(5677,144,'2012-03-27 14:42:52','2012-03-27 21:42:52','&nbsp;\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n<strong><a href=\"http://provoketive.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/03/bubbles4.jpg\"><img class=\"aligncenter size-full wp-image-5672\" src=\"http://provoketive.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/03/bubbles4.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"550\" height=\"260\" /></a></strong>\r\n\r\n<strong>Every day, I listen to NPR. I also watch Fox News on a daily basis.</strong> Jokingly, I tell people that I am either perfectly balanced or totally schizophrenic.\r\n\r\n<strong>Some of the shows on the more biased news networks </strong>are just straight forward news. Some get high marks for production excellence. Few get high marks for in-depth reporting. They each have their entertainers masquerading as journalists or news analysts who overstate their case, holding up the most extreme example from the opposing view to conveniently ridicule them. They try their darnest to rile people up and increase their ratings; rather than help their audience truly understand an issue. These so-called news outlets are bubbles presenting their version of what is happening in the world.\r\n\r\n<strong>I have voted for Republicans and for Democrats.</strong> Politicians over promise and under deliver. Seldom do they ever finish well. Political parties are just two more bubbles so locked into ideologies and paradigms, that they have paralyzed our government.\r\n\r\n<strong>For over twenty years I was a pastor.</strong> Now that I am removed from that scene, I see the church as one of the hardiest bubbles or all. While some churches are doing great things in their communities, the vast majority of most churches resources are internalized. They emphasize to their own their need to get worshipped-up, taught-up, fixed-up, and dedicated-up in their support of the church. I find this to be generally ineffective, self-serving, and not much like Jesus.\r\n\r\n<strong>As I have attempted to venture into social service work </strong>and community involvement over the last few years, I found another bubble. Social service agencies are locked into programs that are usually funded by the government or foundations. They measure output, instead of outcome. Their client/provider paradigm is a weird symbiotic relationship in which the client becomes dependent upon the services of the agency and the agency is dependent upon having a steady stream of clients to maintain their funding.\r\n\r\n<strong>One can wonder what would happen if agencies opted out of the quick fix</strong> of the hand-out and treated people like human beings, instead of cattle, helping them with acute needs and working with them to develop and pursue their own plan for improving their life.\r\n\r\n<strong>I have never seen an open bubble.</strong> It’s very difficult to get into a bubble. People in the bubble have paid their dues. They have drunk the Kool-Aid. They have earned the favor of the other bubbliest by their adherence to principles of the bubble. Outsiders and newbies may be tolerated, but they will not be heard.\r\n\r\n<strong>It’s also hard to see out of a bubble.</strong> The rest of the world is seen through a soapy blur of refracted light. Since bubbleists are secluded in their bubble, they can only speculate about those outside. Some think the outsiders are evil and to be feared and avoided. Certainly, they are ignorant of the ways of the bubble and they “just don’t get it.”\r\n\r\nSo, it’s hard to get in and hard to see out of a bubble.\r\n\r\n<strong>Yet, bubbles are fragile.</strong> They have to be protected or all will be lost. Therefore, there are guardians of the ways of the bubble who seek to detect dangers, like someone who has different idea or a person who is asking strange questions. If the bubble breaks, it would be horrible. Bubbleists could lose their job, their pension, and their sense of significance.\r\n\r\n<strong>What if we just stopped worrying about the bubbles </strong>and the ways of the bubble? What if we just admitted that some of the bubbles may not be for everyone? What if we concluded that these societal structures simply are not serving us well? What if we quit trying the break back into the cage, I mean, bubble? What if we moved on from cataloging the faultiness of their ways and began to criticize by creating? What if we changed the system by ignoring it? What if we began to use more and more of our energy in positive ways? What if our dreams began to take flight?\r\n\r\n<strong>The unrest that we are seeing around the world indicates that some changes are in order.</strong> We are in desperate need of visionaries, entrepreneurs, creators and collaborators. So, if you have been given the left hand of fellowship or have been invited to leave a bubble, don’t despair. If you have opted out of a bubble; you are not an oddball or a troublemaker. It might just be one of the most important moves you have ever made.\r\n\r\nYou never change things by fighting the existing reality.  To change something, build a new model that makes the existing model obsolete. - Buckminster Fuller','Tiny Bubbles','','inherit','open','open','','5659-revision-11','','','2012-03-27 14:42:52','2012-03-27 21:42:52','',5659,'http://provoketive.com/2012/03/27/5659-revision-11/',0,'revision','',0),(5674,144,'2012-03-27 14:31:37','2012-03-27 21:31:37','&nbsp;\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n<strong><a href=\"http://provoketive.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/03/bubbles4.jpg\"><img class=\"aligncenter size-full wp-image-5672\" src=\"http://provoketive.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/03/bubbles4.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"550\" height=\"260\" /></a></strong>\r\n\r\n<strong>Every day, I listen to NPR. I also watch Fox News on a daily basis.</strong> Jokingly, I tell people that I am either perfectly balanced or totally schizophrenic.\r\n\r\n<strong>Some of the shows on the more biased news networks are just straight forward news.</strong> Some get high marks for production excellence. Few get high marks for in-depth reporting. They each have their entertainers masquerading as journalists or news analysts who overstate their case, holding up the most extreme example from the opposing view to conveniently ridicule them. They try their darnest to rile people up and increase their ratings; rather than help their audience truly understand an issue. These so-called news outlets are bubbles presenting their version of what is happening in the world.\r\n\r\n<strong>I have voted for Republicans and for Democrats.</strong> Politicians over promise and under deliver. Seldom do they ever finish well. Political parties are just two more bubbles so locked into ideologies and paradigms, that they have paralyzed our government.\r\n\r\n<strong>For over twenty years I was a pastor.</strong> Now that I am removed from that scene, I see the church as one of the hardiest bubbles in our culture. While some churches are doing great things in their communities, most of most churches resources are internalized. They emphasize to their own their need to get worshipped-up, taught-up, fixed-up, and dedicated-up in their support of the church. I find this to be generally ineffective, self-serving, and not much like Jesus.\r\n\r\n<strong>As I have attempted to venture into social service work and community involvement</strong> over the last few years, I found another bubble. Social service agencies are locked into programs that are usually funded by the government or foundations. They measure output, instead of outcome. Their client/provider paradigm is a weird symbiotic relationship in which the client becomes dependent upon the services of the agency and the agency is dependent upon having a steady stream of clients to maintain their funding.\r\n\r\n<strong>One can wonder what would happen if agencies opted out of the quick fix</strong> of the hand-out and treated people like human beings, instead of cattle, helping them with acute needs and working with them to develop and pursue their own plan for improving their life.\r\n\r\n<strong>I have never seen an open bubble.</strong> It’s very difficult to get into a bubble. People in the bubble have paid their dues. They have drunk the Kool-Aid. They have earned the favor of the other bubbliest by their adherence to principles of the bubble. Outsiders and newbies may be tolerated, but they will not be heard.\r\n\r\n<strong>It’s also hard to see out of a bubble.</strong> The rest of the world is seen through a soapy blur of refracted light. Since bubbleists are secluded in their bubble, they can only speculate about those outside. Some think those outside of the bubble are evil and to be feared and avoided. Certainly, they are outsiders who are ignorant of the ways of the bubble and they “just don’t get it.”\r\n\r\nSo, it’s hard to get in and hard to see out of a bubble.\r\n\r\n<strong>Yet, bubbles are fragile.</strong> They have to be protected or all will be lost. Therefore, there are guardians of the ways of the bubble who seek to detect dangers, like someone who has different idea or a person who is asking strange questions. If the bubble breaks, it would be horrible. Bubbleists could lose their job, their pension, and their sense of significance.\r\n\r\n<strong>What if we just stopped worrying about the bubbles and the ways of the bubble?</strong> What if we just admitted that some of the bubbles may not be for everyone? What if we concluded that these societal structures simply are not serving us well? What if we quit trying the break back into the cage, I mean, bubble? What if we moved on from cataloging the faultiness of their ways and began to criticize by creating? What if we changed the system by ignoring it? What if we began to use more and more of our energy in positive ways? What if our dreams began to take flight?\r\n\r\n<strong>The unrest that we are seeing around the world indicates that some societal structures are not serving us well.</strong> We are in desperate need of visionaries, entrepreneurs, creators and collaborators. So, if you have been given the left hand of fellowship or have been invited to leave a bubble, don’t despair. If you have opted out of a bubble; you are not an oddball or a troublemaker. It might just be one of the most important moves you have ever made.\r\n\r\nYou never change things by fighting the existing reality.  To change something, build a new model that makes the existing model obsolete. - Buckminster Fuller','Tiny Bubbles','','inherit','open','open','','5659-revision-8','','','2012-03-27 14:31:37','2012-03-27 21:31:37','',5659,'http://provoketive.com/2012/03/27/5659-revision-8/',0,'revision','',0),(5675,144,'2012-03-27 14:33:08','2012-03-27 21:33:08','&nbsp;\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n<strong><a href=\"http://provoketive.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/03/bubbles4.jpg\"><img class=\"aligncenter size-full wp-image-5672\" src=\"http://provoketive.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/03/bubbles4.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"550\" height=\"260\" /></a></strong>\r\n\r\n<strong>Every day, I listen to NPR. I also watch Fox News on a daily basis.</strong> Jokingly, I tell people that I am either perfectly balanced or totally schizophrenic.\r\n\r\n<strong>Some of the shows on the more biased news networks </strong>are just straight forward news. Some get high marks for production excellence. Few get high marks for in-depth reporting. They each have their entertainers masquerading as journalists or news analysts who overstate their case, holding up the most extreme example from the opposing view to conveniently ridicule them. They try their darnest to rile people up and increase their ratings; rather than help their audience truly understand an issue. These so-called news outlets are bubbles presenting their version of what is happening in the world.\r\n\r\n<strong>I have voted for Republicans and for Democrats.</strong> Politicians over promise and under deliver. Seldom do they ever finish well. Political parties are just two more bubbles so locked into ideologies and paradigms, that they have paralyzed our government.\r\n\r\n<strong>For over twenty years I was a pastor.</strong> Now that I am removed from that scene, I see the church as one of the hardiest bubbles in our culture. While some churches are doing great things in their communities, most of most churches resources are internalized. They emphasize to their own their need to get worshipped-up, taught-up, fixed-up, and dedicated-up in their support of the church. I find this to be generally ineffective, self-serving, and not much like Jesus.\r\n\r\n<strong>As I have attempted to venture into social service work </strong>and community involvement over the last few years, I found another bubble. Social service agencies are locked into programs that are usually funded by the government or foundations. They measure output, instead of outcome. Their client/provider paradigm is a weird symbiotic relationship in which the client becomes dependent upon the services of the agency and the agency is dependent upon having a steady stream of clients to maintain their funding.\r\n\r\n<strong>One can wonder what would happen if agencies opted out of the quick fix</strong> of the hand-out and treated people like human beings, instead of cattle, helping them with acute needs and working with them to develop and pursue their own plan for improving their life.\r\n\r\n<strong>I have never seen an open bubble.</strong> It’s very difficult to get into a bubble. People in the bubble have paid their dues. They have drunk the Kool-Aid. They have earned the favor of the other bubbliest by their adherence to principles of the bubble. Outsiders and newbies may be tolerated, but they will not be heard.\r\n\r\n<strong>It’s also hard to see out of a bubble.</strong> The rest of the world is seen through a soapy blur of refracted light. Since bubbleists are secluded in their bubble, they can only speculate about those outside. Some think those outside of the bubble are evil and to be feared and avoided. Certainly, they are outsiders who are ignorant of the ways of the bubble and they “just don’t get it.”\r\n\r\nSo, it’s hard to get in and hard to see out of a bubble.\r\n\r\n<strong>Yet, bubbles are fragile.</strong> They have to be protected or all will be lost. Therefore, there are guardians of the ways of the bubble who seek to detect dangers, like someone who has different idea or a person who is asking strange questions. If the bubble breaks, it would be horrible. Bubbleists could lose their job, their pension, and their sense of significance.\r\n\r\n<strong>What if we just stopped worrying about the bubbles </strong>and the ways of the bubble? What if we just admitted that some of the bubbles may not be for everyone? What if we concluded that these societal structures simply are not serving us well? What if we quit trying the break back into the cage, I mean, bubble? What if we moved on from cataloging the faultiness of their ways and began to criticize by creating? What if we changed the system by ignoring it? What if we began to use more and more of our energy in positive ways? What if our dreams began to take flight?\r\n\r\n<strong>The unrest that we are seeing around the world indicates that some societal structures are not serving us well.</strong> We are in desperate need of visionaries, entrepreneurs, creators and collaborators. So, if you have been given the left hand of fellowship or have been invited to leave a bubble, don’t despair. If you have opted out of a bubble; you are not an oddball or a troublemaker. It might just be one of the most important moves you have ever made.\r\n\r\nYou never change things by fighting the existing reality.  To change something, build a new model that makes the existing model obsolete. - Buckminster Fuller','Tiny Bubbles','','inherit','open','open','','5659-revision-9','','','2012-03-27 14:33:08','2012-03-27 21:33:08','',5659,'http://provoketive.com/2012/03/27/5659-revision-9/',0,'revision','',0),(5676,144,'2012-03-27 14:33:13','2012-03-27 21:33:13','&nbsp;\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n<strong><a href=\"http://provoketive.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/03/bubbles4.jpg\"><img class=\"aligncenter size-full wp-image-5672\" src=\"http://provoketive.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/03/bubbles4.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"550\" height=\"260\" /></a></strong>\r\n\r\n<strong>Every day, I listen to NPR. I also watch Fox News on a daily basis.</strong> Jokingly, I tell people that I am either perfectly balanced or totally schizophrenic.\r\n\r\n<strong>Some of the shows on the more biased news networks </strong>are just straight forward news. Some get high marks for production excellence. Few get high marks for in-depth reporting. They each have their entertainers masquerading as journalists or news analysts who overstate their case, holding up the most extreme example from the opposing view to conveniently ridicule them. They try their darnest to rile people up and increase their ratings; rather than help their audience truly understand an issue. These so-called news outlets are bubbles presenting their version of what is happening in the world.\r\n\r\n<strong>I have voted for Republicans and for Democrats.</strong> Politicians over promise and under deliver. Seldom do they ever finish well. Political parties are just two more bubbles so locked into ideologies and paradigms, that they have paralyzed our government.\r\n\r\n<strong>For over twenty years I was a pastor.</strong> Now that I am removed from that scene, I see the church as one of the hardiest bubbles in our culture. While some churches are doing great things in their communities, most of most churches resources are internalized. They emphasize to their own their need to get worshipped-up, taught-up, fixed-up, and dedicated-up in their support of the church. I find this to be generally ineffective, self-serving, and not much like Jesus.\r\n\r\n<strong>As I have attempted to venture into social service work </strong>and community involvement over the last few years, I found another bubble. Social service agencies are locked into programs that are usually funded by the government or foundations. They measure output, instead of outcome. Their client/provider paradigm is a weird symbiotic relationship in which the client becomes dependent upon the services of the agency and the agency is dependent upon having a steady stream of clients to maintain their funding.\r\n\r\n<strong>One can wonder what would happen if agencies opted out of the quick fix</strong> of the hand-out and treated people like human beings, instead of cattle, helping them with acute needs and working with them to develop and pursue their own plan for improving their life.\r\n\r\n<strong>I have never seen an open bubble.</strong> It’s very difficult to get into a bubble. People in the bubble have paid their dues. They have drunk the Kool-Aid. They have earned the favor of the other bubbliest by their adherence to principles of the bubble. Outsiders and newbies may be tolerated, but they will not be heard.\r\n\r\n<strong>It’s also hard to see out of a bubble.</strong> The rest of the world is seen through a soapy blur of refracted light. Since bubbleists are secluded in their bubble, they can only speculate about those outside. Some think those outside of the bubble are evil and to be feared and avoided. Certainly, they are outsiders who are ignorant of the ways of the bubble and they “just don’t get it.”\r\n\r\nSo, it’s hard to get in and hard to see out of a bubble.\r\n\r\n<strong>Yet, bubbles are fragile.</strong> They have to be protected or all will be lost. Therefore, there are guardians of the ways of the bubble who seek to detect dangers, like someone who has different idea or a person who is asking strange questions. If the bubble breaks, it would be horrible. Bubbleists could lose their job, their pension, and their sense of significance.\r\n\r\n<strong>What if we just stopped worrying about the bubbles </strong>and the ways of the bubble? What if we just admitted that some of the bubbles may not be for everyone? What if we concluded that these societal structures simply are not serving us well? What if we quit trying the break back into the cage, I mean, bubble? What if we moved on from cataloging the faultiness of their ways and began to criticize by creating? What if we changed the system by ignoring it? What if we began to use more and more of our energy in positive ways? What if our dreams began to take flight?\r\n\r\n<strong>The unrest that we are seeing around the world indicates that some societal structures are not serving us well.</strong> We are in desperate need of visionaries, entrepreneurs, creators and collaborators. So, if you have been given the left hand of fellowship or have been invited to leave a bubble, don’t despair. If you have opted out of a bubble; you are not an oddball or a troublemaker. It might just be one of the most important moves you have ever made.\r\n\r\nYou never change things by fighting the existing reality.  To change something, build a new model that makes the existing model obsolete. - Buckminster Fuller','Tiny Bubbles','','inherit','open','open','','5659-revision-10','','','2012-03-27 14:33:13','2012-03-27 21:33:13','',5659,'http://provoketive.com/2012/03/27/5659-revision-10/',0,'revision','',0),(5678,144,'2012-03-27 14:43:47','2012-03-27 21:43:47','&nbsp;\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n<strong><a href=\"http://provoketive.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/03/bubbles4.jpg\"><img class=\"aligncenter size-full wp-image-5672\" src=\"http://provoketive.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/03/bubbles4.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"550\" height=\"260\" /></a></strong>\r\n\r\n<strong>Every day, I listen to NPR. I also watch Fox News on a daily basis.</strong> Jokingly, I tell people that I am either perfectly balanced or totally schizophrenic.\r\n\r\n<strong>Some of the shows on the more biased news networks </strong>are just straight forward news. Some get high marks for production excellence. Few get high marks for in-depth reporting. They each have their entertainers masquerading as journalists or news analysts who overstate their case, holding up the most extreme example from the opposing view to conveniently ridicule them. They try their darnest to rile people up and increase their ratings; rather than help their audience truly understand an issue. These so-called news outlets are bubbles presenting their version of what is happening in the world.\r\n\r\n<strong>I have voted for Republicans and for Democrats.</strong> Politicians over promise and under deliver. Seldom do they ever finish well. Political parties are just two more bubbles so locked into ideologies and paradigms, that they have paralyzed our government.\r\n\r\n<strong>For over twenty years I was a pastor.</strong> Now that I am removed from that scene, I see the church as one of the hardiest bubbles or all. While some churches are doing great things in their communities, the vast majority of most churches resources are internalized. They emphasize to their own their need to get worshipped-up, taught-up, fixed-up, and dedicated-up in their support of the church. I find this to be generally ineffective, self-serving, and not much like Jesus.\r\n\r\n<strong>As I have attempted to venture into social service work </strong>and community involvement over the last few years, I found another bubble. Social service agencies are locked into programs that are usually funded by the government or foundations. They measure output, instead of outcome. Their client/provider paradigm is a weird symbiotic relationship in which the client becomes dependent upon the services of the agency and the agency is dependent upon having a steady stream of clients to maintain their funding.\r\n\r\n<strong>One can wonder what would happen if agencies opted out of the quick fix</strong> of the hand-out and treated people like human beings, instead of cattle, helping them with acute needs and working with them to develop and pursue their own plan for improving their life.\r\n\r\n<strong>I have never seen an open bubble.</strong> It’s very difficult to get into a bubble. People in the bubble have paid their dues. They have drunk the Kool-Aid. They have earned the favor of the other bubbliest by their adherence to principles of the bubble. Outsiders and newbies may be tolerated, but they will not be heard.\r\n\r\n<strong>It’s also hard to see out of a bubble.</strong> The rest of the world is seen through a soapy blur of refracted light. Since bubbleists are secluded in their bubble, they can only speculate about those outside. Some think the outsiders are evil and to be feared and avoided. Certainly, they are ignorant of the ways of the bubble and they “just don’t get it.”\r\n\r\nSo, it’s hard to get in and hard to see out of a bubble.\r\n\r\n<strong>Yet, bubbles are fragile.</strong> They have to be protected or all will be lost. Therefore, there are guardians of the ways of the bubble who seek to detect dangers, like someone who has different idea or a person who is asking strange questions. If the bubble breaks, it would be horrible. Bubbleists could lose their job, their pension, and their sense of significance.\r\n\r\n<strong>What if we just stopped worrying about the bubbles </strong>and the ways of the bubble? What if we just admitted that some of the bubbles may not be for everyone? What if we concluded that these societal structures simply are not serving us well? What if we quit trying the break back into the cage, I mean, bubble? What if we moved on from cataloging the faultiness of their ways and began to criticize by creating? What if we changed the system by ignoring it? What if we began to use more and more of our energy in positive ways? What if our dreams began to take flight?\r\n\r\n<strong>The unrest that we are seeing around the world indicates that some changes are in order.</strong> We are in desperate need of visionaries, entrepreneurs, creators and collaborators. So, if you have been given the left hand of fellowship or have been invited to leave a bubble, don’t despair. If you have opted out of a bubble; you are not an oddball or a troublemaker. It might just be one of the most important moves you have ever made.\r\n\r\nYou never change things by fighting the existing reality.  To change something, build a new model that makes the existing model obsolete. - Buckminster Fuller','Tiny Bubbles','','inherit','open','open','','5659-revision-12','','','2012-03-27 14:43:47','2012-03-27 21:43:47','',5659,'http://provoketive.com/2012/03/27/5659-revision-12/',0,'revision','',0),(5682,1,'2012-03-27 14:53:36','2012-03-27 21:53:36','I often wonder about the story of Elijah, the widow and her son in 1 Kings 17. God commanded Elijah to travel to the house of a widow and when he arrived, she had only enough food for one meal. She and her son were starving. In fact, she told Elijah, <em>“As the Lord your God lives, I have nothing baked, only a handful of flour in a jar and a little oil in a jug. And now I am gathering a couple of sticks that I may go in and prepare it for myself and my son, that we may eat it and die.”</em>\n\n<a href=\"http://provoketive.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/03/elijahwid1.jpg\"><img class=\"alignleft  wp-image-5634\" style=\"margin-left: 6px; margin-right: 6px;\" src=\"http://provoketive.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/03/elijahwid1-248x300.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"221\" height=\"267\" /></a>Elijah asked her for the food she had left so he could eat and promised her a miracle: <em>“Do not fear; go and do as you have said. But first make me a little cake of it and bring it to me, and afterward make something for yourself and your son.  For thus says the Lord, the God of Israel, ‘The jar of flour shall not be spent, and the jug of oil shall not be empty, until the day that the Lord sends rain upon the earth.’”</em>\n\nShe was faithful and believed Elijah and the promise of God. It must have been a difficult thing to do in the face of starving to death, but she did it. The bible tells us, <em>\"The jar of flour was not spent, neither did the jug of oil become empty, according to the word of the Lord that he spoke by Elijah.\"</em>\n\nThe thing I reflect on is this - every time the widow and her son went to the jug and jar, they had to think about the goodness of God and Elijah\'s visit that day. I\'m sure not a day went by that for a fleeting moment, their hearts thought about the miracle that took place. The jar and jug weren\'t magical, but the power of God was responsible for the events that day. But the jar and jug were touchstones to the eternal. They were daily reminders to both of them to the power of God and what happens when we place our faith in Him.\n\nThe other day, I was reminded of this personally. I don\'t own a jar of refilling flour. I have an NIV bible that my Mom gave me one Christmas when I was 17. I wasn\'t living the best Christian life possible. I was acting like a little smart aleck most of the time.\n\nFunny thing was, growing up in a Christian home, I already owned about four bibles. But this was different. Mom was reaching out to me with the word of God. And she wrote me a little note in the inside of the bible: <em>\"A long time ago we realized how special you were to us. Challenged by death, at your birth, God reminded us that your life belonged to Him. When you were again challenged by physical problems, god reminded me through my tears that you are indeed a unique individual. Seek God, listen to His voice, reach faith to share the love He has given you through Him Son, Jesus Christ.\"</em>\n\nIn the back of the bible was a daily reading plan for the year. For some reason, I decided to use it. I hadn\'t read the bible<a href=\"http://provoketive.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/03/bible.jpg\"><img class=\"alignright size-medium wp-image-5635\" src=\"http://provoketive.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/03/bible-224x300.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"224\" height=\"300\" /></a> in a long time, but I started that day. I started reading and couldn\'t stop. Within three weeks, my life and attitude had changed. Why? Because God had changed my heart through His word. What was the means? My sweet mother who loved me and gave me a bible and wrote me a sweet note. A touchstone to eternity. It\'s still my favorite bible.\n\nRight now, in your life, there is someone who needs encouragement. There is someone who needs a note or gift from you. Nothing extravagant. Maybe a bible, a bookmark, a book. Write in it. Tell them what you\'ve been meaning to tell them for years. Maybe it\'s someone who has been like a mother or father to you. Maybe it is your mother or father and you just need to let them know what they mean to you. It may be a sibling, aunt, uncle, teacher, pastor, whomever.\n\nOne of the most regrettable things we can do is let time pass without telling someone how we feel. One of the best things we can do is take a pen to paper (not email, not Facebook, but real ink) and write down our feelings for someone. I promise you that most people keep things like that. If you give them a book, a gift or a memento with that message written in it, it will become precious to them. Each time they see it, they will remember you and the love you have for them.\n\nThat\'s one of the reasons we are put here. To love one another. Take time to leave a mark for eternity today.','Leaving Our Mark on Eternity','','inherit','open','open','','5631-autosave','','','2012-03-27 14:53:36','2012-03-27 21:53:36','',5631,'http://provoketive.com/2012/03/27/5631-autosave/',0,'revision','',0),(5683,1,'2012-03-25 14:50:06','2012-03-25 21:50:06','I often wonder about the story of Elijah, the widow and her son in 1 Kings 17. God commanded Elijah to travel to the house of a widow and when he arrived, she had only enough food for one meal. She and her son were starving. In fact, she told Elijah, <em>“As the Lord your God lives, I have nothing baked, only a handful of flour in a jar and a little oil in a jug. And now I am gathering a couple of sticks that I may go in and prepare it for myself and my son, that we may eat it and die.”</em>\r\n\r\n<a href=\"http://provoketive.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/03/elijahwid1.jpg\"><img class=\"alignleft  wp-image-5634\" style=\"margin-left: 6px;margin-right: 6px\" src=\"http://provoketive.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/03/elijahwid1-248x300.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"221\" height=\"267\" /></a>Elijah asked her for the food she had left so he could eat and promised her a miracle: <em>“Do not fear; go and do as you have said. But first make me a little cake of it and bring it to me, and afterward make something for yourself and your son.  For thus says the Lord, the God of Israel, ‘The jar of flour shall not be spent, and the jug of oil shall not be empty, until the day that the Lord sends rain upon the earth.’”</em>\r\n\r\nShe was faithful and believed Elijah and the promise of God. It must have been a difficult thing to do in the face of starving to death, but she did it. The bible tells us, <em>\"The jar of flour was not spent, neither did the jug of oil become empty, according to the word of the Lord that he spoke by Elijah.\"</em>\r\n\r\nThe thing I reflect on is this - every time the widow and her son went to the jug and jar, they had to think about the goodness of God and Elijah\'s visit that day. I\'m sure not a day went by that for a fleeting moment, their hearts thought about the miracle that took place. The jar and jug weren\'t magical, but the power of God was responsible for the events that day. But the jar and jug were touchstones to the eternal. They were daily reminders to both of them to the power of God and what happens when we place our faith in Him.\r\n\r\nThe other day, I was reminded of this personally. I don\'t own a jar of refilling flour. I have an NIV bible that my Mom gave me one Christmas when I was 17. I wasn\'t living the best Christian life possible. I was acting like a little smart aleck most of the time.\r\n\r\nFunny thing was, growing up in a Christian home, I already owned about four bibles. But this was different. Mom was reaching out to me with the word of God. And she wrote me a little note in the inside of the bible: <em>\"A long time ago we realized how special you were to us. Challenged by death, at your birth, God reminded us that your life belonged to Him. When you were again challenged by physical problems, god reminded me through my tears that you are indeed a unique individual. Seek God, listen to His voice, reach faith to share the love He has given you through Him Son, Jesus Christ.\"</em>\r\n\r\nIn the back of the bible was a daily reading plan for the year. For some reason, I decided to use it. I hadn\'t read the bible<a href=\"http://provoketive.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/03/bible.jpg\"><img class=\"alignright size-medium wp-image-5635\" src=\"http://provoketive.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/03/bible-224x300.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"224\" height=\"300\" /></a> in a long time, but I started that day. I started reading and couldn\'t stop. Within three weeks, my life and attitude had changed. Why? Because God had changed my heart through His word. What was the means? My sweet mother who loved me and gave me a bible and wrote me a sweet note. A touchstone to eternity. It\'s still my favorite bible.\r\n\r\nRight now, in your life, there is someone who needs encouragement. There is someone who needs a note or gift from you. Nothing extravagant. Maybe a bible, a bookmark, a book. Write in it. Tell them what you\'ve been meaning to tell them for years. Maybe it\'s someone who has been like a mother or father to you. Maybe it is your mother or father and you just need to let them know what they mean to you. It may be a sibling, aunt, uncle, teacher, pastor, whomever.\r\n\r\nOne of the most regrettable things we can do is let time pass without telling someone how we feel. One of the best things we can do is take a pen to paper (not email, not Facebook, but real ink) and write down our feelings for someone. I promise you that most people keep things like that. If you give them a book, a gift or a memento with that message written in it, it will become precious to them. Each time they see it, they will remember you and the love you have for them.\r\n\r\nThat\'s one of the reasons we are put here. To love one another. Take time to leave a mark for eternity today.','Leaving Our Mark on Eternity','','inherit','open','open','','5631-revision-2','','','2012-03-25 14:50:06','2012-03-25 21:50:06','',5631,'http://provoketive.com/2012/03/25/5631-revision-2/',0,'revision','',0),(5684,1,'2012-03-27 14:59:44','2012-03-27 21:59:44','','toy Jesus','','inherit','open','open','','toy-jesus','','','2012-03-27 14:59:44','2012-03-27 21:59:44','',5552,'http://provoketive.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/03/toy-Jesus.jpg',0,'attachment','image/jpeg',0),(5685,1,'2012-03-26 06:23:04','2012-03-26 13:23:04','[caption id=\"attachment_5571\" align=\"alignnone\" width=\"487\" caption=\"usage rights secured via dreamstime.com\"]<a href=\"http://provoketive.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/03/calvary_image.jpg\"><img class=\" wp-image-5571\" src=\"http://provoketive.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/03/calvary_image-300x199.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"487\" height=\"199\" /></a>[/caption]\r\n<h2>The Ongoing Identity Theft of Jesus</h2>\r\nThe divinity of Jesus has been questioned for thousands of years.\r\n\r\nIt\'s not surprising that one of the first recorded instances of this divine doubt occurred before Jesus officially started his ministry. According to the gospel of Matthew, Jesus was fasting in the desert for 40 days when the devil approached him in the wasteland - questioning the Lord\'s deistic attributes.\r\n<h3>Appealing to Appetite</h3>\r\nWe read in <a href=\"http://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Matthew+4%3A3-4&amp;version=NKJV\">Matthew 4:3-4</a> that the tempter questioned that if Jesus was indeed the Son of God, then Jesus would be able to turn nearby rock piles warmed by the desert sun into piles of warm bread. Jesus parried with the classic, \"...<em>man shall not live by bread alone...</em>\" verbal retort despite the gnawing hunger in his human belly. This exchange points as proof that both individuals knew that Jesus was both God and man, yet Jesus wasn\'t compelled to prove that point to anybody.\r\n<h3>Appealing to Prophecy</h3>\r\nSubsequently the devil quoted scripture to Jesus, as seen in <a href=\"http://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Matthew+4%3A5-7&amp;version=NIV\">Matthew 4:5-7</a>, where the adversary asserted that Jesus could fling himself from the cliff and the \"<em>...angels would bear him up...</em>\" in a seeming appeal for Jesus to fulfill prophecy written centuries before that the Messiah would have to die. Jesus didn\'t fall for it - figuratively nor literally. The scriptures state that Jesus was closely attuned to the will and timing of God, and that his time of death had not yet come - further solidifying his deity identity.\r\n<h3>Appealing to Compassion</h3>\r\nThe chapter goes on to state in <a href=\"http://www.esvbible.org/Matthew+4.8-11/\">Matthew 4:8-11</a> that the devil changed tactics and tried to appeal to Christ\'s love of humanity by offering him the world which had been subjected to demonic control since \"The Fall\" in Eden, in exchange for Jesus falling to his knees to worship the first fallen angel.\r\n\r\nHad Jesus agreed to this quick-fix alternative to salvation - and he could have - the earth might have been redeemed but not the way that God had wanted. Jesus understood that fact because of his celestial connection to the Father.\r\n\r\nOne stern rebuke from Jesus and the devil left.  While Jesus\' divine identity had been challenged it was not diminished in any way.\r\n\r\nHowever, had Jesus yielded to any of those temptation attempts it would have resulted in the most epic identity theft in the history of the universe because the devil would have ascended above the Most High.\r\n\r\nAgain, the fact that Jesus knew who he was prevented that theft from happening.\r\n<h3>Other Divine Identity Theft Attempts</h3>\r\nRegardless, throughout the remainder of Jesus\' recorded life the scriptures state that his heavenly sonship continued to be questioned. Perhaps most notable are several examples that occurred at the time of his crucifixion:\r\n<ul>\r\n	<li>Roman guards beat and mocked Jesus demanding a display of his power - <a href=\"http://bible.cc/luke/22-64.htm\">Luke 22:64</a> and <a href=\"http://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Luke+23%3A36-38&amp;version=AMP\">Luke 23:36-38</a></li>\r\n	<li>The magistrate Herod similarly demanded a miracle - <a href=\"http://www.biblica.com/bibles/chapter/?q=Luke%2023:8-11\">Luke 23: 8-11</a></li>\r\n	<li>One of the thieves crucified along side of Jesus also demanded a sign and power display - <a href=\"http://www.esvbible.org/Luke+23.39-43/\">Luke 23:39-43</a></li>\r\n	<li>As well as local leaders who stood and watched Jesus die, while questioning his divinity claim - <a href=\"http://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Luke+23%3A33-35&amp;version=NIV\">Luke 33:35</a></li>\r\n</ul>\r\n<h3>Restraint Was Jesus\' Greatest Miracle</h3>\r\nPerhaps one of the most interesting yet overlooked aspects of Jesus\' identity was that he never felt compelled to prove himself to anybody.\r\n\r\nHe knew who he was.\r\n\r\nThroughout all of scripture, Jesus wasn\'t moved to perform miracles by violence, coercion or even threat of death. He did however move in the miraculous when he was moved by compassion, faith and the simple realization by the needy that he was indeed, who he said he was.\r\n\r\nAccording to the bible, those who recognized his true identity as the son of God were the only ones who received his miracles and blessings.\r\n\r\nEven while hanging on the cross, amidst the sneering jeers to save himself and thereby prove his divinity to the people, Jesus knew that if he came down off that tree his true identity as a sinless sacrifice and sole path for redemption would have been abdicated and his divine mission forfeited.\r\n\r\nJesus was the only one who knew that, and his restraint to maintain that identity ultimately reconciled us back to the Father.\r\n<h3>Hijacking Jesus\' Identity Today</h3>\r\nFast forward 2,000 years to the current era where we routinely, albeit unwittingly perhaps, try to strip Jesus of his divinity today.\r\n\r\nWe do that when believers and non-believers alike give God an ultimatum that we will <em><strong>only</strong></em> believe in him if he acts or intervenes on our behalf for healing, finances, peace, relational restoration or any other legitimate need within our pre-specified time line.\r\n\r\nBut when we make such demands, how are we any different from those in the bible who goaded God to act - such as the robber, Herod, the centurions or even Satan himself?\r\n\r\nWe aren\'t.\r\n\r\nHopefully we can identify with that personal failing on our part and find grace waiting in the arms of a loving savior who can identify with every aspect of our frailties.','Hijacking Jesus\' Identity','','inherit','open','open','','5552-revision-64','','','2012-03-26 06:23:04','2012-03-26 13:23:04','',5552,'http://provoketive.com/2012/03/26/5552-revision-64/',0,'revision','',0),(5687,1,'2012-03-27 15:01:03','2012-03-27 22:01:03','<h2>The Ongoing Identity Theft of Jesus</h2>\r\nThe divinity of Jesus has been questioned for thousands of years.\r\n\r\nIt\'s not surprising that one of the first recorded instances of this divine doubt occurred before Jesus officially started his ministry. According to the gospel of Matthew, Jesus was fasting in the desert for 40 days when the devil approached him in the wasteland - questioning the Lord\'s deistic attributes.\r\n<h3>Appealing to Appetite</h3>\r\nWe read in <a href=\"http://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Matthew+4%3A3-4&amp;version=NKJV\">Matthew 4:3-4</a> that the tempter questioned that if Jesus was indeed the Son of God, then Jesus would be able to turn nearby rock piles warmed by the desert sun into piles of warm bread. Jesus parried with the classic, \"...<em>man shall not live by bread alone...</em>\" verbal retort despite the gnawing hunger in his human belly. This exchange points as proof that both individuals knew that Jesus was both God and man, yet Jesus wasn\'t compelled to prove that point to anybody.\r\n<h3>Appealing to Prophecy</h3>\r\nSubsequently the devil quoted scripture to Jesus, as seen in <a href=\"http://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Matthew+4%3A5-7&amp;version=NIV\">Matthew 4:5-7</a>, where the adversary asserted that Jesus could fling himself from the cliff and the \"<em>...angels would bear him up...</em>\" in a seeming appeal for Jesus to fulfill prophecy written centuries before that the Messiah would have to die. Jesus didn\'t fall for it - figuratively nor literally. The scriptures state that Jesus was closely attuned to the will and timing of God, and that his time of death had not yet come - further solidifying his deity identity.\r\n<h3>Appealing to Compassion</h3>\r\nThe chapter goes on to state in <a href=\"http://www.esvbible.org/Matthew+4.8-11/\">Matthew 4:8-11</a> that the devil changed tactics and tried to appeal to Christ\'s love of humanity by offering him the world which had been subjected to demonic control since \"The Fall\" in Eden, in exchange for Jesus falling to his knees to worship the first fallen angel.\r\n\r\nHad Jesus agreed to this quick-fix alternative to salvation - and he could have - the earth might have been redeemed but not the way that God had wanted. Jesus understood that fact because of his celestial connection to the Father.\r\n\r\nOne stern rebuke from Jesus and the devil left.  While Jesus\' divine identity had been challenged it was not diminished in any way.\r\n\r\nHowever, had Jesus yielded to any of those temptation attempts it would have resulted in the most epic identity theft in the history of the universe because the devil would have ascended above the Most High.\r\n\r\nAgain, the fact that Jesus knew who he was prevented that theft from happening.\r\n<h3>Other Divine Identity Theft Attempts</h3>\r\nRegardless, throughout the remainder of Jesus\' recorded life the scriptures state that his heavenly sonship continued to be questioned. Perhaps most notable are several examples that occurred at the time of his crucifixion:\r\n<ul>\r\n	<li>Roman guards beat and mocked Jesus demanding a display of his power - <a href=\"http://bible.cc/luke/22-64.htm\">Luke 22:64</a> and <a href=\"http://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Luke+23%3A36-38&amp;version=AMP\">Luke 23:36-38</a></li>\r\n	<li>The magistrate Herod similarly demanded a miracle - <a href=\"http://www.biblica.com/bibles/chapter/?q=Luke%2023:8-11\">Luke 23: 8-11</a></li>\r\n	<li>One of the thieves crucified along side of Jesus also demanded a sign and power display - <a href=\"http://www.esvbible.org/Luke+23.39-43/\">Luke 23:39-43</a></li>\r\n	<li>As well as local leaders who stood and watched Jesus die, while questioning his divinity claim - <a href=\"http://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Luke+23%3A33-35&amp;version=NIV\">Luke 33:35</a></li>\r\n</ul>\r\n<h3>Restraint Was Jesus\' Greatest Miracle</h3>\r\nPerhaps one of the most interesting yet overlooked aspects of Jesus\' identity was that he never felt compelled to prove himself to anybody.\r\n\r\nHe knew who he was.\r\n\r\nThroughout all of scripture, Jesus wasn\'t moved to perform miracles by violence, coercion or even threat of death. He did however move in the miraculous when he was moved by compassion, faith and the simple realization by the needy that he was indeed, who he said he was.\r\n\r\nAccording to the bible, those who recognized his true identity as the son of God were the only ones who received his miracles and blessings.\r\n\r\nEven while hanging on the cross, amidst the sneering jeers to save himself and thereby prove his divinity to the people, Jesus knew that if he came down off that tree his true identity as a sinless sacrifice and sole path for redemption would have been abdicated and his divine mission forfeited.\r\n\r\nJesus was the only one who knew that, and his restraint to maintain that identity ultimately reconciled us back to the Father.\r\n<h3>Hijacking Jesus\' Identity Today</h3>\r\nFast forward 2,000 years to the current era where we routinely, albeit unwittingly perhaps, try to strip Jesus of his divinity today.\r\n\r\nWe do that when believers and non-believers alike give God an ultimatum that we will <em><strong>only</strong></em> believe in him if he acts or intervenes on our behalf for healing, finances, peace, relational restoration or any other legitimate need within our pre-specified time line.\r\n\r\nBut when we make such demands, how are we any different from those in the bible who goaded God to act - such as the robber, Herod, the centurions or even Satan himself?\r\n\r\nWe aren\'t.\r\n\r\nHopefully we can identify with that personal failing on our part and find grace waiting in the arms of a loving savior who can identify with every aspect of our frailties.','Hijacking Jesus\' Identity','','inherit','open','open','','5552-revision-66','','','2012-03-27 15:01:03','2012-03-27 22:01:03','',5552,'http://provoketive.com/2012/03/27/5552-revision-66/',0,'revision','',0),(5686,1,'2012-03-27 15:00:09','2012-03-27 22:00:09','[caption id=\"attachment_5571\" align=\"alignnone\" width=\"487\" caption=\"usage rights secured via dreamstime.com\"]<a href=\"http://provoketive.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/03/calvary_image.jpg\"><img class=\" wp-image-5571\" src=\"http://provoketive.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/03/calvary_image-300x199.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"487\" height=\"199\" /></a>[/caption]\r\n<h2>The Ongoing Identity Theft of Jesus</h2>\r\nThe divinity of Jesus has been questioned for thousands of years.\r\n\r\nIt\'s not surprising that one of the first recorded instances of this divine doubt occurred before Jesus officially started his ministry. According to the gospel of Matthew, Jesus was fasting in the desert for 40 days when the devil approached him in the wasteland - questioning the Lord\'s deistic attributes.\r\n<h3>Appealing to Appetite</h3>\r\nWe read in <a href=\"http://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Matthew+4%3A3-4&amp;version=NKJV\">Matthew 4:3-4</a> that the tempter questioned that if Jesus was indeed the Son of God, then Jesus would be able to turn nearby rock piles warmed by the desert sun into piles of warm bread. Jesus parried with the classic, \"...<em>man shall not live by bread alone...</em>\" verbal retort despite the gnawing hunger in his human belly. This exchange points as proof that both individuals knew that Jesus was both God and man, yet Jesus wasn\'t compelled to prove that point to anybody.\r\n<h3>Appealing to Prophecy</h3>\r\nSubsequently the devil quoted scripture to Jesus, as seen in <a href=\"http://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Matthew+4%3A5-7&amp;version=NIV\">Matthew 4:5-7</a>, where the adversary asserted that Jesus could fling himself from the cliff and the \"<em>...angels would bear him up...</em>\" in a seeming appeal for Jesus to fulfill prophecy written centuries before that the Messiah would have to die. Jesus didn\'t fall for it - figuratively nor literally. The scriptures state that Jesus was closely attuned to the will and timing of God, and that his time of death had not yet come - further solidifying his deity identity.\r\n<h3>Appealing to Compassion</h3>\r\nThe chapter goes on to state in <a href=\"http://www.esvbible.org/Matthew+4.8-11/\">Matthew 4:8-11</a> that the devil changed tactics and tried to appeal to Christ\'s love of humanity by offering him the world which had been subjected to demonic control since \"The Fall\" in Eden, in exchange for Jesus falling to his knees to worship the first fallen angel.\r\n\r\nHad Jesus agreed to this quick-fix alternative to salvation - and he could have - the earth might have been redeemed but not the way that God had wanted. Jesus understood that fact because of his celestial connection to the Father.\r\n\r\nOne stern rebuke from Jesus and the devil left.  While Jesus\' divine identity had been challenged it was not diminished in any way.\r\n\r\nHowever, had Jesus yielded to any of those temptation attempts it would have resulted in the most epic identity theft in the history of the universe because the devil would have ascended above the Most High.\r\n\r\nAgain, the fact that Jesus knew who he was prevented that theft from happening.\r\n<h3>Other Divine Identity Theft Attempts</h3>\r\nRegardless, throughout the remainder of Jesus\' recorded life the scriptures state that his heavenly sonship continued to be questioned. Perhaps most notable are several examples that occurred at the time of his crucifixion:\r\n<ul>\r\n	<li>Roman guards beat and mocked Jesus demanding a display of his power - <a href=\"http://bible.cc/luke/22-64.htm\">Luke 22:64</a> and <a href=\"http://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Luke+23%3A36-38&amp;version=AMP\">Luke 23:36-38</a></li>\r\n	<li>The magistrate Herod similarly demanded a miracle - <a href=\"http://www.biblica.com/bibles/chapter/?q=Luke%2023:8-11\">Luke 23: 8-11</a></li>\r\n	<li>One of the thieves crucified along side of Jesus also demanded a sign and power display - <a href=\"http://www.esvbible.org/Luke+23.39-43/\">Luke 23:39-43</a></li>\r\n	<li>As well as local leaders who stood and watched Jesus die, while questioning his divinity claim - <a href=\"http://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Luke+23%3A33-35&amp;version=NIV\">Luke 33:35</a></li>\r\n</ul>\r\n<h3>Restraint Was Jesus\' Greatest Miracle</h3>\r\nPerhaps one of the most interesting yet overlooked aspects of Jesus\' identity was that he never felt compelled to prove himself to anybody.\r\n\r\nHe knew who he was.\r\n\r\nThroughout all of scripture, Jesus wasn\'t moved to perform miracles by violence, coercion or even threat of death. He did however move in the miraculous when he was moved by compassion, faith and the simple realization by the needy that he was indeed, who he said he was.\r\n\r\nAccording to the bible, those who recognized his true identity as the son of God were the only ones who received his miracles and blessings.\r\n\r\nEven while hanging on the cross, amidst the sneering jeers to save himself and thereby prove his divinity to the people, Jesus knew that if he came down off that tree his true identity as a sinless sacrifice and sole path for redemption would have been abdicated and his divine mission forfeited.\r\n\r\nJesus was the only one who knew that, and his restraint to maintain that identity ultimately reconciled us back to the Father.\r\n<h3>Hijacking Jesus\' Identity Today</h3>\r\nFast forward 2,000 years to the current era where we routinely, albeit unwittingly perhaps, try to strip Jesus of his divinity today.\r\n\r\nWe do that when believers and non-believers alike give God an ultimatum that we will <em><strong>only</strong></em> believe in him if he acts or intervenes on our behalf for healing, finances, peace, relational restoration or any other legitimate need within our pre-specified time line.\r\n\r\nBut when we make such demands, how are we any different from those in the bible who goaded God to act - such as the robber, Herod, the centurions or even Satan himself?\r\n\r\nWe aren\'t.\r\n\r\nHopefully we can identify with that personal failing on our part and find grace waiting in the arms of a loving savior who can identify with every aspect of our frailties.','Hijacking Jesus\' Identity','','inherit','open','open','','5552-revision-65','','','2012-03-27 15:00:09','2012-03-27 22:00:09','',5552,'http://provoketive.com/2012/03/27/5552-revision-65/',0,'revision','',0),(5688,1,'2012-03-27 15:02:46','2012-03-27 22:02:46','No doubt many have you noticed most of your Facebook friends posting pictures of themselves wearing hoodies. This is to show solidarity with the friends and family of Trayvon Martin, a seventeen-year-old black teen who was shot by a neighborhood watchman. Although Martin was unarmed, several people--most famously <a href=\"http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2012/03/23/geraldo-rivera-trayvon-martin-hoodie_n_1375080.html?ref=media\">Geraldo Rivera</a>--commented that if Trayvon wasn\'t wearing a hoodie, he wouldn\'t have looked so \"suspicious.\" Which is basically like telling a rape victim that her dress caused her to be raped. So this weekend I, along with many others, changed my profile picture as a way to mourn with those who mourn.\n\nHowever, I wouldn\'t go so far as to say, \"I am Trayvon Martin.\" I feel like that\'s borderline <a href=\"http://knowyourmeme.com/memes/privilege-denying-dude\">Privilege Denying Dude</a>. As a white man, it\'s pretty safe to say I will never \"look suspicious\" enough for someone to call the cops on me. I will never know what it\'s like to have someone look me up and down to see if I\'m carrying a gun. I wish I could say that in 2012 we live in a post-racial society, but it\'s not true. And I think Trayvon Martin\'s death proves this.\n\nI also can\'t deny the fact that, in some way, I\'m almost like George Zimmerman, the guy who shot Trayvon. Don\'t get me wrong, I\'m NOT making a direct comparison. But how many times have I unfairly judged someone because of the way he or she looked? How many times have I automatically assumed that someone\'s going to be trouble? I\'m not saying Zimmerman shouldn\'t be brought to justice. Far from it! But how can I pretend to be high and mighty when I\'ve unfairly judged people, too?\n\nIf any good comes out of Trayvon Martin\'s death, I hope that it starts a conversation about privilege and justice. And I hope you all will pray with me that justice will flow on like a river.','On Hoodies, Privilege, and Solidarity','','inherit','open','open','','5652-autosave','','','2012-03-27 15:02:46','2012-03-27 22:02:46','',5652,'http://provoketive.com/2012/03/27/5652-autosave/',0,'revision','',0),(5689,1,'2012-03-27 15:03:25','2012-03-27 22:03:25','','trayvon martin','','inherit','open','open','','trayvon-martin','','','2012-03-27 15:03:25','2012-03-27 22:03:25','',5652,'http://provoketive.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/03/trayvon-martin.jpg',0,'attachment','image/jpeg',0),(5690,1,'2012-03-26 09:58:03','2012-03-26 16:58:03','No doubt many have you noticed most of your Facebook friends posting pictures of themselves wearing hoodies. This is to show solidarity with the friends and family of Trayvon Martin, a seventeen-year-old black teen who was shot by a neighborhood watchman. Although Martin was unarmed, several people--most famously <a href=\"http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2012/03/23/geraldo-rivera-trayvon-martin-hoodie_n_1375080.html?ref=media\">Geraldo Rivera</a>--commented that if Trayvon wasn\'t wearing a hoodie, he wouldn\'t have looked so \"suspicious.\" Which is basically like telling a rape victim that her dress caused her to be raped. So this weekend I, along with many others, changed my profile picture as a way to mourn with those who mourn.\r\n\r\nHowever, I wouldn\'t go so far as to say, \"I am Trayvon Martin.\" I feel like that\'s borderline <a href=\"http://knowyourmeme.com/memes/privilege-denying-dude\">Privilege Denying Dude</a>. As a white man, it\'s pretty safe to say I will never \"look suspicious\" enough for someone to call the cops on me. I will never know what it\'s like to have someone look me up and down to see if I\'m carrying a gun. I wish I could say that in 2012 we live in a post-racial society, but it\'s not true. And I think Trayvon Martin\'s death proves this.\r\n\r\nI also can\'t deny the fact that, in some way, I\'m almost like George Zimmerman, the guy who shot Trayvon. Don\'t get me wrong, I\'m NOT making a direct comparison. But how many times have I unfairly judged someone because of the way he or she looked? How many times have I automatically assumed that someone\'s going to be trouble? I\'m not saying Zimmerman shouldn\'t be brought to justice. Far from it! But how can I pretend to be high and mighty when I\'ve unfairly judged people, too?\r\n\r\nIf any good comes out of Trayvon Martin\'s death, I hope that it starts a conversation about privilege and justice. And I hope you all will pray with me that justice will flow on like a river.','On Hoodies, Privilege, and Solidarity','','inherit','open','open','','5652-revision-2','','','2012-03-26 09:58:03','2012-03-26 16:58:03','',5652,'http://provoketive.com/2012/03/26/5652-revision-2/',0,'revision','',0),(5691,1,'2012-03-27 14:54:48','2012-03-27 21:54:48','I often wonder about the story of Elijah, the widow and her son in 1 Kings 17. God commanded Elijah to travel to the house of a widow and when he arrived, she had only enough food for one meal. She and her son were starving. In fact, she told Elijah, <em>“As the Lord your God lives, I have nothing baked, only a handful of flour in a jar and a little oil in a jug. And now I am gathering a couple of sticks that I may go in and prepare it for myself and my son, that we may eat it and die.”</em>\r\n\r\n<a href=\"http://provoketive.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/03/elijahwid1.jpg\"><img class=\"alignleft  wp-image-5634\" style=\"margin-left: 6px; margin-right: 6px;\" src=\"http://provoketive.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/03/elijahwid1-248x300.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"221\" height=\"267\" /></a>Elijah asked her for the food she had left so he could eat and promised her a miracle: <em>“Do not fear; go and do as you have said. But first make me a little cake of it and bring it to me, and afterward make something for yourself and your son.  For thus says the Lord, the God of Israel, ‘The jar of flour shall not be spent, and the jug of oil shall not be empty, until the day that the Lord sends rain upon the earth.’”</em>\r\n\r\nShe was faithful and believed Elijah and the promise of God. It must have been a difficult thing to do in the face of starving to death, but she did it. The bible tells us, <em>\"The jar of flour was not spent, neither did the jug of oil become empty, according to the word of the Lord that he spoke by Elijah.\"</em>\r\n\r\nThe thing I reflect on is this - every time the widow and her son went to the jug and jar, they had to think about the goodness of God and Elijah\'s visit that day. I\'m sure not a day went by that for a fleeting moment, their hearts thought about the miracle that took place. The jar and jug weren\'t magical, but the power of God was responsible for the events that day. But the jar and jug were touchstones to the eternal. They were daily reminders to both of them to the power of God and what happens when we place our faith in Him.\r\n\r\nThe other day, I was reminded of this personally. I don\'t own a jar of refilling flour. I have an NIV bible that my Mom gave me one Christmas when I was 17. I wasn\'t living the best Christian life possible. I was acting like a little smart aleck most of the time.\r\n\r\nFunny thing was, growing up in a Christian home, I already owned about four bibles. But this was different. Mom was reaching out to me with the word of God. And she wrote me a little note in the inside of the bible: <em>\"A long time ago we realized how special you were to us. Challenged by death, at your birth, God reminded us that your life belonged to Him. When you were again challenged by physical problems, god reminded me through my tears that you are indeed a unique individual. Seek God, listen to His voice, reach faith to share the love He has given you through Him Son, Jesus Christ.