Thatched House

It is significant to note that the early Christians who were Jews worshiped in the temple of Jerusalem till it’s destruction in 70 AD. There has been a much greater appreciation of the 'Jewishness' of Christian origins lately, but I wouldn't go into that here. Looking back at how the temple system came about, we go back to the Israelites in the wilderness. Following YHWH’s instruction, Moses built the tabernacle and God dwelt in it. (Actually we can go back till abraham as the Temple was built on Mt. Moriah where Isaac was almost sacrificed) “Then the cloud covered the Tent of Meeting and the glory of the Lord filled the tabernacle... So the cloud of the Lord was over the tabernacle by day and fire was in the cloud by night in the sight of all the house of Israel during all their travels” Exo. 40:34, 38. Fast forward, at the dedication of the temple, “when Solomon finished praying, fire came down from heaven and consumed the burned offering and the sacrifices, and the g...

In sharing the Good News, why do we always start with bad news? The logic seems to run that ‘for this cures that I am going to prescribe, there has to be a disease. Let me convince her that she is ill, so that she’ll long for treatment. Let me break her down and make her totally helpless so that she will seek for a savior’. Many times this technique works and we have the so called ‘four steps to salvation’, ‘pray the salvation prayer and you are saved’, etc. My reason of discontent with this is that we know no other way of communicating the gospel. Gospel delivery has been narrowed to a technique to be mastered and the gospel contents a therapeutic pill to be swallowed. It is rightly said that there are as many ways to come to Christ as there are people. ‘Christians are faithful but irrelevant’. I believe that we can join any conversation and carry it along to share the Good News, if Christ is the Lord of all. C.S Lewis came to Christ when he was ‘surprised by joy’. G.K Chestert...