We’ve all been there, but maybe not when we’re sitting in front of everyone else in church and we happen to be the former president of the United States.
Pray without ceasing
Rejoice always, pray without ceasing, give thanks in all circumstances; for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus for you. — I Thessalonians 5:16-18.
We are told to “pray without ceasing” in the Bible. John MacArthur, in Pulpit Magazine, explores this question:
Unceasing, incessant prayer is essential to the vitality of your relationship to the Lord and your ability to function in the world. But exactly what does it mean to pray without ceasing?
The first time someone hears about the concept of praying without ceasing it may conjure up the image of Christians walking around with their hands folded, heads bowed, and eyes closed, bumping into things. While certain postures and specific times set aside for prayer have an important bearing on our communication with God, to “pray at all times” obviously does not mean we are to pray in formal or noticeable ways every waking moment. And it does not mean you’re supposed to devote yourself to reciting ritualistic patterns and forms of prayer.
To “pray without ceasing” refers to recurring prayer, not nonstop talking. Prayer is to be a way of life — you’re to be continually in an attitude of prayer. It is living in continual God-consciousness, where everything you see and experience becomes a kind of prayer, lived in deep awareness of and surrender to Him. It should be instant and intimate communication — not unlike that which we enjoy with our best friend.
Remembering MLK and what it means
Today is Martin Luther King Day. We should all think about what this day means because, in the words of John Piper: None of us is without need for help in the purification of our hearts in the way we feel and think about other ethnic groups.
Here is some background and the text of the speech.
Dobson chooses Nebraska over Colorado?
Surprisingly, I couldn’t find anything about this on the Focus on the Family Web site. I would say this gives Nebraska a decided edge over Colorado. 🙂
Don’t waste your time, energy and money
This is a video I’ve viewed before, but it’s something I’ve revisited and thought about often. Because this is a new year and, like me, many have made resolutions, I think it’s worth thinking about.
For more great video and counsel, go to Don’t Waste Your Life
Be a Voice for Life
The week of Jan. 20-27 is Sanctity of Human Life Week, marking the 35th anniversary of the Roe v. Wade and Doe v. Bolton decisions that legalized abortion in the United States.
In that time, millions of babies have been murdered in our country in what has been one of the greatest tragedies in history. This year, when we will elect a leader in the United States, there will be much talk about abortions and politics. How much of an issue should it be? Perhaps the best way to answer that is to ask yourself another question: How much do you know about abortion? Those wanting more education can go here for more information.
And if you say, “Well, that’s just one issue, should it dictate who I vote for?” then I’d suggest reading this, especially if you call yourself a Christian.
Here is just one excerpt from that article that I’ll share with you:
No endorsement of any single issue qualifies a person to hold public office. Being pro-life does not make a person a good governor, mayor, or president. But there are numerous single issues that disqualify a person from public office. For example, any candidate who endorsed bribery as a form of government efficiency would be disqualified, no matter what his party or platform was. Or a person who endorsed corporate fraud (say under $50 million) would be disqualified no matter what else he endorsed. Or a person who said that no black people could hold office—on that single issue alone he would be unfit for office. Or a person who said that rape is only a misdemeanor—that single issue would end his political career. These examples could go on and on. Everybody knows a single issue that for them would disqualify a candidate for office.
This isn’t just a once-a-year kind of issue. This is something that happens every day in our society. It’s too big to ignore. Make your voice heard. There is no middle ground.
Jacob faces some issues
Today at the men’s Bible study we looked at Genesis 32 and 33 . While we read Genesis 33 to complete the episode, most of our discussion centered around the events of chapter 32 where Jacob, after leaving his father-in-law, meets with the angels (Vs. 1) and then plots his next course. The problem Jacob faces in this episode is reuniting with his brother Esau, who had cheated out of his birthright and then tricked out of his father’s blessing. He fears what is to come.
