Faith. Wisdom. Passion.

To deny God is to deny your intelligence

2010-05-17T10:40:00.002-05:00

Trying To Hide From God

Ever since sin entered the world, mankind has made various attempts to hide from God. Adam literally tried to hide in the garden (Genesis 3:8). Years later God revealed through Paul that many of the Gentile nations had dodged the existence of the True God by reasoning Him out of their minds (Romans 1:21-23), But God said that the theories they had developed to avoid Him were "futile speculations" (1:21). People are still attempting to hide from God or dodge His existence in our own time. In this lesson we want to examine some of the theories that people are attempting to hide behind, so as to avoid a confrontation with God and their own consciences.
"The Bible Doesn’t Try To Prove The Existence Of God"

The Bible wasn't written to people who rejected the existence of God. The Old Testament was written for the benefit of the nation of Israel and future generations of believers(Romans 15:4). The New Testament was written to individual Christians and congregations or Churches in a geographical area. The Bible exists, therefore someone wrote it (a non-entity can't communicate). The next question is "who" is the author of this book? "When Charles Spurgeon was asked by a feverish young man, 'Dr. Spurgeon, how can I defend the Bible?', he replied: 'How would you defend a lion? Let it out of its cage and it will defend itself!'" (The Bible: The Living Word of Revelation p. 202). Only two choices exist: Either the Bible, including the New Testament, which contains the character of Jesus Christ, the Sermon on the Mount, and the highest moral and ethical standard known to man...is the product of the minds of deceived (many of them uneducated-Acts 4:13) or dishonest men. Or it's message and contents originated in the mind of God (2 Peter1:20-21; 1 Cor. 2:9-13; 2 Timothy 3:16). Did ignorant fishermen really invent the character of Christ? "Only God could tell us what a true man should be like…intelligence must not stifle piety, and prayer must not be a substitute for work, and zeal must not be irrational fanaticism, and reserve must not become stolidity. In Christ we have the perfect blend of personality traits...His zeal never degenerated into passion, nor his constancy into obstinacy, nor his benevolence into weakness, nor his tenderness into sentimentality. His unworldliness was free from indifference and unsociability or undue familiarity; his self-denial from moroseness; his temperance from austerity. He combined childlike innocence with manly strength, absorbing devotion to God with untiring interest in the welfare of man, tender love to the sinner with uncompromising severity against sin, commanding dignity with winning humility, fearless courage with wise caution, unyielding firmness with sweet gentleness!" (Know Why You Believe. Paul Little p. 45). A question must be asked in view of this, and even those in Jesus' day were forced to ask it of themselves. "If Jesus wasn't the Son of God, if He wasn't the ideal man, then what will the future Messiah do for an encore?" (John 7:31) What did Jesus leave "undone"?"Scientific Advances Have Made Faith In God Out-of-Date"

To the contrary many true scientific advances have only testified to the accuracy of the Bible. Advances in science have disproved the theory of Spontaneous Generation and have supported the Biblical view that life can only come from pre-existing life (Genesis 1:12,24), as well as giving us the Laws of Thermodynamics (Genesis 2:1; Hebrews 1:10-12), and has revealed how much influence the mind has over the actions of the body (Mark 7:20-23). One writer said, "nothing that stops with science can be the whole truth." Science can develop more efficient ways to abort babies, but science can't answer the question, "Should we?" Science has developed painless ways to kill the elderly, but science can't answer the question, "Is it moral?" Science has enabled people to have sex change operations, but science can't answer the question, "Is it right?" One writer responded, "Science can only tell us what can be done; it can never answer the question whether it should be done. It can tell us that x number of people (or percentage) commit adultery; it cannot tell us whether they should." Actually the opposite to the above argument is true. Scientific advances have made belief in God more crucial than ever.
"Religious belief is the method primitive society uses to cope with what it can’t explain"

But even the most advanced societies believe in God. The Nation of Israel was an advanced society, just read the laws which governed them, and look at the accomplishments of David and Solomon: Deuteronomy 4:6; 1 Kings 4:21-34, this was by no means a third world country! And who is going to say that the United States is a "primitive society", and yet it was founded on a belief in God. In addition, how well did Nazi Germany cope when it rejected God’s explanation of life and how to live it?

