I’ve been blogging at www.layguy.com for just over two years now.  Before that I posted a few items on Yahoo 360 and I copied a few of those posts over.  Tonight I took a trip into my stats just to see what’s been popular on this blog and below are the top half 5 posts over the years.  Hope you enjoy..

1. Man Turning Into A Tree

When I wrote this post, I had no idea just how popular it was to become.  It was the story of Dede – a man in Indonesia who contracted Human Papillomavirus (HPV) – a bug which causes skin diseases and warts.  However Dede suffered from a rare form of immune disorder where his body was unable to cope with HPV and his warts took on a “bark like” quality and just kept on growing and growing and growing….

2. Bill Hybels says “We Made A Mistake”

Will always remember when I heard Bill Hybels say, “We made a mistake” in regards to the “attractional” or “seeker sensitive” approach.  He admitted that this created a breed of shallow and spoon fed Christians.  Research by his church concluded that the goal of churches is to create disciples who are “self feeders” and are able to grow in their spiritual maturity and develop a deeper relationship with Jesus.

3. Watch Rob Bell’s NOOMA Online For Free!

While I am not a big fan of Rob Bell – mainly because of his emergent type need to need to question everything – I am a fan of this guy’s ability to communicate.  A great example of this is his NOOMA series of video’s – short stories designed to draw out conversation on spiritual matters for small groups.  I collected all his NOOMA video’s I found online (21 at the time), made a VODPOD collection and posted them on my blog.  Worked like a charm until they were deemed copy write and whoever posted them online had to take them off.

4. America’s Top 50 Influential Churches

This was posted back in July 2007 and has been getting constant hits ever since.  Snatched and expanded from www.churchrelevance.com at the time, this post lists (with URL’s and some Pastor’s blogs) the most influential churches in the US back in July 2007.  Makes for interesting reading and a great place to check out church websites and resources on some of the best churches around.

5. The Demon Seed – Fallen Angels

This is one post from a series of posts I did on the Nephilim – the hybrid offspring of angels and humans before the flood and the real reason God destroyed the earth.  Most Christians (including Reformed) don’t take this topic seriously and brush it off as fantasy.  But I invite you to take a journey with me with this series of posts and you will never see history the same way again.  Entire series (although unfinished) listed below.

The Demon Seed

The Demon Seed – Pt 2

The Demon Seed – Text & Questions

The Demon Seed – Fallen Angels

The Demon Seed – The Nephilim

The Demon Seed – Demon DNA

The Demon Seed – And Also Afterward

Hmm…. makes me want to complete this series.

This is especially true if you have no skills whatsoever in designing and building websites as Clover has been designed from the ground up for ease of use.

In fact, they used the model of a 60 year old grand mother with no computer skills to create this tool.  My apologies to the grand ma’s out there as I’m sure there are a tonne of grand pa’s in the same boat as well as a tonne of younger people also.

But the fact is, Clover allows anyone to build and run a website with minimum fuss and dollars.  When I was looking for solutions to build the website for my church, I settled with Joomla as most packages cost at least $4,000+ for even the most basic design.  Half decent designs would cost a lot more!

Joomla is a great tool, but the problem is that in my little church plant, I am the only one who knows how to use it.  Something happens to me and the site is finished.

I wish Clover was around back then as this is an awesome tool and would only set you back $1,000 plus $20 per month for hosting.  And anybody can pick it up in no time – including 60 year olds!

Check out the following promo video…

Don’t take my word for it, head off to Clover and have a play with it yourself.  Test drive the different themes and, even better, play around with the backend – and actually edit and add whatever you like.  You will quickly see how awesome and easy this tool is.

I often hear how people like to look back over the years to see how their faith has grown and how they have changed for the better.  And it’s a sobering thought to realise that this hasn’t exactly been my reality.

If I were honest with my self, I would admit that over the years, due to various issues in my life, the honest position I have is a hardened heart.  Intellectually I know Jesus.  I quote Scriptures.  I debate and defend attacks on the Christian faith all the time.  Intellectually I get Jesus.

But my heart is another story.

Tonight I came across another classic John Piper snippet in a sermon.  What staggers me is that this guy seems to get his greatest joy and pleasure in life in abandoning all in the pursuit of desiring God.

His heart embodies all that my intellect lacks and cries out for when it comes to intimately craving for Jesus.  And his words sometimes leave me wondering, “what on earth am I missing when it comes to knowing Jesus?”

To get where I am coming from, check out the following clip…

It’s a sobering thought when you realise that you have slipped so far away from where you need to be.  And so I need to pray that my heart is changed.  I need to know exactly how I have replaced the treasure of knowing and pursuing Jesus with the junk I am wasting my life with.

Jesus said..

“For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also.” Mat 6:21

I love how he nailed human understanding every time He spoke.  And right now He knows where my treasure is because He senses the absence of my heart.  And so I will pray and I will mediate on two of His parables regarding true treasure – Him & His Kingdom.

“The kingdom of heaven is like treasure hidden in a field, which a man found and covered up. Then in his joy he goes and sells all that he has and buys that field.

Again, the kingdom of heaven is like a merchant in search of fine pearls, who, on finding one pearl of great value, went and sold all that he had and bought it.” Mat 13:44-45

Check out all occurrences of “treasure” in the ESV Study Bible by clicking here.

