Following Jesus of Nazareth

Bill Bright's final charge to Campus Crusade staff, as he was approaching the end of his life, fromThe Journey Home: Finishing with Joy*---

Following Jesus of Nazareth

Beloved followers of Christ around the world, I embrace you with the love of our risen Savior in Whom dwells all the fullness of the Godhead bodily, and through Whom alone we can know our Awesome Creator; now by His Holy Spirit I give you this charge to keep:

Love the Lord God with all your heart, mind, soul and strength; keep His commandments and practice His Golden Rule.

Surrender to our Matchless Master as a royal slave, obeying and enjoying life with Him, trusting in His presence, power, and promises.

Meditate upon the attributes of the One True Living God, and let your faith reflect His greatness and character in all your ways.

Love your family as Christ loves you.

Depend upon the power of the Holy Spirit both to begin and to complete His plan for your role in helping to fulfill the Great Commission.

Memorize His Holy Word to fortify yourself for spiritual warfare.

By faith, walk in His light, enjoy His presence, love with His love, and rejoice that you are never alone; He is with you always, to bless!

Bill asked for these admonitions to be printed on a card, with the following verses on the back:

The Great Commandments (Matt. 22:37-39)
The Golden Rule (Matt. 7:12)
The Ten Commandments (Exodus 20:3-17)

The founder and chairman/president emeritus of Campus Crusade was born October 19, 1921, and passed away from complications of pulmonary fibrosis on July 19, 2003.

Bill Bright, The Journey Home, Nashville: Thomas Nelson Publishers, 2003, p. 166-168.

Open my eyes, help me to see 2

(edited)The Christian Examiner interviews Kay Warren* in Pondering suffering, caring for people with AIDS/HIV

Kay is convinced that the church is the answer to the world’s global giants, like AIDS.

“The evangelical church has been asleep at the wheel,” she says. “We have been absent from our post in caring for people and their needs for a very long time now. But I see repentance happening. I see people waking up with the same shock that I did and wanting to respond. That fills me with hope.”

Kay knows the world won’t be perfect until Jesus returns.

“But we can push back the darkness,” she says. “We can bring His presence and His light. We can be His hands that relieve the suffering, that comfort the dying, that care for the sick.”

* * * * * * *
Prof. Johan Malan of the University of Limpopo, South Africa, has published an article, Wilkinson's Dream For Africa is Shattered, detailing reasons for the failure of Bruce Wilkinson's* campaign to fight AIDS in Swaziland. (HT: Crossroads)
* * * * * * *
We need to become better observers and listeners.

*Wilkinson authored The Prayer of Jabez. Kay Warren is married to Rick Warren, author of The Purpose-Driven Life.

Most interesting webcams of 2005

ADDED: Sorry, this link was replaced with views of New Year's celebrations before I got a few direct links to the webcams made.

For a five-minute mental vacation, check out the most interesting webcams of 2005 (HT: Ian's Messy Desk):
wildlife, zoos (Nashville piranhas and D.C. pandas), Eiffel Tower, Hawaiian beach, Boston University, Alaskan airport, Valencia (Spain), Skelleftea (Sweden), Meersburg (Germany), pyramids, Salzburg (Austria), San Francisco, Virgin Islands, LA beaches, New Orleans French Quarter, a jail, Birmingham mall (UK), Graceland (formely home of Elvis Presley), Tahiti, the Antarctic, Tokyo, a convention center construction site (Raleigh, NC).

Spring of light

Winter wheat (late autumn)

Wednesday marks the beginning of winter, which means hours of daylight (in the northern hemisphere) will begin to lengthen. The oceans will begin to warm again, and eventually raise the air temperatures.

In one of her books, Luci Shaw refers to three springs: one of light, one of water, and one of green. The spring of light is nearly upon us.

Christmas card

Allthings2all is hosting the third Spotlight on Darfur.

Spirit of Adoption, a recent comer to the blogsphere, has been sharing steps on her and her husband's adoption journey. She shared a number of verses describing our adoption as children of God. She sees her and her husband's decision to adopt as following an example God has set for us.

For Christians, the Incarnation is a prelude to adoption. And one of the results of that adoption is being taken into a large family that includes millions of new brothers and sisters. Some of those brothers and sisters are living, and being persecuted, in the Darfur region of the Sudan. I am proud to be part of a family that includes such strong and faith-filled people. I will not turn my eyes away from their tribulation at Christmas. They also enjoy the holiday, and may be better at celebrating than we are.

Merry Christmas to Christians in the Sudan. May your faith remain strong. May God bring your country peace in the New Year.

Open my eyes, help me to see 1

In the process of doing the meme of sevens, I felt I needed to broaden my perspective. It's been a long time since I was in college, being assigned to read things I wouldn't have chosen on my own. I asked Dee at christian fiction:

. . . . What kind of a list would you, as a Christian, give someone like me to watch and read, if I wanted to have a more "integrated" mind? I would like to post it on my blog, and credit you as recommending them-- maybe five books and five movies.

I know about Frederick Douglass and James Baldwin, but have not read them. I did a project on the Harlem Renaissance in graduate school a number of years ago, but can only remember Zora Neale Hurston. I have read Toni Morrison's Beloved.

I have seen The Color Purple, Do the Right Thing, The Bishop's Wife (Whitney Houston), Glory, and maybe some others, with black lead characters-- especially Denzel Washington. Also, Hotel Rwanda. But I am talking more about America [the U.S.]. A few months ago, we saw one with James Earl Jones and Robert Duvall, A Family Thing. It was pretty good. I recommend it, if you haven't seen it. . .

I appreciate Dee's help. Read her favorites in her sevens meme. These are her recommendations to me, for continuing education.

Her list:
Five books
W.E.B. DuBois, The Souls of Black Folk
Nella Larsen, Quicksand & Passing
Alice Walker, The Color Purple
Olympia Vernon, Eden
Walter Moseley, Easy Rawlin Series: Black Betty
Five Movies
The Human Stain
The Color Purple
Waiting to Exhale
Imitation of Life
Tyler Perry's Diary of a Mad Black Woman

A challenge for the New Year. Thank you, Dee.

Lake Erie snow, lighthouse
November, 2005

Beef Stew weather. (HT: Nancy at Just Thinking)