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Some want to live
Within the sound
Of church or chapel bell;
I want to run
A rescue shop
Within a yard of hell
-C.T. Studd
Tis my heart. Yet I ask myself – “Could I do that? Could I really run a ‘rescue shop’ at hell’s doorstep – amidst uncontrolled passion of the human heart fueled by the dark lord of world?”
I know that the Creator of Heaven and Earth will give the necessary strengthen to those whom He calls and sends.
Yet, I also know myself.
I know how vastly different I am to those within that world – to those who live according to another philosophy of life. A philosophy that sees no wrong in uncontrolled sexual experimentation or chemical use – a philosophy at home among the red light party districts of the worlds mega-cities. Continue reading Within A Yard of Hell
 AJ Jacobs is a rare story teller. Someone who can make you laugh, cry, and think philosophical all at the same time. He also has the talent of being able to change his lifestyle in concordance with a different worldview while describing the journey in blunt honesty.
In short, he is an extremely rare story weaver.
I was first introduced to AJ Jacobs through his freshman book “The Know-It-All.” This book detailed his quest to read all forty-four million words of the Encyclopaedia Britannica (A to Z). It is crazy funny and enlightening. 
Jacobs second book is the one I want to focus on today, “The Year of Living Biblically: One Man’s Humble Quest to Follow the Bible as Literally as Possible”.
In this book, Jacobs, an ethnic Jewish agnostic, embarks on a journey to discover a little bit about his forefathers’ religion. Finding a Bible, he proceeds to read it – taking note each time he finds a command. Then, using these notes, Jacobs proceeds to live out the commands as literally as possible. Continue reading The Year of Living Biblically by AJ Jacobs
Idaho Statesman file
I got quite the laugh this morning while reading the local newspaper.
It seems that some Boise city residents are upset about the new proposed fire stations. Some of the concerns are legitimate – safety of children on the street near the new station, the amount of traffic on the [...]
 LeifHetlandMinistries.com I saw the strangest thing last night.
Something I have never seen before.
It was an action that I have read about….
Believe in…
But have never, ever seen.
So what is this “most unusual thing”? Well, it was – no. hold on. Let me set stage first; then I will tell you. 
Last night I wondered on down to the Vineyard Meridian to hear a guy from Norway named Leif Hetland speak. Leif is the founder of Global Mission Awareness and runs around with Randy Clark, Bill Johnson, Heidi Baker, Dr. RT Kendall, and Jack Taylor.
With me so far?
Through out the evening Leif spoke about the “orphan spirit” in many believers – letting us know that we have not been rejected by God, but have been called sons and daughters of the Living God. We are not orphans left to wonder through this world alone – but children of the Most High who have been called to join Him in His works in the world. Continue reading A Most Unusual Thing…
You got to hand it to them good old boys – they knew how to spin a yarn and play a bass.
Just pop in a little Johnny Paycheck, loosen up your vocal chords and start taping your feet
Take this job and shove it
I ain’t working here no more.
I been workin’ in this factory
For ‘nye on fifteen years….
I’d give the shirt right offa’ my back
If I had the nerve to say.
Take this job and shove it
From there, move on down the road with C.W. McCall’s Convoy
Was the dark of the moon on the sixth of June
In a Kenworth pullin’ logs
Cab-over Pete with a reefer on
And a Jimmy haulin’ hogs
We is headin’ for bear on I-one-oh
‘Bout a mile outta Shaky Town
I says, “Pig Pen, this here’s the Rubber Duck.
“And I’m about to put the hammer down.”
Of course, you can’t forget Stonewall Jackson’s Waterloo Continue reading Good Bass and Classic Country
Losing your keys is always a bad thing.
Losing them the night before a freeze – a truly bad thing.
Yet, that is what happened to me recently. I pulled into the yard, parked the truck and went inside to get warm.
The next morning awoke, got ready and could not find the truck [...]