How on earth I learnt to do the things I do even blows me away as I have a business degree and work full time in the corporate world.

And it’s from this perspective that I browse the web and get blown away by the things people can do with motion graphics.

I was especially stoked tonight as I came across a group on video sharing site Vimeo called Church Media Hub.  Think of Vimeo as a premium video sharing site – nothing like YouTube.  And to find a group with a tonne of video’s which can be used by the church was a great blessing.

At the time of this post, the group has 585 video’s ranging in quality and content.  The good, the bad and the ugly – but, being on Vimeo, “ugly” is still quite good!

At Church Media Hub, you will find big guns like Lifechurch.tv’s Senior Graphic Designer Brian Clark and his video’s and a host of others.  For your viewing pleasure, check Brian’s latest work for Lifechurch.tv and their upcoming “At the movies” series opener.  “At The Movies” is a smashing annual event at Lifechurch.tv where they screen mainstream movies and glean great from out of it.  A huge crowd magnet for their churches.

The following clip is a very nicely done video on Phil Wickam’s song, “True Love”.  Phil Wickam is an artist I’m enjoying lately and this clip was a great visual delight on the nature of what Jesus has done for us.

But the major kick I got out of watching these video’s was discovering an awesome talent called “Mothlight Creative.” Their take on their video’s is, “..powerful, articulate visual communication. We don’t just make things pretty, we communicate.”  They achieve this stunningly in the video’s they produce.  Keep in mind that these video’s are not the result of large Hollywood studios, but rather freelance artists who choose to use their talent to glorify our King.  Hope you enjoy the following video’s and be sure to check out hundreds more at Church Media Hub.

• 1,082 children died from violent assault
• 2,347 children died from car accidents
• 32,867 children died from disease

As a parent of two, these are heart wrenching facts.  Every single one of these kids were a living soul with a personality – all snuffed out all too prematurely.  But compared to another statistic, these children were the “lucky” ones.

You see, these 36,296 children actually got a chance to live.  Despite how horrible and heart wrenching their deaths may have been, they at least got to live.

Here’s another statistic.  In the US during 2002…

• 1,310,000 children died in the supposed safest place on earth – their mothers womb.

You see these kids didn’t have a say of whether or not they had the choice to live.  Their mother and/or father made the decision on their behalf – and decided to abort their life.

www.abort73.com is a pro-life website setup to destroy ignorance surrounding the topic of abortion.  If you are pregnant and want some solid reasoning as to why you should go ahead with your pregnancy, you need to visit this site.

If you are passionate about spreading the pro-life view (and may I dare say…the truth) about one of the most hotly debated topics around, then you need to check out www.abort73.com.

The title “abort73” is largely due to the Roe V’s Wade case – a landmark 1973 verdict which legalized abortion in the US actually built on the claim that there’s no way to say for certain whether or not abortion kills because no one can say for certain when life begins.  Boy have times changed since then.  We now know for certain when life begins and we know for certain that abortion is legalised murder.

Watch this:

Since then 45 million American kids have been murdered.  They would have been my age as my mother conceived me in April, 1973.  I can’t think of any human tragedy that surpasses a death of 45 million – and that’s in the US alone.

Since 1973, medical science has taken great leaps and there is a genuine consensus among those without an agenda to spread as to when life begins – at conception.  Watch this:

Even the strongest advocates of abortion have made the following startling comments:

“I think we have deluded ourselves into believing that people don’t know that abortion is killing. So any pretense that abortion is not killing is a signal of our ambivalence, a signal that we cannot say yes, it kills a fetus.” Faye Wattleton – Former President of Planned Parenthood – the largest provider of abortions in the world

“Clinging to a rhetoric about abortion in which there is no life and no death, we entangle our beliefs in a series of self-delusions, fibs and evasions. And we risk becoming precisely what our critics charge us with being: callous, selfish and casually destructive men and women who share a cheapened view of human life…we need to contextualize the fight to defend abortion rights within a moral framework that admits that the death of a fetus is a real death.” Naomi Wolf – Feminist and prominent abortion supporter

Killing a fetus needs to be known for what it is – murder. Natural human instinct along with advancements in scientific understanding and knowledge all point to the fact that life begins at conception.

Even the Bible makes it clear that God is at work on the development of the fetus and also has plans for the life of the child…(emphasis mine)

“For you formed my inward parts; you knitted me together in my mother’s womb.  I praise you, for I am fearfully and wonderfully made.

Wonderful are your works; my soul knows it very well.
My frame was not hidden from you, when I was being made in secret, intricately woven in the depths of the earth.

Your eyes saw my unformed substance; in your book were written, every one of them, the days that were formed for me, when as yet there was none of them.” Psalm 13913-16

And then comes man and, just like they did with Jesus, murders the child.  To drive this point home, I have one last video to show.  Viewer discretion is advised as this contains footage of what a murdered fetus looks like.

I show this to shock.  Shock you to the truth.  Sometimes truth hurts and those who are indifferent to the nature of abortion really need to get this.  We are dealing with the lives of the most innocent human beings on the planet.

What’s my view on abortion?  I abhor abortion when sexual promiscuity takes place and women fall pregnant and conveniently kill off the child.  I abhor abortion when couples fall pregnant unexpectedly and a child will get in the way of their plans.

At the same time, my views are softened when people consider abortion on the grounds of medical reasons.  Threats to the child’s or mother’s life, development defects etc.  Another grey area for me is pregnancies brought on by sexual assault.

