Lord, should we strike with our swords? And one of them struck the servant of the high priest, cutting off his right ear. But Jesus answered, “No more of this!” And he touched the man’s ear and healed him. ~Luke 22:49-51 I picture life as concentric circles, like a tree with age rings, spiraling outward. Each moment has a beginning and an end but failing to learn from any one of them can have you spinning, tracing the same circle over and over. Learn from your mistake and start a new circle and like a tree with a new growth ring, so you grow as well. In 2006 I got what is known as an “LTC”, it’s a license to carry concealed firearms. Me and a buddy got it together with plans of hunting and protecting our homes. It seemed cool and macho and what a good Christian does. To… [Read More]
Posts Tagged ‘James’
The Sin you Love
November 16th, 2010 
Dana Fisher But each one is tempted when he is drawn away by his own desires and enticed. Then, when desire has conceived, it gives birth to sin; and sin, when it is full-grown, brings forth death. ~James 1:14-15 The sin you hate is the sin you love. Seems a little confusing right? Sin is always enticing, otherwise why do it? Each of us struggles with different things and while one thing may stumble you, it may not weaken me. Those things which stumble us most often are those that we can easily pick out in others. They drive us crazy. It’s impossible to save someone from themselves when you haven’t looked into yourself first. Matthew 7: 3-5 tells us this plainly. Yet for me, I’m constantly in the mode to critique others without first coming before God on my knees for my own struggles and inadeqacy. If you’ve ever played any… [Read More]
It’s Real Love
August 16th, 2010 Dana Fisher But you – who are you to judge your neighbor? ~James 4:12 Last week a local newspaper headline began with the words “Bible Thumping Pastor…” A friend posted a status saying to call them and complain over the attack on Christians. Curious, I did a little searching and was able to find the article online and read it. After reading it, it didn’t seem so bad so I asked what was bad and if he had read it. His response: He hadn’t even read the article. Proverbs 21:23 says “He who guards his mouth and his tongue keeps himself from calamity.” I have always read that and thought, “don’t call people jerks” or “don’t swear”, but this situation made me realize it also includes speaking inaccurately, and swaying peoples opinions on things I don’t know or fully understand. The comment itself wasn’t bad but swaying someone into believing a lie… [Read More]
Posted in American Christianity, Radical Christianity 
Tags: 1 peter, bible, Christ, Christian, Christianity, christians, compassion, grace, James, Jesus, love, mercy, proverbs, religion, sin, sinner 
Comments OffClarity Coming Down
June 23rd, 2010 Dana Fisher but those who hope in the LORD will renew their strength. They will soar on wings like eagles; ~Isaiah 40:31 I don’t fly very often but when I do I generally fly at night. The atmosphere seems quieter and I usually nod off until we land. On the rare occasion that it is day time, I’ve had the unfortunate circumstance of bad weather and cloudy skies. All this translates in to me not being able to see outside the window and enjoy the view. Friday as I took an early morning flight to Denver the skies were clear across the country and the weather was beautiful. As I settled down in my aisle seat I realized no one was sitting in my row. I slid over to the window as we prepared for takeoff and watched through the small opening. Ascending through the sky I watched the boats in the… [Read More]
Seperate from Christ, Seperate from everyone else
May 18th, 2010 Dana Fisher Now faith is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen. ~Hebrews 11:1 I am not married. Never have been. And I can see a lot of people coming out and saying I have no right and no basis for writing some of the things I have written on relationships. The Lord gives wisdom to those who ask, even among things they would not normally be considered an expert.(proverbs 2:6, 1 Corinthians 2:6-7, James 1:5) Most of you have probably seen the movie Good Will Hunting. Matt Damon plays a janitor gifted in mathematics. Just because you aren’t schooled in one particular area does not mean you are not gifted in it. It takes a particular person(Jesus) to pull these gifts out and begin using them for His glory. Why do I preface my post with this? Because when your relationship with Jesus crumbles, so does… [Read More]
Posted in Christian Living Tags: Christ, church, Corinthians, divorce, faith, God, heart, Hebrews, James, Jesus, Lord, Matthew, proverbs, relationship, satan, sin No Comments »Keep your sword, I’ll keep my Jesus
May 10th, 2010 Dana Fisher I am stunned by the lack of compassion and the brutal use of force by Christians. My Jesus never did any of that. I’m at a loss. The below conversation is real. I’ve only removed the names for anonymity. Below it you will find my thoughts about the whole thing. This conversation started as a result of a comment about the immigration law that was recently passed in Arizona PERSON 1 “is planning a trip out to Az. I will support them regardless of what the uninformed Boston city council says.” Now, these are the comments that followed: Dana Fisher: Maybe we should reread James 2. Maybe their motives aren’t pure and maybe they are trying to take advantage but who are we to judge? Hasn’t Christ called us to something higher than persecuting someone because they are from another country? Since when was this land “ours” and not the… [Read More]
Posted in American Christianity, Social Justice Tags: America, bible, change, Christ, Christian, Christianity, christians, compassion, cross, death, Ephesians, eternal, fear, God, gospel, hell, James, Jesus, justice, kingdom, life, Lord, love, Luke, Mark, Matthew, money, murder, old testament, peace, Peter, romans, satan, sin, sinner, sins, Spirit, spiritual, struggle, temple, truth, uncategorized, violence, war No Comments »alive in this old town
April 4th, 2010 dave a few weeks ago i was with my brother james in nashville, and we ended up writing a couple of songs. i wrote this one with easter on my mind. the very basic concept is that there is a way that the world functions. that was is violent and self-serving. Jesus gives us a way to be alive in the presence of death. blood is calling from the ground. Christ came to breath life into that which was dead. those of us who know him are alive in this old town. here you go: everyone came out to fight to save their land and protect their rights they stole, they killed, they died they took their brothers lives but i’m alive in this old town i’m alive in this old town some were shown a different way a way to build and not to break they know the way of… [Read More]
possessed by truth
March 30th, 2010 dave here is an excerpt from an article jon foreman wrote on the huffington post about being possessed by truth. it’s amazing, as usual: “My thoughts drift to religion. These are the truths that people live by and hold dear. In many ways, these are the truths that inspire our best and worst moments. The truths that motivate Mother Theresa and start religious wars. How can this be? How can fresh water and salt water come from the same hose? Perhaps it has to do with this concept of possession. If I view the truth as my possession to keep safe, I might feel the need to protect my faith. But if I am possessed by the truth, perhaps this protection is no longer needed. Maybe I am set free from the need to defend the truth, rather the truth defends me. The idea of defending an all-powerful deity feels a… [Read More]
