LIVE-Disciplined

I know you've seen them.
They are the little yellow, silicon bracelets embossed with the word "LIVESTRONG." They are supposed to promote "cancer awareness" and support research. They bear the name of bicyclist and cancer survivor Lance Armstrong's LIVESTRONG Foundation.

The name of his foundation is a play off of his own name. The story behind it is meant to be inspiring. Armstrong not only beat cancer, but also won seven Tour de France titles.

Because of his athletic success there are many other things named after him. There is

Introducing: Jesus, the Son of God - [Sermon]

Has the following ever happened to you:
As an adult, you are standing next to one or both of your parents, and they are having a conversation with one of their old friends who you haven't seen since you were a child. Still with me? Good.

While they are talking, your parent's friend seems to be oblivious to your existence. They might even be shooting you those "why are you standing there and not leaving us alone" glances. After a short time listening to them talk, your parents finally motion to you and ask, "Do you remember my son/daughter, (insert your name)?"

??? - [T3]

I'll only put a few words here this week. But I want you to respond.
Church workers:

What are some of your "tech questions?" I could go on and on about the things that I have, use, etc. But what do you want to know?

Put some questions in the comments section. They might just turn into a Tech Tip Tuesday.

See ya' next week!

-Daniel

Moving to Mac - [T3]

As I wrote in a previous article, for many years I was a "die-hard" PC user. You would think that making the switch to a Mac would be a long, difficult process.
It's been anything but long and difficult.

Today I want to take a little time to detail my transition from using PCs for my work to using the iMac that's now sitting in my office. If you are a PC user and are contemplating making the switch, these are some things you might like to know.

The Battle for Our Children

It is a difficult thing to keep your faith as a young person in this world. I know. I am one, and even growing up in the church of Christ there were times when I had doubts and questions.
Here are the battles we face as young people today, from our perspective:

The skirmishing begins at an early age. We are quietly assaulted in our "science" classes with pictures of these really neat and exciting looking creatures called dinosaurs. We are then told that these creatures existed millions of years ago, and are now extinct. We came along only a few million years ago, and we are the product of chance, natural selection, and evolution. We are a big cosmic accident. Of course, adults are the ones telling us this, so we believe them. Adults would never give us the wrong information or lie, right?

"You Can't Use the Bible For That!"

“But Pharaoh said, ’Who is the Lord, that I should obey his voice and let Israel go? I do not know the Lord, and moreover, I will not let Israel go.’” (Exodus 5:2)

A few months ago I wrote a rather heavily read post on my blog in response to an article I had found titled "Ten Things I Wish the Church Knew About Homosexuality." If you read through the comment section of that post, you find that there are obviously some people who disagree with my conclusions.

I don't bring that up to rehash it again, but because part of my Bible reading this morning made me think about one of the claims I heard (and still hear) during the discussion of homosexual marriage and the Bible, and any other socially accepted sin:

“You can't use the Bible for that!”

Well, what is the “that?” Is it telling people what constitutes sin (i.e., homosexual activity, or any other sin for that matter)? Is it the idea of following moral standards in voting policy and law into place? Maybe it's this:

“You can't use the Bible to tell me what I can and can't do!”

I think that sums it up. Why? Well, for the same reasons that Pharaoh insists on ignoring God in our text (Genesis 5:2).

Pharaoh didn't recognize God for who he is. He indignantly asks something to the effect of, “Who is this ’God,’ and what makes him think he can tell me what to do!” That's the same problem that the aforementioned people have today (cf. Romans 1:21).

They don't know God. They see the Bible as a book of superstitions and stories. I have to admit, if the Bible was merely a book of fables and myths, I would whole-heartedly agree with their position. Why make policy and moral judgments based on fairy tales?

But that's not what the Bible is (cf. 2 Peter 1:16). Pharaoh foolishly rejected God and His commands. Things didn't turn out so well for him.

How about you?