July 2004 Archive
Saturday Ramblings (07/31/04 - 0 Comments)
I'm just about to head off to a wedding rehearsal. I have been asked to do the sound and recording at a wedding tomorrow - the first time I've done sound for something other than a church service. Of course the wedding is in the auditorium our church uses and will use all the same equipment, so I guess it won't be radically different. Still, it's a little more nerve-racking since a problem here and...
BlogSwap 3 - Open Assignment (Part 2) (07/30/04 - 0 Comments)
I received a late entry so am going to post it here. This one comes from my buddy James from What Is This. Email From God: Depend on Me Jesus Christ is the same yesterday and today and forever – Hebrews 13:8 My Child, A lot of adults you know probably run their lives based on their feelings. Maybe they’ve been taught to believe that being true to their feelings means they are being true...
BlogSwap 3 - Open Assignment (07/30/04 - 0 Comments)
This week's BlogSwap entry is provided by Joe Missionary and is on the subject of How To Pray For Missionaries. Take it away Joe... Brothers, pray for us (1 Thes 5:25). Before Jane and I left the States, we of course spoke before a lot of groups. A common question was, "How can we pray for you guys?" From that, I was motivated to do a little study on how Paul requested prayer, and for...
BlogSwap 3 - Entries (07/30/04 - 0 Comments)
Today is BlogSwap 3 and it was an open assignment - people were free to write about anything they wanted, and could even submit a favorite article they posted in the past. Despite it being a "freebie" with no real effort required, several people did not participate. Tsk tsk! Here is the list of participants: www.millerfamily.biz/blog/blogger.html http://simplegames.blogspot.com http://everydaymusings.blogspot.com/ www.whatintarnation.net www.sober-minded.com http://danny.brendoman.com www.theirvins.com http://ochuk.gizzar.com/ www.coffeeswirls.com www.challies.com www.matt-hall.net www.whatisthis.com www.tulipgirl.com www.yafreax.com penguinboy.weblogs.us joemissionary.blogspot.com BlogSwap 4 will be...
Is It Better Not To Marry? (07/29/04 - 2 Comments)
1 Now concerning the things of which you wrote to me: It is good for a man not to touch a woman. 2Nevertheless, because of sexual immorality, let each man have his own wife, and let each woman have her own husband. 3Let the husband render to his wife the affection due her, and likewise also the wife to her husband. 4The wife does not have authority over her own body, but the husband...
R.C. Sproul Jr on Separation (07/29/04 - 7 Comments)
I found a link to a great little article on Dead Man Blogging. The article is written by R.C. Sproul Jr and deals with being set apart. I don�t know what shows are on TV, and I don�t know what songs are on the radio. I couldn�t name enough current NBA players to fill a single team�s roster. I�m not even sure if they still play the game in college. So what have I lost?...
PDL @ Amazon (07/28/04 - 0 Comments)
I often find Amazon is an interesting place to get a guage on how people feel about books. Anybody is free to post a review there so popular books often compile several hundreds reviews. The Purpose Driven Life, which places 47th on the Amazon sales list, currently has a whopping 561 reviews with several more appearing every day. For what it's worth, the average review is 4 out of 5 stars. Buried near the middle...
Need GMail? (07/28/04 - 32 Comments)
It seems GMail (Google's mail service) invites are a new currency on the Web. I have a whole stack of them, so if you are one of the five or six people left who doesn't have an account, send me an email or post here and I'll get you hooked up....
Baptism: Sacrament or Ordinance? (07/28/04 - 7 Comments)
Today I am going to carry on the discussion of baptism that I began yesterday. Or more correctly, I will begin it again. Yesterday I asked some questions that were of a rambling nature rather than being presented logically. Today I am going to try to bring a more systematic approach to the different views of baptism. Time does not allow me to do so exhaustively, but at the same time I will try to...
Repentance, Reform & Baptism (07/27/04 - 0 Comments)
Over the past few days I have been doing some thinking about baptism. I come from a Reformed/Presbyterian background and spent the first 20-some years of my life in churches that practiced infant baptism (the Protestant flavor of it). Of course these churches also practice adult baptism when an unbaptized person becomes a believer. Several years ago my wife and I moved to a new town and, because of a lack of Reformed alternatives in...
