I was reading an e-mail from E-Week I recevied today. It linked to Ed's Gripelog. I found this site rather interesting reading. He seems to help people out when hey have a legit gripe against a company. It also gives people a place to gather and share stories about companies they have done business with.
Face of Jesus?
First of all, just because I'm linking to this doesn't mean I believe it. It just means I have found this thing on the Internet I have been looking for–and it is about time. Before I give you the lowdown, here are some things to remember:
1. — The Bible says we are not to worship idols.
2. — Photography was not invented until 1827 (according to this article on about.com)
3. — Images of "Jesus" may leave us with a false impression of our Lord and lead us to worship idols
I'm linking to this more because I think it is interesting how our mind puts "stuff" together to form pictures. When I was going to Marshall, someone game me a business card size card with this picture on the front and the story on the back. Ever since then, I have been trying to find it on the Internet. I thought it was very neat then, and I wanted to share it with everyone.
From http://www.rejesus.co.uk/expressions/unexpected_faces/snow.html.
The image above has circulated in Britain since the late 1950s. It contains a face of Christ, but not everyone can see it straight away. The story that goes with it says it was taken by a Chinese photographer who was riding home one day through the snow. According to the story…
His soul was troubled. He had been witnessing a great movement towards Christianity among his friends since the Japanese invasion. He longed to know the truth of what he had been hearing from Christian missionaries.
As he rode along he said, "Lord, if I could only see your face, I would believe." Instantly a voice spoke to his heart, "Take a picture. Take a picture."
He looked out at the melting snow forming pools of water and revealing here and there the black earth. It was an unattractive scene. Nevertheless, being thus strangely compelled, the man descended and focused his camera on the snowy roadway.
Curious to know the outcome of the incident, he developed the film at once upon returning to his home. Out from the black and white areas of the snow scene a face looked at him, full of tenderness and love – the face of Christ. He became a Christian as a result of this experience.
School Papers
I have been toying with the idea of releasing all the papers I wrote in school under the The GNU Free Documentation License (or something similar). What does everyone think? Right now, they are just sitting on my hard drive doing nothing. If I publish them, someone may get some use out of them.
IMB Visit
Well, tomorrow I leave on my trip to Richmond, VA, to meet with people at the IMB. I may or may not get a chance to post what happens over the weekend, but I'll update everyone when I get back. Here is a summary of what I have going on:
Friday@6pm: Meet with Ted about benefits, etc….
Monday@9am: Meet with Amy and Bill
Monday@10:45: Meet with Amy, Carl, and Nicole
Monday@Noon: Lunch with Amy, James, and David
Monday@1:30pm: Wrap-up
The Resurrection: A Harmonization of the New Testament Accounts
I was browsing various blogs today, and came across this post. It seems that sometime in the past, a skeptic challenged Christians to harmonize the accounts of the resurrection. Well, it appears to have been done. This link will take you to the page where it is done. I'm linking to it ti here to get it distributed as widely as possible. The author…
put this together a number of years ago. A skeptic had put forward what was supposed to be an unanswerable challenge: to take all the passages in the Bible beginning with the day of Jesus’ resurrection and continuing to the day of his ascension, and without omitting anything write a simple narrative that is chronological and leaves out nothing.
Interesting Links
A buddy of mine, Alan, was googling around and sent me the following links. They look interesting, and so I thought I would pass them along to you.
http://www.woodbowl.com/photo.htm
Capture a photo of your special event in a beautifully oil-finished, solid birch wood heirloom bowl. A unique way to preserve the memory of a wedding, birthday, sporting event, retirement, or just your favorite person or pet.
http://www.crayonbynumber.com/
Scan in a yearbook photo Crayon By Number prints out a numbered (Paint By Number style)outline Use a box of Crayola crayons to color in the outline to create a life-like self portrait!
A Partial Answer
I received an e-mail forward today from my old pastor–Pastor Tony. It was sent to him by his son who read the article on WorldNetDaily.com. Here is a link to the article. It dovetails nicely with a post I made on 21 March: Thoughts on The Church.
…I don't know Greer personally, but I know many people like him. They go to church on Sunday and then between Monday and Friday lead lives with no seeming connection to what they hear preached in the pulpit, what they read in the Bible, what they claim to believe of the Christian faith.
This may be the biggest single problem we have in America today – this disconnect between the spiritual lives of Christians and how they practice their faith in the world….
