HARMLESS THOUGHTS

One of the books that my wife gave me for Christmas was The Innkeeper by John Piper.  It only took about 5 minutes to read this book, but I was was already deeply emotionally moved before I was half way through the book. The inside front cover gives this description: Only two weeks from His crucifixion, Jesus has stopped in Bethlehem. He has returned to visit someone important--the innkeeper who made a place for Mary and Joseph the night He was born. But His greater purpose in coming is to pay a debt. What did it cost to house the Son of God?  Through this imaginative poem, John Piper shares a tale of what might have been. The story of an innkeeper whose life was forever altered by the arrival of the Son of God.  Ponder the sacrifice that was made that night. Celebrate Christ's birth and the power of His resurrection. Rejoice in the life and light He brings to all. And encounter the hope His life gives you for today--and for eternity. Just like the description...

And here is that quote from the end: Man's maker was made man, that He, Ruler of the stars, might nurse at His mother's breast; that the Bread might hunger, the Fountain thirst, the Light sleep, the Way be tired on its journey; that the Truth might be accused of false witness, the Teacher be beaten with whips, the Foundation be suspended on wood; that Strength might grow weak; that the Healer might be wounded; that Life might die. ~Augustine

The shepherds responded to the Angel's pronouncement.  Does our response match the magnitude of the announcement?  Do we think of Christmas in a way that corresponds adequately to the message of Christmas? Last Sunday I approached this topic, using the announcement of the Angels as my text.  Consider listening to this message as you consider your own thoughts and actions this Christmas. Or you can  click here to download  this message.

(via challies.com )

Being so close to Christmas, my Netflix Pick of the Week (which I haven't done in a few weeks) is Miracle on 34th Street .  Right now, Netflix has three versions of this movie to watch instantly. The first one is, which might be my favorite, was released in 1947 and stars Maureen O'Hara and John Payne.  The guy who played Santa won an Oscar for Best Supporting Actor for his role in this movie.  If you've never seen any of these movies, this would be a good place to start.  If you are already using Netflix, click here to watch it now . The second one is the version that was released in 1955.  I've seen this one, but it doesn't stand in my mind as much.  Still a great movie.   Click here to watch it now on Netlix . The final version that Netflix offers is the 1994 version.  This one stars Richard Attenborough as Santa.  It has the element of being more modern.  Sometimes, when  a movie has been remade this many times...

My family has embarked on a Lord of the Rings (extended edition) marathon.  We started watching yesterday afternoon.  Everyone fell asleep last night before the end of the last movie, so we are finishing this morning. If you have never watched these movies, you may have to devote a day to it, but I think its worth it.  The only thing better is the books. If you've watched the movie though, you might enjoy this little easter egg from Google.  Go to Google Maps and get walking directions from The Shire to Mordor.  You will get this helpful bit of caution:

It's my first day on Christmas Break and I feel like a kid again.  I'm trying to plan out my day already: Hmm... Let's see... watch a movie?  Play a video game?  Both of those at the same time?  I could always play with Legos? Or maybe I could break out the Hotwheels? Honestly though, I've had enough of these breaks now to learn a few lessons: Start the break off right by continuing to read the Bible.  (So often that seems to fall to the wayside along with the work schedule.) Plan the downtimes a little bit better.  Time flies by so fast when you are simply browsing the web or browsing tv viewing choices.  I don't think that I need to continually have productive things to do, but when there is downtime, I feels so much better when it isn't nothing time. Relax.  Being a full-time teacher and a full-time pastor can add to the stress level, more than I realize sometimes.  I need to let all of that flow off to the side and not worry about ...