I thank God I have never been in that situation as it would be truly heart wrenching.  However, based on the above Scripture, I know that I personally would heavily lean towards non aborting any pregnancy.  I have simply come across way too many stories of people who struggled with the thought of abortion – only to choose life for the child.  And what wondrous lives these people now live.

Tonight we had Frontline at Church – our Men’s Group meeting.  We’re currently going through the Warrior series by Lifechurch.tv.

One of the discussions centred around the story of Peter walking on water as described in Mat 14:28-31:

“And Peter answered him, “Lord, if it is you, command me to come to you on the water.” He said, “Come.” So Peter got out of the boat and walked on the water and came to Jesus. But when he saw the wind, he was afraid, and beginning to sink he cried out, “Lord, save me.” Jesus immediately reached out his hand and took hold of him, saying to him, “O you of little faith, why did you doubt?”

During our conversation, it dawned on me how this story is a great metaphor for the Christian walk.

When Peter says, “Lord, if it is you, command me to come to you on the water,” Peter is responding to the working of Christ.  A miracle.  When God starts to draw you in to Him, this is a miracle.  And we respond to this by following Him – stepping outside of our comfort zone and into a new faith.  We don’t have all the answers and this can be visually depicted as walking out on a raging and stormy sea.

“So Peter got out of the boat and walked on the water and came to Jesus.”  Do you remember when you first came to Christ?  How you were ready to conquer the world for Him.  This is represented by the “ludicrous” actions of Peter as he stepped out of the boat.

I remember quite well as the wife of the Pastor of the Church I was baptised in downplayed the zeal of the group of people I was baptised with.  “They’re all just new Christians – reality will soon set in!”

She said this in such a negative undertone that I remember it to this day – 12 years later.  The voice of a sinking person.  I say “sinking” deliberately because of what happens next with Peter.

“But when he saw the wind, he was afraid, and beginning to sink….”  This is what happens when we take our eyes of Jesus.  Instead of his eyes on Jesus, Peter looks around and takes stock of the reality he is in, freaks out and then starts to sink.

How true this is for all of us?  After getting over the euphoria of the birth of our salvation and being ready to conquer the world, “reality” sets in as we pay attention to the storms in our life.

Our work, marriages, responsibilities, failures and sin all take our gaze away from the One we initially fixed our eyes on.  And the result is that we begin to sink.  We experience defeat. And we start freakin out as to where we are and how we got there.

And at this point, the story turns.  I strongly believe that God lets us carry on in our failures with the sole purpose of teaching us to rely on Him.  Peter cries out, “Lord, save me.”

When you get to that point in your life where God strips away from you the realisation that you can never walk on water on your own, the most sane reaction is to call on the One who inspired you to take on this journey in the first place.  Your Saviour.

And this is what I love – Jesus’ response. “Jesus immediately reached out his hand and took hold of him.” Notice the lack of hesitation on the part of Jesus?  He immediately saves Peter from sinking.

This is the nature of our King – ever faithful & always able.  He knew full well the predicament facing Peter – just as He knows the predicament facing our own lives.  He knows   that He needs to step in.  We just need to call out to Him.

In typical Jesus style, He uses this whole example to teach a valuable life lesson.  You see, Jesus doesn’t seem to believe in redundancy.  He will always use any life experience to stretch and grow us.  It seems that the sanctification of our souls is a high and mighty priority in the mind of Christ.

“O you of little faith, why did you doubt?”  These were His words to Peter as He snagged him from sinking.  Though 2000 years have passed, I bet Jesus is still saying these words to you and I.

If only my soul and spirit could grasp this, I too can walk on water.  However in my case case, the water represents sanctification.

As I sink on a daily basis, my hope is that I whole heartedly call out to Him…

“Lord, save me.”

As the Jews were dispersing from Jerusalem following Passover Week, two blokes were walking to Emmaus – 7 miles away.  All of a sudden some stranger tags along them and engages them in the most amazing dialogue anyone could fathom.

Passover week in Jerusalem began with thousands of people celebrating Christ’s entrance riding on a lowly donkey. Completely fulfilling Scripture, the King of the Universe rides on an “ass” as He enters His beloved city.

After close to a week of confronting the religious nut jobs, He is betrayed by one of his own and handed over to be illegally tried and sentenced to death.

Instead of celebrating His entrance into the city, much of the same mob now shout, “crucify Him!”  He is beaten to a pulp, beard torn off and body parts hanging out of Him – beaten beyond human appearance.

Then He was made to carry a cross to His eventual place of execution – nailed through the hands and feet, lifted up and basically suffocated to death thanks to one of the most savage forms of capital punishments known to man – crucifixion.

Upon His death, dead people rose and walked the streets – in full view of the massive amount of tourists in town during Passover week.  The curtain in the Temple was torn in two – exposing the most Holy of Holy parts of the Temple. The sky went dark and the earth shook with a mighty earthquake.

He was buried.  His followers freaked out for their own lives and dispersed.  And everyone was in a state of shock.  Wasn’t this man supposed to be the Messiah?  The One sent to liberate them?  Reaching to a new height of influence – only to be brutally snuffed out by crucifixion.

Three days passed and rumours started to float that Jesus had risen from the dead.  Freaky tales started by women who had witnessed an empty tomb.

