Cat Wisdom

by Linda Hagen

I accidently eavesdropped on a discussion the other day, between my dog and my cat. They were lazing about on the big front porch in the sun, and didn't know I was listening from just around the corner.  I've been favored before on rare occasions, to hear such conversations amongst my animal friends. I've always felt privileged to share in their secrets and am always stunned by their perspective and wisdom.

Unity On Division Street

by Linda Hagen

As you read this story (which is true by the way, as are all my stories), you might think to yourself, "Obviously this is a story illustrative of the illegal immigration situation, or the end of Apartheid in South Africa, or Christianity in America, or the children of Israel wandering in the desert, or New Life Church, or life controlling additions.

And you could be right.

Free Your Navel

by Linda Hagen

I have been enJOYing what seems to be the newness at New Life recently.  I find the teachings about being the blessing particularly refreshing.  Serving others goes a long way towards freeing the mind from the culture of navel gazing ad nausem, so popular today, especially in modern church culture.

The Prodigal Has a Father

by Keith Gardner

1 John 3:1 How great is the love the Father has lavished on us, that we should be called children of God! And that is what we are! The reason the world does not know us is that it did not know him.

In Luke 15:11-32 Jesus tells the story of a young son who, after asking for and getting his inheritance, left his father’s home to live his life as he pleased. After squandering all that he had and coming to his senses, he returned to his father, expecting nothing more than to be a hired hand. What he received was the love and acceptance that he had earlier rejected. This is the very familiar story that speaks of the reaction God has for us as we relent our self-will to our Creator. Much has been said about the son, and much attention has been paid to the nuances of this rebel’s life.

The Unity of the Cross

by Keith Gardner

John 19:30 “When he had received the drink, Jesus said, ‘It is finished.’ With that, he bowed his head and gave up his spirit.”

In the sacrifice of the cross we have a coalescing of the Spirit of God and the spirit of man; a uniting of two realities, the finite and the infinite. There is a unifying of the body, soul and spirit; bringing all things into completeness; in anticipation of the day that this work will be fully seen.

Here for a Reason

by Keith Gardner

Act 17:24-27 The God who made the world and everything in it is the Lord of heaven and earth and does not live in temples built by hands. And he is not served by human hands, as if he needed anything, because he himself gives all men life and breath and everything else. From one man he made every nation of men, that they should inhabit the whole earth; and he determined the times set for them and the exact places where they should live. God did this so that men would seek him and perhaps reach out for him and find him, though he is not far from each one of us.

I was looking at my thumb drive the other day. You know what I’m talking about; thumb drives, jump drives, flash drives; they come with different names, but all serve the same function; to hold computer data in a transportable fashion. They are very useful; getting smaller; come encrypted for security; or not. They look quite simple. They are definitely easy to use.

Who Am I?

by Keith Gardner

2 Timothy 3:16-17 All Scripture is God-breathed and is useful for teaching, rebuking, correcting and training in righteousness, so that the man of God may be thoroughly equipped for every good work.

I often begin my Christian thinking with “if…then” statements. For example; “if God loves me then, I do not have to be afraid of him.”  Or, “if God calls Himself, ‘Johovah-rapha’ (the Lord that heals), then I can trust Him to heal me.” There is one “if…then” idea that bears a great deal of consideration. If the Bible is a set of stories, fairytales, and fables, then I can read it as entertainment. If the Bible is documented history, I can understand it in context of the past. But, if the Bible truly is the Word of God, then it requires reading, learning and applying to the way I think, act and live my life.  Think about it. God the creator of all that is, a Spirit, a being so vast that He holds His creation in His hand. A timeless One, who holds all eternity past and eternity future in a single thought. He loved His creation so much that He empted Himself of all His Godness and became finite, he became a man. He did this not for the sake of Himself, but for the sake of His creation; to reconcile it back to Himself. To reclaim for Himself all that was lost in the original paradise. That One, the One whose love is without end, has poured infinity into understandable words, and recognizable ideas, so that we could grasp Him and learn to love Him back. Those stories are no longer just stories; they are now instructions; glimpses into the eternal nature of the One I call Heavenly Father.