Happy Monday

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The weekend is over.  You’ve been in church all weekend and/or watched too much football.  The fridge is full of left-overs.  Monday morning means back to the grindstone for many, so here is some encouragement to help push you along.  God looked at what he had made and declared that it was good; that includes Monday!

I am a big fan of the Our Daily Bread devotional from RBC Ministries.  I have them e-mailed just in case I get too busy one morning or else forget to look at it.  Check out this little gem, which seems to oddly correspond to the beginning of football season:

I sat down and wept, and mourned for many days; I was fasting and praying before the God of heaven. —Nehemiah 1:4

I loved Malcom’s prayer at church the other day. Only 7 years old, he stood in front of 100 other kids and prayed: “Jesus, thank You that some of us get to play football and go to church, and for safety on the ride here, and for forgiveness of our sins, and for eternal life. We love You, Jesus. Please don’t ever forget how much we love You!”    Continue reading at Our Daily Bread.   Continue reading →

Jesus Had Feelings Too

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John 11:35, famously the shortest verse in scripture, says that Jesus wept.  I once heard a preacher say there is no verse about Jesus laughing.  We can get out on thin ice when we start identifying the litany of things not specified in scripture.  Although the word trinity is not in the Bible, the concept of the trinity is definitely scriptural.  Jesus had much to do in a very short period of time, and the demands of ministry were often overwhelming.  In John 11 he wept at the tomb of Lazarus.  Jesus lamented that Jerusalem did not repent, agonized during the final hours before his arrest and betrayal, and at other times seemed to display almost violent anger.  Is there evidence to suggest that Jesus also experienced the other end of the human spectrum of emotions?  Jesus was surrounded by so many that rejected the Gospel, but a careful study of scripture reveals he didn’t mope around like all hope was lost. Continue reading →

I’ve Got Friends in Blog Places

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I love the Internet; no surprise there right?  I watch movies online, stream music, author multiple blogs and make excessive use of Facebook.  My wife and I each have a laptop, and our own handheld web devices.  I’m blogging in the kitchen while baking a lasagna, but that’s probably more intel than you need.

One of the privileges afforded by the internet is that anyone can have a global audience.  This blog is read around the block and around the world.  I in turn have made blog friends in places such as Canada, Australia and Israel.  While brothers and sisters in the Kingdom, we have never met in person.  Paul Wilkinson (he’s Canadian, eh) is the author of Christianity 201 and Thinking Out Loud, both of which are listed in the blogroll at right.  He wrote me last week and asked about submitting a guest post, which I am always happy to do.  Good blogs include links to other places, and one test of your own blog worthiness is being linked to by others.  Featuring a guest author adds variety to your own blog and increases the web presence of your guest.  If no one has coined the term Internetworking let me toss it out there now.

My latest post, Jesus Said More Than the Lord’s Prayer, is featured at Christianity 201.  Paul adds new content daily from a variety of sources, so be sure to visit again.

Storyline Drops September 6th

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Donald Miller’s new book Storyline, available tomorrow on Amazon.

Donald Miller, as in Blue Like Jazz and Searching for God Knows What.  Jump to Miller’s blog here.

 

Happy Monday, Tuesday Edition

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Since yesterday was Labor Day, this may be the first day of the work week for many of you.  Three day weekends are nice, but you can’t really skip that first day back.  I always thought those Tuesdays had a Mondayish feel to them.

Chin up, chest out – Happy Tuesday!

Happy Labor Day

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In lieu of Happy Monday, Happy Labor Day!  

Labor Day, in the Untied States anyway, is the unofficial end of summer.  Memorial Day is the first 3-day-weekend of summer (a.k.a. opening day of grill season) and Labor Day is the last.  So if you’re grilling out, lounging by the lake or taking one last cruise, you really don’t need any extra encouragement.  If you do happen to be at work today, you must have one of those jobs that affords you the opportunity to read blogs on the Internet.  So, you know, it could be worse.

Labor Day “celebrates the economic and social contributions of workers” and has been a federal holiday since 1894.  (source)  If you’re at work right now, then you have been blessed with health, knowledge, skills etc. that allow you to do that job.  We are warned in scripture not to think we have made anything of ourselves.  If you have a job and are off today, then you have been doubly blessed.  I’m actually unemployed (yeah I said it) but will be grilling hamburgers and enjoying the long weekend my brother and his family have.

Not that I am speaking of being in need, for I have learned in whatever situation I am to be content. I know how to be brought low, and I know how to abound. In any and every circumstance, I have learned the secret of facing plenty and hunger, abundance and need. I can do all things through him who strengthens me.  -Philippians 4:11-13

Happy Monday Holiday  

Happy Monday

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It’s Happy Monday time!  

In case you missed it…

While homeowners in Florida are covering windows with plywood, thousands of people were still living in tents in Haiti when Tropical Storm Isaac came through.  The most recent numbers are six dead, but 30,000 have nowhere to go.  Pray for all those affected in the gulf coast states, as Isaac continues to track further and further west than expected.

The American most famous for taking “one small step for man” has crossed over into eternity.  Neil Armstrong was 82.  His death may have been the result of complications following a recent heart surgery. Continue reading →

The American Bible Challenge

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The American Bible Challenge premiered tonight on GSN.  I’m actually watching it right now.  I recommend this review from Catholic Online.  The GSN page for Bible Challenge is here.

If you watched it, I want to know what you thought.  Fair warning though; if you didn’t watch it, do not presume to tell me what’s wrong with it.

 

 

Happy Monday

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Russell Crowe will play Noah.  This “first look” pic was Tweeted by director Mark Morning.  This film is set to be released spring 2014.  (Russell looks good, but he’s no Steve Carell.)

It is no longer illegal for women in North Korea to ride bicycles.  The law was about 20 years old, and truth be told was probably not enforced outside of Pyongyang.  But still… progress?

Many states in the South are enjoying the “cold front” that came through this weekend.  By cold I mean daytime highs are in the upper 80’s.  School has started, the weather is almost fall-like, and my wife wants high-school football to start. Continue reading →

FRC Shooting Leads to Calls for Civil Discourse

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A lone gunman entered the Family Research Council in Washington D.C. and shot an unarmed security guard before being subdued.  The only thing he said before opening fire was “I do not like your politics.”  There have been a lot of accusations from both sides, conservative and liberal, about who is at fault.  The most sensible thing I’ve read all week is a statement from Richard Land, president of the SBC Ethics and Religious Liberty Commission: “”We need to lift the level of civil discourse where we can disagree without demonizing our opponents.”  Ed Stetzer wrote on his blog “We must be able to disagree without demonizing or labeling as ‘haters’ those with whom we disagree.” Continue reading →