Well today we have to say sayonara (hope I spelled that right) to John who has decided that this blog is no longer good enough and has started his own blog, which is fine or whatever.
Listen I'm just joking but I really do want you to go and read John's new blog, he shared with me his concept, his theme, and where he plans to go with his blog, and listen I got excited about reading it. So please if there are any of you who actually read this blog go to John's new blog.
It's called Food From Ravens and John's first post is up explaining the title. I have already added it to my feedreader and you should too.
GO READ IT RIGHT NOW AT - http://johnalucas.wordpress.com/
Thursday, July 9, 2009
Wednesday's Quotes - July 8, 2009
“Is not this one of our greatest sins as Christians today? We may talk a lot about loving God, we may express it in our worship with great emotion, but what does it mean when we are so critical of other Christians, so ready to jump to negative conclusions about other people, so slow to bear their burdens, so unwilling to step into their shoes? Such lovelessness totally contradicts what we profess and flagrantly disobey God’s commands.”
- David Jackman, The Message of I John, 131.
“What an unsuitable thing might a believer think it, to hate someone in this world whom he must love eternally; and to contend and strive with those, even for matters of small moment, with bitterness and rigidity, with whom he shall have an eternal, uninterrupted unity and fellowship.”
- Hugh Binning, Christian Love, 27-28.
“Christians make a difference in this world by being different from this world; they don’t make a difference by being the same.”
- Tullian Tchividjian, Unfashionable, 9.
“We need to remember that God has established his church as an alternative society, not to compete with or copy this world, but to offer a refreshing alternative to it. When we forget this, we inadvertently communicate to our culture that we have nothing unique to offer, nothing deeply spiritual or profoundly transforming.”
- Tullian Tchividjian, Unfashionable, 15.
PS - I know I'm a day late, sorry.
- David Jackman, The Message of I John, 131.
“What an unsuitable thing might a believer think it, to hate someone in this world whom he must love eternally; and to contend and strive with those, even for matters of small moment, with bitterness and rigidity, with whom he shall have an eternal, uninterrupted unity and fellowship.”
- Hugh Binning, Christian Love, 27-28.
“Christians make a difference in this world by being different from this world; they don’t make a difference by being the same.”
- Tullian Tchividjian, Unfashionable, 9.
“We need to remember that God has established his church as an alternative society, not to compete with or copy this world, but to offer a refreshing alternative to it. When we forget this, we inadvertently communicate to our culture that we have nothing unique to offer, nothing deeply spiritual or profoundly transforming.”
- Tullian Tchividjian, Unfashionable, 15.
PS - I know I'm a day late, sorry.
Wednesday, July 1, 2009
Wednesday's Quotes - July 1, 2009
When you share the Gospel, you share “the power of God for the salvation of everyone who believes.” Sharing the Gospel is like walking around in a thunderstorm and handing our lightning rods. You don’t know when the lightning is going to strike or who it will strike, but you know what its going to strike - the lightning rod of the gospel. And when it does, that persons lightning rod is going to be charged with the power of God and he or she is going to believe.”
- Donald S. Whitney, Spiritual Disciplines for the Christian Life, 102.
“It may well be questioned whether a man knows the value of the Gospel himself, if he does not desire to make it known to all the world.”
- J. C. Ryle, Expository Thoughts on Matthew, 410.
“Surely you have all things, because you have Him for your portion who has all things: God has all things in Himself, and you have God for your portion, and in that you have all, and this is the mystery of contentment.”
- Jeremiah Burroughs, The Rare Jewel of Christian Contentment, 68.
“The perspective of the Bible, by contrast, that God’s patience and forbearance will one day run out. The time will come when He acts in judgment because of His holiness. And when He does, He will place truth forever on the throne and evil forever on the scaffold. All that has broken and defiled life will be finally, and irrevocably, overthrown.”
- David Wells, The Courage to be Protestant, 130.
“Our lives, though are nourished not by spiritual experiences we can seek, but by God applying to us the truth of His Word.”
- David Wells, The Courage to be Protestant, 182.
“There has never been a ‘good old day’ since the Great Thud in Eden. Every age is filled with sin, sinners, God’s love, and work to be done. Each generation has its resistance to the Gospel, and each culture is equally far from God because of sin and equally close to God because of His love. As Solomon repeatedly says, there is nothing new under the sun.”
- Mark Driscoll, The Radical Reformission, 51.
- Donald S. Whitney, Spiritual Disciplines for the Christian Life, 102.
“It may well be questioned whether a man knows the value of the Gospel himself, if he does not desire to make it known to all the world.”
- J. C. Ryle, Expository Thoughts on Matthew, 410.