Hearts skipped a beat and people started leaving Jerusalem to go home to their normal lives wondering, “what on earth has just happened?”

And it’s at this point we encounter the story of the “road to Emmaus” – recorded in Luke 24:13-24:

That very day two of them were going to a village named Emmaus, about seven miles from Jerusalem, and they were talking with each other about all these things that had happened.

While they were talking and discussing together, Jesus himself drew near and went with them. But their eyes were kept from recognizing him.

And he said to them, “What is this conversation that you are holding with each other as you walk?” And they stood still, looking sad. Then one of them, named Cleopas, answered him, “Are you the only visitor to Jerusalem who does not know the things that have happened there in these days?”

And he said to them, “What things?” And they said to him, “Concerning Jesus of Nazareth, a man who was a prophet mighty in deed and word before God and all the people, and how our chief priests and rulers delivered him up to be condemned to death, and crucified him.

But we had hoped that he was the one to redeem Israel. Yes, and besides all this, it is now the third day since these things happened. Moreover, some women of our company amazed us. They were at the tomb early in the morning, and when they did not find his body, they came back saying that they had even seen a vision of angels, who said that he was alive.

Some of those who were with us went to the tomb and found it just as the women had said, but him they did not see.”

So we have two blokes walking to their home towns when suddenly, a stranger appears.  They freak out at this guy because He doesn’t seem to register about the events which just happened.

And then Jesus responds with what can only be described as God’s sense of humour, “what things?”  I mean c’mon.  He has just been murdered and suffered a death you and I can only imagine and He responds with “what things?”

So Cleopas and his friend tell Him about all the things that just happened.  Can you imagining how Jesus felt as He listened to what they said.  I mean, it was He that just went through all these things.  It was He who suffered and died at the hands of professional executioners.  It was He who felt the wrath of God hammered into Him.  It was He who, while dead in the flesh, went to some demonic prison and declared victory.  It was He who brought Himself back to life.  And it was He who said, “what things?”

I am so going to high five Jesus when I see Him for saying that!  And then in typical Jesus style, He flips the conversation on it’s head by His response:

“And he said to them, “O foolish ones, and slow of heart to believe all that the prophets have spoken! Was it not necessary that the Christ should suffer these things and enter into his glory?” Luke 24:25-26

And it’s at this stage where I wish I was one of the two men.  You see, during this 7 mile walk, Jesus must said the most amazing things:

“And beginning with Moses and all the Prophets, he interpreted to them in all the Scriptures the things concerning himself.” Luke 24:27

7 miles of jaw dropping bliss.  7 miles of eye opening wonder.  7 miles of intense teaching from the author of the Scriptures you have based your life on.  7 miles of enlightenment which burned you up inside as you hear every penny drop as if it were a cannon exploding into your ears.

7 miles of conversation with the God of the universe.  The very one who holds your life’s breath in the tip of his finger print.  Walking and talking right beside you.

What strikes me is where He taught them from – Moses and the Prophets. All Old Testament!  Pure and Divine commentary on that “old” part of the Scriptures many “modern Christians” couldn’t care about.

Here’s my rant, the next time I hear some Christian say, “yeah but that’s in the OT,” I think I’m gonna deck him.  When Paul says that “all scripture is God breathed” etc, he wasn’t even referring to the NT because it wasn’t even in place when he said that.

I don’t belittle the NT at all.  It tells the story of my King and the ramifications of His appearing in this ball of ours.  Awesome stuff.  But my gripe is with those that discard the OT as irrelevant.

When Jesus spoke to Cleopas and his buddy, He referenced OT writings about all the things “concerning Himself.”  Wouldn’t you just have loved to be in earshot of this conversation?

Imagine the gems of insight you would glean as all the pieces of the puzzle are put in place by the author of the Book itself?

7 miles of life. 7 miles of conversation that made the hearts of the recipients burn.  When was the last time you had a conversation with someone where you heart burned?  Probably never – but then again, you probably never had the conversation with your Creator like these guys did.

And the story goes on.  It’s beyond this post.  Way too much to even begin to talk about.  But that’s the nature of my King.  He will grab your heart and your mind and He will expose you to the brilliance of His existence.  And maybe, just maybe, your heart will burn also…(emphasis is mine on the issues which captivate me.)

So they drew near to the village to which they were going. He acted as if he were going farther, but they urged him strongly, saying, “Stay with us, for it is toward evening and the day is now far spent.” So he went in to stay with them.

When he was at table with them, he took the bread and blessed and broke it and gave it to them. And their eyes were opened, and they recognized him. And he vanished from their sight.

They said to each other, “Did not our hearts burn within us while he talked to us on the road, while he opened to us the Scriptures?” And they rose that same hour and returned to Jerusalem.

And they found the eleven and those who were with them gathered together, saying, “The Lord has risen indeed, and has appeared to Simon!” Then they told what had happened on the road, and how he was known to them in the breaking of the bread.

As they were talking about these things, Jesus himself stood among them, and said to them, “Peace to you!”

But they were startled and frightened and thought they saw a spirit. And he said to them, “Why are you troubled, and why do doubts arise in your hearts?

See my hands and my feet, that it is I myself. Touch me, and see. For a spirit does not have flesh and bones as you see that I have.”

And when he had said this, he showed them his hands and his feet. And while they still disbelieved for joy and were marvelling, he said to them, “Have you anything here to eat?” They gave him a piece of broiled fish, and he took it and ate before them.