\"</em>\r\n\r\nIn the back of the bible was a daily reading plan for the year. For some reason, I decided to use it. I hadn\'t read the bible<a href=\"http://provoketive.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/03/bible.jpg\"><img class=\"alignright size-medium wp-image-5635\" src=\"http://provoketive.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/03/bible-224x300.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"224\" height=\"300\" /></a> in a long time, but I started that day. I started reading and couldn\'t stop. Within three weeks, my life and attitude had changed. Why? Because God had changed my heart through His word. What was the means? My sweet mother who loved me and gave me a bible and wrote me a sweet note. A touchstone to eternity. It\'s still my favorite bible.\r\n\r\nRight now, in your life, there is someone who needs encouragement. There is someone who needs a note or gift from you. Nothing extravagant. Maybe a bible, a bookmark, a book. Write in it. Tell them what you\'ve been meaning to tell them for years. Maybe it\'s someone who has been like a mother or father to you. Maybe it is your mother or father and you just need to let them know what they mean to you. It may be a sibling, aunt, uncle, teacher, pastor, whomever.\r\n\r\nOne of the most regrettable things we can do is let time pass without telling someone how we feel. One of the best things we can do is take a pen to paper (not email, not Facebook, but real ink) and write down our feelings for someone. I promise you that most people keep things like that. If you give them a book, a gift or a memento with that message written in it, it will become precious to them. Each time they see it, they will remember you and the love you have for them.\r\n\r\nThat\'s one of the reasons we are put here. To love one another. Take time to leave a mark for eternity today.','Leaving Our Mark on Eternity','','inherit','open','open','','5631-revision-3','','','2012-03-27 14:54:48','2012-03-27 21:54:48','',5631,'http://provoketive.com/2012/03/27/5631-revision-3/',0,'revision','',0),(5693,144,'2012-04-03 15:45:44','2012-04-03 22:45:44','<a href=\"http://provoketive.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/03/bubbles4.jpg\"><img class=\"aligncenter size-full wp-image-5672\" src=\"http://provoketive.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/03/bubbles4.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"550\" height=\"260\" /></a>\n\n<strong>Every day, I listen to NPR. I also watch Fox News on a daily basis.</strong> Jokingly, I tell people that I am either perfectly balanced or totally schizophrenic.\n\n<strong>Some of the shows on the more biased news networks </strong>are just straight forward news. Some get high marks for production excellence. Few get high marks for in-depth reporting. They each have their entertainers masquerading as journalists or news analysts who overstate their case, holding up the most extreme example from the opposing view to conveniently ridicule them. They try their darnedest to rile people up and increase their ratings; rather than help their audience truly understand an issue. These so-called news outlets are bubbles presenting their version of what is happening in the world.\n\n<strong>I have voted for Republicans and for Democrats.</strong> Politicians over promise and under deliver. Seldom do they ever finish well. Political parties are just two more bubbles so locked into ideologies and paradigms, that they have paralyzed our government.\n\n<strong>For over twenty years I was a pastor.</strong> Now that I am removed from that scene, I see the church as one of the hardiest bubbles or all. While some churches are doing great things in their communities, the vast majority of most churches resources are internalized. They emphasize to their own their need to get worshipped-up, taught-up, fixed-up, and dedicated-up in their support of the church. I find this to be generally ineffective, self-serving, and not much like Jesus.\n\n<strong>As I have attempted to venture into social service work </strong>and community involvement over the last few years, I found another bubble. Social service agencies are locked into programs that are usually funded by the government or foundations. They measure output, instead of outcome. Their client/provider paradigm is a weird symbiotic relationship in which the client becomes dependent upon the services of the agency and the agency is dependent upon having a steady stream of clients to maintain their funding.\n\n<strong>One can wonder what would happen if agencies opted out of the quick fix</strong> of the hand-out and treated people like human beings, instead of cattle, helping them with acute needs and working with them to develop and pursue their own plan for improving their life.\n\n<strong>I have never seen an open bubble.</strong> It’s very difficult to get into a bubble. People in the bubble have paid their dues. They have drunk the Kool-Aid. They have earned the favor of the other bubbliest by their adherence to principles of the bubble. Outsiders and newbies may be tolerated, but they will not be heard.\n\n<strong>It’s also hard to see out of a bubble.</strong> The rest of the world is seen through a soapy blur of refracted light. Since bubbleists are secluded in their bubble, they can only speculate about those outside. Some think the outsiders are evil and to be feared and avoided. Certainly, they are ignorant of the ways of the bubble and they “just don’t get it.”\n\nSo, it’s hard to get in and hard to see out of a bubble.\n\n<strong>Yet, bubbles are fragile.</strong> They have to be protected or all will be lost. Therefore, there are guardians of the ways of the bubble who seek to detect dangers, like someone who has different idea or a person who is asking strange questions. If the bubble breaks, it would be horrible. Bubbleists could lose their job, their pension, and their sense of significance.\n\n<strong>What if we just stopped worrying about the bubbles </strong>and the ways of the bubble? What if we just admitted that some of the bubbles may not be for everyone? What if we concluded that these societal structures simply are not serving us well? What if we quit trying the break back into the cage, I mean, bubble? What if we moved on from cataloging the faultiness of their ways and began to criticize by creating? What if we changed the system by ignoring it? What if we began to use more and more of our energy in positive ways? What if our dreams began to take flight?\n\n<strong>The unrest that we are seeing around the world indicates that some changes are in order.</strong> We are in desperate need of visionaries, entrepreneurs, creators and collaborators. So, if you have been given the left hand of fellowship or have been invited to leave a bubble, don’t despair. If you have opted out of a bubble; you are not an oddball or a troublemaker. It might just be one of the most important moves you have ever made.\n\nYou never change things by fighting the existing reality.  To change something, build a new model that makes the existing model obsolete. - Buckminster Fuller','Tiny Bubbles','','inherit','open','open','','5659-autosave','','','2012-04-03 15:45:44','2012-04-03 22:45:44','',5659,'http://provoketive.com/2012/03/27/5659-autosave/',0,'revision','',0),(5698,35,'2012-03-28 09:35:44','2012-03-28 16:35:44','','Uncensored Cover','','inherit','open','open','','uncensored-cover-4','','','2012-03-28 09:35:44','2012-03-28 16:35:44','',5697,'http://provoketive.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/03/Uncensored-Cover.jpg',0,'attachment','image/jpeg',0),(5699,35,'2012-03-28 09:33:08','2012-03-28 16:33:08','<strong>Uncensored Prayer: The Spiritual Practice of Wrestling With God Workshop</strong> will be offered online April 16 – May 18, 2012.  This course is about the spiritual practice of discussing everything with God, risking honesty to gain intimacy through loving, trusting conversations.  It’s wrestling through anger, faith, pain, hope about every aspect of our lives.  No topic, language, or feeling is unholy.  It will cover how to know you’re hearing from God and explores a variety of ways to pray. This course is an opportunity to discover for yourself the redemptive freedom that comes from being totally honest with yourself and the One who loves you best.  As you practice stepping out of your comfort zone, you will begin to experience confidence in speaking freely with God in ways that are uniquely yours.\n\n<strong>The instructor, Joy Wilson</strong>, is the author of Uncensored Prayer: The Spiritual Practice of Wrestling With God (Civitas Press, 2011).  Prior to starting the workshop, participants need to order the book from Amazon.com.  The five-week online class is self-paced so you can participate at any time during the week.  It includes readings in the textbook, prayer practice exercises, and online interactions with other students.\n\nThe cost of the course is $69.  For additional information, go to the following link:  <a href=\"http://beadisciple.com/workshops.html#UncensoredPrayer\">http://beadisciple.com/workshops.html#UncensoredPrayer</a> .  Class size is limited, so register early.\n\n&nbsp;','Uncensored Prayer Online Workshop','','inherit','open','open','','5697-revision','','','2012-03-28 09:33:08','2012-03-28 16:33:08','',5697,'http://provoketive.com/2012/03/28/5697-revision/',0,'revision','',0),(5700,35,'2012-03-28 09:36:21','2012-03-28 16:36:21','<strong>Uncensored Prayer: The Spiritual Practice of Wrestling With God Workshop</strong> will be offered online April 16 – May 18, 2012.  This course is about the spiritual practice of discussing everything with God, risking honesty to gain intimacy through loving, trusting conversations.  It’s wrestling through anger, faith, pain, hope about every aspect of our lives.  No topic, language, or feeling is unholy.  It will cover how to know you’re hearing from God and explores a variety of ways to pray. This course is an opportunity to discover for yourself the redemptive freedom that comes from being totally honest with yourself and the One who loves you best.  As you practice stepping out of your comfort zone, you will begin to experience confidence in speaking freely with God in ways that are uniquely yours.\r\n\r\n<strong>The instructor, Joy Wilson</strong>, is the author of Uncensored Prayer: The Spiritual Practice of Wrestling With God (Civitas Press, 2011).  Prior to starting the workshop, participants need to order the book from Amazon.com.  The five-week online class is self-paced so you can participate at any time during the week.  It includes readings in the textbook, prayer practice exercises, and online interactions with other students.\r\n\r\nThe cost of the course is $69.  For additional information, go to the following link:  <a href=\"http://beadisciple.com/workshops.html#UncensoredPrayer\">http://beadisciple.com/workshops.html#UncensoredPrayer</a> .  Class size is limited, so register early.\r\n\r\n&nbsp;','Uncensored Prayer Online Workshop','','inherit','open','open','','5697-revision-2','','','2012-03-28 09:36:21','2012-03-28 16:36:21','',5697,'http://provoketive.com/2012/03/28/5697-revision-2/',0,'revision','',0),(5800,30,'2012-04-19 08:00:22','2012-04-19 15:00:22','Birth control has been in the news a lot lately.\r\n\r\nWell, let me rephrase.\r\n\r\nBirth control <strong>for women</strong> has been in the news a lot lately.\r\n\r\nWhether it\'s on the political spectrum or in the entertainment industry, women\'s reproductive rights have been hotly contested in the past months.\r\n\r\nAs this is discussed, women themselves are discussed. Are they using birth control for the \"right\" reasons? This has become one of the key issues.\r\n\r\nIn a rush not to paint women as \"sluts,\" people are quick to point out the many uses for oral contraceptives. It\'s beneficial for cramps. It helps with acne problems. It\'s used to control premenstrual syndrome.\r\n\r\nThese are all good and true. Most women who use oral contraceptives use it for more than <em>just</em> contraception.\r\n\r\nBut most women use it for contraception as well. They use it because they want to have sex and not get pregnant.\r\n\r\n<strong>This is okay.</strong>\r\n\r\nThe discussion about birth control revolves around women because we still have a problem with women having sex just for fun. We have accepted a \"boys will be boys\" mindset, so insurance covering things like vasectomies or medicine for erectile dysfunction doesn\'t raise eyebrows, but when it comes to women, we prefer to think that they simply react to men, rather than have sex drives of their own.\r\n\r\nAnd while trying to keep women from enduring name-calling, many have stepped unwittingly into the realm of shaming those who use the pill for no other reason than to avoid pregnancy. When we insist on framing the support for coverage of birth control around things that have nothing to do with sex, we add fuel to the idea that sex is of less importance to women. Unfortunately, this contributes to the culture that insists on labeling a woman who enjoys sex as a slut or whore.\r\n\r\nYes, it\'s important to cover birth control for issues unrelated to pregnancy. But it\'s equally important to cover it for women who don\'t want to have babies but do want to have sex. Trying to soften this truth by ignoring that group hurts all women.\r\n\r\nHaving sex for enjoyment is okay, even for women.','It\'s Not Just About Healthcare','','publish','open','open','','its-not-just-about-healthcare','','','2012-04-18 19:59:42','2012-04-19 02:59:42','',0,'http://provoketive.com/?p=5800',0,'post','',12),(5706,43,'2012-04-09 08:00:08','2012-04-09 15:00:08','A couple of weeks ago, I had the opportunity to participate in an event with the youth at my church called Hunger for Hope.  Similar to <a href=\"http://www.30hourfamine.org/\">World Vision\'s 30 Hour Famine</a>, we went without food for (you guessed it) 30 hours.  The money we raised went to two of my personal favorite charities: <a href=\"http://www.childrensrelief.org/\">Children\'s Relief International</a> and the <a href=\"http://ugandanwaterproject.com/\">Ugandan Water Project</a>.\r\n\r\nWe stayed at the church for the fast.  During that time, there were activities designed to help the participants understand the needs of the people in other countries, notably Mozambique and Uganda.  While that\'s a good thing, I often find that programs intended to shed light on the plight of \"those poor Africans\" often strip those same people of their humanity.  They\'re reduced to nothing more than starving, uneducated people who have no hope without our ministries.  We become the White Saviors of the Savage Brown World.\r\n\r\nNot this time.\r\n\r\nBy far, my favorite moment of Hunger for Hope was meeting <a href=\"http://leavingournetsbehind.com/\">Todd Bush</a> from CRI.  The first time I was introduced to him was during one of the activities.  He had set up a small area outlined with parking cones, representative of the size of a typical hut in parts of Mozambique.  We were taken through a typical day in the life of a family.  What struck me was that at no point did Todd try to make us feel pity for the Mozambiquans.  At the end of his presentation, he said that it would be easy to laugh or feel sorry for people who have to live in such a small space.  He told us that it was important, however, for us to remember that this is someone\'s <em>home</em>.  Such a simple statement, but it spoke volumes to me.\r\n\r\nThe word <em>home</em> means much more than \"the space we live in.\"  What Todd said to us meant that we weren\'t just looking at a hut, or a dwelling, or a place to sleep.  This is where people live, laugh, work, play, create families.  This small enclosure is so much more than a sign of poverty or want.  Todd didn\'t just remind us not to feel sorry for the people of Mozambique; he reminded us that they are <em>human</em>, and that in humanity there is dignity.\r\n\r\nToo often, in our position of privilege, we want to rush in and rescue those we see as less fortunate.  We\'re moved by heart-wrenching photos of malnourished, fly-covered foreign children.  We believe we must <em>save</em> them from their terrible fate.  What I like about both CRI and UWP is that neither of these charities takes that view of missionary work.  The goal is to work with community leaders in the places they serve, helping those leaders to make real, lasting change while upholding the value of every person.\r\n\r\nA friend challenged me at the end of Hunger for Hope.  She said that I should visit Mozambique, and, to quote her, I would \"absolutely love it!\"  I don\'t know whether I will or not.  I do know that I will continue to look for ways, whether here or through one of these charities, to honor the human spirit and celebrate the dignity of all.\r\n\r\nWhere will you seek to respect the worth of those in need?','Water, with a Side of Dignity','','publish','open','open','','water-with-a-side-of-dignity','','','2012-04-06 13:24:11','2012-04-06 20:24:11','',0,'http://provoketive.com/?p=5706',0,'post','',0),(5707,43,'2012-03-28 14:14:47','2012-03-28 21:14:47','A couple of weeks ago, I had the opportunity to participate in an event with the youth at my church called Hunger for Hope.  Similar to <a href=\"http://www.30hourfamine.org/\">World Vision\'s 30 Hour Famine</a>, we went without food for (you guessed it) 30 hours.  The money we raised went to two of my personal favorite charities: <a href=\"http://www.childrensrelief.org/\">Children\'s Relief International</a> and the <a href=\"http://ugandanwaterproject.com/\">Ugandan Water Project</a>.\n\nWe stayed at the church for the fast.  During that time, there were activities designed to help the participants understand the needs of the people in other countries, notably Mozambique and Uganda.  While that\'s a good thing, I often find that programs intended to shed light on the plight of \"those poor Africans\" often strip those same people of their humanity.  They\'re reduced to nothing more than starving, uneducated people who have no hope without our ministries.  We become the White Saviors of the Savage Brown World.\n\nNot this time.\n\nBy far, my favorite moment of Hunger for Hope was meeting <a href=\"http://leavingournetsbehind.com/\">Todd Bush</a> from CRI.  The first time I was introduced to him was during one of the activities.  He had set up a small area outlined with parking cones, representative of the size of a typical hut in parts of Mozambique.  We were taken through a typical day in the life of a family.  What struck me was that at no point did Todd try to make us feel pity for the Mozambiquans.  At the end of his presentation, he said that it would be easy to laugh or feel sorry for people who have to live in such a small space.  He told us that it was important, however, for us to remember that this is someone\'s <em>home</em>.  Such a simple statement, but it spoke volumes to me.\n\nThe word <em>home</em> means much more than \"the space we live in.\"  What Todd said to us meant that we weren\'t just looking at a hut, or a dwelling, or a place to sleep.  This is where people live, laugh, work, play, create families.  This small enclosure is so much more than a sign of poverty or want.  Todd didn\'t just remind us not to feel sorry for the people of Mozambique; he reminded us that they are <em>human</em>, and that in humanity there is dignity.\n\nToo often, in our position of privilege, we want to rush in and rescue those we see as less fortunate.  We\'re moved by heart-wrenching photos of malnourished, fly-covered foreign children.  We believe we must <em>save</em> them from their terrible fate.  What I like about both CRI and UWP is that neither of these charities takes that view of missionary work.  The goal is to work with community leaders in the places they serve, helping those leaders to make real, lasting change while upholding the value of every person.\n\nA friend challenged me at the end of Hunger for Hope.  She said that I should visit Mozambique, and, to quote her, I would \"absolutely love it!\"  I don\'t know whether I will or not.  I do know that I will continue to look for ways, whether here or through one of these charities, to honor the human spirit and celebrate the dignity of all.\n\nWhere will you seek to respect the worth of those in need?','Water, with a Side of Dignity','','inherit','open','open','','5706-revision','','','2012-03-28 14:14:47','2012-03-28 21:14:47','',5706,'http://provoketive.com/2012/03/28/5706-revision/',0,'revision','',0),(5709,144,'2012-03-27 17:59:56','2012-03-28 00:59:56','&nbsp;\r\n\r\n<strong>Every day, I listen to NPR. I also watch Fox News on a daily basis.</strong> Jokingly, I tell people that I am either perfectly balanced or totally schizophrenic.\r\n\r\n<strong>Some of the shows on the more biased news networks </strong>are just straight forward news. Some get high marks for production excellence. Few get high marks for in-depth reporting. They each have their entertainers masquerading as journalists or news analysts who overstate their case, holding up the most extreme example from the opposing view to conveniently ridicule them. They try their darnedest to rile people up and increase their ratings; rather than help their audience truly understand an issue. These so-called news outlets are bubbles presenting their version of what is happening in the world.\r\n\r\n<strong>I have voted for Republicans and for Democrats.</strong> Politicians over promise and under deliver. Seldom do they ever finish well. Political parties are just two more bubbles so locked into ideologies and paradigms, that they have paralyzed our government.\r\n\r\n<strong>For over twenty years I was a pastor.</strong> Now that I am removed from that scene, I see the church as one of the hardiest bubbles or all. While some churches are doing great things in their communities, the vast majority of most churches resources are internalized. They emphasize to their own their need to get worshipped-up, taught-up, fixed-up, and dedicated-up in their support of the church. I find this to be generally ineffective, self-serving, and not much like Jesus.\r\n\r\n<strong>As I have attempted to venture into social service work </strong>and community involvement over the last few years, I found another bubble. Social service agencies are locked into programs that are usually funded by the government or foundations. They measure output, instead of outcome. Their client/provider paradigm is a weird symbiotic relationship in which the client becomes dependent upon the services of the agency and the agency is dependent upon having a steady stream of clients to maintain their funding.\r\n\r\n<strong>One can wonder what would happen if agencies opted out of the quick fix</strong> of the hand-out and treated people like human beings, instead of cattle, helping them with acute needs and working with them to develop and pursue their own plan for improving their life.\r\n\r\n<strong>I have never seen an open bubble.</strong> It’s very difficult to get into a bubble. People in the bubble have paid their dues. They have drunk the Kool-Aid. They have earned the favor of the other bubbliest by their adherence to principles of the bubble. Outsiders and newbies may be tolerated, but they will not be heard.\r\n\r\n<strong>It’s also hard to see out of a bubble.</strong> The rest of the world is seen through a soapy blur of refracted light. Since bubbleists are secluded in their bubble, they can only speculate about those outside. Some think the outsiders are evil and to be feared and avoided. Certainly, they are ignorant of the ways of the bubble and they “just don’t get it.”\r\n\r\nSo, it’s hard to get in and hard to see out of a bubble.\r\n\r\n<strong>Yet, bubbles are fragile.</strong> They have to be protected or all will be lost. Therefore, there are guardians of the ways of the bubble who seek to detect dangers, like someone who has different idea or a person who is asking strange questions. If the bubble breaks, it would be horrible. Bubbleists could lose their job, their pension, and their sense of significance.\r\n\r\n<strong>What if we just stopped worrying about the bubbles </strong>and the ways of the bubble? What if we just admitted that some of the bubbles may not be for everyone? What if we concluded that these societal structures simply are not serving us well? What if we quit trying the break back into the cage, I mean, bubble? What if we moved on from cataloging the faultiness of their ways and began to criticize by creating? What if we changed the system by ignoring it? What if we began to use more and more of our energy in positive ways? What if our dreams began to take flight?\r\n\r\n<strong>The unrest that we are seeing around the world indicates that some changes are in order.</strong> We are in desperate need of visionaries, entrepreneurs, creators and collaborators. So, if you have been given the left hand of fellowship or have been invited to leave a bubble, don’t despair. If you have opted out of a bubble; you are not an oddball or a troublemaker. It might just be one of the most important moves you have ever made.\r\n\r\nYou never change things by fighting the existing reality.  To change something, build a new model that makes the existing model obsolete. - Buckminster Fuller','Tiny Bubbles','','inherit','open','open','','5659-revision-15','','','2012-03-27 17:59:56','2012-03-28 00:59:56','',5659,'http://provoketive.com/2012/03/27/5659-revision-15/',0,'revision','',0),(5711,0,'2012-03-29 03:42:56','2012-03-29 10:42:56','Future of the church, faith, theology, equality and human justice.  In my writing I am exploring how the church could look without judgment and instead with open arms and open mind.  Also started FB page http://www.facebook.com/OpenChurchInitiative\n<!--more-->\nAUTHOR: Brad Duncan\nAUTHOR EMAIL: bradduncan1024@gmail.com\nAUTHOR URL: http://GraceEmerges@blogspot.com\nSUBJECT: Provoketive Magazine Writing For Provoketive\nIP: 173.48.181.82\nArray\n(\n    [Name] =&gt; Brad Duncan\n    [Email] =&gt; bradduncan1024@gmail.com\n    [Existing Blog or Website] =&gt; GraceEmerges@blogspot.com\n    [List the topic you are interested writing about] =&gt; Future of the church, faith, theology, equality and human justice.  In my writing I am exploring how the church could look without judgment and instead with open arms and open mind.  Also started FB page http://www.facebook.com/OpenChurchInitiative\n    [Current or New WordPress Login Name (We\'ll send you a password.)] =&gt; GraceEmerges\n)\n','Brad Duncan - 2012-03-29 03:42:56','','publish','open','open','','bf140a84d802d076bcb6a191b401ac25','','','2012-03-29 03:42:56','2012-03-29 10:42:56','',358,'http://provoketive.com/?post_type=feedback&p=5711',0,'feedback','',0),(7356,189,'2012-07-31 10:34:21','2012-07-31 17:34:21','Explain the two words spoken by Jesus—“Follow me”—in 1000 words or less? Hmmm. Maybe I should just stop right there and let you think this through on your own.\r\n\r\nMy understanding of what it means to follow Him has changed over the years. Perhaps our understanding of “following” is <em>supposed</em> to change over time as our maturity in the Lord grows in response to the leading of the Holy Spirit and the ways we experience Him with others. Because I can’t claim to know <em>everything</em> about following Jesus, the best I can offer is to share <em>some</em> of the things I’ve learned about following Jesus—beginning with what “following Jesus” is <strong><em>not</em><em>.</em></strong>\r\n\r\n<strong>Following Jesus is not the same thing as: </strong>\r\n<ul>\r\n	<li>Following the teachings of Jesus, or following doctrines, creeds, or denominational statements of faith.</li>\r\n	<li>Following a Bible Reading Plan, memorizing scripture, or claiming a “life verse”.</li>\r\n	<li>Following “religious convictions”, or acting upon those convictions, alone or as a group, purely for the sake of acting upon convictions.</li>\r\n	<li>Attending a weekly worship service, and maybe a midweek prayer meeting or Bible study, or meeting with a small group or accountability partner.</li>\r\n</ul>\r\nThere isn’t anything wrong with doing these things. In fact, I  follow  Jesus today because others encouraged me to do these things over the course of my spiritual journey.  “Christian practices” are not the same thing as following Jesus. <em></em>I know a lot <em>about</em> <em>Jesus</em> by studying, talking about or meditating on these things—but knowing a lot <em>about Jesus</em> isn’t the same as <em>knowing Jesus</em>. It helps to know Who you’re following.<strong><em></em></strong>\r\n\r\n<strong><em>“Follow me.”</em></strong>  Two words caused Simon and Andrew to drop their fishing nets.  James and John “left their father Zebedee in the boat with the hired men and went off after Him.” (Mark 1:20 Amplified). Levi, son of Alphaeus, left his tax booth: “he arose and joined Him and His disciples and sided with His party and accompanied Him.” (Mark 2:14 Amp). Philip ran to find his friend Nathanael and they too followed Him. Twelve men, in all, apparently left their life’s work to follow Jesus.\r\n\r\nI find it interesting that the Amplified Version conveys that the words “follow me” carry the connotation, “side with my party\".  Against the backdrop of  first century Hebrew culture—oppressed by the conquering Romans, looking for Messiah to deliver the Children of Israel and fulfill all the promises of the Old Testament—we read Nathanael’s confession, “Teacher, You are the Son of God! You are the King of Israel!” (John 1:49) and the reason the twelve “followed” begins to come into focus.  Over the course of the next three and a half years, these men—and later Saul of Tarsus, among others—would come to understand that following Jesus isn’t about following teachings, doctrines, scriptures, convictions or attending religious meetings.  Men and women down through centuries found, in the Gospels and other writings of the New Testament, not <em>something</em> to believe in and follow, but rather <strong><em>Someone</em></strong> to believe in and follow.\r\n\r\nTo follow Jesus is to follow a living <strong><em>Person!</em></strong>\r\n<blockquote><strong><em> </em></strong>“And the Word (Christ) became flesh (human, incarnate) and tabernacled (fixed His tent of flesh, lived awhile) among us; and we [actually] saw His glory (His honor, His majesty), such glory as an only begotten son receives from his father, full of grace (favor, loving-kindness) and truth.”__John 1:14 (Amp)\r\n\r\n“For it has <strong>pleased</strong> [the Father] that all the divine fullness (the sum total of the divine perfection, powers, and attributes) should <strong>dwell</strong> in Him permanently.”__ Colossians 1:19 (Amp)</blockquote>\r\nFollowing a living Person, who is the Christ, comes with a cost, which He explained Himself to His disciples:\r\n<blockquote>“And He said to all, If any person wills to come after Me, let him deny himself [disown himself, <sup> </sup>forget, lose sight of himself and his own interests, refuse and give up himself] and take up his cross daily and follow Me [cleave steadfastly to Me, conform wholly to My example in living and, if need be, in dying also].” __Luke 9:23 (Amp)</blockquote>\r\nWhat do we have to gain by following this all-wonderful, all-glorious, all-divine Person? What is the outcome we look forward to? For starters, eternal life! Make that eternal, <strong><em>abundant</em> </strong>life, sustained by Christ who <strong><em>is</em></strong> our life! Many more “rewards” are promised to faithful followers who overcome the trials and temptations of this world—check out the letters to the seven churches in John’s last book!\r\n\r\nThere’s another important thing I’ve learned about following Jesus: it’s something we do <strong><em>together</em></strong>.\r\n\r\nFollowing Jesus is following a living <strong><em>Person</em></strong>…<strong><em>together!</em></strong>\r\n<blockquote>“When Christ, Who is our life, appears, then you also will appear with Him in [the splendor of His] glory. __Colossians 3:4 (Amp)</blockquote>','Two Words','','inherit','open','open','','7337-revision-18','','','2012-07-31 10:34:21','2012-07-31 17:34:21','',7337,'http://provoketive.com/2012/07/31/7337-revision-18/',0,'revision','',0),(7357,189,'2012-07-31 10:34:33','2012-07-31 17:34:33','Explain the two words spoken by Jesus—“Follow me”—in 1000 words or less? Hmmm. Maybe I should just stop right there and let you think this through on your own.\r\n\r\nMy understanding of what it means to follow Him has changed over the years. Perhaps our understanding of “following” is <em>supposed</em> to change over time as our maturity in the Lord grows in response to the leading of the Holy Spirit and the ways we experience Him with others. Because I can’t claim to know <em>everything</em> about following Jesus, the best I can offer is to share <em>some</em> of the things I’ve learned about following Jesus—beginning with what “following Jesus” is <strong><em>not</em><em>.</em></strong>\r\n\r\n<strong>Following Jesus is not the same thing as: </strong>\r\n<ul>\r\n	<li>Following the teachings of Jesus, or following doctrines, creeds, or denominational statements of faith.</li>\r\n	<li>Following a Bible Reading Plan, memorizing scripture, or claiming a “life verse”.</li>\r\n	<li>Following “religious convictions”, or acting upon those convictions, alone or as a group, purely for the sake of acting upon convictions.</li>\r\n	<li>Attending a weekly worship service, and maybe a midweek prayer meeting or Bible study, or meeting with a small group or accountability partner.</li>\r\n</ul>\r\nThere isn’t anything wrong with doing these things. In fact, I  follow  Jesus today because others encouraged me to do these things over the course of my spiritual journey.  “Christian practices” are not the same thing as following Jesus. <em></em>I know a lot <em>about</em> <em>Jesus</em> by studying, talking about or meditating on these things—but knowing a lot <em>about Jesus</em> isn’t the same as <em>knowing Jesus</em>. It helps to know Who you’re following.<strong><em></em></strong>\r\n\r\n<strong><em>“Follow me.”</em></strong>  Two words caused Simon and Andrew to drop their fishing nets.  James and John “left their father Zebedee in the boat with the hired men and went off after Him.” (Mark 1:20 Amplified). Levi, son of Alphaeus, left his tax booth: “he arose and joined Him and His disciples and sided with His party and accompanied Him.” (Mark 2:14 Amp). Philip ran to find his friend Nathanael and they too followed Him. Twelve men, in all, apparently left their life’s work to follow Jesus.\r\n\r\nI find it interesting that the Amplified Version conveys that the words “follow me” carry the connotation, “side with my party\".  Against the backdrop of  first century Hebrew culture—oppressed by the conquering Romans, looking for Messiah to deliver the Children of Israel and fulfill all the promises of the Old Testament—we read Nathanael’s confession, “Teacher, You are the Son of God! You are the King of Israel!” (John 1:49) and the reason the twelve “followed” begins to come into focus.  Over the course of the next three and a half years, these men—and later Saul of Tarsus, among others—would come to understand that following Jesus isn’t about following teachings, doctrines, scriptures, convictions or attending religious meetings.  Men and women down through centuries found, in the Gospels and other writings of the New Testament, not <em>something</em> to believe in and follow, but rather <strong><em>Someone</em></strong> to believe in and follow.\r\n\r\nTo follow Jesus is to follow a living <strong><em>Person!</em></strong>\r\n<blockquote><strong><em> </em></strong>“And the Word (Christ) became flesh (human, incarnate) and tabernacled (fixed His tent of flesh, lived awhile) among us; and we [actually] saw His glory (His honor, His majesty), such glory as an only begotten son receives from his father, full of grace (favor, loving-kindness) and truth.”__John 1:14 (Amp)\r\n\r\n“For it has <strong>pleased</strong> [the Father] that all the divine fullness (the sum total of the divine perfection, powers, and attributes) should <strong>dwell</strong> in Him permanently.”__ Colossians 1:19 (Amp)</blockquote>\r\nFollowing a living Person, who is the Christ, comes with a cost, which He explained Himself to His disciples:\r\n<blockquote>“And He said to all, If any person wills to come after Me, let him deny himself [disown himself, <sup> </sup>forget, lose sight of himself and his own interests, refuse and give up himself] and take up his cross daily and follow Me [cleave steadfastly to Me, conform wholly to My example in living and, if need be, in dying also].” __Luke 9:23 (Amp)</blockquote>\r\nWhat do we have to gain by following this all-wonderful, all-glorious, all-divine Person? What is the outcome we look forward to? For starters, eternal life! Make that eternal, <strong><em>abundant</em> </strong>life, sustained by Christ who <strong><em>is</em></strong> our life! Many more “rewards” are promised to faithful followers who overcome the trials and temptations of this world—check out the letters to the seven churches in John’s last book!\r\n\r\nThere’s another important thing I’ve learned about following Jesus: it’s something we do <strong><em>together</em></strong>.\r\n\r\nFollowing Jesus is following a living <strong><em>Person</em></strong>…<strong><em>together!</em></strong>\r\n<blockquote>“When Christ, Who is our life, appears, then you also will appear with Him in [the splendor of His] glory. __Colossians 3:4 (Amp)</blockquote>','Two Words','','inherit','open','open','','7337-revision-19','','','2012-07-31 10:34:33','2012-07-31 17:34:33','',7337,'http://provoketive.com/2012/07/31/7337-revision-19/',0,'revision','',0),(5715,43,'2012-03-29 15:38:10','2012-03-29 22:38:10','','mozambique-proofphoto','','inherit','open','open','','mozambique-proofphoto','','','2012-03-29 15:38:10','2012-03-29 22:38:10','',5706,'http://provoketive.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/03/mozambique-proofphoto.jpg',0,'attachment','image/jpeg',0),(5716,43,'2012-03-28 14:22:48','2012-03-28 21:22:48','A couple of weeks ago, I had the opportunity to participate in an event with the youth at my church called Hunger for Hope.  Similar to <a href=\"http://www.30hourfamine.org/\">World Vision\'s 30 Hour Famine</a>, we went without food for (you guessed it) 30 hours.  The money we raised went to two of my personal favorite charities: <a href=\"http://www.childrensrelief.org/\">Children\'s Relief International</a> and the <a href=\"http://ugandanwaterproject.com/\">Ugandan Water Project</a>.\n\nWe stayed at the church for the fast.  During that time, there were activities designed to help the participants understand the needs of the people in other countries, notably Mozambique and Uganda.  While that\'s a good thing, I often find that programs intended to shed light on the plight of \"those poor Africans\" often strip those same people of their humanity.  They\'re reduced to nothing more than starving, uneducated people who have no hope without our ministries.  We become the White Saviors of the Savage Brown World.\n\nNot this time.\n\nBy far, my favorite moment of Hunger for Hope was meeting <a href=\"http://leavingournetsbehind.com/\">Todd Bush</a> from CRI.  The first time I was introduced to him was during one of the activities.  He had set up a small area outlined with parking cones, representative of the size of a typical hut in parts of Mozambique.  We were taken through a typical day in the life of a family.  What struck me was that at no point did Todd try to make us feel pity for the Mozambiquans.  At the end of his presentation, he said that it would be easy to laugh or feel sorry for people who have to live in such a small space.  He told us that it was important, however, for us to remember that this is someone\'s <em>home</em>.  Such a simple statement, but it spoke volumes to me.\n\nThe word <em>home</em> means much more than \"the space we live in.\"  What Todd said to us meant that we weren\'t just looking at a hut, or a dwelling, or a place to sleep.  This is where people live, laugh, work, play, create families.  This small enclosure is so much more than a sign of poverty or want.  Todd didn\'t just remind us not to feel sorry for the people of Mozambique; he reminded us that they are <em>human</em>, and that in humanity there is dignity.\n\nToo often, in our position of privilege, we want to rush in and rescue those we see as less fortunate.  We\'re moved by heart-wrenching photos of malnourished, fly-covered foreign children.  We believe we must <em>save</em> them from their terrible fate.  What I like about both CRI and UWP is that neither of these charities takes that view of missionary work.  The goal is to work with community leaders in the places they serve, helping those leaders to make real, lasting change while upholding the value of every person.\n\nA friend challenged me at the end of Hunger for Hope.  She said that I should visit Mozambique, and, to quote her, I would \"absolutely love it!\"  I don\'t know whether I will or not.  I do know that I will continue to look for ways, whether here or through one of these charities, to honor the human spirit and celebrate the dignity of all.\n\nWhere will you seek to respect the worth of those in need?','Water, with a Side of Dignity','','inherit','open','open','','5706-revision-2','','','2012-03-28 14:22:48','2012-03-28 21:22:48','',5706,'http://provoketive.com/2012/03/28/5706-revision-2/',0,'revision','',0),(5717,43,'2012-03-29 15:38:29','2012-03-29 22:38:29','A couple of weeks ago, I had the opportunity to participate in an event with the youth at my church called Hunger for Hope.  Similar to <a href=\"http://www.30hourfamine.org/\">World Vision\'s 30 Hour Famine</a>, we went without food for (you guessed it) 30 hours.  The money we raised went to two of my personal favorite charities: <a href=\"http://www.childrensrelief.org/\">Children\'s Relief International</a> and the <a href=\"http://ugandanwaterproject.com/\">Ugandan Water Project</a>.\r\n\r\nWe stayed at the church for the fast.  During that time, there were activities designed to help the participants understand the needs of the people in other countries, notably Mozambique and Uganda.  While that\'s a good thing, I often find that programs intended to shed light on the plight of \"those poor Africans\" often strip those same people of their humanity.  They\'re reduced to nothing more than starving, uneducated people who have no hope without our ministries.  We become the White Saviors of the Savage Brown World.\r\n\r\nNot this time.\r\n\r\nBy far, my favorite moment of Hunger for Hope was meeting <a href=\"http://leavingournetsbehind.com/\">Todd Bush</a> from CRI.  The first time I was introduced to him was during one of the activities.  He had set up a small area outlined with parking cones, representative of the size of a typical hut in parts of Mozambique.  We were taken through a typical day in the life of a family.  What struck me was that at no point did Todd try to make us feel pity for the Mozambiquans.  At the end of his presentation, he said that it would be easy to laugh or feel sorry for people who have to live in such a small space.  He told us that it was important, however, for us to remember that this is someone\'s <em>home</em>.  Such a simple statement, but it spoke volumes to me.\r\n\r\nThe word <em>home</em> means much more than \"the space we live in.\"  What Todd said to us meant that we weren\'t just looking at a hut, or a dwelling, or a place to sleep.  This is where people live, laugh, work, play, create families.  This small enclosure is so much more than a sign of poverty or want.  Todd didn\'t just remind us not to feel sorry for the people of Mozambique; he reminded us that they are <em>human</em>, and that in humanity there is dignity.\r\n\r\nToo often, in our position of privilege, we want to rush in and rescue those we see as less fortunate.  We\'re moved by heart-wrenching photos of malnourished, fly-covered foreign children.  We believe we must <em>save</em> them from their terrible fate.  What I like about both CRI and UWP is that neither of these charities takes that view of missionary work.  The goal is to work with community leaders in the places they serve, helping those leaders to make real, lasting change while upholding the value of every person.\r\n\r\nA friend challenged me at the end of Hunger for Hope.  She said that I should visit Mozambique, and, to quote her, I would \"absolutely love it!\"  I don\'t know whether I will or not.  I do know that I will continue to look for ways, whether here or through one of these charities, to honor the human spirit and celebrate the dignity of all.\r\n\r\nWhere will you seek to respect the worth of those in need?','Water, with a Side of Dignity','','inherit','open','open','','5706-revision-3','','','2012-03-29 15:38:29','2012-03-29 22:38:29','',5706,'http://provoketive.com/2012/03/29/5706-revision-3/',0,'revision','',0),(6390,177,'2012-05-03 08:00:02','2012-05-03 15:00:02','I\'ve been hearing about a book making the rounds, <em>Fifty Shades of Grey</em> by E. L. James. Naturally, being a writer and voracious reader, I check out books that people are talking about.\r\n\r\nI hit up Google and typed in a search and up pops this description: <em>Fifty Shades of Grey</em> is a New York Times bestselling erotic fiction paperback and e-book by E. L. James. Set largely in Seattle, the trilogy traces the deepening relationship between college graduate Anastasia Steel and a young business magnate, Christian Grey. It is notable for its explicitly erotic scenes featuring elements of BDSM.1\r\n\r\nWell, that was definitely enough to make me decide NOT to read the book(s). Why not? Because I get the appeal that books with explicit sex scenes have. I went through a very long phase where all I read were romance novels. I am a firm believer that these types of books can be to women what pornography is to men. I was still reading these books early in my marriage. Whenever my husband and I got into a fight I would shut the door, pick up one of my books and stew about how my husband wasn\'t anything like the romantic male characters. I compared my husband constantly to what some writer was telling me was the ideal.\r\n\r\nSound familiar?\r\n\r\nWomen, what do you feel if you know your husband is looking at pornography? That you can\'t measure up to his idea of perfect? That you can\'t perform in bed to his satisfaction so he has to turn somewhere else?\r\n\r\nThese books aren\'t a whole lot different.\r\n\r\nDr. Oz recently did a show on \"Books Women Read\" and he mentioned <em>Fifty Shades of Grey</em>. He was quoted saying: \"What it is about is people having an honest conversation about what sex should be like, what makes it better, what are the timing issues, how do we make it an important issue in our life rather than an afterthought.\"2\r\n\r\nThat quote gets me. We <em>should</em> be honest about our sex lives with our partners. We <em>should</em> be able to express what we want, how it feels, how to make it an important part of our lives. We should already be doing that with our spouse. A healthy, fulfilling sex life is important in a marriage and to God! There is a shade of truth to his statement. But that shade of truth can put the thought in your head that this book will help you. It can draw you to pick up this book and read it.\r\n\r\nThat\'s how we stumble, isn\'t it? Listening to a shade of truth. And the enemy has more than fifty shades of the truth; he has countless numbers of them.\r\n\r\nSo, how do we avoid the trap of falling for a shade of the truth? Be in the Word. Read your Bible. Use it as your measuring stick.\r\n\r\nMatthew 5:27-28 (NIV) says, \"You have heard that it was said, \'Do not commit adultery.\' But I tell you that anyone who looks at a woman lustfully has already committed adultery with her in his heart.\"\r\n\r\nIt\'s not the act of looking; it\'s the act of looking lustfully. It\'s the thought behind it. Whether the person is real or fictional, if what we are looking at <em>or reading</em> is causing us to think lustfully about anyone other than our spouse then we are sinning.\r\n\r\n\"God is light; in him there is no darkness at all. If we claim to have fellowship with him yet walk in darkness, we lie and do not live by the truth. But if we walk in the light, as he is in the light, we have fellowship with one another, and the blood of Jesus, his Son, purifies us from all sin.\" 1 John 1:5-7 NIV\r\n\r\nLet us be people that strive to live in the full light of the truth, not in the shadowy grey shades of it.\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n[1] <a href=\"http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fifty_Shades_of_Grey\">http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fifty_Shades_of_Grey</a>\r\n\r\n[2] <a href=\"http://www.chron.com/news/article/Men-are-fans-too-of-Fifty-Shades-of-Grey-3511870.php\">http://www.chron.com/news/article/Men-are-fans-too-of-Fifty-Shades-of-Grey-3511870.php</a>','Fifty Shades of Truth','','publish','open','open','','fifty-shades-of-truth','','','2012-05-02 00:35:11','2012-05-02 07:35:11','',0,'http://provoketive.com/?p=6390',0,'post','',28),(6391,177,'2012-04-29 19:28:06','2012-04-30 02:28:06','','http://www.dreamstime.com/-image9859815','','inherit','open','open','','httpwww-dreamstime-com-image9859815','','','2012-04-29 19:28:06','2012-04-30 02:28:06','',6390,'http://provoketive.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/04/FiftyShadesImage.jpg',0,'attachment','image/jpeg',0),(6392,177,'2012-04-29 19:26:16','2012-04-30 02:26:16','','Auto Draft','','inherit','open','open','','6390-revision','','','2012-04-29 19:26:16','2012-04-30 02:26:16','',6390,'http://provoketive.com/2012/04/29/6390-revision/',0,'revision','',0),(5719,12,'2012-03-29 23:29:57','2012-03-30 06:29:57','','dt','','inherit','open','open','','dt','','','2012-03-29 23:29:57','2012-03-30 06:29:57','',0,'http://provoketive.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/03/dt.jpg',0,'attachment','image/jpeg',0),(6388,30,'2012-04-29 18:34:21','2012-04-30 01:34:21','On April 27 and 28, fifty people met in a small chapel outside of Chicago to talk about friendship.\n\nBut not just any friendships. For these two days, the discussion was specifically about friendships between men and women.\n\nFor many, cross-gender friendships are perfectly normal. We interact with people of the opposite sex all the time in our jobs, our churches, our day to day lives. But often when men and women develop close friendships, the response is to look for danger. The purpose of the Sacred Friendship Gathering was to encourage people to look at these friendships without the fear-filled lenses.\n\nWe were welcomed to the event by Dan Brennan, author of Sacred Unions, Sacred Passions and organizer of the conference. Right at the outset he assured the attendees that he was not looking to promote one kind of friendship, but rather to allow us a glimpse at many different kinds of cross-gender relationships. He shared that his desire was to encourage us to embrace the beauty and moral passion available in these relationships.\n\nThe first speaker of the night was <a title=\"Meredith Efken\" href=\"http://sacredfriendshipgathering.com/speakers/meredith-efken/\" target=\"_blank\">Meredith Efken</a>, author of Lucky Baby. She spoke of a close male friendship that developed as a result of the creative process of writing that they shared. She thought nothing of their friendship until someone disapproved and indicated that this friendship might cause a problem for her in the Christian publishing world. She acknowledged that when someone questions a cross-gender friendship, you can feel dirty even if that friendship is completely pure. As a result, she said that it can be important to exercise caution when discussing your close, opposite-sex friendships. However, Meredith also said that even when she went through seasons where she shielded her male friend, she needed to remember that outside opinions had no bearing on her ability to love.\n\nKatie Driver spoke next, and she shared about several cross-gender friendships, some that went well, and some that did not. One in particular that struck me was a mentoring relationship that she had. They','Friendship Between the Genders: Sacred Friendship Gathering (Part 1)','','inherit','open','open','','6384-revision-3','','','2012-04-29 18:34:21','2012-04-30 01:34:21','',6384,'http://provoketive.com/2012/04/29/6384-revision-3/',0,'revision','',0),(6389,30,'2012-04-29 18:36:11','2012-04-30 01:36:11','On April 27 and 28, fifty people met in a small chapel outside of Chicago to talk about friendship.\n\nBut not just any friendships. For these two days, the discussion was specifically about friendships between men and women.\n\nFor many, cross-gender friendships are perfectly normal. We interact with people of the opposite sex all the time in our jobs, our churches, our day to day lives. But often when men and women develop close friendships, the response is to look for danger. The purpose of the Sacred Friendship Gathering was to encourage people to look at these friendships without the fear-filled lenses.\n\nWe were welcomed to the event by Dan Brennan, author of Sacred Unions, Sacred Passions and organizer of the conference. Right at the outset he assured the attendees that he was not looking to promote one kind of friendship, but rather to allow us a glimpse at many different kinds of cross-gender relationships. He shared that his desire was to encourage us to embrace the beauty and moral passion available in these relationships.\n\nThe first speaker of the night was <a title=\"Meredith Efken\" href=\"http://sacredfriendshipgathering.com/speakers/meredith-efken/\" target=\"_blank\">Meredith Efken</a>, author of Lucky Baby. She spoke of a close male friendship that developed as a result of the creative process of writing that they shared. She thought nothing of their friendship until someone disapproved and indicated that this friendship might cause a problem for her in the Christian publishing world. She acknowledged that when someone questions a cross-gender friendship, you can feel dirty even if that friendship is completely pure. As a result, she said that it can be important to exercise caution when discussing your close, opposite-sex friendships. However, Meredith also said that even when she went through seasons where she shielded her male friend, she needed to remember that outside opinions had no bearing on her ability to love.\n\nKatie Driver spoke next, and she shared about several cross-gender friendships, some that went well, and some that did not. One in particular that struck me was a mentoring relationship that she had. They','Friendship Between the Genders: Sacred Friendship Gathering (Part 1)','','inherit','open','open','','6384-revision-4','','','2012-04-29 18:36:11','2012-04-30 01:36:11','',6384,'http://provoketive.com/2012/04/29/6384-revision-4/',0,'revision','',0),(6386,30,'2012-04-29 18:13:25','2012-04-30 01:13:25','On April 27 and 28, fifty people met in a small chapel outside of Chicago to talk about friendship.\n\nBut not just any friendships. For these two days, the discussion was specifically about friendships between men and women.\n\nFor many, cross-gender friendships are perfectly normal. We interact with people of the opposite sex all the time in our jobs, our churches, our day to day lives. But often when men and women develop close friendships, the response is to look for danger. The purpose of the Sacred Friendship Gathering was to encourage people to look at these friendships without the fear-filled lenses.\n\nWe were welcomed to the event by Dan Brennan, author of Sacred Unions, Sacred Passions and organizer of the conference. Right at the outset he assured the attendees that he was not looking to promote one kind of friendship, but rather to allow us a glimpse at many different kinds of cross-gender relationships. He shared that his desire was to encourages','Friendship Between the Genders: Sacred Friendship Gathering (Part 1)','','inherit','open','open','','6384-revision','','','2012-04-29 18:13:25','2012-04-30 01:13:25','',6384,'http://provoketive.com/2012/04/29/6384-revision/',0,'revision','',0),(6387,30,'2012-04-29 18:21:26','2012-04-30 01:21:26','On April 27 and 28, fifty people met in a small chapel outside of Chicago to talk about friendship.\n\nBut not just any friendships. For these two days, the discussion was specifically about friendships between men and women.\n\nFor many, cross-gender friendships are perfectly normal. We interact with people of the opposite sex all the time in our jobs, our churches, our day to day lives. But often when men and women develop close friendships, the response is to look for danger. The purpose of the Sacred Friendship Gathering was to encourage people to look at these friendships without the fear-filled lenses.\n\nWe were welcomed to the event by Dan Brennan, author of Sacred Unions, Sacred Passions and organizer of the conference. Right at the outset he assured the attendees that he was not looking to promote one kind of friendship, but rather to allow us a glimpse at many different kinds of cross-gender relationships. He shared that his desire was to encourage us to embrace the beauty and moral passion available in these relationships.\n\nThe first speaker of the night was <a title=\"Meredith Efken\" href=\"http://sacredfriendshipgathering.com/speakers/meredith-efken/\" target=\"_blank\">Meredith Efken</a>, author of Lucky Baby. She spoke of a close male friendship that developed as a result of the creative process of writing that they shared. She thought nothing of their friendship until she','Friendship Between the Genders: Sacred Friendship Gathering (Part 1)','','inherit','open','open','','6384-revision-2','','','2012-04-29 18:21:26','2012-04-30 01:21:26','',6384,'http://provoketive.com/2012/04/29/6384-revision-2/',0,'revision','',0),(7386,1,'2012-08-08 08:19:26','2012-08-08 15:19:26','This post is a contribution to the August synchroblog.  The theme is \"Follow\" and bloggers are invited to share their thoughts and ideas about what it means to follow Jesus.\n\nMy journey of following Jesus led me to a point where I had to completely start over. Some real life stuff came along and made me take a closer look at what I believed about God, following Jesus, Christianity, the Bible, the church etc. and I realized that most of the stuff that I had been so devoted to ... attending church, listening to sermons, reading the bible, witnessing, maintaining the church building, adding to church membership ... didn\'t seem to have much to do with following Jesus.\n\nIn recent years I have come to think that following Jesus is more about justice and love than about church and believing - more about community than about me getting into heaven - more about people than about institutions or buildings.\n\nStarting over hasn\'t been easy. It has often meant enduring criticism, rejection and loneliness. But from where I sit I can\'t see that there was another way for me.  I had to let go of all the preconceived ideas, religious dogma and conventional wisdom in order to get a fresh look at Jesus, his mission and his message.\n\nThese days following Jesus for me is about accepting the call to follow Jesus into the world as an agent of the Kingdom of Heaven - working to bring the way of heaven to earth.\n\nSometimes that is as simple as sharing a meal with someone and sometimes it is as complex as working to dismantle an unjust system.\n\nIn the beginning of my journey of following Jesus I thought the main questions were \"who is going to heaven and who is going to hell?\" but now I think the main questions are \"how can I bring heaven to earth and how can I participate with God to bring restoration to the world?\"\n\nThe humorist Garrison Keillor said \"give up your good Christian life and follow Jesus\" and that is what I feel like I have had to do.\n\nThese days I am more committed to following Jesus than any other time in my life and yet I\'m not a member of a church and I don\'t often read the bible. My worship of God usually comes in the form of working for justice, and serving and loving others rather than singing songs in church while clapping or raising my hands. I don\'t care about converting people to Christianity but I do want to influence people to live in a loving and generous way. I am interested in cultivating my faith to be a bridge that connects me to others rather than a barrier that separates me from those who don\'t profess to be followers of Jesus.\n\nI certainly do not think that I have arrived anywhere and on any given day I would be hard pressed to even tell you where I am going ... but for now I am trying to follow Jesus where he leads me even if that means giving up my good Christian life.','Give Up Your Good Christian Life and Follow Jesus','','inherit','open','open','','7376-autosave','','','2012-08-08 08:19:26','2012-08-08 15:19:26','',7376,'http://provoketive.com/2012/08/01/7376-autosave/',0,'revision','',0);