I know that you've probably never thought to yourself, "Hmm.  How could I help support a blogger?"  But if you ever do, I would like to share with you one way that you can. Many bloggers like to put links up on their blog.  You would be surprised at how many of those links will lead to a small dividend for the blogger.  For example, when I put up links to Amazon books, it has a reference code built into that link so that when you click it, it will show that it came from me.  If you make a purchase, even if it isn't the original item, it will lead to an even larger referral fee. So, if you are going to purchase something through Amazon, visit a blogger first.  Find a link off of their blog and click through. or... Click Here :)

There is a squirrel living in my neighborhood that is jet black.  After talking to a few people, this isn't as weird as I originally thought it was, but this is the only black squirrel I've ever seen in my life.  Supposedly there are more of them living in other parts of the country, but I've never seen one in Danville before. Anyway, I finally snapped a picture of it.  (Just to prove it to the Danville People.) Click to Enlarge

From Justin Taylor's Blog : Jerram Barrs—Professor of Christian Studies and Contemporary Culture at Covenant Theological Seminary, and Resident Scholar of the Francis A. Schaeffer Institute—talks about his love for the book Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows. (Warning: contains spoilers!) I think this is worth a few minutes of your day.

There is nothing in us or done by us, at any stage of our earthly development, because of which we are acceptable to God. We must always be accepted for Christ’s sake, or we cannot ever be accepted at all. This is not true of us only when we believe. It is just as true after we have believed. It will continue to be trust as long as we live. Our need of Christ does not cease with our believing; nor does the nature of our relation to Him or to God through Him ever alter, no matter what our attainments in Christian graces or our achievements in behavior may be. It is always on His “blood and righteousness” alone that we can rest.  B.B. Warfield [from bbwarfield.com ]

"I advise no one to place his child where the Scriptures do not reign paramount. Every institution in which men are not increasingly occupied with the Word of God must become corrupt...I am much afraid that schools will prove to be the great gates of hell unless they diligently labor in explaining the Holy Scriptures, engraving them in the hearts of youth." Martin Luther

The Daily Show with Jon Stewart Get More: Daily Show Full Episodes , Political Humor & Satire Blog , The Daily Show on Facebook [HT: Mark Driscoll ]

The Government Can!

Address Is Approximate from The Theory on Vimeo . [ht: TNW ]

"For never will man take diligent care for the salvation of others who neglects his own salvation." John Calvin (as quoted by Richard Baxter in The Reformed Pastor)

From Richard Baxter's The Reformed Pastor : Your study of physics and other sciences is not worth a rush, if it be not God that you seek after in them. To see and admire, to reverence and adore, to love and delight in God, as exhibited in his works -- this is the true and only philosophy; the contrary is mere foolery, and is so called again and again by God himself. This is the sanctification of your studies, when they are devoted to God, and when he is the end, the object and the life of them all. Though not as eloquently, I have thought this many times myself.  It has been my philosophical struggle while teaching in a public school.  Even in a "Christian" school, this can be a danger.  Consider the rest of what Richard Baxter has to say on this topic. And, therefore, I shall presume to tell you, by the way, that it is a grand error, and of dangerous consequence in Christian academies, (pardon the censure from one so unfit to pass it, seeing the necessity of the...

I just started my new book this last week.  It is called The Reformed Pastor and it is by Richard Baxter.  I purchased this book at a used book store while on a short vacation in Brown County.  It sat on my shelf with a few other "to be read" books, slowly making its way to the top of the heap.  So far I am really enjoying this book.  It is mentally stimulating and spiritually challenging.  I would offer a brief synopsis, but I thoroughly enjoyed Richard Baxter's own subtitling far more than anything that I could come up with.  Here is an image I found on the ever-informative Wikipedia. click to enlarge I love this first page.  Notice that is says, Showing the nature of the Pastoral work; especially in Private Instruction and Catechizing.  With an open Confession of our too open Sins.  Prepared for a day of Humiliation kept at Worcester, December 4, 1655, by the Ministers of that County, who subscribed the Agreement for Catec...

My wife is helping a friend with her blog and her social media stuff.  The blogging platform that she is using is Worpress.  As you can tell from the title to this post, after spending a portion of my evening trying to figure it out, I now officially hate Worpress.  The interface is cluttered and, well, just ridiculous.  I guess I'm spoiled though.  The Blogger interface is so streamlined.  It is friendly to the mind and to the eyes. What I can't figure out is why anyone would ever switch.  I just don't get it. Here is a youtube video from Blogger, highlighting their new look.  