Then he said to them, “These are my words that I spoke to you while I was still with you, that everything written about me in the Law of Moses and the Prophets and the Psalms must be fulfilled.”

Then he opened their minds to understand the Scriptures, and said to them, “Thus it is written, that the Christ should suffer and on the third day rise from the dead, and that repentance and forgiveness of sins should be proclaimed in his name to all nations, beginning from Jerusalem.

You are witnesses of these things. And behold, I am sending the promise of my Father upon you. But stay in the city until you are clothed with power from on high.”

May I have my 7 miles with Jesus – this is my life’s greatest wish.

One song I can definitely relate to these days is Flyleaf’s, “I’m So Sick”.  I’m not ignorant to the daily struggles I have as I live out my life.

Sure I have victories and many successes. At the same time, I get this nagging feeling that I am kept from my full potential by my own failures and the assault on my life from the enemy of my soul.

As a result of this, I frequently see myself as a sick person.  I know what’s right and I want to go that way, but I am kept back by what seems as an invisible force.  And when I try to tackle this on my own, I fail all the time.

Paul alluded to this in his famous passage in Romans:

“For I do not understand my own actions. For I do not do what I want, but I do the very thing I hate. Now if I do what I do not want, I agree with the law, that it is good.  So now it is no longer I who do it, but sin that dwells within me. For I know that nothing good dwells in me, that is, in my flesh. For I have the desire to do what is right, but not the ability to carry it out. For I do not do the good I want, but the evil I do not want is what I keep on doing. Now if I do what I do not want, it is no longer I who do it, but sin that dwells within me.

So I find it to be a law that when I want to do right, evil lies close at hand. For I delight in the law of God, in my inner being, but I see in my members another law waging war against the law of my mind and making me captive to the law of sin that dwells in my members. Wretched man that I am! Who will deliver me from this body of death?”  Rom 7:15-24

I take great comfort in this passage.  If Paul went through this also, who am I to think that I wouldn’t.  It’s like I have a war waging inside of me and I get defeated many, many times.

Like Paul, I “do not understand my own actions”.  The very things that keep me a prisoner I delight in when it comes to my carnal nature.  But it’s these thing that I hate.

Therefore I come to the conclusion that “sin” has a home in me.  And that’s a sobering reality.  And what’s even more sobering is that the lines between “doing what I want to do and not doing what I want to do” are so damn blurred these days.

This must be the “waging of war” inside of me and my rational response is that “I’m so damn sick!”  This is a massive part of me and, if you were honest with yourself, you too.

This point is being driven home to me time and time again these days.  Almost to the point where God wants to shatter me in my reliance of “self” – He is moving me to realise that “I am a wretched man.”  And as much as that sucks, I know that I need to know this.

And with that background, I present to you the song that I so resonate with these days.  Flyleaf’s, “I’m so sick”.

Hope you enjoy.

FlyLeaf “I’m so sick”

I will break into your thoughts
With what’s written on my heart
I will break
Break

I’m so sick, infected with where I live
Let me live without this empty bliss, selfishness
I’m so sick. I’m so sick.

If you want more of this
We can push out, sell out, die out
So you’ll shut up (shut up)
And stay sleeping
With my screaming in your itching ears

I’m so sick, infected with where I live
Let me live without this empty bliss, selfishness
I’m so sick. I’m so sick.

Hear it, I’m screaming it. You’re heeding to it now
Hear it, I’m screaming it. You tremble at this sound

You sink into my clothes. This invasion makes me feel
Worthless, hopeless, sick

I’m so sick, infected with
Where I live
Let me live without this empty bliss, selfishness
I’m so, I’m so sick
I’m so sick, infected with where I live
Let me live without this empty bliss, selfishness
I’m so (I’m so)
I’m so sick (I’m so sick)
I’m so (I’m so)
I’m so sick (I’m so sick)

Barabbas, even though he deserved to die was set free as Jesus took his place on the cross.  What a wonderful picture of grace offered to us in Jesus.  Even though we are fallen and broken people and deserve to die, through Jesus, we also can be set free.

Hope you enjoy…

As part of my job, today I had to drive 4 hours to a regional hospital for a 1 hour meeting and then drive back.

But the drive gave me the opportunity to listen to a tonne of Ravi Zacharia’s preaching on my iPod.  I must have gone through about 8 of his sermons and have developed a great admiration of how this man thinks.

He became a Christian at the age of seventeen after a failed suicide attempt and has developed into one Christianity’s brightest sparks – especially in the area of philosophy and apologetics.

He routinely speaks on the coherency of the Christian world-view,claiming that Christianity is capable of withstanding the toughest philosophical attacks.  And this is what I admire about this man – he systematically cuts down every argument stacked up against Christianity.

Someone may ask a question and he simply launches into a response.  By the time he finishes, you just sit back and think, “Wow!  The thought process this guy has is amazing!”

Have a look at the following video as a typical example of what I’m talking about…

And this is just a mild response.  A few posts ago, I talked about the debate ABC Nightline recently had regarding the existence of Satan and a friend pointed out the Ravi should have been present to take on Deepak Chopra.  Now I make no excuse for despising the world view Chopra has – he glorifies “self” above anything and everything.

