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Yesterday I rode my bike to work for the first time this year. It was an awesome ride!
I went out this morning to get on, and–you'll never guess–I had another flat tire. Same tire. ARG! So, I drove to work again today. I'm going to go at lunch to the bike store and look at inner tubes. I'm thinking this tube may just be getting old…who knows. Hopefully, I can stop this problem and get back on the ball riding to/from work. It is very relaxing.
I got behind and I had several My Utmost for His Highest devotionals to read today.
Never allow a feeling which was stirred in you in the high hour to evaporate. Don't put your mental feet on the mantelpiece and say – "What a marvellous state of mind to be in!" Act immediately, do something, if only because you would rather not do it. If in a prayer meeting God has shown you something to do, don't say – "I'll do it"; do it! Take yourself by the scruff of the neck and shake off your incarnate laziness. Laziness is always seen in cravings for the high hour; we talk about working up to a time on the mount. We have to learn to live in the grey day according to what we saw on the mount.
How many times do we tell God "I'll do it" only to put it off or get caught up in our day-to-day lives of "just doing everything" that God and what he wants falls by the wayside. Life isn't easy. We need to work at it.
When God speaks, many of us are like men in a fog, we give no answer. Moses' reply revealed that he was somewhere. Readiness means a right relationship to God and a knowledge of where we are at present. We are so busy telling God where we would like to go. The man or woman who is ready for God and His work is the one who carries off the prize when the summons comes. We wait with the idea of some great opportunity, something sensational, and when it comes we are quick to cry – "Here am I." Whenever Jesus Christ is in the ascendant, we are there, but we are not ready for an obscure duty.
Well, today I was going to start riding my bike to work. I was all excited! I got up, got ready, went out to get on my bike and guess what–the tire was flat. I didn't want to take the time right then to fix it so I ran back inside, changed my clothes, and drove. I was bummed out. However, I guess it wasn't all bad. I drove the first part of the ride to see how busy the roads are. So, tonight, I have to fix my bike tire, and I'll start riding tomorrow.
By the way, if you live close enough to work, I would encourage you to ride a bike. Not to save money on gas (although that is a big plus today), not to save the environment, not to get exercise, but to enjoy being outdoors. When I'm riding, it is just a great experience.
I rode 22 miles just for fun on Saturday, but I would think anything 10 miles or less would be a nice commute ride. I'm going to ride a hair under 10 miles each way and it will take me about 40 minutes.
If it is something you are interested in, make sure you do some reseach. The best route with a car isn't the best way on a bike. I would suggest BikeForums.net. They have a forum devoted to commuting. I have found the people in the forums to be very helpful.
Well, today in Columbus, the weather was so nice, I decided to go for a bike ride. I was gone about 2 hours (of which about 1 hr 45 min was spent riding.) and went about 22.5 miles. On the way home, I did have some trouble with my bike (the chain came off the front sproket and got stuck). To fix it, I had to borrow a screwdriver from a gentleman who was moring is grass. If not for him, I would have had to walk the 8 miles back home.
Well, along these lines, I think it is light enough in the mornings, so I'm going to start riding my bike to work once again. I'm looking forward to it. Riding is a great way to get outdoors (and to beat the high gas prices too). Some day, I'll post some pictures of my ride to or from work so everyone can see the scenery I do.
My buddy Alan, sent me an interesting link. Here is a brief description from their website:
The primary focus of this website is to present a satirical look at the fairy tale of molecules-to-man evolution, demonstrating via graphical presentations the silliness an evolutionish must resort to in order to reconcile science with his faith in evolution.
I hope you all enjoy http://www.evolutionfairytale.com/! Answers in Genesis can provide more detailed information on creation.
In This blog entry of mine, I referenced a new find of TRex soft tissue. Well, AIG's Ken Ham is speaking out about how that find ties in very well with what creationists believe. Here is a link to the news article.
Ken Ham, president of the creationist group Answers in Genesis (AiG), says this important find supports the biblical view of the Earth's timeline. "The reason this is such startling news is because you just wouldn't expect soft tissue and cells like this in a bone supposedly 70 million years old," he says.
