An Anniversary of Sorts (10/31/04 - 0 Comments)
Today marks an anniversary of sorts for this web site, for it was exactly one year ago that I decided to commit to writing on a daily basis. The last day I did not write anything was October 31, 2003. That means I have posted at least something for 365 consecutive days. I do believe that is one of the very few goals I have ever attained - I tend to aim high and get...
Reformation Day (10/31/04 - 0 Comments)
Today marks the 487th anniversary of the day Martin Luther triggered what is surely one of the greatest acts of God's grace in all of history when he nailed his ninety five these to the door of the Castle Church in Wittenberg, Germany. Having become increasingly disillusioned with the doctrine of the Roman Catholic Church, and in particular the sale of indulgences, Luther wrote his theses to try to begin the process of reform. While...
Book Review - Scripture Alone (10/31/04 - 1 Comments)
James White is a Reformed apologist who specializes in defending the faith against the doctrines of Roman Catholics and Mormons – two groups which deny the doctrine of sola scriptura or Scripture Alone. He is uniquely qualified to write such a book as he is intimately familiar with the arguments against the Bible’s sufficiency. The book comes at a time when much of Protestantism has lost sight of this doctrine and has been slowly denying...
Is All Sin The Same? (10/30/04 - 1 Comments)
On a mailing list that I am part of, a person asked an interesting question, and one that I have come across before. As a matter of fact, I had been planning on writing about it for some time now, so thought this would be a good opportunity. Her question was about sin and whether all sin is the same or whether some sins are more serious than others. It is no uncommon today to...
Friday Ramblings (10/29/04 - 0 Comments)
I believe the extremely busy period of these past couple of weeks is just about over. While it was nice to be busy, I'll be glad to be able to slow down a little bit next week. If I want to get through 50 books this year (a goal I set myself to begin the year) I am going to need to devote a bit more time to that pursuit. I have read 33 and...
Movie Review: Luther (10/28/04 - 1 Comments)
I entered the theatre fearing the worst. I saw little reason to expect that a movie being distributed in the mainstream markets would be able to do justice to a character so reviled as Martin Luther. While he is a hero to many, to far more he is a villain – sectarian, racist, arrogant and divisive; a man who tore the Christian world apart and whose legacy remains to this day. I am happy to...
Launch Day (10/28/04 - 0 Comments)
In the past 24 hours I have been able to launch two new Web sites. I love launching new sites. Often I have worked on them for hundreds of hours and have toiled over tiny pieces of code for days or even weeks. But then I get to launch them, see the final product, and of course, get paid! The first site is Convertec, a communications solutions company that develops software for Norstar phone systems....
For The Good (10/27/04 - 1 Comments)
Every believer has at least a passing familiarity with Romans 8:28 which reads “We know that in everything God works for good with those who love him, who are called according to his purpose.” If you’re like me, you probably have lost track of the number of sermons you have heard and books you have read which make mention of these verses and the promise they contain. And truly they are verses of great comfort...
Blessed Are The Poor In Spirit (10/27/04 - 0 Comments)
A member of the community brought to my attention a beautiful message that Bryan Chapell, President of Covenant Theological Seminary, delivered at the funeral of Petros Roukas. Roukas was a pastor who, while suffering from depression, took his life. As I read Chapell's message, I was struck by his tenderness towards his friend and towards the grieving wife. But most of all, I was struck by the tenderness of our God who gives us hope....
A Great Friend (10/26/04 - 0 Comments)
I allowed myself a few minutes early this morning to think back about my school days, and in particular my closest friend during those days. This may or may not have been spurred by him registering a comment in the forums yesterday and subsequently sending me an email to announce the birth of his first child. It probably was. My family moved to Ancaster, Ontario a mere two days before the first day of school....
Photo Friday (10/26/04 - 0 Comments)
My brother-in-law has a hilarious photo he is submitting to the Photo Friday challenge this week. Well, I think it's hilarious anyways. The photo is of a note written by my mother who was acting in her grandmotherly position of scribe for my son. Nick was dictating the note on behalf of a store he apparently works for. Check it out here....
