Tim Knipp - PRAXIS

Lydia, high end successful fashionista. Self-made and self sufficient meets her sufficiency.

Just Jesus, Carlo Furlan - Praxis series (Acts 15)

Confrontation swirls -
words sharpened
and hurled -
yet reason prevails...
momentarily.

Flesh cutting advocates
are not sadistic monsters,
but well-intentioned
believers
who appreciate
the parameters of the Law.

Yet Peter descibes a new law,
a new way:
beauty will rise from ashes.

Don't make it difficult
for people who are
turning to God.

We are so good
at adding conditions
and clauses
to Grace,
yet
we would be the first
to complain
if handed a sixty pound
backpack at the door. (Matt. 23:4)

What sort of welcome 
is this?
What reflection
does this show
of God's heart?

Is this a club
that only the well-bathed,
well-behaved
and monochromatic 
may attend?

Would Jesus be welcomed
in such a place?

Life - full life -
is what He offers,
not a life of dry regulations
and a backpack
overloaded with
guilt
and do's 
and don't's.

Just Jesus 
plus nothing
equals Grace.

Tim Knipp - PRAXIS

In the middle of my mess, I am not alone. He is with me. He takes my hand and rescues me.

An Unexpected Place; Praxis series - Tim Knipp (Acts 11:19-30)

From rural Galilee
to the center of the 
Roman world, 
Christianity spreads...
the question is: how?

Anioch -
a thriving metropolis by the sea,
sprouting wealth
and religions -
flowers and fruit
overgrown with weeds.

Refugees cast up 
on the streets of this
cosmopolis
strew seeds with news
of the carpenter king.

Non-Jews,
non-"Chosen"
nonetheless grab hold 
of Truth tenaciously.
But the soil is shallow
and needs fortifying.
Sleeves rolled up,
Paul and Barnabas
dig in
and lay the foundations,
toiling for a year.

When financial disaster
looms,
the spirit of generosity
blooms -
a crop of caring -
evidence of deep-rooted faith.

A flourishing garden
in an 
unexpected place,
influencing and
feeding multitudes
near and far.

Carlo Furlan

History of UCM - Brady Bobbink

Responding Wisely to Change - Praxis Series (Brady Bobbink) Acts 6-8

Wings fill with the Spirit;
some soar,
while others are tossed
onto the fire
in a "faith-filled death."

Yet we must trust
the air
and let it lead us.

"All change is 
experienced as loss..."*

Transitions tear
and unsettle,
we must tread
with care.
Grounded  people
regain equilibrium
quickest
after a shaking.
Situational people
are shallow
and easily toppled.
The easy life
is poor training
for a changing world.

The Sistine masterpiece
was created
over long stretches of time
and agonizing effort,
but what beauty remains!

Drive-thru faith
will never provide
nutritional value
or sustain us
for the long haul.
Fleeing hurt
can cause the anger
to petrify
into cancerous growths
that gnaw the soul.
Facing transitions 
bravely
takes the long view.
Look for the good
that will eventually come
to light.
If you cannot
glimpse it yet,
trust that you will.
Lean on the Spirit
and make 
lemonade from
the lemons of
change.

*John Zimmerman