li&gt;&lt;li&gt;&lt;a href="http://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=John%203"&gt;John 3&lt;/a&gt; &lt;/li&gt;&lt;li&gt;&lt;a href="http://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Ephesians%201"&gt;Ephesians 1&lt;/a&gt; &lt;/li&gt;&lt;li&gt;&lt;a href="http://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Ephesians%205"&gt;Ephesians 5&lt;/a&gt; &lt;/li&gt;&lt;li&gt;&lt;a href="http://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Luke%201"&gt;Luke 1&lt;/a&gt; &lt;/li&gt;&lt;li&gt;&lt;a href="http://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Matthew%201"&gt;Matthew 1&lt;/a&gt; &lt;/li&gt;&lt;li&gt;&lt;a href="http://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=1%20Peter%201"&gt;1 Peter 1&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/li&gt;&lt;/ol&gt;&lt;br /&gt;WHY these? That's the first question that came to mind. Is it a reflection of our culture? Curiosity? Are these the passages that most pastors choose to preach on? Your guess is as good as mine. But if you're stuck in your personal reading of the Word, why not tackle one of these passages (*Linked*)?&lt;div class="blogger-post-footer"&gt;&lt;img width='1' height='1' src='https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/tracker/2103331157451221385-998020121086986154?l=newlifemeetmarket.blogspot.com' alt='' /&gt;&lt;/div&gt;</content><link rel='replies' type='application/atom+xml' href='http://newlifemeetmarket.blogspot.com/feeds/998020121086986154/comments/default' title='Post Comments'/><link rel='replies' type='text/html' href='http://newlifemeetmarket.blogspot.com/2010/03/hmmi-wonder-what-other-people-are.html#comment-form' title='0 Comments'/><link rel='edit' type='application/atom+xml' href='http://www.blogger.com/feeds/2103331157451221385/posts/default/998020121086986154'/><link rel='self' type='application/atom+xml' href='http://www.blogger.com/feeds/2103331157451221385/posts/default/998020121086986154'/><link rel='alternate' type='text/html' href='http://newlifemeetmarket.blogspot.com/2010/03/hmmi-wonder-what-other-people-are.html' title='Hmm...I wonder what other people are reading??'/><author><name>MSO</name><email>noreply@blogger.com</email><gd:image rel='http://schemas.google.com/g/2005#thumbnail' width='16' height='16' src='http://img2.blogblog.com/img/b16-rounded.gif'/></author><thr:total>0</thr:total></entry><entry><id>tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2103331157451221385.post-1728668833113484624</id><published>2010-03-03T22:22:00.006-06:00</published><updated>2010-03-03T22:55:13.225-06:00</updated><title type='text'>Humor Corner</title><content type='html'>So this guy Joseph is real down on his luck, and he goes to church to pray for help. "&lt;span style="font-style: italic;"&gt;God, please help me, I'm having trouble making ends meet and I think I'm going to lose my job soon. Please just let me win the lottery this week.&lt;/span&gt;" A week goes by, he doesn't win the lottery, and he gets laid off. Discouraged, he goes back to church to pray again for help. "&lt;span style="font-style: italic;"&gt;God, please, I've lost my job, I have a family and kids to feed, my car is going to get repossessed soon, I don't know what to do, please just let me win the lottery&lt;/span&gt;." A week goes by, he doesn't win the lottery, and his car gets repossessed. Discouraged, he goes back to church to pray again for help. "&lt;span style="font-style: italic;"&gt;God, please, I've lost my car and my job, the bank is going to take my house soon, I have no money, and I have a family and kids to feed. Please just let me win the lottery&lt;/span&gt;." A week goes by, he doesn't win the lottery, and his house gets repossessed. He goes back to church to pray one more time for help. "&lt;span style="font-style: italic;"&gt;Please God, I've been praying for help and no help has come. I've lost my job, my car, and now my house. My kids are going to starve. I don't know what to do. I keep asking for help and things just keep getting worse. Please, God, just let me win the lottery&lt;/span&gt;."&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;Finally God takes pity upon Joseph and answers him. "&lt;span style="font-style: italic;"&gt;Joseph&lt;/span&gt;," he says, "&lt;span style="font-style: italic;"&gt;just buy a darn ticket already&lt;/span&gt;!"&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;Some of us just need to buy that ticket! Buying that ticket means taking action to allow God to work in our lives today. Baby steps...=)&lt;br /&gt;&lt;h1 size="12px" style="margin: 0pt;"&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;/h1&gt;&lt;h1 style="margin: 0pt; font-size: 12px;"&gt;&lt;span style="font-weight: normal;"&gt;“We always overestimate the change that will occur in the next two years and underestimate the change that will occur in the next ten. Don't let yourself be lulled into &lt;span style="font-weight: bold;"&gt;inaction&lt;/span&gt;.” -Bill Gates&lt;/span&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;/h1&gt;&lt;div class="blogger-post-footer"&gt;&lt;img width='1' height='1' src='https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/tracker/2103331157451221385-1728668833113484624?l=newlifemeetmarket.blogspot.com' alt='' /&gt;&lt;/div&gt;</content><link rel='replies' type='application/atom+xml' href='http://newlifemeetmarket.blogspot.com/feeds/1728668833113484624/comments/default' title='Post Comments'/><link rel='replies' type='text/html' href='http://newlifemeetmarket.blogspot.com/2010/03/humor-corner.html#comment-form' title='0 Comments'/><link rel='edit' type='application/atom+xml' href='http://www.blogger.com/feeds/2103331157451221385/posts/default/1728668833113484624'/><link rel='self' type='application/atom+xml' href='http://www.blogger.com/feeds/2103331157451221385/posts/default/1728668833113484624'/><link rel='alternate' type='text/html' href='http://newlifemeetmarket.blogspot.com/2010/03/humor-corner.html' title='Humor Corner'/><author><name>MSO</name><email>noreply@blogger.com</email><gd:image rel='http://schemas.google.com/g/2005#thumbnail' width='16' height='16' src='http://img2.blogblog.com/img/b16-rounded.gif'/></author><thr:total>0</thr:total></entry><entry><id>tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2103331157451221385.post-6208873397965012425</id><published>2010-02-16T10:17:00.004-06:00</published><updated>2010-02-16T11:07:05.960-06:00</updated><title type='text'>Wait, That Don't Sound Right.</title><content type='html'>&lt;div&gt;&lt;div&gt;I'll be the first to admit that I am an opinionated person. But to take that a step further, I am an opinionated person that relies on facts. There is a distinction here that I would like to expand on.