A Few Brilliant Ideas...

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Sounds like a book title doesn't it? Well, the reason behind that is it probably could be a book. Unfortunately, I have neither the time or resources to write a book at the moment, so you'll just have to settle with a blog post. Sorry.

Have you ever tried to engage someone about their devotions? Why not?

If you don't there's probably two reasons, one being that you haven't done your devotions and therefore you instantly feel the guilt overwhelm you in that instant and banish it to the back of your mind. The second reason relates to a fear of man, you are aware that the chances are the other person hasn't done their devotions and therefore to ask would create an awkward situation where you feel like you'll have a one sided conversation.

I'm sorry to bring you some bad news. It's your duty to ask anyway.

As Proverbs 27:17 says: "Iron sharpens iron, and one man sharpens another."
Colossians 3:16 says: "Let the word of Christ dwell in you richly, teaching and admonishing one another in all wisdom, singing psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, with thankfulness in your hearts to God."

So much for pushing that question of devotions to the back of our minds. The reading of God's word is vital to our growth in him. Prophecy, tongues, prayer, these are wonderful gifts given to us, prayer is even essential as it is our way of speaking to God. However, if prayer was all that we had, we would be maintaining a one sided relationship with a distant God that remains separate from us. Christ came and died for us and then rose again and was carried to heaven. Which leaves us with the question, how do we maintain our relationship with God?

The answer? God's holy authoritative word. You've probably heard the word "authoritative" used in relation to the Bible. What does it mean? Authoritative means: Able to be trusted as being accurate or true; reliable." If we accept the Bible as authoritative then we must remain obedient to it.
John 1:1 states: "In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God."

The Word is God? What is the Word of God? Surely it can be spoken by the prophets as a divine inspiration but primarily it appears to be the Bible as it is fully proven as inspired by God in its authoritative sense.

2 Timothy 3:14-17

14. But as for you, continue in what you have learned and have become convinced of, because you know those from whom you learned it,
15. and how from infancy you have known the holy Scriptures, which are able to make you wise for salvation through faith in Christ Jesus.
16. All Scripture is God-breathed and is useful for teaching, rebuking, correcting and training in righteousness,
17. so that the man of God may be thoroughly equipped for every good work.

In order for us to be "thoroughly equipped," we must be spending consistent time in God's word! This is of the utmost importance. Too often when I ask that question, "How are your devotions going?" the response is either: "Uhm... They're not," "good," or that awkward silence that follows up a question they don't want to answer. The second answer would be fine, except that when followed up, they can't even remember what book they're reading in. Christians MUST READ GOD'S WORD! I cannot emphasize this enough.

One of the best responses I've ever heard in reply to a person telling the asker they haven't been reading God's word was this:

"How can you breathe?!"

God's word is what should dictate our lives down to our last breath. If we aren't remaining in our word, we aren't remaining in contact with God. How would you respond to someone who says, "I'm an avid blog-writer" if you asked them about their last post and they told you it was a month ago? You would be incredulous! You would ask them how they use a word like "avid" if they aren't really dedicated.

They'd probably respond: "it's hard to remember" or "it's hard to find time." Sound familiar?

The word Christ-ian implies your life centers around "Christ." If you aren't remaining in God's word, you aren't staying in contact with him and you aren't developing a relationship with your savior. Therefore it is vital that if you are a "Christ"-ian that you remain in contact with your savior through the Bible.

If you feel convicted about your Bible reading habits not being frequent or regular enough, that's FANTASTIC. There's good news for you. God has placed you in a church filled with other believers to hold you accountable to your reading of scripture. It's even easier to do so throughout the week with the gift of technology. I promise you that if you dive into God's word that he will meet you, but even better than my promise is his. Psalms 27:3-4

zTrust in the Lord, and do good;

adwell in the land and befriend faithfulness.2

bDelight yourself in the Lord,

and he will cgive you the desires of your heart.

Let me encourage you to read your Bible with your hearts open and with your hands ready to act on his prompting. If God speaks to you through his Word, will you be prepared to follow his commands? Will you struggle on through the dry seasons, when he feels so far away?

