We should be careful to get out of an experience only the wisdom that is in it— and stop there; lest we be like the cat that sits down on a hot stove-lid. She will never sit down on a hot stove-lid again— and that is well; but also she will never sit down on a cold one anymore.
— Mark Twain
Interesting question: does having more people praying for healing (for example) going to see result in a different outcome than only one or two people praying?
Enjoy some laughs at the new "Real-time polling" technology . . .
New Live Poll Allows Pundits To Pander To Viewers In Real Time
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Hello,
The below link points to a YouTube video that is a parody of the government's efforts to direct the car industry's work.
It's rather amusing and perhaps a bit too prophetic, given how things appear to be headed. Enjoy!
Pyromaniacs: What prayer is and isn't [requested classic re-post]
Fascinating article defining prayer as "you talking to God;" nothing more, nothing less.
The points of view mentioned (along with apparentl biblical references for substantiation)
is a new one to me and challenging ... your thoughts?
Pyromaniacs: Sister... show mercy! <i>(Annual repost #2)</i>
Incredible advice and wisdom. It is difficult to defend against what Dan supports, but if you can do it,
I really want to hear from you. Just ... read the article!
Do not be afraid to stand apart from others if others are following the world's ways. Following God often means not following what's popular or what the majority wants. Peter speaks to this in 1 Peter 4:4
When you stand apart, but in God's will, you will appear beautiful to those around you. Maybe not always welcome, but beautiful in the aura of obedience to God.
Think about it.
If you have a relationship with a fellow believer, being open with him/her is much easier than with someone with sion you don't have that relationship.
It is interesting, really, to notice that people who call themselves Christians often are the ones must unable to cope with the reality of suffering by others in their congregations. You know, the ones who always respond with that beautiful smile as they say, "fine" when asked how they are doing.
But what about the people in church who are suffering? To whom can they turn? Shouldn't church be the first place you would turn when you experience a crisis, or need to talk about how you want to cheat on your spouse, or how to process the awful news you just heard?
Instead, how many of us turn to gossip, judgment before its appropriate, backbiting and just mean selfish behavior instead of helping someone stuck in sin?
My friend Anne Jackson has put up an interesting post asking what things people wish they could say in church... take a look - you may see yourself in the list.
Recently George Will gave a speech in which he properly dealt with many of the awful declarations by President Obama in Cairo:
"...How many Americans understand that when Israel was founded in 1948, no Palestinian state was invaded, no Palestinian state was destroyed? There had not been a Palestinian geographic entity since between the departure of the Romans and the arrival of British rule...
"How many know that the West Bank, referred to by the President as "occupied territory," inferentially as occupied Palestinian territory, is under international law [an] unallocated portion of the Palestine Mandate rightfully occupied by Israel, because it occupied it in repelling aggression that came from that territory in 1967...
"...How the President believes that if we return to the 1967 borders, the antipathy to Israel, which predated the 1967 borders, will disappear, I do not know..."
Friends,
Found this today while perusing tech & security sites.
You may wish to consider advising those you know who use Facebook of this potential privacy concern.
Personal photos uploaded to Facebook and later deleted, do not actually get deleted: a real privacy concern!
url = http://www.lightbluetouchpaper.org/2009/05/20/attack-of-the-zombie-photos/
-Lawrence
A well-written summation, maybe even exposition, of what it means to be a Christian. . .
At the very heart of the Christian way of life is the belief that we individual Christians, no matter what our faith, can best effect society with gentle nudges towards God by living a Christ-like life the best we possibly can, while recognizing at the same time that there has in fact only ever been one real Christian to walk the Earth - Jesus. We’re not capable of that kind of perfection. We know this. We are merely asked to try. [emphasis mine]Secularists don’t know that simple fact about faith and feel threatened by their own ignorance, which quickly spirals into enmity as a defense against what they deeply fear is the truth. After all, Pride is what made the Devil. And the Devil’s main goal is your total separation from any kind of relationship with God, which can easily be described as anxiety, loneliness, fear, panic attacks, suicide…anything to get you away from sincerely trying to follow God. In other words, people of faith go to church while secularists go to therapy.
To quote C.S. Lewis, my favorite atheist convert, “Christianity has not been tried and found false — it’s been tried and found too difficult.”
Indeed.
Secularists throw their hands up and give in to “humanity” instantly, under the guise that urges and desires must be completely natural (which they are) and are therefore just fine to enjoy with wild abandon (which they are not). They do not understand that resisting is the real road to that spiritual Utopia we’re always striving for.
We Christians know all to well that we are human and that sin drives a wedge between us and God. No you’re not “going straight to hell” because you happen to sit in a hotel room with a steady diet of hookers and drugs between movie shoots. Although you may wind up in jail at the hands of your fellow Man, what that behavior will really do is gently and pleasurably separate you from knowing God.
By “separate” I mean you will slowly not be able to tolerate anyone you meet of faith (even if they’ve never bothered you) and you will soon find yourself shaking your fist at organized religion as the root of all evil. Your mind will become incapable of accepting that there is anything bigger than your own self and all the other “selfs” you socialize with. You will be, quite literally, out on a limb with no real friends and sooner or later you will realize that, either to your great horror or sinister joy. Welcome to free will.
Yet, even if Christ were not God, the urgency and hatred that secularists use to deny there’s any moral truth to His plainly obvious teaching of what it means to be good, is evidence enough that we’re dealing a wholly evil mindset. This isn’t Atheism. This is Devilism.
The precise goal of a Devilish society is to get as many people away from God as possible through a steady diet of media distractions and stories and role models all meant to edify their Devilish position while tearing down ours. It’s completely harmless to us if others in society are not up for what Christianity asks of its faithful, but where we draw the line is the distorted representation of faithful people in our pop culture entertainment, a culture dominated by secularist ideals and themes.
Look, If you want to know where all the real sinners are, go to church. You’ll see them on their knees begging for forgiveness and admitting they cherished something else in their hearts over God. But if you want to know where the real Devils are, go to Hollywood where the path to hell is paved in gold.
Amazing . . .
When I was a kid my mother would sometimes speak of "reducing down" a concoction of stuff on the stove to reduce the amount of water in the mix, so that final result would be stronger, or more potent. In the case of my mother's cooking, potent is probably a good word to describe the stuff; 'nuff said.
It's been a little over 3 years since God saved me, and so often I hear people work hard at making the truth and process of the gospel into a complicated, lofty, intellectual endeavour.
I like to indulge in the sin of pride, ego-building, etc., and sometimes have been a partner in crime with those who want to do the complicated lofty intellectual version of the gospel.
But tonight God convicted me of that behavior and attitude and brought to my attention (again) a video that first captured my heart nearly 2 years ago. Just Stop and Think delivers the truth of the gospel that God love you. and me. and the jerk at your office and the idiot at church that you can't stand. he loves you, he's patiently waiting for you to come to him in openness and honesty.
Like they said to Mikey: "Try it, you'll like it!"
