TTI思想的月

一月 2019

And Jesus entered the temple and drove out all those who were buying and selling in the temple…
马太福音 21:12

Jesus’ strongest and most aggressive physical response to a painful situation was when he entered the temple and drove out all who were buying and selling in the temple. The art of the ‘deal’ had crept into the place of God’s presence and it pained Him greatly.

The temple, the physical representation of the presence of God, was to be a safe place where the heart (of anyone) could be expressed to God, where words could be uttered that you might not find the courage to utter in any other place. When all else failed, it was a safe place to come and ‘be’.

Running a business in the temple removed the safety and made it perilous. There was competition, haggling, ‘get the best deal’ and you had to push to get your way in. It misrepresented ‘the safe place’ of God and that was clearly not acceptable.

What does God ask of us in these different spheres? I think at a core level, He requires that we be absolutely clear about the purpose of the relationship.

In business, it is to make a living through a vocation. It is rooted in buy and sell and our relationships have an edge to them. ‘I want something from you and you want something from me.’

In the ‘church’ we do not want ‘something’ from each other. We are there to value each other and express what God has given to us. To celebrate the cornerstone of all life and the work He has done during the week.

Let’s be absolutely clear God is for all spheres of life. A vocation is an expression of God just as much as any other expression. But we must also be clear about each of the spheres and how they must be walked in and understood.

(I wonder what would happen if people tried to move the temple into our business locations so that we might be blessed. Call it business as missions?)

By Dr. 马特·罗林斯 Broken Top Leadership

 

December 2016

Discipling a Nation / #12 The Priesthood

“But you shall appoint the Levites… Numbers 1:50

Our words are often confusing when we talk about pastors, 先知, 祭司, church and the body of Christ. We are often cut off from the Old Testament and think we are all priests and nothing else matters. With the confusion of language comes a lack of understanding of the kingdom of God and roles and responsibilities in how God works.
God called out the Levites to be the priests. They were to be full time workers in the ecclesiastical structure. It was only to be ten percent of the population that were to live this way. They were to instruct the other ninety percent of the people in the whole council of God, in building a nation and the importance of all the other spheres of society.
There was always a clear distinction between the priests and politics. In the 5 books of Moses it was clear that the priests and the Levites should be kept separate than the other tribes. They had very different roles and functions for representing God and serving the people than the Kings did. God chose the Levites to represent Him as His priesthood, where as the prophets anointed the kings, but they did not appoint them. The people did. The authority in the priesthood is with God. He decides who He will anoint and appoint. Whereas in government the authority is in the people to elect their leaders.
The priests were not given territorial land and were dependent on the tithes and offerings of the people to survive. It was clear that they were not to gather power or control as this would distort their capacity to represent God to the people. They were the first health care givers in reaching out and caring for the people who were hurting. Their authority was to speak for God and to represent Him to the community. They were hand picked by God and were not chosen on the basis of personal merit. Their only anointing was to speak on God’s behalf.
This has not changed in the New Testament in the institutional sense. We don’t need a high priest anymore to represent us to God, as Jesus is now the true and only high priest. But there is still to be those who work full time for the ecclesiastical structure and they still are to live off the tithes and offerings of the people. They are to instruct the rest of the body of Christ in the ways of God, in the principles of nation building and how each spheres is to function. (ie. 牧师)

Questions for reflection and action:

What does it mean to bring salt and light (God’s presence) in the domain that you are called to?
Have you bought into the lie that says the only ‘spiritual’ work is to be a ‘priest’ or a missionary in the traditional sense?

By Matt Rawlins

November 2016

Discipling a Nation #11 / Struggles are the New Norm

Cursed is the ground because of you; In toil you will eat of it All the days of your life. 根 3:17

There are consequences to our choices. 例如: we cannot partake of the tree of life, the woman will bear children in pain and man will have to work for provision by the sweat of their brow.
In essence, if we focus on just the consequences of man’s choice, the created world will not serve us any more, it will fight us our whole life. We will have struggle and hardship; this will be normal in a world that is broken because of us.
Please notice that God doesn’t curse all of creation. He doesn’t curse us. He just curses the ground, one small aspect of our world where we will get our sustenance from. We will now have to learn the meaning of work. Struggle, hardship and painful labor will expose us and reveal our hearts better than anything else in life. God gives us a chance to learn this through the material world. It is still good, just broken; it will not serve us anymore.
Now it is our work to learn redemption in the world around us through this hard work. It can’t be made perfect and much will still be broken, but we are to begin the redemption process of bringing life out of death. Beauty out of ashes. Discovering joy in the midst of sorrow.
Everything around us is fallen. This is a first truth that God makes clear from the very beginning. The world is broken and will yield fruit only after we have struggled by the sweat of our brow to deal with the thorns and thistles that will grow quicker and have it easier in this world.

Questions for reflection and action:

Do you blame God for struggle?
What would it mean to embrace this challenge as a normal part of life for you and your family?

By Matt Rawlins

十月 2016

Discipling a Nation #10 / 科学

God saw all that He had made, and behold, it was very good. 根 1:31

God creates the material world and calls it good. There is no secular/sacred thinking in God. He is comfortable in all aspects of life we are the ones who are confused. Many Christians do not like science because if they liked it seems anti God. It is our confused thinking that is causing the problem when it comes to the material world, not the scientist’s findings.
Science is the investigation and discovery of the material world. It simply says that on this day, at this time, when this happened, this is what we observed. They aren’t out to tell you the why, the purpose or meaning of life. That is a question of faith and part of our understanding of the foundations of the thinking about the world.
When God was helping establish the Jews in nation building in the Old Testament, He made it clear that there were things in the material world that were very important for them to observe. He didn’t try and teach them science at that time, but just met them where they were and knew they would discover it as time moved on.
Unfortunately we now think of many of these health and science issues in the Old Testament as allegories for sin. This is to confuse how God works and the material world. God loves the material world and wants us to love it and work with it. When He said to be careful about what you touch, a list is given, urine, feces, bodily discharge, spoils of war, bones or a grave… these were given to teach them about hygiene and the material world in regards to health issues.
Science can only discover what God has made. It is not our enemy. It cannot create new laws or new truths, it just explains what something is and how it works. We have nothing to fear from science. It has always been in the heart of God for us to explore and discover the world around us. A key part of that process is through science.