“Surely you have all things, because you have Him for your portion who has all things: God has all things in Himself, and you have God for your portion, and in that you have all, and this is the mystery of contentment.”
- Jeremiah Burroughs, The Rare Jewel of Christian Contentment, 68.
“The perspective of the Bible, by contrast, that God’s patience and forbearance will one day run out. The time will come when He acts in judgment because of His holiness. And when He does, He will place truth forever on the throne and evil forever on the scaffold. All that has broken and defiled life will be finally, and irrevocably, overthrown.”
- David Wells, The Courage to be Protestant, 130.
“Our lives, though are nourished not by spiritual experiences we can seek, but by God applying to us the truth of His Word.”
- David Wells, The Courage to be Protestant, 182.
“There has never been a ‘good old day’ since the Great Thud in Eden. Every age is filled with sin, sinners, God’s love, and work to be done. Each generation has its resistance to the Gospel, and each culture is equally far from God because of sin and equally close to God because of His love. As Solomon repeatedly says, there is nothing new under the sun.”
- Mark Driscoll, The Radical Reformission, 51.
Tuesday, June 30, 2009
Reflections on Reality TV
I remember when the first Real World came out and everybody under 25 was glued to that little show (at least it seemed like it to me). They were living in a real apartment that wasn't glitzy or glamorous. They were ordinary people who acted like normal people since the reality boom hadn't yet occurred. Then the boom hit and now you can watch reality TV 24/7. You can watch the Real World 72 or The Hills or Jon and Kate; pick your demographic they've got one for you. And by way of disclaimer and honesty I have to admit that I watch The Deadliest Catch every Tuesday without fail, although I soothe my conscience by telling myself that its OK because its educational reality TV.
I understand why TV channels like reality TV, its really cheap and it gets good ratings. But what is the appeal for all of us, I mean why do these shows get such good ratings. I have some hunches but they're probably not worth sharing. And what I want to avoid is a blanket condemnation of all reality TV (c'mon then I would have to give up The Deadliest Catch). But what I would like to share are some of my concerns about reality shows, and encourage us all to be more discerning about such entertainment. Now if anybody is actually reading then I have a job for you, if you can think of any positives that come from watching reality TV then I want you to share those in the comments section. Now in no particular order whatsoever here are my concerns.
- Much of reality TV appeals to our lower natures, you can see this in the sensuality that is portrayed, the skimpy clothing etc. I mean c'mon how bad is it when Bret Michaels quits his show because its gone too far.
- We become what we behold. And if we are viewing sensuality constantly we are going to become more sensual people. If we are viewing trivial nonsense constantly then we are going to become trivial people.
- We end up watching life instead of living it.
- It can create snobbishness. We watch to feel better about ourselves because these people are so awful or something like that.
- It can debase people. Much of it dehumanizing, turning people into objects, or using them, stripping them of their dignity.
- We can learn to laugh at people. We are called in the Word to love and encourage and build up, whereas reality shows teach us to laugh at people's stupidity or their misfortunes. We learn to enjoy the humiliation of others instead of mourning with them.
- We can learn to be critical people. Instead of learning to show grace and mercy, to react with understanding, we learn to tear people down and nitpick everyone.
- Reality shows often feed the wrong hungers. What we see in many of these shows are people who are desperate to be famous, many are even willing to settle for being notorious. These are not things that we should be hungry for, we should be hungry to bring glory to God, to know Jesus, to grow in holiness, or be faithful witnesses. It is difficult to imagine how reality TV feed these appropriate hungers.
- Most reality TV doesn't inspire the way a great novel or even movie can. I have trouble imagining the Hills or the Real Housewives of Omaha inspiring anyone to be sacrificial or courageous.
All right those are some of my concerns, I may have revealed some of my own snobbishness here, or maybe I am just hopelessly clueless or out of touch. Now remember you have a job, if you think I have missed the boat or if there are counterbalancing positives then you are going to have to convince me in the comments. Thanks to all who comment.
PS - My wife and I are disagreeing on whether Dirty Jobs is a reality show, if she's right that it is, then I watch two.
I understand why TV channels like reality TV, its really cheap and it gets good ratings. But what is the appeal for all of us, I mean why do these shows get such good ratings. I have some hunches but they're probably not worth sharing. And what I want to avoid is a blanket condemnation of all reality TV (c'mon then I would have to give up The Deadliest Catch). But what I would like to share are some of my concerns about reality shows, and encourage us all to be more discerning about such entertainment. Now if anybody is actually reading then I have a job for you, if you can think of any positives that come from watching reality TV then I want you to share those in the comments section. Now in no particular order whatsoever here are my concerns.
- Much of reality TV appeals to our lower natures, you can see this in the sensuality that is portrayed, the skimpy clothing etc. I mean c'mon how bad is it when Bret Michaels quits his show because its gone too far.
