august 19, 2009
Some people say that God of the Old Testament is judgmental and full of wrath while the God of the New Testament is loving and forgiving. It’s the same God. How do you explain these perceived differences?
freak folk
Freak folk, psych folk, and folk-pop are terms used to describe genres within folk music. Musically, freak folk features acoustic instruments, mostly guitar and occasionally violin or flute, accompanied by percussion instruments such as bongos. Psych folk is a blending of folk music and psychedelic rock or pop. The varieties of folk music just keep unfolding.
The Bible has its…
filial piety
In Chinese culture, filial piety (Chinese: ?; pinyin: xiào) or a respect for parents and elderly is one of the virtues to be held above all else. But like many other virtues, it is fast being sacrificed at the altar of self-fulfillment and self-actualization.
Below is a commercial which depicts this reality:
Filial Piety on YouTube
Ephesians 6: 1-3 states: "Children, obey…
get going
Every spring, we plant nearly 40 tomato plants.
Every fall, when we find that we have more tomatoes than we can possibly eat, can, or turn into sauce or salsa, we give lots away to grateful friends and family. It makes me wonder, however, why our thankful recipients—lovers of tomatoes that they are—don't grow even one plant of their own?…
plumb-lined
A must-see for tourists visiting Italy is the Leaning Tower of Pisa in Tuscany. The 8-story tall cathedral bell tower, completed in 1370, was once upright. Today, however, it's tilted. In 1990, the tower's top was 15 feet (4.5m) off vertical and the whole thing was in danger of toppling. So it underwent 12 years of extensive stabilizing work, and—for…
show us the way
I read of an Indian guru who will sell you "inner peace" for about $300. His brand of self-controlled breathing and meditation is all the rage among India's stress-worn business people and millions of others worldwide. Fortunately, it can be learned in one weekend and requires just 30 minutes of practice each day to keep the good vibes coming.
Sure,…
land and deeds
Do you have a special place where you'd like to be right now—a place you feel passionate about? I love serving others at Upper Peninsula Bible Camp. It's a beautiful place in the woods of northern Michigan where campers have enjoyed God's creation and heard the Good News for more than 70 years.
Recently, a family donated a cabin to…
full tank
Bernard of Clairvaux, a 12th-century French abbot, once said, "The man who is wise . . . will see his life more like a reservoir than as a canal. The canal . . . pours out as it receives. The reservoir retains the water until it is filled, then discharges the overflow without loss to itself."
Quite the insightful word…
drawing close
My 6-year-old son loves Magnetix. Unlike Legos, which are snapped together and pried apart,magnetized pieces that attract or repel make building easy. According to my son, his set will even jump out of its storage area and onto the floor without any assistance. Yeah, right . . .
When it comes to relationships, attraction is definitely not to be toyed…
August 12, 2009
How does your faith in Jesus affect your entertainment choices? What principles guide you?
living under the influence
Driving a car or another vehicle while under the influence of alcohol and/or drugs can lead to tragedy and—of lesser consequence—a traffic ticket. Depending on the degree to which a person's mental and motor skills are impaired, their offense will be labeled a DWI—driving while intoxicated; OWI—operating while impaired; DUI—driving under the influence (of alcohol and/or drugs). Sadly, each year…
a conservative Christian?
Shortly before I moved to Africa, while at a New York City film festival reception, actor Tim Robbins and I engaged in a substantive conversation. We discussed causes and effects of war, international human rights issues, and why Hollywood celebrities are more likely than professional athletes to publicly endorse or oppose various political leaders.
When the topic turned to religion,…
g.i. joe: the rise of cobra - movie review
It's hard to know where to begin with this film. Much of my thinking about G.I. Joe mirrors my thoughts about the Transformers 2 film that I recently reviewed. Once again, it's a big budget action picture, and-once again-it is loaded with CGI special effects. Unlike the Transformers movie, however, I felt that the special effects were very inconsistent. At times, they…
calm in the crowd
If TV cameras had existed in the first century AD, they would have swarmed all over the mob scene described in Acts 19. An angry crowd had gathered in Ephesus to clamor for the head of Paul. For he had "persuaded many people that handmade gods [weren't] really gods at all" (v.26).
The metal workers of Ephesus made a good…
the story ends well
Randy Pausch was a respected professor at Carnegie Mellon University when he was diagnosed with pancreatic cancer in 2006. Pausch fought hard, but the cancer spread ferociously.
A month after he was told he had 6 to 9 months of life left, Pausch gave his now famous "last lecture." A devoted family man (wife Jai and three beautiful kids), Pausch's…
