Monday, March 20, 2006

Over the past couple months, I have been filling journals with pages after pages of notes on theology in the hopes of discovering what the gospel of Christ really is; it started off as a mere interest and has evolved into a passion. I plan on writing a book through my discoveries; right now, I'm studying salvation and have reached the topic of baptism. To be honest, I find myself divided: is baptism needed for salvation or not? Pray that GOD will show me the truth. One thing this undertaking has showed me more-than-ever is that I will never be able to completely understand GOD. He is a being wrapped in mystery; I mean, how can we understand a being whose footsteps are the thunder and whose canopy is space? How can we understand a GOD who is one and yet three at the same time? How can we understand a GOD who ordains what will happen and yet lets us choose what will happen? GOD is a God of paradox; He is a great mystery that cannot be solved by mathematical formulas or through cryptic scrolls. The truth is, we are not called to understand GOD; we are simply called to worship Him, to serve Him, to love Him, to be with Him (now and into eternity). I have been forsaking my intimacy with GOD lately, depriving my times of "desert communion," as John Eldredge calls "quiet time."

My study of the Pauline epistles abated for a little while, but I have picked it up again. I have my studies written for Galatians, Ephesians, and Philippians, and I have the notes for Colossians and 1 & 2 Thessalonians. Right now I am going through the book of Romans. Thankfully I have several good study Bibles, for some of Paul's language seems too technical for my feeble mind to grasp. As I begin to understand what he is writing, I am captivated more and more. My O.T. History class was amazing today. I am going to take all the O.T. classes I can (especially with Dyke).

I am 160 pages into No Perfect Ending, and so far it seems to be going pretty good. However, my creativity level has been drained lately. I am considering taking a break and writing several horror short stories. I am pretty good at horror stories. In fact, I'll put one of my favorite short stories--The Shadow of the Wolf--on here sometime. My family was captivated, and the ending is pretty sweet.

Experience the kingdom among you today...

1 comment:

Adam said...

Hey Anthony,

Couple of things.

First, check out my blog - I think I found your long-haired twin.

Secondly, on April 2nd, I'm preaching in church on "passionate hope" - and I'm basically going to talk about the difference between living as if the kingdom is down the road from us (i.e. heaven), and living as if the kingdom is already here. Basically, what Dallas Willard and McLaren in his last couple of books talk about. If you have anything related to this topic, please send it my way - I'm in the research mode of my message.

Thanks!

Adam

where we're headed

Over the last several years, we've undergone a shift in how we operate as a family. We're coming to what we hope is a better underst...