Civil Discourse For Others

The usefulness of the Golden Rule is vastly underrated. You don't believe me? Just watch for yourself.

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MTB'n in Austria on "The Knife's Edge"

Mountain Biking in Austria. I believe the trail is called "The Knife's Edge." BTW, no thanks.

Mortgaging Our Children's Future

Debt limit for dummies...

A Guitar Mystery Solved

As I tell my guitar students, the world is neatly divided into two classes of people, "guitar-players" and "cattle." If the video clip (below) makes your pulse race, then you are the former. If you've never, ever, ever wondered (consciously or subconsciously) how the Beatles managed in one chord to make you ache for what followed in "Hard Day's Night" then you are the latter. Note: Randy Bachman was one half of "The Bachman Turner Overdrive" who gave us the iconic "Takin' Care of Business" and "You Ain't Seen Nothing Yet", etc. This is really cool. Enjoy.

Apologetics Columbo Style

I've been a fan of Greg Koukl's for some time, mostly for his ability to equip "Joe Average" to naturally and faithfully engage unbelievers in spiritually edifying conversation. This video is an excellent example of Koukl's gift. You can view the video here.

Why I Wear a Helmet When Biking

HT: Brian Visser

Perseverance

Okay, I admit it, I'm a sucker for sentimental sports parables. But I doubt I'm the only one who can viscerally relate to the "agony of defeat" and the aching desire to run a race like the athletes who persevere when simply persevering (not winning the prize) becomes the goal. The video below is a triple threat (hanky-wise) for my ilk, because it combines the drama of sport, the love of a father and a moving sound-track. Enjoy.

Priority of Home in Missions

"The first step in foreign missions is domestic mission. The first step toward Africa is right across the street." - From the blog-post here.

Religious People Boogeyman

I have for a long time been uneasy with the well-meaning attempts to pit "religion" against "relationship", and/or "religion" against "true faith" etc. The Bible condemns "false religion" and commends "true religion" (e.g. James 1:26-27.) But it never speaks of religion as malum in se (intrinsically evil.) As we reprove the insipid apathy and hypocrisy within the church, wouldn't it be best to use the categories that scripture gives us rather than inventing our own?

Jared Wilson has some very helpful insights on this topic here. Enjoy.

A quick way to walk a mile in another's shoes...

Remember: You can click on the picture to enlarge it.

HT: Toby Sumpter

Table 7

Budget Cut Misdirection (Unbelievable!)

Mercy Has a Backbone

As Paul wrote, "Forgive one another even as God has forgive you in Christ Jesus."



HT: Danielle De Jong

King Jesus

"I wonder, do you know him?"

That's My King! from Albert Martin on Vimeo.

Strength in Weakness

"For the sake of Christ, then, I am content with weaknesses, insults, hardships, persecutions, and calamities. For when I am weak, then I am strong." (2 Corinthians 12:10)

There is a constant temptation to believe that we are the most effective in ministry when our families and our churches are the strongest. We are indeed called to an obedient ordering of our families and churches. But we need to remember that God is never hindered by our sinful failings in community, and in fact delights to use our stumblings as so many opportunities to display His ever-readiness to forgive sins for Jesus' sake. It is the proclamation of God's grace that saves the world, not our perfectionistic pursuit of holiness. God's strength is not manifested in our strength, it is revealed in our weakness. As a pastor friend of mine recently observed:

"My postmillennialism is of a particularly robust variety. I believe the earth will be as full of the knowledge of the Lord, as the waters cover the sea, in spite of all our labors. I believe in a kind of consubstantiation for our mercy ministries -- the grace of God is apparent in, with, and under all our incompetencies. How so? It's a mystery, my son."

The War of 1812 (or was it....?)

Okay history students, pop quiz: Who fought in the War of 1812? Why was this war fought and who won it? If you're not really sure then here is a very short video for you. WARNING: This will not help you answer the above questions, but it will help you with your self-esteem issues. After all, ignorance loves company, right?

HT: Mitch Milner