Energion.com - Religion, Philosophy, and Politics

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Woe Is Me

One beautiful summer day we went with some friends to the beach. My favorite place to go (seemed like only locals knew about) was down an old beach road. There was a little place to park and then a pretty good walk to the water. It was worth the walk because even in the middle of the summer there would be very few people around and never a crowd.


On this day my friend and I were jumping off a sand dune about twenty feet high trying to out distance each other. I won on my last jump. It was my  [Read more at Greg's Watering Hole]

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Hope to Give

Again, I observed all the acts of oppression being done under the sun.Look at the tears of those who are oppressed; they have no one to comfort them. Power is with those who oppress them; they have no one to comfort them.      Ecclesiastes 4:1 (HCSB)

Do you know anyone who is oppressed? It means they are burdened or persecuted by someone who has some authority over them. Maybe it is a faceless group of people in the Sudan or Korea or a big city project. Maybe it is a neighbor who seems nice  [Read more at Jody's Devotionals]

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Revive Us Again -- A Lectionary Meditation

Isaiah 40:21-31
1 Corinthians 9:16-23
Mark 1:29-39
Revive Us Again
            The old revival hymn declares:
Revive us again;
Fill each heart with Thy love;
May each soul be rekindled
With fire from above.
The hymn calls forth the reviving presence of God to rekindle the embers of our souls, so that we might be empowered to live our lives fully before God and in the world.  It is a fact that life, especially the life of faith can be  [Read more at Bob Cornwall]

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On Choice, Coverage, and Contraception

I’ve been watching this story for a few days. For those who haven’t been keeping up with the news, the Obama administration is proposing rules that would require all employers to provide coverage for contraception in their health care plans. Catholics are in an uproar over this. The White House has responded (HT: Unsettled Christianity). The first line of the response indicates that “all employers” is not correct, by the way!

I have little sympathy for the Catholic view on contraception.  [Read more at Threads from Henry's Web]

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Reuse or Replace: What Becomes of Religious Structures When Congregations Move On? -- Sightings

The church I pastor once sat on Piety Row (Woodward Avenue) in Detroit.  When the church became too small to inhabit the cathedral-like building they sold it to a large African-American Baptist church, which continues to own it.  But not all buildings on Piety Row were so fortunate.  Some are gone and some lie vacant, crumbling into decay.  Robert Powers asks the question what happens to such structures when congregations move out and are not embraced by a new congregation.  Some fall into ruin,  [Read more at Bob Cornwall]

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Don't Go Numb

When I worked on jets we often used "safety wire". The idea was to put safety wire through a hole in the bottom of a bolt after placing a nut on the bolt. This would keep the nut from coming off and going through a running engine which could cause serious damage or injury.


One day while taking a break at a table in the hangar, a friend was wrapping safety wire around his finger. He wrapped it about half way down his finger as we talked. As he casually unwrapped the wire from his finger he could  [Read more at Greg's Watering Hole]

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Be There or…?

[reprinted from February 4, 2010]

And YHWH said to Moses, “Go up into the mountain and wait [literally 'be there'] . . . Exodus 24:12 (HN)

— Henry Neufeld

When I was in the Air Force we frequently heard the saying “Hurry up and wait.” You see, the powers that be, however little more power they had than I had, wanted people to be ready to receive commands. They weren’t too worried if you had to sit around and wait for them. The key thing was that they wouldn’t have to  [Read more at Jody's Devotionals]

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America and the Poor

I don't know Mitt Romney's heart, so I can't say for sure what he meant when he said that the "Very Poor" aren't a priority  for him.  In context he was saying that there's a safety net that will catch the poor and the rich do well, and so the focus should be on those in the middle.  President Obama also speaks of strengthening the middle class.  
But, the "gaffe" does speak volumes, not only of Romney's views, but those held by many of us in America. Ultimately,  [Read more at Bob Cornwall]

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Reasons Enough?

When I was in the Air Force one of my main job locations was the flight line. Airplanes ready for flight sat near the runways awaiting the next mission. We were regularly sent out to do repairs right on the flight line if it would not take a lot of time or require putting the aircraft in a hangar. Following any repairs we would account for our tools and supplies and return to the shop.


When I reported to work one day my boss called me aside and ask me to go get my drill from my toolbox. Each  [Read more at Greg's Watering Hole]

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I’ve Got Something to Trade

“Those whose lives have had the deepest spiritual impact in the world are those who have suffered. In God’s mysterious providence, the Cross and the crown, suffering and glory, are linked.” – Elisabeth Elliot from The Path of Loneliness

Therefore we do not give up. Even though our outer person is being destroyed, our inner person is being renewed day by day. For our momentary light affliction is producing for us an absolutely incomparable eternal weight of glory. So we do not focus on  [Read more at Jody's Devotionals]

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