I finished the book God in Action by Karl Barth about a week ago, but haven't had the time to devote to writing a proper book review.  I still don't have the time, but I would like to take a moment to post a quick review, one not quite worthy of the book. God in Action is one of Karl Barth's early theological works.  It is a compilation of a set of lectures.  I have read that this book is a great way to get an understanding of Karl Barth's theology.  I found that its primary focus was on the authority of scripture and the reality of the Church.  He would define and reiterate the necessity of understanding the doctrines related to these topics.  As he discussed each, there was an emphasis on a logical flow of thought, this is what drew me in. God in Action made me think.  I've had a couple of posts quoting this book already.  You can read those posts here  and  here .  There were several other occasions where I felt t...

[ht: the blazing center ]

"Of all the sciences which stir the head and heart, theology is the fairest. It is closest to human reality and gives us the clearest view of the truth after which all science quests." Karl Barth (God in Action)

I occasionally read a little devotional called Days of Praise.  It is put out by the Institute for Creation Research and I think most of them are written by Henry M. Morris, a well-known creationist and Biblical scholar. Last week I read one about joking and jesting that really caught my attention.  I believe that he shares a valid point: a point that left me thinking over the next couple of days and a point that shouldn't simply be shrugged off.  I especially found the second paragraph to be helpful, it is something that I have wondered about before, but I will let you be the judge. It is the devotional dated October 11th, 2011.  It is titled Not Convenient.  Here is that devotional in its' entirety: "Neither filthiness, nor foolish talking, nor jesting, which are not convenient: but rather giving of thanks." (Ephesians 5:4)  It seems surprising that "foolish talking" and "jesting" would be condemned as things that should "not be on...

ESV Study Bible The Wycliffe Bible Commentary Adam Clarke's Commentary Matthew Henry's Commentary The Communicator's Bible Commentary The Layman's Bible Commentary William Barclay's Daily Bible Commentary The New International Bible Commentary www.studylight.org (several other commentaries plus the original greek words with definitions) Big Mac value meal Pandora playing Intrumental Folk Radio in the background

Here is an interesting post from Jay Adams: Probably said thousands of times a week by Christians around the world when facing a problem or question without a present answer. Is it the right response?  It’s not wrong to pray about a matter, of course.  But prayer is often used as a substitute for the hard work of studying God’s Word to discover the facts needed. Prayer doesn’t automatically “work” in solving problems. Christians need to learn this fact.  Moreover, when God has already answered a question or given directions, why should we want to shortcut the process of discovering what that answer is by simply praying about it? Should we expect God to tell us individually the answer we seek, when He has already done so in His Word?  But there is something “mystically” special to some people about prayer. They think of prayer as more spiritual than Bible study! There’s the heart of the matter. Is it superior? Both are from God each has its place, but prayer ...

Pray for me as I attempt to be a true Minister of the Word of God... It is self-evident that it is to be highly desired that a pastor (or as we should more truly say: a minister of the Word of God) should be a moral character and a religious personality; a man of good taste and training; a quick thinker and yet one who is full of due respect for the laws of sound human reason. He should be a man well-grounded in life's meaning and yet sincere in his understanding regarding the joy and sorrow of his environment, both near and far. He should be sincere in prayer, a disciplined worker, a perfectly natural, and yet a uniquely spiritually-minded man, a good parent, citizen, and patriot -- but one with wide horizons. He should be a man whose whole heart is steeped in his own times, that is, one who is sensitive to, and experiences the needs and hopes of, the times as his very own, and takes a stand regarding them, so that he can think and speak with his contemporaries as one of th...

