Head-dibs

Thank you.

I'm a Texan by birth, and everyone knows that Texans enjoy nothing more than a good lie story. Many take great pride in their ability to yarn. Must be something in the water, or the air. Too many cattle, perhaps. Two riverboat captains who got into a shouting match around the campfire one night about who was the better liar. One of their crew suggested a contest to find out who could tell the best lie. Wagers were made and the captains took a moment to gather their thoughts. The first captain stood up in the light of the campfire and spun his story of that summer the Old Muddy ran so low and dry that they used their paddle-wheel steamboat to plow and furrow the once soggy bottom. They turned miles of the rich riverbed into farmland. The soil was so rich that instead of waiting weeks, the first crop came in mere days in the heat of the summer sun. As they began to harvest the corn by backing their paddle-wheel downstream through the fields, the summer sun beat down so hard that all...

Here it comes! Keith Green: The movie ! " Was Judas’ betrayal of Jesus to the Sanhedrin an act of impulse or anger ?" A look at Judas' motives and role, by Dr. Terry Hulbert . Called to be a street preacher ? 10,000 days of volcanic eruption . This amazing pic captures the Space Station and Shuttle "passing by" the sun . New life, or a manipulation of already-existing life ? Not sure if this qualifies as evangelism. Waddya think?

“ Far from enjoining men to listen to such tales are we, who avoid the practice of soothing our crying children, as the saying is, by telling them fabulous stories, being afraid of fostering in their minds the impiety professed by those who, though wise in their own conceit, have no more knowledge of the truth than do infants. For why (in the name of truth!) do you make those who believe you subject to ruin and corruption, dire and irretrievable? Why, I beseech you, fill up life with idolatrous images, by feigning the winds, or the air, or fire, or earth, or stones, or stocks, or steel, or this universe, to be gods; and, prating loftily of the heavenly bodies in this much vaunted science of astrology, not astronomy, to those men who have truly wandered, talk of the wandering stars as gods ?” (Clement of Alexandria, “Exhortation to the Heathen”) I quote Clement once more because our thoughts are centered on the matter he here presents: people are soothed with fabulous stories that are n...

Our team was downtown late one Friday night. Outside one bar, I saw a man crossed the street toward us with another fellow and two young ladies tagging along. I noticed he was wearing a “Got Jesus?” tee-shirt. Curious, I asked him if he had a Christian background. I ’ll tell you what happened in a moment—keep reading. Mention the “love chapter” of the Bible and one thinks of 1 Corinthians 13. Mention “The Hall of Faith,” and one turns to Hebrews 11. Ask someone on the street their favorite psalm and most will say “the 23rd.” When we think of Acts 17, our minds flip up the title, “Paul Goes to Mars” (or something like that) and we recall this is the record of Paul preaching to the pagans in their temple regarding “an unknown god.” Our eyes zero in on verse 16, noting that Paul when he arrives in Athens, does what any good Mars rover does: he observed. Next, he went to their temple and preached, they heard and some believed. Actually, that’s not quite what happened. When Paul first arriv...

Laura Story Elvington (CIU class of 2003), author of the song, "Indescribable," received Columbia International University's "Recent Alumni Recognition" on April 25 at Spring Valley Baptist Church. Rev. Robert Winburn, senior pastor of Spring Valley, hosted the event. The recognition was given to Laura by Dr. Bill Jones , President of CIU, and Dr. Roy King , Director of CIU Alumni Ministries. For more information about Lauras ministry, go to: http://www.laurastorymusic.com/

I wanted to write a story in my later teen years about a book shop that contained every book imaginable, each representing every person, nation, empire and event of human history. I imagined the shop to be located just down the street from Scrooge and Marley’s place (I once had a fascination with Dickens). Mind you, this was at a time in my life I was trying to deny the existence of God. The more I worked on the story, the more God-like my character came to be. I never finished the story, but the imagery was captivating for a season. I had never heard of Henry Drummond until a few short years ago, and certainly never heard of this poem until a few days ago. One can imagine how my thoughts are keenly focused on “The Booke Of The World.” “Of this faire volumne, which wee World doe name, If wee the sheetes and leaves could turne with care, Of Him who it correctes, and did it frame, Wee cleare might read the Art and Wisedome rare: Finde out his Power, which wildest Powʹrs doth ta...

"Have you ever heard of anyone in history being imprisoned or executed for distributing copies of Grimm’s fairy tales? What would you say if you’d heard that copies of The Iliad and The Odyssey had been banned in Saudi Arabia and North Korea? Imagine people trying to smuggle copies of Hans Christian Andersen’s works into China? Such ideas are comical, but the Bible, which has been called a mere collection of myths and fairy tales, has suffered all of these fates. Throughout history and even today, copies of the Bible are banned and burned, and those possessing it are persecuted and imprisoned. There’s something about this ancient book that threatens and frightens those in power, especially those who use power to oppress people weaker than themselves. And they have every reason to be frightened.” Eric Metaxas, Everything You Always Wanted to Know about God (Colorado Springs, 2005), page 155. (ht: Ray Ortlund) Other "Randoms": Even literature has its " one hit wonders...