But what AiG scientists would say about the find, Ham observes, "is that it's totally consistent with the fact that these bones aren't that old and probably date back to the time of the flood just a few thousand years ago." However, he doubts evolutionists will give consideration to the possibility that the T-Rex bones are only thousands rather than millions of years old.
"Nothing has been found, nothing in observational science, that contradicts what the Bible says," the AIG spokesman contends, "but over and over, it does contradict the ideas of evolutionists."
We need to pray for this colonel in the Iranian army. WorldNetDaily.com linked to this story. It seems like our brother converted “…many years ago…” but it has just now become an issue. He was arrested in 2004 when police raided a church meeting.
The only thing I know to is pray. I guess we could always contact the Iranian Embassy in Washington. On second thought, that may be interesting. Here is a link to the Iranian Embassy homepage. It has their address in Washinton.
If you do want to write a letter, Voice of the Martyrs has some good information about writing letters.
[Update 2012-12-26 15:08:54] The link to the news story changed and I couldn’t find the story so I removed it. The old link was http://www.adnki.com/index_2Level.php?cat=Religion&loid=8.0.148077134&par=0
I subscribe to the e-mail version of the Baptist Press. Yesterday, they had this story.
I have written several posts about the state of church in America and why we are no longer effective. This article has several good points about the state of the church, what is needed, and why. Here are some teasers:
In the church the word "revival" often refers to a series of special meetings, usually with an out-of-town singer or speaker. However, the word itself is summed up in what was done for me under the table and what was done for the bride at church — to bring out of a state of unconsciousness and restore to full alertness.
Today, let's pray for the Lord to revive His people and His church. Starting with me and my church.
Baptist Press yesterday also ran an article talking about a new Intelligent Design Blog. I have skimmed the site and it looks interesting.
Please realize as you read their site that intelligent design is not the same belief that creationists like Answers in Genesis hold to. I have linked to this blog simply to make others aware of it. Intelligent design simply takes the position that there was someone/thing involved in designing the world. It would allow for evolution, the big bang, millions of years, etc…. On the other hand, creationists would hold to the position that God (the God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob; my Lord and Savior) created the world in six days–six literal 24 hour days. If you want to record the account of creation, follow the link to Genesis chapters 1 and 2.
Which one am I? A creationist, of course. I believe that God created everything in six 24 hour days. It was created without sin and without death. In fact, the Bible says that once He was done, God called everything he had created "…very good…." Sin and Death entered into the picture after man was tempted by Satan and chose to sin. That account is found in Genesis chapter 3.
I subscribe to an e-mail list by David Cloud. I don't agree with everything he says, but all of it is usually a good read and makes you think about what you really think about certain subjects.
One thing that really bugs me is how unrespectful people are while the pastor is preaching. Today, Mr. Cloud's e-mail dealt with this very thing. I cannot find the entire article on his website, so I have posted the e-mail in its entirety here. I couldn't find anything on Mr. Cloud's website about what he considers acceptable use of his material, but I think this falls under fair use. If you are the copyright holder and want this document removed, please contact me and it shall be done.
Here are the main points made by Mr. Cloud in his e-mail:
HOW TO CONDUCT YOURSELF DURING PREACHING
"But if I tarry long, that thou mayest know how thou oughtest to behave thyself in the house of God, which is the church of the living God, the pillar and ground of the truth" (1 Timothy 3:15).
1. SIT RESPECTFULLY AND ALERTLY
2. DON'T DISTRACT OTHERS
3. LISTEN WELL
4. TREAT THE INVITATION SERIOUSLY
Of these, there are two that aggravate me to no end: #2 and #4. I work sound at Highland, and so we get to see everything that goes on in the service. You wouldn't believe the number of people who wander in and out, out and in while the service is going on. I don't understand. And, if that weren't enough, the invitation is the time in the service for people to respond to God's call on their life. It isn't time to put on your coat, gather you stuff, or, worst of all, walk out of the service to beat the rush out of the parking lot! If God isn't dealing with you, you should pray that others in the service would allow God to work in their life (and you probably should be trying to figure out why God didn't say anything to you that Sunday!).
In short, remember we don't go to church to be entertained. We don't even go to church to hear what the preacher has to say. We go to church to 1)Worship Almighty God and 2)Hear what He has to say to us through the preacher.