- We become what we behold. And if we are viewing sensuality constantly we are going to become more sensual people. If we are viewing trivial nonsense constantly then we are going to become trivial people.
- We end up watching life instead of living it.
- It can create snobbishness. We watch to feel better about ourselves because these people are so awful or something like that.
- It can debase people. Much of it dehumanizing, turning people into objects, or using them, stripping them of their dignity.
- We can learn to laugh at people. We are called in the Word to love and encourage and build up, whereas reality shows teach us to laugh at people's stupidity or their misfortunes. We learn to enjoy the humiliation of others instead of mourning with them.
- We can learn to be critical people. Instead of learning to show grace and mercy, to react with understanding, we learn to tear people down and nitpick everyone.
- Reality shows often feed the wrong hungers. What we see in many of these shows are people who are desperate to be famous, many are even willing to settle for being notorious. These are not things that we should be hungry for, we should be hungry to bring glory to God, to know Jesus, to grow in holiness, or be faithful witnesses. It is difficult to imagine how reality TV feed these appropriate hungers.
- Most reality TV doesn't inspire the way a great novel or even movie can. I have trouble imagining the Hills or the Real Housewives of Omaha inspiring anyone to be sacrificial or courageous.
All right those are some of my concerns, I may have revealed some of my own snobbishness here, or maybe I am just hopelessly clueless or out of touch. Now remember you have a job, if you think I have missed the boat or if there are counterbalancing positives then you are going to have to convince me in the comments. Thanks to all who comment.
PS - My wife and I are disagreeing on whether Dirty Jobs is a reality show, if she's right that it is, then I watch two.
Wednesday, June 24, 2009
Wednesday's Quotes
This time I want to share with you some of my favorite quotes from David Wells book, The Courage to be Protestant.
When our knowledge of God's truth is diminished, our understanding of God is diminished, and no amount of contrived mystery through ancient liturgies or gathering in the presence of dim, flickering candlelight can compensate for this loss. (from page 18)
I therefore think of myself as Reformational in the sense that I affirm its solas: in Scripture alone is God's authoritative truth found, it is by Grace alone that we are saved, and this salvation is received through faith alone. Only after each of these affirmations is made can we say that salvation from start to finish is to the glory of God alone. (page 21)
Many other factors have no doubt affected our changing internal landscape. But the key factors are undoubtedly that we have been disconnected from place, from family, from the past, and from an external God who has the power to reach into our lives and pull them around. But consuming has affected us, too. What we do as practiced consumers is to make daily inventories of our needs and how they might have changed. As I will suggest, it is probably our constant consuming with the constant choosing and reevaluating that it requires, that has strengthened the relativism that now ripples through all of our live making the very idea of a truth that is fixed and unchanging seem strange. (page 70)
There will certainly be more from Wells.
When our knowledge of God's truth is diminished, our understanding of God is diminished, and no amount of contrived mystery through ancient liturgies or gathering in the presence of dim, flickering candlelight can compensate for this loss. (from page 18)
I therefore think of myself as Reformational in the sense that I affirm its solas: in Scripture alone is God's authoritative truth found, it is by Grace alone that we are saved, and this salvation is received through faith alone. Only after each of these affirmations is made can we say that salvation from start to finish is to the glory of God alone. (page 21)
Many other factors have no doubt affected our changing internal landscape. But the key factors are undoubtedly that we have been disconnected from place, from family, from the past, and from an external God who has the power to reach into our lives and pull them around. But consuming has affected us, too. What we do as practiced consumers is to make daily inventories of our needs and how they might have changed. As I will suggest, it is probably our constant consuming with the constant choosing and reevaluating that it requires, that has strengthened the relativism that now ripples through all of our live making the very idea of a truth that is fixed and unchanging seem strange. (page 70)
There will certainly be more from Wells.
Wednesday, June 17, 2009
Reflecting on Bradley’s Flyboys
I started this book with great excitement. Flags of our Fathers was one of my most enjoyable reads and finding that there was a sequel of sorts in this book I hurriedly got a copy. But the excitement turned to confusion. Then confusion turned to suspicion. The opening chapters turned back the clock of history and exposed some arrogant actions of our nation and he appeared to be blaming the US for the actions of WWII Japan. I began to fear that I had gotten another piece of elitist US bashing. You know the kind, they are ashamed to be American and spend most of their time talking about how backward and arrogant the US is (do you ever wonder why they don’t just move to France). As the book progressed I came to see that Bradley had other intentions for including the bits he did.