INSERT INTO `wp_posts` VALUES (6394,177,'2012-04-29 19:51:19','2012-04-30 02:51:19','I\'ve been hearing about a book making the rounds, <em>Fifty Shades of Grey</em> by E. L. James. Naturally, being a writer and voracious reader, I check out books that people are talking about.\n\nI hit up Google and typed in a search and up pops this description: <em>Fifty Shades of Grey</em> is a New York Times bestselling erotic fiction paperback and e-book by E. L. James. Set largely in Seattle, the trilogy traces the deepening relationship between college graduate Anastasia Steel and a young business magnate, Christian Grey. It is notable for its explicitly erotic scenes featuring elements of BDSM.1\n\nWell, that was definitely enough to make me decide NOT to read the book(s). Why not? Because I get the appeal that books with explicit sex scenes have. I went through a very long phase where all I read were romance novels. I am a firm believer that these types of books can be to women what pornography is to men. I was still reading these books early in my marriage. Whenever my husband and I got into a fight I would shut the door, pick up one of my books and stew about how my husband wasn\'t anything like the romantic male characters. I compared my husband constantly to what some writer was telling me was the ideal.\n\nSound familiar?\n\nWomen, what do you feel if you know your husband is looking at pornography? That you can\'t measure up to his idea of perfect? That you can\'t perform in bed to his satisfaction so he has to turn somewhere else?\n\nThese books aren\'t a whole lot different.\n\nDr. Oz recently did a show on \"Books Women Read\" and he mentioned <em>Fifty Shades of Grey</em>. He was quoted saying: \"What it is about is people having an honest conversation about what sex should be like, what makes it better, what are the timing issues, how do we make it an important issue in our life rather than an afterthought.\"2\n\nThat quote gets me. We <em>should</em> be honest about our sex lives with our partners. We <em>should</em> be able to express what we want, how it feels, how to make it an important part of our lives. We should already be doing that with our spouse. A healthy, fulfilling sex life is important in a marriage and to God! There is a shade of truth to his statement. But that shade of truth can put the thought in your head that this book will help you. It can draw you to pick up this book and read it.\n\nThat\'s how we stumble, isn\'t it? Listening to a shade of truth. And the enemy has more than fifty shades of the truth; he has countless numbers of them.\n\nSo, how do we avoid the trap of falling for a shade of the truth? Be in the Word. Read your Bible. Use it as your measuring stick.\n\nMatthew 5:27-28 says, \"You have heard that it was said, \'Do not commit adultery.\' But I tell you that anyone who looks at a woman lustfully has already committed adultery with her in his heart.\"\n\nIt\'s not the act of looking; it\'s the act of looking lustfully. It\'s the thought behind it. Whether the person is real or fictional, if what we are looking at <em>or reading</em> is causing us to think lustfully about anyone other than our spouse then we are sinning.\n\n\"God is light; in him there is no darkness at all. If we claim to have fellowship with him yet walk in darkness, we live and do not live by the truth. But if we walk in the light, as he is in the light, we have fellowship with o','Fifty Shades of Truth','','inherit','open','open','','6390-revision-2','','','2012-04-29 19:51:19','2012-04-30 02:51:19','',6390,'http://provoketive.com/2012/04/29/6390-revision-2/',0,'revision','',0),(5725,100,'2012-04-02 08:15:50','2012-04-02 15:15:50','[caption id=\"attachment_5726\" align=\"alignnone\" width=\"250\" caption=\"Jeremy John\"]<a href=\"http://provoketive.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/03/jeremyjohn.jpg\"><img class=\"size-full wp-image-5726\" src=\"http://provoketive.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/03/jeremyjohn.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"250\" height=\"250\" /></a>[/caption]\r\n\r\nThis week we talk with Christian activist and Occupy DC lay pastor, Jeremy John.\r\n\r\nJohn shares what led him towards activism and then towards faith and how the occupy movement has become a huge focal point for his life.\r\n\r\n<strong>things to consider while listening ::</strong>\r\n\r\nWhat does \"Christian Anarchy\" mean to you?\r\nShould Christian’s protest and take part in civil disobedience?\r\nWhat issues are you passionate enough about to risk imprisonment?\r\n\r\n[audio=\"http://somethingbeautifulpodcast.com/podcast/021012.mp3\"]','Something Beautiful - Jeremy John','','publish','open','open','','something-beautiful-jeremy-john','','','2012-04-01 08:16:08','2012-04-01 15:16:08','',0,'http://provoketive.com/?p=5725',0,'post','',0),(5726,100,'2012-03-30 08:05:37','2012-03-30 15:05:37','','jeremy john','Jeremy John','inherit','open','open','','jeremyjohn','','','2012-03-30 08:05:37','2012-03-30 15:05:37','',5725,'http://provoketive.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/03/jeremyjohn.jpg',0,'attachment','image/jpeg',0),(5727,100,'2012-03-30 08:06:41','2012-03-30 15:06:41','[caption id=\"attachment_5726\" align=\"alignnone\" width=\"250\" caption=\"Jeremy John\"]<a href=\"http://provoketive.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/03/jeremyjohn.jpg\"><img src=\"http://provoketive.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/03/jeremyjohn.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"250\" height=\"250\" class=\"size-full wp-image-5726\" /></a>[/caption]\n\nThis week we talk with Christian activist and Occupy DC lay pastor, Jeremy John. \n\nJohn shares what led him towards activism and then towards faith and how the occupy movement has become a huge focal point for his life.\n\n<strong>things to consider while listening ::</strong>\n\nWhat does \"Christian Anarchy\" mean to you?\nShould Christian’s protest and take part in civil disobedience?\nWhat issues are you passionate enough about to risk imprisonment?\n\n[audio=\"http://somethingbeautifulpodcast.com/podcast/021012.mp3\"]','Something Beautiful','','inherit','open','open','','5725-revision','','','2012-03-30 08:06:41','2012-03-30 15:06:41','',5725,'http://provoketive.com/2012/03/30/5725-revision/',0,'revision','',0),(5728,100,'2012-03-30 08:07:47','2012-03-30 15:07:47','[caption id=\"attachment_5726\" align=\"alignnone\" width=\"250\" caption=\"Jeremy John\"]<a href=\"http://provoketive.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/03/jeremyjohn.jpg\"><img src=\"http://provoketive.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/03/jeremyjohn.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"250\" height=\"250\" class=\"size-full wp-image-5726\" /></a>[/caption]\r\n\r\nThis week we talk with Christian activist and Occupy DC lay pastor, Jeremy John. \r\n\r\nJohn shares what led him towards activism and then towards faith and how the occupy movement has become a huge focal point for his life.\r\n\r\n<strong>things to consider while listening ::</strong>\r\n\r\nWhat does \"Christian Anarchy\" mean to you?\r\nShould Christian’s protest and take part in civil disobedience?\r\nWhat issues are you passionate enough about to risk imprisonment?\r\n\r\n[audio=\"http://somethingbeautifulpodcast.com/podcast/021012.mp3\"]','Something Beautiful - Jeremy John','','inherit','open','open','','5725-revision-2','','','2012-03-30 08:07:47','2012-03-30 15:07:47','',5725,'http://provoketive.com/2012/03/30/5725-revision-2/',0,'revision','',0),(5729,100,'2012-04-04 07:46:38','2012-04-04 14:46:38','[caption id=\"attachment_5730\" align=\"alignleft\" width=\"193\" caption=\"Rev Bruce Epperly\"]<a href=\"http://provoketive.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/03/bruceepperly.jpg\"><img class=\"size-medium wp-image-5730 \" src=\"http://provoketive.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/03/bruceepperly-193x300.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"193\" height=\"300\" /></a>[/caption]\r\n\r\nThis week we talk with Bruce Epperly. He\'s a theologian, ordained minister, blogger and author of several books, including \'A Holy Adventure\' and \'Process Theology: A Guide for the Perplexed.\'\r\n\r\nDuring our chat, he shares his thoughts on process theology and what it means to live a holy adventure.\r\n\r\n[audio=\"http://somethingbeautifulpodcast.com/podcast/022412.mp3\"]','Something Beautiful - Bruce Epperly','','publish','open','open','','something-beautiful-bruce-epperly','','','2012-04-04 07:46:38','2012-04-04 14:46:38','',0,'http://provoketive.com/?p=5729',0,'post','',0),(5730,100,'2012-03-30 08:10:46','2012-03-30 15:10:46','Bruce with the books he has written.','Rev Bruce Epperly 2','Rev Bruce Epperly','inherit','open','open','','rev-bruce-epperly-2','','','2012-03-30 08:10:46','2012-03-30 15:10:46','',5729,'http://provoketive.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/03/bruceepperly.jpg',0,'attachment','image/jpeg',0),(5731,100,'2012-03-30 08:12:24','2012-03-30 15:12:24','[caption id=\"attachment_5730\" align=\"alignnone\" width=\"193\" caption=\"Rev Bruce Epperly\"]<a href=\"http://provoketive.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/03/bruceepperly.jpg\"><img src=\"http://provoketive.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/03/bruceepperly-193x300.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"193\" height=\"300\" class=\"size-medium wp-image-5730\" /></a>[/caption]\n\nThis week we talk with Bruce Epperly. He\'s a theologian, ordained minister, blogger and author of several books, including \'A Holy Adventure\' and \'Process Theology: A Guide for the Perplexed.\' \n\nDuring our chat, he shares his thoughts on process theology and what it means to live a holy adventure.\n\n[audio=\"http://somethingbeautifulpodcast.com/podcast/022412.mp3\"]','Something Beautiful - Bruce Epperly','','inherit','open','open','','5729-revision','','','2012-03-30 08:12:24','2012-03-30 15:12:24','',5729,'http://provoketive.com/2012/03/30/5729-revision/',0,'revision','',0),(5732,100,'2012-03-30 08:12:47','2012-03-30 15:12:47','[caption id=\"attachment_5730\" align=\"alignnone\" width=\"193\" caption=\"Rev Bruce Epperly\"]<a href=\"http://provoketive.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/03/bruceepperly.jpg\"><img src=\"http://provoketive.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/03/bruceepperly-193x300.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"193\" height=\"300\" class=\"size-medium wp-image-5730\" /></a>[/caption]\r\n\r\nThis week we talk with Bruce Epperly. He\'s a theologian, ordained minister, blogger and author of several books, including \'A Holy Adventure\' and \'Process Theology: A Guide for the Perplexed.\' \r\n\r\nDuring our chat, he shares his thoughts on process theology and what it means to live a holy adventure.\r\n\r\n[audio=\"http://somethingbeautifulpodcast.com/podcast/022412.mp3\"]','Something Beautiful - Bruce Epperly','','inherit','open','open','','5729-revision-2','','','2012-03-30 08:12:47','2012-03-30 15:12:47','',5729,'http://provoketive.com/2012/03/30/5729-revision-2/',0,'revision','',0),(5733,100,'2012-03-30 08:13:35','2012-03-30 15:13:35','[caption id=\"attachment_5730\" align=\"alignnone\" width=\"193\" caption=\"Rev Bruce Epperly\"]<a href=\"http://provoketive.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/03/bruceepperly.jpg\"><img src=\"http://provoketive.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/03/bruceepperly-193x300.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"193\" height=\"300\" class=\"size-medium wp-image-5730\" /></a>[/caption]\r\n\r\nThis week we talk with Bruce Epperly. He\'s a theologian, ordained minister, blogger and author of several books, including \'A Holy Adventure\' and \'Process Theology: A Guide for the Perplexed.\' \r\n\r\nDuring our chat, he shares his thoughts on process theology and what it means to live a holy adventure.\r\n\r\n[audio=\"http://somethingbeautifulpodcast.com/podcast/022412.mp3\"]','Something Beautiful - Bruce Epperly','','inherit','open','open','','5729-revision-3','','','2012-03-30 08:13:35','2012-03-30 15:13:35','',5729,'http://provoketive.com/2012/03/30/5729-revision-3/',0,'revision','',0),(5734,100,'2012-04-10 08:00:31','2012-04-10 15:00:31','[caption id=\"attachment_5735\" align=\"alignnone\" width=\"300\" caption=\"Matt Barber\"]<a href=\"http://provoketive.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/03/matt-barber.jpg\"><img class=\"size-medium wp-image-5735\" src=\"http://provoketive.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/03/matt-barber-300x199.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"300\" height=\"199\" /></a>[/caption]\r\n\r\nThis week we talk with television and film editor and director Matt Barber. Barber has worked on a number of projects including television’s <em><a href=\"http://vimeo.com/34206925\" target=\"_blank\">The OC</a></em> and <em><a href=\"http://vimeo.com/34226549\" target=\"_blank\">Chuck</a></em> and on the films <em><a href=\"http://vimeo.com/34211253\" target=\"_blank\">Weathered</a></em> and <em><a href=\"http://vimeo.com/34820511\" target=\"_blank\">Not That Funny</a></em>.\r\n\r\nHe’s currently directing the documentary, <em>Jesus Don’t Let me Die Before I have Sex</em>.\r\n\r\nDuring our interview, Barber shares how he became interested in the topic and how you can help see the documentary be completed.\r\n\r\n[audio=\"http://somethingbeautifulpodcast.com/podcast/030912.mp3\"]','Something Beautiful - Matt Barber','','publish','open','open','','something-beautiful-matt-barber','','','2012-04-06 13:24:53','2012-04-06 20:24:53','',0,'http://provoketive.com/?p=5734',0,'post','',0),(5735,100,'2012-03-30 08:16:17','2012-03-30 15:16:17','','matt-barber','Matt Barber','inherit','open','open','','matt-barber','','','2012-03-30 08:16:17','2012-03-30 15:16:17','',5734,'http://provoketive.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/03/matt-barber.jpg',0,'attachment','image/jpeg',0),(5736,100,'2012-03-30 08:16:30','2012-03-30 15:16:30','[caption id=\"attachment_5735\" align=\"alignnone\" width=\"300\" caption=\"Matt Barber\"]<a href=\"http://provoketive.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/03/matt-barber.jpg\"><img src=\"http://provoketive.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/03/matt-barber-300x199.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"300\" height=\"199\" class=\"size-medium wp-image-5735\" /></a>[/caption]\n\nThis week we talk with television and film editor and director Matt Barber. Barber has worked on a number of projects including television’s <em><a href=\"http://vimeo.com/34206925\" target=\"_blank\">The OC</a></em> and <em><a href=\"http://vimeo.com/34226549\" target=\"_blank\">Chuck</a></em> and on the films <em><a href=\"http://vimeo.com/34211253\" target=\"_blank\">Weathered</a></em> and <em><a href=\"http://vimeo.com/34820511\" target=\"_blank\">Not That Funny</a></em>.\n\nHe’s currently directing the documentary, <em>Jesus Don’t Let me Die Before I have Sex</em>.\n\nDuring our interview, Barber shares how he became interested in the topic and how you can help see the documentary be completed.\n\n[audio=\"http://somethingbeautifulpodcast.com/podcast/030912.mp3\"]','Something Beautiful - Matt Barber','','inherit','open','open','','5734-revision','','','2012-03-30 08:16:30','2012-03-30 15:16:30','',5734,'http://provoketive.com/2012/03/30/5734-revision/',0,'revision','',0),(5737,100,'2012-03-30 08:18:20','2012-03-30 15:18:20','[caption id=\"attachment_5735\" align=\"alignnone\" width=\"300\" caption=\"Matt Barber\"]<a href=\"http://provoketive.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/03/matt-barber.jpg\"><img src=\"http://provoketive.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/03/matt-barber-300x199.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"300\" height=\"199\" class=\"size-medium wp-image-5735\" /></a>[/caption]\r\n\r\nThis week we talk with television and film editor and director Matt Barber. Barber has worked on a number of projects including television’s <em><a href=\"http://vimeo.com/34206925\" target=\"_blank\">The OC</a></em> and <em><a href=\"http://vimeo.com/34226549\" target=\"_blank\">Chuck</a></em> and on the films <em><a href=\"http://vimeo.com/34211253\" target=\"_blank\">Weathered</a></em> and <em><a href=\"http://vimeo.com/34820511\" target=\"_blank\">Not That Funny</a></em>.\r\n\r\nHe’s currently directing the documentary, <em>Jesus Don’t Let me Die Before I have Sex</em>.\r\n\r\nDuring our interview, Barber shares how he became interested in the topic and how you can help see the documentary be completed.\r\n\r\n[audio=\"http://somethingbeautifulpodcast.com/podcast/030912.mp3\"]','Something Beautiful - Matt Barber','','inherit','open','open','','5734-revision-2','','','2012-03-30 08:18:20','2012-03-30 15:18:20','',5734,'http://provoketive.com/2012/03/30/5734-revision-2/',0,'revision','',0),(5739,134,'2012-04-04 08:16:58','2012-04-04 15:16:58','The concept of <a title=\"Female genital mutilation\" href=\"http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Female_genital_mutilation\" target=\"_blank\">female genital mutilation</a> (female circumcision) is back on the news with heavy opposition from various female activists worldwide.\r\n<p style=\"text-align: center;\">[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=y0NuCMKaRpY[/youtube]</p>\r\nIt\'s unbelievable that, in some countries in Africa as well as in some Muslim states, every woman\'s forced to undergo the removal of her clitoris (<a title=\"Clitoridectomy\" href=\"http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Clitoridectomy\" target=\"_blank\">clitoridectomy</a>) with or with anesthesia. This is absurd!\r\n<blockquote><a title=\"Mona Eltahawy\" href=\"http://twitter.com/monaeltahawy\" target=\"_blank\">Mona Eltahawy</a> <a title=\"Mona Eltahawy\" href=\"http://twitter.com/monaeltahawy\" target=\"_blank\">@monaeltahawy</a>\r\nFor the millionth time: the clitoris is the ONLY body part whose sole purpose is pleasure. <a title=\"#FGM\" href=\"http://twitter.com/search/#FGM\" target=\"_blank\">#FGM</a>\r\n3:38 PM - 29 Mar 12</blockquote>\r\nWhy would any one think that cutting off part or all the erectile tissue in a woman\'s genitalia designed to have most sexual pleasure would make her any better? Well as stupid as it may sound, the common answers for this form of barbarism (often compared to rape) are\r\n<ul>\r\n	<li><em>purification (tuhur)</em> seen as <em>\"equivalent to half of faith\"</em> (Islam),\r\n<blockquote>\"The Messenger of Allah (may peace be upon him) said: Cleanliness is half of faith and al-Hamdu Liliah (Praise be to Allah) fills the scale, and Subhan Allah (Glory be to Allah) and al-Hamdu Liliah (Praise be to Allah) fill up what is between the heavens and the earth, and prayer is a light, and charity is proof (of one\'s faith) and endurance is a brightness and the Holy Qur\'an is a proof on your behalf or against you. All men go out early in the morning and sell themselves, thereby setting themselves free or destroying themselves.\"\r\n-- <a title=\"Sahih Muslim - Purification (Kitab Al-Taharah) - Chapter No: 2 - Hadith\" href=\"http://ahadith.co.uk/chapter.php?cid=71\" target=\"_blank\">Hadith no: 432</a></blockquote>\r\n</li>\r\n	<li><em>beautification</em> (making something beautiful that\'s already beautiful; in reality, taking its beauty away) for someone\'s sick interpretation of beauty,</li>\r\n	<li><em>removal of sexual pleasure</em> to make her faithful (not allow her to consider another partner) by reducing her to a mere object (property) or because sex is thought as dirty,</li>\r\n	<li><em>control</em> since every woman\'s considered property and dependent to the sole will of her husband (owner, master),</li>\r\n	<li>and whatever other nonsense some sick mind would come up with.</li>\r\n</ul>\r\nAs much as I hate making any negative remarks on any religion and/or faith system, the following is my sole opinion on this matter and not any form of disrespect to the Muslim faith.\r\n<ol>\r\n	<li>Female circumcision is unnecessary and brutal.</li>\r\n	<li>It\'s got not correlation with the (<em>tuhur</em>) ritual of cleanliness and purification.</li>\r\n</ol>\r\nView <a title=\"File:Type_IV_circumcision.jpg\" href=\"http://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Type_IV_circumcision.jpg\" target=\"_blank\">picture taken after procedure</a> (very graphic, not for everyone, <strong>not for children</strong>).','Female Genital Mutilation','','publish','open','open','','female-genital-mutilation','','','2012-04-01 08:17:41','2012-04-01 15:17:41','',0,'http://provoketive.com/?p=5739',0,'post','',6),(5740,134,'2012-03-30 09:20:03','2012-03-30 16:20:03','The concept of female genital mutilation (female circumcision) is back on the news with heavy opposition from various female activists worldwide. It\'s unbelievable that, in some countries, every woman\'s forced to undergo the removal of her clitoris. This is absurd!\n<blockquote><a title=\"Mona Eltahawy\" href=\"http://twitter.com/monaeltahawy\" target=\"_blank\">Mona Eltahawy</a> <a title=\"Mona Eltahawy\" href=\"http://twitter.com/monaeltahawy\" target=\"_blank\">@monaeltahawy</a>\nFor the millionth time: the clitoris is the ONLY body part whose sole purpose is pleasure. <a title=\"#FGM\" href=\"http://twitter.com/search/#FGM\" target=\"_blank\">#FGM</a>\n3:38 PM - 29 Mar 12</blockquote>\nWhy would any one think that cutting off part or all the erectile tissue in a woman\'s genitalia designed to have most sexual pleasure would make her any better? Well as stupid as it may sound, the common answers for this form of barbarism (often compared to rape) are\n<ul>\n	<li><em>purification (tuhur)</em> seen as <em>\"equivalent to half of faith\"</em> (Islam),\n<blockquote>\"The Messenger of Allah (may peace be upon him) said: Cleanliness is half of faith and al-Hamdu Liliah (Praise be to Allah) fills the scale, and Subhan Allah (Glory be to Allah) and al-Hamdu Liliah (Praise be to Allah) fill upwhat is between the heavens and the earth, and prayer is a light, and charity is proof (of one\'s faith) and endurance is a brightness and the Holy Qur\'an is a proof on your behalf or against you. All men go out early in the morning and sell themselves, thereby setting themselves free or destroying themselves.\" -- <a title=\"Sahih Muslim - Purification (Kitab Al-Taharah) - Chapter No: 2 - Hadith\" href=\"http://ahadith.co.uk/chapter.php?cid=71\" target=\"_blank\">Hadith no: 432</a></blockquote>\n</li>\n	<li><em>beautification</em> (making something beautiful that\'s already beautiful; in reality, taking its beauty away) for someone\'s sick interpretation of beauty,</li>\n	<li><em>removal of sexual pleasure</em> to make her faithful (not allow her to consider another partner) by reducing her to a mere object (property) or because sex is thought as dirty,</li>\n	<li><em>control</em> since every woman\'s considered property and dependent to the sole will of her husband (owner, master),</li>\n	<li>and whatever other nonsense some sick mind would come up with.</li>\n</ul>\nAs much as I hate making any negative remarks on any religion and/or faith system, the following is my sole opinion on this matter and not any form of disrespect to the Muslim faith.\n<ol>\n	<li>Female circumcision is unnecessary and brutal.</li>\n	<li>It\'s got not correlation with the (<em>tuhur</em>) ritual of cleanliness and purification.</li>\n</ol>','female genital mutilation','','inherit','open','open','','5739-revision','','','2012-03-30 09:20:03','2012-03-30 16:20:03','',5739,'http://provoketive.com/2012/03/30/5739-revision/',0,'revision','',0),(5844,1,'2012-04-13 08:00:33','2012-04-13 15:00:33','I was at a friends house the other day and he took me aside and showed me a mirror. And at first I was assuming it was a carnival mirror that distorted the reflection to make us laugh, something like that. But it wasn’t. It did something for him I’ve never seen another mirror do. It allowed him to see himself the way God sees him. And no matter how much he beat himself up for something he’d done, he’d always walk away knowing that he is forgiven and that God loves him. The first time I saw him use the mirror I was actually stunned at how well it worked. It would completely change his countenance from sorrow to joy, or anger to compassion. When I asked him if I could try it, he said that it only worked for the person who bought it. Naturally, I asked him how to get one of these mirrors and his response surprised me.\r\n\r\n“It’s really expensive,” he said, which almost seemed like he was assuming I couldn’t afford it.\r\n\r\n“I still want to buy one,” I said, asking him again. “Where can I get one?” wondering if he hadn’t heard me. He looked at me with a queer turn of his lip. His reluctance to answer was honestly strange. I rolled my eyes, giving the not so subtle hint that he was being annoying and asked again. “Where can I get one of these mirrors.”\r\n\r\n“I don’t know if you’re going to like it,” he said, changing his tactics. “I didn’t want to at first.” He looked away almost as if he was recounting his own experience of something. He said something under his breath that sounded like, “I didn’t.”\r\n\r\n“How much is it?” I asked again. My curiosity was now piqued.\r\n\r\n“A lot,” he said, still not giving me the information I wanted. His reluctance was actually beginning to annoy me. But then he said, “It will cost you everything that’s really, really important?” he said.\r\n\r\n“What?” My patience had grown to its limit. “Are you gonna be straight with me or what?” I asked. Well, demanded.\r\n\r\n“I’m serious.” The look on his face revealed that he wasn’t telling me something, but it also caught me in a way that let me know that I didn’t really want to hear it either. I looked away, contemplating what it could possibly be that I would have to give up that would make him say that. Was it my house or my car, or my family? This honestly seemed strange that God would ask me to give up all of these things just to have a mirror just to hear what He wanted to tell me anyways. My mind was splitting at that point from a lack of caffeine and unending possibilities. And then he said, “And I’m not talking about stuff.”\r\n\r\nI laughed in a way that was not humorous. I was stumped. “Then what are you talking about?” I said, just wanting to know.\r\n\r\n“I’m talking about you.” There was a long silence as I tried to grasp what he was saying. And yet something inside of me didn’t let me speak. He continued, “You can’t buy the mirror unless you are willing to give up how you see yourself. Unless you are willing to give up all the lies you’ve been told about how bad you were and how worthless someone thought you were, or how great you tried to believe you were on your own. It won’t work.” My pulse began to race as I looked away. I wanted to discount what he had to say. I wanted to run actually. What kind of B.S. was he talking about?\r\n\r\nAnd then it hit me, “but that would mean…”\r\n\r\n“Yep,” he said, knowing that what I was thinking. “It would mean that there really is no magic mirror. There’s only the truth. That’s God loves me and you more than we can imagine. And that only He can establish us and validate us. Because everything else is second best. And the question is not is this true, but am I willing to give up what is in the way so I can accept it.”','The Magic Mirror','','publish','open','open','','the-magic-mirror','','','2012-04-06 14:09:58','2012-04-06 21:09:58','',0,'http://provoketive.com/?p=5844',0,'post','',0),(5742,12,'2012-03-05 18:58:48','2012-03-06 02:58:48','On my blog at <a href=\"www.fallenpastor.com\">www.fallenpastor.com</a>, Wordpress keeps track of how people arrive to my site through search engines. the most searched for word combination is \"<em>list of fallen pastors</em>.\" It\'s not rocket surgery that my site would come up since I <a href=\"http://www.amazon.com/Fallen-Pastor-Finding-Restoration-Broken/dp/0615567096/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&amp;qid=1330393386&amp;sr=8-1\">wrote a book on the subject of fallen pastors</a> and I am one.\r\n\r\nI\'ve thought about that for a long time. It has boiled in the back of my cerebral cortex for over a year. Why are people searching for a list of fallen pastors?\r\n\r\nThere are several types of people who would be looking for that kind of list, I suppose. News outlets, other fallen pastors, people who are judgmental, those outside the church who are looking to brand pastors as hypocrites . . . and the list goes on.\r\n\r\n<a href=\"http://provoketive.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/02/list5.jpg\"><img class=\"alignleft size-full wp-image-5324\" src=\"http://provoketive.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/02/list5.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"280\" height=\"280\" /></a>Then I began to ponder - who would have such a list? Is it even possible? There are a lot of pastors in the public eye who have fallen from the ministry. I don\'t even have to list their names here. They\'ve written books, been shamed by the media, been the object of scorn for decades as how not to act in ministry.\r\n\r\nI know of one who has such a functional list of the wretched pastors who fell from ministry. These men who once stood high in the pulpit as I once did and fell due to adultery, financial woe, or other sin.\r\n\r\n<strong>Who Has a List?</strong>\r\n\r\nGod has that list. He knows of all of our transgressions. But there\'s good news. When His people sin and repent, He takes those sins and casts them as far as the east is from the west (Psalm 103:12). When His people weep over their sin, the bible says he keeps a count of our tossings and our tears, as he traps them in His bottle (Psalm 56:8). God doesn\'t keep track of sins like man does. He watches His children as we repent and cast ourselves on Him. He pursues His children when we wander astray like sheep.\r\n\r\nThat\'s what He does with His list.\r\n\r\n<strong>Who is on the List?</strong>\r\n\r\nNext question, who is on the list? Who is a fallen pastor? In my book, I shared the statistic that 33% of active pastors admitted to crossing the line of morality and not confessing it. 1,500 pastors a month leave the pastorate due to conflict, moral failure or burnout. There is a crisis at hand. It would seem that all pastors are fallen. All of us are weak and inept at what we do. We are all incapable of meeting the standards of the human built pedestal. Hidden sins, public sins, and personal conflict make each of us weak at some point.\r\n\r\nWhy stop at pastors? It\'s easy to cast a stone at a pastor who has been called by God and placed at the forefront. His is the greater calling. He is called to a higher standard. If any of us needs to remember, we should recall Romans 3:23 that we all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God. None of us meets the gold standard of God\'s righteousness.\r\n\r\nI\'m afraid that there may be a scant few who type in \"list of fallen pastors\" who are seeking to justify their own hearts. <a href=\"http://provoketive.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/02/romans323.jpg\"><img class=\"alignright size-medium wp-image-5325\" src=\"http://provoketive.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/02/romans323-300x224.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"300\" height=\"224\" /></a>None of us is righteous. All of us are stained with sin. It is inescapable. We are all on the list of the fallen. None of us is perfect.\r\n\r\nGood news? The forgiveness, love, mercy and grace that God shows to fallen pastors is the same grace He lavishes upon all who seek His face.\r\n\r\n<strong>Who Needs the List?</strong>\r\n\r\n(Thanks to my amazing wife Allison who just reminded me of this point.)\r\n\r\nLets say that this list of fallen pastors existed out there. It doesn\'t. But what if it did? Who would it be for? The media? Those who would be able to scorn and be angry at fallen pastors?\r\n\r\nHebrews chapter 11 looks back on the heroes of our faith. Noah. Great guy, built an ark. Got drunk. Abraham, father of Israel, slept with his handmaiden, amongst other things. Moses, great dude. Murderer. David? Did the writer of Hebrews mention David? Really? Great king of Israel. Slept with Bathsheba, killed her husband, had a child by her. He had another child by her. Guess what? That child was in the line of Christ. Hebrews 11 mentions Samson? Really?\r\n\r\nI\'m afraid we read our bibles selectively. We view people selectively. We show our love and give our disdain selectively.\r\n\r\nIf someone close to us sins, we tend to show anger. We tend to withhold forgiveness. But Galatians 6:1 tells us that those who are closest to those in transgression are those who are most qualified to restore those who sin.\r\n\r\nWho needs the list? The churches of those who fall. Find those who fall. Restore them. Seek them out. Because they are hurting. They are lost. They need light. They need help. Without them, we are an incomplete community. You are a body of Christ without an arm. Go get them. I don\'t care if they don\'t want to listen to you at first. They are going to be in rebellion and sin. They need your love and patience. They may never listen. If that\'s the case, Scripture speaks to that too.\r\n\r\nYou know who else needs the list? Churches who have fallen pastors wander in looking for a church home. I\'ve got a friend who fell from the ministry 10 years ago. He has tried eight different churches. Each time, he has visited these churches for about a month. Then, he goes to the pastor and says, \"I like what you\'re doing here, I\'d like to be a part of it, but let me tell you what I\'ve been through.\" The second the pastor finds out that he is a fallen minister, he gets arrogant, full of himself and sends him on his way.\r\n\r\nFor just a moment, I wish Christ would appear in that meeting. To show my friend His love. To show Him that he is worthy of love and care.\r\n\r\nI want my friend to be a part of an authentic Christian community. A community who can look at that list and say, \"We don\'t care where you\'ve been. We love you for who you are. You belong to us. We are no better, but we serve the same God.\"','List of Fallen Pastors','','inherit','open','open','','5321-revision-7','','','2012-03-05 18:58:48','2012-03-06 02:58:48','',5321,'http://provoketive.com/2012/03/05/5321-revision-7/',0,'revision','',0),(5743,134,'2012-03-30 09:45:04','2012-03-30 16:45:04','The concept of <a title=\"Female genital mutilation\" href=\"http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Female_genital_mutilation\" target=\"_blank\">female genital mutilation</a> (female circumcision) is back on the news with heavy opposition from various female activists worldwide.\n<p style=\"text-align: center\">[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=y0NuCMKaRpY[/youtube]</p>\nIt\'s unbelievable that, in some countries in Africa as well as in some Muslim states, every woman\'s forced to undergo the removal of her clitoris (<a title=\"Clitoridectomy\" href=\"http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Clitoridectomy\" target=\"_blank\">clitoridectomy</a>). This is absurd!\n<blockquote><a title=\"Mona Eltahawy\" href=\"http://twitter.com/monaeltahawy\" target=\"_blank\">Mona Eltahawy</a> <a title=\"Mona Eltahawy\" href=\"http://twitter.com/monaeltahawy\" target=\"_blank\">@monaeltahawy</a>\nFor the millionth time: the clitoris is the ONLY body part whose sole purpose is pleasure. <a title=\"#FGM\" href=\"http://twitter.com/search/#FGM\" target=\"_blank\">#FGM</a>\n3:38 PM - 29 Mar 12</blockquote>\nWhy would any one think that cutting off part or all the erectile tissue in a woman\'s genitalia designed to have most sexual pleasure would make her any better? Well as stupid as it may sound, the common answers for this form of barbarism (often compared to rape) are\n<ul>\n	<li><em>purification (tuhur)</em> seen as <em>\"equivalent to half of faith\"</em> (Islam),\n<blockquote>\"The Messenger of Allah (may peace be upon him) said: Cleanliness is half of faith and al-Hamdu Liliah (Praise be to Allah) fills the scale, and Subhan Allah (Glory be to Allah) and al-Hamdu Liliah (Praise be to Allah) fill up what is between the heavens and the earth, and prayer is a light, and charity is proof (of one\'s faith) and endurance is a brightness and the Holy Qur\'an is a proof on your behalf or against you. All men go out early in the morning and sell themselves, thereby setting themselves free or destroying themselves.\" -- <a title=\"Sahih Muslim - Purification (Kitab Al-Taharah) - Chapter No: 2 - Hadith\" href=\"http://ahadith.co.uk/chapter.php?cid=71\" target=\"_blank\">Hadith no: 432</a></blockquote>\n</li>\n	<li><em>beautification</em> (making something beautiful that\'s already beautiful; in reality, taking its beauty away) for someone\'s sick interpretation of beauty,</li>\n	<li><em>removal of sexual pleasure</em> to make her faithful (not allow her to consider another partner) by reducing her to a mere object (property) or because sex is thought as dirty,</li>\n	<li><em>control</em> since every woman\'s considered property and dependent to the sole will of her husband (owner, master),</li>\n	<li>and whatever other nonsense some sick mind would come up with.</li>\n</ul>\nAs much as I hate making any negative remarks on any religion and/or faith system, the following is my sole opinion on this matter and not any form of disrespect to the Muslim faith.\n<ol>\n	<li>Female circumcision is unnecessary and brutal.</li>\n	<li>It\'s got not correlation with the (<em>tuhur</em>) ritual of cleanliness and purification.</li>\n</ol>\nView <a title=\"File:Type_IV_circumcision.jpg\" href=\"http://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Type_IV_circumcision.jpg\" target=\"_blank\">picture taken after procedure</a> (very graphic, not for everyone, <strong>not for children</strong>).','female genital mutilation','','inherit','open','open','','5739-revision-2','','','2012-03-30 09:45:04','2012-03-30 16:45:04','',5739,'http://provoketive.com/2012/03/30/5739-revision-2/',0,'revision','',0),(5747,134,'2012-03-30 10:24:30','2012-03-30 17:24:30','','800px-Women_in_shiraz_2_500x250','','inherit','open','open','','800px-women_in_shiraz_2_500x250','','','2012-03-30 10:24:30','2012-03-30 17:24:30','',5739,'http://provoketive.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/03/800px-Women_in_shiraz_2_500x250.jpg',0,'attachment','image/jpeg',0),(5744,134,'2012-03-30 10:00:47','2012-03-30 17:00:47','The concept of <a title=\"Female genital mutilation\" href=\"http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Female_genital_mutilation\" target=\"_blank\">female genital mutilation</a> (female circumcision) is back on the news with heavy opposition from various female activists worldwide.\r\n<p style=\"text-align: center\">[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=y0NuCMKaRpY[/youtube]</p>\r\nIt\'s unbelievable that, in some countries in Africa as well as in some Muslim states, every woman\'s forced to undergo the removal of her clitoris (<a title=\"Clitoridectomy\" href=\"http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Clitoridectomy\" target=\"_blank\">clitoridectomy</a>). This is absurd!\r\n<blockquote><a title=\"Mona Eltahawy\" href=\"http://twitter.com/monaeltahawy\" target=\"_blank\">Mona Eltahawy</a> <a title=\"Mona Eltahawy\" href=\"http://twitter.com/monaeltahawy\" target=\"_blank\">@monaeltahawy</a>\r\nFor the millionth time: the clitoris is the ONLY body part whose sole purpose is pleasure. <a title=\"#FGM\" href=\"http://twitter.com/search/#FGM\" target=\"_blank\">#FGM</a>\r\n3:38 PM - 29 Mar 12</blockquote>\r\nWhy would any one think that cutting off part or all the erectile tissue in a woman\'s genitalia designed to have most sexual pleasure would make her any better? Well as stupid as it may sound, the common answers for this form of barbarism (often compared to rape) are\r\n<ul>\r\n	<li><em>purification (tuhur)</em> seen as <em>\"equivalent to half of faith\"</em> (Islam),\r\n<blockquote>\"The Messenger of Allah (may peace be upon him) said: Cleanliness is half of faith and al-Hamdu Liliah (Praise be to Allah) fills the scale, and Subhan Allah (Glory be to Allah) and al-Hamdu Liliah (Praise be to Allah) fill up what is between the heavens and the earth, and prayer is a light, and charity is proof (of one\'s faith) and endurance is a brightness and the Holy Qur\'an is a proof on your behalf or against you. All men go out early in the morning and sell themselves, thereby setting themselves free or destroying themselves.\" -- <a title=\"Sahih Muslim - Purification (Kitab Al-Taharah) - Chapter No: 2 - Hadith\" href=\"http://ahadith.co.uk/chapter.php?cid=71\" target=\"_blank\">Hadith no: 432</a></blockquote>\r\n</li>\r\n	<li><em>beautification</em> (making something beautiful that\'s already beautiful; in reality, taking its beauty away) for someone\'s sick interpretation of beauty,</li>\r\n	<li><em>removal of sexual pleasure</em> to make her faithful (not allow her to consider another partner) by reducing her to a mere object (property) or because sex is thought as dirty,</li>\r\n	<li><em>control</em> since every woman\'s considered property and dependent to the sole will of her husband (owner, master),</li>\r\n	<li>and whatever other nonsense some sick mind would come up with.</li>\r\n</ul>\r\nAs much as I hate making any negative remarks on any religion and/or faith system, the following is my sole opinion on this matter and not any form of disrespect to the Muslim faith.\r\n<ol>\r\n	<li>Female circumcision is unnecessary and brutal.</li>\r\n	<li>It\'s got not correlation with the (<em>tuhur</em>) ritual of cleanliness and purification.</li>\r\n</ol>\r\nView <a title=\"File:Type_IV_circumcision.jpg\" href=\"http://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Type_IV_circumcision.jpg\" target=\"_blank\">picture taken after procedure</a> (very graphic, not for everyone, <em><span style=\"text-decoration: underline\">not for children</span></em>).','female genital mutilation','','inherit','open','open','','5739-revision-3','','','2012-03-30 10:00:47','2012-03-30 17:00:47','',5739,'http://provoketive.com/2012/03/30/5739-revision-3/',0,'revision','',0),(5745,134,'2012-03-30 10:00:57','2012-03-30 17:00:57','The concept of <a title=\"Female genital mutilation\" href=\"http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Female_genital_mutilation\" target=\"_blank\">female genital mutilation</a> (female circumcision) is back on the news with heavy opposition from various female activists worldwide.\r\n<p style=\"text-align: center\">[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=y0NuCMKaRpY[/youtube]</p>\r\nIt\'s unbelievable that, in some countries in Africa as well as in some Muslim states, every woman\'s forced to undergo the removal of her clitoris (<a title=\"Clitoridectomy\" href=\"http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Clitoridectomy\" target=\"_blank\">clitoridectomy</a>). This is absurd!\r\n<blockquote><a title=\"Mona Eltahawy\" href=\"http://twitter.com/monaeltahawy\" target=\"_blank\">Mona Eltahawy</a> <a title=\"Mona Eltahawy\" href=\"http://twitter.com/monaeltahawy\" target=\"_blank\">@monaeltahawy</a>\r\nFor the millionth time: the clitoris is the ONLY body part whose sole purpose is pleasure. <a title=\"#FGM\" href=\"http://twitter.com/search/#FGM\" target=\"_blank\">#FGM</a>\r\n3:38 PM - 29 Mar 12</blockquote>\r\nWhy would any one think that cutting off part or all the erectile tissue in a woman\'s genitalia designed to have most sexual pleasure would make her any better? Well as stupid as it may sound, the common answers for this form of barbarism (often compared to rape) are\r\n<ul>\r\n	<li><em>purification (tuhur)</em> seen as <em>\"equivalent to half of faith\"</em> (Islam),\r\n<blockquote>\"The Messenger of Allah (may peace be upon him) said: Cleanliness is half of faith and al-Hamdu Liliah (Praise be to Allah) fills the scale, and Subhan Allah (Glory be to Allah) and al-Hamdu Liliah (Praise be to Allah) fill up what is between the heavens and the earth, and prayer is a light, and charity is proof (of one\'s faith) and endurance is a brightness and the Holy Qur\'an is a proof on your behalf or against you. All men go out early in the morning and sell themselves, thereby setting themselves free or destroying themselves.\" -- <a title=\"Sahih Muslim - Purification (Kitab Al-Taharah) - Chapter No: 2 - Hadith\" href=\"http://ahadith.co.uk/chapter.php?cid=71\" target=\"_blank\">Hadith no: 432</a></blockquote>\r\n</li>\r\n	<li><em>beautification</em> (making something beautiful that\'s already beautiful; in reality, taking its beauty away) for someone\'s sick interpretation of beauty,</li>\r\n	<li><em>removal of sexual pleasure</em> to make her faithful (not allow her to consider another partner) by reducing her to a mere object (property) or because sex is thought as dirty,</li>\r\n	<li><em>control</em> since every woman\'s considered property and dependent to the sole will of her husband (owner, master),</li>\r\n	<li>and whatever other nonsense some sick mind would come up with.</li>\r\n</ul>\r\nAs much as I hate making any negative remarks on any religion and/or faith system, the following is my sole opinion on this matter and not any form of disrespect to the Muslim faith.\r\n<ol>\r\n	<li>Female circumcision is unnecessary and brutal.</li>\r\n	<li>It\'s got not correlation with the (<em>tuhur</em>) ritual of cleanliness and purification.</li>\r\n</ol>\r\nView <a title=\"File:Type_IV_circumcision.jpg\" href=\"http://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Type_IV_circumcision.jpg\" target=\"_blank\">picture taken after procedure</a> (very graphic, not for everyone, <em><span style=\"text-decoration: underline\">not for children</span></em>).','female genital mutilation','','inherit','open','open','','5739-revision-4','','','2012-03-30 10:00:57','2012-03-30 17:00:57','',5739,'http://provoketive.com/2012/03/30/5739-revision-4/',0,'revision','',0),(5746,134,'2012-03-30 10:01:25','2012-03-30 17:01:25','The concept of <a title=\"Female genital mutilation\" href=\"http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Female_genital_mutilation\" target=\"_blank\">female genital mutilation</a> (female circumcision) is back on the news with heavy opposition from various female activists worldwide.\r\n<p style=\"text-align: center\">[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=y0NuCMKaRpY[/youtube]</p>\r\nIt\'s unbelievable that, in some countries in Africa as well as in some Muslim states, every woman\'s forced to undergo the removal of her clitoris (<a title=\"Clitoridectomy\" href=\"http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Clitoridectomy\" target=\"_blank\">clitoridectomy</a>). This is absurd!\r\n<blockquote><a title=\"Mona Eltahawy\" href=\"http://twitter.com/monaeltahawy\" target=\"_blank\">Mona Eltahawy</a> <a title=\"Mona Eltahawy\" href=\"http://twitter.com/monaeltahawy\" target=\"_blank\">@monaeltahawy</a>\r\nFor the millionth time: the clitoris is the ONLY body part whose sole purpose is pleasure. <a title=\"#FGM\" href=\"http://twitter.com/search/#FGM\" target=\"_blank\">#FGM</a>\r\n3:38 PM - 29 Mar 12</blockquote>\r\nWhy would any one think that cutting off part or all the erectile tissue in a woman\'s genitalia designed to have most sexual pleasure would make her any better? Well as stupid as it may sound, the common answers for this form of barbarism (often compared to rape) are\r\n<ul>\r\n	<li><em>purification (tuhur)</em> seen as <em>\"equivalent to half of faith\"</em> (Islam),\r\n<blockquote>\"The Messenger of Allah (may peace be upon him) said: Cleanliness is half of faith and al-Hamdu Liliah (Praise be to Allah) fills the scale, and Subhan Allah (Glory be to Allah) and al-Hamdu Liliah (Praise be to Allah) fill up what is between the heavens and the earth, and prayer is a light, and charity is proof (of one\'s faith) and endurance is a brightness and the Holy Qur\'an is a proof on your behalf or against you. All men go out early in the morning and sell themselves, thereby setting themselves free or destroying themselves.\"\r\n-- <a title=\"Sahih Muslim - Purification (Kitab Al-Taharah) - Chapter No: 2 - Hadith\" href=\"http://ahadith.co.uk/chapter.php?cid=71\" target=\"_blank\">Hadith no: 432</a></blockquote>\r\n</li>\r\n	<li><em>beautification</em> (making something beautiful that\'s already beautiful; in reality, taking its beauty away) for someone\'s sick interpretation of beauty,</li>\r\n	<li><em>removal of sexual pleasure</em> to make her faithful (not allow her to consider another partner) by reducing her to a mere object (property) or because sex is thought as dirty,</li>\r\n	<li><em>control</em> since every woman\'s considered property and dependent to the sole will of her husband (owner, master),</li>\r\n	<li>and whatever other nonsense some sick mind would come up with.</li>\r\n</ul>\r\nAs much as I hate making any negative remarks on any religion and/or faith system, the following is my sole opinion on this matter and not any form of disrespect to the Muslim faith.\r\n<ol>\r\n	<li>Female circumcision is unnecessary and brutal.</li>\r\n	<li>It\'s got not correlation with the (<em>tuhur</em>) ritual of cleanliness and purification.</li>\r\n</ol>\r\nView <a title=\"File:Type_IV_circumcision.jpg\" href=\"http://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Type_IV_circumcision.jpg\" target=\"_blank\">picture taken after procedure</a> (very graphic, not for everyone, <em><span style=\"text-decoration: underline\">not for children</span></em>).','female genital mutilation','','inherit','open','open','','5739-revision-5','','','2012-03-30 10:01:25','2012-03-30 17:01:25','',5739,'http://provoketive.com/2012/03/30/5739-revision-5/',0,'revision','',0),(5748,134,'2012-03-30 10:04:16','2012-03-30 17:04:16','The concept of <a title=\"Female genital mutilation\" href=\"http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Female_genital_mutilation\" target=\"_blank\">female genital mutilation</a> (female circumcision) is back on the news with heavy opposition from various female activists worldwide.\n<p style=\"text-align: center\">[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=y0NuCMKaRpY[/youtube]</p>\nIt\'s unbelievable that, in some countries in Africa as well as in some Muslim states, every woman\'s forced to undergo the removal of her clitoris (<a title=\"Clitoridectomy\" href=\"http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Clitoridectomy\" target=\"_blank\">clitoridectomy</a>) with or with anesthesia. This is absurd!\n<blockquote><a title=\"Mona Eltahawy\" href=\"http://twitter.com/monaeltahawy\" target=\"_blank\">Mona Eltahawy</a> <a title=\"Mona Eltahawy\" href=\"http://twitter.com/monaeltahawy\" target=\"_blank\">@monaeltahawy</a>\nFor the millionth time: the clitoris is the ONLY body part whose sole purpose is pleasure. <a title=\"#FGM\" href=\"http://twitter.com/search/#FGM\" target=\"_blank\">#FGM</a>\n3:38 PM - 29 Mar 12</blockquote>\nWhy would any one think that cutting off part or all the erectile tissue in a woman\'s genitalia designed to have most sexual pleasure would make her any better? Well as stupid as it may sound, the common answers for this form of barbarism (often compared to rape) are\n<ul>\n	<li><em>purification (tuhur)</em> seen as <em>\"equivalent to half of faith\"</em> (Islam),\n<blockquote>\"The Messenger of Allah (may peace be upon him) said: Cleanliness is half of faith and al-Hamdu Liliah (Praise be to Allah) fills the scale, and Subhan Allah (Glory be to Allah) and al-Hamdu Liliah (Praise be to Allah) fill up what is between the heavens and the earth, and prayer is a light, and charity is proof (of one\'s faith) and endurance is a brightness and the Holy Qur\'an is a proof on your behalf or against you. All men go out early in the morning and sell themselves, thereby setting themselves free or destroying themselves.\"\n-- <a title=\"Sahih Muslim - Purification (Kitab Al-Taharah) - Chapter No: 2 - Hadith\" href=\"http://ahadith.co.uk/chapter.php?cid=71\" target=\"_blank\">Hadith no: 432</a></blockquote>\n</li>\n	<li><em>beautification</em> (making something beautiful that\'s already beautiful; in reality, taking its beauty away) for someone\'s sick interpretation of beauty,</li>\n	<li><em>removal of sexual pleasure</em> to make her faithful (not allow her to consider another partner) by reducing her to a mere object (property) or because sex is thought as dirty,</li>\n	<li><em>control</em> since every woman\'s considered property and dependent to the sole will of her husband (owner, master),</li>\n	<li>and whatever other nonsense some sick mind would come up with.</li>\n</ul>\nAs much as I hate making any negative remarks on any religion and/or faith system, the following is my sole opinion on this matter and not any form of disrespect to the Muslim faith.\n<ol>\n	<li>Female circumcision is unnecessary and brutal.</li>\n	<li>It\'s got not correlation with the (<em>tuhur</em>) ritual of cleanliness and purification.</li>\n</ol>\nView <a title=\"File:Type_IV_circumcision.jpg\" href=\"http://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Type_IV_circumcision.jpg\" target=\"_blank\">picture taken after procedure</a> (very graphic, not for everyone, <strong>not for children</strong>).','female genital mutilation','','inherit','open','open','','5739-revision-6','','','2012-03-30 10:04:16','2012-03-30 17:04:16','',5739,'http://provoketive.com/2012/03/30/5739-revision-6/',0,'revision','',0),(5749,134,'2012-03-30 10:25:08','2012-03-30 17:25:08','The concept of <a title=\"Female genital mutilation\" href=\"http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Female_genital_mutilation\" target=\"_blank\">female genital mutilation</a> (female circumcision) is back on the news with heavy opposition from various female activists worldwide.\r\n<p style=\"text-align: center\">[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=y0NuCMKaRpY[/youtube]</p>\r\nIt\'s unbelievable that, in some countries in Africa as well as in some Muslim states, every woman\'s forced to undergo the removal of her clitoris (<a title=\"Clitoridectomy\" href=\"http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Clitoridectomy\" target=\"_blank\">clitoridectomy</a>) with or with anesthesia. This is absurd!\r\n<blockquote><a title=\"Mona Eltahawy\" href=\"http://twitter.com/monaeltahawy\" target=\"_blank\">Mona Eltahawy</a> <a title=\"Mona Eltahawy\" href=\"http://twitter.com/monaeltahawy\" target=\"_blank\">@monaeltahawy</a>\r\nFor the millionth time: the clitoris is the ONLY body part whose sole purpose is pleasure. <a title=\"#FGM\" href=\"http://twitter.com/search/#FGM\" target=\"_blank\">#FGM</a>\r\n3:38 PM - 29 Mar 12</blockquote>\r\nWhy would any one think that cutting off part or all the erectile tissue in a woman\'s genitalia designed to have most sexual pleasure would make her any better? Well as stupid as it may sound, the common answers for this form of barbarism (often compared to rape) are\r\n<ul>\r\n	<li><em>purification (tuhur)</em> seen as <em>\"equivalent to half of faith\"</em> (Islam),\r\n<blockquote>\"The Messenger of Allah (may peace be upon him) said: Cleanliness is half of faith and al-Hamdu Liliah (Praise be to Allah) fills the scale, and Subhan Allah (Glory be to Allah) and al-Hamdu Liliah (Praise be to Allah) fill up what is between the heavens and the earth, and prayer is a light, and charity is proof (of one\'s faith) and endurance is a brightness and the Holy Qur\'an is a proof on your behalf or against you. All men go out early in the morning and sell themselves, thereby setting themselves free or destroying themselves.\"\r\n-- <a title=\"Sahih Muslim - Purification (Kitab Al-Taharah) - Chapter No: 2 - Hadith\" href=\"http://ahadith.co.uk/chapter.php?cid=71\" target=\"_blank\">Hadith no: 432</a></blockquote>\r\n</li>\r\n	<li><em>beautification</em> (making something beautiful that\'s already beautiful; in reality, taking its beauty away) for someone\'s sick interpretation of beauty,</li>\r\n	<li><em>removal of sexual pleasure</em> to make her faithful (not allow her to consider another partner) by reducing her to a mere object (property) or because sex is thought as dirty,</li>\r\n	<li><em>control</em> since every woman\'s considered property and dependent to the sole will of her husband (owner, master),</li>\r\n	<li>and whatever other nonsense some sick mind would come up with.</li>\r\n</ul>\r\nAs much as I hate making any negative remarks on any religion and/or faith system, the following is my sole opinion on this matter and not any form of disrespect to the Muslim faith.\r\n<ol>\r\n	<li>Female circumcision is unnecessary and brutal.</li>\r\n	<li>It\'s got not correlation with the (<em>tuhur</em>) ritual of cleanliness and purification.</li>\r\n</ol>\r\nView <a title=\"File:Type_IV_circumcision.jpg\" href=\"http://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Type_IV_circumcision.jpg\" target=\"_blank\">picture taken after procedure</a> (very graphic, not for everyone, <strong>not for children</strong>).','female genital mutilation','','inherit','open','open','','5739-revision-7','','','2012-03-30 10:25:08','2012-03-30 17:25:08','',5739,'http://provoketive.com/2012/03/30/5739-revision-7/',0,'revision','',0),(5750,134,'2012-03-30 10:26:21','2012-03-30 17:26:21','The concept of <a title=\"Female genital mutilation\" href=\"http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Female_genital_mutilation\" target=\"_blank\">female genital mutilation</a> (female circumcision) is back on the news with heavy opposition from various female activists worldwide.\n<p style=\"text-align: center\">[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=y0NuCMKaRpY[/youtube]</p>\nIt\'s unbelievable that, in some countries in Africa as well as in some Muslim states, every woman\'s forced to undergo the removal of her clitoris (<a title=\"Clitoridectomy\" href=\"http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Clitoridectomy\" target=\"_blank\">clitoridectomy</a>) with or with anesthesia. This is absurd!\n<blockquote><a title=\"Mona Eltahawy\" href=\"http://twitter.com/monaeltahawy\" target=\"_blank\">Mona Eltahawy</a> <a title=\"Mona Eltahawy\" href=\"http://twitter.com/monaeltahawy\" target=\"_blank\">@monaeltahawy</a>\nFor the millionth time: the clitoris is the ONLY body part whose sole purpose is pleasure. <a title=\"#FGM\" href=\"http://twitter.com/search/#FGM\" target=\"_blank\">#FGM</a>\n3:38 PM - 29 Mar 12</blockquote>\nWhy would any one think that cutting off part or all the erectile tissue in a woman\'s genitalia designed to have most sexual pleasure would make her any better? Well as stupid as it may sound, the common answers for this form of barbarism (often compared to rape) are\n<ul>\n	<li><em>purification (tuhur)</em> seen as <em>\"equivalent to half of faith\"</em> (Islam),\n<blockquote>\"The Messenger of Allah (may peace be upon him) said: Cleanliness is half of faith and al-Hamdu Liliah (Praise be to Allah) fills the scale, and Subhan Allah (Glory be to Allah) and al-Hamdu Liliah (Praise be to Allah) fill up what is between the heavens and the earth, and prayer is a light, and charity is proof (of one\'s faith) and endurance is a brightness and the Holy Qur\'an is a proof on your behalf or against you. All men go out early in the morning and sell themselves, thereby setting themselves free or destroying themselves.\"\n-- <a title=\"Sahih Muslim - Purification (Kitab Al-Taharah) - Chapter No: 2 - Hadith\" href=\"http://ahadith.co.uk/chapter.php?cid=71\" target=\"_blank\">Hadith no: 432</a></blockquote>\n</li>\n	<li><em>beautification</em> (making something beautiful that\'s already beautiful; in reality, taking its beauty away) for someone\'s sick interpretation of beauty,</li>\n	<li><em>removal of sexual pleasure</em> to make her faithful (not allow her to consider another partner) by reducing her to a mere object (property) or because sex is thought as dirty,</li>\n	<li><em>control</em> since every woman\'s considered property and dependent to the sole will of her husband (owner, master),</li>\n	<li>and whatever other nonsense some sick mind would come up with.</li>\n</ul>\nAs much as I hate making any negative remarks on any religion and/or faith system, the following is my sole opinion on this matter and not any form of disrespect to the Muslim faith.\n<ol>\n	<li>Female circumcision is unnecessary and brutal.</li>\n	<li>It\'s got not correlation with the (<em>tuhur</em>) ritual of cleanliness and purification.</li>\n</ol>\nView <a title=\"File:Type_IV_circumcision.jpg\" href=\"http://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Type_IV_circumcision.jpg\" target=\"_blank\">picture taken after procedure</a> (very graphic, not for everyone, <strong>not for children</strong>).','female genital mutilation','','inherit','open','open','','5739-autosave','','','2012-03-30 10:26:21','2012-03-30 17:26:21','',5739,'http://provoketive.com/2012/03/30/5739-autosave/',0,'revision','',0),(7384,132,'2012-08-01 13:26:53','2012-08-01 20:26:53','','3696616402_ac89c40158','','inherit','open','open','','3696616402_ac89c40158-2','','','2012-08-01 13:26:53','2012-08-01 20:26:53','',0,'http://provoketive.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/08/3696616402_ac89c401581.jpg',0,'attachment','image/jpeg',0),(7385,132,'2012-08-01 13:13:12','2012-08-01 20:13:12','This post is a contribution to the August synchroblog.  The theme is \"Follow\" and bloggers are invited to share their thoughts and ideas about what it means to follow Jesus.\r\n\r\n<a href=\"http://provoketive.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/08/3696616402_ac89c40158.jpg\"><img class=\"aligncenter size-full wp-image-7377\" src=\"http://provoketive.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/08/3696616402_ac89c40158.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"500\" height=\"334\" /></a>\r\n\r\nMy journey of following Jesus led me to a point where I had to completely start over. Some real life stuff came along and made me take a closer look at what I believed about God, following Jesus, Christianity, the Bible, the church etc. and I realized that most of the stuff that I had been so devoted to ... attending church, listening to sermons, reading the bible, witnessing, maintaining the church building, adding to church membership ... didn\'t seem to have much to do with following Jesus.\r\n\r\nIn recent years I have come to think that following Jesus is more about justice and love than about church and believing - more about community than about me getting into heaven - more about people than about institutions or buildings.\r\n\r\nStarting over hasn\'t been easy. It has often meant enduring criticism, rejection and loneliness. But from where I sit I can\'t see that there was another way for me.  I had to let go of all the preconceived ideas, religious dogma and conventional wisdom in order to get a fresh look at Jesus, his mission and his message.\r\n\r\nThese days following Jesus for me is about accepting the call to follow Jesus into the world as an agent of the Kingdom of Heaven - working to bring the way of heaven to earth.\r\n\r\nSometimes that is as simple as sharing a meal with someone and sometimes it is as complex as working to dismantle an unjust system.\r\n\r\nIn the beginning of my journey of following Jesus I thought the main questions were \"who is going to heaven and who is going to hell?\" but now I think the main questions are \"how can I bring heaven to earth and how can I participate with God to bring restoration to the world?\"\r\n\r\nThe humorist Garrison Keillor said \"give up your good Christian life and follow Jesus\" and that is what I feel like I have had to do.\r\n\r\nThese days I am more committed to following Jesus than any other time in my life and yet I\'m not a member of a church and I don\'t often read the bible. My worship of God usually comes in the form of working for justice, and serving and loving others rather than singing songs in church while clapping or raising my hands. I don\'t care about converting people to Christianity but I do want to influence people to live in a loving and generous way. I am interested in cultivating my faith to be a bridge that connects me to others rather than a barrier that separates me from those who don\'t profess to be followers of Jesus.\r\n\r\nI certainly do not think that I have arrived anywhere and on any given day I would be hard pressed to even tell you where I am going ... but for now I am trying to follow Jesus where he leads me even if that means giving up my good Christian life.','Give Up Your Good Christian Life and Follow Jesus','','inherit','open','open','','7376-revision-7','','','2012-08-01 13:13:12','2012-08-01 20:13:12','',7376,'http://provoketive.com/2012/08/01/7376-revision-7/',0,'revision','',0),(7383,132,'2012-08-01 13:12:15','2012-08-01 20:12:15','This post is a contribution to the August synchroblog.  The theme is \"Follow\" and bloggers are invited to share their thoughts and ideas about what it means to follow Jesus.\r\n\r\n<a href=\"http://provoketive.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/08/3696616402_ac89c40158.jpg\"><img class=\"aligncenter size-full wp-image-7377\" src=\"http://provoketive.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/08/3696616402_ac89c40158.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"500\" height=\"334\" /></a>\r\n\r\nMy journey of following Jesus led me to a point where I had to completely start over. Some real life stuff came along and made me take a closer look at what I believed about God, following Jesus, Christianity, the Bible, the church etc. and I realized that most of the stuff that I had been so devoted to ... attending church, listening to sermons, reading the bible, witnessing, maintaining the church building, adding to church membership ... didn\'t seem to have much to do with following Jesus.\r\n\r\nIn recent years I have come to think that following Jesus is more about justice and love than about church and believing - more about community than about me getting into heaven - more about people than about institutions or buildings.\r\n\r\nStarting over hasn\'t been easy. It has often meant enduring criticism, rejection and loneliness. But from where I sit I can\'t see that there was another way for me.  I had to let go of all the preconceived ideas, religious dogma and conventional wisdom in order to get a fresh look at Jesus, his mission and his message.\r\n\r\nThese days following Jesus for me is about accepting the call to follow Jesus into the world as an agent of the Kingdom of Heaven - working to bring the way of heaven to earth.\r\n\r\nSometimes that is as simple as sharing a meal with someone and sometimes it is as complex as working to dismantle an unjust system.\r\n\r\nIn the beginning of my journey of following Jesus I thought the main questions were \"who is going to heaven and who is going to hell?\" but now I think the main questions are \"how can I bring heaven to earth and how can I participate with God to bring restoration to the world?\"\r\n\r\nThe humorist Garrison Keillor said \"give up your good Christian life and follow Jesus\" and that is what I feel like I have had to do.\r\n\r\nThese days I am more committed to following Jesus than any other time in my life and yet I\'m not a member of a church and I don\'t often read the bible. My worship of God usually comes in the form of working for justice, and serving and loving others rather than singing songs in church while clapping or raising my hands. I don\'t care about converting people to Christianity but I do want to influence people to live in a loving and generous way. I am interested in cultivating my faith to be a bridge that connects me to others rather than a barrier that separates me from those who don\'t profess to be followers of Jesus.