&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;div&gt;Rarely to I maintain my view on a topic if the underlying facts are questionable. If what you say is contrary to what I've heard, read, know, or what think I know, we'll probably have a discussion about it. My goal is not to be right (because I find that I am more shortsighted than I believe myself to be), but it is my goal to have the facts on which to build my opinions and viewpoints which define my life. If my perspective is based on things that are not true, I am not so stubborn that I would not change my perspective (how quickly is another question entirely). If I don't have any facts, I really don't have an opinion on the matter. This applies to both things of this world, and of spiritual things. &lt;/div&gt;&lt;div&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;div&gt;Several weeks ago, Pastor Yun was giving a sermon on Luke 13:18-21. The title of his sermon was &lt;strong&gt;&lt;em&gt;The Power of Small Things&lt;/em&gt;&lt;/strong&gt;, and he spoke at lengths about what God can do with seemingly insignificant things (old sermons can be found on &lt;a href="http://wantnewlife.org/media/sermons.php"&gt;http://wantnewlife.org/media/sermons.php&lt;/a&gt;). This passage was about the mustard seed, "smaller than all other seeds". Pastor Yun talked about spiritual truths in the word and how to not be discouraged, but I was stuck on the statement, "the smallest, smallest seed possible". Now I have done some cooking in my time and I have cooked with mustard seeds. They aren't all that small. Certainly, it doesn't take 20,000 of them to fill an ounce!&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;div&gt;So I began to google, right there during the sermon. &lt;/div&gt;&lt;div&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div&gt;&lt;em&gt;google.com. &lt;/em&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div&gt;&lt;em&gt;&lt;/em&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div&gt;&lt;em&gt;"Mustard Seed, smallest seed".&lt;/em&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div&gt;&lt;em&gt;&lt;/em&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div&gt;&lt;em&gt;First link: Is the mustard seed, the smallest of seeds? ChristinanAnswers.Net&lt;/em&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div&gt;&lt;em&gt;&lt;/em&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div&gt;&lt;em&gt;Clicked it... got some new perspective:&lt;/em&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;div&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div align="justify"&gt;&lt;span style="font-size:85%;"&gt;&lt;strong&gt;&lt;em&gt;&lt;u&gt;&lt;/u&gt;&lt;/em&gt;&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div align="justify"&gt;&lt;span style="font-size:85%;"&gt;&lt;strong&gt;&lt;em&gt;&lt;u&gt;Alleged Biblical Problem&lt;/u&gt;&lt;br /&gt;In &lt;/em&gt;&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;a href="http://www.christiananswers.net/bible/mat13.html#31"&gt;&lt;span style="font-size:85%;"&gt;&lt;strong&gt;&lt;em&gt;Matthew 13:31-32&lt;/em&gt;&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/a&gt;&lt;span style="font-size:85%;"&gt;&lt;strong&gt;&lt;em&gt;, &lt;/em&gt;&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;a href="http://www.christiananswers.net/dictionary/jesus.html"&gt;&lt;span style="font-size:85%;"&gt;&lt;strong&gt;&lt;em&gt;Jesus&lt;/em&gt;&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/a&gt;&lt;span style="font-size:85%;"&gt;&lt;strong&gt;&lt;em&gt; said that the &lt;/em&gt;&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;a href="http://www.christiananswers.net/dictionary/mustard.html"&gt;&lt;span style="font-size:85%;"&gt;&lt;strong&gt;&lt;em&gt;mustard seed&lt;/em&gt;&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/a&gt;&lt;span style="font-size:85%;"&gt;&lt;strong&gt;&lt;em&gt; was “smaller than all other seeds,” but that when it was full grown, it would be large enough for birds to nest in its branches.&lt;br /&gt;Today, we know that there are seeds even smaller than the mustard seed. For instance, the orchid seed is so small and fine that it's almost dust-like. There are those who would also question whether a mustard seed could ever grow into a tree that is large enough to hold a bird nest.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;/em&gt;&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;div align="justify"&gt;&lt;span style="font-size:85%;"&gt;&lt;strong&gt;&lt;em&gt;Now, if Jesus (who claimed to be God) was wrong about the mustard seed, why should we trust anything else that He said? And on what basis &lt;/em&gt;&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;a href="http://www.christiananswers.net/menu-at1.html#contradictions"&gt;&lt;span style="font-size:85%;"&gt;&lt;strong&gt;&lt;em&gt;can the Bible be considered reliable&lt;/em&gt;&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/a&gt;&lt;span style="font-size:85%;"&gt;&lt;strong&gt;&lt;em&gt; on any &lt;/em&gt;&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;a href="http://www.christiananswers.net/creation/home.html"&gt;&lt;span style="font-size:85%;"&gt;&lt;strong&gt;&lt;em&gt;scientific&lt;/em&gt;&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/a&gt;&lt;span style="font-size:85%;"&gt;&lt;strong&gt;&lt;em&gt; or &lt;/em&gt;&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;a href="http://www.christiananswers.net/archaeology/home.html"&gt;&lt;span style="font-size:85%;"&gt;&lt;strong&gt;&lt;em&gt;historical&lt;/em&gt;&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/a&gt;&lt;span style="font-size:85%;"&gt;&lt;strong&gt;&lt;em&gt; matter?