not for sale

not for sale is a book by David Batstone. here is a brief run down of the book. "Award-winning journalist David Batstone reveals the story of a new generation of 21st century abolitionists and their heroic campaign to put an end to human bondage. In his accessible and inspiring book, Batstone carefully weaves the narratives of activists and those in bondage in a way that not only raises awareness of the modern-day slave trade, but also serves as a call to action." (provided by Christian audio). i highly recommend you listen to this book. though i must warn that it is not for those who are easily upset. i spend the last two days listening to it and though it has been very hard to hear (there is very graphic depictions of the acts committed to children and women as well as grown men) i have learned so much about a topic i have never even thought about. it has changed the way i think about prostitution and the sex business in general.
you can download the entire book for free this month only at christian audio just click this link to go right to the page. enter FEB2009 as when it asks for your promotion code.
be warned! this is not a fun read. you will learn a lot about very very disturbing facts and personal testimony of the modern day slave trade.

ten bullet points for colossians 3

you have been raised with Christ!
therefor:

1. seek the things above

2. always think on those things

3. put to death your earthy nature
____a. sexual immorality
____b. impurity
____c. shameful passions
____d. evil desires
____e. greed,which is idolatry
4. put off such things as
____a. anger
____b. rage
____c. malice
____d. slander
____e. abusive talking w/ your mouth
5. do not lye, for you are a new man after the image of Christ.
6. as the elect of God, holy and dearly beloved - clothe yourself w/ a heart of:
____a. mercy
____b. kindness
____c. humility - (humbleness of mind)
____d. gentleness
____e. long suffering
____f. bearing with and forgiving one another
7. to all this add love/ it's the perfect bond
8. let the peace of God dwell in your heart
9. let the word of God dwell in you richly
10. whatever you do, wither in word of deed, do it all in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ - giving thanks to God the father through Him.

we dream

We Dream!

So.. what’s so great about people anyway? Well to sum it up in two words... we dream.
I am not talking about dreaming at night as we sleep because I think even dogs do that, though no one can know for sure. I am talking about fantasies, dreams of what your future may hold, hopes and aspirations. As far as I know people are the only creators on earth that do this. And you can tell a lot about someone by what kind of dreams they have. I think we can agree that if you have dreams of riches, you are probably poor and most likely greedy. If your dreams are shallow, you’re shallow. If they are about nothing but sex, you’re a pig. If you dream of power, you are probably weak and a major jerk. But I think most of us have hopes and aspirations for something good. We hope to make a difference in the world, for our lives to make an impact on others in a positive way. These dreams, these fantasies, they are part of what set us apart from the rest of the animal kingdom. Otherwise we would be nothing more then over grown germs living off and at odds with our environment. We would not even be very good ones. Take that dog I was talking about for an example. He can live in harmony with the world he lives in. He can walk around naked in the cold and not die; we would freeze to death the first winter. He can eat just about anything and hunt and kill with his own body. We have nothing in which to hunt with, no teeth to rip and tear an animal as a potential meal. A dog does no damage to the world in which he lives. But he will also never do anything to change that world for good, other then to make a person happy or serve mankind. And so there we see a great conundrum. We are special in that we dream, love, and have the power to think and comprehend. Yet as animals... we suck. Thank God we are more then just animals.

back to it

so, i was away for a bit for the holiday. but i am back and have been working on a few new posts, i will get them up asap. i hope and trust that all who may read this blog had a blessed Christmas and new year!

the shack

well, i am just seeing far to much of this book (in places i care about!) to not comment. i first must say that i have not and will not read it. i do not need to. fiction or not, if it conveys truths about who God is... they had better be biblical truths! and The shack is far from biblical. i am not going to take the time to lay out the story line and pick apart whats wrong with the theology and so on, a great Pastor i know has already done so and I'll link to it. before i do, let me just say that i love to read and i love to study theology and even other non christian views on God. so how can i read about Islam and then say the shack is no good? it's because a book on Islam is not trying to pass it's self off as Christian. the shack does and they are both just about equally heretical.

read the full review here.

video review here

live life and do well...

"all men die, not all men really live" (mel gibson - braveheart)

in my last post i asked the question, "are you ready?". and what i meant by that was are you ready to die. of course no one can even talk about death without thinking about life. they are two sides of the same coin, with life comes death. that which is not alive can not die. one always comes with the other (at least in this life, that is true). i have been asking my self, "self! what does it mean to really live?" as America's pastor would say "do i have a purpose driven life?" well, i know i do not want a purposeless driven life! but i think it's more then just finding your purpose. man kinds purpose is easy, it's to Glorify God and enjoy him forever! or as John Piper would say, Glorify God "by" enjoying him forever. and that kinda of answers the question, how do i glorify God? Dr. Piper would say "God is most Glorified in us when we are most satisfied in Him". and that sounds good. but whats hard is putting it to practise. what is the pragmatic outworking of that first lesion in the Westminster catechism - "Q. 1. What is the chief and highest end of man?
A. Man's chief and highest end is to glorify God,and fully to enjoy him forever".

well, i don't know. know the answer should sound something like this, "you pray and read your bible everyday and then serve in your local Church, preach and witness". the problem with this answer is that it is not always that simple. i happen to believe that everyone has different callings, and i think most would agree with that. so the working out of how to best Glorify God is personal(though i do think everyone should be ready to give an answer for the Hope that lyeth in them). this much i know for sure, you have to stay in the fight! if you give up and give in to your flesh, it's over. your finished. stay in the fight and God will work it out through you. it's the hardest life, but for those who know Jesus Christ, it's the only life!!!

quote of the day

"Evidently, you do not realize what a wretched person you truly are, and what an offence your depravity is in the holy sight of God, if you can feel nothing in response to the atoning death of God's son."
without a quickened awareness of our depravity, we are Pharisees at best, though most of us are far worse. the best we can approach is a religious performance that brings glory to us and leaves us looking down on everybody else.

quote from,
whats so great about the doctrines of Grace? (pg 31)
by: Richard D. Phillips