Personally I thought Mark Driscoll handled him quite well.  But he didn’t nail Chopra on some of his claims.  Chopra has now released a new book called, “The 3rd Jesus” – a complete mish mash of Hindu/Buddhist and Christian teaching to make Jesus more acceptable in this “self” elevated world.

And Ravi has responded to this book – completely exposing the fallacies of Chopra’s claims as well as exposing the limitations of Chopra’s own understanding of the faith’s he embraces.  I encourage you to listen to Ravi’s critique below.

If you want to dig deeper into your faith and if you want proof the the faith we embrace can withstand secular assaults upon it, then I strongly encourage you to check out more of Ravi’s materials.

Main Website

Just Thinking Podcast

Let My People Think Podcast

Turns out the good people at Mars Hill have made available a fully functional version of the The City at The Gospel Coalition.

Adrian Warnock describes the Gospel Coalition as;

“..a growing fellowship of Christian churches, organizations and individuals who are committed to a certain kind of ministry—that which is biblically-faithful and gospel-centered.”

Sounds good to me.  These guys have a tonne of material centred on exulting a biblical view on the Gospel free from some of the modern assaults on its interpretation and application.  If you haven’t checked it out yet, click here for more.

The City was developed by Mars Hill and actually purchased by Zondervan and will be made available for churches in the near future.  Here’s your chance to try it out and also get plugged into one of the best ministries around. Click on one of the options below to join.  No matter where you join, you will have access to all the tools.

For more Gospel Coalition resources, check out any of the following links:

Twitter |  iTunes |  Facebook |  YouTube

So in an effort to feel important and for people to look his way, he comes up with a “brilliant idea” – why not exhibit a naked woman on a cross just days before Easter?

Mitchell defends his supposed $40,00 piece of crap “art” by saying..

“It is the duty of an artist to question society’s beliefs in religion and to test people about those beliefs, which this sculpture will do,” he said.”

That’s what I hate about artists – too lazy to go to work like the rest of us, these people place a huge duty on themselves to question anything.  And Christianity is always fair game for these idiots cause they know they strike a raw nerve and get heaps of response and reaction because they slander things which are sacred to millions upon millions of people.

Mitchell, you’re an idiot.  Get a life, get a real job.  Get some talent cause seriously even your “art” sucks.  But most of all, don’t think that you pathetic antics are unknown.

You’re not the first to slander that which is sacred and you wont be the last.  This is your pathetic way to get attention – your five minutes of fame in this fleeting life.  And you chose to mock Jesus to do so.  I seriously pity you.

In closing, if I could be presumptuous enough to quote God’s response to this…

“It’s my duty as your Creator to judge how you respond to what I did for you through my Son.  His crucifixion and your response to it will determine your eternal reality.”

Thanks for that God.  Now if I may, as the LayGuy, continue..

Neil Mitchell.  You’re an idiot.

For more on this, go here.  And check out the glib response from the St Michael’s Uniting Church chief Minister Dr Francis McNab:

“[I do not].. find the work offensive, “but I wouldn’t go to see it.”

C’mon McNab – don’t be so in a hurry to please man.  Seriously.

What I meant by the Left Behind comment is that Christians sometimes come across as real losers trying to follow a popular trend. When Lahaye came out with the Left Behind series, you were almost outcast if you didn’t read the books and actually like them.

I read a few but soon got over the “let’s stretch out this shocking theology over X amount of books so we can rake in the money” approach – similar to how shows like “Prison Break” and “Lost.”

And to think that end time understanding of millions of people is influenced by such trash makes me wonder who the bigger culprit is:  Dan Brown or Tim Lahaye?  Scary thought.

So that was my mindset as I picked up Adam at my local library.  Surprised to see a Christian author in the library, I read the blurb and decided to have another crack at Christian fiction.  I’m about a quarter through it and love it!

Dekker is an author I resonate with.  He shy’s away from typical cliché one would expect from a Christian fiction writer and delivers in a way where you can admire the research an author has undertaken in order to generate his work.  It’s real, it’s deep, it flows and it captures you.

Ultimately, Adam is a story about demon possession played out in a scientific “CSI” type environment.   To pull this off, Dekker had to do his research and any “hokey pokey christian cliche” would sink this story.  I’m glad to report that so far, this story aint sinking and is actually getting more intriguing all the time.

Have a listen to Dekker himself describe some of the thinking behind the book and then go do yourself a favour and grab a copy from somewhere.

Want a free audio book with no strings attached?  While there might be a few ways to get your hands on some second rate stuff out there, www.christianaudio.com is a great place to check out if you’re into Christian audio books.

One of the cool features of the site is its “First Chapters” podcast where they release the first chapter of a certain book as a podcast.  You get to hear the first chapter and, if you like it, you can go ahead and purchase the rest of book.

But by far the coolest thing about www.christianaudio.com is the free monthly download.  And instead of being stingy by offering titles no-one has even heard of, www.christianaudio.com make available awesome titles.

This month is no exception.  The free audio book is Leonard Sweet’s “So Beautiful” – released on www.christianaudio.com even before the printed version is released!  What a deal!

Leonard Sweet is currently the E. Stanley Jones Professor of Evangelism at Drew Theological School (Madison, NJ), and Visiting Distinguished Professor at George Fox  University (Portland, OR). He the author of more than one hundred articles, 600 published sermons and thirty books, most recently The Gospel According to Starbucks (2007).

The blurb on “So Beautiful” goes along the lines of..