Questions for reflection and action:
What is your view of science and faith and are you at peace with both being expressions of God?

By Matt Rawlins

September 2016

Discipling a Nation #9 – 通讯

Death and life are in the power of the tongue, And those who love it will eat its fruit. Prov. 18:21

Communication is to a relationship what blood is to a body. This is true in one to one relationships as well as in a community or nation. To be the salt to a nation and help it mature is to embrace the importance of communication.
To disciple the nations we must embrace the importance of communication and be involved with it. We could say that you cannot develop a nation without a free, objective press. The free flow of information is vital to the life of any community. If you look at undeveloped nations, the one thing that is common amongst them all is that there is limited or no free speech.
The building block for clear communication is that there is truth and it can be known. God gave us a material world so that we could understand it, work with it and be clear about it. Objective facts, truths that we can agree on, are the foundation for clear communication. Christians should embrace this, as our communication should be grounded in the material world. 毕竟, He is the God of all truth, and that should be very clear in our communication.
Another vital aspect to communication is that what you say matters. It is the defining aspect of trust. When a nation loses its ability to understand that words matter, it is the beginning of the end as you cannot trust anyone to do what they say they will do. When we change what the facts are with each audience that we speak to, it is rooted in deception both at the speaker level and the hearer level as well.
Pray that our communication would be grounded in reality and the heart of God.
How well do you communicate when there is tension? (It is like a muscle, If you are not working on it you are losing it.)

Questions for reflection and action:

Where have I personally communicated in such a way that I have changed some of the facts in order to get what I want?

Are there currently any situations where I am not being completely honest with those I am communicating with?

By Matt Rawlins

八月 2016

Discipling a Nation #8 / All Human Life is Sacred

So Moses wrote this law and gave it to the priests, the sons of Levi who carried the ark of the covenant of the LORD, and to all the elders of Israel. 德国人. 31:9

The prescriptive law was given through Moses, not to make us righteous, but to begin a process of teaching us the ways of God. It was God preparing the way for two expressions that are in His heart for us.
The first one begins at a heart level for each individual, that no matter how hard we try, we are lost and in desperate need of a savior. It is not that we cannot ‘do’ good things, but that no matter how good we try to be, our heart is broken and lost and needs redemption. For the deeper you look into the heart, the more you are aware of how arrogant and lost we are. He wants us to own our life and start at the heart.
The second expression is to see the importance of systems at work. Meaning that in addition to redeeming our heart, we must create relational systems that form a nation. Communities of people must develop relational systems that function with clear authority for different roles and responsibilities. Those systems that have clear authority are government, ecclesiastical (religion) and the family. These are the redeemed hearts expression in key relationships to build a healthy nation.
It is not an either / 或, but a both / 和, you must work at building both of them in order to see people saved and the nations discipled. If you are not doing both of these, you are not building the kingdom of God.
One of the foundations all of this work is built on is a clear value that human life is sacred. That each person, 雌雄, regardless of their choices, are made in the image of God and must be treated with respect.
In everything you do, are you building the kingdom of God by treating everyone you deal with as valuable and sacred because their very ‘being’ here is an expression of God.
Questions for reflection and action:
Which area does your church emphasize?
How can you help your church strengthen their work for the heart and for the nation?

July 2016

Discipling a Nation #7

Authority
For by Him all things were created, both in the heavens and on earth, 有形和无形的, whether thrones or dominions or rulers or authorities—all things have been created through Him and for Him. 关口 1:16

To create a world or universe, to design, author and bring it into existence, gives you a raw power over what you have created. You know it better than anyone else. You understand the intricate working of all its systems. You know what it needs and what will harm it. You know how long it will last and what it was made to do. All of these aspects of creating something are the first aspect of authority that a creator has over something created.
The second aspect of authority is a character question. Are you willing to do what is best for the world created? Do you value it, care for it and want what is best for it even at a cost to your self? To know what is best and to be willing to do what is best are two very separate issues. That is why both aspects are needed.
These two aspects when combined are what we call authority. I know what is the best to do for the created world and I am willing to do what is best for it even if it costs me a lot. If you remove either one of these aspects, you lose the right to be in authority over the created world.
If all you want is domination and control over the object and you have the power, then you can do it just because you are big enough to. There is no moral aspect to it, I do it just because I am powerful enough to. But if you want a relationship with the created, then you must also show that you have the character to do what is the best, to genuinely love the world and with that choice, the authority comes naturally and rightly so. The Creator of the world, who loves the world has a right to rule in authority over the world.
God is the only true authority over our created world. He is the only one who can truly help us build a nation, as the nations start in the heart of God.
Questions for reflection and action:
What is Gods heart for your nation?

博士. 马特·罗林斯

六月 2016

Discipling a Nation #6

教育
“You shall therefore impress these words of mine on your heart and on your soul; and you shall bind them as a sign on your hand, and they shall be as frontals on your forehead. 申命记 11:18

The fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom. It gives us an eternal marker to create a context in which to define life from God’s perspective. Without this you only have temporary contexts that change on the whims and preferences of the people or culture involved.
教育 is to start in the family for that is where God puts the emphasis and focus on who is to raise up a child, to teach a child. It is always clearly the parent’s responsibility in Scripture. If parents do delegate their authority to others to teach their children, they are still responsible before God to oversee it. For a parent is the primary one who will genuinely have the best of the child in mind.
God made the world in such a way that we can know it, experience it. In this way we can learn what works, what is life giving and the power of our choices. We can name the world as we discover it and develop a greater capacity for new and healthier relationships.
Education from God’s perspective is always linked to action. It is not information that is memorized like data banking but is a living faith that is to produce works in our community, learning is to give us growth and wisdom. The Holy Spirit is to be manifest in the natural world around us and lead us into all truth. There are no spiritual truths that are separate from the material world, it is all the Kingdom of God.

