“He has sent me to bind up the brokenhearted, to proclaim freedom for the captives” ~Isaiah 61:1 As we celebrated Memorial Day this weekend I was struck by a sign outside a church I passed on my way to a cookout late Saturday afternoon. It was a small white building, typical of an older baptist style church with large front doors and a steeple that rose high above the trees. Right at the edge of street was their sign with the black plastic letters which slide in and out with a new message each week. On it it read “Freedom is not free. Thanks to those who fight for ours”. The sign really struck me because freedom really is free. Jesus came, as is written in Isaiah, to set the captives free. Regardless of where you are living, what you have done or are doing, Jesus Christ set you free. The… [Read More]
Posts Tagged ‘Jesus Christ’
Freedom is free
June 1st, 2010 
Dana Fisher 
Posted in American Christianity, Non-Violent Resistance 
Tags: burden, Christ, Christian, Christianity, church, God, gospel, heart, Isaiah, Jesus, Jesus Christ, John, pray, praying, religion 
No Comments »god hates us
May 28th, 2010 dave a small group of guys that i am a part of has been discussing the atonement as a result of watching this video featuring mark driscoll, pastor of mars hill church in seattle, washington. i want to share some quotes with you all from this video: “god hates all who do evil.” “we sin, God hates us!” ”we do what we are!” interesting. how do we reconcile this with john 3:16, never mind a whole score of passages in scripture that speak of God’s intense love for humanity, despite their wickedness? interesting that it doesn’t say that god so hated the evildoers of the world that he sent his only son to redeem them. this is not to say that it doesn’t in fact say that God hates evildoers in psalm 5:5, but we must not take one verse and apply an emotion or characteristic to God that seems entirely inconsistent when… [Read More]
Posted in American Christianity, Non-Violent Resistance Tags: Christ, Christianity, church, creation, evil, God, gospel, Jesus, Jesus Christ, John, justice, kingdom, kingdom of God, love, Mark, mark driscoll, mars hill, mercy, peace, Psalm, revelation, scripture, sin, 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]
This little light of mine
April 2nd, 2010 Dana Fisher I remind you to fan into flame the gift of God, which is in you through the laying on of my hands. ~2 Timothy 1:6 I’m sure most of you have heard the song, “This little light of mine, I’m gonna let it shine! Hide it under a bush, oh no! I’m gonna let it shine…” and I pose this question: Why do we always make it little?” We seem to do just enough to be Christian and just enough to conform to the world and not be labeled weirdos. In a world of black and white we live in shades of grey. Perhaps your grey is lighter than mine, but we fail to pick a side. Because of this our flame never gets any bigger. We keep it small, tend to it on Sundays and forget about it for the next 6 days. Revelation 3:15 says “I know your… [Read More]
Posted in American Christianity, Social Justice Tags: 2 timothy, change, Christ, Christian, desire, God, heart, Jesus, Jesus Christ, life, light, Lord, peace, pray, prayer, revelation, sin, Spirit, Vance Havner, war No Comments »the hardest way to live
October 6th, 2009 dave hey everyone, thanks so much for all of your fantastic insight into this issue. i resonate with everything that was written and struggle with the implications of being a peacemaker in this world of violence. it is quite simply the most difficult way to live. i have questioned, for quite some time, why it seems to be true that Christians (more than other people i speak with) have a hard time accepting that God asks us to love (and do good) to our enemies, to bless those who curse us and to turn the other cheek. not only does he ask us to live this way, but God himself lived this way through Jesus Christ. why is it that we praise the martyrs of 1st and 2nd century christianity, but we are now baffled by those who would rather die and kill? why do we continue to pluck out our… [Read More]
Posted in Non-Violent Resistance Tags: brother, Christ, Christian, Christianity, christians, cross, curse, desire, God, Jesus, Jesus Christ, love, peace, praise, Savior, struggle, theology No Comments »why does God allow satan to live?
November 28th, 2008 dave this little excerpt is taken from John Piper’s blog (you can read the rest here): Why does God allow Satan to live? …before I answer it, let’s make sure that we agree that it is true that God could take Satan out anytime he chose. Because I think there are some who would say, “He really can’t, because of some rights (or authority, independence, free will, etc.) that Satan has.” But the reason I know God can take Satan out without turning me into an automaton or breaking any rules is because he is going to take him out. He is going to throw him in the lake of fire. And the question is, “Why didn’t he do it yesterday? If he had done it yesterday I wouldn’t be tempted the way I am today. The Bible says, ‘Lead me not into temptation.’ Well, the best way not to be… [Read More]
Posted in American Christianity Tags: authority, bible, calvinism, Christ, death, eternal, God, gospel, hell, Holy, Holy Spirit, Jesus, Jesus Christ, John, kingdom, life, love, murder, pain, power, relationship, satan, sin, Spirit, struggle, temptation No Comments »Frozen Fear
May 9th, 2008 Dana Fisher For God did not give us a spirit of fear, but a spirit of power, of love, and of self-discipline. – 2 Timothy 1:7 God’s up there right now with a great sense of humor just chuckling away. At least that’s how I feel in my life. I’m never used in the ways I envision or things I think would be best. And there’s a flaw in that last sentence…”I”. Isn’t it true of all of us that the situations we’re placed in stretch us just a bit outside our comfort zone if we are doing what He asks? Each time making us more and more well rounded. I struggle with this one a lot simply because I’m not a very outspoken person. If I know you and I’m comfortable with you my personality blossom’s but throughout my life I’ve been a shy, laid back personality, content in my own… [Read More]
You’re an equal
January 30th, 2008 Dana Fisher …Proclaim to it the message I give to you. – Jonah 3:2 Yesterday was media day at the Super Bowl. A general circus of reporters clamour for players attention and ask some of the most ludicrous questions you could imagine. My team, the Patriots, are in the Super Bowl this year and as such I was interested in what would be said, who would be talking, etc… About 20 minutes in to the event a reporter asked Tom Brady what his purpose in life was. “Why do you have this platform?” he asked. Hmmm… Jonah had a platform. He was charged with going into Nineveh and proclaiming God’s message. Scared, he ran from God but our God is so big there’s nowhere to hide. God will never force us to do what he asks but we will face trials by disobeying. Once we obey we find that what He asks… [Read More]
Posted in Christian Living, Radical Christianity Tags: brother, change, Christ, Christian, destruction, God, hell, Jesus, Jesus Christ, Jonah, life, Lord, Nineveh, praise, Psalm, salvation, saved, sin, trial, trials No Comments »Devastated
December 27th, 2007 Dana Fisher The elements will be destroyed by fire. – 2 Peter 3:10 The smell of smoke and ash filled the air, choking out the breath in my lungs. But that wasn’t why my eyes began to water. Sitting on the cold, wet pavement just up the road was a young woman, wailing and sobbing. My brother came rushing in the door moments before. “Get out here, QUICK!” Confused and seeing the obvious excited panic in his eyes and went to the door in my socks. Not 500ft from my house flames licked the cold night sky. They stretched far out the top of the roof in the front, smoke billowing out from underneath the shingles in the back. It’s a sickening feeling knowing your helpless. I had heard the fire horn about 30 minutes before but thought nothing of it until now. As I walked down towards my neighbors house I… [Read More]