Seeker Services (10/25/04 - 1 Comments)
Every week Rick Warren sends out his Ministry Toolbox and it seems he always gives me something to think about. As the man at the leading edge of evangelicalism these days I always pay attention to what he says, for I know it will be only a matter of weeks before many churches follow his lead. This week he addresses the topic of seeker services, saying that when he started Saddleback he immediately "decided to...
Book Review - Guidance and the Voice of God (10/25/04 - 0 Comments)
Guidance and the Voice of God is one of several books I have read recently that discusses the way God speaks to and guides His children. I have turned to these books in response to the words I hear all around me in modern Christianity. People continually ask God to speak to us in circumstances and situations. I am often asked how God spoke to me during a period of time or perhaps during a...
Book Review: Gospel Truth / Pagan Lies (10/24/04 - 1 Comments)
Pagan influences are everywhere in our culture. They are often, perhaps even primarily, unnoticed as we have become so attuned to them. Where God tells us to worship Him as the Creator, all paganism is based on somehow worshipping creation. Peter Jones has written this little book, Gospel Truth / Pagan Lies to show some of the many pagan influences in our society. He contrasts them with the truths of the gospel as summarized by...
Mr. Tweedle (10/23/04 - 0 Comments)
We first met Mr. Tweedle a short while after his wife died. To make a bit of extra money he invited a young couple to come and live with him and those people, members of our church, eventually brought him with them on Sunday mornings. I don't know if he was a believer or not. He had some sort of Christian background, but did not seem to be too serious about his faith. Plenty of...
Book Review - The Word of God in English (10/22/04 - 2 Comments)
Since the middle of the twentieth century, dynamic equivalency has become standard practice and the vast majority of Bible translations since then have eschewed a literal format in favor of the less-literal approach. The most popular of these is the New International Version, but other popular translations such as the Contemporary English Version, The Message and the New Living Translation have also been guided by these principles. One does not have to look far to...
Thursday Ramblings (10/21/04 - 0 Comments)
"Ramblings" represents a free pass to me. It's kind of like a "Get out of jail free card." On those days where I am either really busy, really lazy or completely uninspired (or all of the above), I can just sit back and write about whatever I feel like. Of course I only allow myself to do it once per week or I would end up with a site like the ones you see over...
Rules of Translation (10/20/04 - 1 Comments)
There have been a couple of occasions on this site where I have written about the evangelical church's apparent belief that unbelievers are really quite dumb. After all, we treat them as if they are unable to pay attention to anything for more than a few minutes, as if they are unable to enjoy any kind of music but what they hear on the radio and that they need pictures, excitement and multimedia to keep...
Book Review - In The Presence Of My Enemies (10/19/04 - 1 Comments)
There are few people I admire more than missionaries. They represent such a selfless expression of Christ’s love – people who dedicate their lives to sharing the gospel with those who least want to hear it, but most need to hear it. Not only do they forsake the comforts of Western society and leave behind friends, jobs, church and family, but they often put their lives in danger by ministering in unstable nations. In The...
Dale "Potty Mouth" Earnhardt Jr. (10/18/04 - 1 Comments)
For someone who lives this far north, I have a surprising number of friends and acquaintances who are NASCAR fans. I can’t count the number of times I have heard them defend it as a sport, and not just some sort of car rally. Like most types of sport or entertainment, NASCAR has many who follow it fanatically. I can’t imagine why, but I have been told on good authority that the reason I do...
I'm Back! (10/17/04 - 0 Comments)
I have returned from my brief weekend excursion and am back in the comfort of my own home. I have long been what my mother would call a "home body" so I am always happy to come home to my office, my couch and best of all, my family. Of course I had a very enjoyable weekend and was treated to some very good speeches and lots of wonderful company. I met all sorts of...
Tim (10/16/04 - 0 Comments)
Hello all! Tim left for the men’s conference yesterday, not very happily I might add. He really didn’t want to go. I’m half convinced it was because he didn’t want to miss blogging, despite his protest that he liked spending time with the family and didn’t want to go away for a whole weekend! It’s good for him to go away and bond with the guys. I told him I would post on his site...
