HARMLESS THOUGHTS

When I went to the Youtube page to grab the embed code for the Desiring God Trailer that I just posted , I noticed a video on the side that sounded interesting. Watched it. Thought I would pass it along. (Even though I don't think that the Piper Warren thing is a big hullabaloo anymore.)

I always enjoy the Desiring God Conference trailers. By themselves, they teach me. I can't imagine what it would be like to go to the actual conference. Would love to go though. Anyway, here is the trailer, definitely worth a watch. [HT: Justin Taylor ]

A few weeks ago I posted this little video of Tim James running for Governor in Alabama. I can't help but also show you this video of a Tim James parody. My favorite part is when he talks about Starbucks.

Last Sunday I tackled James 1:2-4.  I had a cold and was feeling miserable, so I can't vouch for the clarity of the sermon, and I am pretty sure that I drooled on the microphone at least once, but in case you are interested in following along as I tackle the book of James... here is this last week's message: Living Faith: In Trials I chose the title "living faith" because I feel like that is the key theme throughout this book.  If I wanted to come up with a cool, hip slogan for this series, it would be "Living your faith... OUT LOUD!"  Then I would have to make t-shirts with this slogan and get everyone at my church to buy one.  The "living your faith" part would have to be in the typewriter font, with the "out loud" scrawled at a slant in a more hand-written font.  In small letters I would have to have "the book of James".  Hmm... I should try this! Anyway, Live your faith out loud.

I went out to the church to put add some branches to the burn pile.  While we were there, my boys discovered a pond, teeming with life.  Literally hundreds of tadpoles.  So, I snapped some pics of my little tadpoles looking at those hundreds of tadpoles. Here is the little church "pond" They spent the entire 30 minutes that I was there in this same position. I wish I had a better camera with me.  the colors in this picture were so vibrant. Click this one to enlarge, so you can see the hundreds of tadpoles in the water. Being boys, they cannot resist picking up the tadpoles. Asking him what they felt like, "well... wormy."

"We are not born again by repentance or faith or conversion: we repent and believe because we have been born again."   - John Murray [HT: Monergism Books ]

Ever wanted to ask Paul Tripp a question?  Well, tomorrow, from 7 - 9 pm you will be able to.  Desiring God ministries is hosting the live event on their website.  Read more about it: Click the picture to go to the site. To ask a question, just use the hashtag #askpt on Twitter, or email askpt@desiringGod.org . [HT: Justin Taylor ]

As I have mentioned a couple of times already, I am reading through Abide in Christ by Andrew Murray. He is very quotable, so I am always running across little tidbits that I would love to share. Today's is from the chapter called The Crucified One: Beloved believer! it is a deep mystery, this of the Cross of Christ. I fear there are many Christians who are content to look upon the Cross, with Christ on it dying for their sins, who have little heart for fellowship with the Crucified One. They hardly know that He invites them to it. Or they are content to consider the ordinary afflictions of life, which the children of the world often have as much as they, as their share of Christ's Cross. They have no conception of what it is to be crucified with Christ, that bearing the cross means likeness to Christ in the principles which animated Him in His path of obedience. The entire surrender of all self-will, the complete denial to the flesh of its every desire and pleasure,...

This new background came from NASA's image of the day: Earth's Horizon

Where can I get it? Where can I get it?

Just found this enjoyable video over at 22 Words .

The Guru's Handbook is an excellent teacher's blog that I have been following for quite some time. I am not sure when I first ran across this site, but every time something new is posted, the questions asked always spur me on to deeper thoughts.  Recently those questions were asked in a more direct fashion.  That's right, blog readers, the must-read interview is an interview of ME! The great thing about this interview, for me, was that it came right at the beginning of a new school year, at a new school.  I was also jumping back into public education, after having spent the majority of my teaching in Christian schools.  The questions that were posed really helped me to bring some solidity to several different educational/philosophical concepts that were forming in my mind. All in all, the interview is worth a read, if not for my answers, then for an example of excellent questioning. Go check it out!   Read the interview here .

