Head-dibs

Curious to know if anyone missed "Randoms" being posted on a different day this week? Erwin Lutzer offers some helpful instruction on how NOT to read your Bibl e in 2013. A statistical snapshot of 2012 . Here's a list of stuff that got banned in 2012 . Some things should be banned, but others . . . ? InfoWars suggests " 16 Things about 2013 That Are Really Going to Stink ." Let's check back periodically to see if they are right. Wikipedia says " Acetylcholinesterase , also known as AChE;or acetylhydrolase, is a serine protease that hydrolyzes the neurotransmitteracetylcholine. AChE is found at mainly neuromuscular junctions and cholinergic brain synapses, where its activity serves to terminatesynaptic transmission. It belongs to carboxylesterase family of enzymes."  I just think it's a party waiting to happen.

You know that moment somewhere between “asleep” and “awake” when you have the feeling you suddenly understand life, the Universe and everything? I have an idea about that moment, and am interested in your thoughts if you will follow me: but first . . . When does your day begin? Midnight? Sunrise? Sundown? I’ve been pondering the Jewish concept of the day beginning at sundown and wonder if there is a simple basic principle that the follower of Christ and lover of God should examine and put into practice. Why say we start the day when the sun goes down? If we did not have electricity, sundown would be the time we clean up and go to bed. Presently we extend our bedding down until much, much later in the evening, but we still sleep at night (then complain about how little sleep we get). How does a day begin when we are not active? Our day begins in the light, with activity which carries on until the sun goes down at which time our day ends. We lay down to sleep and we are most vu...

"Read great Christian writers who know God deeply and saturate their writing with the Bible and take you deep into its spirit. They are like reading the Bible through the mind and heart of great knowers and lovers of God. Don't let long books daunt you. Finishing the book does not matter. Growing by it matters. But finishing is not as hard as you might think. Suppose you read slowly like I do—about the same speed as you speak—200 words a minute. If you read 15 minutes a day for one year (just 15 minutes, say just before supper, or just before bed), you will read 5,475 minutes in the year. Multiply that by 200 words a minute and you get 1,095,000 words that you would read in a year. Now the average book has about 360 words per page (that's what Carson's book has). So you would have read 360 words into 1,095,000, or 3,041 pages in one year. That's 13 books the size of Carson's book, or reading his in 21 days. All that in 15 minutes a day. The point is: the wo...

Stop Exercising So Hard! Why Moderate Workouts Really Do Work. Simcha Jacobovici wants to do something nobody has ever done: find the tomb of Jesus . Good luck with that, Simcha! " CIU Students Read through the Bible in Four Days ."  I love our students!

The past couple of months I have been reading and commenting on selections (mostly on Fridays) from this unique and wonderful book . The publisher writes: " A Sacrifice of Praise is a one-volume collection of Christian poetry in English compiled from a spectrum of poets who span twelve centuries. Beginning with Caedmon (ca. 658-680), the poetry comes from the anicent, medieval, Reformation, and modern periods and from Anglican, Roman Catholic, Protestant, and Orthodox poets, as well as mainline and evangelical traditions. Because poetry is a vehicle of praise and exhortation, of meditation and understanding, these selections include every form and style of reflection and psalm, from private, personal devotion to hymns and epic forms with godly themes. In addition to the poetry, each chapter includes an introduction and time line meant to provide a background against which readers can better understand the intricacies and nuances of the poets and their work. Short biographical int...

Sometimes I wonder if our house ever sleeps. Someone seems to be always watching TV or is on the computer and listening to music through headphones. Still someone else may be in her or her room playing their stereo or guitar. When the phone rings, all volumes drop (or should, theoretically) so the caller can be heard and understood. The TV gets muted, conversation quiets—or the phone is taken into a quieter room. God sometimes speaks in such a still small voice that we may find it hard to hear Him when He speaks. It may require that the distractions be removed—those areas of sin which deafen our ears to the voice of the Lord. The world loves noise because it does not want to stop and think, much less hear the voice of the Lord. The world loves to kill time, is always seeking ways to pass the time. An undocumented source observed: “Picture, if you will, some solar ray suddenly causing all radio, cassette players, stereo sets and televisions to stop working. Trembling hands impatie...

A common phenomenon in nature is “the path of least resistance.” Electricity moving through a circuit will always travel where it is easiest to go. Cars are developed aerodynamically so there will be a minimal wind resistance. Water always travels under a bridge because it is far easier to go under the bridge than over it. Frequently this is what people are like also. It is easier to sit in front of the TV rather than to care for our neighbor’s needs. It is easier to get angry at your mate and let that anger diminish over the course of time rather than sitting down and working the problem through. Thumbing through a Reader’s Digest is much easier than a time of personal Bible study. And so we find that we too, just like water under the bridge are prone to take the “path of least resistance.” But there is one difference between ourselves and water. Water will never have to give an account of what it has done. Ought not we examine ourselves and get on the “path of greatest persistance?’