God doesn't promise a life of ease, but he does promise he will never foresake or abandon you.

I will sextol you, O Lord, for you have drawn me up

and have not let my foes trejoice over me.

(Psalms 30)

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Have you ever wanted your very own laptop? Does your life just stink? Well I'm here to inform you about the latest in human technology, the labtop! What is a labtop you may ask? An excellent question, how convenient that you asked it!

The labtop is the coolest appliance in mankind's history since the invention of the wheel. A modern innovation of human science and natural instincts, the labtop will knock you out of your socks. Quite literally.

The labtop is a multi-feature device.

It is the perfect size to completely dominate your lap as a warm comforting pillow.

Are you sick using up all your electricity by plugging in your laptops and wasting power? Not a problem! Labtops eat food for energy, so you don't have to add any extra places on your shopping list to keep them running. In fact, they will act on their own if you forget to feed them!

Labtops are smart too. They have incredible computing power that surpasses normal standards.

Uhhh... "2+2=5!"

They can work as personal attendant or secretaries as well. You can never be sure what your dog may find out next.

"In Einstein's theory of relativity..."

Do you have a children? Do you need a babysitting for them that night on the town? Never fear! Your labtop is here! The labtop has excellent child occupation capabilities. You need never worry, while they're on the scurry.

Need to do some community service? Kids don't want to do it? Your labtop will the very first object out there actively participating...

"Whut? What do you mean we're supposed to be cleaning up? I'm cleaning up the competition! I mean... 'woof. woof.'"

Before you leave there are a few other things you should know about labtops. Probably the best thing is that they are simply ADORABLE. That being said, if you can resist buying one after this look, you're a heartless, cruel monster.

If you were able to resist that look..

LOOK AT THIS ONE.

I highly DOUBT you were able to resist that look, so here is everything you need to know to get your very own labtop.

Please email your order to labtoppweeze@adorableness.com or place your order on this website. http://labtopsrus.com/ If both of those fail... Well just go to your local pound and save a nice old doggy. =)

I'll finalize the deal by showing you the different varieties. Order today and make your life that much better.

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Today, the problem is not that I don't have time to write right but rather that the thing that I wish to post doesn't require any writing. Many of you have probably already seen the video below. The video is about the Gospel and God's love for us, and when I first saw it I thought it was great. However, that's because I have a context and understanding of who God is. Here's the video:

The Bridge

What really opened my eyes to some of the inaccuracies was reading Dug Down Deep by Joshua Harris. I don't believe I could add to his words so I'm going to quote the entire section.

"One of the few times I remember the Cross being clearly presented during high school youth group was when a speaker told a story about a train conductor who was responsible for lowering a bridge so a commuter train could safely pass. One day the conductor's young son came with him to work and, while playing, got trapped in the gears that lowered the bridge. As the train approached, the conductor realized his son's plight. Without enough time to rescue his son and with the train rushing toward the bridge, the condctor made the heart-wrenching decision to lower the bridge on his son so the people on the train could be saved. "And that," the speaker said, "is what God did for you." I remember thinking, God is a jerk.

I hated that story. I was mad at the conductor for bringing his son to work. Made at the son for playing in the gears. And mad at the guy for telling me the stupid story. It didn't make me appreciate the Cross more. It made the Cross seem like some sort of cosmic accident that was supposed to make me feel indebted and guilty.

Many years later I learned how inaccurate and unhelpful the analogy of the conductor is for explaining the Cross. At the root of its error is an absence of the Trinitarian nature of God.

The Father is God, the Son is God, and the Spirit is God. God is one in three distinct persons. The Father, Son, and Holy Spirit have perfect communion, and they worked together to save mankind. The work of salvation on the Cross was united work of all three persons of the Trinity. Many places in Scripture point to this teamwork. Hebrews 9:14 says, "How much more will the blood of Christ, who through the eternal Spirit offered himself without blemish to God, purify our conscience from dead works to serve the living God."

