Twitter has become a de facto mechanism for rapidly sharing news of important events, such as the uprising known and the Arab Spring or the fighting in cities in Syria. It is used to update about or comment upon sporting events and other events in our lives. There is a sense of urgency and immediacy in the short messages. Recently Jack Free wrote in his blog, Jack’s Winning Words, about a very early user of the power of short messages in the medium of his day –
“Long before Twitter Martin Luther was a media pioneer.” (NY Times) The printing
press was the new media of Luther’s day, and he was a savvy user. 500 years ago today Martin nailed 95 theses (sort of long tweets) to a church door stating why he thought the Catholic Church should change. The Catholic/Protestant split was underway. If you want to see what he posted, follow this link.
Ironically Lutheran leaders are now meeting with Pope Francis to celebrate a common understanding of major faith issues. They have created a document that documents the 32 areas of worship that there is agreement upon and lists those that remain unresolved. That document is called Declaration on the Way. It’s a rather lengthy (120 pages) document, so you may not want to read it all.
One of the strengths of Twitter is its ability to reach a worldwide audience quickly. In Luther’s day, even the invention of the printing press didn’t guarantee widespread dissemination of what was printed. Transportation of the printed materials was still limited to the slow means of travel available at the time. There was also the problem that few in those days could actually read the printed word. Still, Luther’s 95 “Tweets” had the effect of causing a revolution in the church and giving birth to the Protestant movement.
Long before the printing press was invented there were hand-scribed records of things and even books. Before even that time most of history was preserved in verbal stories and songs. The Psalms in the Bible likely existed for some time as songs before being written down. And, though longer than a Tweet, Jesus used short stories or parables to get his points across. These days they might have included #Jesus #Believe.
The media that we use to exchange information is constantly changing. Video is big right now and VR is on the horizon and the “next big thing”. Maybe someone will create a VR experience that will allow you to walk up to the door of a virtual Wittenberg Castle church and read Luther’s 95 thesis that were nailed to the door there. Perhaps Martin Luther will have even stuck around long enough for you to get a virtual selfie with him. #Impressive!
Posted by Norm Werner 
tend to think of God in our own image. Our ego is so big that we believe that He made us to look just like him. Of course that means for many that He is a tall, good looking white male; perhaps with white hair and beard, because He is old, after all. And His Son, while born in the Middle East in ancient times, somehow ended up looking like a modern European white male in most of the great paintings of ancient Christian religion. Amazing how that happened! Even today there are those who continue to insist that Jesus was a white man, just like Santa Claus.
not just in mankind. They also saw a caring, loving God who provided for them and watched over them and all of the inhabitants of the earth. Their view of the Great Spirit didn’t have the pronoun ze, but it lacked the need to be classified by gender or even by species.
Pharisees of the day in condemning Jesus for befriending and eating with tax collectors.
politics. Both presidential candidates, and indeed most candidates for any office at all levels, tend to resort to mudslinging against their opponents, rather than focus upon what they would do if elected. The game seems to be trying to make the opponent seem like the worse choice because they have sinned differently than you. Our country has a rich history of this type of behavior, going back to the founding fathers. These days the mud being slung is not about getting in bed with slaves, but getting in bed with wealthy donors and selling out votes on issues (although there is still a lot of bedroom or locker room talk). Focus on the right things.
us. Perhaps it is just what color or race or religion or sexual orientation they may have been born to or adopted. Perhaps it is how they choose to dress or to act. Maybe it is how they talk or what they have to say that we find offensive because it is different from our notion of things. Whatever it is we find offensive or sinful, it is likely because it is different from us. We let those differences become the focus of our relationship with them. Focus on the right things.
If you must judge someone, buy a hand mirror and hold it up in front of you. Get the person that you see in that mirror straightened out before you worry about the actions, beliefs or sins of others. I suspect that, if you focus on following the two great commandments, you will find that your concerns about the sins of others will fade away and hopefully your own sins fade, too. Focus on the right things.
could learn from our dogs and focus on the right things.
It’s a new day and a new week. Let’s get started off on both on the right foot. I found some quotes that all point in that same direction:
do that so that you can focus upon what’s coming up or at you today and this week. Hopefully you learned something from what happened last week and stored that knowledge away for future use; however, you needn’t dwell upon it and let it distract you from what is ahead.
So, let us resolve that tomorrow is behind us, along with whatever disappointments or failures or pains that it brought. We have not failed yet today. We have not disappointed yet today. We have not yet experienced any pain today. What happens today or how we react to things today is still within our control. Seize the day! Own it! It is yours to make of it what you will. Perhaps we should start today and every day with this thought from Psalm 118:24 – “This is the day that the Lord has made; let us rejoice and be glad in it.”