Questions for reflection and action:

How involved are you in your children’s education?

What values do you respect in defining how you think and live in the world?

By Matt Rawlins

五月 2016

Discipling a Nation #5

政府
For because of this you also pay taxes, for rulers are servants of God, devoting themselves to this very thing. 罗马书 13:6

God brought Israel out of Egypt after more than 400 多年的奴隶制. They had no sense of government, responsibility or understanding of nationhood. They were poor and uneducated and the only possessions they had were what they could carry. We read in (德国人. 1:13) that through Moses God then asks the people “to choose wise and discerning and experienced men from your tribes and I will appoint them as heads.”
Right from the start God wants His people to own their government. It is to be an expression of them and they are to hold it accountable. Their choice matters and the authority to govern comes from the people. It is a bottom up accountability.
Government is to reveal the justice of God. It is to serve the nation by establishing objective laws and a trustworthy source of conflict resolution and arbitration. It is to be impartial and equal for the small and great alike.
God makes it clear that those elected must have a good character and each of the tribes are to be represented by the government.
When the people are not involved in government you can see that government will start to take over and creep into every area of society. It will slowly take over more and more in areas that it was never meant to govern. The goverment must be held in check by the will of the people. In a sense you could say that the government will always reflect where the people are in their own maturity and understanding of the kingdom of God.
Questions for reflection and action:
你投票?
Is how you vote based on the character of the people you are voting for or just on your own preferences that suit you?

By Dr. 马特·罗林斯

二月 2016

Discipling a Nation #2

“Go therefore and make disciples of all the nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all that I commanded you; and lo, I am with you always, even to the end of the age.” Matt 28:19-20

God began this journey with one desire in mind, the earth was ours, we were to express His image as we cultivate it. We complicated it, actually we messed up royally and listened to a liar that convinced us we could not trust God. Jesus set that right but we are so relieved to be forgiven that we have forgotten what we are to do with that salvation.

We are here to express Gods image as we cultivate the earth. In New Testament language, Jesus reminded us to go to all the nations and disciple them. It is to be our prayer, thy kingdom come, thy will be done on earth…
Abraham was to be the father of a multitude of nations. It was like the highest blessing God could give to him. He would help birth, father many nations. Through God’s blessings all the nations of the world will be blessed. We have forgotten that God loves the nations. Each and every one.

Peter gets the revelation and says that God is not partial, but will welcome all people, from all nations who will come to Him. It is a new beginning, a new people who are called to be a body and express His will in all the earth.
We see in Revelation that the nations will bring their gifts to God, that all people from all nations will come to Him and declare He is worthy. The final image is a tree that it’s leaves bring healing to the nations.

It has been in God’s heart from the beginning and will be in God’s heart as we reset the world. The nations are incredibly beautiful to God and just as each individual is important, so the communities of relationships are just as important to Him.
Ask God to give you His heart for the nations.

一月, 2016

Discipling a Nation #1
“Ask of Me, and I will surely give the nations as your inheritance, and the very ends of the earth as your possession.” Psa 2:8

A nation is a system, a group of relationships that are greater than the sum of their parts. You can’t dissect it or take it apart, just as a person is greater than any one of their organs, so a nation is greater than any one aspect. Just as a person has an expression of God in them, so each nation’s unique relationships reveal the image of God through them. As an individual carries the glory of God, so their relationships manifest the image in a nation.

What are those smaller systems (or organs) that make up a nation?
The areas that make up a nation are: 政府, 家庭, 经济, 教堂, 通讯, 教育, Arts & Entertainment and Science & Technology. Each of these areas has an aspect of the character of God resident in them, for He longs to reveal Himself through each of these areas to the world. The expressions of God are: 正义, 爱, Provision, Mercy, 真理, Beauty and the Goodness of God in the material world.

To ask for the nations as an inheritance is not a mystical thing that God just does on a whim. It is the fruit of the body of Christ taking seriously God’s desire to reveal Himself in each domain of life. Just as an organ is vital to a body, so each expression of God in the domains is vital to the health of a nation. When the body of Christ refuses to salt each area with God’s presence, the nation will grow sick and begin the process of dying. It is only the grace of God through individuals that will bring if to life again.

Questions for reflection:
1. How are you doing at revealing the expression of God in your own life and in the domain you are working in?
2.Have you asked God to see your nation from His perspective and for His wisdom to reach out and touch those areas you are called to express Him in?

By Dr. 马特·罗林斯

July, 2013

The Two-handed Gospel

A little more than a decade ago I was a missionary in rural Africa. I had a hardy bicycle, which helped me travel on the dirt roads each morning, the dog-eared Bible with my evangelism notes and a box of medicine, because I never knew when they would be needed. If converts to Christianity from the Animistic-Islam faith that surrounded me was the measure of my success, then I was a failure. My own conversion to Christianity had radically changed my life, yet no amount of time I sat explaining the Scriptures to my subsistence farming friends seemed to make a dent on their thinking, life-choices or beliefs. I knew the Scripture were powerful, I knew God wanted to be known by the tribal community I lived in, yet nothing I communicated seemed to be bringing these precious people closer to loving God as much as I did. Clearly the problem was with myself and I was humbled by my inadequacies.

I realize now that I had been focusing my attention on getting my rural friends ‘saved’. They were for the most part, hungry, poor, sick and hopeless, and just about the only advice I could offer them was how necessary salvation was. I was an expert at explaining it from Genesis right through to the start of the Gospels. As powerful and true as that message is, it was not meeting any of their felt need. My highly desired, regularly cleaned, hardy and out of their price range bicycle drew more attention than my preaching did.

