Thoughts on Turgenev

Do you remember that obscure little Turgenev quote posted back in July? It's from On the Eve, written by Turgenev in 1859. I've excerpted a few paragraphs from the intro. It's a brilliant analysis. I have to confess that only after reading the intro did I resolve to read the book. Like most Russian novels, the character development in this book is astounding. But the theme is even more impacting. To me the entire book can be summarized in Shubin's humble question, "Will there ever be men among us?" Here's the introduction...

Midtown, ATL

Here's something I found on an old SD card today. It dates back to 2008. My camera had one of those shutter timers so I left it out on the balcony for a couple of days. You may recognize the buildings. One is the Fox Theater, which was formerly a mosque, and to the right is the Georgian Terrace Hotel. And just up the street is the Margaret Mitchell house (Gone with the Wind). I can't remember the intervals used to shoot this. Anyway, at the end are some random shots that somehow got mixed into the photo sequence. May have been from a thunderstorm. Enjoy.

Ministry Excerpt: Rivers of Living Water

Life and truth have one goal – the abundance of life. “I have come that they may have life and may have it abundantly” (John 10:10). In order to have the abundance of life, we first must read the Bible to learn the doctrines in the Bible. Someone who does not read the Bible cannot be rich in life. Believers who read the Bible only when they feel inspired are spiritually starving; such ones cannot have the abundance of life. However, to read the Bible does not automatically cause us to have the abundance of life. We still need the doctrines to become truth to us. For this reason, the New Testament encourages us not mainly to know doctrines but to fully know and walk in the truth. The apostle John loved the saints in truthfulness (2 John 1; 3 John 1). Because the Christian life is a matter of truth, Christian love must also be a matter of truth. If we do not possess the truth and walk n the truth, we cannot love others in truthfulness. It is possible to love others in darkness, but when we know the truth and walk in the truth, we love the truth and walk in the light.

The main point we need to see is the way to turn doctrines to life, or put in other words, the way to have the abundance of life. John 7:38 says, “He who believes into Me, as the Scripture said, out of his innermost being shall flow rivers of living water.” The rivers of living water are different aspects of life, including love, patience, humility, and all the riches of Christ, but we need to see how to practice this, how to cause these aspects of life to flow out of us. These rivers of life flow out through the truth. Actually, ever river is a truth. If we do not speak, nothing can flow out. In order to speak, we must know the doctrines and possess the truth. We cannot speak concerning Christ as love or patience if we have no knowledge of the truth concerning the riches of Christ. In order for the riches of Christ to flow out of us as rivers of living water, we must have and speak the truth.

The way to have the abundance of life and to flow out the riches of life is the way of the truth. We first need to know the doctrines. Then as we are open to the Lord and pray much, the Spirit will come to enlighten the doctrines, and they will become truth, which brings light and life. The more truth we have, the more riches of Christ as life we enjoy. Eventually, we will have the abundance of life. The abundance of life is altogether in the truth. When we release the truth by speaking, that is the flowing out of the riches of life. In order to minister life to others, we must speak, and in order to speak, we must read the Bible and study the truth to learn the doctrines. Without the doctrines we cannot have the truth, and without the truth there is no light or life.

The truth is altogether a matter of speaking. Our God is a speaking God. Hebrews 1:1-2 says, “God, having spoken of old in many portions and in many ways to the fathers in the prophets, has at the last of these days spoken to us in the Son.” God’s speaking is first conveyed to us in the form of doctrines, which become the truth to us through the Spirit’s enlightening. The truth is the shining of light, which brings us life. This means that in order to have the abundance of life, we must know the truth.

(Witness Lee Basic Principles Concerning the Eldership, 108-109)

Quote of the Week

"If God leads you to walk a way that you know, it will not benefit you as much as if He would lead you to take the way that you do not know. This forces you to have hundreds and thousands of conversations with Him, resulting in a journey that is an everlasting memorial between you and Him."

- Watchman Nee

Down to Business (pt.4)

This is nothing groundbreaking, but I wanted to post some thoughts on interviews. Feel free to chime in if you have any comments. If you're getting ready for recruiting events, fancy dinners, or a formal interviews, remember that preparation makes a huge difference! The ability to communicate cohesively "who you are, where you've been, where you are going, etc." is extremely valuable. And you'll need some time to reflect, synthesize, and even calculate what terminology you want to use.

This can be complicated, especially if you're making that "transitory" descent after a life-changing two-year, non-profit, faith-based, not-always-but-often-hyphenated, rotational leadership development program in southern California. Okay, let's face it. There is nothing even quasi-intellectual about the content of this post (or anything posted on blog for that matter). In fact, you're probably laughing at me right now.

But anyway, just keep in mind...

Amen or Amen?

"If we speak the truths of Bible to the young people, just as Paul spoke the truth, and tell them that the Triune God desires to dispense Himself into the tripartite man, I believe that their eyes will be opened. If we can speak logically and clearly, we will bring the heavens to the earth and the earth into the heavens, and they will be moved."

(Witness Lee, Crucial Words of Leading in the Lord's Recovery, Book 3: The Future of the Lord's Recovery and the Building Up of the Organic Service)

My $60 Breakfast

I'm rededicating my life to quality beginnings: power breakfasts, morning revival, showers, and coffee. But these things don't come cheap. This week we're dabbling into quality pancake recipes. I'm parting ways with instant pancake mix, and crossing the Rubicon into the boundless possibilities that exist in the made-from-scratch arena. 

Our verse for the week is John 20:12. It's divine and human, and very mystical...

"Jesus said to them, Come and have breakfast...."

So this is Biblical. And it's only for your sake this week that I'm testing out the Pioneer Woman's  Perfect Pancakes. She uses cake flour, and vanilla extract (don't look at the price when you buy it; just close your eyes, grit your teeth, and then call on the Lord). And I have been coveting that electric griddle for a couple of weeks now. It's durable so I think I'll capitalize the things rather let it hit an expense account. Pretty spiffy.

Stay tuned. 

Photo of the Week

Productivity central. It's my corner of the study room in the Athens "brohouse." Not pictured: french press, bowl of cold cereal, and my acoustic guitar, which sits against the wall to my left. Quite tidy eh? Well it was staged. I angled the pen so it would look natural though. 

Trade Law Review

"Open trade is not just an economic opportunity; it is a moral imperative"

 - George W. Bush (2001)

Has open trade enhanced global security? Robert Zoellick makes some interesting points in his case for open trade, see here. 

The history of US trade agreements traces back to the Smoot-Hawley Tarriff Act of 1930, but was impacted in 1934 by the Reciprocal Trade Agreements Act, signed by President Roosevelt. This gave the president authority to lower tariffs with the incentive for reciprocity. These tariff concessions were also adjusted later by the Trade Reform Act of 1974 by Nixon, and the Trade and Tariff Act, among many others...

Euro Woes

UBS posted a gloomy report on the future utility of the euro. I bookmarked it to read later, but you can check out the ZeroHedge review here. The article is titled "Bring Out Your Dead - UBS Quantifies Costs Of Euro Break Up, Warns Of Collapse Of Banking System And Civil War." The report seems somewhat vindicated by the Swiss National Bank decision to structure its currency relative to the suffering euro.