" Devotional Christian " is a new site you can REALLY use. Here you will find your favorites: My Utmost For His Highest Our Daily Bread Devotional Joshua Project Samuel Bagster A.W. Tozer Devotions C. H. Spurgeon Devotion Max Lucado Devotions Adrian Rogers Billy Graham Devotions The High Calling Daily Bible Verse (ESV ) John MacArthur Read Through The Bible There is also a video devotional section: Don't Waste Your Life Video Devotions Billy Graham Video Devotions The Gospel Coalition And make certain you sign up for the give-aways!

Dr. John Hannah, professor of Church History at Dallas Theological Seminary was encouraging a group of young people to read the Bible. A hand of discouragement was raised, "It's no use! No matter how much I read, I always forget what I have just read." Dr. Hannah replied, "Take heart. When you pour water over a sieve, no matter how much you pour, you don't collect much . . . but at least you have a clean sieve." " Your word I have treasured in my heart, that I may not sin against You ." (Psalm 119:11)

"Fix my thoughts, my hopes, and my desires upon heaven and heavenly things; teach me to despise the world, to repent deeply for my sins; give me the holy purposes of amdendment and ghostly strength, and assistance to perform faithfully whatsoever I shall intend piously. Enrich my understanding with an eternal treasure of Divine Truths, that I may know Thy will; and Thou, who workest in us to will and to do of Thy good pleasure, teach me to obey all Thy commandments, to believe all Thy revelations, and make me partker of all Thy gracious promises." --Jeremy Taylor (1613-1667), "Holy Living."

In this day and age of energy drinks and herbal suppliments, some seem to expect the Word of God to hit them like a can of Red Bull each time they crack the Good Book open. Realistically, while there are periodic jolts that do hit us, the Word of God is often more like taking vitamins. One takes vitamins because of the long-term benefits. Sure one may feel a surge after swallowing the pill initially, consider what happens over time: a habit has been established, health is sustained, disease is staved off, germs are abated, and so on . . .

It's here! And just in time for Mother's Day! "Am I enough, Lord? Can I trust you, Lord? Can I be free from the past? Can I trust? Do I trust? Am I enough? AM I WORTHY? In Freedom from Myself: One Woman’s Diary of Gods Unceasing Love, author Fay Barlow shares her deepest hurts in the process of discovering the truth about her worth in Christ. Full of raw emotions and issues that most women are afraid to admit that they feel, Freedom from Myself reveals healing through biblical counsel and scripture in an entertaining but brutally honest manner. Laugh a little, cry a little, and heal a little as you delve into the heart and mind of one woman on a quest for meaning." Visit Fay's website here . Publisher: Tate Publishing & Enterprises ISBN: 9781604624731 Buy this book at: Amazon Barnes and Noble Books-a-million Buy.com

Coming April 22, 2008 "Am I enough, Lord? Can I trust you, Lord? Can I be free from the past? Can I trust? Do I trust? Am I enough? AM I WORTHY? In Freedom from Myself: One Woman’s Diary of Gods Unceasing Love , author Fay Barlow shares her deepest hurts in the process of discovering the truth about her worth in Christ. Full of raw emotions and issues that most women are afraid to admit that they feel, Freedom from Myself reveals healing through biblical counsel and scripture in an entertaining but brutally honest manner. Laugh a little, cry a little, and heal a little as you delve into the heart and mind of one woman on a quest for meaning." Publisher: Tate Publishing & Enterprises ISBN: 9781604624731 Buy this book at: Amazon Barnes and Noble Books-a-million Buy.com

“But read the Bible and, strange to say, the more you read it, the more satisfied you will be with it. When you begin to read the Bible, perhaps you need 50 other books in order that you may become a thorough Bible student, but your library will gradually diminish until, at last, the more you understand the Bible, the fewer books you will need, and you will come to say, ‘If I might have all my days over again, this should be the only book that I would study. And I would concentrate all my powers upon the understanding of this one volume.’ You can get to the bottom of all other books—you dive into them and, at first, they seem to be very deep—but every time you plunge, they appear to get shallower and shallower until, at last, you can see the bottom at a glance. But in God’s Word, every time you dive, the depths grow deeper!” (Charles Spurgeon, Sermon #2724, of Volume 57 Collected Works— THE DEW OF CHRIST’S YOUTH )

The Navajo talk of walking life paths and each one walks his or her own. Basically, there is the Dine’ way (the Navajo way, the way of life and land) or there is a way for everyone else—and generally speaking, it is in the Dineway the Navajo tries to maintain the hozho (peace) of the imbalance of nature caused by the less knowledgeable (non-Navajo). Within the Navajo way are many paths detailed in ceremonies: the Navajo Blessingway, which is a rehearsal of “emergence” or creation (of sorts); the Enemyway, a cleansing ceremony and others such as Shootingway, Nizhoniway or Beautyway, Mountainway, Nightway, Navajo Windway. Each of these is dominated by chants categorized as Lifeway, Evilway and Holyway. [1] In more recent times there has been the addition of the Jesusway. Since the preaching of the good news of Jesus Christ believers are recognizing there is another path to walk and it is a narrow way that leads to life. Jesus taught, “Go in through the narrow gate, for wide is the gate a...