As soon as I realized my mistake, I revolutionized my study of the Word to understand the principles that God would have us live by so that we could call our societies ‘blessed’. What an exciting journey it had been. I had fallen in love with God, His mind and His word over and over again. The strength and beauty of wisdom that oozes from Scripture once it is studied as a manual for living, has been my greatest intellectual and spiritual adventure. I can now reasonably refer to my dog-eared Bible to address any issue facing my African friends; the need to chose wise community leaders, basic health-care, the importance of education and sound financial management. I have come to learn that there is no issue in their community that the Bible does not address. And just when I was about to pat myself on the back, admiring my growth and ability to spout my confident conclusions at their problems, God used an unashamed evangelist to restore my lost humility. The humility that is lost when one becomes confident in oneself and fails to realize that one has impeded God’s original purposes, once again.

As I encountered the words of the evangelist I remembered thinking sneakily to myself how fortunate I was to have ‘moved on’ from having a single, focused message from Scripture. He was not too far into his message before I realized that in my quest to grasp the breadth and depth of the message of the Word, I had left behind the foundation of it all; the message of the cross.

In the past decade, I have hardly mentioned Jesus at all in my conversations with those who do not believe in Him. Of course it matters that I persuade someone that abortion is morally wrong and that voting is imperative, but so is the persuasion that one needs; the salvation that Jesus offered humanity. Unless I tell the full story, all I have done is switch one part of the message, with the other. The full message of Scripture is both how to enter the Kingdom AND how to live once you get there.

Perhaps my miserable failure in my first missionary season made me reluctant to keep evangelism as a tool in my Kingdom building toolbox, but it is time it went back in there. 这是没有用的，神使用我建立清洁水和井提升无望的贫困社区的金融, 但他们从来没有听到这一切的最好的部分; 耶稣.

马妮简阿戈斯塔, TTI副教授

四月 2013

学习沟通

在创世记 3, 亚当 - 男性和女性 - 吃的水果，打开了一扇门，上帝知道会带来头脑麻木无知和, 痛苦和折磨我们. 上帝知道学习的重要性，所以他做的第一件事是帮助亚当和夏娃他们的学习框架. 通过, 他向我们展示了智慧钥匙. 他是如何做到这一点?

在所有认识神的方式，可以做, 他问三个简单的问题. 三个完美的问题. 这些都不是没有想到一起抛出的随机问题; they are the collective wisdom of God synthesized into three key questions that are vital to restoring wholehearted living to us. They will frame how God works and what He is trying to teach us in the rest of the Bible.

The first question is:

“Where are you?“

This question is for our benefit, not God’s. He already knows the answer, but asks the question to get us focused in our thinking and to show us how to move forward. I have spent years thinking about, reflecting on this question. I ran a training program years ago for young college students and each morning I would begin class with this question,

“Where are you?” They finally put it on a shirt as a school motto for us all. 这个问题有多个级别. 让我们来看看他们.

个人 - 是个人方面对这个问题. 重点是'你'. 从所有的学习和成长在一个人的心. 严格地说, 组, 组织, 队, 文化不改. 人们在他们的改变，然后团体或组织的代表在改变人们改变. 首先, 变化是个人; 它是关于你和我. 然后，然后才, 当我们拥抱, 我们可以开始我们的团队和组织的变化.

诚信 - 在这个问题上是一个激进的诚实. 问题不在于你想成为? 别人希望你能? 你想成为? 必须诚实地回答，如果要采取任何真正的学习，这是一个敢说真话的问题.

关系 - 关系是两个人知道他们在哪里的水果, 同意向前移动到同一个地方一起. 比方说，朋友打电话给你的手机上，要到你家来，但不知道你住的地方. 你要问他们的第一个问题是什么? 你要问“你是哪里人?“因为你不能给予指示或帮助别人，如果你不知道他们在哪里. 有人走, 帮助别人, 有人服务, 把事情做好, 互相关心，只会发生在当我们知道，我们每个人都是.

当我的儿子是年轻, 他喜欢踢足球. 他在一个团队中发挥有很大的乐趣. 有人问我助阵. 于是有一天，在实践中，我和他们一起工作. 球员们在球场上和每一个年轻的人是在自己的位置. 我把球放下，并吹响了哨子，每个人都 (除了守门员) 迎球，因为他们可以快速跑. 不久，有一群孩子, 各地球, 踢它与所有他们的心. 我吹响了哨子，并阻止他们. 慢慢地，他们停止踢蹬，看着我. 我问, “Where are you?“

他们有一个集体发言, “我们正试图让球”. 然后我会走回到自己的位置，并把它们放在那里，并告诉他们留在自己的岗位. 他们知道这个信息, 但是，当汽笛长鸣, 拉把球踢太强大. 因此，为下午, 我会得到他们的位置，把球吹哨开始, 稍等几分钟，然后再次吹哨，并要求他们, “你在哪儿?“慢慢地，下午去上, 哪里知道，他们意识到他们是在任何​​时候都非常重要，为了玩游戏. 为孩子们很容易变得心烦意乱的喜悦把球踢忘记一切. 对于成人世界，我们生活在, 很容易得到'勾引'短暂一些快乐或紧急的和失去我们所处的角度.

查看大图 – 我相信这些领域和神的核心内容是问亚当, 处理上下文. If we look up the word context, a working definition of it is, ‘Parts surrounding a word, sentence, or passage which help determine the meaning.’ How are we going to frame and thus define the overall ‘story’ of life? This will then give a context in which we can draw out the meaning and values of life. This is the essence of the question God asks Adam and Eve. What is the context you find yourself in? This is the first and most important question that must be asked in any learning situation. Where am I?

