Presuppositions

“If the ladder is not leaning against the right wall, every step we take just gets us to the wrong place faster” (Stephen Covey)

"If you board the wrong train it is no use run­ning along the cor­ri­dor in the oppo­site direction". Dietrich Bonhoeffer

Pre-suppositions, pre-suppositions....On reading a recent Time Magagzine article, I was startled by the Professors’ finds on how some people go about "solving" their ethical dilemmas.

How very much in contrast to the path the God of the Bible sets before His children in their struggle with moral directions.

OPTION ONE:  Business Professors at Harvard and Duke Universities* research showed that:

"Ethical dilemmas often require people to weigh two opposing forces:

1. the desire to maximize self-interest and
2. the desire to maintain a positive view of oneself,"

"Recent research has suggested that individuals tend to resolve this tension through self-serving rationalizations:

1. They behave dishonestly enough to profit from their unethical behaviour but
2. honestly enough to maintain a positive self-concept as honest human beings."

OPTION TWO: The Bible says: ((Please, please don’t read into this comparison a  polarization between Professors and God!)  It's about suppositions.

Those who

1. live according to the flesh set their minds on the things of the flesh— (The mind set on the flesh is death)
2. but those who live according to the Spirit set their minds on the things of the Spirit. , (the mind set on the Spirit is life and peace. )

(Romans 8:5-6)

So here are the opposing draws for the Christian (Galatians 6:16)

Galatians 6:16 But I say, walk by the Spirit, and you will not gratify the desires of the flesh. 17 For the desires of the flesh are against the Spirit, and the desires of the Spirit are against the flesh, for these are opposed to each other…

Of course, it will be no surprise to discover many other variants and sets of choices driven by people that exclude God – including the spiritual and the religious.   And how easy for Christians to get sucked in!
So, prior to tackling a moral dilemna, against which wall is your ladder leaning and where is your train heading?

Ps (ssssssssssssst)

Bible terms like flesh…Spirit are not as abstract as they sound.

Now the works of the flesh are evident: sexual immorality, impurity, sensuality, 20 idolatry, sorcery, enmity, strife, jealousy, fits of anger, rivalries, dissensions, divisions, 21 envy, drunkenness, orgies, and things like these. I warn you, as I warned you before, that those who do such things will not inherit the kingdom of God. 22 But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, 23 gentleness, self-control; against such things there is no law. 24 And those who belong to Christ Jesus have crucified the flesh with its passions and desires.Galatains 5:19

French Toast - Comfort Food

It’s November month and the fog hangs low in Hertfordshire – all day long. Atmospheric and good occasion to page through the recipe book for cosy-appeal-food. Tomorrow my dear mom will be 84. I see her in my mind’s eye, niftily dipping the white bread in the small pool of whisked egg and in no time we were feasting on one of the simple things of life. She is still up to that!
French Toast – quick, easy, likely to please. Minus the slogging over the stove – sooner around the table with everyone else launching into breakfast and togetherness. Not fettered to weekend breakfasts, French Toast may be created any time of the day. The breakfast-route, though, is not a shabby ritual!

Thick slices of bread, soaked in a mixture of beaten eggs with milk and cinnamon, toasted in a frying pan, and served with butter and maple syrup – or honey. It works best with several day old French or Italian loaf bread, thickly sliced. Fresh bread, or bread that has been sliced too thin tends to get mushy and fall apart when soaked in the egg milk mixture. Many people serve with powdered sugar; I believe there is enough sugar in the maple syrup, so I don't add more. You could add some orange zest, and a bit of Triple Sec orange liqueur to the batter for extra zing.

French Toast Recipe

Prep time: 5 minutes. Cook time: 15 minutes

Ingredients

• 4 eggs
• 2/3 cup milk
• 2 teaspoons of cinnamon
• 8 thick slices of 2-day-old bread, better if slightly stale
• Butter
• Maple syrup or honey.

Optional

• 2 teaspoons freshly grated orange zest
• 1/4 cup Triple Sec – optional
• Fresh berries – good idea, but optional.

Method

1 Beat eggs, milk, and cinnamon together. If using, add orange zest and/or Triple Sec. Whisk until well blended. Pour into a shallow bowl.
2 Dip each slice of bread into the egg mixture, allowing bread to soak up some of the mixture. Melt some butter (or use vegetable oil) over a large skillet on medium high heat. Add as many slices of bread onto the skillet as will fit at a time. Fry until brown on both sides, flipping the bread when necessary.
3 Serve hot with butter, maple syrup, and if available, fresh berries.
Serves 4.

License to Swear

Over a Latte this morning, from the UK Daily Mail:

“Yobs should not be punished for hurling obscenities in public – because swear words are now so common that they no longer cause distress, a High Court judge has ruled.”