Photographed Sept. 20th, 2011 in LosAngeles.   click to enlarge [HT: 22 Words ]

You will not be able to extemporize good thinking unless you have been in the habit of thinking and feeding your mind with abundant and nourishing food. Work hard at every available moment. Store your minds very richly, and then, like merchants with crowded warehouses, you will have goods ready for your customers, and having arranged your good things upon the shelves of your mind, you will be able to hand them down at any time without the laborious process of going to market, sorting, folding, and preparing. . . .  Take it as a rule without exception, that to be able to overflow spontaneously you must be full. ~Charles Spurgeon [HT: Justin Taylor ]

Last week I finished the book Blue Like Jazz- Nonreligious Thoughts on Christian Spirituality  by Donald Miller.  It was really enjoyable to read.  Donald Miller is a good writer, and he kept my attention throughout.  It was personal and real.  He was able to share some deep feelings and thoughts on various aspects of the Christian message, and it was interspersed with just the right amounts of humor to help you relax as you read the book, but at the same time not miss the points that he was trying to make. But I may have been tainted when I read this book.  When I picked it up from the Local Library book sale I also picked up books like God in Action by Karl Barth and a commentary series by William Barclay.  I was also skimming through some books that I already had, like The Institutes on the Christian Religion by John Calvin and The Sovereignty of God by A.W. Pink.  To be in the process of filling your mind with deep theological works like th...

What you hear is not always what is actually being said. Watch this short clip on The McGurck Effect.    [HT: Justin Taylor ]

I am pretty sure this has happened to my sister... (from here )

I just re-started a book by Karl Barth.  I picked it up at a library sale (I think) and started it right away.  I was sidetracked by The Sovereignty of God by A.W. Pink, so I put it down for awhile.  Since I am done with that now, it is time to pick it back up again. It is called God in Action: Theological Addresses . I have to say, I am really enjoying these theological works.  I've been trying to read some other books and even some fictional stories, but I just can't get into them.  Reading theology, especially accurate and well-written theology, can be very uplifting.  It is about God.  It is about who He is.  It is about what He is like and what He does.  They remind me that He is a rock... He is my rock. If you have never taken the time to read any theology, I would like to recommend a place to start, so that you are not overwhelmed.  The book is Doctrine: What Christians Should Believe (RE: Lit) by Mark Driscoll ...

The Sovereignty of God by A.W. Pink. You may have noticed that I have included a few quotes from this book lately.  I've really enjoyed it, but I might be a little biased because of the "fluff" that I've been reading along side this book.  I only have a couple of pages left in this book, so I thought I would go ahead and type out a short book review.  (Reviews of the "fluff" will come later.) This book is clearly about the sovereignty of God.  From God's sovereignty in creation, administration, and the natural world, to His sovereignty in salvation.  The book seemed to start a little slow, but that was mostly because it was dealing with topics that most people wouldn't question.  When you deal with sovereignty in creation, that's simple.  Sovereignty in administration (the workings of the world), that doesn't press any buttons.  As the book progressed, it picked up steam as it inched closer and closer towards that inevitable conclusion....

I have been reading (and loving) the book, The Sovereignty of God by A.W. Pink.  I have a few more quotes coming from him in the next few days.  Then I hope to do a book review. For now, I actually found a quote from him on another blog that I felt needed to be shared. (via Blogging Theologically ) In one of his letters to Erasmus, Luther said, “Your thoughts of God are too human.” Probably that renowned scholar resented such a rebuke, the more so, since it proceeded from a miner’s son; nevertheless, it was thoroughly deserved. We too, though having no standing among the religious leaders of this degenerate age, prefer the same charge against the majority of the preachers of our day, and against those who, instead of searching the Scriptures for themselves, lazily accept the teaching of others. The most dishonoring and degrading conceptions of the rule and reign of the Almighty are now held almost everywhere. To countless thousands, even among those professing to be Ch...

Though I had heard of Bertrand Russel, I had never heard of these before.  (I found them over at the 22 words blog.)  Though I clearly do not agree with everything that he says here, I definitely found much of this to be thought stimulating and actually quite agreeable.  So, I share them with you to see what you think. In his own words, The Ten Commandments that, as a teacher, I should wish to promulgate, might be set forth as follows: Do not feel absolutely certain of anything. Do not think it worthwhile to produce belief by concealing evidence, for the evidence is sure to come to light. Never try to discourage thinking, for you are sure to succeed. When you meet with opposition, even if it is from your family, endeavour to overcome it with argument and not by authority, for a victory dependent upon authority is unreal and illusory. Have no respect for the authority of others, for there are always contrary authorities to be found. Do not use power to suppress...