"Belief in God is a form of wish fulfillment"

This argument is explained as, "We wish for Someone greater than we, who can help us cope with the complexities and barbarities of society. Hence we 'invent' God to meet this inner compulsion" (Atheist Dodges of The Theistic Evidences. Roland H. Worth Jr., The Preceptor, March 1982 p.22). I always have a problem with any argument which claims that men who were dishonest, weak, fearful, or deluded invented the character and moral attributes of the God described in the Bible. If this is the case then what would a "real" God have done? In addition, if this is the case, then why have smart men (the men that make the above argument) failed even to correctly understand what these "primitive" men were trying to say? Why should the pressures of life result in belief in God rather than despair? That is, why does man wish for God in the first place? "Furthermore, if there isn't some kind of standard of right and wrong why should we even be able to recognize the existence of barbarity, injustice, and corruption? Wouldn't the natural situation be the blind acceptance of this norm? Wouldn't the normal result be a materialistic predestination doctrine rather than any thought of the desirability of escape?" (Worth p. 22). Does wishing for something, mean that it doesn't exist? Everyday people wish for all sorts of things (a good steak, comfortable home, future spouse, restored relationships, children, etc..). "Though we may invent a belief because of our fantasies and wishes, it is equally undeniable that many (most?) of our wishes are rooted in reality. They may involve an impractical expression of reality but not an impossible one" (Worth pp. 22-23). This argument doesn't explain the following, "If man invented God, if God is the invention of man's selfish desires, they why did man invent a God that is so against the desires of most people?" That is, a God that condemns all forms of selfishness (Galatians 5:19-21). A God that demands that we place Him first (Matthew 6:33; 10:37), and others second (Phil. 2:1-5). Why is the God of man's "wishes" so against the "wishes" of most people? And why is it that the Bible doesn't let anyone off the hook, young as well as old have responsibilities (Ecc. 12:1; Ephesians 6:1-4; Titus 2:3-6), the rich as well as the poor (1 Timothy 6:17ff), the slave as well as his master (Colossians 3:22-4:2), the man as well as the woman (Colossians 3:18-19). Finally, couldn't atheism be a "wish fulfillment"? Don't many people "wish" that God doesn't exist, and hope that they will escape any form of judgment beyond this life (Psalm 14:1)?
"Religious Faith is for Weak People"

"The rest of the usually uncompleted statement goes something like this: 'Oh, it's not a bad thing for you to believe in God. Of course, only weak people believe in God. It's really too bad you are a weak person'.... if all who are theists are automatically weak people, then what need is there to seriously examine their case?" (Worth p. 23). In reality, the Bible claims (and experience confirms) that everyone has a weakness (Romans 3:23; 5:6-8). We also need to define "weakness". What is true weakness? On the one hand we have the self proclaimed sufficient person who argues that they don't need anyone and their goal in life is to avoid things they don't want to do (Luke 12:16-21; 16:19; 2 Timothy 3:1-4). On the other hand we have the Christian, one who has acknowledged that mere human wisdom fails to have the right answers for how to live (Jeremiah 10:23). They have admitted that they have sinned, and that they cannot save themselves. They willingly have submitted to the instructions found in the Bible. Now these instructions command them to: Love their spouses unselfishly, to place others first, to personally and in private seek to patch up strained relationships, to personally approach another in sin and seek to bring them to repentance, to deny self, to spend time with their children and discuss the serious things about life, to approach neighbors and strangers with this message, to do things for the right reason, to have sincere motives, to always treat others in a way that is in their true best interest, to be forgiving and forbearing, to remain patient during the most difficult of situations, to accept the truth no matter how hard it hurts and to show kindness to our enemies. Now, which person is "weak"?

