{"id":23989,"date":"2024-08-01T10:57:35","date_gmt":"2024-08-01T14:57:35","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/co2mannatoday.com\/?p=23989"},"modified":"2024-08-01T10:57:35","modified_gmt":"2024-08-01T14:57:35","slug":"an-attractive-alternative","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"http:\/\/co2mannatoday.com\/?p=23989","title":{"rendered":"An Attractive Alternative"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<figure class=\"wp-block-embed is-type-video is-provider-youtube wp-block-embed-youtube wp-embed-aspect-16-9 wp-has-aspect-ratio\"><div class=\"wp-block-embed__wrapper\">\n<iframe loading=\"lazy\" title=\"Jon Reddick - I Believe It (The Life Of Jesus) [Official Lyric Video]\" width=\"500\" height=\"281\" src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/0-z1OK54Ae0?feature=oembed\" frameborder=\"0\" allow=\"accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture; web-share\" referrerpolicy=\"strict-origin-when-cross-origin\" allowfullscreen><\/iframe>\n<\/div><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p>Richard Rohr emphasizes how community is at the heart of the reign of God:&nbsp;&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>The world has suffered much from the various forms of Christian colonialism. Yet the reign of God is an\u202falternative\u202fto domination systems and all \u201cisms.\u201d <strong>Jesus teaches that\u202fright relationship\u202f(that is, love) is the ultimate and daily criterion.<\/strong> <strong>If a social order allows and encourages strong connectedness between people and creation, people and each other, people and God, then we have a truly sacred culture: the reign of God. It wouldn\u2019t be a world without pain or mystery, but simply a world where we are connected and in communion with all things.\u00a0\u00a0<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>God\u2019s reign is about union and communion, which means that it\u2019s also about mercy, forgiveness, nonviolence, letting go, solidarity, service, and lives of love, patience, and simplicity. Who can doubt that this is the sum and substance of Jesus\u2019 teaching?<\/strong> In the reign of God, the very motives for rivalry, greed, and violence have been destroyed. We know we\u2019re all part of God\u2019s beloved community. [1]\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Palestinian Anglican priest Naim Ateek emphasizes Jesus\u2019 call to community and peacemaking:&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Jesus called into community a small group of people. They were his disciples and friends. He taught them the essence of faith\u2014the love of God and the love of neighbor\u2014and he became a role model to them. When they asked him to teach them to pray, he taught them to pray for the coming of God\u2019s kingdom: \u201cYour kingdom come, your will be done.\u201d<strong> If you want to be children of God, he said, you need to be engaged in peacemaking; if you want to imitate God and be God\u2019s children, you have to love your enemies and to pray for those that persecute you. If you want to resist evil, do not use evil methods. You have to practice forgiveness and reconciliation. You must be the salt of the earth and the light of the world. [2]\u00a0<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Father Richard continues:&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>Every description Jesus offers of God\u2019s reign\u2014of love, relationship, non-judgment, and forgiveness, where the last shall be first and the first shall be last\u2014shows that any imposition on God\u2019s side is an impossibility! Wherever we\u2019ve tried to force Christianity on people, the long-term results have been disastrous. The gospel flourishes in the realm of true freedom.\u00a0\u00a0<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>But it\u2019s a freedom we must choose for ourselves. It is almost impossible to turn away from what seems like the only game in town (political, economic, or religious), unless we have glimpsed a more attractive alternative. <strong>It\u2019s hard to imagine it, much less imitate it, unless we see someone else do it first. Jesus is that icon of the more attractive alternative, a living parable. Jesus has forever changed our human imagination, and we are now both burdened and gladdened by new possibility.<\/strong> There is good news to counter the deadening bad news, but we first have to be turned away from a conventional way of understanding. [3]\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>_______________________________________________<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Sarah Young Jesus Calling <\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>Expect to encounter adversity in your life, remembering that you live in a deeply fallen world. Stop trying to find a way that circumvents difficulties. The main problem with an easy life is that it masks your need for Me. When you became a Christian, I infused My very Life into you, empowering you to live on a supernatural plane by depending on Me.<\/strong><br>\u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0Anticipate coming face to face with impossibilities: situations totally beyond your ability to handle. This awareness of your inadequacy is not something you should try to evade. It is precisely where I want you &#8211; the best place to encounter Me in My Glory and Power. <strong>When you see armies of problems marching toward you, cry out to Me! Allow Me to fight for you. Watch Me working on your behalf, as you rest in the shadow of My Almighty Presence.<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>RELATED SCRIPTURE:<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>Revelation 19:1 (NLT)<\/strong><br><strong>Songs of Victory in Heaven<\/strong><br><strong><em>1<\/em>&nbsp;After this, I heard what sounded like a vast crowd in heaven shouting,<\/strong><br><strong>\u201cPraise the Lord!<\/strong><br><strong>&nbsp; &nbsp; Salvation and glory and power belong to our God.&#8221;<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Additional insight regarding Revelation 19:1: Praise is the heartfelt response to God by those who love him. The more you get to know God and realize what he has done, the more you will respond with praise. Praise is at the heart of true worship. Let your praise of God flow out of your realization of who he is and how much he loves you.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>Psalm 91:1 (NLT)<\/strong><br><strong><em>1<\/em>&nbsp;Those who live in the shelter of the Most High<\/strong><br><strong>&nbsp; &nbsp; will find rest in the shadow of the Almighty.<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Additional insight regarding Psalm 91:1: God is a shelter, a refuge when we are afraid. The writer&#8217;s faith in God as protector would carry him through all the dangers and fears of life. This should be a picture of our trust &#8211; trading all our fears for faith in him, no matter how intense our fears. To do this we must &#8220;live&#8221; and &#8220;rest&#8221; with him. By entrusting ourselves to his protection and pledging our daily devotion to him, we will be kept safe.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Richard Rohr emphasizes how community is at the heart of the reign of God:&nbsp;&nbsp; The world has suffered much from the various forms of Christian colonialism. Yet the reign of God is an\u202falternative\u202fto domination systems and all \u201cisms.\u201d Jesus teaches that\u202fright relationship\u202f(that is, love) is the ultimate and daily criterion. If a social order allows [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":[],"categories":[1],"tags":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"http:\/\/co2mannatoday.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/23989"}],"collection":[{"href":"http:\/\/co2mannatoday.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"http:\/\/co2mannatoday.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/co2mannatoday.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/co2mannatoday.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=23989"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"http:\/\/co2mannatoday.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/23989\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":23990,"href":"http:\/\/co2mannatoday.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/23989\/revisions\/23990"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"http:\/\/co2mannatoday.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=23989"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/co2mannatoday.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=23989"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/co2mannatoday.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=23989"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}