Vacation (07/26/04 - 0 Comments)
Yesterday I returned from a great week-long vacation at my cottage. Just about the whole family drove up from Atlanta to join us there (with the exception of my father who had to work) and we had a wonderful, fun, relaxing time together. I took quite a few photos, though not nearly as many as my brother-in-law who is hoping to gather fodder for his upcoming photoblog. So I will give you a view of...
Strange Bedfellows (07/25/04 - 0 Comments)
I love to read. It is unusual for me to have fewer than three or four books on the go at any given time. The two topics I tend to read are theology and the Second World War. Strange bedfellows, I agree. My interest in World War II began in my grandfather's home many years ago. He was a veteran of the Royal Canadian Air Force in which he had been ground crew for Lancaster...
Saturday Ramblings (07/24/04 - 0 Comments)
I sent out the topic for next week's BlogSwap. If you indicated an interest in participating you should have received it. If you did not, please let me know ASAP and I'll send it your way. Next week we'll have an open topic so people can write about whatever they like. I look forward to seeing what people come up with! Matt Hall had a link to an article that appeared in the New York...
Forum Registration (07/23/04 - 0 Comments)
I am (finally) starting to get some people spamming the forums. Actually, I think it's only one person, but he posts using different names and IP addresses so I can't seem to ban him. In order to keep him out I may have to turn off anonymous posting, meaning only people with registered accounts in the forum could post. Any thoughts on whether that is a good or bad idea? I hate to do it...
How Long? (07/23/04 - 0 Comments)
I am going to continue today with some thoughts from my Bible readings. This morning I read Revelation 6 (don’t even ask why yesterday was Corinthians but today was Revelation). In the previous chapter we read about a scroll sealed with seven seals that was in the right hand of God. A loud voice called out to inquire who was worthy to open it and only one was found. The Lamb (Jesus Christ) was the...
What's So Amazing About License? (07/22/04 - 0 Comments)
While I was reading the Bible last night I came across 2 Corinthians 11 which speaks about Paul’s defense against false apostles. It seems that after Paul left the church at Corinth false apostles moved in and began to oppose Paul’s message and authority. While Paul was confident about the believers he had left behind in Corinth, they were not so sure about him. Paul is forced to defend his genuine call as an apostle...
On And On (07/21/04 - 0 Comments)
Chris is a very dear friend of mine who does not always like to adhere to what I consider normal social conventions. I can’t say it is a bad thing that he does not constantly comply with what society says he is supposed to do and who he is supposed to be, but I must admit it does throw me at times. If I didn’t know better, I would have to guess that he derives...
One Another: Edification (07/20/04 - 1 Comments)
In this series of articles we are looking at what God’s Word says about community within the church. To facilitate this we have drawn out all of the verses in the New Testament that contain the words “one another” or “each other” and found that they point to four themes: unity, hospitality, devotion and edification. In our last article we spoke about the theme of unity and in this one we will examine edification. There...
Book Review - Decisions, Decisions (07/19/04 - 0 Comments)
Life is made up of seemingly endless decisions. We face decisions every day of our lives – some are as minor as what to wear or what to eat, while others may be huge, impacting our lives or the lives of hundreds or even millions of others. As Christians it is crucial that we understand Biblical principles on how to make decisions that will honor and glorify God. It is to this subject that the...
Sunday Ramblings (07/18/04 - 0 Comments)
Yesterday my sister and brother-in-law arrived (late) from Atlanta with their two children. One of those children is my little nephew Joshua whom I had never seen until yesterday. I am taking vacation for the next week to hang out with them. It's a much-needed vacation. Or much-wanted anyways. I listened to an excellent sermon this morning by pastor Albert Martin. I downloaded it from Sermon Audio. It is entitled What's The Bible All About....
A New Blog (07/17/04 - 0 Comments)
I love finding a new blog to read. It's kind of like finding a good new book that you can look forward to settling down with. Last night I got an email from the author of Joe Missionary asking to be part of the next BlogSwap. I had never heard of his blog, but read through some of it and was especially happy to read his two articles on Hearing God's Voice. I have been...