"We can’t give 100% proof that God exists"

"Brace yourself for a mind-boggler: Can you prove 100% that you exist? You may cite Descartes, 'I think; therefore I am'. But are you really thinking or is that too an illusion? In the final analysis there is no way that you can provide 100% proof for anything." (Worth p. 25) Even Science doesn't deal in 100% proof. "The concept of 'truth' in science is thus quite special. It implies nothing eternal or absolute but only a high degree of confidence after adequate self-testing and self-correcting…. one fact may disprove a theory and not all facts can be observed.." (Notes on the Nature of Science. George Gaylord Simpson, p. 11). In addition, there are some things that you cannot put in a test-tube or under a microscope. "No one has ever seen three feet of love or two pounds of justice, but one would be foolish indeed to deny their reality" (Little p. 24). Neither can the atheist give 100% proof that God doesn't exist. "The analogy to a scientific experiment is useful: At some point sufficient evidence is available for us to take a definitive stand. After a reasonable number of efforts, the scientist has legitimate grounds for expecting the result of his experiment to remain the same indefinitely whenever the same exact procedures are duplicated. You see, at some point we reach the stage where the unbeliever crosses the line from claiming a lack of evidence to obstinate blindness and the refusal to accept the evidence" (Worth p. 25). God proclaims that plenty of evidence exists (Romans 1:20; 10:16-21; Acts 14:17; 17:27; 1 Peter 3:15).
"The molding influence of Society is responsible for our faith in God"

But many became Christians in the first century, despite the fact that society at that time persecuted such belief! (Acts 14:22; 1 Tim. 3:12) Neither Roman society nor Jewish or Pagan society forced people to become Christians! "Furthermore, we find in countries that are officially atheistic, that there are still stout bands of dedicated theists who defy every censure and persecution aimed at their faith" (Worth p. 23) History, the Bible, and the events of today are full of examples that contradict the argument that says, "we have no choice to believe because of the inescapable coercion of our society" (Romans 11:3-4; 1 Corinthians 6:9-11; The 11th Chapter of Hebrews). Many of us here right now have refused to conform to the present beliefs and values which are held by the majority in our society. (Romans 12:1-2).

Mark Dunagan/Beaverton Church of Christ/644-9017

www.ch-of-christ.beaverton.or.us

Life rules for teens

2010-05-08T17:52:00.000-05:00

Life Rules for Teenagers

Rule No. 1: Life is not fair. Get used to it. The average teenager uses the phrase “It’s not fair” 8.6 times a day. You got it from your parents, who said it so often you decided they must be the most idealistic generation ever. When they started hearing it from their own kids, they realized Rule No. 1.

Rule No. 2: The real world won’t care as much about your self-esteem as your school does. It’ll expect you to accomplish something before you feel good about yourself. This may come as a shock. Usually, when inflated self-esteem meets reality, kids complain that it’s not fair. (See Rule No. 1)

Rule No. 3: Sorry, you won’t make $40,000 a year right out of high school. And you won’t be a vice president. You may even have to wear a uniform that doesn’t have a Gap label.

Rule No. 4: If you think your teacher is tough, wait ’til you get a boss. He doesn’t have tenure, so he tends to be a bit edgier. When you screw up, he’s not going to ask you how you feel about it.

Rule No. 5: Flipping burgers is not beneath your dignity. Your grandparents had a different word for burger flipping. They called it opportunity. They weren’t embarrassed making minimum wage either. They would have been embarrassed to sit around talking about Kurt Cobain all weekend.

Rule No. 6: It’s not your parents’ fault. If you screw up, you are responsible. This is the flip side of “It’s my life,” and “You’re not the boss of me,” and other eloquent proclamations of your generation. When you turn 18, it’s on your dime. Don’t whine about it, or you’ll sound like a baby boomer.

Rule No. 7: Before you were born your parents weren’t as boring as they are now. They got that way paying your bills, cleaning up your room and listening to you tell them how idealistic you are. And by the way, before you save the rain forest from the blood-sucking parasites of your parents’ generation, try delousing the closet in your bedroom.

Rule No. 8: Your school may have done away with winners and losers. Life hasn’t. In some schools, they’ll give you as many times as you want to get the right answer. Failing grades have been abolished and class valedictorians scrapped, lest anyone’s feelings be hurt. Effort is as important as results. This, of course, bears not the slightest resemblance to anything in real life. (See Rule No. 1, Rule No. 2 and Rule No. 4.)

Rule No. 9: Life is not divided into semesters, and you don’t get summers off. Not even Easter break. They expect you to show up every day. For eight hours. And you don’t get a new life every 10 weeks. It just goes on and on. While we’re at it, very few jobs are interested in fostering your self-expression or helping you find yourself. Fewer still lead to self-realization. (See Rule No. 1 and Rule No. 2.)

