HARMLESS THOUGHTS

Listening to a great audio book called Worldliness by C.J. Mahaney.  It is one of the audio books that I received from Christian Audio, from their reviewers program. I just finished Chapter 3, which was about music.  Chapter 2 focused on Television and other media, and it was absolutely convicting.  This chapter on music was equally thought-provoking, but the overall experience of this book is to stir up my thoughts in ways that I don't always want to go. I will give you a full rundown eventually, but for now, here  is a great review .

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A couple of weeks ago I finished the King Raven Trilogy and knew I needed some more fiction.  So, I headed to my local public Library and browsed through the books.  I hit the Science Fiction section and picked up The Last Theorem by Arthur C. Clarke and Frederik Pohl, then I started scanning through the general fiction section.  My eye caught the name Ayn Rand and I picked the smallest book she had, Anthem . Ayn Rand has been talked about lately because she writes about what might happen if some of the various political trends that we see at work today were carried into the future.  The scary thing about her works is the amazing similarity between the proposed future and what is actually happening now. On the back cover of Anthem we read this: He lived in the dark ages of the future.  In a loveless world he dared to love the woman of his choice.  In an age that had lost all trace of science and civilization he had the courage to seek after knowledge...

In case you hadn't heard, this year Earth Day falls on Good Friday. This is actually quite fitting.  You see, nearly 2000 years ago, the earth trembled and shook in the presence of the High King of Heaven as He accomplished the greatest work to ever happen on this very earth. NASA's Image of the Day

This is the day that has become known as Palm Sunday.  We also refer to this as the day of the Triumphal Entry.  Bethany is only a few miles outside of the city and that city becomes the “home base” of Jesus’ final week. Before Jesus enters Jerusalem, he is near the mount of Olives, he sends two disciples into Jerusalem to get a Donkey. saying to them, “Go into the village in front of you, and immediately you will find a donkey tied, and a colt with her. Untie them and bring them to me. If anyone says anything to you, you shall say, ‘The Lord needs them,’ and he will send them at once.” (Matthew 21:2-3 ESV) Getting this donkey's colt may seem like an odd event, but the gospel writers realize this was a fulfillment of prophecy and quote Zechariah 9:9 as an explanation. Rejoice greatly, O daughter of Zion! Shout aloud, O daughter of Jerusalem! Behold, your king is coming to you; righteous and having salvation is he, humble and mounted on a donkey, on a colt, the f...

Six days before the Passover, Jesus therefore came to Bethany, where Lazarus was, whom Jesus had raised from the dead. (John 12:1 ESV) Bethany is a little town only about 2 miles from Jerusalem. So, exactly one week before Jesus is to be crucified, He arrives in Bethany.  John makes sure to point to the presence of Lazarus.  This plays a role later. Also on this day, Mary anoints Jesus.  She anoints him with Pure Nard, an oil extracted from a root.  Judas doesn’t like that she has done this.  He makes a comment about how it could have been sold and how much it was worth.  John tells us this: “Why was this ointment not sold for three hundred denarii and given to the poor?” He said this, not because he cared about the poor, but because he was a thief, and having charge of the moneybag he used to help himself to what was put into it. (John 12:5-6 ESV) Jesus, though he would have known Judas' heart, instead only responds to the statement itself.  He t...

Just started my next book from Book Sneeze .  This one is called Galileo by Mitch Stokes .  It is part of the Christian Encounters  series from Thoma Nelson Publishers. The back of the book gives this description: It's no mystery how profound a role Galileo Galilei played in the Scientific Revolution.  Less explored is the Italian innovator's sincere, guiding faith in God.  In this exhaustively researched biography that reads like a page-turning novel, Mitch Stokes draws on his expertise in philosophy, logic, math, and science to attune modern ears with Galileo's controversial genius. I have read through the first three or four chapters, and I have to agree that it does read similar to a novel, but the author goes to great lengths to validate everything with the proper footnotes. He also avoids making assumptions about Galileo motives and thoughts, either leaving it up to the reader to decide, or offering a guess, but making sure it is described as a guess. ...