What is commonly known as DNA today was called “…so pretty!” when it was discovered years ago, and over the course of his ministry, author Leonard Sweet has discovered that this divine design also informs God’s blueprint for the church. In this seminal work, he shares the woven strands that form the church: missional, relational, and incarnational. Sweet declares that this secret is So Beautiful!

Using the poignant life of John Newton as a touchstone, Sweet calls for the re-union of these three essential, complementary strands of the Christian life. Far from a novel idea, Sweet shows how this structure is God’s original intent and shares the simply beautiful design for His church.

And to wet your appetite even more, check out the following short promo..

To download this free audio book, head on over to www.christianaudio.com, create a free account and download to your heart’s content.  Hope you enjoy.

Part of the ABC “Face Off” series of debates, this particular event included new age guru Deepak Chopra, Pentecostal preacher turned “heretic” Carlton Pearson, former hooker turned Christ follower Annie Lobert and mega church Pastor Mark Driscoll.

As you can imagine, the reality of Satan’s existence was debated with Chopra and Pearson claiming that he doesn’t and Lobert and Driscoll claiming that he does.

After watching it, here are my initial thoughts:

• Chopra ends up looking like a complete idiot who thinks he is WAY more evolved in his conscious awareness then the average, but very simple, you and me.  He is smug, he is attacking and is downright rude and ignorant simply minimising the reality of Satan as a reality only for the “insecure.”
• Pearson’s “heresy” has to do with his turnaround in his thinking about the literal reality of the bible.  Although he seems like a nice guy, I felt for him in how this once powerful preacher now seems so confused in his theology – Satan has truly stolen this guys faith – and yet Pearson openly rejects the reality of Satan.  So ironic.
• Lobert is a surprise packet and speaks so openly about her former life and the reality of evil in it and how Jesus saved her from all her past. Raw and emotional, I was amazed at how much Jesus can save.
• And Driscoll, well what else can I say about my favourite preacher?  I’m super stoked that he gave it to Chopra the way he did.  Driscoll knows his stuff and is quick in his thinking and he clearly won this debate.

But that’s just my own opinion.  Watch the debate for yourself and come up with your own conclusions.  And once you do, please share…

However I do call a spade a a spade and I came across a story which revolted me in a big way.

Check out the above picture – it’s a t-shirt worn by some rogue Israeli soldiers at completion of their basic training.  It shows a pregnant woman with cross hairs and titled, “1 shot 2 kills.”

It’s not official and investigations have shown that they are manufactured in small numbers and spread across multiple divisions – perhaps up to a dozen t-shirts a time.  Other t-shirts have the following:

• Soldiers standing over a woman with the caption, “”Bet you got raped!”
• A gun pointing to a head with the caption, “Confirming the kill.”

This kind of rhetoric is usually reserved for the enemies of Israel and so I found this report disappointing and disgusting.  Hamas and Hezbollah are experts in glorifying the death of innocents and it seems as if some of this has now rubbed off on silly undisciplined elements of the Israeli forces.

An anti-Israeli world view will point their anti-Semitic fingers at Israel for the smallest of things.  My concern is that actions like these only add fuel to the fire.  It’s good to see that the official response from the IDF is one of disgust and condemnation.  I wonder what the response would have been if the other side had done this – probably more jumping and dancing on the streets.

For more on this story, click here.

And for some time now, I’ve believed that the post of the US President is simply a puppet position for the real wheelers and dealers of world power – the international bankers.

While all sorts of rhetoric crap was “debated” during the election race and all attention was diverted to issues which normally consume one sided Americans, plans were put in place to set up the next puppet President of “the free world.”

Record levels of disdain towards Bush and his administration, fuelled by pathetic wars as a result of a bogus terrorist attack on the US, set the public up for a massive swing to anything opposite to Bush and what he stood for.

Bush achieved much for the powers gunning for a New World Order.  But public opinion was stacked up so high against him that these powers needed to orchestrate the perception of a huge swing away from what Bush stood for.

Media, celebrities and any other opinion forming mechanism went full swing ahead in endorsing Obama and painting him as the messiah to all the problems of the US and indeed the world.  And the ultimate icing on the cake, was the fact that he is black – galvanising the perception that change had finally come.

But in reality, what has actually changed?  The “change you can believe in” is as apparent as the the weapons of mass destruction not found in Iraq.  Even worse is the fact that Obama has taken the policies of Bush to a new level – and most Americans don’t even know it.

Do yourself a favour, set aside 2 hours and watch the following clip.  Educate yourself and wake up America!  You have been totally deceived…yet again.

Been checking it out and enjoy the site greatly.  But the stand out to me so far is the talent of Blair Wingo. 

Blair is a model, actress, and, since being saved by Jesus, is the official spoken word artist of the movement – which is actually a local small church plant in LA.  Blair is just one of many talented people they have at the movement and I look forward to checking out more in due course

Check out some of Blair’s spoken word talent below: (for more video’s either check out the website listed above or visit the the P4CM YouTube channel here)

Up until now, it’s been hard to rely on a succinct and lay explanation as to how on earth we got into this mess.  Well thanks to Flowing Data, here is a 11 minute video which finally made more sense to me then anything I’ve seen on the topic so far.

I know that things are heaps more complicated then what’s shown in the next 11 minutes, but this video sure does introduce you to the love of money on a scale probably not seen before.