"Why was I made to hear is voice, And enter while there's room, When thousands make a wretched choice, And rather starve than come? 'Twas the same love that spread the feast, That sweetly forced us in; Else we had still refused to taste And perished in our sin." ~Isaac Watts  Quoted in The Sovereignty of God by A.W.Pink

I've been reading A.W. Pink's book, The Sovereignty of God during my bus trips to work and back home.  I Read this bit on the bus this morning: The superficial work of many of the professional evangelists of the last fifty years is largely responsible for the erroneous view now current upon the bondage of the natural man, encouraged by the laziness of those in the pew in their failure to "prove all things" (I Thess. 5:21). The average evangelical pulpit conveys the impression that it lies wholly in the power of the sinner whether or not he shall be saved. It is said that "God has done His part, now man must do his."  Alas, what can a lifeless man do, and man by nature is "dead in trespasses and sins" (Eph. 2:1)!  If the truth were really believed, there would be more dependence upon the Holy Spirit to come in with His miracle-working power, and less confidence in our attempts to "win men for Christ." As much as I agree with every word ...

I have A.D.D. We could argue about the realities of this "disorder" but that wouldn't get us anywhere.  I could tell you about the behavioral studies that have been done.  I could redirect you to the medical reports that go in conjunction with the diagnosing of this particular problem.  I could even point you to the somewhat new diagnostic methods that even include brain scans that will clearly point to this issue.  You, of course, may be able to offer rebuttals to any of these evidences that I could present to you, but as my final piece of evidence I could present to you anyone who actually knows me.  They would be happy to vouch for me... I have issues with attention. I remind many people of the quintessential dog with the squirrel.  I have stopped typing this blog at least 8 times already because of things like noises out the window, the cat walking through the room, there are books on my shelves with words, etc.  My students all know ...

I am always surprised at the forwardness of some of the preachers from days gone by.  Here is an excerpt from Charles Spurgeon’s 1867 sermon “A Song at the Well-head” ( Found on the Gospel Coalition ): You are retired for your private devotions; you have opened the Bible, and you begin to read.  Now, do not be satisfied with merely reading through a chapter. Some people thoughtlessly read through two or three chapters—stupid people for doing such a thing!  It is always better to read a little and digest it, than it is to read much and then think you have done a good thing by merely reading the letter of the word.  For you might as well read the alphabet backwards and forwards, as read a chapter of Scripture, unless you meditate upon it, and seek to comprehend its meaning.  Merely to read words is nothing: the letter kills.  The business of the believer with his Bible open is to pray, “Lord, give me the meaning and spirit of your word, while ...

The Twenty Two Words blog just posted a picture of a shy cat .  In responses, I had to post my pictures of my depressed and slightly annoyed hairless cat.  (Who is pregnant now, so we will be expecting some little furry  wrinkly kittens soon.)

My Netflix pick of the week is going to be the History Channel series titled, Life After People. My two boys and myself seriously enjoy watching shows like this.  We don't watch the NBA or the NFL, no... no... That's not for us.  We like the documentaries.  And this is a series that we find to be absolutely fascinating.  Here is the Netflix description: What would happen to Earth if people simply vanished one day? Using special effects and relying on the speculation of experts in fields as diverse as geology and engineering, this series imagines a fascinating post-human future. Iconic landmarks, at the mercy of the elements, collapse and decay, erasing the last traces of human existence. Meanwhile, new predators prowl the ruins of once-mighty civilizations, dominating the abandoned world. The show doesn't seek to explain what happened to all of the people, it simply wants to answer the question, "...what would happen to our stuff?"  It always surpris...

A. W. Pink, from his book, The Sovereignty of God, at the end of his chapter on the Sovereignty of God in Administration, states this profound paragraph: The Lord God omnipotent reigneth.  His government is exercised over inanimate matter, over brute beasts, over the children of men, over angels good and evil, and over Satan himself.  No revolving of a world, no shining of a star, no storm, no movement of a creature, no actions of men, no errands of angels, no deeds of the Devil -- nothing in all the vast universe can come to pass other wise than God has eternally purposed.  Here is a foundation for faith.  Here is a resting place for the intellect. Here is an anchor for the soul, both sure and steadfast. It is not blind fate, unbridled evil, man or Devil, but the Lord almighty who is ruling the world, ruling it according to His own good pleasure and for His own eternal glory.  Possibly as a moment of worship, he goes on to quote Isaac Watts: Ten thous...