Joshua Bell is a world-class violinist and has performed with almost all the worlds’ major orchestras. He is well known and even his violin has a name, called Gibson ex Huberman, it is a 300-year-old Stradivarius violin. 在一个奇怪的实验与基因Weingarten的“华盛顿邮报”, 贝尔戴上一顶棒球帽，并发挥作为一个隐姓埋名的街头卖艺人在地铁站的L'Enfant广场在华盛顿 2007. 实验在一个隐藏的摄像头录像; 其中 1,097 人们通过, 只有七个停下来听他的, 只一眼就认出了他. 对于他近45分钟的表现, 贝尔收集 $32.17 从 27 路人 (不包括 $20 从路人认出了他).

支付数百美元去观看他的人惊讶于他在另一个位置之间的区别是什么, 每个人都只是走，而忽略了他? 它只是认为，改变的背景下，人们看到非常不同的两个上下文. 它是上下文的情况下，我们看某些事情. 它告诉我们什么是重要的，我们应该如何回应. 它给了我们一个参考点，什么是适当的关系.

由于上帝这个问题开始, 它必须是一个至关重要的问题，我们处理. 我们会在哪里或如何看到这对我们如此重要，如果它是在新约中?

在新约的语言, 这被形容为黑暗. 男人爱黑暗，而不是光, 他们的行为是邪恶的. (约翰 3:19) 现在, 如何有一个问题，“你在哪儿?“一样爱黑暗? 它是什么，黑暗给您? 这是什么，光给你?

如果你仔细想想, 黑暗中删除一件事是上下文. 没有人知道你在哪里. You can do anything you want and there can be no accountability because it is dark. Light exposes all things and gives you the context in which a life is lived. Darkness is the perfect place to hide. It is the one place where we can claim ignorance, ‘but I didn’t know’, and thus avoid any form of accountability. We often say of someone who lacks information that they are ‘in the dark.’ We then try to enlighten them so that they are ‘without excuse’.

We are small and finite. We are limited and will always be in a place where we need to know more. That was meant to be our joy. A sheer and wonderful pleasure offered to us from the very beginning. 但, in the broken world we find ourselves in, 我们不喜欢的是脆弱的，因为这使得我们永远不安全. 如果我得到的信息是错误的? 如果我错过了什么? 如果我专注于错误的部分? Etc… God has made it very clear from the beginning if we get His context right, 那么全心全意的学习将有一个地方，融入生活，我们将永远不会有回过头来，说, “如果我早知道......”我们不来看看发生在我们身边的变化和不安全. 上帝为我们提供了一个永远不会改变的背景下，. (脆弱者将得到更详细的覆盖 2^ND 关键, 防守。)

“我相信，我们很少有机会避免环境灾难，除非我们认识到，我们是不是该被大师, 的存在，但只是其中的一部分......我们必须认识到，我们与超过当下和现在的地方, 我们都与世界作为一个整体，以永恒. 我们必须认识到，, 未能反映普遍, 超个体的超越时空的利益, 我们做了对不起我们的具体, 本地和切身利益. 只有一个对世界的责任意识和世界人民真正为自己负责。“

(哈维尔, “不可能的艺术)

第二个问题是:

谁告诉你，你是赤身露体?

The second question God asks Adam is building on the first question. 亚当和夏娃做了一个选择，，和正在经历的后果，该种选择权. 羞耻和恐惧已发现了一个地方在他们的心中. 现在他们看到自己的自己的有限性/通过这些的感情的脆弱性，，并它他们惊恐万分，.

上帝给了我们的第二个关键来处理学习和它具有，以做与权威的. 已，他们是谁听取，以? 对于听着是上最简单的的的的的的行走的表达在某人的权威下. 若要链接此回到的第一个问题, 的那些在'权威'中都是的那些谁帮助定义我们的生活中的背景下，. 上帝从与亚当里众人开始，和在那里他是，并然后去对权威的，以理解的的最强的的关系，已经对他的影响. 是谁对他的影响以获得到的地方，，说，他是?

管理局委派的，上帝给了我们地球上代表他的权力和责任. 它是要表达他的权威在我们中间，是织成的织物，我们的生活. 当我们读神的故事, 我们看到有四个表达式的权威，神已授权我们.

个人 - 我们每个人都在神的形象. 我们都是主权国家，我们有能力选择和上帝不会覆盖我们​​的关系选择. 这是王国的基本构建块. 我们每个人都有权力来定义我们的生命和生活，我们请.

家庭 - 通过一个坚定的关系植根于尊重和亲密, 一个男人和女人一起分享他们的生活的各个方面，并创造一个安全的地方，以提高孩子. The authority of the family is in their covenant of love for each other. They form the building blocks of society and form the foundation that will have the greatest influence over a child’s life.

Government – An institution that creates a place for justice for the people to do business, get an education, have a healthy environment and be protected from evil. The authority of a government is rooted in the people they rule. All finite moral creation needs some form of governance and is to be an expression of the Kingdom of God and His love of Justice.

Church – An institution that expresses the values, standards and love of God to the world. The church is given the authority from God to represent who He is to the world. 每个人都是自由的生活他们的生活，因为他们看到适合, 但教会是神的爱建模以这样的方式，人们被吸引到理解人们如何以这种方式生活.

这四个表达式是对人类至关重要的. 我们无法生存，如果我们不明白它们是如何工作的, 他们的角色和职责，以及它们的局限性. 这就是为什么它是神问的第二个问题.

当我在一年级, 我拿了一个IQ测试. 结果是，我被认为是轻度智障. 我的爸爸和我一起去与老师交谈，并在会议结束后，我有一个选择, 相信老师/测试或相信我的爸爸的? 谁有权告诉我，我是多么聪明或愚蠢的? 我决定回到那时，我会相信我的爸爸，他说我很聪明，所以我认为我.

如果我们要学习, 我们必须了解谁有权? 什么是他们的角色和责任? 他们的权力的限制是什么? 我们应该听谁? 我有什么权力过我自己的生活?

这些关键问题，必须摔跤，如果我们要学习如何应对未知. 记得, 它是我们唯一未知. 不是神.

