Need furniture? Why not just buy some boxes and make your own?
Intentional Friend Making
Van posts in his blog about Intentional Friend Making. For those of you who visit these types of places, you may find this interesting (I don't really care for the bar idea though).
Pay attention to where people congregate and hang out. It could be a coffee shop, it could be a bar, it could be the park, or the library, or a cruddy diner, or the local YWCA, or community center, etc. We should try to spend our time more and more where neighborhood people spend their time.
How should parents parent?
So how should parents parent? Should they give their kids everything they want? Should they constantly put down their kids? Here is a link to an agape press article about Pushover Parenting.
Focus on the Family’s Dr. Bill Maier says the results of the study are disturbing but perhaps to be expected in light of another problem of increasing prevalence — the problem of what he calls pushover parents. “Unfortunately, there are a significant number of parents in this country who are unable or unwilling to provide their children with the moral guidance they so desperately need,” he says.
“These parents are so concerned about being liked by their kids that they fail to place any limits on their children’s behavior — even behavior that is dangerous or destructive,” Maier continues. He points to recent examples: a single mom in Florida, who stands accused of having sex with her son’s 15-year-old friend while he was spending the night at their house; and a Colorado case in which a woman allegedly threw parties for her teenage son and his friends, giving them alcohol and sexual favors.
Parents are supposed to raise their kids right. This means that the kids don’t get what they want all the time. The parents teach the kids right and wrong. The parents put limits on their kids. The parents (horror of horrors) punish their kids when the do wrong. Parents should spank their kids–no, timeouts aren’t enough. Parents are in charge and they should act like it.
Just so no one thinks otherwise, child abuse is wrong. There is clearly a wrong way to raise kids (treat them like slaves, always belittle them, etc…). Parenting is hard but, from what I have heard, rewarding work.
[Update 2012-12-26 06:42:18] Removed link to article. It did point to http://headlines.agapepress.org/archive/8/122005e.asp; however, agape press is now OneNewsNow and I can’t find the article again.
Saudis
Every morning, I usually do the same thing. This morning, I came across this Baptist Press article about Saudi Arabia. Here are some quotes:
The ailing King Fahd, who inherited the desert kingdom his father founded and saw become the world’s biggest and richest oil producer, died Aug. 1. Crown Prince Abdullah, de facto ruler since his elder brother Fahd began suffering debilitating strokes a decade ago, now is officially the absolute monarch over more than 25 million people in Saudi Arabia.
Abdullah recently visited the Texas ranch of President Bush, who calls him a friend and ally against global terror. The new king styles himself as a moderate and a reformer, according to Saudi watchers. But he stands between powerful and opposing pressures inside and outside his kingdom: internal threats from radical Islamist forces and international demands that he democratize Saudi society and wipe out the brand of extremism that produced Osama bin Laden.
He allowed local elections (for male voters only) earlier this year and has sponsored some educational reforms. But don’t expect major change any time soon, advises “Jess Martin,”* a Christian who closely observes events in the kingdom.
Why? Because of tradition, a culture that rewards conformity and consensus –- and exclusive Islamic rule. Any other public religious expression is forbidden and punished, even among foreign workers.
Expatriate workers from Asian nations like the Philippines and Bangladesh who dare to worship Christ in home groups usually receive harsher treatment –- including arrest and imprisonment — than Westerners. Any Saudi Arab who embraces a faith other than Islam will face persecution and possibly death.
“Militancy is not where the average Saudi sits,” Martin observes. “The average Saudi wants many of the same things the average American does. He wants his kids to do well in school. He wants to have a certain standard of living. He wants a good job.”
The average Saudi also knows -– deep down –- that he is spiritually lost.
“They don’t need democracy; they need an encounter with the living God,” Martin stresses. “When you go inside a Saudi’s house, and you sit and talk to him, you’ll see his heart and it is just as sinful as everyone else’s — and he knows it. The challenge for us is: What are we going to do about it? What are we going to do in obedience to God to take Christ to the people called Saudi Arabs?”