\r\n\r\nI certainly do not think that I have arrived anywhere and on any given day I would be hard pressed to even tell you where I am going ... but for now I am trying to follow Jesus where he leads me even if that means giving up my good Christian life.','Give Up Your Good Christian Life and Follow Jesus','','inherit','open','open','','7376-revision-6','','','2012-08-01 13:12:15','2012-08-01 20:12:15','',7376,'http://provoketive.com/2012/08/01/7376-revision-6/',0,'revision','',0),(5755,46,'2012-03-31 17:47:57','2012-04-01 00:47:57','Just before Christmas in 2008, St. John’s Church in Broadbridge Heath, England took down its 10ft crucifix after numerous parishioners complained that it frightened children. The crucifix, created in the 1960s, shows an emaciated Jesus hanging on the cross with a look of horror and despair on His face. <a href=\"http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/uk_news/england/sussex/7816941.stm\">The BBC asked two different clergymen</a> whether or not the church should have removed the crucifix. One of the two men, Rev. John Caperon, said for any church to disregard the cross would mean ignoring the reality of suffering. “For Christians, of course,” he said, “the great comfort in the crucifix is the thought not that it represents simply human pain, but that it represents also the love of God. For what we’re saying, I think, is this: the God who created us is also to God who suffers with us.”\n\nComing from an evangelical background, I was taught that the only thing the cross represents is Jesus paying the price for our sins. I never thought of the cross as a symbol of God identifying with human suffering. But the more I thought about it, the more it made sense. If Jesus is the second person of the Trinity, then that means God was hanging on that cross in agonizing pain. Think about that for second: Elohim the creator, the great I AM, hanging on a cross, rejected, humiliated, and dying.\n\nAs someone who has struggled with depression and anxiety since early childhood, this was a message I needed to hear. Even though it has been called ‘the common cold of mental illness,’ depression has a funny way of making me feel completely alone. No one else can possibly understand what I’m going through. If I try to put it into words, it won’t make any sense. But if God knows human suffering first hand, then maybe I’m not so crazy after all.\n\nYears later after several bouts of severe depression, I started wondering if maybe I was wrong. Maybe God isn’t able to relate to human suffering. If God is able, then why do I feel so alone when I’m in a bad place? Why do I feel like I’m not man enough for God’s approval? The pain and confusion got so bad at one point that I wrote an angry letter to God telling God to fuck off. In my mind, God no longer suffered with me; God was laughing at me.\n\nWithin the past couple of months, however, I kept coming across passages, blogs, and conversations that made me wonder if perhaps God isn’t a jerk after all. The most recent example has been Dr. Tony Jones’ eBook <em>A Better Atonement: Beyond the Depraved Doctrine of Original Sin</em>:\n<blockquote>[I]n Christianity alone, the God and Creator of the universe deigned to become human, to be tempted, to reach out to those who had be de-humanized and restore their humanity, and ultimately to die in solidarity with every one of us . . . The hope [Jesus] offers is that, by dying on that cross, the eternal Trinity became forever bound to my humanity. The God of the universe identified with me, and I have the opportunity to identify with him.</blockquote>\n\nReally? God identifies with me and my brokenness? All my Calvinist friends said God was way too holy to identify with my brokenness. But maybe it was true; maybe God does suffer with us after all. \n\nSo like a good Protestant brought up on sola scriptura, I looked through the scriptures to see if God can relate to suffering or not. And what I found was a \n','The Suffering God','','inherit','open','open','','5754-revision','','','2012-03-31 17:47:57','2012-04-01 00:47:57','',5754,'http://provoketive.com/2012/03/31/5754-revision/',0,'revision','',0),(5756,46,'2012-03-31 17:48:31','2012-04-01 00:48:31','Just before Christmas in 2008, St. John’s Church in Broadbridge Heath, England took down its 10ft crucifix after numerous parishioners complained that it frightened children. The crucifix, created in the 1960s, shows an emaciated Jesus hanging on the cross with a look of horror and despair on His face. <a href=\"http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/uk_news/england/sussex/7816941.stm\">The BBC asked two different clergymen</a> whether or not the church should have removed the crucifix. One of the two men, Rev. John Caperon, said for any church to disregard the cross would mean ignoring the reality of suffering. “For Christians, of course,” he said, “the great comfort in the crucifix is the thought not that it represents simply human pain, but that it represents also the love of God. For what we’re saying, I think, is this: the God who created us is also to God who suffers with us.”\r\n\r\nComing from an evangelical background, I was taught that the only thing the cross represents is Jesus paying the price for our sins. I never thought of the cross as a symbol of God identifying with human suffering. But the more I thought about it, the more it made sense. If Jesus is the second person of the Trinity, then that means God was hanging on that cross in agonizing pain. Think about that for second: Elohim the creator, the great I AM, hanging on a cross, rejected, humiliated, and dying.\r\n\r\nAs someone who has struggled with depression and anxiety since early childhood, this was a message I needed to hear. Even though it has been called ‘the common cold of mental illness,’ depression has a funny way of making me feel completely alone. No one else can possibly understand what I’m going through. If I try to put it into words, it won’t make any sense. But if God knows human suffering first hand, then maybe I’m not so crazy after all.\r\n\r\nYears later after several bouts of severe depression, I started wondering if maybe I was wrong. Maybe God isn’t able to relate to human suffering. If God is able, then why do I feel so alone when I’m in a bad place? Why do I feel like I’m not man enough for God’s approval? The pain and confusion got so bad at one point that I wrote an angry letter to God telling God to fuck off. In my mind, God no longer suffered with me; God was laughing at me.\r\n\r\nWithin the past couple of months, however, I kept coming across passages, blogs, and conversations that made me wonder if perhaps God isn’t a jerk after all. The most recent example has been Dr. Tony Jones’ eBook <em>A Better Atonement: Beyond the Depraved Doctrine of Original Sin</em>:\r\n<blockquote>[I]n Christianity alone, the God and Creator of the universe deigned to become human, to be tempted, to reach out to those who had be de-humanized and restore their humanity, and ultimately to die in solidarity with every one of us . . . The hope [Jesus] offers is that, by dying on that cross, the eternal Trinity became forever bound to my humanity. The God of the universe identified with me, and I have the opportunity to identify with him.</blockquote>\r\nReally? God identifies with me and my brokenness? All my Calvinist friends said God was way too holy to identify with my brokenness. But maybe it was true; maybe God does suffer with us after all.\r\n\r\nSo like a good Protestant brought up on sola scriptura, I looked through the scriptures to see if God can relate to suffering or not. And what I found was a','The Suffering God','','inherit','open','open','','5754-revision-2','','','2012-03-31 17:48:31','2012-04-01 00:48:31','',5754,'http://provoketive.com/2012/03/31/5754-revision-2/',0,'revision','',0),(5757,1,'2012-03-28 09:37:22','2012-03-28 16:37:22','<strong>Uncensored Prayer: The Spiritual Practice of Wrestling With God Workshop</strong> will be offered online April 16 – May 18, 2012.  This course is about the spiritual practice of discussing everything with God, risking honesty to gain intimacy through loving, trusting conversations.  It’s wrestling through anger, faith, pain, hope about every aspect of our lives.  No topic, language, or feeling is unholy.  It will cover how to know you’re hearing from God and explores a variety of ways to pray. This course is an opportunity to discover for yourself the redemptive freedom that comes from being totally honest with yourself and the One who loves you best.  As you practice stepping out of your comfort zone, you will begin to experience confidence in speaking freely with God in ways that are uniquely yours.\r\n\r\n<strong>The instructor, Joy Wilson</strong>, is the author of Uncensored Prayer: The Spiritual Practice of Wrestling With God (Civitas Press, 2011).  Prior to starting the workshop, participants need to order the book from Amazon.com.  The five-week online class is self-paced so you can participate at any time during the week.  It includes readings in the textbook, prayer practice exercises, and online interactions with other students.\r\n\r\nThe cost of the course is $69.  For additional information, go to the following link:  <a href=\"http://beadisciple.com/workshops.html#UncensoredPrayer\">http://beadisciple.com/workshops.html#UncensoredPrayer</a> .  Class size is limited, so register early.\r\n\r\n&nbsp;','Uncensored Prayer Online Workshop','','inherit','open','open','','5697-revision-3','','','2012-03-28 09:37:22','2012-03-28 16:37:22','',5697,'http://provoketive.com/2012/03/28/5697-revision-3/',0,'revision','',0),(5758,1,'2012-03-30 08:08:41','2012-03-30 15:08:41','[caption id=\"attachment_5726\" align=\"alignnone\" width=\"250\" caption=\"Jeremy John\"]<a href=\"http://provoketive.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/03/jeremyjohn.jpg\"><img src=\"http://provoketive.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/03/jeremyjohn.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"250\" height=\"250\" class=\"size-full wp-image-5726\" /></a>[/caption]\r\n\r\nThis week we talk with Christian activist and Occupy DC lay pastor, Jeremy John. \r\n\r\nJohn shares what led him towards activism and then towards faith and how the occupy movement has become a huge focal point for his life.\r\n\r\n<strong>things to consider while listening ::</strong>\r\n\r\nWhat does \"Christian Anarchy\" mean to you?\r\nShould Christian’s protest and take part in civil disobedience?\r\nWhat issues are you passionate enough about to risk imprisonment?\r\n\r\n[audio=\"http://somethingbeautifulpodcast.com/podcast/021012.mp3\"]','Something Beautiful - Jeremy John','','inherit','open','open','','5725-revision-3','','','2012-03-30 08:08:41','2012-03-30 15:08:41','',5725,'http://provoketive.com/2012/03/30/5725-revision-3/',0,'revision','',0),(5759,1,'2012-03-30 10:25:15','2012-03-30 17:25:15','The concept of <a title=\"Female genital mutilation\" href=\"http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Female_genital_mutilation\" target=\"_blank\">female genital mutilation</a> (female circumcision) is back on the news with heavy opposition from various female activists worldwide.\r\n<p style=\"text-align: center\">[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=y0NuCMKaRpY[/youtube]</p>\r\nIt\'s unbelievable that, in some countries in Africa as well as in some Muslim states, every woman\'s forced to undergo the removal of her clitoris (<a title=\"Clitoridectomy\" href=\"http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Clitoridectomy\" target=\"_blank\">clitoridectomy</a>) with or with anesthesia. This is absurd!\r\n<blockquote><a title=\"Mona Eltahawy\" href=\"http://twitter.com/monaeltahawy\" target=\"_blank\">Mona Eltahawy</a> <a title=\"Mona Eltahawy\" href=\"http://twitter.com/monaeltahawy\" target=\"_blank\">@monaeltahawy</a>\r\nFor the millionth time: the clitoris is the ONLY body part whose sole purpose is pleasure. <a title=\"#FGM\" href=\"http://twitter.com/search/#FGM\" target=\"_blank\">#FGM</a>\r\n3:38 PM - 29 Mar 12</blockquote>\r\nWhy would any one think that cutting off part or all the erectile tissue in a woman\'s genitalia designed to have most sexual pleasure would make her any better? Well as stupid as it may sound, the common answers for this form of barbarism (often compared to rape) are\r\n<ul>\r\n	<li><em>purification (tuhur)</em> seen as <em>\"equivalent to half of faith\"</em> (Islam),\r\n<blockquote>\"The Messenger of Allah (may peace be upon him) said: Cleanliness is half of faith and al-Hamdu Liliah (Praise be to Allah) fills the scale, and Subhan Allah (Glory be to Allah) and al-Hamdu Liliah (Praise be to Allah) fill up what is between the heavens and the earth, and prayer is a light, and charity is proof (of one\'s faith) and endurance is a brightness and the Holy Qur\'an is a proof on your behalf or against you. All men go out early in the morning and sell themselves, thereby setting themselves free or destroying themselves.\"\r\n-- <a title=\"Sahih Muslim - Purification (Kitab Al-Taharah) - Chapter No: 2 - Hadith\" href=\"http://ahadith.co.uk/chapter.php?cid=71\" target=\"_blank\">Hadith no: 432</a></blockquote>\r\n</li>\r\n	<li><em>beautification</em> (making something beautiful that\'s already beautiful; in reality, taking its beauty away) for someone\'s sick interpretation of beauty,</li>\r\n	<li><em>removal of sexual pleasure</em> to make her faithful (not allow her to consider another partner) by reducing her to a mere object (property) or because sex is thought as dirty,</li>\r\n	<li><em>control</em> since every woman\'s considered property and dependent to the sole will of her husband (owner, master),</li>\r\n	<li>and whatever other nonsense some sick mind would come up with.</li>\r\n</ul>\r\nAs much as I hate making any negative remarks on any religion and/or faith system, the following is my sole opinion on this matter and not any form of disrespect to the Muslim faith.\r\n<ol>\r\n	<li>Female circumcision is unnecessary and brutal.</li>\r\n	<li>It\'s got not correlation with the (<em>tuhur</em>) ritual of cleanliness and purification.</li>\r\n</ol>\r\nView <a title=\"File:Type_IV_circumcision.jpg\" href=\"http://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Type_IV_circumcision.jpg\" target=\"_blank\">picture taken after procedure</a> (very graphic, not for everyone, <strong>not for children</strong>).','female genital mutilation','','inherit','open','open','','5739-revision-8','','','2012-03-30 10:25:15','2012-03-30 17:25:15','',5739,'http://provoketive.com/2012/03/30/5739-revision-8/',0,'revision','',0),(5761,46,'2012-04-01 10:32:51','2012-04-01 17:32:51','Just before Christmas in 2008, St. John’s Church in Broadbridge Heath, England took down its 10ft crucifix after numerous parishioners complained that it frightened children. The crucifix, created in the 1960s, shows an emaciated Jesus hanging on the cross with a look of horror and despair on His face. <a href=\"http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/uk_news/england/sussex/7816941.stm\">The BBC asked two different clergymen</a> whether or not the church should have removed the crucifix. One of the two men, Rev. John Caperon, said for any church to disregard the cross would mean ignoring the reality of suffering. “For Christians, of course,” he said, “the great comfort in the crucifix is the thought not that it represents simply human pain, but that it represents also the love of God. For what we’re saying, I think, is this: the God who created us is also to God who suffers with us.”\n\nComing from an evangelical background, I was taught that the only thing the cross represents is Jesus paying the price for our sins. I never thought of the cross as a symbol of God identifying with human suffering. But the more I thought about it, the more it made sense. If Jesus is the second person of the Trinity, then that means God was hanging on that cross in agonizing pain. Think about that for second: Elohim the creator, the great I AM, hanging on a cross, rejected, humiliated, and dying.\n\nAs someone who has struggled with depression and anxiety since early childhood, this was a message I needed to hear. Even though it has been called ‘the common cold of mental illness,’ depression has a funny way of making me feel completely alone. No one else can possibly understand what I’m going through. If I try to put it into words, it won’t make any sense. But if God knows human suffering first hand, then maybe I’m not so crazy after all.\n\nYears later after several bouts of severe depression, I started wondering if maybe I was wrong. Maybe God isn’t able to relate to human suffering. If God is able, then why do I feel so alone when I’m in a bad place? Why do I feel like I’m not man enough for God’s approval? The pain and confusion got so bad at one point that I wrote an angry letter to God telling God to fuck off. In my mind, God no longer suffered with me; God was laughing at me.\n\nWithin the past couple of months, however, I kept coming across passages, blogs, and conversations that made me wonder if perhaps God isn’t a jerk after all. The most recent example has been Dr. Tony Jones’ eBook <em>A Better Atonement: Beyond the Depraved Doctrine of Original Sin</em>:\n<blockquote>[I]n Christianity alone, the God and Creator of the universe deigned to become human, to be tempted, to reach out to those who had be de-humanized and restore their humanity, and ultimately to die in solidarity with every one of us . . . The hope [Jesus] offers is that, by dying on that cross, the eternal Trinity became forever bound to my humanity. The God of the universe identified with me, and I have the opportunity to identify with him.</blockquote>\nReally? God identifies with me and my brokenness? All my Calvinist friends said God was way too holy to identify with my brokenness. But maybe it was true; maybe God does suffer with us after all.\n\nSo like a good Protestant brought up on sola scriptura, I looked through the scriptures to see if God can relate to suffering or not. And what I found was . . .\n\n. . . a God who hears the cries of a suffering people (Exodus 3:7).\n\n. . . a God who becomes the suffering servant in Isaiah (1 Peter 2:24).\n\n. . . a God who became human, faced temptation in the wilderness (Matthew 4:1-11), wept with those in mourning (John 11:35), became “overwhelmed with sorrow” in the garden of Gethsemane (Matthew 26:36-44), and was ultimately died the humiliating death of a criminal, rejected and abandoned (Mark 15:22-39).\n\n. . . a God who rose again.\n\nWhen darkness fills my life, I can\'t imagine how anyone could possibly understand my pain. But if the God of the universe has experienced ultimate human suffering firsthand, then, to echo the words of the psalmist, \"','The Suffering God','','inherit','open','open','','5754-revision-3','','','2012-04-01 10:32:51','2012-04-01 17:32:51','',5754,'http://provoketive.com/2012/04/01/5754-revision-3/',0,'revision','',0),(7382,132,'2012-08-01 13:12:00','2012-08-01 20:12:00','This post is a contribution to the August synchroblog.  The theme is \"Follow\" and bloggers are invited to share their thoughts and ideas about what it means to follow Jesus.\r\n\r\n<a href=\"http://provoketive.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/08/3696616402_ac89c40158.jpg\"><img class=\"aligncenter size-full wp-image-7377\" src=\"http://provoketive.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/08/3696616402_ac89c40158.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"500\" height=\"334\" /></a>\r\n\r\nMy journey of following Jesus led me to a point where I had to completely start over. Some real life stuff came along and made me take a closer look at what I believed about God, following Jesus, Christianity, the Bible, the church etc. and I realized that most of the stuff that I had been so devoted to ... attending church, listening to sermons, reading the bible, witnessing, maintaining the church building, adding to church membership ... didn\'t seem to have much to do with following Jesus.\r\n\r\nIn recent years I have come to think that following Jesus is more about justice and love than about church and believing - more about community than about me getting into heaven - more about people than about institutions or buildings.\r\n\r\nStarting over hasn\'t been easy. It has often meant enduring criticism, rejection and loneliness. But from where I sit I can\'t see that there was another way for me.  I had to let go of all the preconceived ideas, religious dogma and conventional wisdom in order to get a fresh look at Jesus, his mission and his message.\r\n\r\nThese days following Jesus for me is about accepting the call to follow Jesus into the world as an agent of the Kingdom of Heaven - working to bring the way of heaven to earth.\r\n\r\nSometimes that is as simple as sharing a meal with someone and sometimes it is as complex as working to dismantle an unjust system.\r\n\r\nIn the beginning of my journey of following Jesus I thought the main questions were \"who is going to heaven and who is going to hell?\" but now I think the main questions are \"how can I bring heaven to earth and how can I participate with God to bring restoration to the world?\"\r\n\r\nThe humorist Garrison Keillor said \"give up your good Christian life and follow Jesus\" and that is what I feel like I have had to do.\r\n\r\nThese days I am more committed to following Jesus than any other time in my life and yet I\'m not a member of a church and I don\'t often read the bible. My worship of God usually comes in the form of working for justice, and serving and loving others rather than singing songs in church while clapping or raising my hands. I don\'t care about converting people to Christianity but I do want to influence people to live in a loving and generous way. I am interested in cultivating my faith to be a bridge that connects me to others rather than a barrier that separates me from those who don\'t profess to be followers of Jesus.\r\n\r\nI certainly do not think that I have arrived anywhere and on any given day I would be hard pressed to even tell you where I am going ... but for now I am trying to follow Jesus where he leads me even if that means giving up my good Christian life.','Give Up Your Good Christian Life and Follow Jesus','','inherit','open','open','','7376-revision-5','','','2012-08-01 13:12:00','2012-08-01 20:12:00','',7376,'http://provoketive.com/2012/08/01/7376-revision-5/',0,'revision','',0),(7381,132,'2012-08-01 13:08:49','2012-08-01 20:08:49','<a href=\"http://provoketive.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/08/3696616402_ac89c40158.jpg\"><img class=\"aligncenter size-full wp-image-7377\" src=\"http://provoketive.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/08/3696616402_ac89c40158.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"500\" height=\"334\" /></a>\r\n\r\nMy journey of following Jesus led me to a point where I had to completely start over. Some real life stuff came along and made me take a closer look at what I believed about God, following Jesus, Christianity, the Bible, the church etc. and I realized that most of the stuff that I had been so devoted to ... attending church, listening to sermons, reading the bible, witnessing, maintaining the church building, adding to church membership ... didn\'t seem to have much to do with following Jesus.\r\n\r\nIn recent years I have come to think that following Jesus is more about justice and love than about church and believing - more about community than about me getting into heaven - more about people than about institutions or buildings.\r\n\r\nStarting over hasn\'t been easy. It has often meant enduring criticism, rejection and loneliness. But from where I sit I can\'t see that there was another way for me.  I had to let go of all the preconceived ideas, religious dogma and conventional wisdom in order to get a fresh look at Jesus, his mission and his message.\r\n\r\nThese days following Jesus for me is about accepting the call to follow Jesus into the world as an agent of the Kingdom of Heaven - working to bring the way of heaven to earth.\r\n\r\nSometimes that is as simple as sharing a meal with someone and sometimes it is as complex as working to dismantle an unjust system.\r\n\r\nIn the beginning of my journey of following Jesus I thought the main questions were \"who is going to heaven and who is going to hell?\" but now I think the main questions are \"how can I bring heaven to earth and how can I participate with God to bring restoration to the world?\"\r\n\r\nThe humorist Garrison Keillor said \"give up your good Christian life and follow Jesus\" and that is what I feel like I have had to do.\r\n\r\nThese days I am more committed to following Jesus than any other time in my life and yet I\'m not a member of a church and I don\'t often read the bible. My worship of God usually comes in the form of working for justice, and serving and loving others rather than singing songs in church while clapping or raising my hands. I don\'t care about converting people to Christianity but I do want to influence people to live in a loving and generous way. I am interested in cultivating my faith to be a bridge that connects me to others rather than a barrier that separates me from those who don\'t profess to be followers of Jesus.\r\n\r\nI certainly do not think that I have arrived anywhere and on any given day I would be hard pressed to even tell you where I am going ... but for now I am trying to follow Jesus where he leads me even if that means giving up my good Christian life.','Give Up Your Good Christian Life and Follow Jesus','','inherit','open','open','','7376-revision-4','','','2012-08-01 13:08:49','2012-08-01 20:08:49','',7376,'http://provoketive.com/2012/08/01/7376-revision-4/',0,'revision','',0),(7380,132,'2012-08-01 13:06:14','2012-08-01 20:06:14','<a href=\"http://provoketive.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/08/3696616402_ac89c40158.jpg\"><img class=\"aligncenter size-full wp-image-7377\" src=\"http://provoketive.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/08/3696616402_ac89c40158.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"500\" height=\"334\" /></a>\r\n\r\nMy journey of following Jesus led me to a point where I had to completely start over. Some real life stuff came along and made me take a closer look at what I believed about God, following Jesus, Christianity, the Bible, the church etc. and I realized that most of the stuff that I had been so devoted to ... attending church, listening to sermons, reading the bible, witnessing, maintaining the church building, adding to church membership ... didn\'t seem to have much to do with following Jesus.\r\n\r\nIn recent years I have come to think that following Jesus is more about justice and love than about church and believing - more about community than about me getting into heaven - more about people than about institutions or buildings.\r\n\r\nStarting over hasn\'t been easy. It has often meant enduring criticism, rejection and loneliness. But from where I sit I can\'t see that there was another way for me.  I had to let go of all the preconceived ideas, religious dogma and conventional wisdom in order to get a fresh look at Jesus, his mission and his message.\r\n\r\nThese days following Jesus for me is about accepting the call to follow Jesus into the world as an agent of the Kingdom of Heaven - working to bring the way of heaven to earth.\r\n\r\nSometimes that is as simple as sharing a meal with someone and sometimes it is as complex as working to dismantle an unjust system.\r\n\r\nIn the beginning of my journey of following Jesus I thought the main questions were \"who is going to heaven and who is going to hell?\" but now I think the main questions are \"how can I bring heaven to earth and how can I participate with God to bring restoration to the world?\"\r\n\r\nThe humorist Garrison Keillor said \"give up your good Christian life and follow Jesus\" and that is what I feel like I have had to do.\r\n\r\nThese days I am more committed to following Jesus than any other time in my life and yet I\'m not a member of a church and I don\'t often read the bible. My worship of God usually comes in the form of working for justice, and serving and loving others rather than singing songs in church while clapping or raising my hands. I don\'t care about converting people to Christianity but I do want to influence people to live in a loving and generous way. I am interested in cultivating my faith to be a bridge that connects me to others rather than a barrier that separates me from those who don\'t profess to be followers of Jesus.\r\n\r\nI certainly do not think that I have arrived anywhere and on any given day I would be hard pressed to even tell you where I am going ... but for now I am trying to follow Jesus where he leads me even if that means giving up my good Christian life.','Give Up Your Good Christian Life and Follow Jesus','','inherit','open','open','','7376-revision-3','','','2012-08-01 13:06:14','2012-08-01 20:06:14','',7376,'http://provoketive.com/2012/08/01/7376-revision-3/',0,'revision','',0),(7379,132,'2012-08-01 13:05:57','2012-08-01 20:05:57','<a href=\"http://provoketive.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/08/3696616402_ac89c40158.jpg\"><img class=\"aligncenter size-full wp-image-7377\" src=\"http://provoketive.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/08/3696616402_ac89c40158.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"500\" height=\"334\" /></a>\n\nMy journey of following Jesus led me to a point where I had to completely start over. Some real life stuff came along and made me take a closer look at what I believed about God, following Jesus, Christianity, the Bible, the church etc. and I realized that most of the stuff that I had been so devoted to ... attending church, listening to sermons, reading the bible, witnessing, maintaining the church building, adding to church membership ... didn\'t seem to have much to do with following Jesus.\n\nIn recent years I have come to think that following Jesus is more about justice and love than about church and believing - more about community than about me getting into heaven - more about people than about institutions or buildings.\n\nStarting over hasn\'t been easy. It has often meant enduring criticism, rejection and loneliness. But from where I sit I can\'t see that there was another way for me.  I had to let go of all the preconceived ideas, religious dogma and conventional wisdom in order to get a fresh look at Jesus, his mission and his message.\n\nThese days following Jesus for me is about accepting the call to follow Jesus into the world as an agent of the Kingdom of Heaven - working to bring the way of heaven to earth.\n\nSometimes that is as simple as sharing a meal with someone and sometimes it is as complex as working to dismantle an unjust system.\n\nIn the beginning of my journey of following Jesus I thought the main questions were \"who is going to heaven and who is going to hell?\" but now I think the main questions are \"how can I bring heaven to earth and how can I participate with God to bring restoration to the world?\"\n\nThe humorist Garrison Keillor said \"give up your good Christian life and follow Jesus\" and that is what I feel like I have had to do.\n\nThese days I am more committed to following Jesus than any other time in my life and yet I\'m not a member of a church and I don\'t often read the bible. My worship of God usually comes in the form of working for justice, and serving and loving others rather than singing songs in church while clapping or raising my hands. I don\'t care about converting people to Christianity but I do want to influence people to live in a loving and generous way. I am interested in cultivating my faith to be a bridge that connects me to others rather than a barrier that separates me from those who don\'t profess to be followers of Jesus.\n\nI certainly do not think that I have arrived anywhere and on any given day I would be hard pressed to even tell you where I am going ... but for now I am trying to follow Jesus where he leads me even if that means giving up my good Christian life.','Give Up Your Good Christian Life and Follow Jesus','','inherit','open','open','','7376-revision-2','','','2012-08-01 13:05:57','2012-08-01 20:05:57','',7376,'http://provoketive.com/2012/08/01/7376-revision-2/',0,'revision','',0),(5766,0,'2012-04-02 16:47:42','2012-04-02 23:47:42','Hi Jonathan -\r\n\r\nWhat is the status of my last post, Tiny Bubbles? \r\n\r\nI love what you are doing with Provoketive and Civitas!\r\n\r\nGlenn\n<!--more-->\nAUTHOR: Glenn Hager\nAUTHOR EMAIL: glennhager1@gmail.com\nAUTHOR URL: \nSUBJECT: [Provoketive Magazine] Contact Us\nIP: 76.245.207.7\nArray\n(\n    [Name] =&gt; Glenn Hager\n    [Email] =&gt; glennhager1@gmail.com\n    [Comment] =&gt; \r\nHi Jonathan -\r\n\r\nWhat is the status of my last post, Tiny Bubbles? \r\n\r\nI love what you are doing with Provoketive and Civitas!\r\n\r\nGlenn\n)\n','Glenn Hager - 2012-04-02 16:47:42','','publish','open','open','','f6431049046ba63da60a11caba5f0982','','','2012-04-02 16:47:42','2012-04-02 23:47:42','',16,'http://provoketive.com/?post_type=feedback&p=5766',0,'feedback','',0),(7376,132,'2012-08-07 08:00:17','2012-08-07 15:00:17','This post is a contribution to the August synchroblog.  The theme is \"Follow\" and bloggers are invited to share their thoughts and ideas about what it means to follow Jesus.\r\n\r\nMy journey of following Jesus led me to a point where I had to completely start over. Some real life stuff came along and made me take a closer look at what I believed about God, following Jesus, Christianity, the Bible, the church etc. and I realized that most of the stuff that I had been so devoted to ... attending church, listening to sermons, reading the bible, witnessing, maintaining the church building, adding to church membership ... didn\'t seem to have much to do with following Jesus.\r\n\r\nIn recent years I have come to think that following Jesus is more about justice and love than about church and believing - more about community than about me getting into heaven - more about people than about institutions or buildings.\r\n\r\nStarting over hasn\'t been easy. It has often meant enduring criticism, rejection and loneliness. But from where I sit I can\'t see that there was another way for me.  I had to let go of all the preconceived ideas, religious dogma and conventional wisdom in order to get a fresh look at Jesus, his mission and his message.\r\n\r\nThese days following Jesus for me is about accepting the call to follow Jesus into the world as an agent of the Kingdom of Heaven - working to bring the way of heaven to earth.\r\n\r\nSometimes that is as simple as sharing a meal with someone and sometimes it is as complex as working to dismantle an unjust system.\r\n\r\nIn the beginning of my journey of following Jesus I thought the main questions were \"who is going to heaven and who is going to hell?\" but now I think the main questions are \"how can I bring heaven to earth and how can I participate with God to bring restoration to the world?\"\r\n\r\nThe humorist Garrison Keillor said \"give up your good Christian life and follow Jesus\" and that is what I feel like I have had to do.\r\n\r\nThese days I am more committed to following Jesus than any other time in my life and yet I\'m not a member of a church and I don\'t often read the bible. My worship of God usually comes in the form of working for justice, and serving and loving others rather than singing songs in church while clapping or raising my hands. I don\'t care about converting people to Christianity but I do want to influence people to live in a loving and generous way. I am interested in cultivating my faith to be a bridge that connects me to others rather than a barrier that separates me from those who don\'t profess to be followers of Jesus.\r\n\r\nI certainly do not think that I have arrived anywhere and on any given day I would be hard pressed to even tell you where I am going ... but for now I am trying to follow Jesus where he leads me even if that means giving up my good Christian life.','Give Up Your Good Christian Life and Follow Jesus','','publish','open','open','','give-up-your-good-christian-life-and-follow-jesus','','','2012-08-08 08:18:09','2012-08-08 15:18:09','',0,'http://provoketive.com/?p=7376',0,'post','',17),(7377,132,'2012-08-01 13:04:21','2012-08-01 20:04:21','','3696616402_ac89c40158','','inherit','open','open','','3696616402_ac89c40158','','','2012-08-01 13:04:21','2012-08-01 20:04:21','',7376,'http://provoketive.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/08/3696616402_ac89c40158.jpg',0,'attachment','image/jpeg',0),(7378,132,'2012-08-01 13:04:55','2012-08-01 20:04:55','<a href=\"http://provoketive.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/08/3696616402_ac89c40158.jpg\"><img class=\"aligncenter size-full wp-image-7377\" src=\"http://provoketive.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/08/3696616402_ac89c40158.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"500\" height=\"334\" /></a>\n\n&nbsp;','Give Up Your Good Christian Life and Follow Jesus','','inherit','open','open','','7376-revision','','','2012-08-01 13:04:55','2012-08-01 20:04:55','',7376,'http://provoketive.com/2012/08/01/7376-revision/',0,'revision','',0),(5776,139,'2012-04-06 13:30:07','2012-04-06 20:30:07','Holy Week is hard.  That may seem an overly simple statement for a priest to make.  After all, Easter, Resurrection is at the center of our faith.  And this week leading up to it is full: full of weighty symbols, full of meaning, full of Church, full of work.  More sermons to write, more liturgies to plan, more prayers to pray.\r\n\r\nWe all walk through Holy Week differently.  We bring our own expectations and memories with us.\r\n\r\nFor me, it\'s not just the Good Friday in college where my own personal experience of Easter came early as I felt this indescribable joy while walking to Church and watching the early signs of spring.  Or the first Easter Vigil I went to and begged a ride home from.  Or all of the other memory slivers that pile together.\r\n\r\nMy memories of one Holy Week are bold against all of that.\r\n\r\nMy third brain surgery occurred 12 days before Easter.  Surgery itself went well and I was, all things considered, healing quickly.\r\n\r\nBut I remember sitting in the Chapel on Maundy Thursday knowing that, had I had the energy, I wouldn\'t have been able to access the footwashing stations.\r\n\r\nI remember watching the Chapel doors swing close from my window across the street, because I was still too tired to cross the street and attend Good Friday services.\r\n\r\nI remember sitting in the pews for the Easter Vigil, amazed at the sounds I was hearing.  Singing like nothing I\'d ever experienced.\r\n\r\nBound up in these memories, still, Holy Week is about alienation and newness.\r\n\r\nPerhaps these memories sit more fully, more weightily during Holy Week because here at the conclusion of a season that begins, \"Remember you are dust and to dust you shall return\" and ends with betrayal, denial, loneliness, and death (before the Easter Resurrection), there is almost space for these sorts of memories.\r\n\r\n<strong>Here is the Jesus who doesn\'t miraculously heal, but stumbles and needs Simon of Cyrene.</strong>\r\n<strong>Here is Jesus as alone and unsure in Gethsemane.</strong>\r\n<strong>Here horrific, painful events are unfolding and God\'s action is to wait. Not to be absent, but not to intervene.</strong>\r\n\r\nHere these memories are not so strange.  Here these parts, and all of their echoes, of my story fit in.\r\n\r\nHoly Week is hard.','Holy Week and Memories','','publish','open','open','','holy-week-and-memories','','','2012-04-06 13:30:07','2012-04-06 20:30:07','',0,'http://provoketive.com/?p=5776',0,'post','',2),(5777,139,'2012-04-03 14:23:36','2012-04-03 21:23:36','Holy Week is hard.  That may seem an overly simple statement for a priest to make.  After all, Easter, Resurrection is at the center of our faith.  And this week leading up to it is full: full of weighty symbols, full of meaning, full of Church, full of work.  More sermons to write, more liturgies to plan, more prayers to pray.\n\nWe all walk through Holy Week differently.  We bring our own expectations and memories with us.\n\nFor me, it\'s not just the Good Friday in college where my own personal experience of Easter came early as I felt this indescribable joy while walking to Church and watching the early signs of spring.  Or the first Easter Vigil I went to and begged a ride home from.  Or all of the other memory slivers that pile together.\n\nMy memories of one Holy Week are bold against all of that.\n\nMy third brain surgery occurred 12 days before Easter.  Surgery itself went well and I was, all things considered, healing quickly.\n\nBut I remember sitting in the Chapel on Maundy Thursday knowing that, had I had the energy, I wouldn\'t have been able to access the footwashing stations.\n\nI remember watching the Chapel doors swing close from my window across the street, because I was still too tired to cross the street and attend Good Friday services.\n\nI remember sitting in the pews for the Easter Vigil, amazed at the sounds I was hearing.  Singing like nothing I\'d ever experienced.\n\nBound up in these memories, still, Holy Week is about alienation and newness.\n\nPerhaps these memories sit more fully, more weightily during Holy Week because here at the conclusion of a season that begins, \"Remember you are dust and to dust you shall return\" and ends with betrayal, denial, loneliness, and death (before the Easter Resurrection), there is almost space for these sorts of memories.\n\n<strong>Here is the Jesus who doesn\'t miraculously heal, but stumbles and needs Simon of Cyrene.</strong>\n<strong>Here is Jesus as alone and unsure in Gethsemane.</strong>\n<strong>Here horrific, painful events are unfolding and God\'s action is to wait. Not to be absent, but not to intervene.</strong>\n\nHere these memories are not so strange.  Here these parts, and all of their echoes, of my story fit in.\n\nHoly Week is hard.','Holy Week and Memories','','inherit','open','open','','5776-revision','','','2012-04-03 14:23:36','2012-04-03 21:23:36','',5776,'http://provoketive.com/2012/04/03/5776-revision/',0,'revision','',0),(5942,0,'2012-04-11 13:07:24','2012-04-11 20:07:24','I currently write a blog on theology/science which is a topic that I am extremely interested in. I am one year away from completing my Master of Divinity, and will be moving on to PhD studies the field of theology/science.\n<!--more-->\nAUTHOR: Zack Jackson\nAUTHOR EMAIL: zachus@gmail.com\nAUTHOR URL: http://musicalspheres.blogspot.com\nSUBJECT: Provoketive Magazine Writing For Provoketive\nIP: 68.83.225.110\nArray\n(\n    [Name] =&gt; Zack Jackson\n    [Email] =&gt; zachus@gmail.com\n    [Existing Blog or Website] =&gt; http://musicalspheres.blogspot.com\n    [List the topic you are interested writing about] =&gt; I currently write a blog on theology/science which is a topic that I am extremely interested in. I am one year away from completing my Master of Divinity, and will be moving on to PhD studies the field of theology/science. \n    [Current or New WordPress Login Name (We\'ll send you a password.)] =&gt; anglebrahd\n)\n','Zack Jackson - 2012-04-11 13:07:24','','publish','open','open','','2729fd1e3b0e4ce0c352d330e1f3e89a','','','2012-04-11 13:07:24','2012-04-11 20:07:24','',358,'http://provoketive.com/?post_type=feedback&p=5942',0,'feedback','',0),(5779,144,'2012-03-28 21:43:08','2012-03-29 04:43:08','&nbsp;\r\n\r\n<strong>Every day, I listen to NPR. I also watch Fox News on a daily basis.</strong> Jokingly, I tell people that I am either perfectly balanced or totally schizophrenic.\r\n\r\n<strong>Some of the shows on the more biased news networks </strong>are just straight forward news. Some get high marks for production excellence. Few get high marks for in-depth reporting. They each have their entertainers masquerading as journalists or news analysts who overstate their case, holding up the most extreme example from the opposing view to conveniently ridicule them. They try their darnedest to rile people up and increase their ratings; rather than help their audience truly understand an issue. These so-called news outlets are bubbles presenting their version of what is happening in the world.\r\n\r\n<strong>I have voted for Republicans and for Democrats.</strong> Politicians over promise and under deliver. Seldom do they ever finish well. Political parties are just two more bubbles so locked into ideologies and paradigms, that they have paralyzed our government.\r\n\r\n<strong>For over twenty years I was a pastor.</strong> Now that I am removed from that scene, I see the church as one of the hardiest bubbles or all. While some churches are doing great things in their communities, the vast majority of most churches resources are internalized. They emphasize to their own their need to get worshipped-up, taught-up, fixed-up, and dedicated-up in their support of the church. I find this to be generally ineffective, self-serving, and not much like Jesus.\r\n\r\n<strong>As I have attempted to venture into social service work </strong>and community involvement over the last few years, I found another bubble. Social service agencies are locked into programs that are usually funded by the government or foundations. They measure output, instead of outcome. Their client/provider paradigm is a weird symbiotic relationship in which the client becomes dependent upon the services of the agency and the agency is dependent upon having a steady stream of clients to maintain their funding.\r\n\r\n<strong>One can wonder what would happen if agencies opted out of the quick fix</strong> of the hand-out and treated people like human beings, instead of cattle, helping them with acute needs and working with them to develop and pursue their own plan for improving their life.\r\n\r\n<strong>I have never seen an open bubble.</strong> It’s very difficult to get into a bubble. People in the bubble have paid their dues. They have drunk the Kool-Aid. They have earned the favor of the other bubbliest by their adherence to principles of the bubble. Outsiders and newbies may be tolerated, but they will not be heard.\r\n\r\n<strong>It’s also hard to see out of a bubble.</strong> The rest of the world is seen through a soapy blur of refracted light. Since bubbleists are secluded in their bubble, they can only speculate about those outside. Some think the outsiders are evil and to be feared and avoided. Certainly, they are ignorant of the ways of the bubble and they “just don’t get it.”\r\n\r\nSo, it’s hard to get in and hard to see out of a bubble.\r\n\r\n<strong>Yet, bubbles are fragile.</strong> They have to be protected or all will be lost. Therefore, there are guardians of the ways of the bubble who seek to detect dangers, like someone who has different idea or a person who is asking strange questions. If the bubble breaks, it would be horrible. Bubbleists could lose their job, their pension, and their sense of significance.\r\n\r\n<strong>What if we just stopped worrying about the bubbles </strong>and the ways of the bubble? What if we just admitted that some of the bubbles may not be for everyone? What if we concluded that these societal structures simply are not serving us well? What if we quit trying the break back into the cage, I mean, bubble? What if we moved on from cataloging the faultiness of their ways and began to criticize by creating? What if we changed the system by ignoring it? What if we began to use more and more of our energy in positive ways? What if our dreams began to take flight?\r\n\r\n<strong>The unrest that we are seeing around the world indicates that some changes are in order.</strong> We are in desperate need of visionaries, entrepreneurs, creators and collaborators. So, if you have been given the left hand of fellowship or have been invited to leave a bubble, don’t despair. If you have opted out of a bubble; you are not an oddball or a troublemaker. It might just be one of the most important moves you have ever made.\r\n\r\nYou never change things by fighting the existing reality.  To change something, build a new model that makes the existing model obsolete. - Buckminster Fuller','Tiny Bubbles','','inherit','open','open','','5659-revision-16','','','2012-03-28 21:43:08','2012-03-29 04:43:08','',5659,'http://provoketive.com/2012/03/28/5659-revision-16/',0,'revision','',0),(7374,1,'2012-08-01 17:42:53','2012-08-02 00:42:53','In practical and academic theological circles it\'s popular to ponder, write, consider, and act upon the meaning of following Jesus, especially following Jesus to the cross. You read scripture and start to realize going to the cross of Calvary means resisting death-dealing secular and religious bureaucratic and \"other\" assorted authorities, rejecting anything but love and justice as the measuring line, disallowing all that\'s other than righteousness as the plumbline; after a few years of living out our baptism, we start discovering Resurrection Sunday morning is every bit as demanding as Good Friday afternoon. It\'s easy to take pride in demonstrating visibly for ecclesiastically popular causes, maybe getting onto the evening news, feeling good about ourselves for sometimes getting too involved with concerns not popular with our local judicatories. Soundbite on the late night news, anyone? Spending a season with Mother Teresa\'s peeps or serving Thanksgiving dinner at Father Joe\'s place. Those bigger, more obvious, more stars-in-our-crowns activities. And for the most part, they\'re all good. Often very good and life-transformative.\n\nBut in the ambient heat and humidity of mid-summer 2012, I like to remember Jesus partying with friends and with strangers. A spontaneous feast because they\'d hauled in a big catch, had freshly baked bread, and the grapes were ripe and juicy. Or a quick roundup of \"whatever\" resources because so many hungry people had surrounded them. I love stories of Jesus making sure everyone got enough to eat, commanding and demanding his disciples feed others, too. I love how we keep celebrating holy communion, the sacrament of the welcome table, the holy eucharist, with each other. More than simply \"liking\" the way potluck dinners, annual picnics, and strawberry ice cream socials have becoming close to definitive for the church. Ever attended a new to you church that didn\'t have an after worship (or between services) social hour? It\'s all about gathering, talking, relating, feeding, eating, and being fed. And we\'re not likely to keep on performing an action unless it has meaning, unless it says something to us and about us, unless it meets a basic need.\n\nA religious ritual? There are plenty of those. If we are to remember Jesus, do we need bread and wine? Do we need potlucks and picnics? Throughout the records of Jesus\' life we find accounts of Jesus feeding other people and feasting with his friends; Jesus repeatedly talks about those who will banquet in the Kingdom... and about giving his body for the life of the world. But is that gift of a body broken unto death for the life of the world the whole, entire thing?\n\nIn feeding friends and strangers, in celebrating bounty of the sea, gifts from the ground, and fruit of the vine, Jesus reveals a worldview that\'s at a 180-degree angle to most common ideas of religion and religiousness. We find loving justice, mercy, and embrace graciously at work wherever Jesus goes, and wherever we follow him into the world so hunger, greed, need, judgment, and exclusion are wiped out.\n\nLike Jesus, will we actively search for the lonely, the different, the outcast, and the stranger, welcoming them not only to our more formally scheduled eucharistic liturgies (well, turning them out of the narthex, back into the street <em>would</em> be awkward), but also afterwards at social hour (no snarkiness allowed), week night potlucks or annual picnics (I brought enough for everyone and would love to try your special dish), ice cream socials (we\'ve never done it that way, but we\'d love to try your way)? Will we be making our worlds, our neighborhoods and our churches into sanctuaries, holy places, into a foretaste of the reign of God on earth? Will we follow Jesus by including everyone, excluding no one? Will the world recognize us as the body of Christ when we pour out our everyday lives with compassion just as we pour out the eucharistic wine?','Following Jesus Everywhere','','inherit','open','open','','7367-autosave','','','2012-08-01 17:42:53','2012-08-02 00:42:53','',7367,'http://provoketive.com/2012/08/01/7367-autosave/',0,'revision','',0),(5783,90,'2012-04-07 13:31:25','2012-04-07 20:31:25','I heard an interview with Archbishop Desmond Tutu recently. In it he talked about the ongoing deep work that is needed as South Africa moves from Apartheid and three centuries of oppression and domination of people with white skin over people with black skin. Krista Tippet, the interviewer, posed the conversation of how one would know whether the work Bishop Tutu had been doing had “achieved” it’s goals and what “recovery” looked like for the people of South Africa. Archbishop Tutu responded with this story:\r\n\r\nI recommend listening to the <a href=\"http://being.publicradio.org/programs/2012/tutu-god-of-surprises/\" target=\"_blank\">interview</a>. The story I\'m referencing can be found from: 22:52-25:21\r\n\r\nTRANSCRIPT: “I think that we have very gravely underestimated the damage that apartheid inflicted on all of us. You know, the damage to our psyches, the damage that has made —I mean, it shocked me. I went to Nigeria when I was working for the World Council of Churches, and I was due to fly to Jos. And so I go to Lagos airport and I get onto the plane and the two pilots in the cockpit are both black. And whee, I just grew inches. You know, it was fantastic because we had been told that blacks can\'t do this. And we have a smooth takeoff and then we hit the mother and father of turbulence. I mean, it was quite awful, scary. Do you know, I can\'t believe it but the first thought that came to my mind was, \"Hey, there\'s no white men in that cockpit. Are those blacks going to be able to make it?\" And well of course, they obviously made it — here I am. But the thing is, I had not known that I was damaged to the extent of thinking that somehow actually what those white people who had kept drumming into us in South Africa about our being inferior, about our being incapable, it had lodged somewhere in me.”\r\n\r\nThis story stopped me in my tracks and brought home the deep contradictions that each one of us hold in our beings, in our words, in our history, in our actions, thoughts and feelings. Here is a man who has dedicated his life and his work to breaking down oppression, bringing justice and raising up the worth of all people. A man who himself has rich black skin and a heritage of the people’s that he is dedicated to opening up a way for, even this man wrestles with the contradictions inside himself when the very thing he’s fighting against bubbles up in his own being.\r\n\r\nContradiction.\r\n\r\nHere’s another example:<em> The next day the huge crowd that had arrived for the Feast heard that Jesus was entering Jerusalem. They broke off palm branches and went out to meet him. And they cheered: Hosanna! Blessed is he who comes in God’s name! Yes! The King of Israel!</em>” (John 12:14).\r\n\r\nIn the same city, just a few days later, the same Jesus Christ was raised up in question in front of crowds of people. The story goes something like this:\r\n<em>Pilate called together the chief priests, the rulers and the people, and said to them, “You brought me this man as one who was inciting the people to rebellion. I have examined him in your presence and have found no basis for your charges against him. Neither has Herod, for he sent him back to us; as you can see, he has done nothing to deserve death. Therefore, I will punish him and then release him.”\r\nBut the whole crowd shouted, “Away with this man! Release Barabbas to us!”(Barabbas had been thrown into prison for an insurrection in the city, and for murder.)\r\nWanting to release Jesus, Pilate appealed to them again. But they kept shouting, “Crucify him! Crucify him!”\r\nFor the third time he spoke to them: “Why? What crime has this man committed? I have found in him no grounds for the death penalty. Therefore I will have him punished and then release him.”\r\nBut with loud shouts they insistently demanded that he be crucified, and their shouts prevailed. So Pilate decided to grant their demand. He released the man who had been thrown into prison for insurrection and murder, the one they asked for, and surrendered Jesus to their will</em> (Luke 23:13-24).\r\n\r\nIt’s uncomfortable to place ourselves in this story, particularly if we are part of the crowd on both days. But are we not part the crowd? Is there not a place inside each of us that sings praises and asks for God to save us one day and then calls for crucifixion a few days later? Have we not stood in the shoes of Bishop Tutu? Seeing inside ourselves the very things that we have been working to change in the world around us? We are filled with these contradictions between how we want to live and how we speak and act and think and feel.\r\n\r\nThrough these weeks of Lent, as part of my practice, I have been striving to name these contradictions, these tensions inside. It is uncomfortable work and makes me squirm to realize how much like these crowds I am. How I can cry out to God, “save me” when life is feeling difficult and I think God could remove the challenges, and then soon after deny my need for God or even reject God’s presence in the people around me. I have noticed disconnects between my words and my actions, between my ideals and my reactions.\r\n\r\nThere is something disturbing to consciously name these contradictions. There is something liberating and freeing in naming these contradictions. To name that we carry selfishness and arrogance within us as we strive to do good and follow God and to admit that we are sinner and saint, villain and hero, benevolent and selfish and throughout it all—loved by God.\r\n\r\nWhat’s this? Loved by God? Even when we speak critical words? Even when we are arrogant and vindictive? Even when we go against what we know we are called to? And here is the gospel, the good news, and the power of the Lord in our Holy Week Contradictions.\r\n\r\nLet’s go back over the stories…we’ve noted the contradictions between the crowds cheers on Palm Sunday to the denial and calls for crucifixion just a few days later. We’ve noted the way we operate in these contradictions in our own lives and how we are continually in flux in our thoughts and actions. Where is the Lord in all this? Jesus Christ, that of God, God Incarnate, gospel message to us, an example of how God acts in the world. How does Jesus respond throughout these stories in the gospel? Jesus consistently meets them where they are. With love and compassion. With truth and accountability. With forgiveness and reconciliation.\r\n\r\nEven to the point on the cross where Jesus calls out, “Father, forgive them, for they do not know what they are doing” (Luke 23:34). Can you imagine being called to that level of forgiveness and compassionate response? Can you imagine being embraced by that level of understanding for the contradictions we hold in ourselves and being gently held and encouraged to continue to show up, to observe and name the contradictions, to keep inviting the Lord into our lives and move us in ways of reconciliation and wholeness?\r\n\r\nWhat does this look like? How do we do this? I believe each one of you have wisdom to bring to this conversation and I look forward to hearing your responses. To frame our conversation I’d like to offer us two doorways for receiving and connecting with God’s work in each of us.\r\n\r\nMystical theologian Emmanuel Swedenborg writes, “If we believed that—as is truly the case—everything good and true comes from the Lord and everything evil and false comes from hell, then we would not claim the goodness as our own and make it self-serving or claim the evil as our own and make ourselves guilty of it” (Divine Providence #320).\r\n\r\nThere is such freedom from suffering and guilt and freedom from arrogance and pride when we integrate this concept into our lives. We can integrate this teaching by holding and returning to an awareness of our thoughts, our words and our actions. And as we live this teaching, we let go of the strength of the thoughts and habits that have been ingrained and plague us, or as Bishop Tutu said, the things that have become “lodged” in us. The misshapen ideas of who we are and our need to beat ourselves up or clamber to be better than others. We can spend more time dwelling in the land of wholeness and peace where we know that we are a vessel and that we want to surrender and have the Lord be the one who is forming that vessel.\r\n\r\nAnd the second doorway that I want to suggest is to develop a practice of asking the question: “Where is the Lord in this?” We asked this question of our gospel readings this morning and found the Lord being the constant presence of love and strength, healing and forgiveness, reconciliation, persistence, and hope.\r\n\r\nAnd we can ask this question as we navigate our inner and outer lives.\r\nWhere is the Lord in a heated interaction?\r\nIn the deep breath we take?\r\nIn the flash of insight opening us up to a third way?\r\n\r\nWhere is the Lord in the contradictions of grief and loss?\r\nIn the comfort from a friend?\r\nWhen we reach out to grasp at something in our places of great darkness?\r\n\r\nWhere is the Lord when we are convicted with a way that we are living in arrogance and pride?\r\nIn the challenge to be changed?\r\nIn the gentle spirit that we can be held in as we change?\r\nIs it the humility of seeing ourselves in others?\r\n\r\nAs we walk into this Holy Week…let us notice the tensions and the contradictions, in the gospel story and in ourselves. And let us explore these two doorways. To remember that all good comes from God and all evil comes from hell. And to ask the question, “where is the Lord in this?” Drawing on God’s presence to be in us and through us and guide us. And loving us when we shout out “Hosanna” and loving and when we cry “Crucify him”.','Holy Week Contradictions ','','publish','open','open','','holy-week-contradictions','','','2012-04-06 13:33:15','2012-04-06 20:33:15','',0,'http://provoketive.com/?p=5783',0,'post','',2),(5784,90,'2012-04-03 17:27:36','2012-04-04 00:27:36','','IMG_5710','','inherit','open','open','','img_5710','','','2012-04-03 17:27:36','2012-04-04 00:27:36','',5783,'http://provoketive.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/04/IMG_5710.jpg',0,'attachment','image/jpeg',0),(5785,90,'2012-04-03 17:28:14','2012-04-04 00:28:14','','IMG_5710','','inherit','open','open','','img_5710-2','','','2012-04-03 17:28:14','2012-04-04 00:28:14','',5783,'http://provoketive.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/04/IMG_57101.jpg',0,'attachment','image/jpeg',0),(5786,90,'2012-04-03 17:23:24','2012-04-04 00:23:24','I heard an interview with Archbishop Desmond Tutu recently.  In it he talked about the ongoing deep work that is needed as South Africa moves from Apartheid and three centuries of oppression and domination of people with white skin over people with black skin. Krista Tippet, the interviewer, posed the conversation of how one would know whether the work Bishop Tutu had been doing had “achieved” it’s goals and what “recovery” looked like for the people of South Africa.  