SPARKLING SPIRITUALITY

SPARKLING LIFE IN JESUS CHRIST

Rev. Dr. Robert E. Donaldson

Presented by World Wide Web Witness Inc.

PREFACE

SPARKLING LIFE IN JESUS CHRIST

There is in the life of Christ that sparkling as of rills on hills, as of stars in the blackness of the airy night, that flashing on the surface of waves from the intensity of the sun in its radiance, which embraces, stirs, stimulates and enlightens, charms and illuminates not just the body, but the spirit of man.

The light of the world is Christ; the sparkle is the intimation of His presence in clarity, purity and exposure, for in His revelation, much is revealed, and in His knowledge, much is known, for in Him are all the treasures of wisdom and knowledge, and there is no dimness there.

This has effects in a double dimension. Thus in one's own life, this sparkle which is His, ennobles, by bringing energy and vigour, enlightens by showing depths and shapes of things both present and to come, encourages as the warm air surrounding the splashing of light on the waves, and is its own attestation, being for all darkness more than competent to dispel. Again, in the things of Christ, the Christian testimony to truth, its coverage of history, its explanation in principle of all things, its validity, its cogency, its uniqueness in all religion as not merely testable but inciting to test; its value at all times in all situations to bring meaning to depths and depths to the bar of meaning; in the word of God in its unbreachable depths and heigths, breadth of comprehension and power to cover all breadth in its coverage; in His consistency and His insistence - all sparkles.

The more you look, the more is found in its light, all coherent and comprehensible, that watermark of truth. It is also the vitality of life. Moreover it sheds as He acts, both from His all-testing word and by His Spirit, light on the way. HE is the way, the light and the truth. His word, it is His (John 17:17, 14:6).

In this volume, some of these aspects will alight. Even mournful things can spring to life when you see the purpose; or warnings sparkle gladly when taken to heart in good time! Sparkles are quick things, and man needs to learn from them. The touch of light is not the cue for dullness of heart, a spiritual stretching and stirring, but for search with all the heart and with all the mind, for the Lord (Isaiah 55), who is not far from any one of us, as the sparkle is near to the wave, and anoints it with racing joy.

CONTENTS

Chapter 1

Sparkling Revelation
II Peter and the Canon

Chapter 2

Sparkling Revelation
Old Testament Canon: not scholarly profiles, but volcanic streams

Chapter 3

Sparkling Revelation

THE END OF MARK AND THE MARK OF THE END

Chapter 4

Wedding Bells and Mortal Knells
The Latest Palestinian Invention

Radio News, January 17, 2002
News January 18, 2002

Chapter 5