&lt;br /&gt;&lt;/em&gt;&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div align="justify"&gt;&lt;span style="font-size:85%;"&gt;&lt;strong&gt;&lt;em&gt;&lt;/em&gt;&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;div align="justify"&gt;&lt;span style="font-size:85%;"&gt;&lt;strong&gt;&lt;em&gt;&lt;u&gt;Sensible Solution&lt;/u&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;/em&gt;&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;a href="http://www.christiananswers.net/dictionary/agriculture.html"&gt;&lt;/a&gt;&lt;span style="font-size:85%;"&gt;&lt;strong&gt;&lt;em&gt;Please note that Jesus was not comparing the mustard seed to all other seeds in the world, but to seeds that a local, &lt;/em&gt;&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;a href="http://www.christiananswers.net/dictionary/palestine.html"&gt;&lt;span style="font-size:85%;"&gt;&lt;strong&gt;&lt;em&gt;Palestinian&lt;/em&gt;&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/a&gt;&lt;span style="font-size:85%;"&gt;&lt;strong&gt;&lt;em&gt; &lt;/em&gt;&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;a href="http://www.christiananswers.net/dictionary/agriculture.html"&gt;&lt;span style="font-size:85%;"&gt;&lt;strong&gt;&lt;em&gt;farmer&lt;/em&gt;&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/a&gt;&lt;span style="font-size:85%;"&gt;&lt;strong&gt;&lt;em&gt; might have "sowed in his field," i.e., a key qualifying phrase in &lt;/em&gt;&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;a href="http://www.christiananswers.net/bible/mat13.html#31"&gt;&lt;span style="font-size:85%;"&gt;&lt;strong&gt;&lt;em&gt;verse 31&lt;/em&gt;&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/a&gt;&lt;span style="font-size:85%;"&gt;&lt;strong&gt;&lt;em&gt;. And it's absolutely true that the black mustard seed (Brassica nigra = Sinapis nigra) was the smallest seed ever sown by a first-century &lt;/em&gt;&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;a href="http://www.christiananswers.net/dictionary/agriculture.html"&gt;&lt;span style="font-size:85%;"&gt;&lt;strong&gt;&lt;em&gt;farmer&lt;/em&gt;&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/a&gt;&lt;span style="font-size:85%;"&gt;&lt;strong&gt;&lt;em&gt; in that part of the world.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;/em&gt;&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;div align="justify"&gt;&lt;span style="font-size:85%;"&gt;&lt;strong&gt;&lt;em&gt;It's also true, as many modern-day encyclopedias will tell you, that the black mustard seed in Israel will typically grow to heights of 3.7 meters, or twelve (12) feet)—plenty large enough to hold a bird nest.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;/em&gt;&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;div align="justify"&gt;&lt;span style="font-size:85%;"&gt;&lt;strong&gt;&lt;em&gt;It's important to remember that the Bible often uses everyday terminology in order to communicate simple truth. Even today, we might refer to a “sunset” when, technically, scientifically, we know that the sun never actually 'sets,' i.e., it's the earth that revolves.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;/em&gt;&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;div align="justify"&gt;&lt;span style="font-size:85%;"&gt;&lt;strong&gt;&lt;em&gt;When people come to visit us here in north central Maine, we might take them on a drive, passing a good number of lakes and ponds, to Moosehead Lake, which I will describe to them as being "the largest lake of all." Of course, our guests will usually realize that I'm speaking locally, not globally. They don't often question my credibility.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;/em&gt;&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;div align="justify"&gt;&lt;span style="font-size:85%;"&gt;&lt;strong&gt;&lt;em&gt;The context of &lt;/em&gt;&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;a href="http://www.christiananswers.net/bible/mat13.html"&gt;&lt;span style="font-size:85%;"&gt;&lt;strong&gt;&lt;em&gt;Matthew 13&lt;/em&gt;&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/a&gt;&lt;span style="font-size:85%;"&gt;&lt;strong&gt;&lt;em&gt; makes it quite clear that Jesus was addressing a local lay audience, not an international conference of botanists. It seems that no reasonable person would therefore insist for very long that this text provides a viable basis for questioning either &lt;/em&gt;&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;a href="http://www.christiananswers.net/jesus/home.html"&gt;&lt;span style="font-size:85%;"&gt;&lt;strong&gt;&lt;em&gt;Jesus&lt;/em&gt;&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/a&gt;&lt;span style="font-size:85%;"&gt;&lt;strong&gt;&lt;em&gt; or the &lt;/em&gt;&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;a href="http://www.christiananswers.net/bible/home.html"&gt;&lt;span style="font-size:85%;"&gt;&lt;strong&gt;&lt;em&gt;Bible&lt;/em&gt;&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/a&gt;&lt;span style="font-size:85%;"&gt;&lt;strong&gt;&lt;em&gt;, when it comes to getting the facts straight—&lt;/em&gt;&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;a href="http://www.christiananswers.net/creation/home.html"&gt;&lt;span style="font-size:85%;"&gt;&lt;strong&gt;&lt;em&gt;scientifically&lt;/em&gt;&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/a&gt;&lt;span style="font-size:85%;"&gt;&lt;strong&gt;&lt;em&gt;, &lt;/em&gt;&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;a href="http://www.christiananswers.net/archaeology/home.html"&gt;&lt;span style="font-size:85%;"&gt;&lt;strong&gt;&lt;em&gt;historically&lt;/em&gt;&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/a&gt;&lt;span style="font-size:85%;"&gt;&lt;strong&gt;&lt;em&gt;, or technically.&lt;/em&gt;&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;div&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div&gt; &lt;/div&gt;&lt;div&gt;The questioning of this small fact led me down a path to better understand why Jesus would use the black mustard seed in his analogy. Jesus knew the people he was ministering too. Jesus knew what examples to use to reveal the truths of the infinite kingdom to finite minds. If we know the context in which Jesus was speaking, and can now better understand his message, can we accept the truth of the word?&lt;br /&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div&gt;"God uses the small, insignificant things of this world to bring great results for the kingdom." Believe it. So pile on those 20,000 seeds and make an ounce of change for the Lord.&lt;/div&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;div&gt;And for the record, I was wrong. The black mustard seeds are TINY.&lt;/div&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;div&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5438888352386663842" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 320px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 240px; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_N_0g29slrbw/S3rQI9kERaI/AAAAAAAAAAU/YnFLEIJjwrI/s320/Black-mustard-seeds-and-rj-45-plug-NGB-img003842-Dag-Endresen-2004-08-01.jpg" border="0" /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;div&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;div&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;div&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div class="blogger-post-footer"&gt;&lt;img width='1' height='1' src='https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/tracker/2103331157451221385-6208873397965012425?l=newlifemeetmarket.blogspot.com' alt='' /&gt;&lt;/div&gt;</content><link rel='replies' type='application/atom+xml' href='http://newlifemeetmarket.blogspot.com/feeds/6208873397965012425/comments/default' title='Post Comments'/><link rel='replies' type='text/html' href='http://newlifemeetmarket.blogspot.com/2010/02/wait-that-dont-sound-right.html#comment-form' title='0 Comments'/><link rel='edit' type='application/atom+xml' href='http://www.blogger.com/feeds/2103331157451221385/posts/default/6208873397965012425'/><link rel='self' type='application/atom+xml' href='http://www.blogger.com/feeds/2103331157451221385/posts/default/6208873397965012425'/><link rel='alternate' type='text/html' href='http://newlifemeetmarket.blogspot.com/2010/02/wait-that-dont-sound-right.html' title='Wait, That Don&apos;t Sound Right.'