Would you like a tuition discount for education (with the exception of doctoral level courses)? Do you belong to any of these agencies? Africa Inland Mission CAM International Child Evangelism Fellowship Christar Greater Europe Mission Pioneers Seacoast Church SEND International

"God is not so cruel as to have left us in the miserable plight that the most saving and necessary truths have to be laboriously assembled by everyone for himself. We are not a lot of amatteur detectives on the hunt for clues in a cosmic whodunit." Would God be so unloving, unkind and unjust to have given faith only to intellectuals? Blamires, Harry. The Christian Mind . S.P.C.K.: London, 1963 ************

“ He has made everything beautiful in its time. Also, he has put eternity into man's heart, yet so that he cannot find out what God has done from the beginning to the end .” (Ecclesiastes 3:11, ESV). Clement of Alexandria was not a spectacular theologian and has been the object of as much adulation as criticism. He has quoted extensively from the both Old and New Testaments in his writings and his primary work was in laying the foundations for catechism for new believers. His predecessor at the Alexandrian school was a philosopher and Clement was not lacking in the area of study himself. Reading Clement leaves one with the feeling of eavesdropping, as oftentimes he engages authors in a conversation, allowing his readers to hear. Clement often dialogued with Plato in his writings, which lead many to conclude that Clement favored Plato to the point of allowing his philosophy to influence his theology. This writer is not prepared to comment on this possibility; however, one cannot mi...

There is a saying, “favor is the currency of God.” If favor were the result of fate or destiny then due to the impersonality of fate or destiny, favor becomes meaningless. If favor were the outcome of a game or even good deeds, then favor would be a wage. Favor is the “currency” of God, a blessing. The life of Sir John Davies (1569 - 1626), the English Renaissance lawyer and parliamentarian under Queen Elizabeth (and late contemporary of Sir Philip Sidney) is a wonderful illustration of one who received this blessing. Davies wrote and published in 1599 a book called Nosce Te Ipsum , or “Know Thyself.” When Davies was presented to King James (yes, the same King James of the 1611 Bible) Davies was already a favorite of Queen Elizabeth. When King James inquired if the man before him was the author of the Nosce Te Ipsum , the King "embraced him and conceived a considerable liking for him." Davies was later appointed to be Solicitor General for Ireland when he was knighted in 1...

A good writer shows the reader what to see in narrative, rather than simply tell. Joseph Conrad could have simply written, "as the sun went down, two men walked up the hill." How boring. Instead, Conrad shows us: "The sun was low: and leaning forward side by side, they seemed to be tugging painfully uphill their two ridiculous shadows of unequal length, that trailed behind them slowly over the tall grass without bending a single blade." (Heart of Darkness, 1902) Now that's good writing! Dr. George Murray delivered an incredible message on " Knowing and Doing The Will of God ." Need some help with sermon preparation? Use this handy tool for help in making applications from the text. Yet another reason why I can't accept the premise of evolution. First Underwater Footage: Gulf of Mexico Oil Spill at Source Sometimes a part of the Sun can just explode into space . Can you tell the difference between Joel Osteen and a fortune cookie ? What are five...

Are you familiar with this word, "abomination?" Perhaps now it is an older word and not much used today. The word is used in reference to something extremely disgusting--so disgusting in fact, that one would put distance between himself or herself and whatever the abomination is. That which makes you jump up and run into the other room might be considered an "abomination." We've all seen the videos of people jumping up, running and screaming from dead rats (fake or otherwise) bugs, or just being scared in general. This is the idea that something is so horrendous, one flees the scene. Perhaps we would not jump up and run from these things, but consider our reaction to certain people or situations. We will not tolerate cheating either in business or in board games. What is your reaction to a business that steals from its customers, or treats its employees unfairly? We would avoid that business, and perhaps report to some authority regarding unethical business prac...

This helps me better understand what is meant by, "the whole earth is full of His Glory " (Isaiah 6:3) and the rainbow imagery of Revelation ( 4:3 ; 10:1 ) (scroll down for photo gallery). "The nearer I approach the end of my pilgrimage, the clearer is the evidence of the divine origin of the Bible. The grandeur and sublimity of God's remedy for fallen man are more appreciated and the future is illuminated with hope and glory." (Samuel Morse, 1791 - 1872, inventor) Recommended Reading (click on image):

Clement of Alexandria (155 - 220 A.D.) lived during a time of growth for early Christianity. The early Alexandrian church was surrounded by pagan culture, pressed on all sides by either the obscure principles of religious orthodoxy, or outright heresy. [1] The Alexandrian school taught doctrine to early Christians in their preparations for baptism into the Christian faith. Clement (not to be confused with Clement of Rome, but of Alexandria) became the second leader of this school, followed by Origen. The Alexandrian school became more formalized and eventually laid the foundation for what has become the calendar period commonly known as Lent [2] (Lent as currently observed is nothing near what Clement and others taught or intended for the school). “The crucial achievement of Clement and Origen was to put over the gospel in terms which could be understood by people familiar with the highest forms of Greek culture. They established once for all the intellectual respectability of the new ...