"and if he rescued righteous Lot, greatly distressed by the sensual conduct of the wicked (for as that righteous man lived among them day after day, he was tormenting his righteous soul over their lawless deeds that he saw and heard);" II Peter 2:7-8 (ESV) These last few days, these verses have been scrolling through my mind. I know that when most people pull these verses up for some sort of discussion, it is usually to debate the "righteous"ness of Lot. "Was he really righteous?" or "How could he have been righteous considering all that he did?" If people aren't using these verses for debate, they are using them to talk about peer pressure. They want to show how Lot's choice to be around the people of Sodom and Gomorrah was "distressing" and "tormenting" him in such a way that he was experiencing an erosion of morals. That isn't why I have been thinking of these verses. The thing about Lot is that most of...

Just read an amazing D.A. Carson quote over on the Eternal Perspectives blog (Randy Alcorn). It needed to be shared. How dare you approach the mercy-seat of God on the basis of what kind of day you had, as if that were the basis for our entrance into the presence of the sovereign and holy God? No wonder we cannot beat the Devil. This is works theology. It has nothing to do with grace and the exclusive sufficiency of Christ. Nothing. Do you not understand that we overcome the accuser on the ground of the blood of Christ? Nothing more, nothing less. That is how we win. It is the only way we win. This is the only ground of our acceptance before God. If you drift far from the cross, you are done. You are defeated. We overcome the accuser of our brothers and sisters, we overcome our consciences, we overcome our bad tempers, we overcome our defeats, we overcome our lusts, we overcome our fears, we overcome our pettiness on the basis of the blood of the Lamb. —D.A. Carson, Scandalous:...

Day 5 - Exodus 8 to 18 Day 6 - Exodus 19 to 23 Day 7 - Exodus 24 to 32 Day 8 - Exodus 33 to 40 Day 9 - Leviticus 1 to 7 Day 10 - Skipped Day 11 - Leviticus 8 to 16 We had a few light days there, and skipped one.  Part of the challenge was the Ladies Bible Study that started last Thursday in our home and the regular stuff of life that is bogging us down.  Hopefully we will be able to get caught back up this week. Anybody else want to take up this challenge?

I just started a new series at church. I wanted to say something about it, to try to get you to download it and listen to it.  Possibly you could even give me some feedback.  That is what I was going to try to do, but I just listened to the beginning of it and realized I said the phrase, "...the Book of James..." 12 times in the first minute of the audio. So, download it and listen to the first minute so that you can make fun of me. All sermons are at http://audio.edgewood-danville.org

Don't move on yet, this is worth a moment. I heard this on the radio this morning while on the way to school.  I only heard the audio this morning, so I had to look it up once I came home.  Sure enough, through the magic of the internet, I found a video on the News Real Blog .  It introduces the video with these words: David Horowitz gave a talk at UC San Diego to counter the  Muslim Students Association ’s  Israeli Apartheid Week . (Horowitz made a point to properly describe the event as “Hitler Youth” week.) He was literally giving his speech at the same time as  notorious anti-Semite   Norman Finkelstein . During the Question and Answer period Horowitz had a chilling exchange with a member of the MSA in which he prodded her to reveal the depraved depths of her  Jew-hatred . What’s shocking is not so much that she holds such views, but rather that she was willing to admit it: Like I said, you have to watch this video. For a transcript ...

More Andrew Murray, from his book Abide in Christ : ( already quoted once ) Believer, abide in Christ as your righteousness. You bear about with you a nature altogether corrupt and vile, ever seeking to rise up and darken your sense of acceptance, and of access to unbroken fellowship with the Father. Nothing can enable you to dwell and walk in the light of God, without even the shadow of a cloud between, but the habitual abiding in Christ as your righteousness. To this you are called. Seek to walk worthy of that calling. Yield yourself to the Holy Spirit to reveal to you the wonderful grace that permits you to draw nigh to God, clothed in a divine righteousness. Take time to realize that the King's own robe has indeed been put on, and that in it you need not fear entering His presence. It is the token that you are the man whom the King delights to honour. Take time to remember that as much as you need it in the palace, no less do you require it when He sends you forth into the wo...

Thanks to the Global Rich List , I just found out that I am in the top 4.62% of the richest people in the world! [HT: Rick Boyne ]

The swagger wagon! I don't own one of these mini-vans, yet this video still reminds me of my wife and myself.

