tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5870890776473598263.post6314982761075586602..comments2024-03-27T08:06:20.417-07:00Comments on Urbanphile: A ponderous quoteM Cranehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11350529441985859753noreply@blogger.comBlogger4125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5870890776473598263.post-82344142533098614332009-02-01T12:48:00.000-08:002009-02-01T12:48:00.000-08:00that's very thought provoking. this supports the ...that's very thought provoking. this supports the notion that all's not well in American evangelicalism, though many of the sanctuaries are full.sdawghttps://www.blogger.com/profile/05832176597225621527noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5870890776473598263.post-70279215037378406662009-01-30T01:31:00.000-08:002009-01-30T01:31:00.000-08:00Justin and ThaiTopher, I thank you both for your c...Justin and ThaiTopher, I thank you both for your contributions. These passages are cause for reflection and inner examination.M Cranehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/11350529441985859753noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5870890776473598263.post-869373948244111602009-01-29T19:33:00.000-08:002009-01-29T19:33:00.000-08:00"Shout it aloud, do not hold back. Raise you..."Shout it aloud, do not hold back.<BR/> Raise your voice like a trumpet.<BR/> Declare to my people their rebellion<BR/> and to the house of Jacob their sins.<BR/><BR/> 2 For day after day they seek me out;<BR/> they seem eager to know my ways,<BR/> as if they were a nation that does what is right<BR/> and has not forsaken the commands of its God.<BR/> They ask me for just decisions<BR/> and seem eager for God to come near them.<BR/><BR/> 3 'Why have we fasted,' they say,<BR/> 'and you have not seen it?<BR/> Why have we humbled ourselves,<BR/> and you have not noticed?'<BR/> "Yet on the day of your fasting, you do as you please<BR/> and exploit all your workers.<BR/><BR/> 4 Your fasting ends in quarreling and strife,<BR/> and in striking each other with wicked fists.<BR/> You cannot fast as you do today<BR/> and expect your voice to be heard on high.<BR/><BR/> 5 Is this the kind of fast I have chosen,<BR/> only a day for a man to humble himself?<BR/> Is it only for bowing one's head like a reed<BR/> and for lying on sackcloth and ashes?<BR/> Is that what you call a fast,<BR/> a day acceptable to the LORD ?<BR/><BR/> 6 "Is not this the kind of fasting I have chosen:<BR/> to loose the chains of injustice<BR/> and untie the cords of the yoke,<BR/> to set the oppressed free<BR/> and break every yoke?<BR/><BR/> 7 Is it not to share your food with the hungry<BR/> and to provide the poor wanderer with shelter—<BR/> when you see the naked, to clothe him,<BR/> and not to turn away from your own flesh and blood?<BR/><BR/> 8 Then your light will break forth like the dawn,<BR/> and your healing will quickly appear;<BR/> then your righteousness [a] will go before you,<BR/> and the glory of the LORD will be your rear guard.<BR/><BR/> 9 Then you will call, and the LORD will answer;<BR/> you will cry for help, and he will say: Here am I.<BR/> "If you do away with the yoke of oppression,<BR/> with the pointing finger and malicious talk,<BR/><BR/> 10 and if you spend yourselves in behalf of the hungry<BR/> and satisfy the needs of the oppressed,<BR/> then your light will rise in the darkness,<BR/> and your night will become like the noonday.<BR/><BR/> 11 The LORD will guide you always;<BR/> he will satisfy your needs in a sun-scorched land<BR/> and will strengthen your frame.<BR/> You will be like a well-watered garden,<BR/> like a spring whose waters never fail.<BR/><BR/> 12 Your people will rebuild the ancient ruins<BR/> and will raise up the age-old foundations;<BR/> you will be called Repairer of Broken Walls,<BR/> Restorer of Streets with Dwellings.<BR/><BR/> 13 "If you keep your feet from breaking the Sabbath<BR/> and from doing as you please on my holy day,<BR/> if you call the Sabbath a delight<BR/> and the LORD's holy day honorable,<BR/> and if you honor it by not going your own way<BR/> and not doing as you please or speaking idle words,<BR/><BR/> 14 then you will find your joy in the LORD,<BR/> and I will cause you to ride on the heights of the land<BR/> and to feast on the inheritance of your father Jacob."<BR/> The mouth of the LORD has spoken.ThaiTopherhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/04964652640527925489noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5870890776473598263.post-82627820058575164982009-01-29T11:43:00.000-08:002009-01-29T11:43:00.000-08:00Isaiah 1:13-15 in the Message Version is almost a ...Isaiah 1:13-15 in the Message Version is almost a direct statement of this: "Quit your worship charades. I can't stand your trivial religious games:<BR/>Monthly conferences, weekly Sabbaths, special meetings— meetings, meetings, meetings—I can't stand one more! Meetings for this, meetings for that. I hate them! You've worn me out!"Justin Longhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/00979219431635687701noreply@blogger.com