/><author><name>wonny</name><uri>http://www.blogger.com/profile/02438690732387682912</uri><email>noreply@blogger.com</email><gd:image rel='http://schemas.google.com/g/2005#thumbnail' width='16' height='16' src='http://img2.blogblog.com/img/b16-rounded.gif'/></author><media:thumbnail xmlns:media='http://search.yahoo.com/mrss/' url='http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_N_0g29slrbw/S3rQI9kERaI/AAAAAAAAAAU/YnFLEIJjwrI/s72-c/Black-mustard-seeds-and-rj-45-plug-NGB-img003842-Dag-Endresen-2004-08-01.jpg' height='72' width='72'/><thr:total>0</thr:total></entry><entry><id>tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2103331157451221385.post-8871761491620297576</id><published>2010-02-03T12:39:00.011-06:00</published><updated>2010-02-04T10:43:09.855-06:00</updated><title type='text'>Where is YOUR mind these days?!?</title><content type='html'>Emerson says "A man is what he thinks about all day long." Really?? Well, if that's the case, I'm not very much these days. The last thing I want to do after a hard days work is THINK, but I'm trying to be more intentional with my thought life. It's so much easier to be mindless isn't it? With this in mind, I thought it would be fun to poll the meet market core to gauge what was on peoples' minds these days and here are the responses I got (check for yourself as well!):&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;span style="font-size:130%;"&gt;1. These days, when I exercise/go running, I think about...&lt;/span&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;em&gt;"...how much exercising sucks."&lt;/em&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;em&gt;"...nothing at all, really. I'm usually watching TV while I run (slowly) on the treadmill and I'm usually watching the food network, the travel channel or the history channel. It's my escape from all the things that burden me and it's the only time where I really get to watch TV. Our lives can seem so minute and redundant that sometimes we forget that there is a whole other world out there full of new experiences."&lt;/em&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;em&gt;"...upcoming trips and events. I imagine how fun it'll be, who will be there, and what we'll do."&lt;/em&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;em&gt;"...getting myself motivated to beat my body up and get as much as I can out of this session."&lt;/em&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;em&gt;&lt;/em&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;em&gt;"...how much more I need to run before I can stop."&lt;/em&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;em&gt;&lt;/em&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;em&gt;"...the show the Biggest Loser. I think about the strained faces of the contestants and how hard they push themselves to lose that extra pound. I picture their drenched shirts and their sweat drippin faces."&lt;/em&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;em&gt;"...taking one more step/rep"&lt;/em&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;em&gt;"...usually when I run, I'm trying not to think about how much I want to stop, so I'm usually watching tv to take my mind off the torture."&lt;/em&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;span style="font-size:130%;"&gt;2.&lt;/span&gt; &lt;span style="font-size:130%;"&gt;These days, while I'm praying, my mind wanders off to...&lt;/span&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;em&gt;"...think about people God has brought in my life."&lt;/em&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;em&gt;"...either all the things that I still have to do, or things I've been reading/experiencing/watching/learning and seeing if there are any illustrations I can draw from it."&lt;/em&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;em&gt;"...school work. I go over my list of to-do's and what I need to study next."&lt;/em&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;em&gt;"...what I'm going to do next."&lt;/em&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;em&gt;"...it varies day to day, but usually on outside distractions"&lt;/em&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;em&gt;"...what I have to do in the morning (or the next morning) at work. I pray most when I first wakeup in the morning, right before my shower. I find that my mind has a hard time just being still before the Lord since I'm always wondering how my day is going to shape up - what meetings need to be had, who needs to get yelled at, who's going to yell at me, and what other non-work related things I need to take care of. Sometimes, it's a real struggle to be still before the Lord, but like everything else in Christian life, we must struggle through it."&lt;/em&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;em&gt;"...the past and the future. A little bit of both the good and the bad. Certain memories that have shaped who I've become. I trace how far I've come since my younger years as a Christian, but then I look foward to see how much more there is to struggle/fight/grow in the years to come."&lt;/em&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;p&gt;&lt;em&gt;"...nothing. I fall asleep."&lt;br /&gt;&lt;/em&gt;&lt;/p&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;span style="font-size:130%;"&gt;3. These days, before I fall asleep, I think about...&lt;/span&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;em&gt;"...what I'm going to wear the next day."&lt;/em&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;em&gt;"...the work God has yet to do."&lt;/em&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;em&gt;"...things I need to get done the next day."&lt;/em&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;em&gt;"...the mistakes I've made from the current day and the people that I've hurt in the past."