Saturday Ramblings (10/16/04 - 0 Comments)
I am off at a conference today, so my wife is posting this for me. If you are reading this, it means she remembered what I taught her about Movabletype. It also indicates that she remembered to post at all! I told her I would be quite upset if she disturbed my streak of consecutive posts when I am so very close to posting every day for an entire year. Within two weeks I will...
Lord Willing (10/15/04 - 5 Comments)
I am part of a Reformed mailing list that every now and then discusses something of interest. The list used to be quite busy, but recently there has been very little discussion, and much of what has been discussed has been quite boring (ie who would like to purchase old issues of a denomination-specific magazine). However, a couple of days ago someone asked an intriguing question. He asked what impact a belief in Calvinism or...
Timothy's of Jerusalem (10/14/04 - 0 Comments)
I spent nearly my entire young life attending Christian schools. From the first grade all the way to the eleventh, there was only one year where I did not attend a Christian school. During that time I also attended Catechism classes, Sunday school and everything else churches have to offer young people. In my younger days the teachers used to enjoy asking us questions that would try to help us understand Biblical times a little...
A Short History of Marian Devotion (10/13/04 - 3 Comments)
Christianity Today has an interesting article entitled "Hail Mary" which traces the history of Marian devotion. It is quite short and makes for an interesting read. Here are the first few paragraphs: Mary responded in obedience. She called herself the Lord's "handmaiden" (Luke 1:38, 48)—a humble title that set the tone for the rest of the New Testament accounts and became the foundation for centuries of Marian devotion. Mary recognized that she had become, like...
Knowing How To Use It (10/12/04 - 0 Comments)
Vincere scis, Hannibal; victoria uti nescis In my literary travellings this weekend (you can interpret that phrase to mean “reading” – I just mean to indicate I stumbled across this phrase, not that I was spending a lot of time reading ancient history) I read an interesting phrase which immediately caught my attention. It was spoken by a soldier named Maharbal in 216 BC. Maharbal was the cavalry commander who served under the great Carthaginian...
Happy Thanksgiving (10/11/04 - 0 Comments)
That's right. Today, all the frozen tundras of the Great White North, Canadians are celebrating Thanksgiving. Where American Thanksgiving seems to serve as the beginning of the Christmas season, in Canada it serves as the unofficial beginning of autumn. The trees are just reaching the peak of their most beautiful colors, the last remaining birds are flocking together and beginning their migration to the warmer climate of the south, and the weather is beginning to...
Purpose Is Good (10/10/04 - 0 Comments)
Because I have taken a firm stand against The Purpose Driven Life and thus many of the principles of The Purpose Driven Church, it seems many people have become convinced that I am inherently opposed to purpose. This is not so. I believe purpose is a good and necessary thing. As believers purpose plays an especially significant role, for it is only in Christ that we can begin to understand what our true purpose is....
Blog-About (10/09/04 - 0 Comments)
Doug over at Coffeeswirls keeps trying to beg people into subscribing to some offer so he can get his free iPod. I believe I am the last remaining blogger in the world who has not tried to get people to buy or subscribe to something so that I could get an iPod. So please, someone sign up for BMG or get a free three-month subscription to Horse & Rider Magazine so Doug can move on...
Stupid Is As Stupid Does? (10/08/04 - 2 Comments)
If I were to use the average church outreach program as a guide, I would have to assume that the average non-Christian is lazy, stupid, ignorant, unwilling to learn and suffering from attention deficit disorder. He has two kids that he loves but never spends any time with, leaving him racked with guilt. He is trying to hold a marriage together but his wife ranks a distant second to his career. It really seems that...
Mid-Week Ramblings (10/07/04 - 0 Comments)
It has been one of those days. Not a bad day, thankfully - just a busy one. I booked a good chunk of work today, so that should help keep me busy in the near future and pay the bills for another week or two. Ah, the joys of self-employment! Thanks to everyone who clicked over to Read 'Em & Reap yesterday. I think at least 50 or 60 people clicked their way over, which...
Revelation, Inspiration & Illumination (10/06/04 - 1 Comments)
Revelation, inspiration and illumination are three critical concepts for Christians to understand. While most believers are at least vaguely familiar with the concepts surrounding revelation and inspiration, it seems far fewer understand illumination. We will seek to remedy that today. It is important that we keep these concepts apart in our minds. We must not confuse them, for they are in no way synonymous. We will look at revelation and inspiration briefly and then turn...
