聖職者は。。。

「聖職者は、燃え輝く光(lights)であるために、神と寄り添って歩み、キリストの側に行かなければなりません。キリストがその者を教え導き(enlighten、悟らせ)、燃え立たせてくれるでしょう。神を求めることに専念し、光と愛の源泉であるこの方と祈りを通して会話するべきです。」ジョナサン・エドワーズ

聖書・詩篇 63:1前半「神よ。あなたは私の神。私はあなたを切に求めます。」

Why make dirty what is beautiful?

In the book Life of Pi Father Martin is explaining the cross.

“If God on the Cross is God shamming a human tragedy, it turns the Passion of Christ into the Farce of Christ. The death of the Son must be real. Father Martin assured me it was. But once a dead God, always a dead God, even resurrected. The Son must have the taste for death forever in His mouth. The Trinity must be tainted by it; there must be a certain stench at the right hand of God the Father. The horror must be real. Why would God wish that upon Himself? Why not leave death to the mortals? Why make dirty what is beautiful, spoil what is perfect? Love. That was Father Martin's answer.” Yann Martel

Uncovering Satisfaction - Tim Keller  36 mins into the video Tim Keller uses an illustration of the cross from the book Life of Pi.

2 Corinthians 5:21, "For our sake he made him to be sin who knew no sin, so that in him we might become the righteousness of God." 

しかし、神は、さらに豊かな恵みを与えてくださいます。

ヤコブ 4:6「しかし、神は、さらに豊かな恵みを与えてくださいます。ですから、こう言われています。『神は、高ぶる者を退け、へりくだる者に恵みをお授けになる。』」

James 4:6, "But he gives more grace. Therefore it says, 'God opposes the proud, but gives grace to the humble.'" 

１ペテロ 3:9「悪をもって悪に報いず、侮辱をもって侮辱に報いず、かえって祝福を与えなさい。あなたがたは祝福を受け継ぐために召されたのだからです。」

1 Peter 3:9, "Do not repay evil for evil or reviling for reviling, but on the contrary, bless, for to this you were called, that you may obtain a blessing." 

Experiencing God

“Prayer is both conversation and encounter with God. . . . We must know the awe of praising his glory, the intimacy of finding his grace, and the struggle of asking his help, all of which can lead us to know the spiritual reality of his presence.” Tim Keller

Three excellent sermons on Experiencing God by Tim Keller.....

God : Our Initimate Friend, Psalm 63 Psalms 63:1, "O God, you are my God; earnestly I seek you; my soul thirsts for you; my flesh faints for you, as in a dry and weary land where there is no water." 

Knowing The Father

When I Survey