Oh, how I wished I was having coffee with a friend to exchange thoughts….I hope you will add your views and comments in Facebook/Twitter to:

• In a very imperfect world, swearing yobs should not raise eyebrows in surprise. Sin is reality.
• Still, it is shocking that the Judge succeeded to take his viewpoint as far as achieving to uphold his appeal to let a yob off the hook.
• Mr Bean (no, not that Mr Bean!) makes a sweeping statement implying/stating the general public are blasé about outrageous abusive language.
• And, let’s pretend for a moment corrupt society is stone-deaf to abusive swearing – surely, even then there’s no justification or licence for abusive & uncontrolled outbursts or abusive and uncontrolled attitudes.

So here is Mr Justice Bean’s verdict:

Yobs should not be punished for hurling obscenities in public – because…. swear words are now so common that they no longer cause distress, a High Court judge has ruled.

So there you have it: in a landmark judgment, Mr Justice Bean upheld the appeal of a foul-mouthed thug who was convicted for repeatedly using abusing language while being searched by police. And, to quote the judge again: “……rather commonplace’ expletive is heard ‘all too frequently’. (a commentary on parts of our society).

In contrast London Mayor Boris Johnson and Britain’s most senior policeman called for :

• a zero-tolerance crackdown on those who abuse officers.
• ‘This gives the green light for everyone to swear and use disorderly behaviour with police.’
• ‘Public servants are not there to be abused,’ Mr Johnson said. ‘They are there to serve society and society must respect them.
• ‘How can a copper cope with the job if the public are allowed to insult them with impunity?’
• ‘If people swear at the police, they must expect to be arrested.

Bravo Boris!
BRAVO THE POLICE!
Here is the link to the Daily Mail article - Monday 21 November 2011.

Yesterday at the National Art Gallery London

Yesterday at the National Art Gallery London, I stood before this particular master-painting by Tiepolo (1727) called “The Lamentation at the foot of the Cross”………………transfixed.

Christ went to the greatest length to save me.  Here are glimpses:  convicted by a corrupt court, sentenced to capital punishment by a self-interested politician, died a criminal’s execution, separated from God.  The perfect, sacrificial Lamb of God paid the price for sin, exit his borrowed tomb as victor over both sin and death.

Hallelujah what a Saviour!

I was particularly moved by the depiction of John (in the red)

Tim Keller Tweets

 

These tweets from Tim Keller aren’t for a quick read, that’s for sure!   Apart from choosing a recipe for the next visit with Christian friends, I’d like to choose some of these quotes and have a little brain-storm around them.

There’s much more here than meet the eye:  may we spot the truths, mix them with faith and do them!

• "Jesus's miracles are not just a challenge to our minds, but a promise to our hearts, that the world we all want is coming." via @courtneyreissig
  
• Think like a prophet, serve like a priest, and plan like a king. [@DailyKeller]
  
• There is no menial work. Jesus came not as a philosopher, not as a general. He came as a carpenter. [@DailyKeller]
  
• "You don't realize Jesus is all you need until Jesus is all you have." via @lecrae
  
• The gospel has been described as a pool in which a toddler can wade and yet an elephant can swim. [@DailyKeller]
  
• Humility is only achieved as a byproduct of understanding, believing, and marveling in the gospel of grace. [@DailyKeller]
  
• Jesus is saying, “Look what I’ve done to come near to you. Now draw near to me. I don’t want to be a concept; I want to be a friend.” [@DailyKeller]
  
• "It takes pride to be anxious – I am not wise enough to know how my life should go." via @desiringgod
  
• The gospel is not that Jesus Christ comes to earth, tells us how to live, we live a good life, and then God owes us blessing. [@DailyKeller]
  
• Christmas - God has become human. The absolute has become particular. The ideal has become real. The divine has taken up a human nature. [@DailyKeller]
  
• The observer of beauty always receives a passion to share the beauty with others. [@DailyKeller]
  
• When Christians who understand the gospel see a poor person, they realize they are looking into a mirror. [@DailyKeller]
  
• The more we see ourselves as needing forgiveness, the more likely we are to forgive others. [@DailyKeller]
  
• The more aware you are of God's grace & acceptance the more you are able to drop your self-defenses & admit the true dimensions of your sin. [@dailykeller]
  
• The sin under all other sins is a lack of joy in Christ. [@dailykeller]
  
• Gospel repentance is tapping into the joy of our union with Christ in order to weaken our need to do anything contrary to God's heart. [@DailyKeller]
  
• You are not saved by love, joy, peace...You are saved by faith not fruit, BUT you are never saved by fruitless faith. [@dailykeller]
  
• The real gospel gives us a God far more holy than a moralist can bear and far more loving than a relativist can imagine. [@dailykeller]