Imagine it’s Saturday, 2,000 years ago. Jesus is sitting in the synagogue. His cell phone is laying out on the pew beside him, flipped open. He is following along with the Rabbi, but frequently glancing down at the phone, checking incoming messages. Multi-tasking is no bigee for Him. A coalition of blind beggars are texting …
Monthly Archives: November 2010
When is Texting Rude?
Two relevant facts: 1) My actions always speak louder than my words 2) What I spend time on communicates what I find important Regarding text messaging, here are 10 observations: Nearly everyone texts, including my Grandpa (there are around 5 billion cell phone subscriptions out of 6.8 billion humans and more than 2/3 …
Living and Dying
"He is no fool who gives what he cannot keep to gain that which he cannot lose." Jim Elliot (1927-1956) What are we living for? Is it also worth dying for? Because if we’re not living for something worth dying for, we’re not living, and we’re not ready for dying either. "Whoever tries to keep …
Rethinking the Standard Testimony
Ever learned a new vocabulary word and then right afterwards heard it used three times in unrelated contexts? Seems to happen all the time. Another example: my brother moved to Oregon and now it seems everywhere I turn there’s an Oregon connection. Works out practically everyone’s brother lives in Oregon. Who’d have thunk? Even today …
This Is What I Get Excited About
In short: Incarnational Ministry Among the Poor I first read this article about a month ago. I got excited reading it! It discusses Incarnational Ministry from a practical perspective. Though lengthy – and at least one of my friends found boring – it does lay down a thought out framework. The author discusses Incarnational Ministry …
The Way I See Things
Here is a little known fact about me: I have an eye disorder called strabismus. The Symptoms Include: Crossed eyes Double vision Loss of ability to see in 3-D (loss of depth perception) For grins, I photo-shopped the picture below to how I would see it: Yep, that’s how I walk around seeing things all …
Saving Hundreds of Dollars
There are two ways I know to increase the amount of money I have lying around: 1) Make more 2) Spend less I’ve been experimenting with option two. It could be argued this has lowered my quality of living, but I would disagree. Regardless, cutting back on recurring expenses has yielded surprising savings for me; …
And Americans Drive Fast Because…?
On a recent trip down to Oklahoma with my friend Krishnan (who is here in the States short term from India), I noticed how impressed he was at our speed: "120 kilometers per hour! And it doesn’t even feel like we’re moving!" He assured me we could never go that fast in India. "Why? Do …
Letting Go. Letting God.
Control. What would happen if I let go? Removed every crutch? What would we call someone who didn’t carry insurance, invest in a 401k, or hold money in a savings account? Who gave away every dime he made over that necessary for food, clothing, and supporting his family? Someone who relied on God for everything? …
Accosted at QuickTrip
Was running late to work the other morning. Empty on gasoline. Stopped at QuickTrip. Filled the Jeep. Was ready to leave when a guy comes over to my car. Had a story: Low on gas, wife wouldn’t give him any money, etc. Could he have $10? This has happened before, but it’s been awhile so …
Are We Too Rich to Enter Heaven?
Ever heard the silly song, "You Can’t Get To Heaven In…"? We don’t sing this at my church as the theology is suspect: Oh, you can’t get to Heaven in an old Ford car ‘Cause an old Ford car won’t get that far Oh, you can’t get to Heaven on roller skates ‘Cause you’d roll …
God’s Waiting to Prove His Love
One of the cool things about playing an instrument is the unique outlet it provides for worship. Sometimes I am able to express best the way I feel towards God while playing the piano. But never fear those who don’t play an instrument because…! singing is another way we can express ourselves: And everyone can …