Reflections of Acts: Introduction

Posted on July 18, 2011 by jim0211

The book of Acts gives an account of the early church. After the ascension of Jesus, powered by the Holy Spirit, they continued to carry out His work of proclaiming the Gospel of the Kingdom. The result of this Spirit-powered activity was explosive growth of a unique Body of His disciples [Acts 2:41, 2:47, 4:4, 5:14, 6:1, 16:5]. It “turned the world upside down” [Acts 17:6]. But what’s happening today? Continue reading →

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Gideon and God’s Voice

Posted on May 22, 2011 by jim0211

The story of Gideon’s fleece is well known. For a long time I really didn’t understand it, because it seemed like Gideon was testing God. But I recently re-read the account, and noticed something new. While not exactly the same thing, Gideon’s initial encounter with the Lord provides interesting context for the later one.
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The Gospel Reaching the Fortunate

Posted on April 21, 2011 by jim0211

One of the things the Lord has placed on my heart is an odd sort of apologetic (expressed on some of my other blogs). It initially unfolded in a manner focused on intellectuals or others who are “comfortable”. By this I mean people with additional education, perhaps leaders in some fashion, and so probably not poor. In fact this group, especially in America, would be among the world’s rich. The idea of deliberately reaching out to such people seemed weird, so I sought the Lord’s confirmation. Combing through Scripture, I prayerfully looked for indications that the Spirit worked to bring the fortunate to salvation. Turns out there are number of such examples, and looking at them produced some interesting spiritual insights. Upon mentioning this to another believer, he asked for the list, so I wrote it up. Here it is:

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Organizing the Body

Posted on March 28, 2010 by jim0211

As believers gather to act as the Body of Christ on Earth today, it’s important that we carefully consider our actions and make sure they properly represent the work Christ would have us do. Although listening to the Spirit is most important, organizing our activities properly can make sure we are listening for all the Spirit has to say to a church, and to make sure we are deliberate in carrying it all out. Fortunately, Scripture gives us a model to help along these lines, in describing Jesus’ own actions. Continue reading →

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Sudden Phase Change

Posted on February 10, 2010 by jim0211

After a lost friend asked about Christ’s return, we had a great discussion about the faith and how Christians wait for that to happen at any moment. Afterwards, it came to mind that this sense of imminence could be pictured by the concept of supercooled water. The picture was of a broken world, poised on the threshold of redemption, and whether each of us has a place in the new state. This post, on Eternal Perspectives, attempts to capture that idea.

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VR Photography as Metaphor

Posted on January 9, 2010 by jim0211

Virtual photography has been around a while, but is becoming more widely known as new ways emerge of experiencing media. In particular, people expect rich ways of exploring remote locations, and the emergence of touch-sensitive displays makes VR pictures very compelling. In addition to their secular value, they offer an intriguing metaphor for seeing things spiritually. Continue reading →

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Upper North Falls

Posted on December 31, 2009 by jim0211

A for-fun virtual reality photograph, this one, posted on Whole Reality Photography, is of one of the falls at Silver Falls State Park. It’s fun because my daughter is also in the picture, and it wasn’t necessarily taken for any particular project like the WWP. It was just fun. However, this VR ended up being used for a “Best Of” entry for the World Wide Panorama project after all.

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Seeing More in the Watchmen (pt. 2)

Posted on March 15, 2009 by jim0211

After writing about the spiritual perspectives in The Watchmen graphic novel, and how they point to Christ, it seemed good to spell out the Gospel even more clearly. So I posted this on Eternal Perspectives, as a follow-on.

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Seeing More in the Watchmen

Posted on March 8, 2009 by jim0211

After being given the graphic novel “The Watchmen” as a gift, I was unexpectedly captivated by the spiritual content in it. After finishing it, I wrote this essay, eventually posted on Eternal Perspectives, that uses a major underlying theme in the book to point to Christ. I was surprised at the way the pieces fit together, and still ponder how often the Lord enables us to point people to Him. We just need to be sensitive to that.

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