Rule No. 10: Television is not real life. Your life is not a sitcom. Your problems will not all be solved in 30 minutes, minus time for commercials. In real life, people actually have to leave the coffee shop to go to jobs.

Rule No. 11: Be nice to nerds. You may end up working for them. We all could.

Rule No. 12: Smoking does not make you look cool. It makes you look moronic. Next time you’re out cruising, watch an 11-year-old with a butt in his mouth. That’s what you look like to anyone over 20. Ditto for “expressing yourself” with purple hair and/or pierced body parts.

Rule No. 13: You are not immortal. (See Rule No. 12.) If you are under the impression that living fast, dying young and leaving a beautiful corpse is romantic, you obviously haven’t seen one of your peers at room temperature lately.

Rule No. 14: Enjoy this while you can. Sure parents are a pain, school’s a bother, and life is depressing. But someday you’ll realize how wonderful it was to be a kid. Maybe you should start now. You’re welcome.

These Life Rules for Teens were first written by Charles J. Sykes.

Jonah

2010-04-26T14:44:00.000-05:00

The following is copied from:
http://www.angelfire.com/mi/dinosaurs/jonah.html

Is the story of Jonah a whale of a tale? Or is it Scientifically Plausible?
Can a man survive in the belly of a whale?

For many years people have scoffed at the Biblical story of Jonah. Skeptics have likened it to a fable, saying it is "impossible". This page will examine the Scientific plausibility of the Book of "Jonah".

One of the arguments often used is that "the belly of a whale is too small to hold a man" therefore the Bible cannot be trusted. I have researched this claim and found it to be false.
Not only is a whales belly large enough to hold a man inside, (I will add dimensions, and possible ways of survival soon) but many accounts similar to the Biblical account of Jonah have been recorded in recent years.
Though these documented cases shed some light on the story's credibility, the Biblical account is a miraculous one. And we must remember to Trust the Bible first and foremost, even if no other evidence supporting it exists.

Was Jonah swallowed by a whale or by a fish?
Some people claim that there is a contradiction in the Bible because the Old Testament calls the creature that swallowed Jonah a "Great fish", while the New Testament calls it a "whale". This is not a contradiction.

Jonah:A fish.

Matthew 12:40A whale

Matthew 12:40 says that the creature is a whale, but the original Greek from which it was translated calls it a "sea monster". The alleged contradiction is nothing more than a different word chosen for the English translation.
So which is it, a whale or a fish?
Nothing in the biblical account demands that the creature be a whale. It could be an extinct marine reptile or any one of the thousands of species of marine life that has gone extinct in the last few thousand years. It may have even been a fish..
You may think to yourself: "but fish don't get that big". If you believe that, you should visit more museums. - I recall staring in amazement at the Ann Arbor Museum of Natural History as I stood next to a fossil skull of a fish named dunkleosteus.

Dunkleosteus This skull was about three and a half feet tall. Its body length would be incredible. This huge fish would be a fright to anyone who saw it. It's mouth hung open and it was more than big enough to swallow me.

The image of the skull above is from a Cleveland museum specimen. This is smaller than the one in Ann Arbor.
The largest Dunkleosteus skull is about four feet high.
I am not saying that this was for sure the fish that swallowed Jonah. I am merely saying that fish like this did exist.

Comment from a reader:
"All evidence for Dunkleosteus is that it lived during the Devonian period, which would then make humans over 300 million years old (if, as you claim they lived with this fish)."
Dan Erickson, exhibit preparator, University of Michigan
My response:
I believe that God created the whole world only a few thousand years ago. I believe that the dating methods are flawed (see my page on Carbon dating). Dunkleosteus, I believe lived in this same time frame, but went extinct shortly after the flood. - I believe man lived with every creature we find fossilized.

I will add background information on dunkleosteus soon. Including when and where it was discovered, and by who.

Though it is often labeled as a "pre-historic" fish, in all honesty there is not much we know about this creature. Including how long ago it died. But from a biblical standpoint we can be assured this creature did live with man (the book of Genesis says that all animals were created to live with man).