Flying The Nest (07/16/04 - 0 Comments)
Several weeks ago we noticed an industrious pair of robins building a nest in a tree directly outside our bathroom window. Just about a foot below the window and perhaps 8 feet out from the house, in a little crook of a crabapple tree, they built a nest of grass, mud and bits of string. Before long the mother began spending all her time sitting on the nest and though we couldn’t see the bottom...
BlogSwap 2: Entries (07/16/04 - 0 Comments)
From 8 entries in BlogSwap 1 we have increased to 16 entries for BlogSwap 2. I can't recommend these enough as people have written some really amazing articles. Thanks to everyone who participated. Here is this week's list of participants: www.millerfamily.biz/blog/blogger.html http://simplegames.blogspot.com http://everydaymusings.blogspot.com/ www.whatintarnation.net www.livejournal.com/users/oreochick/ www.sober-minded.com www.thegodblog.com http://hishouse.blogspot.com http://danny.brendoman.com www.theirvins.com http://2bluenewts.com/requiest http://ochuk.gizzar.com/ www.coffeeswirls.com www.challies.com www.matt-hall.net www.whatisthis.com...
BlogSwap 2: Tough Truths (07/16/04 - 0 Comments)
This morning I am happy to be able to post an entry written by James of www.whatisthis.com as part of the BlogSwap. James discusses a tough truth that he and his wife discovered through a time of great pain. My Tough Truth: God’s Never Failing Love It was in early 1999 that I begin this entry. This is a tough truth that I do not like to reflect upon, but rather have come to embrace...
BlogSwapping Is Hard! (07/15/04 - 0 Comments)
When I came up with the idea of BlogSwapping I never considered the amount of work it would be. It's probably a good thing, too, or I might just have had second thoughts! The first BlogSwap had 9 entries and that wasn't too difficult to coordinate. BlogSwap 2 has brought in 15 entries and the difficulties in coordinating seem to grow exponentially. I think it would be easier if I found a better way of...
Abortion Survivors (07/15/04 - 0 Comments)
An interesting little article in the Telegraph caught my eye this morning. British doctors have been debating the appropriate response if a fetus survives a late-term abortion. Apparently it is not unheard of for fetuses as young as 24 or even 23 weeks to survive the attempt to snuff out their lives. When this happens, " guidelines from the Royal College of Obstetricians and Gynaecologists for late abortions stated that the foetus should be given...
Clichéd Christianity (07/14/04 - 1 Comments)
It seems that humans are comforted by familiarity and intimidated by the unknown. Perhaps this explains why clichés come into such common use. Or perhaps we are simply lazy and prefer to use a trite statement rather than create something original. The Christian life is filled with cliché. Christians are notorious for speaking “Christianese,” using words and phrases that have meaning within Christianity but little or no meaning outside. When speaking to a fellow Christian...
If I Didn't Know Better... (07/13/04 - 0 Comments)
If I didn't know better, I would think that my site is the most popular blog on the Net. After all, how many blogs get 450+ comments per day? Or even better, 450+ comments between the time I go to bed and the time I wake up? Well mine does. Unfortunately, I do know better. Of the 450 comments that have been posted each of the last two nights, 449 of them have been by...
Barna Examines The Passion's Impact (07/13/04 - 0 Comments)
George Barna has released a long-awaited study of the impact of The Passion of the Christ. To do this study, Barna Group surveyed over 1600 people to determine whether they had seen the movie and what impact it had on their lives. Here are a few of his findings: 31% of Americans claim to have seen the movie. This is a significant number considering that the movie has not yet been released on DVD. 89%...
One Another - The Bible And Community - Unity (07/12/04 - 0 Comments)
God’s plan for the first relationship involved perfect unity. After awaking from sleep, Adam looked at Eve for the first time and uttered beautiful words that few men have since been able to match in beauty or simplicity, "This is now bone of my bones and flesh of my flesh; she shall be called 'woman, ' for she was taken out of man." God immediately decrees, “For this reason a man will leave his father...