…Too many pastors in this country don't require obedience to God as a prerequisite for church membership. They seem to believe in a kind of "cheap" grace that comes with regular attendance or tithing rather than a Christian walk. They seem to have no minimal standards for fellowship and communion with the saints….
Do you want to know why the church doesn't have influence and impact in our increasingly secular world today?
Because there are too many so-called Christians like Judge George Greer and not enough like Pastor William Rice.
This is a good point. It is true that only God really knows the heart of men. On the other side of the coin, we are told in the Bible that our fruits/works/obedience will show if we really love God:
Matthew 7:19-21
19 Every tree that bringeth not forth good fruit is hewn down, and cast into the fire.
20 Wherefore by their fruits ye shall know them.
21 Not every one that saith unto me, Lord, Lord, shall enter into the kingdom of heaven; but he that doeth the will of my Father which is in heaven.John 14:15
If ye love me, keep my commandments.
Church! It is time to wake up and see what is going on! We need to seek the face of God and plead for revival.
Terri Schiavo
We were talking this past Saturday in our Men's Bible Study group about the Terri Schiavo situation, and that conversation got me thinking. God promises in Romans 8:27-29:
27 And he that searcheth the hearts knoweth what is the mind of the Spirit, because he maketh intercession for the saints according to the will of God.
28 And we know that all things work together for good to them that love God, to them who are the called according to his purpose.
29 For whom he did foreknow, he also did predestinate to be conformed to the image of his Son, that he might be the firstborn among many brethren.
Well, ok, we know that good in God's eyes isn't "good" in our eyes. The good may happen days, months, or even years from now. It may happen in a way we can't even comprehend. So, what good could come out of this situation? Well, it has certainly raised awareness of traditional "right-to-life" issues, but I think there could be more. What if Michael Schiavo were to get saved? What if he were to really get saved out of this. I'm not talking a show salvation. I'm not talking about a liberal feel good conversion. I'm talking about a real conversion experience. A salvation experience where he does real business with God. What about that? What good could come of that? Who knows, but if it happens soon, just think of what could happen: he could go on TV, get lots of TV time, and tell the truth about his salvation (see why I'm talking about a real conversion experience? He would need to go on TV and stand up to all the liberal God-haters in the media…all the God-haters in society.).
I don't know about you (or his actual spiritual state; however, I doubt he is really saved.), but my God–the God of the Universe, the Creator, the Alpha and Omega, the God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, the God of Israel, the Lord and Savior of My life–can work all kinds of miracles and could make that happen if it was His will.
Just my thoughts on a terrible, horrible situation.
Pensees
I was browsing Technorati this evening, and came across this blog. This guy appears to have a good handle on things, but I haven't read everything so….. Here are some quotes of his:
From Easter Egg Christianity:
The other day I noticed a Newsweek poll regarding belief in the resurrection. I was astonished to find that in this secular venue 81% had affirmed a belief in this event. 81% of the population believes that Jesus was supernaturally raised from the dead into an immortal, glorified body, thus vindicating His teaching and claims to be the Messiah and the very Son of God? I don't think so! Not if I'm reading my cultural cues properly anyways….
…So a person believing in the resurrection should have good grounds for believing that Jesus actually said things like, "Before Abraham was, I am" and, "No man comes to the Father except through Me" and, "Not everyone who says to me 'Lord, Lord' will enter the kingdom of heaven." How is it, then, that so many Christians can go to their Easter pageants and light their candles and sing their hymns while also denying potent realities like Jesus' unique divinity, the exclusivity of Christianity, or the doctrine of hell? The answer must be one of two things. One, they do not genuinely believe the resurrection to be a literal, historical event, i.e., they are simply immersed in the cultural expression of their "faith traditions." Two, they have not yielded to the logical implications of their profession of belief. Either this is a cavalier belief or it is simply an intellectual assent absent of any authentic faith commitment.
From Between Consenting Adults:
"What consenting adults do in private is no one else's business." Is this really a good moral criteria? Based on the outrageous and lethal things that some consenting adults have managed to do, "consent" advocates should be running for cover.
The Bulang
I was surfing on the internet and came across this site today. The Bulang are a small group of people in China. The site talks about how they live, etc…. It has some really cool pictures and other information about their region and life. Enjoy!
[Update 2012-12-25 22:07:42] The site I referenced, www.thebulang.org, is no more. I’ve removed the link from the article.