How did Jonah survive inside the creature?
Question from a reader:
"What happened to Jonah while he was in the belly of the whale (or fish)...?? How was he protected from the creatures natural digestive process?"
Ginnie B. 8/19/01
Answer:
We are not given enough details to know for sure what sea creature this was, so any ideas on how Jonah was not digested would be mere speculation.
The Bible said that God "prepared" the creature, so in doing so I'm sure he protected Jonah.

"Now the Lord had prepared a great fish to swallow up Jonah. And Jonah was in the belly of the fish three days and three nights"

This is a literal account of a man. It foreshadows the true account of Christ's 3 days and 3 nights in "the belly of the earth".

"For as Jonah was three days and three nights in the belly of a huge fish, so the Son of Man will be three days and three nights in the heart of the earth." Matthew 12:40 (NIV)

Here is the same verse again in the King James version

"For as Jonas was three days and three nights in the whale's belly; so shall the Son of man be three days and three nights in the heart of the earth." Matthew 12:40 (KJV)

The historical accuracy of Jonah is important for it foreshadows Christ’s own death and resurrection. Christ would not associate the most important event in history (his being raised from the dead) with a mere fairy tale.
The whale is not the hero of the story, nor is the cross victorious over the power of Christ. Our attention should be drawn to what happened next, the bodily resurrection from death to life. The book of Jonah is about God and Jonah, not the whale (or fish) and Jonah.

Those who scoff at, doubt or otherwise ridicule the book of Jonah are in actuality doubting Christ's own integrity. Jesus believed and taught that Jonah was a real person, and that the events described in the Bible really did happen to him.
I believe the account of Jonah as literal history, but more importantly Christ believed it.
The story is not a parable or a dream but rather an accurate depiction of a real encounter. If you doubt the book of Jonah, or any of the Bible you will not be able to defend your faith with authority.
Christ read with authority not as the scribes.
In the Book of Jonah, God shows his mercy and also his authority as Creator over all living creatures. The Bible tells us that "God prepared the fish" and "the Lord spoke unto the fish..." and the animal obeyed God. In the end, even though Jonah disobeyed his commands, God spared Jonah's life. And in the beautiful language of the "King James Bible" the whale "vomited out Jonah upon the dry land"

For those seeking extra-biblical evidence, there are many well documented accounts of men and animals being swallowed alive by whales. Though these accounts do give the story of Jonah more credibility we must remember to trust the Bible first and foremost.
It does not matter if other recorded accounts exist or not. They are irrelevant as the Bible says it happened and Jesus has shown us that we can trust God's word.
Jonah is also mentioned in Luke 11:30.

"As the crowds increased, Jesus said, "This is a wicked generation. It asks for a miraculous sign, but none will be given it except the sign of Jonah. (30)For as Jonah was a sign to the Ninevites, so also will the Son of Man be to this generation. (31)The Queen of the South will rise at the judgment with the men of this generation and condemn them; for she came from the ends of the earth to listen to Solomon's wisdom, and now one [9] greater than Solomon is here. (32)The men of Nineveh will stand up at the judgment with this generation and condemn it; for they repented at the preaching of Jonah, and now one greater than Jonah is here." Luke 11:30-32

How big do these whales get? In 1933 a sulfur bottom whale was caught off the coast of cape cod it was 100 ft long and had a mouth over 10 foot wide. A man who was unfortunate enough to be swallowed could take refuge in any one of the whales stomach chambers, or the large cranial cavities (extensions of the nasal sinus) which measure 7 feet high, 7ft wide and 14 ft long. More than big enough for a man to hide safely inside.

God had told Jonah to go to Ninevah to warn the people of the coming destruction. But instead Jonah turned and headed the other way.
The book of Jonah shows us how badly God wants for people to hear and accept his message of salvation.

Present day Jonah's?
Question from a reader:
"I've heard that there is documentated information of people surviving being swallowed by whales....but I can't find any. Can you maybe point me in the right direction? Thank you for your time."
Mike 1/22/02
Answer: There is a book out by J. Vernon McGee that alleges to tell of other accounts of modern day people being swallowed by whales. The problem is that none of them can be verified, and some of them have been refuted.
I dont think there need to be other examples of this happening in the past in order for the account of Jonah to be true, anymore than there need to be other flood accounts, or resurrection accounts.
The Bible tells us of Jesus, and he was the only one resurrected after 3 days. The bible likens this to the story of Jonah, so that may be good evidence against other "whale" stories.

