Insider Information

 

Therefore, there is now no condemnation for those who are

in Christ Jesus

God sending his own Son

in the likeness of sinful man

He condemned sin

in sinful man

So that the righteous requirements of the law might be fully met

in us.

 

Those who live

in accordance

with the Spirit have their minds set on what the Spirit desires.

You, however, are controlled not by the sinful nature

but by the Spirit, if the Spirit of God lives

in you.

But if Christ is

in you,

Your body is dead because of sin,

Yet your spirit is alive because of righteousness.

If the Spirit of him who raised Jesus from the dead is living

in you

He who raised Christ from the dead will also give life

to your mortal bodies

Through his Spirit, who lives

in you.

 

We share

in his sufferings

in order that we may also share

in his glory.

 

The whole creation waits

in eager expectation for the sons of God to be revealed.

For the creation was subjected to frustration, not by its own choice,

But by the will of the one who subjected it,

in hope that the creation itself will be liberated

from its bondage to decay.

We know that the whole creation has been groaning as

in the pains of childbirth right up to the present time.

 

In the same way, the Spirit helps us

in our weakness

The Spirit intercedes for the saints

in accordance with God’s will

And we know that

in all things God works for the good of those who love him.

 

What, then, shall we say

in response to this?

 

Who will bring any charge against those whom God has chosen?

Who is he that condemns?

Who shall separate us from the love of Christ?

Shall trouble or hardship or persecution or famine or nakedness or danger or sword?

No,

in all these things we are more than conquerors

Through him who loved us.

I am convinced that neither death nor life,

neither angels nor demons,

neither the present nor the future,

nor any powers, neither height nor depth,

nor anything else in all creation,

will be able to separate us from the love of God that is

in Christ Jesus our Lord.

Mel-odrama

There is no doubt that by now you have heard news reports replaying Mel Gibson’s rants to his girlfriend. I am not going to comment on what he has said.  It is really none of my business.  I will say that the media has no business playing these tapes and the public has no business listening.  It is an egregious invasion of privacy. I realize that people are hungry for gossip and ready to gorge themselves on any hypocrisy that can be scrounged up.  But no one I know would want to be cannibalized in the same way.

If the woman has a legitimate complaint of physical abuse against Gibson then she should get the authorities involved. Other than this, the playing of these tapes is malicious in intent and serves no real redemptive purpose. The tapes should not be used in court and should be inadmissible as evidence.

 Would you want tapes of all your bad/hysterical moments played to the public?  No, you wouldn’t. Mel, a devout Catholic, should know though, that God, the Operator, is listening in.

This Is Where I Get Off

Standing at the corner of State and Madison today, waiting to cross the street,  I saw a huge CTA bus drive right up close to me and then go down the street  In the front window of the bus was a small almost obscure sign which read:  “Training Bus”.  The writing of the sign was such that you couldn’t read it until the bus was right up on you.  Maybe the innocuous sign is posted as a federal regulation:  to let the reader know why they were almost hit by a bus.  Or, maybe these are your last words, posted at the intersection of heaven and earth.

“The safest road to Hell is the gradual one — the gentle slope, soft underfoot, without sudden turnings, without milestones, without signposts. “  From the Screwtape Letters by C.S. Lewis

The Taste of Chicago

With a friend of mine from work, I walked over to the Taste of Chicago today.  This yearly event held in Grant Park is jam-packed with great food samples from restaurants throughout Chicago.  The weather for past Taste events has been extremely hot.  Our midday lunch weather this year was warm and breezy – perfectly enjoyable.

 We bought our tickets and then wandered through the smoky air past barbequed ribs, jerk chicken, Satay chicken, pork tacos, polish sausage, hot dogs, brats, Chicago deep dish pizza, gyros, cheese cake and dozens more local and ethnic food booths.  The smells embrace you as you walked past the open-faced booths.  In the distance a Latin group could be heard singing on one of several stages.

  My usual stop is a Billy Goat’s Tavern.  This is where you’ll hear “Cheezborger! Cheezborger! No fries, cheeps! No Pepsi, Coke!”? This year was no different.

http://www.billygoattavern.com/

I can’t resist the spiel, so I buy a cheeseburger, chips and a Pepsi.  Deon wanted the Upside Down Caramel Cupcake from Abundance Bakery.  (It’s funny how God reminds me of certain things.  See my previous post!)  Later, she and I later walked past Eli’s Cheesecake booth.  We both lusted after the Turtle Cheesecake with Vanilla Ice Cream.  Mmm! Lord, have mercy! 

http://blog.elicheesecake.com/

 At last year’s Taste, Deon and I followed the food booths to Buckingham Fountain.  There in the gardens surrounding the fountain we found the Budweiser Clydesdales.  They stood majestically in the shade of the high arching trees. Though I stood on tiptoes, I could not reach the top of their heads. We didn’t see the horses this year, though. Instead, Deon and I and thousands of others were the one’s putting on the feed bag.

 I may have to return to the Taste later this week and check out the Carbon booth for some steak tacos and then some awesome cheesecake at the Eli’s booth.  It’s a good thing that I walk there and back from work. I may need to walk home, too.