April Fool's
So for tomorrow, I've decided not to play pranks on anyone nor be sarcastic from 9AM to 6PM. Wow, this will be tough but I'll do my best. Last, I vote that April Fool's Day be moved to April 15th. That way we can fool the IRS into paying taxes.
Daylight Savings this Sun
This is one thing I dislike about Spring and that is we lose 1 hour sleep on Sat night. Wouldn't it be great if we always set our clocks back and never forward?
Back to Middle School
So our house had nine additional guests, mid school boys, over for the disciple conference @ church and here were some interesting things that happened:
"We should take a crap on their yard."
"Does anyone want my Cheerios (filled w/ Mountain Dew)?"
"Let's go to 7-Eleven, YEAH!" This was @ 1AM and the fact that they've been there twice the same day already.
One kid was wrapped onto a chair w/ plastic wrap.
Another was put into a 12" x 12" x 18" cardboard box.
Crank calls were made @ 1:30AM so if you got one, sorry.
Everyone played video games, ate tons of sugar, and drank lots of Mountain Dew.
Reminded me of my younger days @ youth camp. Overall, they were fun kids to have around, thanks to Chip & Jonathan for being their counselors.
Oh, and take the poll on the right.
Are You Willing to Die for Your Belief?
Here's a picture of Abdul Rahman holding up the Bible and from this
msnbc article:
But yesterday, Rahman was briefly brought before the news media. According to a report by the BBC, he said: "I am not an infidel or a fugitive. I am a Christian. If they want to sentence me to death, I accept that."
Sympathy Is No Substitute for Action
I got this motto from NYC's Redeemer Pres. In the previous post, I've stated that we should pray for Abdul b/c he's in prison and will likely be put to death. This, of course, is the typical Christian response which is good b/c prayer is always good for us. However, do we not have to obligation to act as well?
For example, if you see your neighbor being beaten by strangers, do you just pray or do you call the police and go out and defend him? Here we have a case of human rights violation and what we can do is to email our
Congressmen,
Senators, and the
President and tell our friends to do the same. As a result, instead of having sympathy and pray, DO SOMETHING ABOUT IT! Abdul did, he left the US and went back to Afgn, went out and told everyone including the police that he's a Christian and now he's in prison, what are you going to do about it?
Is it hard to be a Christian?
Do you think it's hard to be a follower of Christ? If not, think again. Here's an excerpt from the
Chicago Tribune on March 21, 2006.
KABUL, Afghanistan -- Abdul Rahman told his family he was a Christian. He told the neighbors, bringing shame upon his home. But then he told the police, and he could no longer be ignored.
Now, in a major test of Afghanistan's fledgling court system, Rahman, 42, faces the death penalty for abandoning Islam for Christianity. Prosecutors say he should die. So do his family, his jailers, even the judge. Rahman has no lawyer. Jail officials refused to let anyone see Rahman on Monday, despite permission granted by the country's justice minister.
"We will cut him into little pieces," said Hosnia Wafayosofi, who works at the jail, as she made a cutting motion with her hands. "There's no need to see him."
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Romans 1:16 For I am not ashamed of the gospel, for it is the power of God for salvation to everyone who believes.
Romans 8:38 For I am convinced that neither death nor life, neither angels nor demons,[m] neither the present nor the future, nor any powers, 39neither height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God that is in Christ Jesus our Lord.
Please take time out and pray for Abdul Rahman and other brothers and sisters who are persecuted for their faith.
Awesome Song!
I heard this song as my roommate, Wes (who unambiguously studies for seminary and plays music), was playing it on his guitar. I totally fell in love with it as the words are powerful and the music is wonderful. I then emailed our Worship Leader, Dr. Kidd, and told him how much I love this song in the hopes that he'll put it in one of our worships in the future.
The splendor of a King, clothed in majesty
Let all the earth rejoice, all the earth rejoice
He wraps himself in Light, and darkness tries to hide
And trembles at His voice, trembles at His voice
Age to age He stands, and time is in His hands
Beginning and the end, beginning and the end
The Godhead Three in One, Father Spirit Son
The Lion and the Lamb, the Lion and the Lamb
How great is our God, sing with me
How great is our God, and all will see
How great, how great is our God
Name above all names
Worthy of all praise
My heart will sing
How great is our God (x2)
The St. Patrick Brotherhood
Legend has it that St. Patrick picked the Shamrock b/c it represents the Trinity. As a result, in honor of St Patrick, I've decided to start the St. Patrick Brotherhood and anyone's welcome as long as the below criterias are met:
1. Must be a male since this is the brotherhood
2. Must have a
kilt3. Must have one of the following:
a.