A joke
Little Sally was transferred from Christian school to public school. On her first day in the class the teacher introduced herself as "Mrs. Crump" and then said, "Today we're going to study in Zoology and the first subject in Zoology we're going to study will be whales.
Does anyone know anything about whales?" No-one raised their hand. Then Sally raised her hand. Mrs. Crump said, "What do you know about whales Sally?" Sally said, "Jonah was swallowed by a whale!" Mrs. Crump said, "That's nonsense! The throat of the whale is too narrow to swallow a man! Where did you get that foolish supposition?" Sally said, "That's what my Bible says!" Mrs. Crump said, "Your Bible is wrong!
As I said, a whale's throat is too narrow to swallow a man. What do you think now?" Sally thought for a minute and then said, "I guess I'll have to wait until I get to heaven and ask Jonah himself what happened." Mrs. Crump thought she'd be smart and asked Sally, "What happens if Jonah isn't there to ask?" Again Sally thought for a minute and then said, "Then I guess YOU will have to ask him."

If you have any questions on Creation, Evolution, or just want to say "Hi" please feel free to email me.

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as of 2/03

Without God

2010-04-16T13:27:00.000-05:00

This blog will be updated often as I explore the world without God. If there were no God then there would be no need for... Some items will clearly be tongue in cheek, but even those I think that if you take the time to think it through some truth can be found. So here we go:

Without God there would be no need for...

Reality - I exist because I was created. Without this base you cannot even prove you exist.
Morality - Without God there are no rules, whatever is best for you or best for the species is what is best.
Cloths - Shame assumes morality, and without God there is no morality. And you would not want anything to slow the process of sexual gratification and reproduction.
Church - There would be nothing to be thankful for, everything after all would become what it is by chance.
Birthday Parties - If life does not have a meaning or purpose, why celebrate it?
Funerals - What was once a productive member of society is now just dirt. There was no meaning or purpose to their life anyway.
Art - Without a soul, art has no meaning.
Apologies - The only sort of purpose that exists without God is to feel as good as possible for as long as possible, apologies would be meaningless, do what ever it takes to feel good and if someone gets in the way of that dispose of them.
Marriage - No one believes that this is really a good idea, do they? Two people deciding to only reproduce with each other for the rest of their lives? Commit to take someone else's crap and put their needs above your own? Without God this idea is just plain dumb.
Coffee Shops - If there is no God they should really all just be bars... right? Besides us Christians wouldn't need caffeine, without God we'd all just use crack.

More to come!

2010-02-17T09:41:00.000-06:00

15

2010-01-27T15:43:00.001-06:00

You take a deep breath and you walk through the doors
Its the morning of your very first day
you say hi to your friends you aint seen in a while
Try and stay out of everybodys way
its your freshman year and youre gonna be here
for the next four years in this town
hoping one of those senior boys will wink at you and say
you know I havent seen you around, before

Cause when youre fifteen and somebody tells you they love you
youre gonna believe them
and when youre fifteen
feeling like there nothing to figure out
well count to ten, take it in
this is life before who youre gonna be
fifteen

You sit in class next to a redhead named Abigail
and soon enough youre best friends
laughing at the other girls who think theyre so cool
well be out of here as soon as we can
and then youre on your very first date and hes got a car
and youre feeling like flying
and youre momas waiting up and you think hes the one
and youre dancing round your room when the night end
when the night ends

Cause when youre fifteen and somebody tell you they love you
youre gonna believe them
when youre fifteen and your first kiss
makes your head spin round but
in your life youll do greater than dating the boy on the football team
but I didnt know it at fifteen

When all you wanted was to be wanted
wish you could go back and tell yourself what you know now
Back then I swore I was gonna marry him someday
but I realized some bigger dreams of mine

and Abigail gave everything she had to a boy
who changed his mind and we both cried

Cause when youre fifteen and somebody tells you they love you
youre gonna believe them
and when youre fifteen, dont forget to look before you fall
Ive found that time can heal most anything
and you just might find who youre supposed to be
I didnt know who I was supposed to be at fifteen

La la la la la .. la la la la la . La la la la la

Youre very first day
take a deep breath girl
take a deep breath as you walk through those doors.