Archbishop Tutu responded with this story: \n\nI recommend listening to the <a href=\"http://being.publicradio.org/programs/2012/tutu-god-of-surprises/\" target=\"_blank\">interview</a>. The story I\'m referencing can be found from: 22:52-25:21 \n\nTRANSCRIPT: “I think that we have very gravely underestimated the damage that apartheid inflicted on all of us. You know, the damage to our psyches, the damage that has made —I mean, it shocked me. I went to Nigeria when I was working for the World Council of Churches, and I was due to fly to Jos. And so I go to Lagos airport and I get onto the plane and the two pilots in the cockpit are both black. And whee, I just grew inches. You know, it was fantastic because we had been told that blacks can\'t do this. And we have a smooth takeoff and then we hit the mother and father of turbulence. I mean, it was quite awful, scary. Do you know, I can\'t believe it but the first thought that came to my mind was, \"Hey, there\'s no white men in that cockpit. Are those blacks going to be able to make it?\" And well of course, they obviously made it — here I am. But the thing is, I had not known that I was damaged to the extent of thinking that somehow actually what those white people who had kept drumming into us in South Africa about our being inferior, about our being incapable, it had lodged somewhere in me.”\n\n\nThis story stopped me in my tracks and brought home the deep contradictions that each one of us hold in our beings, in our words, in our history, in our actions, thoughts and feelings. Here is a man who has dedicated his life and his work to breaking down oppression, bringing justice and raising up the worth of all people.  A man who himself has rich black skin and a heritage of the people’s that he is dedicated to opening up a way for, even this man wrestles with the contradictions inside himself when the very thing he’s fighting against bubbles up in his own being.  \n\nContradiction. \n\nHere’s another example: The next day the huge crowd that had arrived for the Feast heard that Jesus was entering Jerusalem. They broke off palm branches and went out to meet him. And they cheered: Hosanna! Blessed is he who comes in God’s name! Yes! The King of Israel!” (John 12:14).\n\nIn the same city, just a few days later, the same Jesus Christ was raised up in question in front of crowds of people.  The story goes something like this: Pilate called together the chief priests, the rulers and the people, and said to them, “You brought me this man as one who was inciting the people to rebellion. I have examined him in your presence and have found no basis for your charges against him. Neither has Herod, for he sent him back to us; as you can see, he has done nothing to deserve death.  Therefore, I will punish him and then release him.”\nBut the whole crowd shouted, “Away with this man! Release Barabbas to us!”(Barabbas had been thrown into prison for an insurrection in the city, and for murder.)\nWanting to release Jesus, Pilate appealed to them again. But they kept shouting, “Crucify him! Crucify him!”\nFor the third time he spoke to them: “Why? What crime has this man committed? I have found in him no grounds for the death penalty. Therefore I will have him punished and then release him.”\nBut with loud shouts they insistently demanded that he be crucified, and their shouts prevailed.  So Pilate decided to grant their demand. He released the man who had been thrown into prison for insurrection and murder, the one they asked for, and surrendered Jesus to their will (Luke 23:13-24).\n\n\nIt’s uncomfortable to place ourselves in this story, particularly if we are part of the crowd on both days.  But are we not part the crowd? Is there not a place inside each of us that sings praises and asks for God to save us one day and then calls for crucifixion a few days later? Have we not stood in the shoes of Bishop Tutu? Seeing inside ourselves the very things that we have been working to change in the world around us? We are filled with these contradictions between how we want to live and how we speak and act and think and feel.\n\nThrough these weeks of Lent, as part of my practice, I have been striving to name these contradictions, these tensions inside. It is uncomfortable work and makes me squirm to realize how much like these crowds I am.   How I can cry out to God, “save me” when life is feeling difficult and I think God could remove the challenges, and then soon after deny my need for God or even reject God’s presence in the people around me.  I have noticed disconnects between my words and my actions, between my ideals and my reactions.   \n\nThere is something disturbing to consciously name these contradictions. There is something liberating and freeing in naming these contradictions.  To name that we carry selfishness and arrogance within us as we strive to do good and follow God and to admit that we are sinner and saint, villain and hero, benevolent and selfish and throughout it all—loved by God. \n\n\nWhat’s this? Loved by God? Even when we speak critical words? Even when we are arrogant and vindictive? Even when we go against what we know we are called to?  And here is the gospel, the good news, and the power of the Lord in our Holy Week Contradictions.  \n\nLet’s go back over the stories…we’ve noted the contradictions between the crowds cheers on Palm Sunday to the denial and calls for crucifixion just a few days later. We’ve noted the way we operate in these contradictions in our own lives and how we are continually in flux in our thoughts and actions.  Where is the Lord in all this? Jesus Christ, that of God, God Incarnate, gospel message to us, an example of how God acts in the world. How does Jesus respond throughout these stories in the gospel? Jesus consistently meets them where they are. With love and compassion. With truth and accountability. With forgiveness and reconciliation.\n\nEven to the point on the cross where Jesus calls out, “Father, forgive them, for they do not know what they are doing” (Luke 23:34). Can you imagine being called to that level of forgiveness and compassionate response? Can you imagine being embraced by that level of understanding for the contradictions we hold in ourselves and being gently held and encouraged to continue to show up, to observe and name the contradictions, to keep inviting the Lord into our lives and move us in ways of reconciliation and wholeness? \n\n\nWhat does this look like? How do we do this? I believe each one of you have wisdom to bring to this conversation and I look forward to hearing your responses. To frame our conversation I’d like to offer us two doorways for receiving and connecting with God’s work in each of us.\n\nMystical theologian Emmanuel Swedenborg writes, “If we believed that—as is truly the case—everything good and true comes from the Lord and everything evil and false comes from hell, then we would not claim the goodness as our own and make it self-serving or claim the evil as our own and make ourselves guilty of it” (Divine Providence #320).  \n\nThere is such freedom from suffering and guilt and freedom from arrogance and pride when we integrate this concept into our lives. We can integrate this teaching by holding and returning to an awareness of our thoughts, our words and our actions.  And as we live this teaching, we let go of the strength of the thoughts and habits that have been ingrained and plague us, or as Bishop Tutu said, the things that have become “lodged” in us. The misshapen ideas of who we are and our need to beat ourselves up or clamber to be better than others. We can spend more time dwelling in the land of wholeness and peace where we know that we are a vessel and that we want to surrender and have the Lord be the one who is forming that vessel. \n\n\nAnd the second doorway that I want to suggest is to develop a practice of asking the question: “Where is the Lord in this?”   We asked this question of our gospel readings this morning and found the Lord being the constant presence of love and strength, healing and forgiveness, reconciliation, persistence, and hope. \n\nAnd we can ask this question as we navigate our inner and outer lives.  \nWhere is the Lord in a heated interaction? \nIn the deep breath we take? \nIn the flash of insight opening us up to a third way?  \n\nWhere is the Lord in the contradictions of grief and loss? \nIn the comfort from a friend? \nWhen we reach out to grasp at something in our places of great darkness?  \n\nWhere is the Lord when we are convicted with a way that we are living in arrogance and pride?  \nIn the challenge to be changed? \nIn the gentle spirit that we can be held in as we change?  \nIs it the humility of seeing ourselves in others?\n\nAs we walk into this Holy Week…let us notice the tensions and the contradictions, in the gospel story and in ourselves. And let us explore these two doorways. To remember that all good comes from God and all evil comes from hell. And to ask the question, “where is the Lord in this?” Drawing on God’s presence to be in us and through us and guide us. And loving us when we shout out “Hosanna” and loving and when we cry  “Crucify him”. \n','Holy Week Contradictions ','','inherit','open','open','','5783-revision','','','2012-04-03 17:23:24','2012-04-04 00:23:24','',5783,'http://provoketive.com/2012/04/03/5783-revision/',0,'revision','',0),(5787,90,'2012-04-03 17:28:48','2012-04-04 00:28:48','I heard an interview with Archbishop Desmond Tutu recently.  In it he talked about the ongoing deep work that is needed as South Africa moves from Apartheid and three centuries of oppression and domination of people with white skin over people with black skin. Krista Tippet, the interviewer, posed the conversation of how one would know whether the work Bishop Tutu had been doing had “achieved” it’s goals and what “recovery” looked like for the people of South Africa.  Archbishop Tutu responded with this story: \r\n\r\nI recommend listening to the <a href=\"http://being.publicradio.org/programs/2012/tutu-god-of-surprises/\" target=\"_blank\">interview</a>[gallery]. The story I\'m referencing can be found from: 22:52-25:21 \r\n\r\nTRANSCRIPT: “I think that we have very gravely underestimated the damage that apartheid inflicted on all of us. You know, the damage to our psyches, the damage that has made —I mean, it shocked me. I went to Nigeria when I was working for the World Council of Churches, and I was due to fly to Jos. And so I go to Lagos airport and I get onto the plane and the two pilots in the cockpit are both black. And whee, I just grew inches. You know, it was fantastic because we had been told that blacks can\'t do this. And we have a smooth takeoff and then we hit the mother and father of turbulence. I mean, it was quite awful, scary. Do you know, I can\'t believe it but the first thought that came to my mind was, \"Hey, there\'s no white men in that cockpit. Are those blacks going to be able to make it?\" And well of course, they obviously made it — here I am. But the thing is, I had not known that I was damaged to the extent of thinking that somehow actually what those white people who had kept drumming into us in South Africa about our being inferior, about our being incapable, it had lodged somewhere in me.”\r\n\r\n\r\nThis story stopped me in my tracks and brought home the deep contradictions that each one of us hold in our beings, in our words, in our history, in our actions, thoughts and feelings. Here is a man who has dedicated his life and his work to breaking down oppression, bringing justice and raising up the worth of all people.  A man who himself has rich black skin and a heritage of the people’s that he is dedicated to opening up a way for, even this man wrestles with the contradictions inside himself when the very thing he’s fighting against bubbles up in his own being.  \r\n\r\nContradiction. \r\n\r\nHere’s another example: The next day the huge crowd that had arrived for the Feast heard that Jesus was entering Jerusalem. They broke off palm branches and went out to meet him. And they cheered: Hosanna! Blessed is he who comes in God’s name! Yes! The King of Israel!” (John 12:14).\r\n\r\nIn the same city, just a few days later, the same Jesus Christ was raised up in question in front of crowds of people.  The story goes something like this: Pilate called together the chief priests, the rulers and the people, and said to them, “You brought me this man as one who was inciting the people to rebellion. I have examined him in your presence and have found no basis for your charges against him. Neither has Herod, for he sent him back to us; as you can see, he has done nothing to deserve death.  Therefore, I will punish him and then release him.”\r\nBut the whole crowd shouted, “Away with this man! Release Barabbas to us!”(Barabbas had been thrown into prison for an insurrection in the city, and for murder.)\r\nWanting to release Jesus, Pilate appealed to them again. But they kept shouting, “Crucify him! Crucify him!”\r\nFor the third time he spoke to them: “Why? What crime has this man committed? I have found in him no grounds for the death penalty. Therefore I will have him punished and then release him.”\r\nBut with loud shouts they insistently demanded that he be crucified, and their shouts prevailed.  So Pilate decided to grant their demand. He released the man who had been thrown into prison for insurrection and murder, the one they asked for, and surrendered Jesus to their will (Luke 23:13-24).\r\n\r\n\r\nIt’s uncomfortable to place ourselves in this story, particularly if we are part of the crowd on both days.  But are we not part the crowd? Is there not a place inside each of us that sings praises and asks for God to save us one day and then calls for crucifixion a few days later? Have we not stood in the shoes of Bishop Tutu? Seeing inside ourselves the very things that we have been working to change in the world around us? We are filled with these contradictions between how we want to live and how we speak and act and think and feel.\r\n\r\nThrough these weeks of Lent, as part of my practice, I have been striving to name these contradictions, these tensions inside. It is uncomfortable work and makes me squirm to realize how much like these crowds I am.   How I can cry out to God, “save me” when life is feeling difficult and I think God could remove the challenges, and then soon after deny my need for God or even reject God’s presence in the people around me.  I have noticed disconnects between my words and my actions, between my ideals and my reactions.   \r\n\r\nThere is something disturbing to consciously name these contradictions. There is something liberating and freeing in naming these contradictions.  To name that we carry selfishness and arrogance within us as we strive to do good and follow God and to admit that we are sinner and saint, villain and hero, benevolent and selfish and throughout it all—loved by God. \r\n\r\n\r\nWhat’s this? Loved by God? Even when we speak critical words? Even when we are arrogant and vindictive? Even when we go against what we know we are called to?  And here is the gospel, the good news, and the power of the Lord in our Holy Week Contradictions.  \r\n\r\nLet’s go back over the stories…we’ve noted the contradictions between the crowds cheers on Palm Sunday to the denial and calls for crucifixion just a few days later. We’ve noted the way we operate in these contradictions in our own lives and how we are continually in flux in our thoughts and actions.  Where is the Lord in all this? Jesus Christ, that of God, God Incarnate, gospel message to us, an example of how God acts in the world. How does Jesus respond throughout these stories in the gospel? Jesus consistently meets them where they are. With love and compassion. With truth and accountability. With forgiveness and reconciliation.\r\n\r\nEven to the point on the cross where Jesus calls out, “Father, forgive them, for they do not know what they are doing” (Luke 23:34). Can you imagine being called to that level of forgiveness and compassionate response? Can you imagine being embraced by that level of understanding for the contradictions we hold in ourselves and being gently held and encouraged to continue to show up, to observe and name the contradictions, to keep inviting the Lord into our lives and move us in ways of reconciliation and wholeness? \r\n\r\n\r\nWhat does this look like? How do we do this? I believe each one of you have wisdom to bring to this conversation and I look forward to hearing your responses. To frame our conversation I’d like to offer us two doorways for receiving and connecting with God’s work in each of us.\r\n\r\nMystical theologian Emmanuel Swedenborg writes, “If we believed that—as is truly the case—everything good and true comes from the Lord and everything evil and false comes from hell, then we would not claim the goodness as our own and make it self-serving or claim the evil as our own and make ourselves guilty of it” (Divine Providence #320).  \r\n\r\nThere is such freedom from suffering and guilt and freedom from arrogance and pride when we integrate this concept into our lives. We can integrate this teaching by holding and returning to an awareness of our thoughts, our words and our actions.  And as we live this teaching, we let go of the strength of the thoughts and habits that have been ingrained and plague us, or as Bishop Tutu said, the things that have become “lodged” in us. The misshapen ideas of who we are and our need to beat ourselves up or clamber to be better than others. We can spend more time dwelling in the land of wholeness and peace where we know that we are a vessel and that we want to surrender and have the Lord be the one who is forming that vessel. \r\n\r\n\r\nAnd the second doorway that I want to suggest is to develop a practice of asking the question: “Where is the Lord in this?”   We asked this question of our gospel readings this morning and found the Lord being the constant presence of love and strength, healing and forgiveness, reconciliation, persistence, and hope. \r\n\r\nAnd we can ask this question as we navigate our inner and outer lives.  \r\nWhere is the Lord in a heated interaction? \r\nIn the deep breath we take? \r\nIn the flash of insight opening us up to a third way?  \r\n\r\nWhere is the Lord in the contradictions of grief and loss? \r\nIn the comfort from a friend? \r\nWhen we reach out to grasp at something in our places of great darkness?  \r\n\r\nWhere is the Lord when we are convicted with a way that we are living in arrogance and pride?  \r\nIn the challenge to be changed? \r\nIn the gentle spirit that we can be held in as we change?  \r\nIs it the humility of seeing ourselves in others?\r\n\r\nAs we walk into this Holy Week…let us notice the tensions and the contradictions, in the gospel story and in ourselves. And let us explore these two doorways. To remember that all good comes from God and all evil comes from hell. And to ask the question, “where is the Lord in this?” Drawing on God’s presence to be in us and through us and guide us. And loving us when we shout out “Hosanna” and loving and when we cry  “Crucify him”. \r\n','Holy Week Contradictions ','','inherit','open','open','','5783-revision-2','','','2012-04-03 17:28:48','2012-04-04 00:28:48','',5783,'http://provoketive.com/2012/04/03/5783-revision-2/',0,'revision','',0),(5788,90,'2012-04-03 17:29:20','2012-04-04 00:29:20','I heard an interview with Archbishop Desmond Tutu recently.  In it he talked about the ongoing deep work that is needed as South Africa moves from Apartheid and three centuries of oppression and domination of people with white skin over people with black skin. Krista Tippet, the interviewer, posed the conversation of how one would know whether the work Bishop Tutu had been doing had “achieved” it’s goals and what “recovery” looked like for the people of South Africa.  Archbishop Tutu responded with this story: \r\n\r\nI recommend listening to the <a href=\"http://being.publicradio.org/programs/2012/tutu-god-of-surprises/\" target=\"_blank\">interview</a>. The story I\'m referencing can be found from: 22:52-25:21 \r\n\r\nTRANSCRIPT: “I think that we have very gravely underestimated the damage that apartheid inflicted on all of us. You know, the damage to our psyches, the damage that has made —I mean, it shocked me. I went to Nigeria when I was working for the World Council of Churches, and I was due to fly to Jos. And so I go to Lagos airport and I get onto the plane and the two pilots in the cockpit are both black. And whee, I just grew inches. You know, it was fantastic because we had been told that blacks can\'t do this. And we have a smooth takeoff and then we hit the mother and father of turbulence. I mean, it was quite awful, scary. Do you know, I can\'t believe it but the first thought that came to my mind was, \"Hey, there\'s no white men in that cockpit. Are those blacks going to be able to make it?\" And well of course, they obviously made it — here I am. But the thing is, I had not known that I was damaged to the extent of thinking that somehow actually what those white people who had kept drumming into us in South Africa about our being inferior, about our being incapable, it had lodged somewhere in me.”\r\n\r\n\r\nThis story stopped me in my tracks and brought home the deep contradictions that each one of us hold in our beings, in our words, in our history, in our actions, thoughts and feelings. Here is a man who has dedicated his life and his work to breaking down oppression, bringing justice and raising up the worth of all people.  A man who himself has rich black skin and a heritage of the people’s that he is dedicated to opening up a way for, even this man wrestles with the contradictions inside himself when the very thing he’s fighting against bubbles up in his own being.  \r\n\r\nContradiction. \r\n\r\nHere’s another example: The next day the huge crowd that had arrived for the Feast heard that Jesus was entering Jerusalem. They broke off palm branches and went out to meet him. And they cheered: Hosanna! Blessed is he who comes in God’s name! Yes! The King of Israel!” (John 12:14).\r\n\r\nIn the same city, just a few days later, the same Jesus Christ was raised up in question in front of crowds of people.  The story goes something like this: Pilate called together the chief priests, the rulers and the people, and said to them, “You brought me this man as one who was inciting the people to rebellion. I have examined him in your presence and have found no basis for your charges against him. Neither has Herod, for he sent him back to us; as you can see, he has done nothing to deserve death.  Therefore, I will punish him and then release him.”\r\nBut the whole crowd shouted, “Away with this man! Release Barabbas to us!”(Barabbas had been thrown into prison for an insurrection in the city, and for murder.)\r\nWanting to release Jesus, Pilate appealed to them again. But they kept shouting, “Crucify him! Crucify him!”\r\nFor the third time he spoke to them: “Why? What crime has this man committed? I have found in him no grounds for the death penalty. Therefore I will have him punished and then release him.”\r\nBut with loud shouts they insistently demanded that he be crucified, and their shouts prevailed.  So Pilate decided to grant their demand. He released the man who had been thrown into prison for insurrection and murder, the one they asked for, and surrendered Jesus to their will (Luke 23:13-24).\r\n\r\n\r\nIt’s uncomfortable to place ourselves in this story, particularly if we are part of the crowd on both days.  But are we not part the crowd? Is there not a place inside each of us that sings praises and asks for God to save us one day and then calls for crucifixion a few days later? Have we not stood in the shoes of Bishop Tutu? Seeing inside ourselves the very things that we have been working to change in the world around us? We are filled with these contradictions between how we want to live and how we speak and act and think and feel.\r\n\r\nThrough these weeks of Lent, as part of my practice, I have been striving to name these contradictions, these tensions inside. It is uncomfortable work and makes me squirm to realize how much like these crowds I am.   How I can cry out to God, “save me” when life is feeling difficult and I think God could remove the challenges, and then soon after deny my need for God or even reject God’s presence in the people around me.  I have noticed disconnects between my words and my actions, between my ideals and my reactions.   \r\n\r\nThere is something disturbing to consciously name these contradictions. There is something liberating and freeing in naming these contradictions.  To name that we carry selfishness and arrogance within us as we strive to do good and follow God and to admit that we are sinner and saint, villain and hero, benevolent and selfish and throughout it all—loved by God. \r\n\r\n\r\nWhat’s this? Loved by God? Even when we speak critical words? Even when we are arrogant and vindictive? Even when we go against what we know we are called to?  And here is the gospel, the good news, and the power of the Lord in our Holy Week Contradictions.  \r\n\r\nLet’s go back over the stories…we’ve noted the contradictions between the crowds cheers on Palm Sunday to the denial and calls for crucifixion just a few days later. We’ve noted the way we operate in these contradictions in our own lives and how we are continually in flux in our thoughts and actions.  Where is the Lord in all this? Jesus Christ, that of God, God Incarnate, gospel message to us, an example of how God acts in the world. How does Jesus respond throughout these stories in the gospel? Jesus consistently meets them where they are. With love and compassion. With truth and accountability. With forgiveness and reconciliation.\r\n\r\nEven to the point on the cross where Jesus calls out, “Father, forgive them, for they do not know what they are doing” (Luke 23:34). Can you imagine being called to that level of forgiveness and compassionate response? Can you imagine being embraced by that level of understanding for the contradictions we hold in ourselves and being gently held and encouraged to continue to show up, to observe and name the contradictions, to keep inviting the Lord into our lives and move us in ways of reconciliation and wholeness? \r\n\r\n\r\nWhat does this look like? How do we do this? I believe each one of you have wisdom to bring to this conversation and I look forward to hearing your responses. To frame our conversation I’d like to offer us two doorways for receiving and connecting with God’s work in each of us.\r\n\r\nMystical theologian Emmanuel Swedenborg writes, “If we believed that—as is truly the case—everything good and true comes from the Lord and everything evil and false comes from hell, then we would not claim the goodness as our own and make it self-serving or claim the evil as our own and make ourselves guilty of it” (Divine Providence #320).  \r\n\r\nThere is such freedom from suffering and guilt and freedom from arrogance and pride when we integrate this concept into our lives. We can integrate this teaching by holding and returning to an awareness of our thoughts, our words and our actions.  And as we live this teaching, we let go of the strength of the thoughts and habits that have been ingrained and plague us, or as Bishop Tutu said, the things that have become “lodged” in us. The misshapen ideas of who we are and our need to beat ourselves up or clamber to be better than others. We can spend more time dwelling in the land of wholeness and peace where we know that we are a vessel and that we want to surrender and have the Lord be the one who is forming that vessel. \r\n\r\n\r\nAnd the second doorway that I want to suggest is to develop a practice of asking the question: “Where is the Lord in this?”   We asked this question of our gospel readings this morning and found the Lord being the constant presence of love and strength, healing and forgiveness, reconciliation, persistence, and hope. \r\n\r\nAnd we can ask this question as we navigate our inner and outer lives.  \r\nWhere is the Lord in a heated interaction? \r\nIn the deep breath we take? \r\nIn the flash of insight opening us up to a third way?  \r\n\r\nWhere is the Lord in the contradictions of grief and loss? \r\nIn the comfort from a friend? \r\nWhen we reach out to grasp at something in our places of great darkness?  \r\n\r\nWhere is the Lord when we are convicted with a way that we are living in arrogance and pride?  \r\nIn the challenge to be changed? \r\nIn the gentle spirit that we can be held in as we change?  \r\nIs it the humility of seeing ourselves in others?\r\n\r\nAs we walk into this Holy Week…let us notice the tensions and the contradictions, in the gospel story and in ourselves. And let us explore these two doorways. To remember that all good comes from God and all evil comes from hell. And to ask the question, “where is the Lord in this?” Drawing on God’s presence to be in us and through us and guide us. And loving us when we shout out “Hosanna” and loving and when we cry  “Crucify him”. \r\n','Holy Week Contradictions ','','inherit','open','open','','5783-revision-3','','','2012-04-03 17:29:20','2012-04-04 00:29:20','',5783,'http://provoketive.com/2012/04/03/5783-revision-3/',0,'revision','',0),(5789,90,'2012-04-03 17:45:13','2012-04-04 00:45:13','I heard an interview with Archbishop Desmond Tutu recently.  In it he talked about the ongoing deep work that is needed as South Africa moves from Apartheid and three centuries of oppression and domination of people with white skin over people with black skin. Krista Tippet, the interviewer, posed the conversation of how one would know whether the work Bishop Tutu had been doing had “achieved” it’s goals and what “recovery” looked like for the people of South Africa.  Archbishop Tutu responded with this story: \r\n\r\nI recommend listening to the <a href=\"http://being.publicradio.org/programs/2012/tutu-god-of-surprises/\" target=\"_blank\">interview</a>. The story I\'m referencing can be found from: 22:52-25:21 \r\n\r\nTRANSCRIPT: “I think that we have very gravely underestimated the damage that apartheid inflicted on all of us. You know, the damage to our psyches, the damage that has made —I mean, it shocked me. I went to Nigeria when I was working for the World Council of Churches, and I was due to fly to Jos. And so I go to Lagos airport and I get onto the plane and the two pilots in the cockpit are both black. And whee, I just grew inches. You know, it was fantastic because we had been told that blacks can\'t do this. And we have a smooth takeoff and then we hit the mother and father of turbulence. I mean, it was quite awful, scary. Do you know, I can\'t believe it but the first thought that came to my mind was, \"Hey, there\'s no white men in that cockpit. Are those blacks going to be able to make it?\" And well of course, they obviously made it — here I am. But the thing is, I had not known that I was damaged to the extent of thinking that somehow actually what those white people who had kept drumming into us in South Africa about our being inferior, about our being incapable, it had lodged somewhere in me.”\r\n\r\n\r\nThis story stopped me in my tracks and brought home the deep contradictions that each one of us hold in our beings, in our words, in our history, in our actions, thoughts and feelings. Here is a man who has dedicated his life and his work to breaking down oppression, bringing justice and raising up the worth of all people.  A man who himself has rich black skin and a heritage of the people’s that he is dedicated to opening up a way for, even this man wrestles with the contradictions inside himself when the very thing he’s fighting against bubbles up in his own being.  \r\n\r\nContradiction. \r\n\r\nHere’s another example: The next day the huge crowd that had arrived for the Feast heard that Jesus was entering Jerusalem. They broke off palm branches and went out to meet him. And they cheered: Hosanna! Blessed is he who comes in God’s name! Yes! The King of Israel!” (John 12:14).\r\n\r\nIn the same city, just a few days later, the same Jesus Christ was raised up in question in front of crowds of people.  The story goes something like this: Pilate called together the chief priests, the rulers and the people, and said to them, “You brought me this man as one who was inciting the people to rebellion. I have examined him in your presence and have found no basis for your charges against him. Neither has Herod, for he sent him back to us; as you can see, he has done nothing to deserve death.  Therefore, I will punish him and then release him.”\r\nBut the whole crowd shouted, “Away with this man! Release Barabbas to us!”(Barabbas had been thrown into prison for an insurrection in the city, and for murder.)\r\nWanting to release Jesus, Pilate appealed to them again. But they kept shouting, “Crucify him! Crucify him!”\r\nFor the third time he spoke to them: “Why? What crime has this man committed? I have found in him no grounds for the death penalty. Therefore I will have him punished and then release him.”\r\nBut with loud shouts they insistently demanded that he be crucified, and their shouts prevailed.  So Pilate decided to grant their demand. He released the man who had been thrown into prison for insurrection and murder, the one they asked for, and surrendered Jesus to their will (Luke 23:13-24).\r\n\r\n\r\nIt’s uncomfortable to place ourselves in this story, particularly if we are part of the crowd on both days.  But are we not part the crowd? Is there not a place inside each of us that sings praises and asks for God to save us one day and then calls for crucifixion a few days later? Have we not stood in the shoes of Bishop Tutu? Seeing inside ourselves the very things that we have been working to change in the world around us? We are filled with these contradictions between how we want to live and how we speak and act and think and feel.\r\n\r\nThrough these weeks of Lent, as part of my practice, I have been striving to name these contradictions, these tensions inside. It is uncomfortable work and makes me squirm to realize how much like these crowds I am.   How I can cry out to God, “save me” when life is feeling difficult and I think God could remove the challenges, and then soon after deny my need for God or even reject God’s presence in the people around me.  I have noticed disconnects between my words and my actions, between my ideals and my reactions.   \r\n\r\nThere is something disturbing to consciously name these contradictions. There is something liberating and freeing in naming these contradictions.  To name that we carry selfishness and arrogance within us as we strive to do good and follow God and to admit that we are sinner and saint, villain and hero, benevolent and selfish and throughout it all—loved by God. \r\n\r\n\r\nWhat’s this? Loved by God? Even when we speak critical words? Even when we are arrogant and vindictive? Even when we go against what we know we are called to?  And here is the gospel, the good news, and the power of the Lord in our Holy Week Contradictions.  \r\n\r\nLet’s go back over the stories…we’ve noted the contradictions between the crowds cheers on Palm Sunday to the denial and calls for crucifixion just a few days later. We’ve noted the way we operate in these contradictions in our own lives and how we are continually in flux in our thoughts and actions.  Where is the Lord in all this? Jesus Christ, that of God, God Incarnate, gospel message to us, an example of how God acts in the world. How does Jesus respond throughout these stories in the gospel? Jesus consistently meets them where they are. With love and compassion. With truth and accountability. With forgiveness and reconciliation.\r\n\r\nEven to the point on the cross where Jesus calls out, “Father, forgive them, for they do not know what they are doing” (Luke 23:34). Can you imagine being called to that level of forgiveness and compassionate response? Can you imagine being embraced by that level of understanding for the contradictions we hold in ourselves and being gently held and encouraged to continue to show up, to observe and name the contradictions, to keep inviting the Lord into our lives and move us in ways of reconciliation and wholeness? \r\n\r\n\r\nWhat does this look like? How do we do this? I believe each one of you have wisdom to bring to this conversation and I look forward to hearing your responses. To frame our conversation I’d like to offer us two doorways for receiving and connecting with God’s work in each of us.\r\n\r\nMystical theologian Emmanuel Swedenborg writes, “If we believed that—as is truly the case—everything good and true comes from the Lord and everything evil and false comes from hell, then we would not claim the goodness as our own and make it self-serving or claim the evil as our own and make ourselves guilty of it” (Divine Providence #320).  \r\n\r\nThere is such freedom from suffering and guilt and freedom from arrogance and pride when we integrate this concept into our lives. We can integrate this teaching by holding and returning to an awareness of our thoughts, our words and our actions.  And as we live this teaching, we let go of the strength of the thoughts and habits that have been ingrained and plague us, or as Bishop Tutu said, the things that have become “lodged” in us. The misshapen ideas of who we are and our need to beat ourselves up or clamber to be better than others. We can spend more time dwelling in the land of wholeness and peace where we know that we are a vessel and that we want to surrender and have the Lord be the one who is forming that vessel. \r\n\r\n\r\nAnd the second doorway that I want to suggest is to develop a practice of asking the question: “Where is the Lord in this?”   We asked this question of our gospel readings this morning and found the Lord being the constant presence of love and strength, healing and forgiveness, reconciliation, persistence, and hope. \r\n\r\nAnd we can ask this question as we navigate our inner and outer lives.  \r\nWhere is the Lord in a heated interaction? \r\nIn the deep breath we take? \r\nIn the flash of insight opening us up to a third way?  \r\n\r\nWhere is the Lord in the contradictions of grief and loss? \r\nIn the comfort from a friend? \r\nWhen we reach out to grasp at something in our places of great darkness?  \r\n\r\nWhere is the Lord when we are convicted with a way that we are living in arrogance and pride?  \r\nIn the challenge to be changed? \r\nIn the gentle spirit that we can be held in as we change?  \r\nIs it the humility of seeing ourselves in others?\r\n\r\nAs we walk into this Holy Week…let us notice the tensions and the contradictions, in the gospel story and in ourselves. And let us explore these two doorways. To remember that all good comes from God and all evil comes from hell. And to ask the question, “where is the Lord in this?” Drawing on God’s presence to be in us and through us and guide us. And loving us when we shout out “Hosanna” and loving and when we cry  “Crucify him”. \r\n','Holy Week Contradictions ','','inherit','open','open','','5783-revision-4','','','2012-04-03 17:45:13','2012-04-04 00:45:13','',5783,'http://provoketive.com/2012/04/03/5783-revision-4/',0,'revision','',0),(5840,1,'2012-04-03 15:47:21','2012-04-03 22:47:21','<a href=\"http://provoketive.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/03/bubbles4.jpg\"><img class=\"aligncenter size-full wp-image-5672\" src=\"http://provoketive.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/03/bubbles4.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"550\" height=\"260\" /></a>\r\n\r\n<strong>Every day, I listen to NPR. I also watch Fox News on a daily basis.</strong> Jokingly, I tell people that I am either perfectly balanced or totally schizophrenic.\r\n\r\n<strong>Some of the shows on the more biased news networks </strong>are just straight forward news. Some get high marks for production excellence. Few get high marks for in-depth reporting. They each have their entertainers masquerading as journalists or news analysts who overstate their case, holding up the most extreme example from the opposing view to conveniently ridicule them. They try their darnedest to rile people up and increase their ratings; rather than help their audience truly understand an issue. These so-called news outlets are bubbles presenting their version of what is happening in the world.\r\n\r\n<strong>I have voted for Republicans and for Democrats.</strong> Politicians over promise and under deliver. Seldom do they ever finish well. Political parties are just two more bubbles so locked into ideologies and paradigms, that they have paralyzed our government.\r\n\r\n<strong>For over twenty years I was a pastor.</strong> Now that I am removed from that scene, I see the church as one of the hardiest bubbles or all. While some churches are doing great things in their communities, the vast majority of most churches resources are internalized. They emphasize to their own their need to get worshipped-up, taught-up, fixed-up, and dedicated-up in their support of the church. I find this to be generally ineffective, self-serving, and not much like Jesus.\r\n\r\n<strong>As I have attempted to venture into social service work </strong>and community involvement over the last few years, I found another bubble. Social service agencies are locked into programs that are usually funded by the government or foundations. They measure output, instead of outcome. Their client/provider paradigm is a weird symbiotic relationship in which the client becomes dependent upon the services of the agency and the agency is dependent upon having a steady stream of clients to maintain their funding.\r\n\r\n<strong>One can wonder what would happen if agencies opted out of the quick fix</strong> of the hand-out and treated people like human beings, instead of cattle, helping them with acute needs and working with them to develop and pursue their own plan for improving their life.\r\n\r\n<strong>I have never seen an open bubble.</strong> It’s very difficult to get into a bubble. People in the bubble have paid their dues. They have drunk the Kool-Aid. They have earned the favor of the other bubbliest by their adherence to principles of the bubble. Outsiders and newbies may be tolerated, but they will not be heard.\r\n\r\n<strong>It’s also hard to see out of a bubble.</strong> The rest of the world is seen through a soapy blur of refracted light. Since bubbleists are secluded in their bubble, they can only speculate about those outside. Some think the outsiders are evil and to be feared and avoided. Certainly, they are ignorant of the ways of the bubble and they “just don’t get it.”\r\n\r\nSo, it’s hard to get in and hard to see out of a bubble.\r\n\r\n<strong>Yet, bubbles are fragile.</strong> They have to be protected or all will be lost. Therefore, there are guardians of the ways of the bubble who seek to detect dangers, like someone who has different idea or a person who is asking strange questions. If the bubble breaks, it would be horrible. Bubbleists could lose their job, their pension, and their sense of significance.\r\n\r\n<strong>What if we just stopped worrying about the bubbles </strong>and the ways of the bubble? What if we just admitted that some of the bubbles may not be for everyone? What if we concluded that these societal structures simply are not serving us well? What if we quit trying the break back into the cage, I mean, bubble? What if we moved on from cataloging the faultiness of their ways and began to criticize by creating? What if we changed the system by ignoring it? What if we began to use more and more of our energy in positive ways? What if our dreams began to take flight?\r\n\r\n<strong>The unrest that we are seeing around the world indicates that some changes are in order.</strong> We are in desperate need of visionaries, entrepreneurs, creators and collaborators. So, if you have been given the left hand of fellowship or have been invited to leave a bubble, don’t despair. If you have opted out of a bubble; you are not an oddball or a troublemaker. It might just be one of the most important moves you have ever made.\r\n\r\nYou never change things by fighting the existing reality.  To change something, build a new model that makes the existing model obsolete. - Buckminster Fuller','Tiny Bubbles','','inherit','open','open','','5659-revision-17','','','2012-04-03 15:47:21','2012-04-03 22:47:21','',5659,'http://provoketive.com/2012/04/03/5659-revision-17/',0,'revision','',0),(5790,90,'2012-04-03 17:47:43','2012-04-04 00:47:43','I heard an interview with Archbishop Desmond Tutu recently.  In it he talked about the ongoing deep work that is needed as South Africa moves from Apartheid and three centuries of oppression and domination of people with white skin over people with black skin. Krista Tippet, the interviewer, posed the conversation of how one would know whether the work Bishop Tutu had been doing had “achieved” it’s goals and what “recovery” looked like for the people of South Africa.  Archbishop Tutu responded with this story: \r\n\r\nI recommend listening to the <a href=\"http://being.publicradio.org/programs/2012/tutu-god-of-surprises/\" target=\"_blank\">interview</a>. The story I\'m referencing can be found from: 22:52-25:21 \r\n\r\nTRANSCRIPT: “I think that we have very gravely underestimated the damage that apartheid inflicted on all of us. You know, the damage to our psyches, the damage that has made —I mean, it shocked me. I went to Nigeria when I was working for the World Council of Churches, and I was due to fly to Jos. And so I go to Lagos airport and I get onto the plane and the two pilots in the cockpit are both black. And whee, I just grew inches. You know, it was fantastic because we had been told that blacks can\'t do this. And we have a smooth takeoff and then we hit the mother and father of turbulence. I mean, it was quite awful, scary. Do you know, I can\'t believe it but the first thought that came to my mind was, \"Hey, there\'s no white men in that cockpit. Are those blacks going to be able to make it?\" And well of course, they obviously made it — here I am. But the thing is, I had not known that I was damaged to the extent of thinking that somehow actually what those white people who had kept drumming into us in South Africa about our being inferior, about our being incapable, it had lodged somewhere in me.”\r\n\r\n\r\nThis story stopped me in my tracks and brought home the deep contradictions that each one of us hold in our beings, in our words, in our history, in our actions, thoughts and feelings. Here is a man who has dedicated his life and his work to breaking down oppression, bringing justice and raising up the worth of all people.  A man who himself has rich black skin and a heritage of the people’s that he is dedicated to opening up a way for, even this man wrestles with the contradictions inside himself when the very thing he’s fighting against bubbles up in his own being.  \r\n\r\nContradiction. \r\n\r\nHere’s another example:<em> The next day the huge crowd that had arrived for the Feast heard that Jesus was entering Jerusalem. They broke off palm branches and went out to meet him. And they cheered: Hosanna! Blessed is he who comes in God’s name! Yes! The King of Israel!</em>” (John 12:14).\r\n\r\nIn the same city, just a few days later, the same Jesus Christ was raised up in question in front of crowds of people.  The story goes something like this: \r\n<em>Pilate called together the chief priests, the rulers and the people, and said to them, “You brought me this man as one who was inciting the people to rebellion. I have examined him in your presence and have found no basis for your charges against him. Neither has Herod, for he sent him back to us; as you can see, he has done nothing to deserve death.  Therefore, I will punish him and then release him.”\r\nBut the whole crowd shouted, “Away with this man! Release Barabbas to us!”(Barabbas had been thrown into prison for an insurrection in the city, and for murder.)\r\nWanting to release Jesus, Pilate appealed to them again. But they kept shouting, “Crucify him! Crucify him!”\r\nFor the third time he spoke to them: “Why? What crime has this man committed? I have found in him no grounds for the death penalty. Therefore I will have him punished and then release him.”\r\nBut with loud shouts they insistently demanded that he be crucified, and their shouts prevailed.  So Pilate decided to grant their demand. He released the man who had been thrown into prison for insurrection and murder, the one they asked for, and surrendered Jesus to their will</em> (Luke 23:13-24).\r\n\r\nIt’s uncomfortable to place ourselves in this story, particularly if we are part of the crowd on both days.  But are we not part the crowd? Is there not a place inside each of us that sings praises and asks for God to save us one day and then calls for crucifixion a few days later? Have we not stood in the shoes of Bishop Tutu? Seeing inside ourselves the very things that we have been working to change in the world around us? We are filled with these contradictions between how we want to live and how we speak and act and think and feel.\r\n\r\nThrough these weeks of Lent, as part of my practice, I have been striving to name these contradictions, these tensions inside. It is uncomfortable work and makes me squirm to realize how much like these crowds I am.   How I can cry out to God, “save me” when life is feeling difficult and I think God could remove the challenges, and then soon after deny my need for God or even reject God’s presence in the people around me.  I have noticed disconnects between my words and my actions, between my ideals and my reactions.   \r\n\r\nThere is something disturbing to consciously name these contradictions. There is something liberating and freeing in naming these contradictions.  To name that we carry selfishness and arrogance within us as we strive to do good and follow God and to admit that we are sinner and saint, villain and hero, benevolent and selfish and throughout it all—loved by God. \r\n\r\n\r\nWhat’s this? Loved by God? Even when we speak critical words? Even when we are arrogant and vindictive? Even when we go against what we know we are called to?  And here is the gospel, the good news, and the power of the Lord in our Holy Week Contradictions.  \r\n\r\nLet’s go back over the stories…we’ve noted the contradictions between the crowds cheers on Palm Sunday to the denial and calls for crucifixion just a few days later. We’ve noted the way we operate in these contradictions in our own lives and how we are continually in flux in our thoughts and actions.  Where is the Lord in all this? Jesus Christ, that of God, God Incarnate, gospel message to us, an example of how God acts in the world. How does Jesus respond throughout these stories in the gospel? Jesus consistently meets them where they are. With love and compassion. With truth and accountability. With forgiveness and reconciliation.\r\n\r\nEven to the point on the cross where Jesus calls out, “Father, forgive them, for they do not know what they are doing” (Luke 23:34). Can you imagine being called to that level of forgiveness and compassionate response? Can you imagine being embraced by that level of understanding for the contradictions we hold in ourselves and being gently held and encouraged to continue to show up, to observe and name the contradictions, to keep inviting the Lord into our lives and move us in ways of reconciliation and wholeness? \r\n\r\nWhat does this look like? How do we do this? I believe each one of you have wisdom to bring to this conversation and I look forward to hearing your responses. To frame our conversation I’d like to offer us two doorways for receiving and connecting with God’s work in each of us.\r\n\r\nMystical theologian Emmanuel Swedenborg writes, “If we believed that—as is truly the case—everything good and true comes from the Lord and everything evil and false comes from hell, then we would not claim the goodness as our own and make it self-serving or claim the evil as our own and make ourselves guilty of it” (Divine Providence #320).  \r\n\r\nThere is such freedom from suffering and guilt and freedom from arrogance and pride when we integrate this concept into our lives. We can integrate this teaching by holding and returning to an awareness of our thoughts, our words and our actions.  And as we live this teaching, we let go of the strength of the thoughts and habits that have been ingrained and plague us, or as Bishop Tutu said, the things that have become “lodged” in us. The misshapen ideas of who we are and our need to beat ourselves up or clamber to be better than others. We can spend more time dwelling in the land of wholeness and peace where we know that we are a vessel and that we want to surrender and have the Lord be the one who is forming that vessel. \r\n\r\nAnd the second doorway that I want to suggest is to develop a practice of asking the question: “Where is the Lord in this?”   We asked this question of our gospel readings this morning and found the Lord being the constant presence of love and strength, healing and forgiveness, reconciliation, persistence, and hope. \r\n\r\nAnd we can ask this question as we navigate our inner and outer lives.  \r\nWhere is the Lord in a heated interaction? \r\nIn the deep breath we take? \r\nIn the flash of insight opening us up to a third way?  \r\n\r\nWhere is the Lord in the contradictions of grief and loss? \r\nIn the comfort from a friend? \r\nWhen we reach out to grasp at something in our places of great darkness?  \r\n\r\nWhere is the Lord when we are convicted with a way that we are living in arrogance and pride?  \r\nIn the challenge to be changed? \r\nIn the gentle spirit that we can be held in as we change?  \r\nIs it the humility of seeing ourselves in others?\r\n\r\nAs we walk into this Holy Week…let us notice the tensions and the contradictions, in the gospel story and in ourselves. And let us explore these two doorways. To remember that all good comes from God and all evil comes from hell. And to ask the question, “where is the Lord in this?” Drawing on God’s presence to be in us and through us and guide us. And loving us when we shout out “Hosanna” and loving and when we cry  “Crucify him”. \r\n','Holy Week Contradictions ','','inherit','open','open','','5783-revision-5','','','2012-04-03 17:47:43','2012-04-04 00:47:43','',5783,'http://provoketive.com/2012/04/03/5783-revision-5/',0,'revision','',0),(5791,90,'2012-04-03 17:48:23','2012-04-04 00:48:23','I heard an interview with Archbishop Desmond Tutu recently.  In it he talked about the ongoing deep work that is needed as South Africa moves from Apartheid and three centuries of oppression and domination of people with white skin over people with black skin. Krista Tippet, the interviewer, posed the conversation of how one would know whether the work Bishop Tutu had been doing had “achieved” it’s goals and what “recovery” looked like for the people of South Africa.  Archbishop Tutu responded with this story: \r\n\r\nI recommend listening to the <a href=\"http://being.publicradio.org/programs/2012/tutu-god-of-surprises/\" target=\"_blank\">interview</a>. The story I\'m referencing can be found from: 22:52-25:21 \r\n\r\nTRANSCRIPT: “I think that we have very gravely underestimated the damage that apartheid inflicted on all of us. You know, the damage to our psyches, the damage that has made —I mean, it shocked me. I went to Nigeria when I was working for the World Council of Churches, and I was due to fly to Jos. And so I go to Lagos airport and I get onto the plane and the two pilots in the cockpit are both black. And whee, I just grew inches. You know, it was fantastic because we had been told that blacks can\'t do this. And we have a smooth takeoff and then we hit the mother and father of turbulence. I mean, it was quite awful, scary. Do you know, I can\'t believe it but the first thought that came to my mind was, \"Hey, there\'s no white men in that cockpit. Are those blacks going to be able to make it?\" And well of course, they obviously made it — here I am. But the thing is, I had not known that I was damaged to the extent of thinking that somehow actually what those white people who had kept drumming into us in South Africa about our being inferior, about our being incapable, it had lodged somewhere in me.”\r\n\r\n\r\nThis story stopped me in my tracks and brought home the deep contradictions that each one of us hold in our beings, in our words, in our history, in our actions, thoughts and feelings. Here is a man who has dedicated his life and his work to breaking down oppression, bringing justice and raising up the worth of all people.  A man who himself has rich black skin and a heritage of the people’s that he is dedicated to opening up a way for, even this man wrestles with the contradictions inside himself when the very thing he’s fighting against bubbles up in his own being.  \r\n\r\nContradiction. \r\n\r\nHere’s another example:<em> The next day the huge crowd that had arrived for the Feast heard that Jesus was entering Jerusalem. They broke off palm branches and went out to meet him. And they cheered: Hosanna! Blessed is he who comes in God’s name! Yes! The King of Israel!</em>” (John 12:14).\r\n\r\nIn the same city, just a few days later, the same Jesus Christ was raised up in question in front of crowds of people.  The story goes something like this: \r\n<em>Pilate called together the chief priests, the rulers and the people, and said to them, “You brought me this man as one who was inciting the people to rebellion. I have examined him in your presence and have found no basis for your charges against him. Neither has Herod, for he sent him back to us; as you can see, he has done nothing to deserve death.  Therefore, I will punish him and then release him.”\r\nBut the whole crowd shouted, “Away with this man! Release Barabbas to us!”(Barabbas had been thrown into prison for an insurrection in the city, and for murder.)\r\nWanting to release Jesus, Pilate appealed to them again. But they kept shouting, “Crucify him! Crucify him!”\r\nFor the third time he spoke to them: “Why? What crime has this man committed? I have found in him no grounds for the death penalty. Therefore I will have him punished and then release him.”\r\nBut with loud shouts they insistently demanded that he be crucified, and their shouts prevailed.  So Pilate decided to grant their demand. He released the man who had been thrown into prison for insurrection and murder, the one they asked for, and surrendered Jesus to their will</em> (Luke 23:13-24).\r\n\r\nIt’s uncomfortable to place ourselves in this story, particularly if we are part of the crowd on both days.  But are we not part the crowd? Is there not a place inside each of us that sings praises and asks for God to save us one day and then calls for crucifixion a few days later? Have we not stood in the shoes of Bishop Tutu? Seeing inside ourselves the very things that we have been working to change in the world around us? We are filled with these contradictions between how we want to live and how we speak and act and think and feel.\r\n\r\nThrough these weeks of Lent, as part of my practice, I have been striving to name these contradictions, these tensions inside. It is uncomfortable work and makes me squirm to realize how much like these crowds I am.   How I can cry out to God, “save me” when life is feeling difficult and I think God could remove the challenges, and then soon after deny my need for God or even reject God’s presence in the people around me.  I have noticed disconnects between my words and my actions, between my ideals and my reactions.   \r\n\r\nThere is something disturbing to consciously name these contradictions. There is something liberating and freeing in naming these contradictions.  To name that we carry selfishness and arrogance within us as we strive to do good and follow God and to admit that we are sinner and saint, villain and hero, benevolent and selfish and throughout it all—loved by God. \r\n\r\n\r\nWhat’s this? Loved by God? Even when we speak critical words? Even when we are arrogant and vindictive? Even when we go against what we know we are called to?  And here is the gospel, the good news, and the power of the Lord in our Holy Week Contradictions.  \r\n\r\nLet’s go back over the stories…we’ve noted the contradictions between the crowds cheers on Palm Sunday to the denial and calls for crucifixion just a few days later. We’ve noted the way we operate in these contradictions in our own lives and how we are continually in flux in our thoughts and actions.  Where is the Lord in all this? Jesus Christ, that of God, God Incarnate, gospel message to us, an example of how God acts in the world. How does Jesus respond throughout these stories in the gospel? Jesus consistently meets them where they are. With love and compassion. With truth and accountability. With forgiveness and reconciliation.\r\n\r\nEven to the point on the cross where Jesus calls out, “Father, forgive them, for they do not know what they are doing” (Luke 23:34). Can you imagine being called to that level of forgiveness and compassionate response? Can you imagine being embraced by that level of understanding for the contradictions we hold in ourselves and being gently held and encouraged to continue to show up, to observe and name the contradictions, to keep inviting the Lord into our lives and move us in ways of reconciliation and wholeness? \r\n\r\nWhat does this look like? How do we do this? I believe each one of you have wisdom to bring to this conversation and I look forward to hearing your responses. To frame our conversation I’d like to offer us two doorways for receiving and connecting with God’s work in each of us.\r\n\r\nMystical theologian Emmanuel Swedenborg writes, “If we believed that—as is truly the case—everything good and true comes from the Lord and everything evil and false comes from hell, then we would not claim the goodness as our own and make it self-serving or claim the evil as our own and make ourselves guilty of it” (Divine Providence #320).  \r\n\r\nThere is such freedom from suffering and guilt and freedom from arrogance and pride when we integrate this concept into our lives. We can integrate this teaching by holding and returning to an awareness of our thoughts, our words and our actions.  And as we live this teaching, we let go of the strength of the thoughts and habits that have been ingrained and plague us, or as Bishop Tutu said, the things that have become “lodged” in us. The misshapen ideas of who we are and our need to beat ourselves up or clamber to be better than others. We can spend more time dwelling in the land of wholeness and peace where we know that we are a vessel and that we want to surrender and have the Lord be the one who is forming that vessel. \r\n\r\nAnd the second doorway that I want to suggest is to develop a practice of asking the question: “Where is the Lord in this?”   We asked this question of our gospel readings this morning and found the Lord being the constant presence of love and strength, healing and forgiveness, reconciliation, persistence, and hope. \r\n\r\nAnd we can ask this question as we navigate our inner and outer lives.  \r\nWhere is the Lord in a heated interaction? \r\nIn the deep breath we take? \r\nIn the flash of insight opening us up to a third way?  \r\n\r\nWhere is the Lord in the contradictions of grief and loss? \r\nIn the comfort from a friend? \r\nWhen we reach out to grasp at something in our places of great darkness?  \r\n\r\nWhere is the Lord when we are convicted with a way that we are living in arrogance and pride?  \r\nIn the challenge to be changed? \r\nIn the gentle spirit that we can be held in as we change?  \r\nIs it the humility of seeing ourselves in others?\r\n\r\nAs we walk into this Holy Week…let us notice the tensions and the contradictions, in the gospel story and in ourselves. And let us explore these two doorways. To remember that all good comes from God and all evil comes from hell. And to ask the question, “where is the Lord in this?” Drawing on God’s presence to be in us and through us and guide us. And loving us when we shout out “Hosanna” and loving and when we cry  “Crucify him”. \r\n','Holy Week Contradictions ','','inherit','open','open','','5783-revision-6','','','2012-04-03 17:48:23','2012-04-04 00:48:23','',5783,'http://provoketive.com/2012/04/03/5783-revision-6/',0,'revision','',0),(7393,1,'2012-08-01 17:44:04','2012-08-02 00:44:04','The topic:  <strong>Follow.</strong>  In August we are going to consider the idea of following.  Jesus said, “Take up your cross and follow me,” and that has powerful implications in the way we live.  How does that affect you?   We believe the power of voice has tremendous capacity to inspire and encourage people. Provoketive is a space to explore our humanity, who we follow, and who is following us.