IT is making me hungry for Taco Bell! [HT: the school news today]

Television is there for your good. Television is a drug. from Beth Fulton on Vimeo . [HT: 22 words ]

I admit it.  I love finding little notes like this on my lectern. They make me feel unpointless.  

I have preached through my first sermon series.  I completed the entire Sermon on the Mount as it is in Matthew 5 to Matthew 7.  I have said more than once, while at church, "If I get nothing else from my time as being a pastor... if I quit right now and didn't preach again, the things I have learned preaching through this amazing sermon are priceless to me."  And I mean that.  I blogged my way, verse by verse, a few years ago, but preaching through it changed everything. So, as I approached the end of this series it was feeling like a bang, but when the day finally came it felt like a fizzle.  My brain felt scattered, the main point felt misconstrued, the message was simply missed.  I won't go into detail, but I just wish I could go back and re-do that message.  The sad thing is that it was such a simple portion of scripture with such a distinct, easy to find application. What got in the way?  My pride?  My laziness?  A momentary ...

Day 3 we read Genesis 31 to 46. Day 4 we read Genesis 47 to Exodus 7. All I have to say is, the Bible is an amazing book with some amazing stories.  It doesn't picture the people we would consider to be the "saints of old" in a pretty light, but they are definitely portrayed in the light.  Their deeds are not hidden to make them out to be anything but normal.  It gives me hope and reminds me that it is truly by faith and not by works that we are justified!

Day two passage: Genesis 15-30 Last night's reading took a little over an hour.  I think that we paused in the middle for something, but that still isn't all that long. In last night's reading my wife pointed out something interesting.  We were reading in chapter 17 and just finished this passage: And God said to Abraham, "As for Sarai your wife, you shall not call her name Sarai, but Sarah shall be her name.  I will bless her, and moreover, I will give you a son by her.  I will bless her, and she shall become nations; kings of peoples shall come from her."    Then Abraham fell on his face and laughed and said to himself, "Shall a child be born to a man who is a hundred years old?  Shall Sarah, who is ninety years old, bear a child?"  And Abraham said to God, "Oh that Ishmael might live before you!"    God said, "No, but Sarah your wife shall bear you a son, and you shall call his name Isaac.  I will establish my covenant with ...

I have been trying to send out a weekly e-mail update to the members of my church. I was really faithful with it last fall, but then things got busy and this was one of those things that fell off the back burner and onto the floor behind the stove. Last week I picked it back up, brushed off the crumbs, and sent out an update. I am a little late in the week, but I just posted the one for this week. Here it is, just in case you were curious: This coming Sunday we will be looking at the parable found at the end of the Sermon on the Mount. It is really the story of two different home-builders. As far as can be told from this story, the houses of are equal quality and construction, but the beginnings of these houses, the foundations, are different. One is built on solid bedrock, while the other is built on sand. Most likely we have all heard this story or at least we might remember singing this while in Sunday School as a child. I wonder though, does the song match the story? Wh...

Found this over at the 22 words blog , by Abraham Piper. (Which it seems like nearly half of my shared posts have come from that blog lately, but he just keeps finding stuff I really like to share!) Q&A from StoryCorps on Vimeo .

Love it! "Sunday's Coming" Movie Trailer from North Point Media on Vimeo . [HT: The Gospel Coalition ]

The other day I ran across a blog titled My Brain Doodles .  The author of this blog was talking about reading through the Bible in 90 days .  I thought, "Wow, that sounds interesting."  The thought stuck with me throughout the day, so I told my wife about it when I got home. She thought it sounded interesting too, so last night we started reading through the Bible in 90 days.  (I am going public with this little announcement because it adds to the accountability, right?  I mean, if I post this to my blog won't it give me the extra energies to undertake such a challenge?)  We read through the first 14 chapters of Genesis last night, I read seven and she read seven.  My youngest son sat with us through the majority of the reading.  It took approximately 50 minutes to accomplish this task, and I felt like it was a much better spent 50 minutes than the TV series on DVD viewing that I originally had planned. Click to go to th...

I have this poster up in my room... Say the name of the color of ink used for each word.  Don't read the words, simply say the name of the colors. Say them as fast as you can.