Think On These Things (07/12/04 - 0 Comments)
If you still do not receive the monthly Think on These Things Ministries newsletter, it is time to subscribe. Think on These Things is a ministry of Southern View Chapel and pastor Gary Gilley. He is a pastor in the mold of John MacArthur or Michael Horton and is concerned far more with truth than popularity. He writes about a variety of subjects, but they are always relevant and are always well-researched and, best of...
Sunday Ramblings (07/11/04 - 0 Comments)
I haven't had a "rambling" entry for 9 days now. Of course you could make a strong argument that everything I write is rambling, but it would just insult me terribly. This afternoon we watched "Spellbound," a wonderful documentary about 8 kids who go to the national spelling bee in Washington. It is fascinating to see how different the kids are and how different their families and backgrounds are. From smalltown kids who don't like...
One Another - The Bible & Community (07/10/04 - 0 Comments)
I am cast upon a horrible, desolate island, void of all hope of recovery. I am singled out and separated, as it were, from all the world, to be miserable. I am divided from mankind - a solitaire; one banished from human society…I have no soul to speak to or relieve me. We have all heard the story of Robinson Crusoe. Once an exciting and original story, it has now become little more than cliché....
Another Switchfoot Concert (07/10/04 - 0 Comments)
Last night, as you might know, I went to see Switchfoot for the second time on their Beautiful Letdown tour. I wrote some thoughts about their Toronto show here. Last night they played in Hamilton, a city about half an hour from home. While the tickets said the show began at 8 PM we found out when we arrived (a bit before 7) that it actually didn’t begin until 9, so we had lots of...
BlogSwap 2 Update (07/09/04 - 0 Comments)
I just sent an email to everyone who indicated an interest in participating in the second BlogSwap. If you indicated interest and did not receive the email, please let me know and I'll get it to you ASAP. From the 8 people who indicated interest in the first BlogSwap we have doubled to 16 for this one. Of course that does not mean that all 16 will actually take the time to write something, but...
A Friday Funny (07/09/04 - 0 Comments)
This is my kind of restaurant. And because I am a Christian I will spiritualize this post by adding the following passage: God blessed them and said to them, "Be fruitful and increase in number; fill the earth and subdue it. Rule over the fish of the sea and the birds of the air and over every living creature that moves on the ground." Then God said, "I give you every seed-bearing plant on the...
When Switchfoot Comes To Town... (07/08/04 - 0 Comments)
When Switchfoot Comes To Town...I go and see them! Just a couple of months ago I was priveleged to attend a Switchfoot concert in Toronto. At that time it was the biggest and best show on their tour (though it's possible they say that at every show). I took a few minutes to write about the concert here. Well lo and behold, I found out a couple of days ago that their tour is bringing...
Best Laid Plans (07/08/04 - 0 Comments)
I had big plans for today. Here is how I planned out my work day: 9:00 - 10:30 AM: Go to a client and drop off a new computer. Configure the PC and do a couple of other quick chores. 10:35 AM - 12:00 PM: Work on Web pages. 12:00 PM - 12:30 PM: Lunch. 12:30 PM - 4:00 PM: Work on Web pages. 4:00 PM - 5:00 PM: Finish up an article for my...
A New Blog (07/07/04 - 0 Comments)
"This is a historic occasion." Bonus points to anyone who can identify the movie that those words were taken from. A person who has been an active participant in this site has just begun her own blog. It is quite exciting because she has so often had great things to say here. I am certain that I am going to learn a lot from her as she now has a public forum to speak her...
Nobody Expects The Spanish Inquisition (07/07/04 - 0 Comments)
"I didn't expect the truth about the Spanish Inquisition." "NOBODY expects the truth about the Spanish Inquisition! Our chief weapon is dishonesty...dishonesty and revisionism...revisionism and dishonesty.... Our two weapons are dishonesty and revisionism...and your reckless apathy.... Our *three* weapons are dishonesty, revisionism, and your reckless apathy...and an almost fanatical devotion to deception.... Our *four*...no... *Amongst* our weapons.... Amongst our weaponry...are such elements as dishonesty, revisionism.... I'll come in again." "I didn't expect the truth about...
