The Lighter Shades of Red and Grey

  "Their end is destruction, their god is their belly, and they glory in their shame, with minds set on earthly things." (Philippians 3:19) If what Jean Anthelme Brillat-Savarin said; "Dis-moi ce que tu manges, je te dirai ce que tu es’’, which translates to ‘Tell me what you eat and I will tell you what you are," or more commonly stated You are what you eat," then arriving at a stage where our bellies become our god is a dangerous affair. Diet causes more sickness, disease, cancer, inflammation, and general unwell being than many other environmental factors combined. These negative results from what we stuff in our gullets are often dealt with by modern medications, procedures, and the like in order for us to keep eating what is killing us.  I have had many a gut problem over the past year and as some of you know, it's gotten serious of late. I have been hospitalized, probed, tested, stuck with needles etc. I have been down for the count, laid up in...

Over the past couple of years, I have had the question “What new does Christ bring to the table?” It might be an ill-crafted question, but perhaps a fair one as well.  It is often asked by those who give more weight to the Tanakh or ‘Old Testament’ than The apostolic writings or the ‘New Testament,’ or by those who lean into the ‘Hebraic’ understanding of the practice of faithfulness.  The consistency and perpetuity of Torah, ADONAI’s instructions for living, are somehow at stake if anything ‘new’ is allowed to enter the conversation.  But according to Romans 6:4 and other passages, the newness of life, as brought to fruition by the resurrection is ‘new.’ Beyond its novelty, it is absolutely necessary to the walk of covenantally faithful. For without the newness of life, as wrought by the resurrection, ‘our faithfulness is in vain.’  The proposition that something new is being brought to the table by a post ‘Old Testament’ figure is not something to be feared, but so...

 I have temporarily disabled my RawGod blog because there are many posts I would rewrite or change and was hesitant about having my current status, theologically speaking, painted by them. In addition, there were many posts that were intentionally inflammatory or shock-jockish in nature and that is simply not where I wish to be any longer. Having recently been hit hard with health issues, my desire to influence by argument is practically non-existent, and I am seeking a more loving, patient, humble, and enduring posture that 'settles in' to where I am at and where those who care to read my thoughts are. Social media, unfortunately, is becoming ever more the quagmire of 'let me hover over you and tell you what you're doing wrong.' This, to me, seems so contrary to the love, compassion, and grace-driven truth of the scriptures and the way of our great Elohim in the world. I have chosen the name 'The Lighter Shades of Red and Grey' for this blog to allow me gre...