\r\n\r\nThe following is a list of participants in this Synchroblog.  To participate, click <a title=\"New Synchroblog Coming – Follow\" href=\"http://provoketive.com/2012/07/19/new-synchroblog-coming-follow/\">here</a>.\r\n\r\nAugust 2nd - <a href=\"http://www.fallenpastor.com/\">Ray Carroll</a> - <a title=\"Following Christ After Extreme Failure\" href=\"http://provoketive.com/2012/08/02/following-christ-after-extreme-failure/\">Following Christ After Extreme Failure</a>\r\n\r\nAugust 3rd - <a href=\"http://www.tillhecomes.org/\">Jeremy Myers</a> - <a title=\"Everyone is Following Jesus\" href=\"http://provoketive.com/2012/08/03/everyone-is-following-jesus/\">Everyone is Following Jesus</a>\r\n\r\nAugust 4th - <a href=\"http://wordshalfheard.blogspot.com/\">Carol Kuniholm</a> - <a title=\"Which Way Am I Called to Follow?\" href=\"http://provoketive.com/2012/08/04/which-way-am-i-called-to-follow/\">Which Way Am I Called to Follow?</a>\r\n\r\nAugust 6th - <a href=\"http://protestantheretic.wordpress.com/\">Leah Randall</a> - <a title=\"Two Words\" href=\"http://provoketive.com/2012/08/06/two-words-2/\">Two Words</a>\r\n\r\nAugust 7th - <a href=\"http://gracerules.wordpress.com/\">Liz Dyer</a> - <a title=\"Give Up Your Good Christian Life and Follow Jesus\" href=\"http://provoketive.com/2012/08/07/give-up-your-good-christian-life-and-follow-jesus/\">Give Up Your Good Christian Life and Follow Jesus</a>\r\n\r\nAugust 8th - <a href=\"http://ellenharoutunian.com/\" target=\"_blank\">Ellen Haroutunian</a> - <a title=\"Follow Me\" href=\"http://provoketive.com/2012/08/08/follow-me/\">Follow Me</a>\r\n\r\nAugust 9th - <a href=\"http://www.desertspiritsfire.com/\">Leah Chang</a> - <a title=\"Following Jesus Everywhere\" href=\"http://provoketive.com/2012/08/09/following-jesus-everywhere/\">Following Jesus Everywhere</a>\r\n\r\nAugust 10th - <a href=\"http://www.glennhager.com/\">Glenn Hager</a> - <a title=\"Strange Places\" href=\"http://provoketive.com/2012/08/10/strange-places/\">Strange Places</a>\r\n\r\nAugust 11th - <a href=\"http://www.fallenpastor.com/\">Ray Carroll</a> - <a title=\"“Where Will We Go?” Christ vs. The Crusade System\" href=\"http://provoketive.com/2012/08/11/where-will-we-go-christ-vs-the-crusade-system/\">\"Where Will We Go?\" Christ vs. The Crusade System</a>\r\n\r\nAugust 13th - <a href=\"https://www.facebook.com/sarita.brown1\" target=\"_blank\">Sarita Baker Brown</a> - <a title=\"Why I Am Leaving Christianity\" href=\"http://provoketive.com/2012/08/13/why-i-am-leaving-christianity/\">Why I Am Leaving Christianity</a>\r\n\r\nAugust 14th - <a href=\"http://jenniferluitwieler.com/\">Jennifer Luitweiler</a> - <a title=\"U2 and the Call to Follow\" href=\"http://provoketive.com/2012/08/14/u2-and-the-call-to-follow/\">U2 and the Call to Follow</a>\r\n\r\nAugust 15th - <a href=\"http://kathyescobar.com/\" target=\"_blank\">Kathy Escobar</a> - <a title=\"What It Means to Follow\" href=\"http://provoketive.com/2012/08/15/what-it-means-to-follow/\">What It Means to Follow</a>\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n&nbsp;','Follow - Synchroblog List ','','publish','open','open','','follow-synchroblog-list','','','2012-08-15 15:05:17','2012-08-15 22:05:17','',0,'http://provoketive.com/?p=7393',0,'post','',2),(7372,136,'2012-07-31 21:56:09','2012-08-01 04:56:09','In practical and academic theological circles it\'s popular to ponder, write, consider, and act upon the meaning of following Jesus, especially following Jesus to the cross. You read scripture and start to realize going to the cross of Calvary means resisting death-dealing secular and religious bureaucratic and \"other\" assorted authorities, rejecting anything but love and justice as the measuring line, disallowing all that\'s other than righteousness as the plumbline; after a few years of living out our baptism, we start discovering Resurrection Sunday morning is every bit as demanding as Good Friday afternoon. It\'s easy to take pride in demonstrating visibly for ecclesiastically popular causes, maybe getting onto the evening news, feeling good about ourselves for sometimes getting too involved with concerns not popular with our local judicatories. Soundbite on the late night news, anyone? Spending a season with Mother Teresa\'s peeps or serving Thanksgiving dinner at Father Joe Carroll\'s place. Those bigger, more obvious, more stars-in-our-crowns activities. And for the most part, they\'re all good. Often very good and life-transformative.\r\n\r\nBut in the ambient heat and humidity of mid-summer 2012, I like to remember Jesus partying with friends and with strangers. A spontaneous feast because they\'d hauled in a big catch, had freshly baked bread, and the grapes were ripe and juicy. Or a quick roundup of \"whatever\" resources because so many hungry people had surrounded them. I love stories of Jesus making sure everyone got enough to eat, commanding and demanding his disciples feed others, too. I love how we keep celebrating holy communion, the sacrament of the welcome table, the holy eucharist, with each other. More than simply \"liking\" the way potluck dinners, annual picnics, and strawberry ice cream socials have becoming close to definitive for the church. Ever attended a new to you church that didn\'t have an after worship (or between services) social hour? It\'s all about gathering, talking, relating, feeding, eating, and being fed. And we\'re not likely to keep on performing an action unless it has meaning, unless it says something to us and about us, unless it meets a basic need.\r\n\r\nA religious ritual? There are plenty of those. If we are to remember Jesus, do we need bread and wine? Do we need potlucks and picnics? Throughout the records of Jesus\' life we find accounts of Jesus feeding other people and feasting with his friends; Jesus repeatedly talks about those who will banquet in the Kingdom... and about giving his body for the life of the world. But is that gift of a body broken unto death for the life of the world the whole, entire thing?\r\n\r\nIn feeding friends and strangers, in celebrating bounty of the sea, gifts from the ground, and fruit of the vine, Jesus reveals a worldview that\'s at a 180-degree angle to most common ideas of religion and religiousness. We find loving justice, mercy, and embrace graciously at work wherever Jesus goes, and wherever we follow him into the world so hunger, greed, need, judgment, and exclusion are wiped out.\r\n\r\nLike Jesus, will we actively search for the lonely, the different, the outcast, and the stranger, welcoming them not only to our more formally scheduled eucharistic liturgies (well, turning them out of the narthex, back into the street <em>would</em> be awkward), but also afterwards at social hour (no snarkiness allowed), week night potlucks or annual picnics (I brought enough for everyone and would love to try your special dish), ice cream socials (we\'ve never done it that way, but we\'d love to try your way)? Will we be making our worlds, our neighborhoods and our churches into sanctuaries, holy places, into a foretaste of the reign of God on earth? Will we follow Jesus by including everyone, excluding no one? Will the world recognize us as the body of Christ when we pour out our everyday lives with compassion just as we pour out the eucharistic wine? I hope so!','following Jesus wherever he goes','','inherit','open','open','','7367-revision-5','','','2012-07-31 21:56:09','2012-08-01 04:56:09','',7367,'http://provoketive.com/2012/07/31/7367-revision-5/',0,'revision','',0),(5794,1,'2012-03-16 18:34:57','2012-03-17 01:34:57','\"I love you when you bow in your mosque, kneel in your temple,<a href=\"http://provoketive.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/03/kahlil-gibran-wisdom.jpg\"><img class=\"alignright  wp-image-5502\" src=\"http://provoketive.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/03/kahlil-gibran-wisdom-150x150.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"171\" height=\"187\" /></a>\r\n\r\n pray in your church.  For you and I are sons of one religion,\r\n\r\n and it is The Spirit.\" - Khalil Gibran\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n<strong><em>Life is abundant!  Our universe is teeming with its energy.  It is the matrix for all that exists around us...within us.  It is the most sacred element of the Creator/Creation.  All material objects in the universe...from the smallest nanoparticle to the most immense object...are the progeny of this eternally living energy.  It is the singularity that unites all that we only think we perceive as different objects.  In such perceptions we deceive ourselves...always.</em></strong>\r\n\r\n<strong><em>Most of my experience praying has simply acknowledged that I am integral, inseparable, from this most sacred Creator/Creation.  I am dependant upon all of it, just as it is dependant upon me.  This \'me\' is so much more than what I perceive when I am looking into a mirror, or thinking about \'who I am\', \'what I am doing\', \'what I am thinking\'.  Stepping out of those routines and the busyness of what I misperceive as \'me\'...to acknowledge the singular truth of Being...is the essence of worship of the divine Creator/Creation.  It requires no words for they would be inadequate though sincere.  The words of scripture writers and poet philosophers are only signposts pointing toward the great silent truth of knowing.</em></strong>\r\n\r\n<strong><em>You have seen and heard those who perceive themselves as having authority to promote separation from, exclusion of, or superiority over the spiritual beliefs, religious practices, and life commitments of other people.  In the current political environment we are assaulted daily by their harsh rhetoric!  Those who promote these dualities are misperceiving themselves as well as the people they hold judgment upon.  Your knowing of your own Grace in our Creator/Creation is truth enough.  The Christ is quoted  telling you the same...\"My Grace is enough for you\"!</em></strong>\r\n\r\n<strong><em>Look how we pray...</em></strong><strong><em><a href=\"http://provoketive.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/03/Bhuddist-monks-pray1.jpg\"><img class=\"aligncenter  wp-image-5512\" src=\"http://provoketive.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/03/Bhuddist-monks-pray1-300x171.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"386\" height=\"193\" /></a></em></strong>\r\n\r\n<strong><em> See how we yearn...</em></strong><strong><em><a href=\"http://provoketive.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/03/mu-jews-praying.jpg\"><img class=\"aligncenter  wp-image-5517\" src=\"http://provoketive.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/03/mu-jews-praying-300x226.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"388\" height=\"249\" /></a> </em></strong>\r\n\r\n<strong><em>Hear our prayers...</em></strong><strong><em><a href=\"http://provoketive.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/03/muslim_kids_praying.jpg\"><img class=\"aligncenter  wp-image-5518\" src=\"http://provoketive.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/03/muslim_kids_praying.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"387\" height=\"224\" /></a></em></strong>\r\n\r\n<strong><em> Listen for the Eternal voice of the Creator/Creation...</em></strong><strong><em><a href=\"http://provoketive.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/03/Prayer21.jpg\"><img class=\"aligncenter  wp-image-5519\" src=\"http://provoketive.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/03/Prayer21-300x225.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"385\" height=\"240\" /></a> </em></strong>\r\n\r\n<strong><em>Life is our abundance!      Amen<a href=\"http://provoketive.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/03/hari-krishna-prayer.jpg\"><img class=\"aligncenter size-full wp-image-5520\" src=\"http://provoketive.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/03/hari-krishna-prayer.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"300\" height=\"300\" /></a>  </em></strong>\r\n\r\n\"I existed from all eternity and, behold, I am here; I shall exist til the end of time, for my Being has no end.\" - Khalil Gibran\r\n\r\nChaz e.g.','Watch. Listen. Thank God!','','inherit','open','open','','5523-revision-4','','','2012-03-16 18:34:57','2012-03-17 01:34:57','',5523,'http://provoketive.com/2012/03/16/5523-revision-4/',0,'revision','',0),(5796,1,'2012-04-04 07:47:48','2012-04-04 14:47:48','[caption id=\"attachment_5730\" align=\"alignleft\" width=\"193\" caption=\"Rev Bruce Epperly\"]<a href=\"http://provoketive.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/03/bruceepperly.jpg\"><img class=\"size-medium wp-image-5730 \" src=\"http://provoketive.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/03/bruceepperly-193x300.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"193\" height=\"300\" /></a>[/caption]\n\nThis week we talk with Bruce Epperly. He\'s a theologian, ordained minister, blogger and author of several books, including \'A Holy Adventure\' and \'Process Theology: A Guide for the Perplexed.\'\n\nDuring our chat, he shares his thoughts on process theology and what it means to live a holy adventure.\n\n[audio=\"http://somethingbeautifulpodcast.com/podcast/022412.mp3\"]','Something Beautiful - Bruce Epperly','','inherit','open','open','','5729-autosave','','','2012-04-04 07:47:48','2012-04-04 14:47:48','',5729,'http://provoketive.com/2012/04/04/5729-autosave/',0,'revision','',0),(5797,1,'2012-04-04 07:53:55','2012-04-04 14:53:55','Just before Christmas in 2008, St. John’s Church in Broadbridge Heath, England took down its 10ft crucifix after numerous parishioners complained that it frightened children. The crucifix, created in the 1960s, shows an emaciated Jesus hanging on the cross with a look of horror and despair on His face. <a href=\"http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/uk_news/england/sussex/7816941.stm\">The BBC asked two different clergymen</a> whether or not the church should have removed the crucifix. One of the two men, Rev. John Caperon, said for any church to disregard the cross would mean ignoring the reality of suffering. “For Christians, of course,” he said, “the great comfort in the crucifix is the thought not that it represents simply human pain, but that it represents also the love of God. For what we’re saying, I think, is this: the God who created us is also to God who suffers with us.”\n\nComing from an evangelical background, I was taught that the only thing the cross represents is Jesus paying the price for our sins. I never thought of the cross as a symbol of God identifying with human suffering. But the more I thought about it, the more it made sense. If Jesus is the second person of the Trinity, then that means God was hanging on that cross in agonizing pain. Think about that for second: Elohim the creator, the great I AM, hanging on a cross, rejected, humiliated, and dying.\n\nAs someone who has struggled with depression and anxiety since early childhood, this was a message I needed to hear. Even though it has been called ‘the common cold of mental illness,’ depression has a funny way of making me feel completely alone. No one else can possibly understand what I’m going through. If I try to put it into words, it won’t make any sense. But if God knows human suffering first hand, then maybe I’m not so crazy after all.\n\nYears later after several bouts of severe depression, I started wondering if maybe I was wrong. Maybe God isn’t able to relate to human suffering. If God is able, then why do I feel so alone when I’m in a bad place? Why do I feel like I’m not man enough for God’s approval? The pain and confusion got so bad at one point that I wrote an angry letter to God telling God to fuck off. In my mind, God no longer suffered with me; God was laughing at me.\n\nWithin the past couple of months, however, I kept coming across passages, blogs, and conversations that made me wonder if perhaps God isn’t a jerk after all. The most recent example has been Dr. Tony Jones’ eBook <em>A Better Atonement: Beyond the Depraved Doctrine of Original Sin</em>:\n<blockquote>[I]n Christianity alone, the God and Creator of the universe deigned to become human, to be tempted, to reach out to those who had be de-humanized and restore their humanity, and ultimately to die in solidarity with every one of us . . . The hope [Jesus] offers is that, by dying on that cross, the eternal Trinity became forever bound to my humanity. The God of the universe identified with me, and I have the opportunity to identify with him.</blockquote>\nReally? God identifies with me and my brokenness? All my Calvinist friends said God was way too holy to identify with my brokenness. But maybe it was true; maybe God does suffer with us after all.\n\nSo like a good Protestant brought up on sola scriptura, I looked through the scriptures to see if God can relate to suffering or not. And what I found was . . .\n\n. . . a God who hears the cries of a suffering people (Exodus 3:7).\n\n. . . a God who becomes the suffering servant in Isaiah (1 Peter 2:24).\n\n. . . a God who became human, faced temptation in the wilderness (Matthew 4:1-11), wept with those in mourning (John 11:35), became “overwhelmed with sorrow” in the garden of Gethsemane (Matthew 26:36-44), and was ultimately died the humiliating death of a criminal, rejected and abandoned (Mark 15:22-39).\n\n. . . a God who rose again.\n\nWhen darkness fills my life, I can\'t imagine how anyone could possibly understand my pain. But if the God of the universe has experienced ultimate human suffering firsthand, then, to echo the words of the psalmist, \"what can man do to me?\" (Psalm 56:11)','The Suffering God','','inherit','open','open','','5754-autosave','','','2012-04-04 07:53:55','2012-04-04 14:53:55','',5754,'http://provoketive.com/2012/04/04/5754-autosave/',0,'revision','',0),(5798,1,'2012-04-04 07:52:13','2012-04-04 14:52:13','','Jesus on the cross','','inherit','open','open','','jesus-on-the-cross','','','2012-04-04 07:52:13','2012-04-04 14:52:13','',5754,'http://provoketive.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/04/Jesus-on-the-cross.jpg',0,'attachment','image/jpeg',0),(5799,1,'2012-04-01 10:33:34','2012-04-01 17:33:34','Just before Christmas in 2008, St. John’s Church in Broadbridge Heath, England took down its 10ft crucifix after numerous parishioners complained that it frightened children. The crucifix, created in the 1960s, shows an emaciated Jesus hanging on the cross with a look of horror and despair on His face. <a href=\"http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/uk_news/england/sussex/7816941.stm\">The BBC asked two different clergymen</a> whether or not the church should have removed the crucifix. One of the two men, Rev. John Caperon, said for any church to disregard the cross would mean ignoring the reality of suffering. “For Christians, of course,” he said, “the great comfort in the crucifix is the thought not that it represents simply human pain, but that it represents also the love of God. For what we’re saying, I think, is this: the God who created us is also to God who suffers with us.”\r\n\r\nComing from an evangelical background, I was taught that the only thing the cross represents is Jesus paying the price for our sins. I never thought of the cross as a symbol of God identifying with human suffering. But the more I thought about it, the more it made sense. If Jesus is the second person of the Trinity, then that means God was hanging on that cross in agonizing pain. Think about that for second: Elohim the creator, the great I AM, hanging on a cross, rejected, humiliated, and dying.\r\n\r\nAs someone who has struggled with depression and anxiety since early childhood, this was a message I needed to hear. Even though it has been called ‘the common cold of mental illness,’ depression has a funny way of making me feel completely alone. No one else can possibly understand what I’m going through. If I try to put it into words, it won’t make any sense. But if God knows human suffering first hand, then maybe I’m not so crazy after all.\r\n\r\nYears later after several bouts of severe depression, I started wondering if maybe I was wrong. Maybe God isn’t able to relate to human suffering. If God is able, then why do I feel so alone when I’m in a bad place? Why do I feel like I’m not man enough for God’s approval? The pain and confusion got so bad at one point that I wrote an angry letter to God telling God to fuck off. In my mind, God no longer suffered with me; God was laughing at me.\r\n\r\nWithin the past couple of months, however, I kept coming across passages, blogs, and conversations that made me wonder if perhaps God isn’t a jerk after all. The most recent example has been Dr. Tony Jones’ eBook <em>A Better Atonement: Beyond the Depraved Doctrine of Original Sin</em>:\r\n<blockquote>[I]n Christianity alone, the God and Creator of the universe deigned to become human, to be tempted, to reach out to those who had be de-humanized and restore their humanity, and ultimately to die in solidarity with every one of us . . . The hope [Jesus] offers is that, by dying on that cross, the eternal Trinity became forever bound to my humanity. The God of the universe identified with me, and I have the opportunity to identify with him.</blockquote>\r\nReally? God identifies with me and my brokenness? All my Calvinist friends said God was way too holy to identify with my brokenness. But maybe it was true; maybe God does suffer with us after all.\r\n\r\nSo like a good Protestant brought up on sola scriptura, I looked through the scriptures to see if God can relate to suffering or not. And what I found was . . .\r\n\r\n. . . a God who hears the cries of a suffering people (Exodus 3:7).\r\n\r\n. . . a God who becomes the suffering servant in Isaiah (1 Peter 2:24).\r\n\r\n. . . a God who became human, faced temptation in the wilderness (Matthew 4:1-11), wept with those in mourning (John 11:35), became “overwhelmed with sorrow” in the garden of Gethsemane (Matthew 26:36-44), and was ultimately died the humiliating death of a criminal, rejected and abandoned (Mark 15:22-39).\r\n\r\n. . . a God who rose again.\r\n\r\nWhen darkness fills my life, I can\'t imagine how anyone could possibly understand my pain. But if the God of the universe has experienced ultimate human suffering firsthand, then, to echo the words of the psalmist, \"what can man do to me?\" (Psalm 56:11)','The Suffering God','','inherit','open','open','','5754-revision-4','','','2012-04-01 10:33:34','2012-04-01 17:33:34','',5754,'http://provoketive.com/2012/04/01/5754-revision-4/',0,'revision','',0),(5804,153,'2012-04-12 08:00:16','2012-04-12 15:00:16','<h3>Death Lives in Us</h3>\r\nWe all know there are <a href=\"http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bacteria\">bacteria</a> and other microscopic organisms within our bodies right now that could kill us. As long as each of those simple, yet potentially harmful, life forms stay in the region of the body they’re supposed to, they\'re not a threat.\r\n\r\nHowever, if they spread or move out of their “designated area” – that’s where the trouble begins. For instance if the e-coli bacteria in your lower intestines was somehow introduced farther up your digestive track there is a strong likelihood that you would get very sick and even die. That potential for death abides in all of us right now, that’s how we were created.\r\n\r\nIn addition, there are dozens of more common microorganisms and viruses all around and inside the body that could kill if it wasn’t for something else we were created with – that \"something else\" is our <a href=\"http://science.howstuffworks.com/environmental/life/human-biology/immune-system.htm\">immune system</a>. The immune system is one of the best defenses we have against sickness and disease.\r\n<h3>Our Immune System Protects Against Current and Future Illness</h3>\r\nThere are many facets and aspects of the immune system, which are very complex – but basically it has three primary functions:\r\n<ol>\r\n	<li>To keep potential pathogens that exist within your body in check;</li>\r\n	<li>Fight against the attack of other harmful pathogens from outside the body that somehow invade the closed physical system;</li>\r\n	<li>It also prepares itself against future invasions.</li>\r\n</ol>\r\nPoint number three is the basis for vaccine technology. Basically a vaccine is a nonlethal dose of some dangerous virus or bacteria that’s introduced into the physical system, to allow the body to build up a resistance against that specific threat.\r\n\r\nThat’s in fact, exactly how the influenza, measles, mumps and rubella fever vaccines all operate.\r\n\r\nBut it’s our immune system that does the actual work – it’s the immune system that God created in us that enables our body to stay healthy against those viral and bacterial invaders.\r\n<h3>A Weakened Immune System Can Be Deadly</h3>\r\nBut what happens if the human immune system is compromised? Once the immune system is compromised – it’s very difficult for the body to successfully fight and defend against one of these unfriendly, ever-present organisms and the results tend to be fatal.\r\n\r\nFor the point of this illustration let’s consider the <a href=\"http://www.cdc.gov/hiv/\">HIV</a> pathogen, which stands for Human Immunodeficiency Virus -- meaning a virus that causes the immune system to become weak.\r\n\r\nViruses, including HIV, <strong>cannot replicate on their own</strong> – this is an important  point. To survive, HIV must invade a healthy cell within someone\'s body. Specifically, HIV likes to invade CD4 cells -- special \"bug-fighting\" cells that help the body\'s immune system protect against germs and viruses that can make a person sick.\r\n\r\nWhat HIV does is that it uses different enzymes – which are proteins responsible for a variety of cell functions – to “unlock” and enter the healthy CD4 cell, invading its command-and-control center which is called the nucleus.\r\n<h3>HIV Hi-Jacks the Immune System - But HIV Doesn\'t Actually Kill</h3>\r\nOnce that healthy command center is breached the HIV takes control, inserting its own destructive instructions into the cellular operation so that the reprogrammed CD4 cell will make new HIV copies instead of protective CD4 figthers. The infected CD4 cell is now an HIV factory, pumping out new viral material that will spread and invade other healthy immune cells. What happens is that the immune cells are no longer able to tell the rest of the body how to fight and defend against the other pathogens in the body. The only thing an HIV-infected immune cell is able to do is produce HIV - and then tell other CD4 cells to do the same.\r\n\r\nWhat happens is, <strong>the body doesn’t die from the HIV</strong> – the body dies because the HIV blocks the immune system from doing its previous job of fighting and defending against microscopic attacks. Because the body isn’t instructed how to fight one of those other common germs or bacteria - those ever-present bugs are able to spread, multiply and kill the body.\r\n\r\nUltimately, the healthy immune cells, which are supposed to protect the body from sickness, disease and death, have been overrun. They are now preoccupied with replicating unproductive viral material that seeks only to multiply itself – becoming passive weapons that allow the true death to occur.\r\n\r\nThis example of the immune system and common microscopic threats, coupled with the insidious nature of HIV, is a helpful metaphor regarding the spiritual battle we face with sin everyday.\r\n<strong></strong>\r\n<h3>Sin Acts Exactly Like HIV</h3>\r\n<a href=\"http://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=James+1%3A13-15&amp;version=TNIV\">James chapter 1, verses 13-15</a>\r\n“<em>Let no one say when he is tempted, I am tempted from God; for God is incapable of being tempted by what is evil and He Himself tempts no one….But every person is tempted when he is drawn away, enticed and baited by his or her own evil desires, lust and passions. Then the evil desire, when it is conceived gives birth to sin and sin, when it is fully matured, brings forth death.”</em>\r\n\r\nThe potential for the deadly sin that James wrote about in this passage is always present in the metaphorical “body” of a believer, in much the same way that the deadly common germs and bacteria are ever present in our physical bodies.\r\n<ul>\r\n	<li>Physically speaking, those microorganisms can kill, but our immune system delivers us.</li>\r\n	<li>Spiritually speaking, that potential for sin could ultimately kill us as well; however, believing in Jesus is the spiritual immune system that delivers us.</li>\r\n</ul>\r\n<h3>Faith Acts Like a Spiritual Immune System Against Sin</h3>\r\nSin acts as a killer spiritual virus that’s kept in check through faith. But if we allow that sin the opportunity, the spiritual immune system of the believer can be compromised. Such a compromise then allows the sin principle, which was dormant in their lives, to be resurrected.\r\n\r\nEach of us as a believer, needs to be watchful and vigilante recognizing that apart from Christ, “…there is no good thing in me…” because even though Jesus is alive and resurrected in the hearts of true believers - He is not the only thing that can be resurrected into our lives.\r\n\r\nIf we allow it, sin can be resurrected in our spiritual body where it multiples itself - leading to our death.\r\n\r\n<em>Photo Credit: Flickr Creative Commons - image by BinaryCoCo</em>','How Sin Mirrors HIV','','publish','open','open','','how-sin-mirrors-hiv','','','2012-04-06 13:43:36','2012-04-06 20:43:36','',0,'http://provoketive.com/?p=5804',0,'post','',0),(5805,153,'2012-04-05 16:51:38','2012-04-05 23:51:38','<h2><span style=\"font-size: medium\"><br /></span></h2>\n<h2>We all know there are bacteria and other microscopic organisms within our bodies right now that could kill us. As long as each of those simple, yet potentially harmful, life forms stay in the region of the body they’re supposed to, they\'re not a threat.</h2>\nHowever, if they spread or move out of their “designated area” – that’s where the trouble begins. For instance if the e-coli bacteria in your lower intestines was somehow introduced farther up your digestive track there is a strong likelihood that you would get very sick and even die – that is a fact of this life we live. That potential for death abides in all of us right now, that’s how we were created.\n\nIn addition, there are dozens of more common microorganisms and viruses all around (and inside the body) that could kill each of us as well…if it wasn’t for something else we were created with – that \"something else\" is our immune system. The immune system is one of the best defenses we have against sickness and disease.\n\nThere are many facets and aspects of the immune system, which are very complex – but basically it has three primary functions:\n<ol>\n	<li>To keep potential pathogens that exist within your body in check;</li>\n	<li>Fight against the attack of other harmful pathogens from outside the body that somehow invade the closed physical system;</li>\n	<li>It also prepares itself against future invasions.</li>\n</ol>\nPoint number three is the basis for vaccine technology. Basically a vaccine is a nonlethal dose of some dangerous virus that’s introduced into the physical system, to allow the body to build up a resistance against that specific threat.\n\nThat’s in fact, exactly how the influenza and small pox vaccines operate.\n\nBut it’s our immune system that does the actual work – it’s the immune system that God created in us that enables our body to stay healthy against those viral and bacterial invaders.\n\nBut what happens if the human immune system is compromised? Once the immune system is compromised – it’s very difficult for the body to successfully fight and defend against one of these unfriendly, ever-present organisms we mentioned before and the results tend to be fatal.\n\nFor the point of this illustration let’s consider the HIV pathogen, which stands for Human Immuno-deficiency Virus -- meaning a virus that causes the immune system to become weak.\n\nViruses, including HIV, <strong>cannot replicate on their own</strong> – this is an important  point for the purpose of this discussion. To survive, HIV must invade a healthy cell within someone\'s body. Specifically, HIV likes to invade CD4 cells -- special \"bug-fighting\" cells that help the body\'s immune system protect against germs and viruses that can make a person sick.\n\nWhat HIV does is that it uses different enzymes – which are complex proteins responsible for a variety of cell functions – to “unlock” and enter the healthy CD4 cell, invading its command-and-control center which is called the nucleus.\n\nOnce that healthy command center is breached the HIV takes control, inserting its own destructive instructions into the cellular operation so that the reprogrammed CD4 cell will make new HIV copies instead of protective CD4 figthers. The infected CD4 cell is now an HIV factory, pumping out new viral material that will spread and invade other healthy immune cells. What happens is that the immune cells are no longer able to tell the rest of the body how to fight and defend against the other pathogens in the body. The only thing an HIV-infected immune cell is able to do is produce HIV - and then tell other CD4 cells to do the same.\n\nWhat happens is, <strong>the body doesn’t die from the HIV</strong> – the body dies because the HIV blocks the immune system from doing its previous job of fighting and defending against microscopic attacks. Because the body isn’t instructed how to fight one of those other common germs or bacteria - those ever-present bugs are able to spread, multiply and kill the body.\n\nUltimately, the healthy immune cells, which are supposed to protect the body from sickness, disease and death, have been hi-jacked. They are now preoccupied with replicating unproductive viral material that seeks only to multiply – becoming passive weapons that allow the true death to occur.\n\nThis example of the immune system and common microscopic threats in the body that can kill but are kept in check by that immune system as well as the insidious nature of HIV will help us better understand the spiritual battle we face with sin everyday.\n<strong></strong>\n\n<strong>James chapter 1, verses 13-15:</strong>\n“<em>Let no one say when he is tempted, I am tempted from God; for God is incapable of being tempted by what is evil and He Himself tempts no one….But every person is tempted when he is drawn away, enticed and baited by his or her own evil desires, lust and passions. Then the evil desire, when it is conceived gives birth to sin and sin, when it is fully matured, brings forth death.”</em>\n\nThe potential for the deadly sin that James wrote about in this passage is always present in the metaphorical “body” of a believer, in much the same way that the deadly common germs and bacteria are ever present in our physical bodies.\n<ul>\n	<li>Physically speaking, those microorganisms can kill, but our immune system delivers us.</li>\n	<li>Spiritually speaking, that potential for sin could ultimately kill us as well; however, believing in Jesus is the spiritual immune system that delivers us.</li>\n</ul>\nSin acts as a killer spiritual virus that’s kept in check through faith. But if we allow that sin the opportunity, the spiritual immune system of the believer can be compromised. Such a compromise then allows the sin principle, which was dormant in their lives, to be resurrected.\n\nEach of us as a believer, needs to be watchful and vigilante recognizing that apart from Christ, “…there is no good thing in me…” because even though Jesus is alive and resurrected in the hearts of true believers - He is not the only thing that can be resurrected into our lives.\n\nIf we allow it, sin can be resurrected - leading to our death.\n\n===================================\n<div>\n<div><img src=\"https://mail.google.com/mail/images/cleardot.gif\" alt=\"\" /></div>\n</div>\n<em><em><em><em><em><a href=\"http://thedailyretort.com/\" target=\"_blank\">Tor Constantino</a> is a former journalist, bestselling author and current PR guy who lives near Washington, DC. He has worked for Fortune 500 companies, CBS Radio, Clear Channel Radio, ABC-TV and CBS-TV affiliates. He has authored his first non-fiction book “<a href=\"http://www.amazon.com/Question-Faith-Simple-Toward-Ultimate/dp/1452825629/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&amp;ie=UTF8&amp;qid=1319470206&amp;sr=1-1\" target=\"_blank\">A Question of Faith</a>”  and he blogs regularly at <a href=\"http://www.thedailyretort.com/\" target=\"_blank\">http://www.thedailyretort.com</a></em></em></em></em></em>','How Sin Acts Like HIV','','inherit','open','open','','5804-revision','','','2012-04-05 16:51:38','2012-04-05 23:51:38','',5804,'http://provoketive.com/2012/04/05/5804-revision/',0,'revision','',0),(5806,153,'2012-04-05 16:59:59','2012-04-05 23:59:59','<h3>Death Lives in Us</h3>\nWe all know there are bacteria and other microscopic organisms within our bodies right now that could kill us. As long as each of those simple, yet potentially harmful, life forms stay in the region of the body they’re supposed to, they\'re not a threat.\n\nHowever, if they spread or move out of their “designated area” – that’s where the trouble begins. For instance if the e-coli bacteria in your lower intestines was somehow introduced farther up your digestive track there is a strong likelihood that you would get very sick and even die – that is a fact of this life we live. That potential for death abides in all of us right now, that’s how we were created.\n\nIn addition, there are dozens of more common microorganisms and viruses all around (and inside the body) that could kill each of us as well…if it wasn’t for something else we were created with – that \"something else\" is our immune system. The immune system is one of the best defenses we have against sickness and disease.\n<h3>Our Immune System Protects Against Current and Future Illness</h3>\nThere are many facets and aspects of the immune system, which are very complex – but basically it has three primary functions:\n<ol>\n	<li>To keep potential pathogens that exist within your body in check;</li>\n	<li>Fight against the attack of other harmful pathogens from outside the body that somehow invade the closed physical system;</li>\n	<li>It also prepares itself against future invasions.</li>\n</ol>\nPoint number three is the basis for vaccine technology. Basically a vaccine is a nonlethal dose of some dangerous virus that’s introduced into the physical system, to allow the body to build up a resistance against that specific threat.\n\nThat’s in fact, exactly how the influenza, measles, mumps and rubella fever vaccines all operate.\n\nBut it’s our immune system that does the actual work – it’s the immune system that God created in us that enables our body to stay healthy against those viral and bacterial invaders.\n<h3>A Weakened Immune System Can Be Deadly</h3>\nBut what happens if the human immune system is compromised? Once the immune system is compromised – it’s very difficult for the body to successfully fight and defend against one of these unfriendly, ever-present organisms we mentioned before and the results tend to be fatal.\n\nFor the point of this illustration let’s consider the HIV pathogen, which stands for Human Immuno-deficiency Virus -- meaning a virus that causes the immune system to become weak.\n\nViruses, including HIV, <strong>cannot replicate on their own</strong> – this is an important  point for the purpose of this discussion. To survive, HIV must invade a healthy cell within someone\'s body. Specifically, HIV likes to invade CD4 cells -- special \"bug-fighting\" cells that help the body\'s immune system protect against germs and viruses that can make a person sick.\n\nWhat HIV does is that it uses different enzymes – which are complex proteins responsible for a variety of cell functions – to “unlock” and enter the healthy CD4 cell, invading its command-and-control center which is called the nucleus.\n\nOnce that healthy command center is breached the HIV takes control, inserting its own destructive instructions into the cellular operation so that the reprogrammed CD4 cell will make new HIV copies instead of protective CD4 figthers. The infected CD4 cell is now an HIV factory, pumping out new viral material that will spread and invade other healthy immune cells. What happens is that the immune cells are no longer able to tell the rest of the body how to fight and defend against the other pathogens in the body. The only thing an HIV-infected immune cell is able to do is produce HIV - and then tell other CD4 cells to do the same.\n\nWhat happens is, <strong>the body doesn’t die from the HIV</strong> – the body dies because the HIV blocks the immune system from doing its previous job of fighting and defending against microscopic attacks. Because the body isn’t instructed how to fight one of those other common germs or bacteria - those ever-present bugs are able to spread, multiply and kill the body.\n\nUltimately, the healthy immune cells, which are supposed to protect the body from sickness, disease and death, have been hi-jacked. They are now preoccupied with replicating unproductive viral material that seeks only to multiply – becoming passive weapons that allow the true death to occur.\n\nThis example of the immune system and common microscopic threats in the body that can kill but are kept in check by that immune system as well as the insidious nature of HIV will help us better understand the spiritual battle we face with sin everyday.\n<strong></strong>\n\n<strong>James chapter 1, verses 13-15:</strong>\n“<em>Let no one say when he is tempted, I am tempted from God; for God is incapable of being tempted by what is evil and He Himself tempts no one….But every person is tempted when he is drawn away, enticed and baited by his or her own evil desires, lust and passions. Then the evil desire, when it is conceived gives birth to sin and sin, when it is fully matured, brings forth death.”</em>\n\nThe potential for the deadly sin that James wrote about in this passage is always present in the metaphorical “body” of a believer, in much the same way that the deadly common germs and bacteria are ever present in our physical bodies.\n<ul>\n	<li>Physically speaking, those microorganisms can kill, but our immune system delivers us.</li>\n	<li>Spiritually speaking, that potential for sin could ultimately kill us as well; however, believing in Jesus is the spiritual immune system that delivers us.</li>\n</ul>\nSin acts as a killer spiritual virus that’s kept in check through faith. But if we allow that sin the opportunity, the spiritual immune system of the believer can be compromised. Such a compromise then allows the sin principle, which was dormant in their lives, to be resurrected.\n\nEach of us as a believer, needs to be watchful and vigilante recognizing that apart from Christ, “…there is no good thing in me…” because even though Jesus is alive and resurrected in the hearts of true believers - He is not the only thing that can be resurrected into our lives.\n\nIf we allow it, sin can be resurrected - leading to our death.\n\n===================================\n<div>\n<div><img src=\"https://mail.google.com/mail/images/cleardot.gif\" alt=\"\" /></div>\n</div>\n<em><em><em><em><em><a href=\"http://thedailyretort.com/\" target=\"_blank\">Tor Constantino</a> is a former journalist, bestselling author and current PR guy who lives near Washington, DC. He has worked for Fortune 500 companies, CBS Radio, Clear Channel Radio, ABC-TV and CBS-TV affiliates. He has authored his first non-fiction book “<a href=\"http://www.amazon.com/Question-Faith-Simple-Toward-Ultimate/dp/1452825629/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&amp;ie=UTF8&amp;qid=1319470206&amp;sr=1-1\" target=\"_blank\">A Question of Faith</a>”  and he blogs regularly at <a href=\"http://www.thedailyretort.com/\" target=\"_blank\">http://www.thedailyretort.com</a></em></em></em></em></em>','How Sin Acts Like HIV','','inherit','open','open','','5804-revision-2','','','2012-04-05 16:59:59','2012-04-05 23:59:59','',5804,'http://provoketive.com/2012/04/05/5804-revision-2/',0,'revision','',0),(5807,153,'2012-04-05 17:04:01','2012-04-06 00:04:01','<h3>Death Lives in Us</h3>\nWe all know there are bacteria and other microscopic organisms within our bodies right now that could kill us. As long as each of those simple, yet potentially harmful, life forms stay in the region of the body they’re supposed to, they\'re not a threat.\n\nHowever, if they spread or move out of their “designated area” – that’s where the trouble begins. For instance if the e-coli bacteria in your lower intestines was somehow introduced farther up your digestive track there is a strong likelihood that you would get very sick and even die – that is a fact of this life we live. That potential for death abides in all of us right now, that’s how we were created.\n\nIn addition, there are dozens of more common microorganisms and viruses all around (and inside the body) that could kill each of us as well…if it wasn’t for something else we were created with – that \"something else\" is our immune system. The immune system is one of the best defenses we have against sickness and disease.\n<h3>Our Immune System Protects Against Current and Future Illness</h3>\nThere are many facets and aspects of the immune system, which are very complex – but basically it has three primary functions:\n<ol>\n	<li>To keep potential pathogens that exist within your body in check;</li>\n	<li>Fight against the attack of other harmful pathogens from outside the body that somehow invade the closed physical system;</li>\n	<li>It also prepares itself against future invasions.</li>\n</ol>\nPoint number three is the basis for vaccine technology. Basically a vaccine is a nonlethal dose of some dangerous virus that’s introduced into the physical system, to allow the body to build up a resistance against that specific threat.\n\nThat’s in fact, exactly how the influenza, measles, mumps and rubella fever vaccines all operate.\n\nBut it’s our immune system that does the actual work – it’s the immune system that God created in us that enables our body to stay healthy against those viral and bacterial invaders.\n<h3>A Weakened Immune System Can Be Deadly</h3>\nBut what happens if the human immune system is compromised? Once the immune system is compromised – it’s very difficult for the body to successfully fight and defend against one of these unfriendly, ever-present organisms we mentioned before and the results tend to be fatal.\n\nFor the point of this illustration let’s consider the HIV pathogen, which stands for Human Immuno-deficiency Virus -- meaning a virus that causes the immune system to become weak.\n\nViruses, including HIV, <strong>cannot replicate on their own</strong> – this is an important  point for the purpose of this discussion. To survive, HIV must invade a healthy cell within someone\'s body. Specifically, HIV likes to invade CD4 cells -- special \"bug-fighting\" cells that help the body\'s immune system protect against germs and viruses that can make a person sick.\n\nWhat HIV does is that it uses different enzymes – which are complex proteins responsible for a variety of cell functions – to “unlock” and enter the healthy CD4 cell, invading its command-and-control center which is called the nucleus.\n<h3>HIV Hi-Jacks the Immune System - But HIV Doesn\'t Actually Kill</h3>\nOnce that healthy command center is breached the HIV takes control, inserting its own destructive instructions into the cellular operation so that the reprogrammed CD4 cell will make new HIV copies instead of protective CD4 figthers. The infected CD4 cell is now an HIV factory, pumping out new viral material that will spread and invade other healthy immune cells. What happens is that the immune cells are no longer able to tell the rest of the body how to fight and defend against the other pathogens in the body. The only thing an HIV-infected immune cell is able to do is produce HIV - and then tell other CD4 cells to do the same.\n\nWhat happens is, <strong>the body doesn’t die from the HIV</strong> – the body dies because the HIV blocks the immune system from doing its previous job of fighting and defending against microscopic attacks. Because the body isn’t instructed how to fight one of those other common germs or bacteria - those ever-present bugs are able to spread, multiply and kill the body.\n\nUltimately, the healthy immune cells, which are supposed to protect the body from sickness, disease and death, have been hi-jacked. They are now preoccupied with replicating unproductive viral material that seeks only to multiply – becoming passive weapons that allow the true death to occur.\n\nThis example of the immune system and common microscopic threats in the body that can kill but are kept in check by that immune system as well as the insidious nature of HIV will help us better understand the spiritual battle we face with sin everyday.\n<strong></strong>\n\nSin Acts Exactly Like HIV\n\nJames chapter 1, verses 13-15:\n“<em>Let no one say when he is tempted, I am tempted from God; for God is incapable of being tempted by what is evil and He Himself tempts no one….But every person is tempted when he is drawn away, enticed and baited by his or her own evil desires, lust and passions. Then the evil desire, when it is conceived gives birth to sin and sin, when it is fully matured, brings forth death.”</em>\n\nThe potential for the deadly sin that James wrote about in this passage is always present in the metaphorical “body” of a believer, in much the same way that the deadly common germs and bacteria are ever present in our physical bodies.\n<ul>\n	<li>Physically speaking, those microorganisms can kill, but our immune system delivers us.</li>\n	<li>Spiritually speaking, that potential for sin could ultimately kill us as well; however, believing in Jesus is the spiritual immune system that delivers us.</li>\n</ul>\nSin acts as a killer spiritual virus that’s kept in check through faith. But if we allow that sin the opportunity, the spiritual immune system of the believer can be compromised. Such a compromise then allows the sin principle, which was dormant in their lives, to be resurrected.\n\nEach of us as a believer, needs to be watchful and vigilante recognizing that apart from Christ, “…there is no good thing in me…” because even though Jesus is alive and resurrected in the hearts of true believers - He is not the only thing that can be resurrected into our lives.\n\nIf we allow it, sin can be resurrected - leading to our death.\n\n===================================\n<div>\n<div><img src=\"https://mail.google.com/mail/images/cleardot.gif\" alt=\"\" /></div>\n</div>\n<em><em><em><em><em><a href=\"http://thedailyretort.com/\" target=\"_blank\">Tor Constantino</a> is a former journalist, bestselling author and current PR guy who lives near Washington, DC. He has worked for Fortune 500 companies, CBS Radio, Clear Channel Radio, ABC-TV and CBS-TV affiliates. He has authored his first non-fiction book “<a href=\"http://www.amazon.com/Question-Faith-Simple-Toward-Ultimate/dp/1452825629/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&amp;ie=UTF8&amp;qid=1319470206&amp;sr=1-1\" target=\"_blank\">A Question of Faith</a>”  and he blogs regularly at <a href=\"http://www.thedailyretort.com/\" target=\"_blank\">http://www.thedailyretort.com</a></em></em></em></em></em>','How Sin Acts Like HIV','','inherit','open','open','','5804-revision-3','','','2012-04-05 17:04:01','2012-04-06 00:04:01','',5804,'http://provoketive.com/2012/04/05/5804-revision-3/',0,'revision','',0),(5808,153,'2012-04-05 17:05:33','2012-04-06 00:05:33','<h3>Death Lives in Us</h3>\nWe all know there are bacteria and other microscopic organisms within our bodies right now that could kill us. As long as each of those simple, yet potentially harmful, life forms stay in the region of the body they’re supposed to, they\'re not a threat.\n\nHowever, if they spread or move out of their “designated area” – that’s where the trouble begins. For instance if the e-coli bacteria in your lower intestines was somehow introduced farther up your digestive track there is a strong likelihood that you would get very sick and even die – that is a fact of this life we live. That potential for death abides in all of us right now, that’s how we were created.\n\nIn addition, there are dozens of more common microorganisms and viruses all around (and inside the body) that could kill each of us as well…if it wasn’t for something else we were created with – that \"something else\" is our immune system. The immune system is one of the best defenses we have against sickness and disease.\n<h3>Our Immune System Protects Against Current and Future Illness</h3>\nThere are many facets and aspects of the immune system, which are very complex – but basically it has three primary functions:\n<ol>\n	<li>To keep potential pathogens that exist within your body in check;</li>\n	<li>Fight against the attack of other harmful pathogens from outside the body that somehow invade the closed physical system;</li>\n	<li>It also prepares itself against future invasions.</li>\n</ol>\nPoint number three is the basis for vaccine technology. Basically a vaccine is a nonlethal dose of some dangerous virus that’s introduced into the physical system, to allow the body to build up a resistance against that specific threat.\n\nThat’s in fact, exactly how the influenza, measles, mumps and rubella fever vaccines all operate.\n\nBut it’s our immune system that does the actual work – it’s the immune system that God created in us that enables our body to stay healthy against those viral and bacterial invaders.\n<h3>A Weakened Immune System Can Be Deadly</h3>\nBut what happens if the human immune system is compromised? Once the immune system is compromised – it’s very difficult for the body to successfully fight and defend against one of these unfriendly, ever-present organisms we mentioned before and the results tend to be fatal.\n\nFor the point of this illustration let’s consider the HIV pathogen, which stands for Human Immuno-deficiency Virus -- meaning a virus that causes the immune system to become weak.\n\nViruses, including HIV, <strong>cannot replicate on their own</strong> – this is an important  point for the purpose of this discussion. To survive, HIV must invade a healthy cell within someone\'s body. Specifically, HIV likes to invade CD4 cells -- special \"bug-fighting\" cells that help the body\'s immune system protect against germs and viruses that can make a person sick.\n\nWhat HIV does is that it uses different enzymes – which are complex proteins responsible for a variety of cell functions – to “unlock” and enter the healthy CD4 cell, invading its command-and-control center which is called the nucleus.\n<h3>HIV Hi-Jacks the Immune System - But HIV Doesn\'t Actually Kill</h3>\nOnce that healthy command center is breached the HIV takes control, inserting its own destructive instructions into the cellular operation so that the reprogrammed CD4 cell will make new HIV copies instead of protective CD4 figthers. The infected CD4 cell is now an HIV factory, pumping out new viral material that will spread and invade other healthy immune cells. What happens is that the immune cells are no longer able to tell the rest of the body how to fight and defend against the other pathogens in the body. The only thing an HIV-infected immune cell is able to do is produce HIV - and then tell other CD4 cells to do the same.\n\nWhat happens is, <strong>the body doesn’t die from the HIV</strong> – the body dies because the HIV blocks the immune system from doing its previous job of fighting and defending against microscopic attacks. Because the body isn’t instructed how to fight one of those other common germs or bacteria - those ever-present bugs are able to spread, multiply and kill the body.\n\nUltimately, the healthy immune cells, which are supposed to protect the body from sickness, disease and death, have been hi-jacked. They are now preoccupied with replicating unproductive viral material that seeks only to multiply – becoming passive weapons that allow the true death to occur.\n\nThis example of the immune system and common microscopic threats in the body that can kill but are kept in check by that immune system as well as the insidious nature of HIV will help us better understand the spiritual battle we face with sin everyday.\n<strong></strong>\n<h3>Sin Acts Exactly Like HIV</h3>\nJames chapter 1, verses 13-15:\n“<em>Let no one say when he is tempted, I am tempted from God; for God is incapable of being tempted by what is evil and He Himself tempts no one….But every person is tempted when he is drawn away, enticed and baited by his or her own evil desires, lust and passions. Then the evil desire, when it is conceived gives birth to sin and sin, when it is fully matured, brings forth death.”</em>\n\nThe potential for the deadly sin that James wrote about in this passage is always present in the metaphorical “body” of a believer, in much the same way that the deadly common germs and bacteria are ever present in our physical bodies.\n<ul>\n	<li>Physically speaking, those microorganisms can kill, but our immune system delivers us.</li>\n	<li>Spiritually speaking, that potential for sin could ultimately kill us as well; however, believing in Jesus is the spiritual immune system that delivers us.</li>\n</ul>\n&nbsp;\n\nSin acts as a killer spiritual virus that’s kept in check through faith. But if we allow that sin the opportunity, the spiritual immune system of the believer can be compromised. Such a compromise then allows the sin principle, which was dormant in their lives, to be resurrected.\n\nEach of us as a believer, needs to be watchful and vigilante recognizing that apart from Christ, “…there is no good thing in me…” because even though Jesus is alive and resurrected in the hearts of true believers - He is not the only thing that can be resurrected into our lives.\n\nIf we allow it, sin can be resurrected - leading to our death.\n\n===================================\n<div>\n<div><img src=\"https://mail.google.com/mail/images/cleardot.gif\" alt=\"\" /></div>\n</div>\n<em><em><em><em><em><a href=\"http://thedailyretort.com/\" target=\"_blank\">Tor Constantino</a> is a former journalist, bestselling author and current PR guy who lives near Washington, DC. He has worked for Fortune 500 companies, CBS Radio, Clear Channel Radio, ABC-TV and CBS-TV affiliates. He has authored his first non-fiction book “<a href=\"http://www.amazon.com/Question-Faith-Simple-Toward-Ultimate/dp/1452825629/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&amp;ie=UTF8&amp;qid=1319470206&amp;sr=1-1\" target=\"_blank\">A Question of Faith</a>”  and he blogs regularly at <a href=\"http://www.thedailyretort.com/\" target=\"_blank\">http://www.thedailyretort.com</a></em></em></em></em></em>','How Sin Acts Like HIV','','inherit','open','open','','5804-revision-4','','','2012-04-05 17:05:33','2012-04-06 00:05:33','',5804,'http://provoketive.com/2012/04/05/5804-revision-4/',0,'revision','',0),(5809,153,'2012-04-05 17:08:01','2012-04-06 00:08:01','<h3>Death Lives in Us</h3>\nWe all know there are bacteria and other microscopic organisms within our bodies right now that could kill us. As long as each of those simple, yet potentially harmful, life forms stay in the region of the body they’re supposed to, they\'re not a threat.\n\nHowever, if they spread or move out of their “designated area” – that’s where the trouble begins. For instance if the e-coli bacteria in your lower intestines was somehow introduced farther up your digestive track there is a strong likelihood that you would get very sick and even die – that is a fact of this life we live. That potential for death abides in all of us right now, that’s how we were created.\n\nIn addition, there are dozens of more common microorganisms and viruses all around (and inside the body) that could kill each of us as well…if it wasn’t for something else we were created with – that \"something else\" is our immune system. The immune system is one of the best defenses we have against sickness and disease.\n<h3>Our Immune System Protects Against Current and Future Illness</h3>\nThere are many facets and aspects of the immune system, which are very complex – but basically it has three primary functions:\n<ol>\n	<li>To keep potential pathogens that exist within your body in check;</li>\n	<li>Fight against the attack of other harmful pathogens from outside the body that somehow invade the closed physical system;</li>\n	<li>It also prepares itself against future invasions.</li>\n</ol>\nPoint number three is the basis for vaccine technology. Basically a vaccine is a nonlethal dose of some dangerous virus that’s introduced into the physical system, to allow the body to build up a resistance against that specific threat.\n\nThat’s in fact, exactly how the influenza, measles, mumps and rubella fever vaccines all operate.\n\nBut it’s our immune system that does the actual work – it’s the immune system that God created in us that enables our body to stay healthy against those viral and bacterial invaders.\n<h3>A Weakened Immune System Can Be Deadly</h3>\nBut what happens if the human immune system is compromised? Once the immune system is compromised – it’s very difficult for the body to successfully fight and defend against one of these unfriendly, ever-present organisms we mentioned before and the results tend to be fatal.\n\nFor the point of this illustration let’s consider the HIV pathogen, which stands for Human Immuno-deficiency Virus -- meaning a virus that causes the immune system to become weak.\n\nViruses, including HIV, <strong>cannot replicate on their own</strong> – this is an important  point for the purpose of this discussion. To survive, HIV must invade a healthy cell within someone\'s body. Specifically, HIV likes to invade CD4 cells -- special \"bug-fighting\" cells that help the body\'s immune system protect against germs and viruses that can make a person sick.\n\nWhat HIV does is that it uses different enzymes – which are complex proteins responsible for a variety of cell functions – to “unlock” and enter the healthy CD4 cell, invading its command-and-control center which is called the nucleus.\n<h3>HIV Hi-Jacks the Immune System - But HIV Doesn\'t Actually Kill</h3>\nOnce that healthy command center is breached the HIV takes control, inserting its own destructive instructions into the cellular operation so that the reprogrammed CD4 cell will make new HIV copies instead of protective CD4 figthers. The infected CD4 cell is now an HIV factory, pumping out new viral material that will spread and invade other healthy immune cells. What happens is that the immune cells are no longer able to tell the rest of the body how to fight and defend against the other pathogens in the body. The only thing an HIV-infected immune cell is able to do is produce HIV - and then tell other CD4 cells to do the same.\n\nWhat happens is, <strong>the body doesn’t die from the HIV</strong> – the body dies because the HIV blocks the immune system from doing its previous job of fighting and defending against microscopic attacks. Because the body isn’t instructed how to fight one of those other common germs or bacteria - those ever-present bugs are able to spread, multiply and kill the body.\n\nUltimately, the healthy immune cells, which are supposed to protect the body from sickness, disease and death, have been hi-jacked. They are now preoccupied with replicating unproductive viral material that seeks only to multiply – becoming passive weapons that allow the true death to occur.\n\nThis example of the immune system and common microscopic threats in the body that can kill but are kept in check by that immune system as well as the insidious nature of HIV will help us better understand the spiritual battle we face with sin everyday.\n<strong></strong>\n<h3>Sin Acts Exactly Like HIV</h3>\nJames chapter 1, verses 13-15:\n“<em>Let no one say when he is tempted, I am tempted from God; for God is incapable of being tempted by what is evil and He Himself tempts no one….But every person is tempted when he is drawn away, enticed and baited by his or her own evil desires, lust and passions. Then the evil desire, when it is conceived gives birth to sin and sin, when it is fully matured, brings forth death.”