Americans Change Faiths at Rising Rate, Report Finds

I subscribe to the New York Times Online edition.

This Popped into my inbox and I thought it was very interesting

http://www.nytimes.com/2008/02/25/us/25cnd-religion.html?8au&emc=au

If We Refuse To Tell The Truth Is That A Lie??

When people look at the world they see certain imagery that makes their worlds become real. The hold on to the hope that what is Red is in fact Red and what makes their world come alive is in fact true and not something they perceive. Well at least that's what I think. Our world becomes this bubble. Once we look from the inside of the bubble our world has many shades and many dimensions that might not be a true reflection on reality but it could at best be our distorted view of reality.

What happens when our bubble pops. Do we look at the world and say this is not my bubble or do we embrace the new colours??? Do we embrace the bubble we find ourselves in?? The world is so much bigger, The colours are far brighter and the dimensions are far beyond what I can fathom in my little bubble.

Anyway so with this in mined......I have some questions!!!

Is God the bubble blower or is God the world and we blow the bubbles? Not sure if God gives us the perspectives of God or do we natural put it in to perspective?

Will I always see the gospel according to Justin and preach the gospel according to Justin.... My short answer is Yes but it leads to a Therefore........ I need to ask what is my perspective and what are the limitations of that?

How much of the truth and knowledge do we share about the bible with ppl??? Is the bible a bubble in itself? The bible is seen as this sacred object of God. In some ways it is seen as god and God is not seen as god.

And if we Refuse To Tell The Truth Is That A Lie?? If people ask us questions do we tell them what we know or do we shhhhh??

I don't know where I stand here...... I think the journey has begun

The Attack Of The Heart

My blog is my diary more than it is my platform to speak and share from. So I wont shy away from writing what I feel on it even if people I know read it.

I preached last weak Sunday and I really enjoyed the platform. I never talk for God but i talk about my experiences of a God who encounters me in love. Some people say that I am extreme and out of Gods will and scripture. My first response is always thanks Jesus and secondly I really think that they are so challenged by my point of views that rejection and attack is the first response.

With that in mind I gave my talk. I speak on what I believe. I spoke about the calling of Joshua and Jesus's calling to us from his basis of love. So I said how God calls male and female and that its not Christian to say leaders are men and then I said my pic of God is black and female.

Then I said when we look at anything Old Testament we have to draw it along side Jesus. Jesus's example was that He didn't come to die for us but rather he came to love us and the consequence was the cross. We should therefore love no matter what.I ended off praying female. So Mother God.....

Anyway lets just say people are quick to burn people on the stake. I have been nailed in so many aspects. One of my hardest things to face is to face unbalance. When people are upset with me and actually hate me. It throws my balance out.
On a lighter note Trevor Hudson has agreed to be my mentor for this year so I am very lucky.
Oh and this is a warning watch out for this man. He can speak many languages and teaches Hebrew. He challenges me not in scripture but to get my work ethic up. Plus I just wanted to show him that he can make it onto my blog if I chose.

Hebrew is Tav Chirek He Samach

Anyway so I started varsity, amd my brain is on a little edge. I have never worked this hard and i dont think twelve years of studying has prepared me. Granted in this month I have studied more than in school but regardless.

Anyway I am sitting in the lap of my calling and am just finding myself experiencing God in a new and profound way. I have never been a person where the bible has come alive but as I study its not the fact that i am reading it that is making it jump but rather the fact that I am struggling and finding it such challenging experience.

Here are some photos.

Enjoy

JT

Eskom " I wish I was the light of the world"

Better to light a candle than to curse the darkness. ~Chinese Proverb

Eskom the electricity supplier to South Africa recently released a statement that blackouts would be part of South African lifestyles for the next six year. This has major impact on the economy and the lifestyle that we as South Africans live.

Numerous probes are being launched to see who is to blame. Thabo Mbeki said government was to blame for not listening to Eskom and wanting to build houses rather than power stations. Some people honestly believe Eskom and its management are to blame. I wonder if people have ever made mistakes that have affected other people?

But the the truth of the matter is as South Africans blackouts will be part of our daily lives. But with that comes great hope and great opportunity for our country. We could become the world pioneers in how to save electricity. The world is crying for a nation to lead it in reduction of emissions and decrease its carbon footprint on the world. We could be forerunners. This is forcing us to look at our lives and say the more I use the more it affects my neighbour. We could raise a generation of electricity conscience people or we could raise a group of people who have a complaining conscience built into them. I like option A!!

Even in my own house I had a look at the number of lit rooms that no one was in. I can make a deference in the electricity consummation in my own home.

We are a country that has the opportunity to experiment and play with this technology (solar powered traffic light) and maybe just maybe God saw we were faithful in little by reconciling the wounds of apartheid and now is calling us to save her planet??

The Female God

I have had to experience's in the last couple of days and has brought me back to the sacred picture of God. The more and more I see how people see God the more I realise how central that picture becomes to how we engage with God, People, Creation and ourselves.
Two experiences came from two Christians. Let me just say that the one is highly educated in theology and the other has read the bible about 20 times cover to cover. We got on to the picture of God. It amazes me how we claim to know God is non Gender and how we seem to find ourselves saying Him, King,Man etc. in our worship in our prayers in every aspect of our Christian life. I wouldn't be surprised if deep down we saw a picture of God that was majority male.

The one person said that his friend like in BEE has gone to the totally opposite of the previous system so that it might balance it out. He started saying Goddess and her, she in the way they approached God.
The other chose to not believe that God could be female as scripture told him so. So God was Father period and that God was male and that's what the bible said.
I find myself living in this world where God is a male. Let me just say as males I do not feel we have lived a life an even imposed a life that has been beneficial to society. I would at no time call myself a racist in fact that's the last thing I want to be but I would call myself prejudices against black people. I am scared to experience there humanity as a fear of being robbed(Even though the majority of black people will not do that). So my picture of God is a black female. I want my picture to challenge me to a more whole picture of God, humanity, creation and myself.

Why cant God be female. Imagine the world if we started to live a life that represented the female side of God. I wonder if we saw God as a stay at home Mom looking after her kids how things would change?

The Journey Down

Two roads diverged in a yellow wood,
And sorry I could not travel both
And be one traveller, long I stood
And looked down one as far as I could
To where it bent in the undergrowth;

Then took the other, as just as fair,
And having perhaps the better claim,
Because it was grassy and wanted wear;
Though as for that the passing there
Had worn them really about the same,

And both that morning equally lay
In leaves no step had trodden black.
Oh, I kept the first for another day!
Yet knowing how way leads on to way,
I doubted if I should ever come back.

I shall be telling this with a sigh
Somewhere ages and ages hence:
Two roads diverged in a wood, and I--
I took the one less traveled by,
And that has made all the difference

...Robert Frost

Tonight at church I found myself being shaken to my soul. For years I have been preaching the movement down and trying to get others to stop worshipping in self but worshipping in truth. I found myself in a bad mood cause I was turned down on the system and I was told to watch my pitch. Man I looked at the evening and I thought this would have been so much better if I had led this. I realised that I am jealous and I have broken command 10

The truth is if i step back I that i need to start the downward journey. I am a man still in pride and still being tempted to be spectacular and powerful when I be a man looking to move to contemplation, confession and reflection.

I just want to say sorry to God for making it about me and could you help me on this road less travelled, so that I might continue the downward journey

Namaste