I've been far away from you

2010-01-16T11:25:00.001-06:00

Psalm 51

^1-3Generous in love—God, give grace! Huge in mercy—wipe out my bad record.
   Scrub away my guilt,
      soak out my sins in your laundry.
   I know how bad I've been;
      my sins are staring me down.

^4-6 You're the One I've violated, and you've seen
      it all, seen the full extent of my evil.
   You have all the facts before you;
      whatever you decide about me is fair.
   I've been out of step with you for a long time,
      in the wrong since before I was born.
   What you're after is truth from the inside out.
      Enter me, then; conceive a new, true life.

^7-15 Soak me in your laundry and I'll come out clean,
      scrub me and I'll have a snow-white life.
   Tune me in to foot-tapping songs,
      set these once-broken bones to dancing.
   Don't look too close for blemishes,
      give me a clean bill of health.
   God, make a fresh start in me,
      shape a Genesis week from the chaos of my life.
   Don't throw me out with the trash,
      or fail to breathe holiness in me.
   Bring me back from gray exile,
      put a fresh wind in my sails!
   Give me a job teaching rebels your ways
      so the lost can find their way home.
   Commute my death sentence, God, my salvation God,
      and I'll sing anthems to your life-giving ways.
   Unbutton my lips, dear God;
      I'll let loose with your praise.

^16-17 Going through the motions doesn't please you,
      a flawless performance is nothing to you.
   I learned God-worship
      when my pride was shattered.
   Heart-shattered lives ready for love
      don't for a moment escape God's notice.

What to do when God is silent

2010-01-11T18:13:00.000-06:00

What to do when God is silent:

Seek to glorify God with whatever you are doing.

Seek out opportunities to serve and do it to the glory of God.

Be generous.

Read books that build you up spiritually.

Listen to music that will build you up spiritually.

Sit silently with God.

Pray for your parents.

Pray for your friends.

What to do when God is not silent:

Shut up and listen.

Stupid is as Stupid does 1

2010-01-11T15:12:00.000-06:00

here is a story some parents recently told me of their immature 18-year-old who had to learn his lesson the hard way. While skateboarding, he and some friends spotted an abandoned, broken-down farm house nearby and decided to go exploring. The boys didn't know that the old house with no front door had recently been vandalized, nor that the neighbors were on the lookout. Taking some souvenirs of junk they found in the vacant house -- things worth no more than a few dollars -- they were putting them in the boy's vehicle when the Sheriff arrived. Long story short, the boy was arrested and charged with felony burglary of a building. Though given probation for his first offense, he learned how difficult it is to survive thereafter with a felony arrest record. No one would hire him for years to come, regardless of the less than sinister circumstances of the "burglary."

Grow or Die... It is YOUR choice.

2010-01-11T09:59:00.000-06:00

Our Choices Make Us

Run from anything that stimulates youthful lusts. Instead, pursue righteous living, faithfulness, love, and peace. Enjoy the companionship of those who call on the Lord with pure hearts.
2 Timothy 2:22

Why is it that some Christians succeed, while others who once showed so much promise, miserably fail? Why is it that some seem to run the race of life and cross the finish line with flying colors, while others just collapse in a heap? It is because of choices—choices that you make each and every day. You make your choices, and your choices make you. And life is filled with choices.
From the moment you get up in the morning until the moment you lay your head on your pillow, you will have made hundreds—maybe even thousands—of choices. Some are simple choices that don't mean a lot, and others are choices that could change the course of your life. It comes down to this: If you want to grow spiritually, you will. And if you don't want to grow spiritually, you won't. It is not the luck of the draw or something that only happens randomly; it is making the right choice to do the right thing. (You should read those last few sentences again)
You will either go forward as a Christian, or you will go backward. You will either progress, or you will regress. You either gain ground, or lose ground. YOU grow or YOU die. There is no middle ground. And if you stand still, you will lose ground, because life never stops moving forward. So this is the kind of commitment where you should be seeking, on a daily basis, to grow spiritually, to progress, and to learn—and not just hold your own.
You need to commit yourself to growing spiritually, because there are things that impair our spiritual growth, and there are things that help it. You must seek to live lives that will honor God and stay away from the things that will drag you down spiritually. Because spiritual growth is based on doing what is good—and not doing what is bad. Perfection is not possible, but seeking after God with all your heart, mind and soul is. Make this your resolution... to Grow.