 Jesus’ deeds were also a sign post declaring that the kingdom of God had come among men. The book of Isaiah mentions that when the Day of the Lord comes there would be salvation for all people: the deaf would hear, the blind see, the lame leap like deer, the dumb shout for joy, and those imprisoned would be set free (Is 29:17-19; 35:5-6; 42:6-7; 49:8-9) [Derek Morphew, Breakthrough: Discovering the Kingdom, 38-39]. Luke 7:22 and Matthew 11:5 give testimony that all of these signs were accomplished through the ministry of Jesus Christ: “The blind receive sight, the lame walk, those who have leprosy are cured, the deaf hear, the dead are raised, and the good news is preached to the poor” (Mt 11:5, New International Version).
In addition, Isaiah 43 declares that when “the LORD, your Holy One, Israel’s Creator, your King” comes He will “remember your sins no more” (Is 43:15, 25 New International Version). The Gospel texts show that Jesus of Nazareth, unlike any of the previous prophets of Israel, publically forgave the sins of the people without referring to the Temple sacrifices (Mt 9:5-6; Mk 2:5-10; Lk 5:20-24; 7:48; Jn 8:11). In effect, Jesus was simultaneously declaring Himself God while demonstrating the fact that the Day of the Lord or the Kingdom of God had come among men forever. Continue reading Defining “Kingdom of God”: A Paper (Part 3 of 3)
 Returning to the teachings of Jesus, this understanding of the “kingdom of God” helps to explain sayings such as Matthew 6:33 (also Lk12:31): “But seek first His kingdom and His righteousness, and all these things will be added to you” (New American Standard). In other words, seek first the reign and rule of God in your life and He will take care of the rest.
However, there are others teachings of Jesus that do not seem to fit with the concept of the kingdom being the active rule and reign of God. In these teachings, Jesus talked about the coming of the “kingdom of God” as if it was something that was coming soon, or something that had already come. In order to understand how these passages fit within the above definition of the kingdom of God, we will need to turn to the Old Testament writings.
Within the Old Testament there is a duality where God is described both as currently being the king of world and as some day in the future being king over the world. Psalm 103:19 states that the “The LORD has established his throne in heaven, and his kingdom rules over all” (New International Version). Yet, Obadiah 1 talks about the “day of the Lord” when God will become King of Israel and punish all those who do not follow Him. Continue reading Defining “Kingdom of God”: A Paper (Part 2 of 3)
Eli Stanley Jones
The clash between the individual gospel and the social gospel leaves me cold. An individual gospel is a soul without a body, and a social gospel without an individual gospel is a body without a soul. One is a ghost and the other is a corpse. Put the [...]
 Last month I wrote a short paper about the definition of the term “kingdom of God” for my Fuller class on the Gospels. Originally, I was going to wait until I received a grade for the paper before I posted it online…but since it looks like Fuller is taking their time grading it, I figure I would go ahead and start posting sections of the paper for your reading enjoyment.
Note that while I am going to save the full bibliography until the end, I will try to include references throughout the journey so that you (and all the copyright lawyers out there) will know where I gathered my information. 
Blessings
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The Gospel texts declare that the central message of Jesus Christ was the “kingdom of God” (Mt 4:17; 9:35; Mk 1:14-15; Lk 4:43). Unfortunately, the phrase is not defined in the Gospel texts as the Biblical writers most likely assumed their readers would already know the meaning of the phrase. This leaves the modern reader in the predicament of having to define the phrase based upon the Old Testament writings, Jewish intertestamental literature, and the particular contexts in which Jesus used the phrase. Accordingly, this paper will seek to briefly define the phrase the “kingdom of God” and look at its impact on the teachings of Jesus. Continue reading Defining “Kingdom of God”: A Paper (Part 1 of 3)
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Who Writes This Mess? My name is Joshua Hopping and I am a Son of the Most High journeying through a foreign land following the Wild Goose (i.e. the Holy Spirit) one step at a time.
As I journey along the Way, I have the privilege of serving as the bi-vocational pastor of the Payette River Vineyard Christian Fellowship. I am also a voracious reader who loves studying church history, theology, and world missions.
This blog, "Requisite Danger", is a record of what God is teaching and showing me as I try to follow Him wherever He leads as well as occasional random thoughts. I pray that you will join me in this journey through online/offline interaction as this life is lived in community.
May His grace and peace be upon you.
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