While working in the computer lab with my "Gear Up" for math class, another class came into the media center to take some personality quizzes. The site they were using was simpleminds.com. Several of them were taking the "Famous Leader" quiz. They were all having fun with it after one of the girls in the room was labeled as Sadaam Hussein. Needless to say, I had to take the quiz. Here are my results: What Famous Leader Are You? personality tests by similarminds.com Then I had to take the "Which classic movie are you?" quiz. Here are those results... What Classic Movie Are You? personality tests by similarminds.com True?

The Bull by Matt Harmless He stands within his stall of wood, That long term resident the bull. Around he's been since barn has stood, With docile splendor at its full. Be not deceived at quiet stance, Impression made at the first glance, For underneath the tranquil stare, This behemoth doth really glare. So when the wooden fence is lowr'd You'll find real quick you have been gored. (Yes.  It has a secondary meaning.  I am not actually writing about a bull.)

I preached on giving yesterday.  It wasn't as difficult a topic to discuss as I originally thought.  I have heard pastors before talk about the difficulties of giving.  What I actually learned was that this topic is very natural to the very essence of who we are as Christians.  The sermon ended up being a tad bit on the long side, but I will attribute that to the fullness of this topic.  Frankly, I barely scratched the surface of what needed to be discussed. Anyway, if you are interested in hearing these thoughts on a Biblical perspective of giving, you can listen right here: You can also  download them by right-clicking here  and choosing to save the mp3 file. As a little disclaimer, I felt very much, as I was preparing this message, that my logical flow of thought was a little off.  To some, this may not be an issue, but for some reason, I always feel like I need a precise logical flow.  When it doesn't come together logically, I al...

As we are gearing up to go back to school, I thought it might be appropriate to post an educational movie this week.  Therefore, my choice is the NOVA produced movie, The Pluto Files .  Here is the Netflix description: In this installment of "Nova," Dr. Neil deGrasse Tyson (director of the American Museum of Natural History's Hayden Planetarium) dishes out surprising facts about Pluto, the notorious "ex-planet" that so many people still seem to love. Discovered in 1930, Pluto was demoted to a mere member of the Kuiper belt in 2006. But passionate opinions -- and emotions -- remain about its place in our universe. I watched this movie with my boys a couple of months ago.  As it states in the description, the host of this series is Dr. Neil deGrasse Tyson.  I found this particular topic to be interesting because of his personal connection with the "demotion" of Pluto from planet to dwarf planet.  This series does a great job of making the  material ...

My Netflix Pick of the Week is another classic.  I want to recommend this movie, not because I particularly enjoy this movie or because I think this is such a great movie, but simply because it is a classic.  Here is the Netflix description: Stanley Kubrick's quiet masterpiece probes the mysteries of space and human destiny. While investigating the appearance of mysterious monoliths throughout the universe, astronauts David (Keir Dullea) and Frank (Gary Lockwood) battle their ship's intelligent computer, HAL-9000. This epic sci-fi drama based on Arthur C. Clarke's story "The Sentinel" was nominated for four Academy Awards and won for its stunning special effects. The movie is rated G, so the whole family can watch it.  One warning though, the "bad stuff" in the movie is all of the evolutionary references.  If you watch it with your kids, it gives the option of opening up some dialogue on the topic. If you are already a Netflix subsrciber, click here t...