&lt;/em&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;em&gt;"...what I just watched on tv (usually Sportscenter), or the ppl that are in need of care/oversight."&lt;/em&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;p&gt;&lt;em&gt;"...calling in sick to work the next day cause I'm tired."&lt;/em&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;em&gt;&lt;/em&gt;&lt;/p&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;p&gt;&lt;em&gt;"...nothing and everything."&lt;/em&gt;&lt;/p&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;em&gt;"...what I will wear to work the next morning."&lt;/em&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;p&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;Let's be honest. Our minds &lt;em&gt;are&lt;/em&gt; all over the place! And I think to a certain degree that's perfectly normal. But in the midst of these thoughts, will we choose to make room for God? &lt;/p&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;p&gt;&lt;/p&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;em&gt;Reminder:&lt;/em&gt; "Finally, brothers, whatever is true, whatever is noble, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is admirable, if anything is excellent or praiseworthy, &lt;strong&gt;think about such things&lt;/strong&gt;." Phil. 4:8&lt;div class="blogger-post-footer"&gt;&lt;img width='1' height='1' src='https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/tracker/2103331157451221385-8871761491620297576?l=newlifemeetmarket.blogspot.com' alt='' /&gt;&lt;/div&gt;</content><link rel='replies' type='application/atom+xml' href='http://newlifemeetmarket.blogspot.com/feeds/8871761491620297576/comments/default' title='Post Comments'/><link rel='replies' type='text/html' href='http://newlifemeetmarket.blogspot.com/2010/02/where-is-your-mind-these-days.html#comment-form' title='0 Comments'/><link rel='edit' type='application/atom+xml' href='http://www.blogger.com/feeds/2103331157451221385/posts/default/8871761491620297576'/><link rel='self' type='application/atom+xml' href='http://www.blogger.com/feeds/2103331157451221385/posts/default/8871761491620297576'/><link rel='alternate' type='text/html' href='http://newlifemeetmarket.blogspot.com/2010/02/where-is-your-mind-these-days.html' title='Where is YOUR mind these days?!?'/><author><name>MSO</name><email>noreply@blogger.com</email><gd:image rel='http://schemas.google.com/g/2005#thumbnail' width='16' height='16' src='http://img2.blogblog.com/img/b16-rounded.gif'/></author><thr:total>0</thr:total></entry><entry><id>tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2103331157451221385.post-1004339024816316173</id><published>2010-01-21T07:31:00.003-06:00</published><updated>2010-01-25T23:48:31.076-06:00</updated><title type='text'>"death is only ONE heartbeat away from life..."</title><content type='html'>&lt;span style=";font-family:sans-serif;font-size:85%;"  &gt;i went to a wake for a former coworker the other day.  it was pretty surreal.  i hadn't talked to him in a few months, and hadn't seen him in a year or so.  T was 6'8" and weighed about 450lbs.  He passed after a normal doctor visit due to a blood clot in the brain.  it's crazy to think that someone who i saw almost every day for two years straight, talked and joked with about anything and everything was simply gone.  no warning, no goodbyes.  i guess i'm at that age where my attendance for friends' functions aren't limited to just their birthdays anymore...but includes weddings, childbirths, and funerals.  &lt;/span&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;span style=";font-family:sans-serif;font-size:85%;"  &gt;the wake was extremely different from any i'd been to before.  it was at a church on the south side off 71st and MLK, and was predominately african-american...actually all african-american except for me.  i'll just say this about african-americans...they do church a lot different than how my church does church.  it was almost like one of those stereotypical scenes you might see in a movie, with the congregation shouting back their amens and hallelujahs to the singers or preacher, and loud mmmmhmmm'ing with everything they agreed with.  don't get me wrong, in no way am i poking fun...in fact i was totally humbled by it..  i hadn't really seen this since i went to compton a few years back.  there's no self-consciousness when doing all this.  it's just part of who they are, and how they worship and respond to the Word.  sometimes i wish koreans were like that...no reservations when it comes to Him.  the whole service seemed like a celebration of life instead a mourning of death.  sure there were tears, but there was plenty of reminiscing and laughter.  the reverend even had an altar call towards the end of the service.  i thought this was kind of crazy and i still don't know if i'm comfortable with it...but if big t's death could bring a few people to Jesus, what better way to celebrate and honor his life?  &lt;/span&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;span style=";font-family:sans-serif;font-size:85%;"  &gt;the reverend started his message off with the quote, "death is only one heartbeat away from life."  his main point was something we've all heard a million times...cherish your life and what you have and the fact that you're still here.  He spoke of picking cotton on his grandfather's farm, and his great-grandfather being a slave.  He spoke of ladies clutching their purses close to their bodies as they walked by him...even though he had his pastoral robes on.  drugs don't put themselves into people's bodies.  guns don't shoot people without someone pulling the trigger.  babies don't magically pop out of the air.  it's not our circumstances that make us who we are...but we are who we are by surviving through those circumstances, and truly learning and moving on from our struggles.  do i personally know much about any of the examples the reverend was talking about?  not really...but that doesn't mean i haven't felt the same type of insecurities and feelings the reverend was speaking about...&lt;/span&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;span style=";font-family:sans-serif;font-size:85%;"  &gt;when it comes down to it...we're not christian babies anymore.  most of us have grown up in the church.  the knowledge is there, but it's a matter of taking action.  knowing and doing are not the same thing.  in James it says, "faith without works is dead."  we come to church thinking it's a mcdonalds.  we go to God and place an order.  we ask Him for things to give us, to make things happen for us.  we expect pastors or small group leaders to wow us with sermons or bible studies.  