New Blog: Read 'Em & Reap (10/06/04 - 0 Comments)
I guess it isn't a new blog as much as an old blog in a new location and with a new look. Brad, who owns and operates Read 'Em & Reap has moved away from BlogSpot and now has his own domain. He also has an particularly attractive-looking site, if I do say so myself. But I wouldn't say so myself since I designed it and that would be prideful. Brad is an avid reader...
Book Review - Chosen By God (10/05/04 - 0 Comments)
Since its publication in 1986, Chosen By God has become a classic introduction to Calvinism, for it is clearly one of the best introductions to Calvinism available. R.C. Sproul, ever the theologian but one with a gift for making the complex simple, begins with an introduction to God’s sovereignty and then moves to free will before tackling the 5-points of Calvinism (as summarized in the acronym TULIP). He changes several of the terms, so the...
A Prayer Request (10/05/04 - 0 Comments)
If you have been visiting this site for any length of time, you may know of Jeri who posted in the forums and before the forum was installed, posted many comments here. She became a friend and I benefited greatly from her wisdom. She even gave blogging a try at her site called Sober Minded and participated in some Blog Swaps, but later elected to stop blogging so she could go back to doing what...
A Short History of This Site (10/05/04 - 0 Comments)
This site first came to life in September of 2002. I registered the domain challies.com primarily as a place to display photos of my children. My parents and siblings had moved down to Atlanta a few years earlier, and I wanted to be able to provide them with updated pictures of those of us who elected to remain in the north. At that time this site was more a photo album than anything else. However,...
The Pill: Is It Abortifacient? (10/04/04 - 3 Comments)
Here's a topic I've been meaning to bring up for a while. Before I start, I should point out that my knowledge of the sciences (other than aspects of computer science) is absolutely shameful. I last studied science in my second year of high school and only passed because during the final exam I sat behind and to the right of the class brain and was able to copy her multiple choice answers (I offer...
The Little Words (10/04/04 - 0 Comments)
I tend to rush. Even when I’m kicking back on the couch to read a book, I find myself rushing through the pages. It’s not that I do not enjoy reading – it just seems that I am always in a hurry to do the thing that will come immediately after what I’m doing right now! When I read, I’m hurrying to get to eating the snack that’s next on my list of things to...
Sunday Reflection: Slowing Down (10/03/04 - 0 Comments)
I spent some time today thinking about Sunday, or as we referred to it as I was growing up, the Sabbath day. I turned to a few of the old confessions to read again what they have to say about the Lord's Day. The London Baptist Confession says: As it is the law of nature, that in general a proportion of time, by God's appointment, be set apart for the worship of God, so by...
Saturday Ramblings (10/02/04 - 0 Comments)
It seems that the site has made a successful migration to the new server. It took some doing, but I think it is all here. Last night I had to copy over the database which stores all the articles I have written, as well as the thousands of comments from the original commenting system. That added up to some 8,000 lines of code (MySQL if you care to know). The database for the forum software...
Welcome Home (10/01/04 - 0 Comments)
If you're seeing this message it means you have found your way to the new server. I am hoping by Saturday morning everyone will be directed here. It doesn't look any different, of course, but hopefully it will run quite a bit faster....
It's Moving Day (10/01/04 - 0 Comments)
Today is moving day for this site. Sometime in the wee hours of the morning I'll be trying to have the site directed to a new server. If you have any trouble accessing the site over the weekend, please accept my apologies. I am attemping to move all the files (thousands of them) and the entire forum without causing any major disruptions, so just bear with me. By Sunday or Monday everything should be back...
Health, Growth, Message, Methodology (10/01/04 - 0 Comments)
Proponents of church growth would have us believe that health and growth are always inexorably connected. They contend that a healthy church must necessarily grow and that an unhealthy church will generally not grow. Rick Warren, in The Purpose Driven Life, tells us that his book is not a church growth manual, but a church health manual. He believes that when the church is healthy it will grow. Of course the book is subtitled “Growth...