Fixed blade knife with blade length more than 3"
b.
Folding knife with blade length more than 3"
c. Three
throwing knives d.
Japanese sword with blade length more than 6"
Happy BDay Isaiah Dale Kasowski!
I just got a call from a great friend of mine that their baby was born just a couple hours ago @ a birthing center. The proud parents are Matt & Jill Kasowski and I told Matt to tell the baby happy birthday. I bet I was the first to say that so I'm quite proud as well. Photos to come when they open their homes to visitors next week. A new child has come into this world into a covenant family, thanks be to God!
And take the poll on the right.
Don't Waste Your Cancer
Here's a very
interesting article by John Piper, written on the eve of his prostrate surgery. In Larry King Live, Donald Trump said life is sad b/c it will end; therefore, make it the best that you can before then. Piper in point 4 of this article, brings in an opposite perspective.
4. You will waste your cancer if you refuse to think about death.
We will all die, if Jesus postpones his return. Not to think about what it will be like to leave this life and meet God is folly. Ecclesiastes 7:2 says, "It is better to go to the house of mourning [a funeral] than to go to the house of feasting, for this is the end of all mankind, and the living will lay it to heart." How can you lay it to heart if you won’t think about it? Psalm 90:12 says, "Teach us to number our days that we may get a heart of wisdom." Numbering your days means thinking about how few there are and that they will end. How will you get a heart of wisdom if you refuse to think about this? What a waste, if we do not think about death.
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I know we all think that we will die one day then go to heaven but how many of us seriously think about death and what Piper is saying here?
Tony Campolo
Tony Campolo was in town speaking @
RTS. Here are some
good notes from one of the students, Jerid Krulish, @ RTS so check it out.
Here's an excerpt:
Christians now think that, if we can have power, we can fix the country. We just need the right power, we need to elect the right people. And you should understand that I love power as much as anyone.
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There’s nothing wrong with making a million dollars. There’s something wrong with keeping it.
A BMW is more than an automobile… can you imagine Jesus saying, I know that people are starving in Haiti and dying of AIDS and hopelessly uneducated, but go ahead and buy an $80,000 status symbol to make yourself look better.
You must be counter cultural why did Mother Theresa have more authority than the Pope? He was surrounded by billions of dollars worth of stuff. She gave up everything and lived in Calcutta.
YES! Being a Christian means asking ourselves difficult questions! Are you ready to deal with that.
Free the Dalit!
Imagine being born into a family and living in a country where you are not considered to be human. Imagine drinking out of a clay cup and then throwing it onto the ground so that no one else can touch what you just touched b/c you are a Dalit (da-leet). Imagine living in the slums of slums and going out to the well except you can't touch the bucket there. You must wait for someone else that's not your kind to draw water and pour it into your container. Imagine waiting from sunrise to sunset and not getting any water b/c others don't even give a sh_t about you simply b/c you are a Dalit. No matter how hard you work or how smart you are, you will never be given a chance in life simply b/c you were born a Dalit. This is not even discrimination, it is simply inhumane. There are about 300 million Dalits in India.
I heard about this from
Caedmon's Call @ the Fusion Conference. This is the main reason why I admire CC so much, it's b/c they live what they preach or sing in this case. They have always been in the forefront of taking action and making change. They've been promoting Compassion Int'l for years by going overseas visiting these children. Compassion Int'l is sponsoring a child in poverty and not only do they provide shelter, food, & education, but also teach them about the Gospel.
When I heard about the Dalits and as the clay cups were passed around, I can't help but get upset b/c why would anyone do such things, especially in a country like India. In the end though,
sponsoring a Dalit is to do the same as Compassion Int'l, to treat them as humans and to tell them about Christ according to CC.
The Samaritan woman said to him, "You are a Jew and I am a Samaritan woman. How can you ask me for a drink?" (For Jews do not associate with Samaritans)...and Jesus said to her, "whoever drinks the water I give him will never thirst. Indeed, the water I give him will become in him a spring of water welling up to eternal life."