we have all these high expectations for church and for God, but we fail to have higher expectations for ourselves.  it's time to grow up.  we should be able to make it to church on time.  we should be able to serve in some capacity at church.  we should be able to contribute to small group and listen to find truth or an application in a sermon.  instead we're too busy looking outward instead of looking inward.  that's why empower 2010 is a good focus.  take ownership of your own church.  take ownership of your own life.  don't put off serving God, or living your life because you have no idea when that last heartbeat between life and death is going to come.   truth.&lt;/span&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;span style=";font-family:sans-serif;font-size:85%;"  &gt;r.i.p big t.&lt;/span&gt;&lt;div class="blogger-post-footer"&gt;&lt;img width='1' height='1' src='https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/tracker/2103331157451221385-1004339024816316173?l=newlifemeetmarket.blogspot.com' alt='' /&gt;&lt;/div&gt;</content><link rel='replies' type='application/atom+xml' href='http://newlifemeetmarket.blogspot.com/feeds/1004339024816316173/comments/default' title='Post Comments'/><link rel='replies' type='text/html' href='http://newlifemeetmarket.blogspot.com/2010/01/death-is-only-one-heartbeat-away-from.html#comment-form' title='0 Comments'/><link rel='edit' type='application/atom+xml' href='http://www.blogger.com/feeds/2103331157451221385/posts/default/1004339024816316173'/><link rel='self' type='application/atom+xml' href='http://www.blogger.com/feeds/2103331157451221385/posts/default/1004339024816316173'/><link rel='alternate' type='text/html' href='http://newlifemeetmarket.blogspot.com/2010/01/death-is-only-one-heartbeat-away-from.html' title='&quot;death is only ONE heartbeat away from life...&quot;'/><author><name>pk</name><uri>http://www.blogger.com/profile/13087697667050239110</uri><email>noreply@blogger.com</email><gd:image rel='http://schemas.google.com/g/2005#thumbnail' width='16' height='16' src='http://img2.blogblog.com/img/b16-rounded.gif'/></author><thr:total>0</thr:total></entry><entry><id>tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2103331157451221385.post-143898112007523155</id><published>2010-01-11T16:22:00.004-06:00</published><updated>2010-01-11T22:29:37.321-06:00</updated><category scheme='http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#' term='rhema'/><category scheme='http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#' term='Psalm 118'/><category scheme='http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#' term='Avatar'/><title type='text'>A 'rhema' moment</title><content type='html'>I attended a GRIP retreat over the weekend and before we had our devotional, a staff member shared a brief message.  He told us about  a ‘rhema’ moment he had not too long ago.  Rhema is one of two greek words (logos being the other) that’s translated into ‘scripture’ or ‘word’.  However, the connotation with rhema is that it is spoken word; words that engage us .  Along with having a rhema moment, he urged us to find a verse for the year.  My quest for rhema was to begin in Psalm 119, (surely I’d be able to find one verse in that chapter).  However, I did not make it that far.  I glimpsed at Psalm 118 and had my rhema moment.  “Give thanks to the Lord for &lt;span style="font-style:italic;"&gt;&lt;span style="font-weight:bold;"&gt;he is good&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/span&gt;.  His love endures forever” (emphasis mine).  Why does that phrase stand out to engage me with God?&lt;br /&gt;  &lt;br /&gt;With two viewings of Avatar and reading a recent Op-Ed (in the previous post), the ideology of ‘Eywa’ is pretty fresh in my mind.  We learn in the movie that Eywa is the deity of the Na’Vi (a tribe of indigenous people); analogous to ‘Mother Earth’ and that the Na’Vi people engage in activities resembling worship of Eywa.  As Johnsully (the human playing the Avatar) prays to Eywa before a defining moment in the movie we learn that this deity ‘does not choose sides but rather balances life’.  Without revealing too much of the movie, our emotions are moved when we see that Eywa responds to the prayer and intervenes on behalf of the indigenous people.  &lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;Revisiting Psalm 118:1, we learn that the God of the universe is good.  I don’t believe the writer intends to say that God is a ‘good boy’ but rather God and His glory is the definition of good, a stark contrast of Eywa.  (A side note, in Genesis 1 we see where God imparts His glory as being good).  Eywa is a deity that does not engage with it’s created but rather manages energy, houses the voices of generations past and is willing to intervene in the interest of self-preservation.  However, God is love (1 John 4:8) and seeks to reconcile all created things to Him (Colossians 1:20).  So when the writer says in Psalm 118:1 to give thanks, it’s really the only response we can express when we experience the grace of God.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;On a personal note, I’ve been told by multiple people that they feel that 2010 is going to be a ‘good year for me’.  I’ve had several discussions with folks on what that statement means and how that might be characterized or measured.  Reading the rest of Psalm 118, most people would probably agree that those experiences wouldn’t characterize a good year (especially verse 18).  (Around the time I arrive to this verse during my devotional, I hear the praise team rehearsing “&lt;a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wOZVFHqKg1k"&gt;Forever&lt;/a&gt;”, I digress…).  Whatever may happen this year, I know that God will brings situations and experiences where He will receive the glory and I’m eagerly anticipating them.