Our discussion mostly was on how Jacob cried out to God and reminded God of the promise He had made to do good for him (vs. 9). Still, this plea comes after Jacob has divided his camp in two in anticipation of meeting Esau, from whom he expects the worst. Is Jacob here manipulating even with God? As the chapter progresses we see Jacob send gifts in hopes of appeasing his brother and arranging his party so that there is some means of escape lest his brother strike out against him. Finally, we see that Jacob is left alone with just his family. And alone, in his desperation, he wrestles with God Himself.
What happens in this case is that Jacob comes to the end of himself and is changed by God. Like all of us, he reaches out to God when there appears no other wiggle room left. God changes Jacob’s name to Israel to signal his covenant with these people and then physically cripples Jacob as a reminder of this agreement.
Does Jacob change? Perhaps not immediately, for we see in the next chapter he still attempts to manipulate his encounter with Esau (Chapter 33:1-3). It doesn’t matter for God has softened Esau’s heart without the aid of Jacob’s gifts or scheming.
From there, despite the reconciliation, Jacob resists his brother’s entreaties and goes his own way. The chapter ends with Jacob putting down roots in the Canaanite land of Shechem, not the land of his father and his kindred (Chapter 32:9) as he had prayed to God. This consequence of this disobedience becomes more clear in the episode related in chapter 34.
Tags: Bible, Jacob, discernment
Juno — Some thoughts
With Juno now out in wide release, there has been plenty of buzz about it. While a movie about teens exploring sex might not seem like a good thing in conservative circles, it has generated favorable reviews from more than one writer extolling its — even if it’s unintentional — pro-life viewpoint.
There is some hesitation in this household to have my 14-year-old daughter see it since the family movie guide I read in the paper talks about a “discreet sex scene” that opens the movie. “Discreet?” The point is, teen pregnancy is something worth talking about and it is good to see a movie not coming from an expressly Christian viewpoint giving a favorable view to saving a baby’s life, even when it is inconvenient for the mother and the alternative would not be frowned on (by the non-Christian world).
Life is more than Husker football
When I was younger, I lived and died sports. I mean, if I wasn’t out in the back yard throwing the ball around to some imaginary receiver or seeing how far I could throw a baseball, I was down at empty lot behind the Lutheran Church playing whatever sport was in season with my neighborhood buddies.
That was all before we had sports on television every possible minute. There was no ESPN, no Internet and the local sports pages of the Daily Globe were my window to the “world” of sports. I could hardly imagine a thing as “too much sports.”
Yet that is exactly the kind of thing I think about these days. It used to be you talked about the weather when you didn’t know what else to converse about. Now it’s sports because it’s everywhere. I know and hear more than I care to know about the New York Yankees, the Boston Red Sox, Alex Rodriguez, Tom Brady and on and on. There is no mystery.
Even in a simple state like Nebraska, we have created our own obsession — Nebraska football. This season’s woeful team has become an all-encompassing drama to be dissected, analyzed, mulled over, debated, meditated on and digested like it is the very meaning of existence for people in this state. What may have once been an enjoyable distraction (remember, that’s what sports were once at one time a long time ago?) has become main stage.
I refuse to yield, however. I want my life back. Sports are fun, but they’re not everything. Remember when you could enjoy the company of someone without calculating what time you will need to be back to listen to a radio, watch a TV or check the Internet for a score or report? Remember conversations that were more than a handful of words?
Remember when Sundays were for worshiping and not for recounting what happened the previous afternoon? Do you think God is amused? Do you think He cares to share the spotlight with our ridiculously unsatisfying deity? Perhaps He’s sad. Or angry.
Maybe we could spare a few moments of our time to think about him. Turn off the TV.
Blogged with Flock
Flocking to a new browser
Today I downloaded Flock 1.0, which is a Mozilla based browser that I hadn’t heard of before. I’ve tried several of them: Safari, Firefox, Mozilla, Camino, IE and a few others I can’t think of just now. This one seems to have a lot of features so maybe it just might stay in the favorite list for awhile.
Blogged with Flock
Tags: flock
Rockstanding 
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