I'm going to borrow someone else's words for a moment... “Dad, what does it mean to be a man and not a woman?” or a daughter’s question, “Mom, what does it mean to be woman and not a man?” If you can only answer that question in terms of biology or in terms of pop-culture traits, this book is worth reading in full. Most of the Christians that I know would answer these questions, as the quote states, "...in terms of biology or in terms of pop-culture traits..."  I might even say that for most Christians that I know personally, to answer these questions by going to the Bible, may not even enter their minds. This is why I am going to share this resource with you. The book that the quote is referring to is a book by John Piper titled, What's the Difference?: Manhood and Womanhood Defined According to the Bible .  You can get the book on Amazon for a fairly inexpensive price, but you can also download a pdf version for free.  I downloaded it, then uploaded to G...

I used to draw all of the time.  Doodles, sketches, and even a couple of art classes.  Even as a young adult, I drew several pictures for my wife. Recently my youngest has been doing a lot of drawing, and doing very good at it.  Plus he loves it.  So I bought him a sketch book and some pencils over Christmas break.  Watching him draw had stirred up some old passions in me as well, so I decided to purchase a second sketchbook and a second pack of pencils.  That was over Christmas break. Yesterday I picked it up and decided to draw my oldest son as he played some video games on the laptop.  I call it... He Wasn't With Us Yesterday And the photo I took after I was done sketching... I forgot his bracelets, he moved his leg, I didn't draw the lamp correctly, I skipped the TV and the cup on the coffee table, ...

“I do not need to plead my own cause … I am a dead man already. My life is dead and hidden with Christ. It is your lives that in danger, you are dead in your sins. I will pray to God that after you have killed me, He will spare you from eternal destruction." - Kefa Sempangi, facing 5 would be assassins in Idi Amin’s Uganda [via Kingdom People ]

by Robert Frost A speck that would have been beneath my sight On any but a paper sheet so white Set off across what I had written there. And I had idly poised my pen in air To stop it with a period of ink, When something strange about it made me think. This was no dust speck by my breathing blown, But unmistakably a living mite With inclinations it could call its own. It paused as with suspicion of my pen, And then came racing wildly on again To where my manuscript was not yet dry; Then paused again and either drank or smelt -- With loathing, for again it turned to fly. Plainly with an intelligence I dealt. It seemed too tiny to have room for feet, Yet must have had a set of them complete To express how much it didn't want to die. It ran with terror and with cunning crept. It faltered: I could see it hesitate; Then in the middle of the open sheet Cower down in desperation to accept Whatever I accorded it of fate. I have none of the tenderer-than-thou Collectivistic regimenting l...

click to go to Netflix I visited the Creation Museum for the first time yesterday, so my Netflix Pick of the Week is going to reflect the topics that are trending in twitter stream of my mind.  The pick this week is Dragons or Dinosaurs .  Here is the Netflix description: Mythological representations of dragons appear in cultures worldwide, often resembling dinosaur species identified through their fossilized remains. Could this mean dragon legends are rooted in reality? This documentary seeks to find out. Interviews with researchers indicate that the existence of dinosaurs might actually help support the biblical story of creation and explain other mysteries of our cosmic origins. I added this movie to my instant queue several months ago.  It sounded interesting, but I was never in the mood to watch this movie when I sat down to make my nightly viewing choices.  I eventually watched it during one of my bouts with illness over the winter months.  I was st...

I just wanna be a sheep...  baa... baa... I just wanna be a sheep...  baa... baa... Pray the Lord my soul to keep... I just wanna be a sheep. (Image via  22 Words )

This was wonderful. (via 22 Words ) Of course, I'll always be partial to this rendition....

I started a post earlier this week and published it two days ago about, "What makes good preaching?"  If you go to part 1 , you can read a little more about where this came from and why I am blogging it.  To pick up where I left off, I want to quote the passage of scripture again, and then go on to point #3. preach the word; be ready in season and out of season; reprove, rebuke, and exhort, with complete patience and teaching. (2 Timothy 4:2 ESV) 3) I am going to hone in on those three words, "reprove, rebuke, and exhort" to continue answering the question, "What makes good preaching?"  The word reprove can mean to convict, refute, or convince.  There may be a bit of a legal-feel to this verb; a little like what you might see when a lawyer gives his closing statements.  One might put it this way: Good preaching is convincing .  This doesn't mean that I have to dramatize the proceedings or to simply talk in a convincing fashion.  It also doesn...