&lt;div class="blogger-post-footer"&gt;&lt;img width='1' height='1' src='https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/tracker/2103331157451221385-143898112007523155?l=newlifemeetmarket.blogspot.com' alt='' /&gt;&lt;/div&gt;</content><link rel='replies' type='application/atom+xml' href='http://newlifemeetmarket.blogspot.com/feeds/143898112007523155/comments/default' title='Post Comments'/><link rel='replies' type='text/html' href='http://newlifemeetmarket.blogspot.com/2010/01/rhema-moment.html#comment-form' title='0 Comments'/><link rel='edit' type='application/atom+xml' href='http://www.blogger.com/feeds/2103331157451221385/posts/default/143898112007523155'/><link rel='self' type='application/atom+xml' href='http://www.blogger.com/feeds/2103331157451221385/posts/default/143898112007523155'/><link rel='alternate' type='text/html' href='http://newlifemeetmarket.blogspot.com/2010/01/rhema-moment.html' title='A &apos;rhema&apos; moment'/><author><name>David (Biggs)</name><uri>http://www.blogger.com/profile/11434345815510437325</uri><email>noreply@blogger.com</email><gd:image rel='http://schemas.google.com/g/2005#thumbnail' width='16' height='16' src='http://img2.blogblog.com/img/b16-rounded.gif'/></author><thr:total>0</thr:total></entry><entry><id>tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2103331157451221385.post-1922638164286555076</id><published>2010-01-06T12:10:00.000-06:00</published><updated>2010-01-06T16:37:48.392-06:00</updated><category scheme='http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#' term='paganism'/><category scheme='http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#' term='pantheism'/><category scheme='http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#' term='Avatar'/><title type='text'>Avatar a brief lesson in pantheism and paganism</title><content type='html'>Repost of an Op-Ed from the New York Times:&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;Heaven and Nature &lt;br /&gt;&lt;div class="byline"&gt;By ROSS DOUTHAT&lt;/div&gt; &lt;/nyt_byline&gt; &lt;div class="timestamp"&gt;Published: December 20, 2009 &lt;div id="articleInline" class="inlineLeft"&gt;     &lt;div class="image"&gt; &lt;img src="http://graphics8.nytimes.com/images/2009/04/23/opinion/douthat-profile.jpg" alt="" width="190" border="0" height="240" /&gt; &lt;div class="credit"&gt;Susan Etheridge for The New York Times&lt;/div&gt;&lt;/div&gt;     &lt;!--NYT_INLINE_IMAGE_POSITION1 --&gt;            &lt;p&gt;It’s fitting that James Cameron’s “Avatar” arrived in theaters at Christmastime. Like the holiday season itself, the science fiction epic is a crass embodiment of capitalistic excess wrapped around a deeply felt religious message. It’s at once the blockbuster to end all blockbusters, and the Gospel According to James.&lt;/p&gt;                      &lt;/div&gt;&lt;/div&gt;    &lt;p&gt;But not the Christian Gospel. Instead, “Avatar” is Cameron’s long apologia for pantheism — a faith that equates God with Nature, and calls humanity into religious communion with the natural world. &lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;In Cameron’s sci-fi universe, this communion is embodied by the blue-skinned, enviably slender Na’Vi, an alien race whose idyllic existence on the planet Pandora is threatened by rapacious human invaders. The Na’Vi are saved by the movie’s hero, a turncoat Marine, but they’re also saved by their faith in Eywa, the “All Mother,” described variously as a network of energy and the sum total of every living thing.&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;If this narrative arc sounds familiar, that’s because pantheism has been Hollywood’s religion of choice for a generation now. It’s the truth that Kevin Costner discovered when he went dancing with wolves. It’s the metaphysic woven through Disney cartoons like “The Lion King” and “Pocahontas.” And it’s the dogma of George Lucas’s Jedi, whose mystical Force “surrounds us, penetrates us, and binds the galaxy together.” &lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;Hollywood keeps returning to these themes because millions of Americans respond favorably to them. From Deepak Chopra to Eckhart Tolle, the “religion and inspiration” section in your local bookstore is crowded with titles pushing a pantheistic message. A recent &lt;a href="http://pewforum.org/docs/?DocID=490"&gt;Pew Forum report&lt;/a&gt; on how Americans mix and match theology found that many self-professed Christians hold beliefs about the “spiritual energy” of trees and mountains that would fit right in among the indigo-tinted Na’Vi.&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;As usual, Alexis de Tocqueville saw it coming. The American belief in the essential unity of all mankind, &lt;a href="http://xroads.virginia.edu/%7EHYPER/DETOC/ch1_07.htm"&gt;Tocqueville wrote&lt;/a&gt; in the 1830s, leads us to collapse distinctions at every level of creation. “Not content with the discovery that there is nothing in the world but a creation and a Creator,” he suggested, democratic man “seeks to expand and simplify his conception by including God and the universe in one great whole.” &lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;Today there are other forces that expand pantheism’s American appeal. We pine for what we’ve left behind, and divinizing the natural world is an obvious way to express unease about our hyper-technological society. The threat of global warming, meanwhile, has lent the cult of Nature qualities that every successful religion needs — a crusading spirit, a rigorous set of ‘thou shalt nots,” and a piping-hot apocalypse. &lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;At the same time, pantheism opens a path to numinous experience for people uncomfortable with the literal-mindedness of the monotheistic religions — with their miracle-working deities and holy books, their virgin births and resurrected bodies. As the Polish philosopher Leszek Kolakowski noted, attributing divinity to the natural world helps “bring God closer to human experience,” while “depriving him of recognizable personal traits.” For anyone who pines for transcendence but recoils at the idea of a demanding Almighty who interferes in human affairs, this is an ideal combination. &lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;Indeed, it represents a form of religion that even atheists can support. Richard Dawkins has called pantheism “a sexed-up atheism.” (He means that as a compliment.) Sam Harris concluded his polemic “The End of Faith” by rhapsodizing about the mystical experiences available from immersion in “the roiling mystery of the world.” Citing Albert Einstein’s expression of religious awe at the “beauty and sublimity” of the universe, Dawkins allows, “In this sense I too am religious.”&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;The question is whether Nature actually deserves a religious response. Traditional theism has to wrestle with the problem of evil: if God is good, why does he allow suffering and death? But Nature &lt;span class="italic"&gt;is &lt;/span&gt;suffering and death. Its harmonies require violence. Its “circle of life” is really a cycle of mortality. And the human societies that hew closest to the natural order aren’t the shining Edens of James Cameron’s fond imaginings. They’re places where existence tends to be nasty, brutish and short.