I wanted to add an extended quote from the book that I just finished reading titled, In Constant Prayer .  ( Read my review here .)  This quote comes after the author discusses the loss of that tradition of seeking God through prayer.  Just prior to this quote he makes this statement, "Sometimes it occurs to me that I am a member of the first generation of followers of Yahweh in six thousand years for whom the offering of daily fixed-hour worship and praise and prayer -- a tradition practiced and treasured and passed down to us from the Hebrews to the apostles to the early Christians to the fathers and mothers of the faith who sustained this church we now call home -- is no longer deemed a necessity or an obligation or a duty or even an opportunity." In case you are unfamiliar with what he is talking about, he is referring to a tradition called the Daily Office.  According to this Lutheran website , the Daily Office is defined in this way: Services of prayer offer...

Whether you simply have a vague understanding of " holiness ," or you are a Bible scholar that has spent a significant amount of time studying this word's origin, usage, and possible meanings, you know that holiness seems to be an unattainable attribute of men. Yet there it is in the Bible, the command, "Be Holy, for I am Holy." How are we to attain this holiness?  How are we to strive for this holiness?  What is meant by this command? To what degree are we to be holy? These are the questions that I have struggled with over the years.  No matter how much I have efforted myself to be holy, I am not there.  Take into account all of my thoughts and desires and I am set back even further from the attainment of holiness.  Factor in my deep-seated motives, and holiness becomes a completely foreign country, where I am separated from it by vast oceans of selfishness, impurity, weakness, and the like. A few years ago I read through The Pursuit of Holiness by Jerry B...

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Though I wouldn't agree with all of Ayn Rand's conclusions, I definitely agreed with this thought: "A philosophic system is an integrated view of existence. As a human eing, you have no choice about the fact that you need a philosophy. Your only choice is whether you define your philosophy by a conscious, rational, disciplined process of thought... or let your subconscious accumulate a junk heap of unwarranted conclusions..." Ayn Rand, Philosophy: Who Needs It?

This documentary looks very interesting. (via Tim Challies )

(via Justin Taylor )

In Constant Prayer (Ancient Practices Series)  by Robert Benson is the first book that I received through BookSneeze. I liked this book. In Constant Prayer is one book in a series of books called The Ancient Practices that explores many of those ancient practices of the early Christians.  This book in the series, written by Robert Benson, is meant to be a study of the practice of praying the "daily office." If I understand it correctly, the Daily Office is the practice of praying a set number of times each day.  This practice brings to mind certain monastic settings.  Images of  monks getting up to say their morning prayers, meeting together to say their afternoon prayers, and seeing each other again to say their evening prayers before they head off to their cells. As far as the author is concerned, Robert Benson is really a very good writer.  As I read through this book I found each page to be enticing and entertaining, but also very personal. ...

The sun is warm and yet the breeze is cool. The grass is green and now is reaching high. I watch it, though I seem to be the fool, but watching stops its climb into the sky. Intently looking at each blade so green, still swaying from the cool air flowing by; attention halts the time, or so it seems. So watch with me in the sweet by and by. But watching only seems to cease the grains while falling through the narrow of the glass, and holding tight though time cannot be tamed, for grass is grass and always grows too fast. And so my love I cherish moments past and watch you close to make new moments last.

I have been thinking about trying the Danville Mass Transit for my work commute.  I have only tried public transportation a couple of other times.  Once it turned out really well, the second time it wasn't so good... But I have never done public transportation on a regular basis. Why am I considering this?  Well, mostly because it would cost less money.  I don't know exactly what I would be paying, but I do know that it would be significantly less than what I am already paying for gas.  You may also be wondering, why don't I carpool?  Well, if I am going to ride, then it would be nice to use that time to get things done.  That would be approximately 50 extra minutes per day to read, write, grade papers, study, etc. It actually sounds a little bit fun... if... See, there is that if . How much will it actually end up costing?  How accurate is the bus schedule?  Do I really want to sit outside and wait for the bus? Is the bus clean? ...