百夫长派人到耶稣问他的帮助. 他有一个明确的权威的理解，并告诉耶稣, “只要你说一句话，我知道的疾病将会消失. 因为我也是一个人的权. 我说去和他们去. 我说来，他们来. 只要给这个词，我知道它会被处理'. 耶稣回答他说：, “我还没有见过这么大的信心在所有以色列。耶稣坚定的信仰联系起来，清楚地了解权力. 对于我们的信心，工作和生活，, 我们必须了解谁有权，以及它是如何在不同的情况下要使用.

我们是小的和有限的，并有上帝赋予权威的愿望和需要，因为我们不知道我们自己足够作出明智的决定. 这应该是另一个方面，在我们的生活中的喜悦. 上帝, 真正的权威, 委派一些，授权给我们，我们可以发现它是如何工作的乐趣和不同的责任，因为我们相互送达. 但, our lives and communities are broken and breeding dysfunction because we will not clarify and walk in God’s perspective on authority. Wholehearted learning requires we clarify who has authority and the limits and responsibilities that go with it.

The third question is:

Have you eaten from the tree of which I commanded you not to eat?

The third question God asks Adam is now very personal. What choices have you made? The result God is looking for in all of this is for us to own our life within a framework of reality. To do that we must own our choices, others will influence us, but in the end, it is our choice as an expression of our life that defines us. It is painful to note that at this point, 亚当变成神，并且责备他为他的选择问题的根源. 他选择的力量，他将不承担责任. 欢迎来到人类.

说实话，我很着迷，这是第三个问题，而不是第一个. 在我们西方的世界观, 个人的选择是主要且唯一的参考点. 但上帝并不这样看. 他清楚地暗示，直到你可以清楚地看到整个故事或上下文，并承认谁有权，什么类型的权限有, 你会不会理解你的选择.

我们也可以说这种方式: 当我们伸手去帮助别人, 当你是搞人, 开始的地方是他们如何看待生活上下文或'故事'，谁拥有什么权限, 他们的选择将没有任何意义或改变. 即使他们这样做改变, 你可以放心，它不会被移动它们对丰富的生活，只能被发现在'光'的权威和神的上下文清楚的认识.

想象一下，自己成长在一个家庭中，有一个非常强的, 完美主义者的父亲. 当你长大了, 你知道你可以做什么. 你做什么事也不是不够好. 当你变老, 假设你有没有权力作出选择，因为他们永远都不够好. 你以为你只是一个受害者，并没有说在你的生活. 你了解自己的权力界定生活失去了你的生活的背景下，你的父亲会为您建立. 除非你澄清这些新的上下文，澄清你的权威, 自己的选择将永远不会被真正见过他们真正是什么. 您的选择.

每个人都有选择, 委托给他或她作为神在我们表达. 它的价值，因为我们有值.

总结, 生活全情投入，从而学习, 可以比喻为写一个'故事'. 你不能撕段, 一个页面，甚至出书一章的故事，因为它不会有意义. 你需要一个更大的背景下，给人的意义和价值的情节, 人物和那些参与的关系. 这是第一个我们工作的一部分，丰富的生活, 找出什么是神的故事，我们是在哪里. 然后, 任何故事的一个关键部分是关于权力和权威. 谁拥有它? 它是如何使用? 我们必须澄清神的观点在权威的基础上，让大家了解生活中不同的角色和职责. Wholehearted learning requires we clarify who has authority and the limits and responsibilities that go with it.

当有权力斗争和对权威的线条模糊, 这造成冲突和与此, 一个机会，使人们在冲突方面做出抉择. 在一份书面的故事, 场景设置和人物，然后推动情节向前发展. 他们必须选择他们的价值观, 或表达自己，以及他们将如何解决冲突的生活. 同样，在我们的学习生活. 神希望给我们一个框架，看他的故事, 了解谁拥有什么权力，以及应该如何使用，然后提醒我们，我们每个人都有一个选择，如何在我们的生活, 并为他. 简而言之, 这就是我们提供神; 我们的选择, 在他的故事中扮演一个角色, 根据他的权力.

博士写的，. 马特·罗林斯

TTI副教授

*摘自书, 走进土地的不确定性, 博士. 马特·罗林斯

要购买一个pdf请到: mrawlinsonline.com

一月 2013

造物主 - 神科学

哪个行业是最不受欢迎的，许多人在我们今天的世界? In our current financial climate, investment bankers must be right up there nearing number one. In New Testament times, 税吏放在眼里，和许多人所不齿. And in recent decades, 科学家们不是太受欢迎, particularly with the majority of Christians.

Although I work for Youth With A Mission, at heart I am also a scientist. I am fascinated by how the world works. If I was working as a full time scientist researching a cure for malaria or looking at how could we find innovations that would feed the poor in rural Africa then this could be seen as a good profession by many people including Christians today. But how would my profession be seen by the majority of the church if I lived my life trying to research the origins of the universe?

In Geneva, 瑞士, where I am writing this article, we have what is called, CERN (the European Organization for Nuclear Research) near by. Its large Hadron Collider is the world’s largest particle collider. Last year they finally identified a particle they think is the Higg’s Boson particle. Its discovery would prove a theory developed in the 1960’s and 70’s on how the molecular world works. The research they are carrying out raises questions on how the world began and the origin of the matter of the universe. In our Christian thinking today, 我可以在欧洲核子研究中心工作由教会没有被回避?

最近, 欧洲核子研究中心的科学家主持了会议, 哲学家和神学家. Co-organiser Dr. 加里·威尔顿, 坎特伯雷大主教的代表在布鲁塞尔举行, 说, “希格斯粒子提出了很多问题 [关于宇宙的起源] that scientists alone can’t answer.” “They need to explore them with theologians and philosophers,” he added.

What a great understanding of our God. Science can discover what God created but we need to interpret those results to understand what they really mean. Good science creates a theory that is tested through experiments to come to a conclusion. In cutting-edge science these results and the conclusions drawn from them are published in papers and in peer-reviewed journals. Other scientists should be able to replicate the results by using the same methods, in order for the paper to become an accepted theory across the world.