&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;Religion exists, in part, precisely because humans aren’t at home amid these cruel rhythms. We stand half inside the natural world and half outside it. We’re beasts with self-consciousness, predators with ethics, mortal creatures who yearn for immortality. &lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;This is an agonized position, and if there’s no escape upward — or no God to take on flesh and come among us, as the Christmas story has it — a deeply tragic one. &lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;Pantheism offers a different sort of solution: a downward exit, an abandonment of our tragic self-consciousness, a re-merger with the natural world our ancestors half-escaped millennia ago.&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;But except as dust and ashes, Nature cannot take us back.  &lt;/p&gt;&lt;div class="blogger-post-footer"&gt;&lt;img width='1' height='1' src='https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/tracker/2103331157451221385-1922638164286555076?l=newlifemeetmarket.blogspot.com' alt='' /&gt;&lt;/div&gt;</content><link rel='replies' type='application/atom+xml' href='http://newlifemeetmarket.blogspot.com/feeds/1922638164286555076/comments/default' title='Post Comments'/><link rel='replies' type='text/html' href='http://newlifemeetmarket.blogspot.com/2010/01/christians-and-avatar.html#comment-form' title='1 Comments'/><link rel='edit' type='application/atom+xml' href='http://www.blogger.com/feeds/2103331157451221385/posts/default/1922638164286555076'/><link rel='self' type='application/atom+xml' href='http://www.blogger.com/feeds/2103331157451221385/posts/default/1922638164286555076'/><link rel='alternate' type='text/html' href='http://newlifemeetmarket.blogspot.com/2010/01/christians-and-avatar.html' title='Avatar a brief lesson in pantheism and paganism'/><author><name>David (Biggs)</name><uri>http://www.blogger.com/profile/11434345815510437325</uri><email>noreply@blogger.com</email><gd:image rel='http://schemas.google.com/g/2005#thumbnail' width='16' height='16' src='http://img2.blogblog.com/img/b16-rounded.gif'/></author><thr:total>1</thr:total></entry><entry><id>tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2103331157451221385.post-9129316706754990964</id><published>2010-01-04T07:33:00.000-06:00</published><updated>2010-01-04T07:50:02.323-06:00</updated><title type='text'>Empower 2010!</title><content type='html'>Happy New Year Meet Market!&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;As we enter into the new year, this blog will serve as one of the avenues that the Meet Market core will use to communicate what’s on our minds and hearts. In addition, we always welcome feedback in regards to how to make our blog better and more relevant as this is somewhat of a test run.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;So...does your “spiritual calendar” match your work/school calendar? In the workplace, December 31st marks the closing of the previous years’ books and records and a fresh set is started January 1st. The importance of this marker in the workplace/school, is that we can reflect back on what we did well and the areas that we struggled in. But how many of us do this in our &lt;em&gt;spiritual lives&lt;/em&gt;? We crawl to the finish line, so that we can start on a “clean slate,” but many of us stop there. We think to ourselves, “I just want to be done with the sins of this past year, and start anew. Phew! 2010 now.” We don’t take the extra step to reflect on the spiritual areas we were diligent in and failed in, thus causing us to live without solid, focused intentions. Take a moment to &lt;em&gt;reflect&lt;/em&gt; today. Ask yourself: “What areas of my spiritual life do I need to work on? How can I become more focused and effective for the Kingdom?” Then &lt;em&gt;commit&lt;/em&gt; those things to the Lord. As we start off this new year, let’s make a push to live diligently NOW and not hold off until the busyness of life overtakes us!&lt;div class="blogger-post-footer"&gt;&lt;img width='1' height='1' src='https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/tracker/2103331157451221385-9129316706754990964?l=newlifemeetmarket.blogspot.com' alt='' /&gt;&lt;/div&gt;</content><link rel='replies' type='application/atom+xml' href='http://newlifemeetmarket.blogspot.com/feeds/9129316706754990964/comments/default' title='Post Comments'/><link rel='replies' type='text/html' href='http://newlifemeetmarket.blogspot.com/2010/01/empower-2010.html#comment-form' title='0 Comments'/><link rel='edit' type='application/atom+xml' href='http://www.blogger.com/feeds/2103331157451221385/posts/default/9129316706754990964'/><link rel='self' type='application/atom+xml' href='http://www.blogger.com/feeds/2103331157451221385/posts/default/9129316706754990964'/><link rel='alternate' type='text/html' href='http://newlifemeetmarket.blogspot.com/2010/01/empower-2010.html' title='Empower 2010!'/><author><name>NL Meet Market</name><uri>http://www.blogger.com/profile/00454093511168753710</uri><email>noreply@blogger.com</email><gd:image rel='http://schemas.google.com/g/2005#thumbnail' width='16' height='16' src='http://img2.blogblog.com/img/b16-rounded.gif'/></author><thr:total>0</thr:total></entry><entry><id>tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2103331157451221385.post-4355943638243717063</id><published>2009-10-22T09:42:00.000-05:00</published><updated>2009-10-22T09:46:20.344-05:00</updated><title type='text'>Welcome</title><content type='html'>Thanks for checking out our page...stay tuned for some solid updates to come!&lt;div class="blogger-post-footer"&gt;&lt;img width='1' height='1' src='https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/tracker/2103331157451221385-4355943638243717063?l=newlifemeetmarket.blogspot.com' alt='' /&gt;&lt;/div&gt;</content><link rel='replies' type='application/atom+xml' href='http://newlifemeetmarket.blogspot.com/feeds/4355943638243717063/comments/default' title='Post Comments'/><link rel='replies' type='text/html' href='http://newlifemeetmarket.blogspot.com/2009/10/welcome.html#comment-form' title='0 Comments'/><link rel='edit' type='application/atom+xml' href='http://www.blogger.com/feeds/2103331157451221385/posts/default/4355943638243717063'/><link rel='self' type='application/atom+xml' href='http://www.blogger.com/feeds/2103331157451221385/posts/default/4355943638243717063'/><link rel='alternate' type='text/html' href='http://newlifemeetmarket.blogspot.com/2009/10/welcome.html' title='Welcome'/><author><name>NL Meet Market</name><uri>http://www.blogger.com/profile/00454093511168753710</uri><email>noreply@blogger.com</email><gd:image rel='http://schemas.google.com/g/2005#thumbnail' width='16' height='16' src='http://img2.blogblog.com/img/b16-rounded.gif'/></author><thr:total>0</thr:total></entry></feed>