The arrogant act of driving our warships down Tokyo Bay had consequences beyond intimidating the Japanese. Japan came to see that they would have to change to keep up with the world, while not blaming the US it is clear that our actions contributed to Japans need to enter the modern world. Bradley carefully never blames the US for the twisted form of Bushido that was used to brainwash an entire generation, but our nation certainly had a role to play. Now at the time Commodore Perry had no idea what would come of his actions yet there were consequences. There are always consequences to our actions, small and large and we cannot easily escape them as I wished throughout the reading of this book. I wanted the US to be a spotless bastion of Democratic glory yet we came out spotted and our actions had many unforeseen negative consequences.
I have heard war described as an inhuman thing. This is certainly true. The very act of fighting a war, of taking human lives is goes beyond the pale of what we would allow in our everyday lives. The taking of life even accidently or innocently is regarded with horror, but it is the business of war, an inhuman thing without doubt. But what I learned in this book was that it also makes those who participate less than human. There are reports throughout the book about the Japanese soldiers torturing, beheading, and even cannibalizing captured soldiers (they were systematically dehumanized because their leaders believed it would make them better soldiers). But what I found most shocking was the reports of Americans who strafed schoolyards killing children. American pilots firing on fishing boats while returning or even shooting Japanese pilots as they were parachuting to the ground. I thought that Americans would be different since we were bound be Geneva conventions and had been raised in a society shaped by a Judeo-Christian worldview. Yet this inhuman thing called war turned young men into beings less than human at least for a time.
I learned a great deal in this book about our history, about the history of the pacific theatre of WWII. I also very surprisingly learned a great deal about the nature of war and its effects on people. I also learned a great deal about how far we can sink even though we are made in the image of God. But the lasting effect on me has nothing to do with American history; an old hunger was given a new dimension. The hunger for the return of Christ now has a new wrinkle for me. Because after Christ returns I will have no sin left to create horrific consequences, there will be no more war to take lives or deaden our hearts and make us less than we are even by nature. Let us long for the new world that Jesus will reign over where there will be true and lasting peace.
The arrogant act of driving our warships down Tokyo Bay had consequences beyond intimidating the Japanese. Japan came to see that they would have to change to keep up with the world, while not blaming the US it is clear that our actions contributed to Japans need to enter the modern world. Bradley carefully never blames the US for the twisted form of Bushido that was used to brainwash an entire generation, but our nation certainly had a role to play. Now at the time Commodore Perry had no idea what would come of his actions yet there were consequences. There are always consequences to our actions, small and large and we cannot easily escape them as I wished throughout the reading of this book. I wanted the US to be a spotless bastion of Democratic glory yet we came out spotted and our actions had many unforeseen negative consequences.
I have heard war described as an inhuman thing. This is certainly true. The very act of fighting a war, of taking human lives is goes beyond the pale of what we would allow in our everyday lives. The taking of life even accidently or innocently is regarded with horror, but it is the business of war, an inhuman thing without doubt. But what I learned in this book was that it also makes those who participate less than human. There are reports throughout the book about the Japanese soldiers torturing, beheading, and even cannibalizing captured soldiers (they were systematically dehumanized because their leaders believed it would make them better soldiers). But what I found most shocking was the reports of Americans who strafed schoolyards killing children. American pilots firing on fishing boats while returning or even shooting Japanese pilots as they were parachuting to the ground. I thought that Americans would be different since we were bound be Geneva conventions and had been raised in a society shaped by a Judeo-Christian worldview. Yet this inhuman thing called war turned young men into beings less than human at least for a time.
I learned a great deal in this book about our history, about the history of the pacific theatre of WWII. I also very surprisingly learned a great deal about the nature of war and its effects on people. I also learned a great deal about how far we can sink even though we are made in the image of God. But the lasting effect on me has nothing to do with American history; an old hunger was given a new dimension. The hunger for the return of Christ now has a new wrinkle for me. Because after Christ returns I will have no sin left to create horrific consequences, there will be no more war to take lives or deaden our hearts and make us less than we are even by nature. Let us long for the new world that Jesus will reign over where there will be true and lasting peace.
Wednesday, June 10, 2009
Wednesday's Quote of the Day
"The New Testament portrays the ‘Christ event’, which happened two thousand years ago as the finished, perfect work of God for the salvation of all his people, both Jew and Gentile. The Gospel - the first coming of Christ - wins for believers all the riches of glory. The acceptance of the believer with God is perfect the moment he believes because Christ and his work are perfect. The status of the believer can never be improved upon - he possesses all the riches of Christ. There is nothing the believer will possess in glory that he does not now possess in Christ. All this he possesses by faith, but that it is by faith does not make it any less real."
Graeme Goldsworthy, The Goldsworthy Trilogy, 119.
Graeme Goldsworthy, The Goldsworthy Trilogy, 119.
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