Good science can only find what is really there. 从什么发现所教的理论可能是错误的, 但随着时间的推移科学永远只能找到什么是, and will correct wrong theories.

If we look back at the history of the church there have been times when our beliefs have seemed to be under threat. There was a time when the church believed that the earth was flat. We even had Biblical proof for this. Heaven was up and Hell was down, so therefore the earth had to be flat. 以弗所书 4:9 is one example of how Scripture was used to prove a theory. Jesus both “ascended higher than all the heavens”, and He “descended to the lower earthly regions.” So when scientists started to theorize and prove what sailors had known for a long time, 教会迫害他们，因为, 据他们说, 圣经清楚地说，它是扁平的.

I want to leave you with three quotes to think about. Firstly, 爱因斯坦说, “没有科学的宗教是盲目的，科学没有宗教是瘸子。”

其次, 博士. 路易斯·利基, 一个传教士和古生物学家在肯尼亚裂谷, 说, “Nothing I’ve ever found has contradicted the Bible. It’s only people with their finite minds who misread the Bible.”

最后，我离开你的诗句从约翰 1:3 说, “所有的事情应运而生通过他, and apart from Him nothing came into being that has come into being.”

If we withdraw from the progression of science because we are uncomfortable with what is being discovered, if we are so challenged in our beliefs that our only response is to claim they are wrong, then who will be the salt and light that is needed in this domain?

Written by Richard Leakey

TTI Associate Staff

December 2012

艺术 – The God of Beauty

Imagine a world that was purely functional.

Everything works. Moral law, natural laws, governmental laws are in place.

But there’s no beauty.

Imagine waking each morning and seeing only grey.

You don’t know what colour is.

Life would be different. You would wake, eat, go to work, eat, 工作, eat, do what needed to be done at home, then sleep. Then the next day would have the same monotonous routine.

Imagine if there was no music. The birds don’t sing in the morning. You don’t hum as you go about your day. The most mundane tasks you undertake couldn’t be lightened as you sing along to your favourite songs on the radio.

Imagine a world with no beauty. No creativity. No magnificent landscapes that change with the passing seasons.

Imagine driving to work surrounded by grey, with nothing to capture your attention. No sunrises or sunsets that would make you want to pull over and just gaze for a while.

Imagine not having to choose what to wear in the mornings. Imagine a world with no style, no design, no culture.

Imagine not having to choose colour schemes and interior designs for your home. The only consideration would be what worked the best.

想象一下，一个世界没有运动.

没有舞蹈.

没有画.

没有剧场.

没有雕塑.

Imagine countries that all looked the same. No differences in style, 外观或地形.

Imagine cities or towns where every building looked exactly the same. Street after street, 城市后的城市...

但它不喜欢.

Our beautiful God is revealed in the majesty of the mountains. In the intricate design of a flower petal. Music lifts our spirits and stirs our hearts. Each morning when we wake the sun sends a palette of colours cascading through our windows.

我们的世界充满了美在无极景点, sounds and fragrances.

The creative extravagance of our God is on display for the world to see. Beauty causes us to stop dead in our tracks and lift our eyes and hearts to Him. It woos us to a place of rest. It restores our souls. It refreshes our hearts.

We see beauty in each other. The smile of a friend can change our day. Watching a sportsperson do the seemingly impossible fills us with awe and wonder. Contemplating a great masterpiece of art inspires us to express our own creativity in some measure.

Made in the image of God, our deepest longings often reveal a desire to create like Him and create with Him.

Each display of beauty around us, from the minute to the magnificent, calls our hearts to Him. Beauty elevates our souls to our majestic Creator God – our Father who longs to bless His children and teach us to rest. Beauty turns our attention to our Father who sings over each one of us with divine melodies and lyrics drenched with purity.

Do you see the beauty of our God?

Do you look for the beauty of our God?

Written by Becky Frith

TTI副教授

十月 2012

教育 – The Great Teacher; attribute: 智慧

Proverbs is full of verses talking about knowledge, wisdom and understanding. “For wisdom will enter your heart, and knowledge will be pleasant to your soul. Discretion will protect you, and understanding will guard you” (Pro 2:10-11 NIV). It is clear these three attributes are interwoven in Scripture. To say we are learned or educated would mean we are accessing all three, not focusing on just one. So when someone seeks knowledge, wisdom and understanding, he or she engages learning at a holistic level.

We know from various passages from the Pentateuch that the parents are responsible for the education of their children. God asks them to talk about His laws, precepts and decrees when they sit down, when they walk and when they lie down. They were to have visual reminders on their bodies, doorframes and city gates.

If the focus of our education today is knowledge alone then we are only developing part of an individual, not the whole. Education must seek to engage the whole individual: senses, intellect, heart, 原因, skillfulness, prudence, common sense, 等. God gives the authority for education to the parents. Does that mean all parents should be home-schooling their children? 没有, but it is a choice. The questions parents need to be asking are:

Are we involved in the education of our child?

Do we know what they are learning or not learning in the classroom?

Are we looking to enhance, build on, reinforce or correct what they are learning?

Do we see our whole child being engaged?

God clearly states that the parents are ultimately responsible for the development of their children. The question is do we hold onto that authority or have we given it away?

Written by E. Pennington

TTI副教授

September 2012

家庭

In Landa Copes Book, 该 旧约模板, family is the first line of defense for values, morality, 规定, 正义, and love. 为什么? 正如我们看到的将是在圣经中家庭在这些领域的权威或会被别人. 神把以色列在外邦人中间的人有不同的价值观, 一些没有道德和缺乏正义. 他深信他的方式, 他的法律, 他的法令有权力和权威，给生活和影响力，并得出自己的国家 (德国人 4:5-8). 上帝打算家长领着孩子的方式，他们应该去珍惜神的方式, 这将是以色列的成功通过他的价值观代代相传, 国家和民族. 两者都非常重要! 从而, 家长起着至关重要的作用，在门徒训练一个国家.