Jesus was no victim trapped in the gears of Roman injustice. Jesus was God himself, who willingly laid down his life. God the Father was no cruel, abusive deity who lacked pity for his child. Instead, in the mystery of the Godhead, Father and Son chose together to redeem mankind through substitution. Human sin demanded a price be paid. But God would pay the price. With his own life.

The son became sin in that he represented mankind and stood in the place of sinful humanity. God the Father administered justice. The righteous wrath and punishment that human treason and rebellion deserved was poured out on God the Son. At the Cross, God himself both delivered and received the blow.

Jesus wasn't trapped. He was in control. And he chose, because of love, to lay down his life for us. Jesus said, "For this reason the Father loves me, because I lay down my life that I may take it up again. No one takes it from me, but I lay it down of my own accord. I have authority to lay it down, and I have authority to take it up again. This charge I have received from my father" (John 10:17-18).

Jesus laid down his life. He loved his Father's glory. The Father loved his Son. And together, out of love for a lost world, they paid the greatest price to atone for sin." (Pgs. 101-102 Dug Down Deep by Joshua Harris)

What a great love and sense of gratitude this understanding of what God has done for us brings! The video is finite, it gives you only a glimpse or a reminder of who God really is and what he has done. We need to be aware of the fullness of God's decision and understand the video's inability to capture who God is in order for us to appreciate The Bridge.

I hope you're having a delightful wintry Monday. Christmas is only six days away! O_O

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Have you heard about iTunes' love of naming every possible thing that could go wrong with their application and blaming it on you? Well, if you haven't here's a quick run through.
iTunes is somewhat legendary for there terms and regulations on their software. Many are aware of the somewhat amusing coverage shown below.

However, Apple doesn't stop there. After reading through their terms and conditions I hesitate to click that I agree. Here's why:

4 Ridiculous iTunes License Statements:

Many assume that iTunes is a perfectly harmless application for music download. Then again, few have actually read the license agreement. The first of these is iTunes' Termination policy. I'm pretty much one of those people who just clicks "agree" on everything. However, this gave me pause. It reads:

Lol, whut? If I read that correctly, if I buy songs on iTunes and somehow defy the license agreement, such as trying to reverse their software, I am then required to destroy all purchased software. I can only imagine this includes everything. If I went to my local grocery store attempted to shoplift a pair of pants, as all local grocery stores should carry pants, would they require me to go home and burn all previously stolen pants before going to prison? No. That's ridiculous. iTunes, the solution to this problem? Sell pants man.

Number two originates from the "Consent to Use of Data" section. These clauses always freak me out. I'm already bothered by how much information Google has about me. Don't even try it iTunes. According to iTunes they take license to:

... Scary. I can only begin to imagine the amount of information passes through the application itself, but it also can gain: "information about your computer, system and application software, and peripherals." With those kinds of system specs Apple could hack the world. I predict the future to be a huge robot war between Apple and Google while Microsoft cowers in the corner.

The last two are both related to Limitations of Liability. Let me put them for you asap.

Basically what part one says is that Apple is not liable for any problems with the application during downloads etc. that may lose you money. They refuse to take any part of the guilt that clearly belongs to them sometimes. However, not only do they refuse you your rightful property, they also blame you for the loss. All quality, performance, accuracy, and effort is with you. Jerkish right? Apple needs to get a handle on these lawyers. Oh, and people need to read Licensing agreements. Some part of me wonders how well Apple would have made off with this licensing agreement in the early stages if people had actually read them. Well, food for thought. It is my responsibility to now inform you that it is indeed your responsibility to read these agreements. If you continue to sign off on things like this, you never know when bad will turn into worse. See, I'm just as mean as Apple, I want you to READ. Ah, how ironic the world is.

In any case, life lesson: don't agree to anything until you know what you're agreeing to.

Otherwise, someday tech companies will own the world.

A Few Brilliant Ideas...

CHALLENGE... STARTS... TOMORROW

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4 Ridiculous iTunes License Statements

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Good-Bye Buzz

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