Quote of the Day.

In apologetics, we must intellectually seize him [the unbeliever] by the throat and choke all the life out of his belief system.
- Vincent Cheung

The Bells Aren't Ringing for Me.

As I continue to mature in my faith, I start to realize that a lot more things are out of my power and totally within His.

Meek is not Weak.

Lord God,

Grant me a spirit that is graciously, truthfully, unapologetically Christian.

Amen.

Verse of the Day

Test everything. Hold on to the good. Avoid every kind of evil.
1 Thessalonians 5:21-22

My Faith

A personal prayer request...

I fear this may weaken the effect of my previous post, but what's the use of pride anyways?

I do not doubt that God has a plan for all things, that He is in control of all things. What I doubt is my part... I feel him urging me to learn and study and prepare. But, I am so stupid... and the concepts are so slow to go in.

The devil plays on my pride, my insecurities, and my discernment. You lead, so you should always have an answer. That's not true...but it sure feels like it sometimes. Then a switch to my insecurities, whether I have accurately interpreted the text and am faithfully leading someone to Christ...or am I misleading them? Am I able to accurately discern what is from God and move or do I quench the H.S.?

I think it is time to study my enemy. Pray for me! Thanks!

Faith and Reason

I think one of the greatest misconceptions about a Christian's faith is that it cannot be resolved with reason. People view empirical evidence or philosophical discussion as weapons that somehow destroy Christianity and the concept of God. When I say people, I mean both Non-Christians and Christians.

Atheists heap insult and ridicule upon anyone whom claim that anything spiritual exists. The media is conveniently biased against religion, using Christianity as their whipping boy. Sadly, there is no protection against Christianophobia.

Islam is a threat to Christianity as they are unafraid to evangelize with violence. They also have bigger families and in a few decades could beat us out purely by a numbers game. (They have made serious inroads within the UK, and will expand quickly here, as well. I have no qualms with saying it is a result of feminism, the destruction of the male protector and of family.) Jehovah's Witnesses and Mormons train up their missionaries to disarm and convert naive Christians.

What is the worst is that Christians, bona fide disciples in Christ, are incapable of providing an adequate defense for their faith. For some reason, the church has retreated from the world of academia and is content in adjusting to society, instead of the reverse. We are labelled Christian fundamentalists, clutching our Bibles fiercely while plugging our ears to block out the voice of "reason".

Is not TRUTH on our side? Did not Jesus say that the world will hate us, for the world first hated Him? I look back to the apostles, especially Paul and Peter. Paul reached out to so many, and his evangelism was not only through signs and miracles, but he ARGUED (depicts rationality) and won. Peter petitions to us asking us to remember that Jesus is LORD. That we may always be prepared to account for the HOPE that we have, answering with gentleness and love.

What do we have to fear when we read up on science or philosophical arguments? Yes, a lot of sources are biased... but there are plenty of workers in Christ that have laboured to demolish these "weapons" used against us. CARM, William Lane Craig, David White, Ravi Zacharias, even Vox Day (although some would question his methods) have provided plenty of resources for us.

Scary

‘YouTube’ must erase anti-Islam material: KHRS

KUWAIT CITY : Kuwait Human Rights Society (KHRS) Chairman Dr Adel Al-Damkhi has asked the government to put pressure on the officials of ‘YouTube’ — a video sharing website — to delete all derogatory statements about Islam and Muslims from the site, reports Al-Seyassah. Urging the authorities to take the necessary legal action in case the website fails to erase the statements, Al-Damkhi stressed “uttering profanities against Prophet Muhammad (PBUH) is the worst form of human rights violation in the world. Attacks on the values and tenets of Islam are extremely dangerous and unacceptable.” Al-Damkhi pointed out the United Nations Human Rights Council (UNHRC) strongly condemns attacks on the holy prophets and religions. He confirmed KHRS recognizes the importance of freedom of conducting scientific research, exchange of information, and significance of the latest technologies and media on human lives, but it is against how ‘YouTube’ depicts Islam. He said this is an outright violation of the human rights of millions of Muslims all over the world.

Source

Technical Difficulties

To add to my list of technological inabilities (besides getting wireless internet to work on vista), I am unable to use the fax machine at work. Every month, I am required to send a timesheet to some worker in some office somewhere for some purpose (payroll) that escapes me. Every month, that worker receives two faxes from me. The first, being a blank sheet which probably causes workers to question whether the fax machine is working properly. The second, being a time sheet with my name on it, removing all blame casted upon the fax machine and duely affixing it to its rightful owner.

Lose Yourself

For some reason, I put a bunch of Eminem songs on my seeqpod list.

"Look, if you had... one shot... one opportunity... to seize everything you ever wanted. One moment... would you capture it? Or let it slip?"

I sometimes wonder how many opportunities I have missed for God. Not that I am lamenting those chances, I think they shape my character and build up who I am. And as I learn to trust God more... I do not slip up as often.

Birthdays

"Some of you pray for other people, you have a hard time praying for yourself. Because if you pray for yourself it shows you have need and you're weak and you're totally not self-sufficient." - Mark Driscoll

Kind of unrelated quote, I wanted to put that up for a while. I just keep forgetting.

I was reading the parable of the shrewd manager during prayer meeting today. I never really understood the parable. If you read it, you would know you have this manager who is wasteful. The rich man who is his boss is telling him "he's fired" unless he can give a report of his management. And of course, the manager thinks too himself, "Oh man, what do I do? I can't work physical labour and I'm too ashamed to beg"...which probably indicates that he WAS wasteful.

So the manager thinks to himself, I know... I'll further screw over my boss by cutting the debts of the borrowers. Okay, it does not say that exactly... but, seriously... it is a possible scenario. Highly improbable..as the rich man commends the manager for his shrewdness. So we have to look for another scenario...

I think the key is...when Jesus explains it here...
Luke 16:9 I tell you, use worldly wealth to gain friends for yourselves, so that when it is gone, you will be welcomed into eternal dwellings.

So why all this when I am supposed to talk about birthdays? One of my work buddies had a birthday today. I bought him cupcakes and a birthday hat. We put the hat on his head and gave him a cupcake. They were pretty yummy. I gave my cupcake to the co-worker who told me about his birthday. She was happy. Also had more of an opportunity to talk to them all. So it was a cool day. Praise God.