Arnold Palmer was called the King of golf because of his key role in making golf successful in the 1960’s and establishing it on TV. Palmer was followed on the golf course by his army and was the first great athletic hero of the Television Era. Palmer passed away this year at age 87.
failed in life, due to severe character flaws. Certainly Mahatma Gandhi was not strong of body ans not all that good looking, but he had tremendous strength of character and mind and was wildly successful in his efforts to free India from Colonial oppression.
e lifting weights to build strength, there are things that we can do to improve our minds through training and education. We can be more ready for things that may come at us in life. We can also strengthen our characters.The key to developing and having a strong character, to my way of thinking, is to base your character on a strong foundation of faith and belief. Character built on the teachings of Jesus will make you stop before acting and consider what the “right” thing to do is in the situation. A mind trained the teachings of the Good News makes decisions based upon asking the simple question that has been printed on millions of posters and bracelets – “What would Jesus 
Do?” If you can’t see Jesus going down the path that you are about to take; why would you go down that path yourself?
resistance is the key to building muscle (to increased strength and growth). In life, too, the twisting path or detours offer the type of resistance that allows us to get stronger and grow as human beings. We learn little from the straight and easy paths in life.
Indeed it is the unexpected nature of those detours that prevent us from planning ahead for them. We can, however, be better prepared mentally for dealing with them. Perhaps it will take us a few moments of reflection to calm down and accept that life has taken yet another turn and that we must do something other than panic about it. In many cases the bend that life may have just taken you around can be very enjoyable. Some of the best times in my life were not the result of planning, but rather just happenstance – another detour that life took me on. I’m sure that all of us can recall some unplanned, but enjoyable event or place that we visited. Those were some of life’s little detours.
that you try will result in success. The secret is figuring out how to use this resistance that life throws at you to grow and get stronger and the key to that is keeping a positive attitude about life. You can start on that by taking to heart this little saying by Joel Osten –
“I’ve come to realize that the detours can be the best part of the journey.” ( Jack Freed)
particularly true ion the real estate business than I’m in. It is a fear of getting into a situation with which they are unfamiliar or being asked a question by a client that they don’t know the answer to that causes them to delay seeking or taking on clients.
each failure.
esteem and confidence when approaching new things. If you start with the thought in mind that the Lord will not abandon you in tough situations and will give you the strength to find solutions to the problems that you encounter, how can you go wrong? With that in mind, the second most important thing is to be unafraid of saying, “I don’t know, but I know where to go to find out.” Saying, “I don’t know” does not label you and a failure, so long as you demonstrate confidence that you can and will deal with the situation or question. Tossing off a wrong answer or lying to appear to be knowledgeable will get you into more hot water than an honest, “I don’t know.” Clients will not abandon you for that honest answer, so long as you follow up with the answer, once you have found it.
affection. Often these are subtle, not grandiose, things that constitute a connection based upon live or concern and caring. You have hundreds of opportunities every day to do something or say something that takes up residence in someone else’s heart. The great thing is that you also get a small piece of that good feeling in your heart, too.
These days we may not even notice many of the opportunities, because we are “busy” looking down at our smartphones. We have become self-absorbed and self-centered to an extent that we are often by ourselves, even in a crowded room. It’s not that there isn’t room in our hearts for new things, large or small; it’s more that we aren’t paying enough attention to allow them in.
beliefs as obstacles to just having fun playing with another human being. They just play. As adults we let all of our “knowledge” about the world – what we’ve been “taught” by others – get in the way, most of the time before the first word is even spoken. No wonder we have forgotten how to live together, much less to play together.
or life preferences – and open your mind’s eye, so that you can just “see” the person that is there in need of a kind word or gesture. Maybe He can help you overcome your preconceived notions and prejudices long enough for you to discover the kindred spirit of a fellow human being with needs and fears and beliefs that are shared with all others, including you. Maybe that will allow you to act and become that small something that they carry in their heart the rest of the day. You may also discover that they have taken up residence in your heart, too.
Most of us know the difference between right and wrong and we know that the choice is up to us. For most the choice to do the right thing is obvious; but, for some the other choice is just too tempting or too easy. For some, the shortcut seems to be the route that they always take. An when that fails. Those same people have another tendency – to try to blame their failures on others or on society, when the right thing to do would be to accept responsibility.
seem more difficult to us than others, but we know, in the back of our minds, what the right choice is. Perhaps it is there, in the back of our minds, while listening to those little voices (which cartoonists always draw as the devil and an angel), that we make or decisions. Make sure that you listen to the right voice. God may be whispering to you, even while the devil is shouting, but you know what the right thing is to do.
The road reaches a deep chasm or faces an intimidating hill.
there for you and feel the power of God lifting you up. Remember God’s promise in Isaiah 41:10 –
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