When was Jesus born?

2009-12-19T18:58:00.001-06:00

Here is some excellent food for thought, using the Jewish festivals as evidence:

http://www.hebrew4christians.net/Articles/Christmas/christmas.html

Check it out and let me know what you think!

SimplyNoise.com - The best free white noise generator on the Internet.

2009-12-01T12:01:00.000-06:00

SimplyNoise.com - The best free white noise generator on the Internet.

My favorite meditation tool.

Encouragement

2009-11-12T17:54:00.001-06:00

God never says that these things won't happen. He never says that if you are a Christian these things will be easy to deal with. But what He does say is:

You can cry out to Him in your pain, he hears you

Psalm 69:1-2 says, “Save me, O God, for the waters have come up to my neck. I sink in the miry depths, where there is no foothold. I have come into the deep waters; the floods engulf me.”

You can give all your discouragement to Him and let Him deal with it

1 Peter 5:7 says, “Cast all your anxiety on him because he cares for you.

You will find your peace in Him

John 16:33 says, "I have told you these things, so that in me you may have peace. In this world you will have trouble. But take heart! I have overcome the world."

God has given you every good promise in this book knowing them, not just in your head but working them into your heart is the single greatist shield against your discouragement:

Be strong and courageous. Do not be afraid or terrified because of them, for the LORD your God goes with you; he will never leave you nor forsake you. - Deuteronomy 31:6

Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you and learn from me, for I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. For my yoke is easy and my burden is light. – Matthew 11:28-30

Brothers, I do not consider myself yet to have taken hold of it. But one thing I do: Forgetting what is behind and straining toward what is ahead, I press on toward the goal to win the prize for which God has called me heavenward in Christ Jesus. - Philippians 3:13-14

Do not be anxious about anything, but in everything, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God. – Philippians 4:6

And I heard a loud voice from the throne saying, "Now the dwelling of God is with men, and he will live with them. They will be his people, and God himself will be with them and be their God. He will wipe every tear from their eyes. There will be no more death or mourning or crying or pain, for the old order of things has passed away." – Revelation 21:3-4

But I tell you the truth: It is for your good that I am going away. Unless I go away, the Counselor will not come to you; but if I go, I will send him to you. – John 16:7

"Do not let your hearts be troubled. Trust in God; trust also in me. In my Father's house are many rooms; if it were not so, I would have told you. I am going there to prepare a place for you. And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come back and take you to be with me that you also may be where I am. You know the way to the place where I am going." – John 14:1-4

Let us not become weary in doing good, for at the proper time we will reap a harvest if we do not give up. – Galatians 6:9

Why are you downcast, O my soul? Why so disturbed within me? Put your hope in God, for I will yet praise him, my Savior and my God. – Psalm 42:5-6a

Praise be to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ! In his great mercy he has given us new birth into a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead. - 1 Peter 1:3

You get to choose: believe your discouragement which says that this current situation is all there is and it will never change. or believe the voice of truth that says that you will have troubles in this world, but to hold on, because Jesus has conquered this world.

2 items not allowed when reading your bible

2009-11-06T10:07:00.000-06:00

Presumption and Pride

That means bring your intellect, questions, theories, hopes, dreams, critical analysis, and whatever else you have with you to the word of God.

Adam to Noah Birth and Death Years (S...

2009-11-06T09:37:00.001-06:00

Adam to Noah Birth and Death Years (Starts with year 0)

Adam 0-930

Seth 130-1042

Enosch 235-1140

Kenan 325 - 1235

Mahalalel 395 - 1290

Jared 460 - 1422

Enoch 622 - 987

Methuselah 687 - 1656

Lamech 874 - 1651

Noah 1056 -

Shem, Ham, Japheth 1556 -

Flood 1656

126 years between Adam's death and Noah's birth

Lamech was 56 when Adam died

Were Shem, Ham and Japheth triplets?