English author and statesman Sir Philip Sidney (1554 - 1586) penned the following farewell poem, “Splendidis Longum Valedico Nugis“: "LEAVE me, O Love, which reachest but to dust, And thou, my mind, aspire to higher things! Grow rich in that which never taketh rust: Whatever fades, but fading pleasure brings. Draw in thy beams, and humble all thy might To that sweet yoke where lasting freedoms be; Which breaks the clouds and opens forth the light That doth both shine and give us sight to see. O take fast hold! let that light be thy guide In this small course which birth draws out to death, And think how evil becometh him to slide Who seeketh Heaven, and comes of heavenly breath. Then farewell, world! thy uttermost I see: Eternal Love, maintain thy life in me!" These farewell words are those of the son of the Lord Deputy of Ireland. He served as a royal attendant to Queen Elizabeth I, as an ambassador to the German Emperor and as a soldier who though living primarily in the pr...

Here is my first TEDtalk , using the TEDtalk generator : "(Laughter.) Thank you very much. You know, you don't diverge from the path et cetera, et cetera. That's why I think the way to true happiness also means keeping your back straight et cetera, et cetera. But most importantly, you need the brain to recognize the exact way it's supposed to think et cetera, et cetera. It is like French phrases such as "et cetera, et cetera". But I should be more specific when referring to a milky weak coffee making you jittery et cetera, et cetera. So I thought maybe a mirror will not get something bad fixed et cetera, et cetera. It's therefore much better to create a choice to consciously solve a problem. To illustrate my point, I'll give you a very dramatic example of a patient who came in bored but all of a sudden this intense need for creativity made him feel alive again. I could use this data to gain insight, but not make decisions." ************ Please ta...

Reading through the account of Polycarp’s martyrdom reveals several observations concerning the conflict of worldviews and the impact of truth. Polycarp was killed for being a follower of the Lord Jesus Christ, killed in the name of religion. The persecution of believers today occurs because of the same conflict the world showed against truth--the same hostility that even our Lord Jesus Christ faced in his arrest, trial and death. Truth wrecks the principles of religion because truth is rooted in the person of Lord Jesus Christ, not in a man-made system of people who think they understand God. Pragmatism as a worldview results in many, many problems, because it attempts to establish truth in a "user-friendly" fashion. When two people stand shoulder to shoulder in the name of pragmatism or religious tolerance, the systems fail before it ever begins; for example, biblical truth stresses that man is the crown of God's creation, so for one man to "lift his hand" aga...

Since the subject of oil is very much in our headlines as an industrial and environment concern, how about testing your knowledge regarding other kinds and uses for oil? Should you find you are not so slick with the answers, feel free to skim from the hints. Who asked the wise virgins for oil for their lamps? (Matthew 25:7-8) Who used oil on the wounds of a man beaten by robbers? (Luke 10:33-34) Who multiplied the oil of a widow so she could pay her debts? (2 Kings 4:2-7) What tribe received this blessing: “let him be the favorite of his brothers, and let him dip his foot in oil "? (Deuteronomy 33:24) To whom did Jesus say, “ You did not anoint my head with oil, but she has anointed my feet with ointment ”? (Luke 7:43, 46) Who poured oil a on a pillar of stone and named the place Bethel? (Genesis 35:14-15) Who asked a woman to pretend to be a mourner and not anoint herself with oil? (2 Samuel 14:2) Who was anointed with oil by Zadok? (1 Kings 1:29) To whom d...

“There are four great impelling motives that move men to action: Fear, Hope, Faith, and Love—these four, but the greatest of these is Fear.” Fear makes people do the strangest things. The Russian revolutionary Joseph Stalin had eight bedrooms that could each be locked up like a bank vault, and nobody knew which room he was sleeping in on any given night. “Cockpit country” in Jamaica was once called the “Land of Look Behind” after the 1600’s. Runaway slaves (“maroons”) fled into the jungles and waged guerilla warfare against the English. The government troops so frequently looked over their shoulders to avoid ambush that they gave the mountainous area it’s name. Fear does not prevent us from greeting a stranger in the grocery store, nor does it keep us from talking about the best deals in town (we may perhaps even swap coupons) or discussing the best brand of toilet paper (I was being random). Yet, turning the corner in the store and seeing some young men with nametags that read "T...