Author: a fool

All alone with Jesus

internet!?

What’s a piece of media (book, movie, song) that changed how you see the world?

I am so old that I remember life before TV, telephones (that is, landline), and the internet. I remember the excitement of a colour TV and our first landline phone. My parents had a typewriter that I used as a little boy.

So maybe the internet? It opened ideas and the writings of individual people. It allowed me to connect with people from all over and exchange views and life-experiences. It opened the world beyond my small part of it.

only the individual

When Jesus came into the coasts of Caesarea Philippi, he asked his disciples, saying, Whom do men say that I the Son of man am? And they said, Some say that thou art John the Baptist: some, Elias; and others, Jeremias, or one of the prophets. He saith unto them, But whom say ye that I am? And Simon Peter answered and said, Thou art the Christ, the Son of the living God. And Jesus answered and said unto him, Blessed art thou, Simon Barjona: for flesh and blood hath not revealed it unto thee, but my Father which is in heaven.

Matthew 16:13-17

From “whom do [others] say I am” to “whom say ye (pl)” to “Simon Peter answered”.

The interesting thing is that a single individual answers because the question is ultimately only answerable by an individual. Jesus makes this plain by using the singular when He answers Peter.

So my point: only you can answer the question, “Whom say ye that I am?” Not the past, nor the community that surrounds you, but only the single individual standing alone before God. It is the personal encounter with Jesus that asks for a response. And this response changes everything!

fiction?! Yep!!

If you could change the ending of any book, which one would it be?

A little strange but …

The ending of Dan Brown’s Demons and Angles is terrible. It actually made me laugh out loud. (If you know, you know!) I normally enjoy Brown’s books, and I enjoyed Demons and Angles, but the ending is just plain weird and does not make sense in the context of the book.

and understand?

Which languages do you speak and how did that impact your life?

I speak (write and read) English really poorly, as evidenced by this blog. That is my go-to language and the language in which I mainly think.

I understand German since it is my first language. I can read it but not really speak or write. It changes the way I think and reason. Also gives me words that have no English translation.

How has it impacted me? I read German books in public and sometimes get strange looks. I also understand people when they think they are speaking privately. But it is my life and I know no different.

who’s missing?

The Decision

The president addresses the candidates directly, or through their parents, godparents and sponsors

We all wander far from God and lose our way:
Christ comes to find us and welcomes us home.
In baptism we respond to his call.

Therefore I ask:
Do you turn away from sin?
I do.

Do you reject evil?
I do.

The candidates, together with their parents, godparents and sponsors, may turn at this point.

Do you turn to Christ as Saviour?
I do.

Do you trust in him as Lord?
I do.

Common Worship – Baptism

act of love

Geronta, why does the monk renounce the world?

He renounces the world because he loves the world. He does not hate the world. He does not renounce the world because he is arrogant and wants only to save his own soul. It is because he loves the world that he stays away from the world’s parasites in order to attain a better communication with the Lord.

(Paisios of Mount Athos)

fasting?

So I stumbled upon this article online: Your Church Is Dying Because You’re Afraid to Do These 6 Things. I was struck by “1. Enter a Time of Corporate Prayer and Fasting”. (And, tbh, the rest is pretty average.) So I was wondering, fasting?

I have also found an interesting article online: The Fall and Rise of Fasting in the British Reformations. It gives a historical English account from the time of the Reformation.

Third I was always wondered by the Book of Common Prayer (1662) includes Tables and Rules for the Feasts and Fasts through the whole Year. And what authority does this have for modern users of the BCP?

So, my question: what role should fasting play in the life of a modern follower of Jesus??