</em>\n\nThe potential for the deadly sin that James wrote about in this passage is always present in the metaphorical “body” of a believer, in much the same way that the deadly common germs and bacteria are ever present in our physical bodies.\n<ul>\n	<li>Physically speaking, those microorganisms can kill, but our immune system delivers us.</li>\n	<li>Spiritually speaking, that potential for sin could ultimately kill us as well; however, believing in Jesus is the spiritual immune system that delivers us.</li>\n</ul>\n<h3>Faith Acts Like a Spiritual Immune System Against Sin</h3>\nSin acts as a killer spiritual virus that’s kept in check through faith. But if we allow that sin the opportunity, the spiritual immune system of the believer can be compromised. Such a compromise then allows the sin principle, which was dormant in their lives, to be resurrected.\n\nEach of us as a believer, needs to be watchful and vigilante recognizing that apart from Christ, “…there is no good thing in me…” because even though Jesus is alive and resurrected in the hearts of true believers - He is not the only thing that can be resurrected into our lives.\n\nIf we allow it, sin can be resurrected - leading to our death.','How Sin Acts Like HIV','','inherit','open','open','','5804-revision-5','','','2012-04-05 17:08:01','2012-04-06 00:08:01','',5804,'http://provoketive.com/2012/04/05/5804-revision-5/',0,'revision','',0),(5810,153,'2012-04-05 17:09:41','2012-04-06 00:09:41','<h3>Death Lives in Us</h3>\nWe all know there are bacteria and other microscopic organisms within our bodies right now that could kill us. As long as each of those simple, yet potentially harmful, life forms stay in the region of the body they’re supposed to, they\'re not a threat.\n\nHowever, if they spread or move out of their “designated area” – that’s where the trouble begins. For instance if the e-coli bacteria in your lower intestines was somehow introduced farther up your digestive track there is a strong likelihood that you would get very sick and even die – that is a fact of this life we live. That potential for death abides in all of us right now, that’s how we were created.\n\nIn addition, there are dozens of more common microorganisms and viruses all around (and inside the body) that could kill each of us as well…if it wasn’t for something else we were created with – that \"something else\" is our immune system. The immune system is one of the best defenses we have against sickness and disease.\n<h3>Our Immune System Protects Against Current and Future Illness</h3>\nThere are many facets and aspects of the immune system, which are very complex – but basically it has three primary functions:\n<ol>\n	<li>To keep potential pathogens that exist within your body in check;</li>\n	<li>Fight against the attack of other harmful pathogens from outside the body that somehow invade the closed physical system;</li>\n	<li>It also prepares itself against future invasions.</li>\n</ol>\nPoint number three is the basis for vaccine technology. Basically a vaccine is a nonlethal dose of some dangerous virus that’s introduced into the physical system, to allow the body to build up a resistance against that specific threat.\n\nThat’s in fact, exactly how the influenza, measles, mumps and rubella fever vaccines all operate.\n\nBut it’s our immune system that does the actual work – it’s the immune system that God created in us that enables our body to stay healthy against those viral and bacterial invaders.\n<h3>A Weakened Immune System Can Be Deadly</h3>\nBut what happens if the human immune system is compromised? Once the immune system is compromised – it’s very difficult for the body to successfully fight and defend against one of these unfriendly, ever-present organisms we mentioned before and the results tend to be fatal.\n\nFor the point of this illustration let’s consider the HIV pathogen, which stands for Human Immuno-deficiency Virus -- meaning a virus that causes the immune system to become weak.\n\nViruses, including HIV, <strong>cannot replicate on their own</strong> – this is an important  point for the purpose of this discussion. To survive, HIV must invade a healthy cell within someone\'s body. Specifically, HIV likes to invade CD4 cells -- special \"bug-fighting\" cells that help the body\'s immune system protect against germs and viruses that can make a person sick.\n\nWhat HIV does is that it uses different enzymes – which are complex proteins responsible for a variety of cell functions – to “unlock” and enter the healthy CD4 cell, invading its command-and-control center which is called the nucleus.\n<h3>HIV Hi-Jacks the Immune System - But HIV Doesn\'t Actually Kill</h3>\nOnce that healthy command center is breached the HIV takes control, inserting its own destructive instructions into the cellular operation so that the reprogrammed CD4 cell will make new HIV copies instead of protective CD4 figthers. The infected CD4 cell is now an HIV factory, pumping out new viral material that will spread and invade other healthy immune cells. What happens is that the immune cells are no longer able to tell the rest of the body how to fight and defend against the other pathogens in the body. The only thing an HIV-infected immune cell is able to do is produce HIV - and then tell other CD4 cells to do the same.\n\nWhat happens is, <strong>the body doesn’t die from the HIV</strong> – the body dies because the HIV blocks the immune system from doing its previous job of fighting and defending against microscopic attacks. Because the body isn’t instructed how to fight one of those other common germs or bacteria - those ever-present bugs are able to spread, multiply and kill the body.\n\nUltimately, the healthy immune cells, which are supposed to protect the body from sickness, disease and death, have been hi-jacked. They are now preoccupied with replicating unproductive viral material that seeks only to multiply – becoming passive weapons that allow the true death to occur.\n\nThis example of the immune system and common microscopic threats in the body that can kill but are kept in check by that immune system as well as the insidious nature of HIV will help us better understand the spiritual battle we face with sin everyday.\n<strong></strong>\n<h3>Sin Acts Exactly Like HIV</h3>\nJames chapter 1, verses 13-15:\n“<em>Let no one say when he is tempted, I am tempted from God; for God is incapable of being tempted by what is evil and He Himself tempts no one….But every person is tempted when he is drawn away, enticed and baited by his or her own evil desires, lust and passions. Then the evil desire, when it is conceived gives birth to sin and sin, when it is fully matured, brings forth death.”</em>\n\nThe potential for the deadly sin that James wrote about in this passage is always present in the metaphorical “body” of a believer, in much the same way that the deadly common germs and bacteria are ever present in our physical bodies.\n<ul>\n	<li>Physically speaking, those microorganisms can kill, but our immune system delivers us.</li>\n	<li>Spiritually speaking, that potential for sin could ultimately kill us as well; however, believing in Jesus is the spiritual immune system that delivers us.</li>\n</ul>\n<h3>Faith Acts Like a Spiritual Immune System Against Sin</h3>\nSin acts as a killer spiritual virus that’s kept in check through faith. But if we allow that sin the opportunity, the spiritual immune system of the believer can be compromised. Such a compromise then allows the sin principle, which was dormant in their lives, to be resurrected.\n\nEach of us as a believer, needs to be watchful and vigilante recognizing that apart from Christ, “…there is no good thing in me…” because even though Jesus is alive and resurrected in the hearts of true believers - He is not the only thing that can be resurrected into our lives.\n\nIf we allow it, sin can be resurrected - leading to our death.','How Sin Mirrors HIV','','inherit','open','open','','5804-revision-6','','','2012-04-05 17:09:41','2012-04-06 00:09:41','',5804,'http://provoketive.com/2012/04/05/5804-revision-6/',0,'revision','',0),(5818,153,'2012-04-05 17:27:36','2012-04-06 00:27:36','<h3>Death Lives in Us</h3>\nWe all know there are <a href=\"http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bacteria\">bacteria</a> and other microscopic organisms within our bodies right now that could kill us. As long as each of those simple, yet potentially harmful, life forms stay in the region of the body they’re supposed to, they\'re not a threat.\n\nHowever, if they spread or move out of their “designated area” – that’s where the trouble begins. For instance if the e-coli bacteria in your lower intestines was somehow introduced farther up your digestive track there is a strong likelihood that you would get very sick and even die. That potential for death abides in all of us right now, that’s how we were created.\n\nIn addition, there are dozens of more common microorganisms and viruses all around and inside the body that could kill if it wasn’t for something else we were created with – that \"something else\" is our <a href=\"http://science.howstuffworks.com/environmental/life/human-biology/immune-system.htm\">immune system</a>. The immune system is one of the best defenses we have against sickness and disease.\n<h3>Our Immune System Protects Against Current and Future Illness</h3>\nThere are many facets and aspects of the immune system, which are very complex – but basically it has three primary functions:\n<ol>\n	<li>To keep potential pathogens that exist within your body in check;</li>\n	<li>Fight against the attack of other harmful pathogens from outside the body that somehow invade the closed physical system;</li>\n	<li>It also prepares itself against future invasions.</li>\n</ol>\nPoint number three is the basis for vaccine technology. Basically a vaccine is a nonlethal dose of some dangerous virus or bacteria that’s introduced into the physical system, to allow the body to build up a resistance against that specific threat.\n\nThat’s in fact, exactly how the influenza, measles, mumps and rubella fever vaccines all operate.\n\nBut it’s our immune system that does the actual work – it’s the immune system that God created in us that enables our body to stay healthy against those viral and bacterial invaders.\n<h3>A Weakened Immune System Can Be Deadly</h3>\nBut what happens if the human immune system is compromised? Once the immune system is compromised – it’s very difficult for the body to successfully fight and defend against one of these unfriendly, ever-present organisms and the results tend to be fatal.\n\nFor the point of this illustration let’s consider the <a href=\"http://www.cdc.gov/hiv/\">HIV</a> pathogen, which stands for Human Immunodeficiency Virus -- meaning a virus that causes the immune system to become weak.\n\nViruses, including HIV, <strong>cannot replicate on their own</strong> – this is an important  point. To survive, HIV must invade a healthy cell within someone\'s body. Specifically, HIV likes to invade CD4 cells -- special \"bug-fighting\" cells that help the body\'s immune system protect against germs and viruses that can make a person sick.\n\nWhat HIV does is that it uses different enzymes – which are proteins responsible for a variety of cell functions – to “unlock” and enter the healthy CD4 cell, invading its command-and-control center which is called the nucleus.\n<h3>HIV Hi-Jacks the Immune System - But HIV Doesn\'t Actually Kill</h3>\nOnce that healthy command center is breached the HIV takes control, inserting its own destructive instructions into the cellular operation so that the reprogrammed CD4 cell will make new HIV copies instead of protective CD4 figthers. The infected CD4 cell is now an HIV factory, pumping out new viral material that will spread and invade other healthy immune cells. What happens is that the immune cells are no longer able to tell the rest of the body how to fight and defend against the other pathogens in the body. The only thing an HIV-infected immune cell is able to do is produce HIV - and then tell other CD4 cells to do the same.\n\nWhat happens is, <strong>the body doesn’t die from the HIV</strong> – the body dies because the HIV blocks the immune system from doing its previous job of fighting and defending against microscopic attacks. Because the body isn’t instructed how to fight one of those other common germs or bacteria - those ever-present bugs are able to spread, multiply and kill the body.\n\nUltimately, the healthy immune cells, which are supposed to protect the body from sickness, disease and death, have been overrun. They are now preoccupied with replicating unproductive viral material that seeks only to multiply itself – becoming passive weapons that allow the true death to occur.\n\nThis example of the immune system and common microscopic threats, coupled with the insidious nature of HIV, is a helpful metaphor regarding the spiritual battle we face with sin everyday.\n<strong></strong>\n<h3>Sin Acts Exactly Like HIV</h3>\n<a href=\"http://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=James+1%3A13-15&amp;version=TNIV\">James chapter 1, verses 13-15</a>\n“<em>Let no one say when he is tempted, I am tempted from God; for God is incapable of being tempted by what is evil and He Himself tempts no one….But every person is tempted when he is drawn away, enticed and baited by his or her own evil desires, lust and passions. Then the evil desire, when it is conceived gives birth to sin and sin, when it is fully matured, brings forth death.”</em>\n\nThe potential for the deadly sin that James wrote about in this passage is always present in the metaphorical “body” of a believer, in much the same way that the deadly common germs and bacteria are ever present in our physical bodies.\n<ul>\n	<li>Physically speaking, those microorganisms can kill, but our immune system delivers us.</li>\n	<li>Spiritually speaking, that potential for sin could ultimately kill us as well; however, believing in Jesus is the spiritual immune system that delivers us.</li>\n</ul>\n<h3>Faith Acts Like a Spiritual Immune System Against Sin</h3>\nSin acts as a killer spiritual virus that’s kept in check through faith. But if we allow that sin the opportunity, the spiritual immune system of the believer can be compromised. Such a compromise then allows the sin principle, which was dormant in their lives, to be resurrected.\n\nEach of us as a believer, needs to be watchful and vigilante recognizing that apart from Christ, “…there is no good thing in me…” because even though Jesus is alive and resurrected in the hearts of true believers - He is not the only thing that can be resurrected into our lives.\n\nIf we allow it, sin can be resurrected - leading to our death.','How Sin Mirrors HIV','','inherit','open','open','','5804-revision-14','','','2012-04-05 17:27:36','2012-04-06 00:27:36','',5804,'http://provoketive.com/2012/04/05/5804-revision-14/',0,'revision','',0),(5811,153,'2012-04-05 17:16:37','2012-04-06 00:16:37','<h3>Death Lives in Us</h3>\nWe all know there are <a href=\"http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bacteria\">bacteria</a> and other microscopic organisms within our bodies right now that could kill us. As long as each of those simple, yet potentially harmful, life forms stay in the region of the body they’re supposed to, they\'re not a threat.\n\nHowever, if they spread or move out of their “designated area” – that’s where the trouble begins. For instance if the e-coli bacteria in your lower intestines was somehow introduced farther up your digestive track there is a strong likelihood that you would get very sick and even die – that is a fact of this life we live. That potential for death abides in all of us right now, that’s how we were created.\n\nIn addition, there are dozens of more common microorganisms and viruses all around (and inside the body) that could kill each of us as well…if it wasn’t for something else we were created with – that \"something else\" is our <a href=\"http://science.howstuffworks.com/environmental/life/human-biology/immune-system.htm\">immune system</a>. The immune system is one of the best defenses we have against sickness and disease.\n<h3>Our Immune System Protects Against Current and Future Illness</h3>\nThere are many facets and aspects of the immune system, which are very complex – but basically it has three primary functions:\n<ol>\n	<li>To keep potential pathogens that exist within your body in check;</li>\n	<li>Fight against the attack of other harmful pathogens from outside the body that somehow invade the closed physical system;</li>\n	<li>It also prepares itself against future invasions.</li>\n</ol>\nPoint number three is the basis for vaccine technology. Basically a vaccine is a nonlethal dose of some dangerous virus that’s introduced into the physical system, to allow the body to build up a resistance against that specific threat.\n\nThat’s in fact, exactly how the influenza, measles, mumps and rubella fever vaccines all operate.\n\nBut it’s our immune system that does the actual work – it’s the immune system that God created in us that enables our body to stay healthy against those viral and bacterial invaders.\n<h3>A Weakened Immune System Can Be Deadly</h3>\nBut what happens if the human immune system is compromised? Once the immune system is compromised – it’s very difficult for the body to successfully fight and defend against one of these unfriendly, ever-present organisms we mentioned before and the results tend to be fatal.\n\nFor the point of this illustration let’s consider the HIV pathogen, which stands for Human Immuno-deficiency Virus -- meaning a virus that causes the immune system to become weak.\n\nViruses, including HIV, <strong>cannot replicate on their own</strong> – this is an important  point for the purpose of this discussion. To survive, HIV must invade a healthy cell within someone\'s body. Specifically, HIV likes to invade CD4 cells -- special \"bug-fighting\" cells that help the body\'s immune system protect against germs and viruses that can make a person sick.\n\nWhat HIV does is that it uses different enzymes – which are complex proteins responsible for a variety of cell functions – to “unlock” and enter the healthy CD4 cell, invading its command-and-control center which is called the nucleus.\n<h3>HIV Hi-Jacks the Immune System - But HIV Doesn\'t Actually Kill</h3>\nOnce that healthy command center is breached the HIV takes control, inserting its own destructive instructions into the cellular operation so that the reprogrammed CD4 cell will make new HIV copies instead of protective CD4 figthers. The infected CD4 cell is now an HIV factory, pumping out new viral material that will spread and invade other healthy immune cells. What happens is that the immune cells are no longer able to tell the rest of the body how to fight and defend against the other pathogens in the body. The only thing an HIV-infected immune cell is able to do is produce HIV - and then tell other CD4 cells to do the same.\n\nWhat happens is, <strong>the body doesn’t die from the HIV</strong> – the body dies because the HIV blocks the immune system from doing its previous job of fighting and defending against microscopic attacks. Because the body isn’t instructed how to fight one of those other common germs or bacteria - those ever-present bugs are able to spread, multiply and kill the body.\n\nUltimately, the healthy immune cells, which are supposed to protect the body from sickness, disease and death, have been hi-jacked. They are now preoccupied with replicating unproductive viral material that seeks only to multiply – becoming passive weapons that allow the true death to occur.\n\nThis example of the immune system and common microscopic threats in the body that can kill but are kept in check by that immune system as well as the insidious nature of HIV will help us better understand the spiritual battle we face with sin everyday.\n<strong></strong>\n<h3>Sin Acts Exactly Like HIV</h3>\n<a href=\"http://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=James+1%3A13-15&amp;version=TNIV\">James chapter 1, verses 13-15</a>\n“<em>Let no one say when he is tempted, I am tempted from God; for God is incapable of being tempted by what is evil and He Himself tempts no one….But every person is tempted when he is drawn away, enticed and baited by his or her own evil desires, lust and passions. Then the evil desire, when it is conceived gives birth to sin and sin, when it is fully matured, brings forth death.”</em>\n\nThe potential for the deadly sin that James wrote about in this passage is always present in the metaphorical “body” of a believer, in much the same way that the deadly common germs and bacteria are ever present in our physical bodies.\n<ul>\n	<li>Physically speaking, those microorganisms can kill, but our immune system delivers us.</li>\n	<li>Spiritually speaking, that potential for sin could ultimately kill us as well; however, believing in Jesus is the spiritual immune system that delivers us.</li>\n</ul>\n<h3>Faith Acts Like a Spiritual Immune System Against Sin</h3>\nSin acts as a killer spiritual virus that’s kept in check through faith. But if we allow that sin the opportunity, the spiritual immune system of the believer can be compromised. Such a compromise then allows the sin principle, which was dormant in their lives, to be resurrected.\n\nEach of us as a believer, needs to be watchful and vigilante recognizing that apart from Christ, “…there is no good thing in me…” because even though Jesus is alive and resurrected in the hearts of true believers - He is not the only thing that can be resurrected into our lives.\n\nIf we allow it, sin can be resurrected - leading to our death.','How Sin Mirrors HIV','','inherit','open','open','','5804-revision-7','','','2012-04-05 17:16:37','2012-04-06 00:16:37','',5804,'http://provoketive.com/2012/04/05/5804-revision-7/',0,'revision','',0),(5815,153,'2012-04-05 17:20:55','2012-04-06 00:20:55','<h3>Death Lives in Us</h3>\nWe all know there are <a href=\"http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bacteria\">bacteria</a> and other microscopic organisms within our bodies right now that could kill us. As long as each of those simple, yet potentially harmful, life forms stay in the region of the body they’re supposed to, they\'re not a threat.\n\nHowever, if they spread or move out of their “designated area” – that’s where the trouble begins. For instance if the e-coli bacteria in your lower intestines was somehow introduced farther up your digestive track there is a strong likelihood that you would get very sick and even die. That potential for death abides in all of us right now, that’s how we were created.\n\nIn addition, there are dozens of more common microorganisms and viruses all around (and inside the body) that could kill each of us as well…if it wasn’t for something else we were created with – that \"something else\" is our <a href=\"http://science.howstuffworks.com/environmental/life/human-biology/immune-system.htm\">immune system</a>. The immune system is one of the best defenses we have against sickness and disease.\n<h3>Our Immune System Protects Against Current and Future Illness</h3>\nThere are many facets and aspects of the immune system, which are very complex – but basically it has three primary functions:\n<ol>\n	<li>To keep potential pathogens that exist within your body in check;</li>\n	<li>Fight against the attack of other harmful pathogens from outside the body that somehow invade the closed physical system;</li>\n	<li>It also prepares itself against future invasions.</li>\n</ol>\nPoint number three is the basis for vaccine technology. Basically a vaccine is a nonlethal dose of some dangerous virus that’s introduced into the physical system, to allow the body to build up a resistance against that specific threat.\n\nThat’s in fact, exactly how the influenza, measles, mumps and rubella fever vaccines all operate.\n\nBut it’s our immune system that does the actual work – it’s the immune system that God created in us that enables our body to stay healthy against those viral and bacterial invaders.\n<h3>A Weakened Immune System Can Be Deadly</h3>\nBut what happens if the human immune system is compromised? Once the immune system is compromised – it’s very difficult for the body to successfully fight and defend against one of these unfriendly, ever-present organisms we mentioned before and the results tend to be fatal.\n\nFor the point of this illustration let’s consider the <a href=\"http://www.cdc.gov/hiv/\">HIV</a> pathogen, which stands for Human Immunodeficiency Virus -- meaning a virus that causes the immune system to become weak.\n\nViruses, including HIV, <strong>cannot replicate on their own</strong> – this is an important  point for the purpose of this discussion. To survive, HIV must invade a healthy cell within someone\'s body. Specifically, HIV likes to invade CD4 cells -- special \"bug-fighting\" cells that help the body\'s immune system protect against germs and viruses that can make a person sick.\n\nWhat HIV does is that it uses different enzymes – which are complex proteins responsible for a variety of cell functions – to “unlock” and enter the healthy CD4 cell, invading its command-and-control center which is called the nucleus.\n<h3>HIV Hi-Jacks the Immune System - But HIV Doesn\'t Actually Kill</h3>\nOnce that healthy command center is breached the HIV takes control, inserting its own destructive instructions into the cellular operation so that the reprogrammed CD4 cell will make new HIV copies instead of protective CD4 figthers. The infected CD4 cell is now an HIV factory, pumping out new viral material that will spread and invade other healthy immune cells. What happens is that the immune cells are no longer able to tell the rest of the body how to fight and defend against the other pathogens in the body. The only thing an HIV-infected immune cell is able to do is produce HIV - and then tell other CD4 cells to do the same.\n\nWhat happens is, <strong>the body doesn’t die from the HIV</strong> – the body dies because the HIV blocks the immune system from doing its previous job of fighting and defending against microscopic attacks. Because the body isn’t instructed how to fight one of those other common germs or bacteria - those ever-present bugs are able to spread, multiply and kill the body.\n\nUltimately, the healthy immune cells, which are supposed to protect the body from sickness, disease and death, have been hi-jacked. They are now preoccupied with replicating unproductive viral material that seeks only to multiply – becoming passive weapons that allow the true death to occur.\n\nThis example of the immune system and common microscopic threats in the body that can kill but are kept in check by that immune system as well as the insidious nature of HIV will help us better understand the spiritual battle we face with sin everyday.\n<strong></strong>\n<h3>Sin Acts Exactly Like HIV</h3>\n<a href=\"http://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=James+1%3A13-15&amp;version=TNIV\">James chapter 1, verses 13-15</a>\n“<em>Let no one say when he is tempted, I am tempted from God; for God is incapable of being tempted by what is evil and He Himself tempts no one….But every person is tempted when he is drawn away, enticed and baited by his or her own evil desires, lust and passions. Then the evil desire, when it is conceived gives birth to sin and sin, when it is fully matured, brings forth death.”</em>\n\nThe potential for the deadly sin that James wrote about in this passage is always present in the metaphorical “body” of a believer, in much the same way that the deadly common germs and bacteria are ever present in our physical bodies.\n<ul>\n	<li>Physically speaking, those microorganisms can kill, but our immune system delivers us.</li>\n	<li>Spiritually speaking, that potential for sin could ultimately kill us as well; however, believing in Jesus is the spiritual immune system that delivers us.</li>\n</ul>\n<h3>Faith Acts Like a Spiritual Immune System Against Sin</h3>\nSin acts as a killer spiritual virus that’s kept in check through faith. But if we allow that sin the opportunity, the spiritual immune system of the believer can be compromised. Such a compromise then allows the sin principle, which was dormant in their lives, to be resurrected.\n\nEach of us as a believer, needs to be watchful and vigilante recognizing that apart from Christ, “…there is no good thing in me…” because even though Jesus is alive and resurrected in the hearts of true believers - He is not the only thing that can be resurrected into our lives.\n\nIf we allow it, sin can be resurrected - leading to our death.','How Sin Mirrors HIV','','inherit','open','open','','5804-revision-11','','','2012-04-05 17:20:55','2012-04-06 00:20:55','',5804,'http://provoketive.com/2012/04/05/5804-revision-11/',0,'revision','',0),(5812,153,'2012-04-05 17:17:57','2012-04-06 00:17:57','<h3>Death Lives in Us</h3>\r\nWe all know there are <a href=\"http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bacteria\">bacteria</a> and other microscopic organisms within our bodies right now that could kill us. As long as each of those simple, yet potentially harmful, life forms stay in the region of the body they’re supposed to, they\'re not a threat.\r\n\r\nHowever, if they spread or move out of their “designated area” – that’s where the trouble begins. For instance if the e-coli bacteria in your lower intestines was somehow introduced farther up your digestive track there is a strong likelihood that you would get very sick and even die – that is a fact of this life we live. That potential for death abides in all of us right now, that’s how we were created.\r\n\r\nIn addition, there are dozens of more common microorganisms and viruses all around (and inside the body) that could kill each of us as well…if it wasn’t for something else we were created with – that \"something else\" is our <a href=\"http://science.howstuffworks.com/environmental/life/human-biology/immune-system.htm\">immune system</a>. The immune system is one of the best defenses we have against sickness and disease.\r\n<h3>Our Immune System Protects Against Current and Future Illness</h3>\r\nThere are many facets and aspects of the immune system, which are very complex – but basically it has three primary functions:\r\n<ol>\r\n	<li>To keep potential pathogens that exist within your body in check;</li>\r\n	<li>Fight against the attack of other harmful pathogens from outside the body that somehow invade the closed physical system;</li>\r\n	<li>It also prepares itself against future invasions.</li>\r\n</ol>\r\nPoint number three is the basis for vaccine technology. Basically a vaccine is a nonlethal dose of some dangerous virus that’s introduced into the physical system, to allow the body to build up a resistance against that specific threat.\r\n\r\nThat’s in fact, exactly how the influenza, measles, mumps and rubella fever vaccines all operate.\r\n\r\nBut it’s our immune system that does the actual work – it’s the immune system that God created in us that enables our body to stay healthy against those viral and bacterial invaders.\r\n<h3>A Weakened Immune System Can Be Deadly</h3>\r\nBut what happens if the human immune system is compromised? Once the immune system is compromised – it’s very difficult for the body to successfully fight and defend against one of these unfriendly, ever-present organisms we mentioned before and the results tend to be fatal.\r\n\r\nFor the point of this illustration let’s consider the <a href=\"http://www.cdc.gov/hiv/\">HIV</a> pathogen, which stands for Human Immunodeficiency Virus -- meaning a virus that causes the immune system to become weak.\r\n\r\nViruses, including HIV, <strong>cannot replicate on their own</strong> – this is an important  point for the purpose of this discussion. To survive, HIV must invade a healthy cell within someone\'s body. Specifically, HIV likes to invade CD4 cells -- special \"bug-fighting\" cells that help the body\'s immune system protect against germs and viruses that can make a person sick.\r\n\r\nWhat HIV does is that it uses different enzymes – which are complex proteins responsible for a variety of cell functions – to “unlock” and enter the healthy CD4 cell, invading its command-and-control center which is called the nucleus.\r\n<h3>HIV Hi-Jacks the Immune System - But HIV Doesn\'t Actually Kill</h3>\r\nOnce that healthy command center is breached the HIV takes control, inserting its own destructive instructions into the cellular operation so that the reprogrammed CD4 cell will make new HIV copies instead of protective CD4 figthers. The infected CD4 cell is now an HIV factory, pumping out new viral material that will spread and invade other healthy immune cells. What happens is that the immune cells are no longer able to tell the rest of the body how to fight and defend against the other pathogens in the body. The only thing an HIV-infected immune cell is able to do is produce HIV - and then tell other CD4 cells to do the same.\r\n\r\nWhat happens is, <strong>the body doesn’t die from the HIV</strong> – the body dies because the HIV blocks the immune system from doing its previous job of fighting and defending against microscopic attacks. Because the body isn’t instructed how to fight one of those other common germs or bacteria - those ever-present bugs are able to spread, multiply and kill the body.\r\n\r\nUltimately, the healthy immune cells, which are supposed to protect the body from sickness, disease and death, have been hi-jacked. They are now preoccupied with replicating unproductive viral material that seeks only to multiply – becoming passive weapons that allow the true death to occur.\r\n\r\nThis example of the immune system and common microscopic threats in the body that can kill but are kept in check by that immune system as well as the insidious nature of HIV will help us better understand the spiritual battle we face with sin everyday.\r\n<strong></strong>\r\n<h3>Sin Acts Exactly Like HIV</h3>\r\n<a href=\"http://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=James+1%3A13-15&amp;version=TNIV\">James chapter 1, verses 13-15</a>\r\n“<em>Let no one say when he is tempted, I am tempted from God; for God is incapable of being tempted by what is evil and He Himself tempts no one….But every person is tempted when he is drawn away, enticed and baited by his or her own evil desires, lust and passions. Then the evil desire, when it is conceived gives birth to sin and sin, when it is fully matured, brings forth death.”</em>\r\n\r\nThe potential for the deadly sin that James wrote about in this passage is always present in the metaphorical “body” of a believer, in much the same way that the deadly common germs and bacteria are ever present in our physical bodies.\r\n<ul>\r\n	<li>Physically speaking, those microorganisms can kill, but our immune system delivers us.</li>\r\n	<li>Spiritually speaking, that potential for sin could ultimately kill us as well; however, believing in Jesus is the spiritual immune system that delivers us.</li>\r\n</ul>\r\n<h3>Faith Acts Like a Spiritual Immune System Against Sin</h3>\r\nSin acts as a killer spiritual virus that’s kept in check through faith. But if we allow that sin the opportunity, the spiritual immune system of the believer can be compromised. Such a compromise then allows the sin principle, which was dormant in their lives, to be resurrected.\r\n\r\nEach of us as a believer, needs to be watchful and vigilante recognizing that apart from Christ, “…there is no good thing in me…” because even though Jesus is alive and resurrected in the hearts of true believers - He is not the only thing that can be resurrected into our lives.\r\n\r\nIf we allow it, sin can be resurrected - leading to our death.','How Sin Mirrors HIV','','inherit','open','open','','5804-revision-8','','','2012-04-05 17:17:57','2012-04-06 00:17:57','',5804,'http://provoketive.com/2012/04/05/5804-revision-8/',0,'revision','',0),(5813,153,'2012-04-05 17:18:08','2012-04-06 00:18:08','<h3>Death Lives in Us</h3>\r\nWe all know there are <a href=\"http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bacteria\">bacteria</a> and other microscopic organisms within our bodies right now that could kill us. As long as each of those simple, yet potentially harmful, life forms stay in the region of the body they’re supposed to, they\'re not a threat.\r\n\r\nHowever, if they spread or move out of their “designated area” – that’s where the trouble begins. For instance if the e-coli bacteria in your lower intestines was somehow introduced farther up your digestive track there is a strong likelihood that you would get very sick and even die – that is a fact of this life we live. That potential for death abides in all of us right now, that’s how we were created.\r\n\r\nIn addition, there are dozens of more common microorganisms and viruses all around (and inside the body) that could kill each of us as well…if it wasn’t for something else we were created with – that \"something else\" is our <a href=\"http://science.howstuffworks.com/environmental/life/human-biology/immune-system.htm\">immune system</a>. The immune system is one of the best defenses we have against sickness and disease.\r\n<h3>Our Immune System Protects Against Current and Future Illness</h3>\r\nThere are many facets and aspects of the immune system, which are very complex – but basically it has three primary functions:\r\n<ol>\r\n	<li>To keep potential pathogens that exist within your body in check;</li>\r\n	<li>Fight against the attack of other harmful pathogens from outside the body that somehow invade the closed physical system;</li>\r\n	<li>It also prepares itself against future invasions.</li>\r\n</ol>\r\nPoint number three is the basis for vaccine technology. Basically a vaccine is a nonlethal dose of some dangerous virus that’s introduced into the physical system, to allow the body to build up a resistance against that specific threat.\r\n\r\nThat’s in fact, exactly how the influenza, measles, mumps and rubella fever vaccines all operate.\r\n\r\nBut it’s our immune system that does the actual work – it’s the immune system that God created in us that enables our body to stay healthy against those viral and bacterial invaders.\r\n<h3>A Weakened Immune System Can Be Deadly</h3>\r\nBut what happens if the human immune system is compromised? Once the immune system is compromised – it’s very difficult for the body to successfully fight and defend against one of these unfriendly, ever-present organisms we mentioned before and the results tend to be fatal.\r\n\r\nFor the point of this illustration let’s consider the <a href=\"http://www.cdc.gov/hiv/\">HIV</a> pathogen, which stands for Human Immunodeficiency Virus -- meaning a virus that causes the immune system to become weak.\r\n\r\nViruses, including HIV, <strong>cannot replicate on their own</strong> – this is an important  point for the purpose of this discussion. To survive, HIV must invade a healthy cell within someone\'s body. Specifically, HIV likes to invade CD4 cells -- special \"bug-fighting\" cells that help the body\'s immune system protect against germs and viruses that can make a person sick.\r\n\r\nWhat HIV does is that it uses different enzymes – which are complex proteins responsible for a variety of cell functions – to “unlock” and enter the healthy CD4 cell, invading its command-and-control center which is called the nucleus.\r\n<h3>HIV Hi-Jacks the Immune System - But HIV Doesn\'t Actually Kill</h3>\r\nOnce that healthy command center is breached the HIV takes control, inserting its own destructive instructions into the cellular operation so that the reprogrammed CD4 cell will make new HIV copies instead of protective CD4 figthers. The infected CD4 cell is now an HIV factory, pumping out new viral material that will spread and invade other healthy immune cells. What happens is that the immune cells are no longer able to tell the rest of the body how to fight and defend against the other pathogens in the body. The only thing an HIV-infected immune cell is able to do is produce HIV - and then tell other CD4 cells to do the same.\r\n\r\nWhat happens is, <strong>the body doesn’t die from the HIV</strong> – the body dies because the HIV blocks the immune system from doing its previous job of fighting and defending against microscopic attacks. Because the body isn’t instructed how to fight one of those other common germs or bacteria - those ever-present bugs are able to spread, multiply and kill the body.\r\n\r\nUltimately, the healthy immune cells, which are supposed to protect the body from sickness, disease and death, have been hi-jacked. They are now preoccupied with replicating unproductive viral material that seeks only to multiply – becoming passive weapons that allow the true death to occur.\r\n\r\nThis example of the immune system and common microscopic threats in the body that can kill but are kept in check by that immune system as well as the insidious nature of HIV will help us better understand the spiritual battle we face with sin everyday.\r\n<strong></strong>\r\n<h3>Sin Acts Exactly Like HIV</h3>\r\n<a href=\"http://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=James+1%3A13-15&amp;version=TNIV\">James chapter 1, verses 13-15</a>\r\n“<em>Let no one say when he is tempted, I am tempted from God; for God is incapable of being tempted by what is evil and He Himself tempts no one….But every person is tempted when he is drawn away, enticed and baited by his or her own evil desires, lust and passions. Then the evil desire, when it is conceived gives birth to sin and sin, when it is fully matured, brings forth death.”</em>\r\n\r\nThe potential for the deadly sin that James wrote about in this passage is always present in the metaphorical “body” of a believer, in much the same way that the deadly common germs and bacteria are ever present in our physical bodies.\r\n<ul>\r\n	<li>Physically speaking, those microorganisms can kill, but our immune system delivers us.</li>\r\n	<li>Spiritually speaking, that potential for sin could ultimately kill us as well; however, believing in Jesus is the spiritual immune system that delivers us.</li>\r\n</ul>\r\n<h3>Faith Acts Like a Spiritual Immune System Against Sin</h3>\r\nSin acts as a killer spiritual virus that’s kept in check through faith. But if we allow that sin the opportunity, the spiritual immune system of the believer can be compromised. Such a compromise then allows the sin principle, which was dormant in their lives, to be resurrected.\r\n\r\nEach of us as a believer, needs to be watchful and vigilante recognizing that apart from Christ, “…there is no good thing in me…” because even though Jesus is alive and resurrected in the hearts of true believers - He is not the only thing that can be resurrected into our lives.\r\n\r\nIf we allow it, sin can be resurrected - leading to our death.','How Sin Mirrors HIV','','inherit','open','open','','5804-revision-9','','','2012-04-05 17:18:08','2012-04-06 00:18:08','',5804,'http://provoketive.com/2012/04/05/5804-revision-9/',0,'revision','',0),(5814,153,'2012-04-05 17:19:49','2012-04-06 00:19:49','<h3>Death Lives in Us</h3>\r\nWe all know there are <a href=\"http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bacteria\">bacteria</a> and other microscopic organisms within our bodies right now that could kill us. As long as each of those simple, yet potentially harmful, life forms stay in the region of the body they’re supposed to, they\'re not a threat.\r\n\r\nHowever, if they spread or move out of their “designated area” – that’s where the trouble begins. For instance if the e-coli bacteria in your lower intestines was somehow introduced farther up your digestive track there is a strong likelihood that you would get very sick and even die. That potential for death abides in all of us right now, that’s how we were created.\r\n\r\nIn addition, there are dozens of more common microorganisms and viruses all around (and inside the body) that could kill each of us as well…if it wasn’t for something else we were created with – that \"something else\" is our <a href=\"http://science.howstuffworks.com/environmental/life/human-biology/immune-system.htm\">immune system</a>. The immune system is one of the best defenses we have against sickness and disease.\r\n<h3>Our Immune System Protects Against Current and Future Illness</h3>\r\nThere are many facets and aspects of the immune system, which are very complex – but basically it has three primary functions:\r\n<ol>\r\n	<li>To keep potential pathogens that exist within your body in check;</li>\r\n	<li>Fight against the attack of other harmful pathogens from outside the body that somehow invade the closed physical system;</li>\r\n	<li>It also prepares itself against future invasions.</li>\r\n</ol>\r\nPoint number three is the basis for vaccine technology. Basically a vaccine is a nonlethal dose of some dangerous virus that’s introduced into the physical system, to allow the body to build up a resistance against that specific threat.\r\n\r\nThat’s in fact, exactly how the influenza, measles, mumps and rubella fever vaccines all operate.\r\n\r\nBut it’s our immune system that does the actual work – it’s the immune system that God created in us that enables our body to stay healthy against those viral and bacterial invaders.\r\n<h3>A Weakened Immune System Can Be Deadly</h3>\r\nBut what happens if the human immune system is compromised? Once the immune system is compromised – it’s very difficult for the body to successfully fight and defend against one of these unfriendly, ever-present organisms we mentioned before and the results tend to be fatal.\r\n\r\nFor the point of this illustration let’s consider the <a href=\"http://www.cdc.gov/hiv/\">HIV</a> pathogen, which stands for Human Immunodeficiency Virus -- meaning a virus that causes the immune system to become weak.\r\n\r\nViruses, including HIV, <strong>cannot replicate on their own</strong> – this is an important  point for the purpose of this discussion. To survive, HIV must invade a healthy cell within someone\'s body. Specifically, HIV likes to invade CD4 cells -- special \"bug-fighting\" cells that help the body\'s immune system protect against germs and viruses that can make a person sick.\r\n\r\nWhat HIV does is that it uses different enzymes – which are complex proteins responsible for a variety of cell functions – to “unlock” and enter the healthy CD4 cell, invading its command-and-control center which is called the nucleus.\r\n<h3>HIV Hi-Jacks the Immune System - But HIV Doesn\'t Actually Kill</h3>\r\nOnce that healthy command center is breached the HIV takes control, inserting its own destructive instructions into the cellular operation so that the reprogrammed CD4 cell will make new HIV copies instead of protective CD4 figthers. The infected CD4 cell is now an HIV factory, pumping out new viral material that will spread and invade other healthy immune cells. What happens is that the immune cells are no longer able to tell the rest of the body how to fight and defend against the other pathogens in the body. The only thing an HIV-infected immune cell is able to do is produce HIV - and then tell other CD4 cells to do the same.\r\n\r\nWhat happens is, <strong>the body doesn’t die from the HIV</strong> – the body dies because the HIV blocks the immune system from doing its previous job of fighting and defending against microscopic attacks. Because the body isn’t instructed how to fight one of those other common germs or bacteria - those ever-present bugs are able to spread, multiply and kill the body.\r\n\r\nUltimately, the healthy immune cells, which are supposed to protect the body from sickness, disease and death, have been hi-jacked. They are now preoccupied with replicating unproductive viral material that seeks only to multiply – becoming passive weapons that allow the true death to occur.\r\n\r\nThis example of the immune system and common microscopic threats in the body that can kill but are kept in check by that immune system as well as the insidious nature of HIV will help us better understand the spiritual battle we face with sin everyday.\r\n<strong></strong>\r\n<h3>Sin Acts Exactly Like HIV</h3>\r\n<a href=\"http://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=James+1%3A13-15&amp;version=TNIV\">James chapter 1, verses 13-15</a>\r\n“<em>Let no one say when he is tempted, I am tempted from God; for God is incapable of being tempted by what is evil and He Himself tempts no one….But every person is tempted when he is drawn away, enticed and baited by his or her own evil desires, lust and passions. Then the evil desire, when it is conceived gives birth to sin and sin, when it is fully matured, brings forth death.”</em>\r\n\r\nThe potential for the deadly sin that James wrote about in this passage is always present in the metaphorical “body” of a believer, in much the same way that the deadly common germs and bacteria are ever present in our physical bodies.\r\n<ul>\r\n	<li>Physically speaking, those microorganisms can kill, but our immune system delivers us.</li>\r\n	<li>Spiritually speaking, that potential for sin could ultimately kill us as well; however, believing in Jesus is the spiritual immune system that delivers us.</li>\r\n</ul>\r\n<h3>Faith Acts Like a Spiritual Immune System Against Sin</h3>\r\nSin acts as a killer spiritual virus that’s kept in check through faith. But if we allow that sin the opportunity, the spiritual immune system of the believer can be compromised. Such a compromise then allows the sin principle, which was dormant in their lives, to be resurrected.\r\n\r\nEach of us as a believer, needs to be watchful and vigilante recognizing that apart from Christ, “…there is no good thing in me…” because even though Jesus is alive and resurrected in the hearts of true believers - He is not the only thing that can be resurrected into our lives.\r\n\r\nIf we allow it, sin can be resurrected - leading to our death.','How Sin Mirrors HIV','','inherit','open','open','','5804-revision-10','','','2012-04-05 17:19:49','2012-04-06 00:19:49','',5804,'http://provoketive.com/2012/04/05/5804-revision-10/',0,'revision','',0),(5816,153,'2012-04-05 17:21:46','2012-04-06 00:21:46','<h3>Death Lives in Us</h3>\r\nWe all know there are <a href=\"http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bacteria\">bacteria</a> and other microscopic organisms within our bodies right now that could kill us. As long as each of those simple, yet potentially harmful, life forms stay in the region of the body they’re supposed to, they\'re not a threat.\r\n\r\nHowever, if they spread or move out of their “designated area” – that’s where the trouble begins. For instance if the e-coli bacteria in your lower intestines was somehow introduced farther up your digestive track there is a strong likelihood that you would get very sick and even die. That potential for death abides in all of us right now, that’s how we were created.\r\n\r\nIn addition, there are dozens of more common microorganisms and viruses all around and inside the body that could kill if it wasn’t for something else we were created with – that \"something else\" is our <a href=\"http://science.howstuffworks.com/environmental/life/human-biology/immune-system.htm\">immune system</a>. The immune system is one of the best defenses we have against sickness and disease.\r\n<h3>Our Immune System Protects Against Current and Future Illness</h3>\r\nThere are many facets and aspects of the immune system, which are very complex – but basically it has three primary functions:\r\n<ol>\r\n	<li>To keep potential pathogens that exist within your body in check;</li>\r\n	<li>Fight against the attack of other harmful pathogens from outside the body that somehow invade the closed physical system;</li>\r\n	<li>It also prepares itself against future invasions.</li>\r\n</ol>\r\nPoint number three is the basis for vaccine technology. Basically a vaccine is a nonlethal dose of some dangerous virus that’s introduced into the physical system, to allow the body to build up a resistance against that specific threat.\r\n\r\nThat’s in fact, exactly how the influenza, measles, mumps and rubella fever vaccines all operate.\r\n\r\nBut it’s our immune system that does the actual work – it’s the immune system that God created in us that enables our body to stay healthy against those viral and bacterial invaders.\r\n<h3>A Weakened Immune System Can Be Deadly</h3>\r\nBut what happens if the human immune system is compromised? Once the immune system is compromised – it’s very difficult for the body to successfully fight and defend against one of these unfriendly, ever-present organisms we mentioned before and the results tend to be fatal.\r\n\r\nFor the point of this illustration let’s consider the <a href=\"http://www.cdc.gov/hiv/\">HIV</a> pathogen, which stands for Human Immunodeficiency Virus -- meaning a virus that causes the immune system to become weak.\r\n\r\nViruses, including HIV, <strong>cannot replicate on their own</strong> – this is an important  point for the purpose of this discussion. To survive, HIV must invade a healthy cell within someone\'s body. Specifically, HIV likes to invade CD4 cells -- special \"bug-fighting\" cells that help the body\'s immune system protect against germs and viruses that can make a person sick.\r\n\r\nWhat HIV does is that it uses different enzymes – which are complex proteins responsible for a variety of cell functions – to “unlock” and enter the healthy CD4 cell, invading its command-and-control center which is called the nucleus.\r\n<h3>HIV Hi-Jacks the Immune System - But HIV Doesn\'t Actually Kill</h3>\r\nOnce that healthy command center is breached the HIV takes control, inserting its own destructive instructions into the cellular operation so that the reprogrammed CD4 cell will make new HIV copies instead of protective CD4 figthers. The infected CD4 cell is now an HIV factory, pumping out new viral material that will spread and invade other healthy immune cells. What happens is that the immune cells are no longer able to tell the rest of the body how to fight and defend against the other pathogens in the body. The only thing an HIV-infected immune cell is able to do is produce HIV - and then tell other CD4 cells to do the same.\r\n\r\nWhat happens is, <strong>the body doesn’t die from the HIV</strong> – the body dies because the HIV blocks the immune system from doing its previous job of fighting and defending against microscopic attacks. Because the body isn’t instructed how to fight one of those other common germs or bacteria - those ever-present bugs are able to spread, multiply and kill the body.\r\n\r\nUltimately, the healthy immune cells, which are supposed to protect the body from sickness, disease and death, have been hi-jacked. They are now preoccupied with replicating unproductive viral material that seeks only to multiply – becoming passive weapons that allow the true death to occur.\r\n\r\nThis example of the immune system and common microscopic threats in the body that can kill but are kept in check by that immune system as well as the insidious nature of HIV will help us better understand the spiritual battle we face with sin everyday.\r\n<strong></strong>\r\n<h3>Sin Acts Exactly Like HIV</h3>\r\n<a href=\"http://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=James+1%3A13-15&amp;version=TNIV\">James chapter 1, verses 13-15</a>\r\n“<em>Let no one say when he is tempted, I am tempted from God; for God is incapable of being tempted by what is evil and He Himself tempts no one….But every person is tempted when he is drawn away, enticed and baited by his or her own evil desires, lust and passions. Then the evil desire, when it is conceived gives birth to sin and sin, when it is fully matured, brings forth death.”</em>\r\n\r\nThe potential for the deadly sin that James wrote about in this passage is always present in the metaphorical “body” of a believer, in much the same way that the deadly common germs and bacteria are ever present in our physical bodies.\r\n<ul>\r\n	<li>Physically speaking, those microorganisms can kill, but our immune system delivers us.</li>\r\n	<li>Spiritually speaking, that potential for sin could ultimately kill us as well; however, believing in Jesus is the spiritual immune system that delivers us.</li>\r\n</ul>\r\n<h3>Faith Acts Like a Spiritual Immune System Against Sin</h3>\r\nSin acts as a killer spiritual virus that’s kept in check through faith. But if we allow that sin the opportunity, the spiritual immune system of the believer can be compromised. Such a compromise then allows the sin principle, which was dormant in their lives, to be resurrected.\r\n\r\nEach of us as a believer, needs to be watchful and vigilante recognizing that apart from Christ, “…there is no good thing in me…” because even though Jesus is alive and resurrected in the hearts of true believers - He is not the only thing that can be resurrected into our lives.\r\n\r\nIf we allow it, sin can be resurrected - leading to our death.','How Sin Mirrors HIV','','inherit','open','open','','5804-revision-12','','','2012-04-05 17:21:46','2012-04-06 00:21:46','',5804,'http://provoketive.com/2012/04/05/5804-revision-12/',0,'revision','',0),(5817,153,'2012-04-05 17:23:50','2012-04-06 00:23:50','<h3>Death Lives in Us</h3>\nWe all know there are <a href=\"http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bacteria\">bacteria</a> and other microscopic organisms within our bodies right now that could kill us. As long as each of those simple, yet potentially harmful, life forms stay in the region of the body they’re supposed to, they\'re not a threat.\n\nHowever, if they spread or move out of their “designated area” – that’s where the trouble begins. For instance if the e-coli bacteria in your lower intestines was somehow introduced farther up your digestive track there is a strong likelihood that you would get very sick and even die. That potential for death abides in all of us right now, that’s how we were created.\n\nIn addition, there are dozens of more common microorganisms and viruses all around and inside the body that could kill if it wasn’t for something else we were created with – that \"something else\" is our <a href=\"http://science.howstuffworks.com/environmental/life/human-biology/immune-system.htm\">immune system</a>. The immune system is one of the best defenses we have against sickness and disease.\n<h3>Our Immune System Protects Against Current and Future Illness</h3>\nThere are many facets and aspects of the immune system, which are very complex – but basically it has three primary functions:\n<ol>\n	<li>To keep potential pathogens that exist within your body in check;</li>\n	<li>Fight against the attack of other harmful pathogens from outside the body that somehow invade the closed physical system;</li>\n	<li>It also prepares itself against future invasions.</li>\n</ol>\nPoint number three is the basis for vaccine technology. Basically a vaccine is a nonlethal dose of some dangerous virus or bacteria that’s introduced into the physical system, to allow the body to build up a resistance against that specific threat.\n\nThat’s in fact, exactly how the influenza, measles, mumps and rubella fever vaccines all operate.\n\nBut it’s our immune system that does the actual work – it’s the immune system that God created in us that enables our body to stay healthy against those viral and bacterial invaders.\n<h3>A Weakened Immune System Can Be Deadly</h3>\nBut what happens if the human immune system is compromised? Once the immune system is compromised – it’s very difficult for the body to successfully fight and defend against one of these unfriendly, ever-present organisms and the results tend to be fatal.\n\nFor the point of this illustration let’s consider the <a href=\"http://www.cdc.gov/hiv/\">HIV</a> pathogen, which stands for Human Immunodeficiency Virus -- meaning a virus that causes the immune system to become weak.\n\nViruses, including HIV, <strong>cannot replicate on their own</strong> – this is an important  point for the purpose of this discussion. To survive, HIV must invade a healthy cell within someone\'s body. Specifically, HIV likes to invade CD4 cells -- special \"bug-fighting\" cells that help the body\'s immune system protect against germs and viruses that can make a person sick.\n\nWhat HIV does is that it uses different enzymes – which are complex proteins responsible for a variety of cell functions – to “unlock” and enter the healthy CD4 cell, invading its command-and-control center which is called the nucleus.\n<h3>HIV Hi-Jacks the Immune System - But HIV Doesn\'t Actually Kill</h3>\nOnce that healthy command center is breached the HIV takes control, inserting its own destructive instructions into the cellular operation so that the reprogrammed CD4 cell will make new HIV copies instead of protective CD4 figthers. The infected CD4 cell is now an HIV factory, pumping out new viral material that will spread and invade other healthy immune cells. What happens is that the immune cells are no longer able to tell the rest of the body how to fight and defend against the other pathogens in the body. The only thing an HIV-infected immune cell is able to do is produce HIV - and then tell other CD4 cells to do the same.\n\nWhat happens is, <strong>the body doesn’t die from the HIV</strong> – the body dies because the HIV blocks the immune system from doing its previous job of fighting and defending against microscopic attacks. Because the body isn’t instructed how to fight one of those other common germs or bacteria - those ever-present bugs are able to spread, multiply and kill the body.\n\nUltimately, the healthy immune cells, which are supposed to protect the body from sickness, disease and death, have been hi-jacked. They are now preoccupied with replicating unproductive viral material that seeks only to multiply – becoming passive weapons that allow the true death to occur.\n\nThis example of the immune system and common microscopic threats in the body that can kill but are kept in check by that immune system as well as the insidious nature of HIV will help us better understand the spiritual battle we face with sin everyday.\n<strong></strong>\n<h3>Sin Acts Exactly Like HIV</h3>\n<a href=\"http://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=James+1%3A13-15&amp;version=TNIV\">James chapter 1, verses 13-15</a>\n“<em>Let no one say when he is tempted, I am tempted from God; for God is incapable of being tempted by what is evil and He Himself tempts no one….But every person is tempted when he is drawn away, enticed and baited by his or her own evil desires, lust and passions. Then the evil desire, when it is conceived gives birth to sin and sin, when it is fully matured, brings forth death.”</em>\n\nThe potential for the deadly sin that James wrote about in this passage is always present in the metaphorical “body” of a believer, in much the same way that the deadly common germs and bacteria are ever present in our physical bodies.\n<ul>\n	<li>Physically speaking, those microorganisms can kill, but our immune system delivers us.</li>\n	<li>Spiritually speaking, that potential for sin could ultimately kill us as well; however, believing in Jesus is the spiritual immune system that delivers us.</li>\n</ul>\n<h3>Faith Acts Like a Spiritual Immune System Against Sin</h3>\nSin acts as a killer spiritual virus that’s kept in check through faith. But if we allow that sin the opportunity, the spiritual immune system of the believer can be compromised. Such a compromise then allows the sin principle, which was dormant in their lives, to be resurrected.\n\nEach of us as a believer, needs to be watchful and vigilante recognizing that apart from Christ, “…there is no good thing in me…” because even though Jesus is alive and resurrected in the hearts of true believers - He is not the only thing that can be resurrected into our lives.\n\nIf we allow it, sin can be resurrected - leading to our death.','How Sin Mirrors HIV','','inherit','open','open','','5804-revision-13','','','2012-04-05 17:23:50','2012-04-06 00:23:50','',5804,'http://provoketive.com/2012/04/05/5804-revision-13/',0,'revision','',0),(5819,153,'2012-04-05 17:28:44','2012-04-06 00:28:44','<h3>Death Lives in Us</h3>\nWe all know there are <a href=\"http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bacteria\">bacteria</a> and other microscopic organisms within our bodies right now that could kill us. As long as each of those simple, yet potentially harmful, life forms stay in the region of the body they’re supposed to, they\'re not a threat.