今天，我们听到类似的短语, “婚姻和家庭正被重新定义,“ 和基督徒是一片哗然. We are looking to government to fix the problem, and to set laws in place that will deter this. We blame the entertainment industry for influencing and desensitizing our children. 但, if I look at Scripture, I would say our eyes are not fixed in the right place. The solution is not out there, it is right here in our homes. 婚姻, 家庭, morality, 规定, justice and love… the world around us will try and redefine them and will continue too. That does not surprise or shock God, and therefore it should not be a shock to us. We are to be “the salt of the earth”, “the light to the world” and that starts at home. In my home are Gods morality, 规定, justice and love displayed, and talked about? Do they hold meaning and value? Can my children witness to that?

如果你觉得你周围的异教徒企图破坏婚姻和家庭, 也许你是有原因的. 像与以色列神的心, 动机和目的是教他们如何生活，并为他们祝福, 所以，他们可能有寿命长，影响他们周围的国家. 我们都知道这一点并没有发生, “他们做什么是正确的，在自己的眼睛”. 战斗是今天没有什么不同, 但问题回避, 我们在做“什么是正确的，我们自己的眼睛”在婚姻和家庭? 我们失去了战斗影响我们周围的世界，因为我们还没有在主场赢得了这场战斗?

Written by E. Pennington

TTI副教授

在圣经, The Great High Priest is revealed to us through the priesthood. It is here in this domain that we see God’s attributes of mercy and forgiveness in action. When God established the priesthood through Moses and Aaron, He chose the Levites to be His representatives. Unlike government there was no process, no vote and no consensus. God just chose the Levites. In answering the question, “是该机构的教会在今天仍然适用?“, 我们需要查阅的摩西五书作为我们国家的门徒模板值. 耶稣在马太福音 5:17, “不要想我来要废掉律法和先知。; 我来不是要废掉，乃是要成全。“ It is God who established the Institution of the priesthood/church, and it should be the job of ministers today to understand what He has called them to do so that they can continue to rightly represent Him. It is God who defines what the function of this institution is and what it is not.

In the five Books of Moses and the historical books of the Bible, there are the key roles of the priesthood that were given by God. The priests and the Levites were to be a standard of righteousness to the people. They were to offer up the sacrifices for the atonement of sin for both themselves and the people. They were to be a mediator between God and man and man and God. They were to extend mercy and forgiveness to His people. They were to take care of the Tabernacle, The Tent of Meeting and the Temple and all of its furnishings. And they were to administer healthcare to the people, which included the poor.

In the New Testament, in looking at the Gospels and Christ’s ministry years, at the lives of the apostles in the Letters, and at the elders and deacons, we see that many of these roles did carry over from the Old Testament to the new. The only thing that changed was the application of these roles. Those who were called to the institution of the church in the New Testament were still to be a standard of righteousness for the people. As God’s ministers they were to extend His mercy and forgiveness to all people, and they were to expect miracles. Because of Christ’s sacrifice they no longer needed to be mediators for people to engage with God, but they were to now point the people of God to go directly to God themselves. They were to continue to teach and equip the saints the values of God, and encourage them to live out those values in their vocations. They were also to find ways to care for the needs of the Temple (the body) in both spiritual and material (physical) ways, and they were not to ignore the practical needs of less fortunate people in their communities.

Now that we are in the 21^st Century, it seems many believe that there should no longer be a church institution. Over the past few years I have been hearing from many believers that church, 去教堂, is no longer relevant for us today. Many Christians are trying to redefine what the church institution should and should not be. 其实, 我们很多人都不仅重新定义, but we are suggesting to get rid of this institution altogether. I would like to suggest that instead of trying to throw away something that seems broken, 或非生产性, 倒不如问的问题，例如, “的教会从神的角度来看的作用是什么, 我们活出?” We need to be asking God to reveal to us where we are not following in His ways. I am convinced that if those who are called to this institution truly understood the roles that are given to them by God, then we as a church collectively would indeed be the most relevant church that has ever lived. It is when we follow in the ways of God as church leaders and as the body of Christ, ，我们实际上会看到个人作出了较大的影响, 社区和国家的转变. 耶稣没有任何机构摆脱他的到来......他来教我们如何生活在生活的各个领域!

依莉娅布鲁姆菲尔德

主任, 模板研究所

(从论文引用, “教会机构的作用”, 布鲁姆菲尔德利亚)

一月 2012 – 政府 - 部分 1 – Back to the Basics

There is only one template for how God wants us to live values-wise and it’s found in Scripture. We need to get back to the message of the Kingdom and how God works in all areas of life. 神的价值观在摩西的法律，给我们的生活和基督的教义通过. We cannot just assume that we know these values and how we can apply them today. It’s time for us as God’s people to return to our roots and get back to the basics. Let’s begin this year by taking a look at the values of God in the area of government.

在圣经, government reveals the King of kings. It is in the area of government that we see the God of Justice revealed to us. There were governments in place before God spoke through Moses to create His idea of government. Governance is a part of God’s character and therefore it is part of how God ordained the world to function. Government is necessary. The only thing worse than bad governance is anarchy. 在申命记 1 God begins to establish the principles of government through Moses. It is here that we see God delegating some of His authority away. A good system of governance, according to God, is for the power to be pushed down. He desires that the people would wisely choose their own leaders, that every tribe would be represented, that there would be no partiality in judging and that there would be checks and balances in the system. His desire is that all people within a nation would be involved in electing their leaders. It is our God-given right to be involved and to vote. In today’s world, especially in Western countries, less than 50% of the people vote. And in Christian circles the statistics are even lower. How did we get to the point where we don’t care who gets voted in and who rules over us? Have we lost what is important to God in this area? I find it ironic that many people in the Middle East today are losing their lives fighting for their right to have a voice and a vote, while many of us are just taking our freedom for granted. We need to repent, 改变我们的思维和回神看到的东西是很重要的!