That article led me to this site: http://www.lovesaudis.com/. I would recommend you go visit the site.
Scary
This post by Dr. Mohler about a religious test for judges is scary. Come on folks…have you not read the Constitution? To do this would be incredibly unconstitutional.
He actually suggests that Christian leaders — both Roman Catholic and Evangelical — should be called before the Senate Judiciary Committee to say whether they would discipline a church member who, as a judge, voted to uphold Roe v. Wade. He suggests that a Catholic judge, for example, has "an automatic conflict of interest" when it comes to cases dealing with abortion. The same would hold true for an evangelical judge whose church would take action against him on the basis of his judicial decisions.
I can honestly say that I never expected a major American newspaper to give space to such a blatantly unconstitutional argument. The Constitution prohibits any religious test for public office. Given this nation's political history, one might think that a paper located in highly-Catholic Boston would keep this Constitutional principle rather firmly in mind.
Since liberal denominations take a liberal position on abortion, they get a pass, along with judicial nominees who may be their members. This kind of proposed legislation would be directed only at denominations and churches that are pro-life.
Are we this committed?
I was recently reading this Baptist Press article and ran across the following paragraph:
The librarian, who asked to be identified only as Lori, also reported the voracious reading of the Koran among the detainees. The prison initially ordered 1,600 Korans in various languages for $23,000 but has since ordered 200 more, The Times said.
Christians we should take this as a challenge. When was the last time we wore out a Bible? Heck…when was the last time we even picked up a Bible to read? Why not?
Church Membership
Forquite some time, I have been wondering why it is so easy to join a church. Why don't churches have some way for people to "prove" themselves first? Well, I was surfing and came across an article describing what it took to join a church in 1829. It makes for an interesting read. I think it interesting that the rules are really more just confirming that the person is saved.
Praying for Saudi Arabia
Baptist Press has a story about praying for Saudi Arabia. The requests are reprinted below:
— Pray that God will pour out His Spirit on Saudi Arabs and draw multitudes of people to Himself.
— Pray that God will give the people He draws to Himself the faith they need to believe that Jesus is God's Son and to accept Him as their Lord and Savior.
— Pray that God will appear to many Saudi Arabs in dreams and visions. "I will pour out my Spirit on all people …. Your old men will dream dreams, your young men will see visions" (Joel 2:28).
— Pray that whole families -– and whole tribes — will come to know Christ as their Savior and Lord.
— Pray that King Abdullah, the royal family and Saudi government leaders will come to know Jesus as Lord.
— Pray for the effectiveness of radio, television, satellite, Internet and other media that bring the Gospel to Saudi Arabs.
— Pray for the persecuted believers in Saudi Arabia, that God will grow His church out of their persecution. Pray for the body of Christ to be strengthened and to grow in purpose and unity throughout the country.
— Fifty percent of the population of Saudi Arabia is under the age of 25. Pray that God will draw Saudi Arab children and youth to Himself and reveal the truth of His salvation and love to them.
— Pray for Saudi Arab women who live under oppression and control from their families and society in general. Pray that God will lift their yoke of oppression and replace it with freedom found only in Christ.
Empowering Kingdom Growth
In this blog post, I mention I'm reading Empowering Kingdom Growth. I finished reading it last night, and I would definantly recommend it. Actually, I would recommend it over The Purpose Driven Life because it focuses more on God and less on me. If you haven't read this book yet, surf over to Lifeway and get a copy
Saudi Arabia
From PersecutionBlog.com:
The Bible Not Allowed in Saudia Arabia
A report from The Christian Post today is saying that Indians have been warned not to carry the Scriptures into Saudia Arabia.
What is next? Americans working in Saudi Arabia will also be "warned" not to take Bibles into the country? This reminds me of the first Gulf War when the Saudi's didn't want to let our military chaplains into the country or let our soldiers have Bibles.
I don't know about you, but this makes me want to make sure everyone I know receives a copy of the bible as soon as possible.
Remember, the King James Bible is in the public domain. If you want, you can download a PDF copy of the King James Bible here.