\n\nHowever, if they spread or move out of their “designated area” – that’s where the trouble begins. For instance if the e-coli bacteria in your lower intestines was somehow introduced farther up your digestive track there is a strong likelihood that you would get very sick and even die. That potential for death abides in all of us right now, that’s how we were created.\n\nIn addition, there are dozens of more common microorganisms and viruses all around and inside the body that could kill if it wasn’t for something else we were created with – that \"something else\" is our <a href=\"http://science.howstuffworks.com/environmental/life/human-biology/immune-system.htm\">immune system</a>. The immune system is one of the best defenses we have against sickness and disease.\n<h3>Our Immune System Protects Against Current and Future Illness</h3>\nThere are many facets and aspects of the immune system, which are very complex – but basically it has three primary functions:\n<ol>\n	<li>To keep potential pathogens that exist within your body in check;</li>\n	<li>Fight against the attack of other harmful pathogens from outside the body that somehow invade the closed physical system;</li>\n	<li>It also prepares itself against future invasions.</li>\n</ol>\nPoint number three is the basis for vaccine technology. Basically a vaccine is a nonlethal dose of some dangerous virus or bacteria that’s introduced into the physical system, to allow the body to build up a resistance against that specific threat.\n\nThat’s in fact, exactly how the influenza, measles, mumps and rubella fever vaccines all operate.\n\nBut it’s our immune system that does the actual work – it’s the immune system that God created in us that enables our body to stay healthy against those viral and bacterial invaders.\n<h3>A Weakened Immune System Can Be Deadly</h3>\nBut what happens if the human immune system is compromised? Once the immune system is compromised – it’s very difficult for the body to successfully fight and defend against one of these unfriendly, ever-present organisms and the results tend to be fatal.\n\nFor the point of this illustration let’s consider the <a href=\"http://www.cdc.gov/hiv/\">HIV</a> pathogen, which stands for Human Immunodeficiency Virus -- meaning a virus that causes the immune system to become weak.\n\nViruses, including HIV, <strong>cannot replicate on their own</strong> – this is an important  point. To survive, HIV must invade a healthy cell within someone\'s body. Specifically, HIV likes to invade CD4 cells -- special \"bug-fighting\" cells that help the body\'s immune system protect against germs and viruses that can make a person sick.\n\nWhat HIV does is that it uses different enzymes – which are proteins responsible for a variety of cell functions – to “unlock” and enter the healthy CD4 cell, invading its command-and-control center which is called the nucleus.\n<h3>HIV Hi-Jacks the Immune System - But HIV Doesn\'t Actually Kill</h3>\nOnce that healthy command center is breached the HIV takes control, inserting its own destructive instructions into the cellular operation so that the reprogrammed CD4 cell will make new HIV copies instead of protective CD4 figthers. The infected CD4 cell is now an HIV factory, pumping out new viral material that will spread and invade other healthy immune cells. What happens is that the immune cells are no longer able to tell the rest of the body how to fight and defend against the other pathogens in the body. The only thing an HIV-infected immune cell is able to do is produce HIV - and then tell other CD4 cells to do the same.\n\nWhat happens is, <strong>the body doesn’t die from the HIV</strong> – the body dies because the HIV blocks the immune system from doing its previous job of fighting and defending against microscopic attacks. Because the body isn’t instructed how to fight one of those other common germs or bacteria - those ever-present bugs are able to spread, multiply and kill the body.\n\nUltimately, the healthy immune cells, which are supposed to protect the body from sickness, disease and death, have been overrun. They are now preoccupied with replicating unproductive viral material that seeks only to multiply itself – becoming passive weapons that allow the true death to occur.\n\nThis example of the immune system and common microscopic threats, coupled with the insidious nature of HIV, is a helpful metaphor regarding the spiritual battle we face with sin everyday.\n<strong></strong>\n<h3>Sin Acts Exactly Like HIV</h3>\n<a href=\"http://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=James+1%3A13-15&amp;version=TNIV\">James chapter 1, verses 13-15</a>\n“<em>Let no one say when he is tempted, I am tempted from God; for God is incapable of being tempted by what is evil and He Himself tempts no one….But every person is tempted when he is drawn away, enticed and baited by his or her own evil desires, lust and passions. Then the evil desire, when it is conceived gives birth to sin and sin, when it is fully matured, brings forth death.”</em>\n\nThe potential for the deadly sin that James wrote about in this passage is always present in the metaphorical “body” of a believer, in much the same way that the deadly common germs and bacteria are ever present in our physical bodies.\n<ul>\n	<li>Physically speaking, those microorganisms can kill, but our immune system delivers us.</li>\n	<li>Spiritually speaking, that potential for sin could ultimately kill us as well; however, believing in Jesus is the spiritual immune system that delivers us.</li>\n</ul>\n<h3>Faith Acts Like a Spiritual Immune System Against Sin</h3>\nSin acts as a killer spiritual virus that’s kept in check through faith. But if we allow that sin the opportunity, the spiritual immune system of the believer can be compromised. Such a compromise then allows the sin principle, which was dormant in their lives, to be resurrected.\n\nEach of us as a believer, needs to be watchful and vigilante recognizing that apart from Christ, “…there is no good thing in me…” because even though Jesus is alive and resurrected in the hearts of true believers - He is not the only thing that can be resurrected into our lives.\n\nIf we allow it, sin can be resurrected - leading to our death.','How Sin Mirrors HIV','','inherit','open','open','','5804-revision-15','','','2012-04-05 17:28:44','2012-04-06 00:28:44','',5804,'http://provoketive.com/2012/04/05/5804-revision-15/',0,'revision','',0),(5820,153,'2012-04-05 17:46:11','2012-04-06 00:46:11','','sinmirrorshiv2','','inherit','open','open','','sinmirrorshiv2','','','2012-04-05 17:46:11','2012-04-06 00:46:11','',5804,'http://provoketive.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/04/sinmirrorshiv2.jpg',0,'attachment','image/jpeg',0),(5821,153,'2012-04-05 17:48:03','2012-04-06 00:48:03','','sinmirrorshiv2','Flickr Creative Commons - image by BinaryCoCo','inherit','open','open','','sinmirrorshiv2-2','','','2012-04-05 17:48:03','2012-04-06 00:48:03','',5804,'http://provoketive.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/04/sinmirrorshiv21.jpg',0,'attachment','image/jpeg',0),(5822,153,'2012-04-05 17:31:01','2012-04-06 00:31:01','<h3>Death Lives in Us</h3>\nWe all know there are <a href=\"http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bacteria\">bacteria</a> and other microscopic organisms within our bodies right now that could kill us. As long as each of those simple, yet potentially harmful, life forms stay in the region of the body they’re supposed to, they\'re not a threat.\n\nHowever, if they spread or move out of their “designated area” – that’s where the trouble begins. For instance if the e-coli bacteria in your lower intestines was somehow introduced farther up your digestive track there is a strong likelihood that you would get very sick and even die. That potential for death abides in all of us right now, that’s how we were created.\n\nIn addition, there are dozens of more common microorganisms and viruses all around and inside the body that could kill if it wasn’t for something else we were created with – that \"something else\" is our <a href=\"http://science.howstuffworks.com/environmental/life/human-biology/immune-system.htm\">immune system</a>. The immune system is one of the best defenses we have against sickness and disease.\n<h3>Our Immune System Protects Against Current and Future Illness</h3>\nThere are many facets and aspects of the immune system, which are very complex – but basically it has three primary functions:\n<ol>\n	<li>To keep potential pathogens that exist within your body in check;</li>\n	<li>Fight against the attack of other harmful pathogens from outside the body that somehow invade the closed physical system;</li>\n	<li>It also prepares itself against future invasions.</li>\n</ol>\nPoint number three is the basis for vaccine technology. Basically a vaccine is a nonlethal dose of some dangerous virus or bacteria that’s introduced into the physical system, to allow the body to build up a resistance against that specific threat.\n\nThat’s in fact, exactly how the influenza, measles, mumps and rubella fever vaccines all operate.\n\nBut it’s our immune system that does the actual work – it’s the immune system that God created in us that enables our body to stay healthy against those viral and bacterial invaders.\n<h3>A Weakened Immune System Can Be Deadly</h3>\nBut what happens if the human immune system is compromised? Once the immune system is compromised – it’s very difficult for the body to successfully fight and defend against one of these unfriendly, ever-present organisms and the results tend to be fatal.\n\nFor the point of this illustration let’s consider the <a href=\"http://www.cdc.gov/hiv/\">HIV</a> pathogen, which stands for Human Immunodeficiency Virus -- meaning a virus that causes the immune system to become weak.\n\nViruses, including HIV, <strong>cannot replicate on their own</strong> – this is an important  point. To survive, HIV must invade a healthy cell within someone\'s body. Specifically, HIV likes to invade CD4 cells -- special \"bug-fighting\" cells that help the body\'s immune system protect against germs and viruses that can make a person sick.\n\nWhat HIV does is that it uses different enzymes – which are proteins responsible for a variety of cell functions – to “unlock” and enter the healthy CD4 cell, invading its command-and-control center which is called the nucleus.\n<h3>HIV Hi-Jacks the Immune System - But HIV Doesn\'t Actually Kill</h3>\nOnce that healthy command center is breached the HIV takes control, inserting its own destructive instructions into the cellular operation so that the reprogrammed CD4 cell will make new HIV copies instead of protective CD4 figthers. The infected CD4 cell is now an HIV factory, pumping out new viral material that will spread and invade other healthy immune cells. What happens is that the immune cells are no longer able to tell the rest of the body how to fight and defend against the other pathogens in the body. The only thing an HIV-infected immune cell is able to do is produce HIV - and then tell other CD4 cells to do the same.\n\nWhat happens is, <strong>the body doesn’t die from the HIV</strong> – the body dies because the HIV blocks the immune system from doing its previous job of fighting and defending against microscopic attacks. Because the body isn’t instructed how to fight one of those other common germs or bacteria - those ever-present bugs are able to spread, multiply and kill the body.\n\nUltimately, the healthy immune cells, which are supposed to protect the body from sickness, disease and death, have been overrun. They are now preoccupied with replicating unproductive viral material that seeks only to multiply itself – becoming passive weapons that allow the true death to occur.\n\nThis example of the immune system and common microscopic threats, coupled with the insidious nature of HIV, is a helpful metaphor regarding the spiritual battle we face with sin everyday.\n<strong></strong>\n<h3>Sin Acts Exactly Like HIV</h3>\n<a href=\"http://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=James+1%3A13-15&amp;version=TNIV\">James chapter 1, verses 13-15</a>\n“<em>Let no one say when he is tempted, I am tempted from God; for God is incapable of being tempted by what is evil and He Himself tempts no one….But every person is tempted when he is drawn away, enticed and baited by his or her own evil desires, lust and passions. Then the evil desire, when it is conceived gives birth to sin and sin, when it is fully matured, brings forth death.”</em>\n\nThe potential for the deadly sin that James wrote about in this passage is always present in the metaphorical “body” of a believer, in much the same way that the deadly common germs and bacteria are ever present in our physical bodies.\n<ul>\n	<li>Physically speaking, those microorganisms can kill, but our immune system delivers us.</li>\n	<li>Spiritually speaking, that potential for sin could ultimately kill us as well; however, believing in Jesus is the spiritual immune system that delivers us.</li>\n</ul>\n<h3>Faith Acts Like a Spiritual Immune System Against Sin</h3>\nSin acts as a killer spiritual virus that’s kept in check through faith. But if we allow that sin the opportunity, the spiritual immune system of the believer can be compromised. Such a compromise then allows the sin principle, which was dormant in their lives, to be resurrected.\n\nEach of us as a believer, needs to be watchful and vigilante recognizing that apart from Christ, “…there is no good thing in me…” because even though Jesus is alive and resurrected in the hearts of true believers - He is not the only thing that can be resurrected into our lives.\n\nIf we allow it, sin can be resurrected in our spiritual body where it multiples itself - leading to our death.','How Sin Mirrors HIV','','inherit','open','open','','5804-revision-16','','','2012-04-05 17:31:01','2012-04-06 00:31:01','',5804,'http://provoketive.com/2012/04/05/5804-revision-16/',0,'revision','',0),(5823,153,'2012-04-05 17:49:02','2012-04-06 00:49:02','[caption id=\"attachment_5821\" align=\"alignnone\" width=\"500\" caption=\"Flickr Creative Commons - image by BinaryCoCo\"]<a href=\"http://provoketive.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/04/sinmirrorshiv21.jpg\"><img class=\"size-full wp-image-5821\" src=\"http://provoketive.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/04/sinmirrorshiv21.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"500\" height=\"375\" /></a>[/caption]\n<h3>Death Lives in Us</h3>\nWe all know there are <a href=\"http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bacteria\">bacteria</a> and other microscopic organisms within our bodies right now that could kill us. As long as each of those simple, yet potentially harmful, life forms stay in the region of the body they’re supposed to, they\'re not a threat.\n\nHowever, if they spread or move out of their “designated area” – that’s where the trouble begins. For instance if the e-coli bacteria in your lower intestines was somehow introduced farther up your digestive track there is a strong likelihood that you would get very sick and even die. That potential for death abides in all of us right now, that’s how we were created.\n\nIn addition, there are dozens of more common microorganisms and viruses all around and inside the body that could kill if it wasn’t for something else we were created with – that \"something else\" is our <a href=\"http://science.howstuffworks.com/environmental/life/human-biology/immune-system.htm\">immune system</a>. The immune system is one of the best defenses we have against sickness and disease.\n<h3>Our Immune System Protects Against Current and Future Illness</h3>\nThere are many facets and aspects of the immune system, which are very complex – but basically it has three primary functions:\n<ol>\n	<li>To keep potential pathogens that exist within your body in check;</li>\n	<li>Fight against the attack of other harmful pathogens from outside the body that somehow invade the closed physical system;</li>\n	<li>It also prepares itself against future invasions.</li>\n</ol>\nPoint number three is the basis for vaccine technology. Basically a vaccine is a nonlethal dose of some dangerous virus or bacteria that’s introduced into the physical system, to allow the body to build up a resistance against that specific threat.\n\nThat’s in fact, exactly how the influenza, measles, mumps and rubella fever vaccines all operate.\n\nBut it’s our immune system that does the actual work – it’s the immune system that God created in us that enables our body to stay healthy against those viral and bacterial invaders.\n<h3>A Weakened Immune System Can Be Deadly</h3>\nBut what happens if the human immune system is compromised? Once the immune system is compromised – it’s very difficult for the body to successfully fight and defend against one of these unfriendly, ever-present organisms and the results tend to be fatal.\n\nFor the point of this illustration let’s consider the <a href=\"http://www.cdc.gov/hiv/\">HIV</a> pathogen, which stands for Human Immunodeficiency Virus -- meaning a virus that causes the immune system to become weak.\n\nViruses, including HIV, <strong>cannot replicate on their own</strong> – this is an important  point. To survive, HIV must invade a healthy cell within someone\'s body. Specifically, HIV likes to invade CD4 cells -- special \"bug-fighting\" cells that help the body\'s immune system protect against germs and viruses that can make a person sick.\n\nWhat HIV does is that it uses different enzymes – which are proteins responsible for a variety of cell functions – to “unlock” and enter the healthy CD4 cell, invading its command-and-control center which is called the nucleus.\n<h3>HIV Hi-Jacks the Immune System - But HIV Doesn\'t Actually Kill</h3>\nOnce that healthy command center is breached the HIV takes control, inserting its own destructive instructions into the cellular operation so that the reprogrammed CD4 cell will make new HIV copies instead of protective CD4 figthers. The infected CD4 cell is now an HIV factory, pumping out new viral material that will spread and invade other healthy immune cells. What happens is that the immune cells are no longer able to tell the rest of the body how to fight and defend against the other pathogens in the body. The only thing an HIV-infected immune cell is able to do is produce HIV - and then tell other CD4 cells to do the same.\n\nWhat happens is, <strong>the body doesn’t die from the HIV</strong> – the body dies because the HIV blocks the immune system from doing its previous job of fighting and defending against microscopic attacks. Because the body isn’t instructed how to fight one of those other common germs or bacteria - those ever-present bugs are able to spread, multiply and kill the body.\n\nUltimately, the healthy immune cells, which are supposed to protect the body from sickness, disease and death, have been overrun. They are now preoccupied with replicating unproductive viral material that seeks only to multiply itself – becoming passive weapons that allow the true death to occur.\n\nThis example of the immune system and common microscopic threats, coupled with the insidious nature of HIV, is a helpful metaphor regarding the spiritual battle we face with sin everyday.\n<strong></strong>\n<h3>Sin Acts Exactly Like HIV</h3>\n<a href=\"http://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=James+1%3A13-15&amp;version=TNIV\">James chapter 1, verses 13-15</a>\n“<em>Let no one say when he is tempted, I am tempted from God; for God is incapable of being tempted by what is evil and He Himself tempts no one….But every person is tempted when he is drawn away, enticed and baited by his or her own evil desires, lust and passions. Then the evil desire, when it is conceived gives birth to sin and sin, when it is fully matured, brings forth death.”</em>\n\nThe potential for the deadly sin that James wrote about in this passage is always present in the metaphorical “body” of a believer, in much the same way that the deadly common germs and bacteria are ever present in our physical bodies.\n<ul>\n	<li>Physically speaking, those microorganisms can kill, but our immune system delivers us.</li>\n	<li>Spiritually speaking, that potential for sin could ultimately kill us as well; however, believing in Jesus is the spiritual immune system that delivers us.</li>\n</ul>\n<h3>Faith Acts Like a Spiritual Immune System Against Sin</h3>\nSin acts as a killer spiritual virus that’s kept in check through faith. But if we allow that sin the opportunity, the spiritual immune system of the believer can be compromised. Such a compromise then allows the sin principle, which was dormant in their lives, to be resurrected.\n\nEach of us as a believer, needs to be watchful and vigilante recognizing that apart from Christ, “…there is no good thing in me…” because even though Jesus is alive and resurrected in the hearts of true believers - He is not the only thing that can be resurrected into our lives.\n\nIf we allow it, sin can be resurrected in our spiritual body where it multiples itself - leading to our death.','How Sin Mirrors HIV','','inherit','open','open','','5804-revision-17','','','2012-04-05 17:49:02','2012-04-06 00:49:02','',5804,'http://provoketive.com/2012/04/05/5804-revision-17/',0,'revision','',0),(5826,153,'2012-04-05 17:53:34','2012-04-06 00:53:34','[caption id=\"attachment_5821\" align=\"alignnone\" width=\"500\" caption=\"Flickr Creative Commons - image by BinaryCoCo\"]<a href=\"http://provoketive.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/04/sinmirrorshiv21.jpg\"><img class=\" wp-image-5821\" src=\"http://provoketive.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/04/sinmirrorshiv21.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"500\" height=\"282\" /></a>[/caption]\n<h3>Death Lives in Us</h3>\nWe all know there are <a href=\"http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bacteria\">bacteria</a> and other microscopic organisms within our bodies right now that could kill us. As long as each of those simple, yet potentially harmful, life forms stay in the region of the body they’re supposed to, they\'re not a threat.\n\nHowever, if they spread or move out of their “designated area” – that’s where the trouble begins. For instance if the e-coli bacteria in your lower intestines was somehow introduced farther up your digestive track there is a strong likelihood that you would get very sick and even die. That potential for death abides in all of us right now, that’s how we were created.\n\nIn addition, there are dozens of more common microorganisms and viruses all around and inside the body that could kill if it wasn’t for something else we were created with – that \"something else\" is our <a href=\"http://science.howstuffworks.com/environmental/life/human-biology/immune-system.htm\">immune system</a>. The immune system is one of the best defenses we have against sickness and disease.\n<h3>Our Immune System Protects Against Current and Future Illness</h3>\nThere are many facets and aspects of the immune system, which are very complex – but basically it has three primary functions:\n<ol>\n	<li>To keep potential pathogens that exist within your body in check;</li>\n	<li>Fight against the attack of other harmful pathogens from outside the body that somehow invade the closed physical system;</li>\n	<li>It also prepares itself against future invasions.</li>\n</ol>\nPoint number three is the basis for vaccine technology. Basically a vaccine is a nonlethal dose of some dangerous virus or bacteria that’s introduced into the physical system, to allow the body to build up a resistance against that specific threat.\n\nThat’s in fact, exactly how the influenza, measles, mumps and rubella fever vaccines all operate.\n\nBut it’s our immune system that does the actual work – it’s the immune system that God created in us that enables our body to stay healthy against those viral and bacterial invaders.\n<h3>A Weakened Immune System Can Be Deadly</h3>\nBut what happens if the human immune system is compromised? Once the immune system is compromised – it’s very difficult for the body to successfully fight and defend against one of these unfriendly, ever-present organisms and the results tend to be fatal.\n\nFor the point of this illustration let’s consider the <a href=\"http://www.cdc.gov/hiv/\">HIV</a> pathogen, which stands for Human Immunodeficiency Virus -- meaning a virus that causes the immune system to become weak.\n\nViruses, including HIV, <strong>cannot replicate on their own</strong> – this is an important  point. To survive, HIV must invade a healthy cell within someone\'s body. Specifically, HIV likes to invade CD4 cells -- special \"bug-fighting\" cells that help the body\'s immune system protect against germs and viruses that can make a person sick.\n\nWhat HIV does is that it uses different enzymes – which are proteins responsible for a variety of cell functions – to “unlock” and enter the healthy CD4 cell, invading its command-and-control center which is called the nucleus.\n<h3>HIV Hi-Jacks the Immune System - But HIV Doesn\'t Actually Kill</h3>\nOnce that healthy command center is breached the HIV takes control, inserting its own destructive instructions into the cellular operation so that the reprogrammed CD4 cell will make new HIV copies instead of protective CD4 figthers. The infected CD4 cell is now an HIV factory, pumping out new viral material that will spread and invade other healthy immune cells. What happens is that the immune cells are no longer able to tell the rest of the body how to fight and defend against the other pathogens in the body. The only thing an HIV-infected immune cell is able to do is produce HIV - and then tell other CD4 cells to do the same.\n\nWhat happens is, <strong>the body doesn’t die from the HIV</strong> – the body dies because the HIV blocks the immune system from doing its previous job of fighting and defending against microscopic attacks. Because the body isn’t instructed how to fight one of those other common germs or bacteria - those ever-present bugs are able to spread, multiply and kill the body.\n\nUltimately, the healthy immune cells, which are supposed to protect the body from sickness, disease and death, have been overrun. They are now preoccupied with replicating unproductive viral material that seeks only to multiply itself – becoming passive weapons that allow the true death to occur.\n\nThis example of the immune system and common microscopic threats, coupled with the insidious nature of HIV, is a helpful metaphor regarding the spiritual battle we face with sin everyday.\n<strong></strong>\n<h3>Sin Acts Exactly Like HIV</h3>\n<a href=\"http://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=James+1%3A13-15&amp;version=TNIV\">James chapter 1, verses 13-15</a>\n“<em>Let no one say when he is tempted, I am tempted from God; for God is incapable of being tempted by what is evil and He Himself tempts no one….But every person is tempted when he is drawn away, enticed and baited by his or her own evil desires, lust and passions. Then the evil desire, when it is conceived gives birth to sin and sin, when it is fully matured, brings forth death.”</em>\n\nThe potential for the deadly sin that James wrote about in this passage is always present in the metaphorical “body” of a believer, in much the same way that the deadly common germs and bacteria are ever present in our physical bodies.\n<ul>\n	<li>Physically speaking, those microorganisms can kill, but our immune system delivers us.</li>\n	<li>Spiritually speaking, that potential for sin could ultimately kill us as well; however, believing in Jesus is the spiritual immune system that delivers us.</li>\n</ul>\n<h3>Faith Acts Like a Spiritual Immune System Against Sin</h3>\nSin acts as a killer spiritual virus that’s kept in check through faith. But if we allow that sin the opportunity, the spiritual immune system of the believer can be compromised. Such a compromise then allows the sin principle, which was dormant in their lives, to be resurrected.\n\nEach of us as a believer, needs to be watchful and vigilante recognizing that apart from Christ, “…there is no good thing in me…” because even though Jesus is alive and resurrected in the hearts of true believers - He is not the only thing that can be resurrected into our lives.\n\nIf we allow it, sin can be resurrected in our spiritual body where it multiples itself - leading to our death.','How Sin Mirrors HIV','','inherit','open','open','','5804-revision-19','','','2012-04-05 17:53:34','2012-04-06 00:53:34','',5804,'http://provoketive.com/2012/04/05/5804-revision-19/',0,'revision','',0),(5824,153,'2012-04-05 17:49:22','2012-04-06 00:49:22','[caption id=\"attachment_5821\" align=\"alignnone\" width=\"500\" caption=\"Flickr Creative Commons - image by BinaryCoCo\"]<a href=\"http://provoketive.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/04/sinmirrorshiv21.jpg\"><img class=\" wp-image-5821\" src=\"http://provoketive.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/04/sinmirrorshiv21.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"500\" height=\"282\" /></a>[/caption]\r\n<h3>Death Lives in Us</h3>\r\nWe all know there are <a href=\"http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bacteria\">bacteria</a> and other microscopic organisms within our bodies right now that could kill us. As long as each of those simple, yet potentially harmful, life forms stay in the region of the body they’re supposed to, they\'re not a threat.\r\n\r\nHowever, if they spread or move out of their “designated area” – that’s where the trouble begins. For instance if the e-coli bacteria in your lower intestines was somehow introduced farther up your digestive track there is a strong likelihood that you would get very sick and even die. That potential for death abides in all of us right now, that’s how we were created.\r\n\r\nIn addition, there are dozens of more common microorganisms and viruses all around and inside the body that could kill if it wasn’t for something else we were created with – that \"something else\" is our <a href=\"http://science.howstuffworks.com/environmental/life/human-biology/immune-system.htm\">immune system</a>. The immune system is one of the best defenses we have against sickness and disease.\r\n<h3>Our Immune System Protects Against Current and Future Illness</h3>\r\nThere are many facets and aspects of the immune system, which are very complex – but basically it has three primary functions:\r\n<ol>\r\n	<li>To keep potential pathogens that exist within your body in check;</li>\r\n	<li>Fight against the attack of other harmful pathogens from outside the body that somehow invade the closed physical system;</li>\r\n	<li>It also prepares itself against future invasions.</li>\r\n</ol>\r\nPoint number three is the basis for vaccine technology. Basically a vaccine is a nonlethal dose of some dangerous virus or bacteria that’s introduced into the physical system, to allow the body to build up a resistance against that specific threat.\r\n\r\nThat’s in fact, exactly how the influenza, measles, mumps and rubella fever vaccines all operate.\r\n\r\nBut it’s our immune system that does the actual work – it’s the immune system that God created in us that enables our body to stay healthy against those viral and bacterial invaders.\r\n<h3>A Weakened Immune System Can Be Deadly</h3>\r\nBut what happens if the human immune system is compromised? Once the immune system is compromised – it’s very difficult for the body to successfully fight and defend against one of these unfriendly, ever-present organisms and the results tend to be fatal.\r\n\r\nFor the point of this illustration let’s consider the <a href=\"http://www.cdc.gov/hiv/\">HIV</a> pathogen, which stands for Human Immunodeficiency Virus -- meaning a virus that causes the immune system to become weak.\r\n\r\nViruses, including HIV, <strong>cannot replicate on their own</strong> – this is an important  point. To survive, HIV must invade a healthy cell within someone\'s body. Specifically, HIV likes to invade CD4 cells -- special \"bug-fighting\" cells that help the body\'s immune system protect against germs and viruses that can make a person sick.\r\n\r\nWhat HIV does is that it uses different enzymes – which are proteins responsible for a variety of cell functions – to “unlock” and enter the healthy CD4 cell, invading its command-and-control center which is called the nucleus.\r\n<h3>HIV Hi-Jacks the Immune System - But HIV Doesn\'t Actually Kill</h3>\r\nOnce that healthy command center is breached the HIV takes control, inserting its own destructive instructions into the cellular operation so that the reprogrammed CD4 cell will make new HIV copies instead of protective CD4 figthers. The infected CD4 cell is now an HIV factory, pumping out new viral material that will spread and invade other healthy immune cells. What happens is that the immune cells are no longer able to tell the rest of the body how to fight and defend against the other pathogens in the body. The only thing an HIV-infected immune cell is able to do is produce HIV - and then tell other CD4 cells to do the same.\r\n\r\nWhat happens is, <strong>the body doesn’t die from the HIV</strong> – the body dies because the HIV blocks the immune system from doing its previous job of fighting and defending against microscopic attacks. Because the body isn’t instructed how to fight one of those other common germs or bacteria - those ever-present bugs are able to spread, multiply and kill the body.\r\n\r\nUltimately, the healthy immune cells, which are supposed to protect the body from sickness, disease and death, have been overrun. They are now preoccupied with replicating unproductive viral material that seeks only to multiply itself – becoming passive weapons that allow the true death to occur.\r\n\r\nThis example of the immune system and common microscopic threats, coupled with the insidious nature of HIV, is a helpful metaphor regarding the spiritual battle we face with sin everyday.\r\n<strong></strong>\r\n<h3>Sin Acts Exactly Like HIV</h3>\r\n<a href=\"http://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=James+1%3A13-15&amp;version=TNIV\">James chapter 1, verses 13-15</a>\r\n“<em>Let no one say when he is tempted, I am tempted from God; for God is incapable of being tempted by what is evil and He Himself tempts no one….But every person is tempted when he is drawn away, enticed and baited by his or her own evil desires, lust and passions. Then the evil desire, when it is conceived gives birth to sin and sin, when it is fully matured, brings forth death.”</em>\r\n\r\nThe potential for the deadly sin that James wrote about in this passage is always present in the metaphorical “body” of a believer, in much the same way that the deadly common germs and bacteria are ever present in our physical bodies.\r\n<ul>\r\n	<li>Physically speaking, those microorganisms can kill, but our immune system delivers us.</li>\r\n	<li>Spiritually speaking, that potential for sin could ultimately kill us as well; however, believing in Jesus is the spiritual immune system that delivers us.</li>\r\n</ul>\r\n<h3>Faith Acts Like a Spiritual Immune System Against Sin</h3>\r\nSin acts as a killer spiritual virus that’s kept in check through faith. But if we allow that sin the opportunity, the spiritual immune system of the believer can be compromised. Such a compromise then allows the sin principle, which was dormant in their lives, to be resurrected.\r\n\r\nEach of us as a believer, needs to be watchful and vigilante recognizing that apart from Christ, “…there is no good thing in me…” because even though Jesus is alive and resurrected in the hearts of true believers - He is not the only thing that can be resurrected into our lives.\r\n\r\nIf we allow it, sin can be resurrected in our spiritual body where it multiples itself - leading to our death.','How Sin Mirrors HIV','','inherit','open','open','','5804-revision-18','','','2012-04-05 17:49:22','2012-04-06 00:49:22','',5804,'http://provoketive.com/2012/04/05/5804-revision-18/',0,'revision','',0),(5825,153,'2012-04-05 17:52:12','2012-04-06 00:52:12','','sinmirrorshiv2','Flickr Creative Commons - image by BinaryCoCo','inherit','open','open','','sinmirrorshiv2-3','','','2012-04-05 17:52:12','2012-04-06 00:52:12','',5804,'http://provoketive.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/04/sinmirrorshiv22.jpg',0,'attachment','image/jpeg',0),(5827,30,'2012-04-05 10:56:12','2012-04-05 17:56:12','Birth control has been in the news a lot lately.\n\nWell, let me rephrase.\n\nBirth control FOR WOMEN has been in the news a lot lately.\n\nWhether it\'s on the political spectrum or in the entertainment industry, women\'s reproductive rights have been hotly contested in the past months.','It\'s Not Just About Healthcare','','inherit','open','open','','5800-revision-2','','','2012-04-05 10:56:12','2012-04-05 17:56:12','',5800,'http://provoketive.com/2012/04/05/5800-revision-2/',0,'revision','',0),(5829,1,'2012-03-27 14:49:47','2012-03-27 21:49:47','\"I love you when you bow in your mosque, kneel in your temple,\r\n\r\npray in your church.  For you and I are sons of one religion,\r\n\r\nand it is The Spirit\". - Khalil Gibran\r\n\r\n<a href=\"http://provoketive.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/03/kahlil-gibran-wisdom.jpg\"><img class=\"alignright size-thumbnail wp-image-5502\" src=\"http://provoketive.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/03/kahlil-gibran-wisdom-150x150.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"150\" height=\"150\" /></a>Life is our abundance!  Our universe is teeming with its energy.  It is the matrix for all that exists around us... within each of us.  It is the most sacred element of the Creator/Creation.  All material objects in the universe... from the smallest nanoparticle to the most immense object...are the progeny of this eternally living energy.  It is the singularity that unites what we only think we perceive as differing objects.  In such perceptions we deceive ourselves...always.\r\n\r\nMost of my experience praying is simply acknowledging that I am integral, inseparable, from this most sacred Creator/Creation.  I am dependant upon all of it, just as all of it is dependant upon me.  This \'me\' is so much more than what I perceive when I am looking into a mirror, or thinking about \'who I am\', \'what I am doing\', \'what I have been thinking\'.  Stepping out of this routine and busyness of what I misperceive as me...to acknowledge this singular truth of Being...is the essence of worship of the divine Creator/Creation.  It requires no words for they would be inadequate though sincere.  The words of the scripture writers and poet philosophers are only signposts pointing toward the silence of truly knowing.\r\n\r\nYou have seen and heard those who perceive themselves as having authority to promote separation from, exclusion of, or superiority over the spiritual beliefs, religious practices, and life commitments of other people.  In the current political environment we are assaulted by their harsh rhetoric daily!  Those who promote these dualities are misperceiving themselves as well as the people they hold judgement upon.  Your knowing of your own Grace in our Creator/Creation is truth enough.\r\n\r\nLook how we pray... See how we yearn... Hear our prayers... Listen for the eternal voice of  the Creator/Creation!\r\n\r\n<a href=\"http://provoketive.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/03/Bhuddist-monks-pray1.jpg\"><img class=\"aligncenter size-full wp-image-5512\" src=\"http://provoketive.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/03/Bhuddist-monks-pray1.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"400\" height=\"228\" /></a>\r\n\r\n\"I existed from all eternity and , behold, I am here; I shall exist til the end of time, for my Being has no end.\" - Khalil Gibran\r\n\r\nChaz e.g.\r\n\r\n&nbsp;','Watch. Listen. Thank God!','','inherit','open','open','','5505-revision-5','','','2012-03-27 14:49:47','2012-03-27 21:49:47','',5505,'http://provoketive.com/2012/03/27/5505-revision-5/',0,'revision','',0),(5830,1,'2012-04-06 13:19:12','2012-04-06 20:19:12','A couple of weeks ago, I had the opportunity to participate in an event with the youth at my church called Hunger for Hope.  Similar to <a href=\"http://www.30hourfamine.org/\">World Vision\'s 30 Hour Famine</a>, we went without food for (you guessed it) 30 hours.  The money we raised went to two of my personal favorite charities: <a href=\"http://www.childrensrelief.org/\">Children\'s Relief International</a> and the <a href=\"http://ugandanwaterproject.com/\">Ugandan Water Project</a>.\n\nWe stayed at the church for the fast.  During that time, there were activities designed to help the participants understand the needs of the people in other countries, notably Mozambique and Uganda.  While that\'s a good thing, I often find that programs intended to shed light on the plight of \"those poor Africans\" often strip those same people of their humanity.  They\'re reduced to nothing more than starving, uneducated people who have no hope without our ministries.  We become the White Saviors of the Savage Brown World.\n\nNot this time.\n\nBy far, my favorite moment of Hunger for Hope was meeting <a href=\"http://leavingournetsbehind.com/\">Todd Bush</a> from CRI.  The first time I was introduced to him was during one of the activities.  He had set up a small area outlined with parking cones, representative of the size of a typical hut in parts of Mozambique.  We were taken through a typical day in the life of a family.  What struck me was that at no point did Todd try to make us feel pity for the Mozambiquans.  At the end of his presentation, he said that it would be easy to laugh or feel sorry for people who have to live in such a small space.  He told us that it was important, however, for us to remember that this is someone\'s <em>home</em>.  Such a simple statement, but it spoke volumes to me.\n\nThe word <em>home</em> means much more than \"the space we live in.\"  What Todd said to us meant that we weren\'t just looking at a hut, or a dwelling, or a place to sleep.  This is where people live, laugh, work, play, create families.  This small enclosure is so much more than a sign of poverty or want.  Todd didn\'t just remind us not to feel sorry for the people of Mozambique; he reminded us that they are <em>human</em>, and that in humanity there is dignity.\n\nToo often, in our position of privilege, we want to rush in and rescue those we see as less fortunate.  We\'re moved by heart-wrenching photos of malnourished, fly-covered foreign children.  We believe we must <em>save</em> them from their terrible fate.  What I like about both CRI and UWP is that neither of these charities takes that view of missionary work.  The goal is to work with community leaders in the places they serve, helping those leaders to make real, lasting change while upholding the value of every person.\n\nA friend challenged me at the end of Hunger for Hope.  She said that I should visit Mozambique, and, to quote her, I would \"absolutely love it!\"  I don\'t know whether I will or not.  I do know that I will continue to look for ways, whether here or through one of these charities, to honor the human spirit and celebrate the dignity of all.\n\nWhere will you seek to respect the worth of those in need?','Water, with a Side of Dignity','','inherit','open','open','','5706-autosave','','','2012-04-06 13:19:12','2012-04-06 20:19:12','',5706,'http://provoketive.com/2012/04/06/5706-autosave/',0,'revision','',0),(5831,1,'2012-04-06 13:23:39','2012-04-06 20:23:39','','glass of water','','inherit','open','open','','glass-of-water','','','2012-04-06 13:23:39','2012-04-06 20:23:39','',5706,'http://provoketive.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/03/glass-of-water.jpg',0,'attachment','image/jpeg',0),(5832,1,'2012-03-29 15:38:46','2012-03-29 22:38:46','A couple of weeks ago, I had the opportunity to participate in an event with the youth at my church called Hunger for Hope.  Similar to <a href=\"http://www.30hourfamine.org/\">World Vision\'s 30 Hour Famine</a>, we went without food for (you guessed it) 30 hours.  The money we raised went to two of my personal favorite charities: <a href=\"http://www.childrensrelief.org/\">Children\'s Relief International</a> and the <a href=\"http://ugandanwaterproject.com/\">Ugandan Water Project</a>.\r\n\r\nWe stayed at the church for the fast.  During that time, there were activities designed to help the participants understand the needs of the people in other countries, notably Mozambique and Uganda.  While that\'s a good thing, I often find that programs intended to shed light on the plight of \"those poor Africans\" often strip those same people of their humanity.  They\'re reduced to nothing more than starving, uneducated people who have no hope without our ministries.  We become the White Saviors of the Savage Brown World.\r\n\r\nNot this time.\r\n\r\nBy far, my favorite moment of Hunger for Hope was meeting <a href=\"http://leavingournetsbehind.com/\">Todd Bush</a> from CRI.  The first time I was introduced to him was during one of the activities.  He had set up a small area outlined with parking cones, representative of the size of a typical hut in parts of Mozambique.  We were taken through a typical day in the life of a family.  What struck me was that at no point did Todd try to make us feel pity for the Mozambiquans.  At the end of his presentation, he said that it would be easy to laugh or feel sorry for people who have to live in such a small space.  He told us that it was important, however, for us to remember that this is someone\'s <em>home</em>.  Such a simple statement, but it spoke volumes to me.\r\n\r\nThe word <em>home</em> means much more than \"the space we live in.\"  What Todd said to us meant that we weren\'t just looking at a hut, or a dwelling, or a place to sleep.  This is where people live, laugh, work, play, create families.  This small enclosure is so much more than a sign of poverty or want.  Todd didn\'t just remind us not to feel sorry for the people of Mozambique; he reminded us that they are <em>human</em>, and that in humanity there is dignity.\r\n\r\nToo often, in our position of privilege, we want to rush in and rescue those we see as less fortunate.  We\'re moved by heart-wrenching photos of malnourished, fly-covered foreign children.  We believe we must <em>save</em> them from their terrible fate.  What I like about both CRI and UWP is that neither of these charities takes that view of missionary work.  The goal is to work with community leaders in the places they serve, helping those leaders to make real, lasting change while upholding the value of every person.\r\n\r\nA friend challenged me at the end of Hunger for Hope.  She said that I should visit Mozambique, and, to quote her, I would \"absolutely love it!\"  I don\'t know whether I will or not.  I do know that I will continue to look for ways, whether here or through one of these charities, to honor the human spirit and celebrate the dignity of all.\r\n\r\nWhere will you seek to respect the worth of those in need?','Water, with a Side of Dignity','','inherit','open','open','','5706-revision-4','','','2012-03-29 15:38:46','2012-03-29 22:38:46','',5706,'http://provoketive.com/2012/03/29/5706-revision-4/',0,'revision','',0),(5833,1,'2012-03-30 08:18:35','2012-03-30 15:18:35','[caption id=\"attachment_5735\" align=\"alignnone\" width=\"300\" caption=\"Matt Barber\"]<a href=\"http://provoketive.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/03/matt-barber.jpg\"><img src=\"http://provoketive.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/03/matt-barber-300x199.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"300\" height=\"199\" class=\"size-medium wp-image-5735\" /></a>[/caption]\r\n\r\nThis week we talk with television and film editor and director Matt Barber. Barber has worked on a number of projects including television’s <em><a href=\"http://vimeo.com/34206925\" target=\"_blank\">The OC</a></em> and <em><a href=\"http://vimeo.com/34226549\" target=\"_blank\">Chuck</a></em> and on the films <em><a href=\"http://vimeo.com/34211253\" target=\"_blank\">Weathered</a></em> and <em><a href=\"http://vimeo.com/34820511\" target=\"_blank\">Not That Funny</a></em>.\r\n\r\nHe’s currently directing the documentary, <em>Jesus Don’t Let me Die Before I have Sex</em>.\r\n\r\nDuring our interview, Barber shares how he became interested in the topic and how you can help see the documentary be completed.\r\n\r\n[audio=\"http://somethingbeautifulpodcast.com/podcast/030912.mp3\"]','Something Beautiful - Matt Barber','','inherit','open','open','','5734-revision-3','','','2012-03-30 08:18:35','2012-03-30 15:18:35','',5734,'http://provoketive.com/2012/03/30/5734-revision-3/',0,'revision','',0),(5834,1,'2012-04-06 13:26:25','2012-04-06 20:26:25','Holy Week is hard.  That may seem an overly simple statement for a priest to make.  After all, Easter, Resurrection is at the center of our faith.  And this week leading up to it is full: full of weighty symbols, full of meaning, full of Church, full of work.  More sermons to write, more liturgies to plan, more prayers to pray.\n\nWe all walk through Holy Week differently.  We bring our own expectations and memories with us.\n\nFor me, it\'s not just the Good Friday in college where my own personal experience of Easter came early as I felt this indescribable joy while walking to Church and watching the early signs of spring.  Or the first Easter Vigil I went to and begged a ride home from.  Or all of the other memory slivers that pile together.\n\nMy memories of one Holy Week are bold against all of that.\n\nMy third brain surgery occurred 12 days before Easter.  Surgery itself went well and I was, all things considered, healing quickly.\n\nBut I remember sitting in the Chapel on Maundy Thursday knowing that, had I had the energy, I wouldn\'t have been able to access the footwashing stations.\n\nI remember watching the Chapel doors swing close from my window across the street, because I was still too tired to cross the street and attend Good Friday services.\n\nI remember sitting in the pews for the Easter Vigil, amazed at the sounds I was hearing.  Singing like nothing I\'d ever experienced.\n\nBound up in these memories, still, Holy Week is about alienation and newness.\n\nPerhaps these memories sit more fully, more weightily during Holy Week because here at the conclusion of a season that begins, \"Remember you are dust and to dust you shall return\" and ends with betrayal, denial, loneliness, and death (before the Easter Resurrection), there is almost space for these sorts of memories.\n\n<strong>Here is the Jesus who doesn\'t miraculously heal, but stumbles and needs Simon of Cyrene.</strong>\n<strong>Here is Jesus as alone and unsure in Gethsemane.</strong>\n<strong>Here horrific, painful events are unfolding and God\'s action is to wait. Not to be absent, but not to intervene.</strong>\n\nHere these memories are not so strange.  Here these parts, and all of their echoes, of my story fit in.\n\nHoly Week is hard.','Holy Week and Memories','','inherit','open','open','','5776-autosave','','','2012-04-06 13:26:25','2012-04-06 20:26:25','',5776,'http://provoketive.com/2012/04/06/5776-autosave/',0,'revision','',0),(5835,1,'2012-04-06 13:29:45','2012-04-06 20:29:45','','holy week jesus','','inherit','open','open','','holy-week-jesus','','','2012-04-06 13:29:45','2012-04-06 20:29:45','',5776,'http://provoketive.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/04/holy-week-jesus.jpg',0,'attachment','image/jpeg',0),(5836,1,'2012-04-03 14:24:10','2012-04-03 21:24:10','Holy Week is hard.  That may seem an overly simple statement for a priest to make.  After all, Easter, Resurrection is at the center of our faith.  And this week leading up to it is full: full of weighty symbols, full of meaning, full of Church, full of work.  More sermons to write, more liturgies to plan, more prayers to pray.\r\n\r\nWe all walk through Holy Week differently.  We bring our own expectations and memories with us.\r\n\r\nFor me, it\'s not just the Good Friday in college where my own personal experience of Easter came early as I felt this indescribable joy while walking to Church and watching the early signs of spring.  Or the first Easter Vigil I went to and begged a ride home from.  Or all of the other memory slivers that pile together.\r\n\r\nMy memories of one Holy Week are bold against all of that.\r\n\r\nMy third brain surgery occurred 12 days before Easter.  Surgery itself went well and I was, all things considered, healing quickly.\r\n\r\nBut I remember sitting in the Chapel on Maundy Thursday knowing that, had I had the energy, I wouldn\'t have been able to access the footwashing stations.\r\n\r\nI remember watching the Chapel doors swing close from my window across the street, because I was still too tired to cross the street and attend Good Friday services.\r\n\r\nI remember sitting in the pews for the Easter Vigil, amazed at the sounds I was hearing.  Singing like nothing I\'d ever experienced.\r\n\r\nBound up in these memories, still, Holy Week is about alienation and newness.\r\n\r\nPerhaps these memories sit more fully, more weightily during Holy Week because here at the conclusion of a season that begins, \"Remember you are dust and to dust you shall return\" and ends with betrayal, denial, loneliness, and death (before the Easter Resurrection), there is almost space for these sorts of memories.\r\n\r\n<strong>Here is the Jesus who doesn\'t miraculously heal, but stumbles and needs Simon of Cyrene.</strong>\r\n<strong>Here is Jesus as alone and unsure in Gethsemane.</strong>\r\n<strong>Here horrific, painful events are unfolding and God\'s action is to wait. Not to be absent, but not to intervene.</strong>\r\n\r\nHere these memories are not so strange.  Here these parts, and all of their echoes, of my story fit in.\r\n\r\nHoly Week is hard.','Holy Week and Memories','','inherit','open','open','','5776-revision-2','','','2012-04-03 14:24:10','2012-04-03 21:24:10','',5776,'http://provoketive.com/2012/04/03/5776-revision-2/',0,'revision','',0),(5837,1,'2012-04-06 13:34:26','2012-04-06 20:34:26','I heard an interview with Archbishop Desmond Tutu recently. In it he talked about the ongoing deep work that is needed as South Africa moves from Apartheid and three centuries of oppression and domination of people with white skin over people with black skin. Krista Tippet, the interviewer, posed the conversation of how one would know whether the work Bishop Tutu had been doing had “achieved” it’s goals and what “recovery” looked like for the people of South Africa. Archbishop Tutu responded with this story:\n\nI recommend listening to the <a href=\"http://being.publicradio.org/programs/2012/tutu-god-of-surprises/\" target=\"_blank\">interview</a>. The story I\'m referencing can be found from: 22:52-25:21\n\nTRANSCRIPT: “I think that we have very gravely underestimated the damage that apartheid inflicted on all of us. You know, the damage to our psyches, the damage that has made —I mean, it shocked me. I went to Nigeria when I was working for the World Council of Churches, and I was due to fly to Jos. And so I go to Lagos airport and I get onto the plane and the two pilots in the cockpit are both black. And whee, I just grew inches. You know, it was fantastic because we had been told that blacks can\'t do this. And we have a smooth takeoff and then we hit the mother and father of turbulence. I mean, it was quite awful, scary. Do you know, I can\'t believe it but the first thought that came to my mind was, \"Hey, there\'s no white men in that cockpit. Are those blacks going to be able to make it?\" And well of course, they obviously made it — here I am. But the thing is, I had not known that I was damaged to the extent of thinking that somehow actually what those white people who had kept drumming into us in South Africa about our being inferior, about our being incapable, it had lodged somewhere in me.”\n\nThis story stopped me in my tracks and brought home the deep contradictions that each one of us hold in our beings, in our words, in our history, in our actions, thoughts and feelings. Here is a man who has dedicated his life and his work to breaking down oppression, bringing justice and raising up the worth of all people. A man who himself has rich black skin and a heritage of the people’s that he is dedicated to opening up a way for, even this man wrestles with the contradictions inside himself when the very thing he’s fighting against bubbles up in his own being.\n\nContradiction.\n\nHere’s another example:<em> The next day the huge crowd that had arrived for the Feast heard that Jesus was entering Jerusalem. They broke off palm branches and went out to meet him. And they cheered: Hosanna! Blessed is he who comes in God’s name! Yes! The King of Israel!</em>” (John 12:14).\n\nIn the same city, just a few days later, the same Jesus Christ was raised up in question in front of crowds of people. The story goes something like this:\n<em>Pilate called together the chief priests, the rulers and the people, and said to them, “You brought me this man as one who was inciting the people to rebellion. I have examined him in your presence and have found no basis for your charges against him. Neither has Herod, for he sent him back to us; as you can see, he has done nothing to deserve death. Therefore, I will punish him and then release him.”\nBut the whole crowd shouted, “Away with this man! Release Barabbas to us!”(Barabbas had been thrown into prison for an insurrection in the city, and for murder.)\nWanting to release Jesus, Pilate appealed to them again. But they kept shouting, “Crucify him! Crucify him!”\nFor the third time he spoke to them: “Why? What crime has this man committed? I have found in him no grounds for the death penalty. Therefore I will have him punished and then release him.”\nBut with loud shouts they insistently demanded that he be crucified, and their shouts prevailed. So Pilate decided to grant their demand. He released the man who had been thrown into prison for insurrection and murder, the one they asked for, and surrendered Jesus to their will</em> (Luke 23:13-24).\n\nIt’s uncomfortable to place ourselves in this story, particularly if we are part of the crowd on both days. But are we not part the crowd? Is there not a place inside each of us that sings praises and asks for God to save us one day and then calls for crucifixion a few days later? Have we not stood in the shoes of Bishop Tutu? Seeing inside ourselves the very things that we have been working to change in the world around us? We are filled with these contradictions between how we want to live and how we speak and act and think and feel.\n\nThrough these weeks of Lent, as part of my practice, I have been striving to name these contradictions, these tensions inside. It is uncomfortable work and makes me squirm to realize how much like these crowds I am. How I can cry out to God, “save me” when life is feeling difficult and I think God could remove the challenges, and then soon after deny my need for God or even reject God’s presence in the people around me. I have noticed disconnects between my words and my actions, between my ideals and my reactions.\n\nThere is something disturbing to consciously name these contradictions. There is something liberating and freeing in naming these contradictions. To name that we carry selfishness and arrogance within us as we strive to do good and follow God and to admit that we are sinner and saint, villain and hero, benevolent and selfish and throughout it all—loved by God.\n\nWhat’s this? Loved by God? Even when we speak critical words? Even when we are arrogant and vindictive? Even when we go against what we know we are called to? And here is the gospel, the good news, and the power of the Lord in our Holy Week Contradictions.\n\nLet’s go back over the stories…we’ve noted the contradictions between the crowds cheers on Palm Sunday to the denial and calls for crucifixion just a few days later. We’ve noted the way we operate in these contradictions in our own lives and how we are continually in flux in our thoughts and actions. Where is the Lord in all this? Jesus Christ, that of God, God Incarnate, gospel message to us, an example of how God acts in the world. How does Jesus respond throughout these stories in the gospel? Jesus consistently meets them where they are. With love and compassion. With truth and accountability. With forgiveness and reconciliation.\n\nEven to the point on the cross where Jesus calls out, “Father, forgive them, for they do not know what they are doing” (Luke 23:34). Can you imagine being called to that level of forgiveness and compassionate response? Can you imagine being embraced by that level of understanding for the contradictions we hold in ourselves and being gently held and encouraged to continue to show up, to observe and name the contradictions, to keep inviting the Lord into our lives and move us in ways of reconciliation and wholeness?\n\nWhat does this look like? How do we do this? I believe each one of you have wisdom to bring to this conversation and I look forward to hearing your responses. To frame our conversation I’d like to offer us two doorways for receiving and connecting with God’s work in each of us.\n\nMystical theologian Emmanuel Swedenborg writes, “If we believed that—as is truly the case—everything good and true comes from the Lord and everything evil and false comes from hell, then we would not claim the goodness as our own and make it self-serving or claim the evil as our own and make ourselves guilty of it” (Divine Providence #320).\n\nThere is such freedom from suffering and guilt and freedom from arrogance and pride when we integrate this concept into our lives. We can integrate this teaching by holding and returning to an awareness of our thoughts, our words and our actions. And as we live this teaching, we let go of the strength of the thoughts and habits that have been ingrained and plague us, or as Bishop Tutu said, the things that have become “lodged” in us. The misshapen ideas of who we are and our need to beat ourselves up or clamber to be better than others. We can spend more time dwelling in the land of wholeness and peace where we know that we are a vessel and that we want to surrender and have the Lord be the one who is forming that vessel.\n\nAnd the second doorway that I want to suggest is to develop a practice of asking the question: “Where is the Lord in this?” We asked this question of our gospel readings this morning and found the Lord being the constant presence of love and strength, healing and forgiveness, reconciliation, persistence, and hope.\n\nAnd we can ask this question as we navigate our inner and outer lives.\nWhere is the Lord in a heated interaction?\nIn the deep breath we take?\nIn the flash of insight opening us up to a third way?\n\nWhere is the Lord in the contradictions of grief and loss?\nIn the comfort from a friend?\nWhen we reach out to grasp at something in our places of great darkness?\n\nWhere is the Lord when we are convicted with a way that we are living in arrogance and pride?\nIn the challenge to be changed?\nIn the gentle spirit that we can be held in as we change?\nIs it the humility of seeing ourselves in others?\n\nAs we walk into this Holy Week…let us notice the tensions and the contradictions, in the gospel story and in ourselves. And let us explore these two doorways. To remember that all good comes from God and all evil comes from hell. And to ask the question, “where is the Lord in this?” Drawing on God’s presence to be in us and through us and guide us. And loving us when we shout out “Hosanna” and loving and when we cry “Crucify him”.','Holy Week Contradictions ','','inherit','open','open','','5783-autosave','','','2012-04-06 13:34:26','2012-04-06 20:34:26','',5783,'http://provoketive.com/2012/04/06/5783-autosave/',0,'revision','',0),(5838,1,'2012-04-06 13:32:43','2012-04-06 20:32:43','','holy week Jesus 2','','inherit','open','open','','holy-week-jesus-2','','','2012-04-06 13:32:43','2012-04-06 20:32:43','',5783,'http://provoketive.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/04/holy-week-Jesus-2.jpg',0,'attachment','image/jpeg',0),