(Picture borrowed from Wikipedia) I am reading through Abide in Christ by Andrew Murray .  I was introduced to Andrew Murray a few months ago through his book on prayer.  He was a "South African writer, teacher and Christian pastor.  You can read a little of Andrew Murray over at Wikipedia . There were powerful, passionate words in that book on prayer that stirred in me a desire for even more prayer.  So when my wife brought home a box of books (which is possibly one of my most favorite things to happen!) I was excited to see a book by Andrew Murray. The book is about abiding in Christ.  I won't attempt to summarize, his words are too good, but I will include a quote from "day three" in the book. Abide in me:  These words are no law of Moses, demanding from the sinful what they cannot perform.  They are the command of love, which is ever only a promise in a different shape.  Think of this until all feeling of burden and fear and ...

At church, I have been preaching through the Sermon on the Mount.  I started sometime last July, and I am just now in the final few verses of this amazing sermon. This last week I looked at a "hard saying", as some might call it and I preached it.  I didn't go to several other passages to soften it or explain it in a certain light, I just preached what Jesus preached.  The section that I am referring to comes from Matthew 7:21-23.  In this passage, Jesus states plainly, "It doesn't matter if you call me Lord, if you do the Father's will.  In fact, if you don't do the Father's will, you won't go to heaven."  (Obviously this is my own paraphrase of His statements.  If you thought that was harsh, you should read the original!) Well, if anyone is interested in hearing some Harmless Thoughts on this passage, right click here to download the message.  Print off some notes here .

I just finished listening to Notes from the Underground by Fyodor Dostoevsky through the ChristianAudio Reviewers Program. I have heard the name Fyodor Dostoevsky before.  I know that his works would be considered classic, I believe that I even have one of his books sitting on my shelf at home.  Being a lover of all things classic, I snatched up this opportunity immediately. I wasn't sure what to expect from this Fyodor guy, so before I started listening I did a little research.  That turned out to be a better idea than I realized because the book is a little bit confusing, especially without a little foreknowledge.  If you are thinking about listening, then I will save you a little research time:  The book is composed of two main sections.  The first half is a composition of fictional "notes" that are laying out the philosophy of the unnamed "Underground Man".  The second half of the book displays these philosophies played out in this man's life...

Here is an interesting perspective from the American Thinker (with an article by Michael Filozof ): Suppose for a moment that 15 million Americans -- the population of Massachusetts, Maine, New Hampshire, Vermont, Rhode Island, and Connecticut combined -- sneaked across the border into Quebec. Suppose that these illegal immigrants refused to learn to speak French, that they applied for Canadian welfare, that they reproduced at a rate higher than Quebec's residents, and that they bankrupted Canada's socialized medical system. Suppose that they sent their children to Canadian schools in such large numbers that Quebec's school system had to teach "French as a Second Language" courses. Suppose that the 15 million illegal American aliens included large numbers of criminals, drug dealers from Vermont, and arms traffickers, causing Quebec's crime rate to soar; that they comprised 20% to 30% of Quebec's prison inmates; and that they routinely evaded capture by...

Page CXVI / Hymns Just heard about this site through Tim Challies . On the front page it says, "Page CXVI is a project started with the idea of making hymns accessible and known again. They are some of the richest, most meaningful, and moving pieces of music ever written." Their first album is available for download for free (from what I can tell, only this week).

Three boys were bragging about the perks of their fathers’ professions. First boy says, “My dad’s a professor. I’m gonna be college-educated for nothing.” Second boy says, “Whatever, dude. My dad’s a doctor. I’m gonna be healthy for nothing.” Last boy looks at them both, and says, “Yeah? Well, my dad’s a pastor. I’m gonna be good for nothing. [HT: Abraham Piper (John Piper's Son)]

[HT: 22words ]

[HT: 22words ]

My blog has broken two old records. (For a person who hasn't completely abandoned blogging for the one-liner updates of facebook and the quick little pithy statements of twitter... this was slightly exciting.) New record number of visits for one month: 1508 New record number of unique visitors in one month:  1304 Not overly exciting, but a little bit exciting for a dedicated blogger.