The Good Book says…

For the love of money is a root of all kinds of evils. 1 Tim 6:10a

The video will show you the love of money.  And it will show you the birth of a vicious cycle about to be unleashed on all of us.  I wander what kind of evil will be birthed as a result of this…

In the past it was hard to imagine sovereign nations throwing away their sovereignty to allow for a NWO.  But in the past, the push for a NWO was mostly from a political or military perspective – and never gained much traction.

But hit nations where it hurts, and things can change rapidly.  And nations around the world have been hit like never before – all at the same time and where it hurts – financially.  And now instead of opposition to a NWO, they are calling for it.  Watch this:

Mind you, this was said back in October last year – well before all the depressing details emerged.  Fast forward a few months to January and you get British PM Gordon Brown actually explaining why the world is now ready for a NWO.  And I quote:

[The NWO is] “driven forward not by the balance of military strength…or  by political power… but by a seismic shift of economic power”

Watch the video of his presentation below…

Apart from Adolf Hitler, Pappa Bush and the American Dollar Note, one of the biggest advocates of the NWO is former Secretary of State under Nixon, Henry Kissinger.  And you can imagine how excited he is about the NWO right now.

Given all the hot spots around the world due to terrorism and wars, throw in the global financial crisis and with Obama just about ready to be sworn in as the next US President, Kissinger was asked in January what was the most important thing Obama could do as President.  Watch his response….

Many have accused Kissinger as being the public front man of super secretive, elite and power hungry organisations hell bent on creating a NWO with the sole purpose of total global control.  Such organisations include the The Illuminati, The Bilderberg Group, the Council on Foreign Relations etc and other shady organisations.  Truthfully, I have no idea if this is the case – but it sure makes for interesting viewing.  Check out this video as an example…

Whatever the likes of Kissinger et al are trying to achieve, one day planet earth will be subject to a ruthless ruler – most probably under the context of being the leader of the One World Government.  Current economic, political, military and social trends are strangling the world to the pointy where sovereign nations are actually calling for the NWO.

The Bible clearly spells out one of the goals of a global authority..

[The beast] “causes all, both small and great, both rich and poor, both free and slave, to be marked on the right hand or the forehead, so that no one can buy or sell unless he has the mark, that is, the name of the beast or the number of its name. This calls for wisdom: let the one who has understanding calculate the number of the beast, for it is the number of a man, and his number is 666.” Rev 13:16-18

I find it just a little freaky that it’s an economic cause that’s driving the world towards a NWO and also the fact that the above passage talks about “buying and sell” – again an economic reality.

Personally I believe there are sinister forces at play here.  Scripturally, Paul sheds light on the ancient workings preparing for the coming of the Anti-Christ..

“For the mystery of lawlessness is already at work. Only he who now restrains it will do so until he is out of the way. And then the lawless one will be revealed, whom the Lord Jesus will kill with the breath of his mouth and bring to nothing by the appearance of his coming.” 2 Thess 2:7-8

If the mystery of lawlessness was already at work back in Paul’s time, how much further have things progressed, how much longing has increased to see it come true, how deep are the rituals in the pursuit of these things.  It’s occultic, demonic and has captured the heart, mind and soul of the secretive world elite.  And it’s a force to be reckoned with.

Don’t believe me?  Have a listen to President Kennedy’s speech on this very topic – just weeks before he was assassinated…

I’ll leave you with one final video.  A snapshot of what’s going on as the world rushes headlong into the dark reality of the NWO.  If you let yourself feel consumed at how hopeless you are in the light of what’s going on, don’t despair.  Just remember that all you will see in the following video will most likely culminate in the revealing of the Anti-Christ.  But remember Paul’s words…

“whom the Lord Jesus will kill with the breath of his mouth and bring to nothing by the appearance of his coming.” 2 Thess 2:8

In my mind, this whole thing is one astronomical waste of time.

If you’re on the lookout for a high quality bible recording that won’t cost you a cent, then read on.  This story is making it’s rounds on the net and I thought it would be great to make this resource known here at LayGuy also.

A word of warning though.  Although free, if you want the whole bible, you’ll need to do a fair amount of work to get it.  Having said that, you can easily download high quality MP3 recordings of entire chapters – up to 500 versus at a time.  Without further ado, here’s how:

1. Head over to the ESV bible online.
2. Click on the “Options” link in the top right hand corner.
3. Don’t worry about the visual options for now, head down to audio options and select “MP3 (David Cochran Heath, complete Bible).”
4. Press “save” at the bottom of the screen.
5. Do a search on the chapter and/or versus you want to download.
6. For the purpose of this exercise, I’m searching Genesis 1
7. Genesis 1 pops up onto the screen.  You’ll notice the “(listen)” next to the chapter title.
8. Right click “listen” and select “save link as” (Firefox) “save target as” (Explorer) etc.
9. Choose a place to save it on your computer and rename the file to something meaningful – such as “Gen 1” in our example – make sure you add “.mp3” after your file name.
10. Save and download it.

This can then be easily be listened to on your computer or transferred to an MP3 player or iPod.

Crossway are the publishers of the ESV and have made this resource available for all – very generous despite the times we live in.

And the quality?  Well just have a listen to this…

The most sickening and disgusting thought of all is that many of these fires were lit deliberately on what was Victoria’s hottest day ever – 47.3C (117.1F).  Strong northerly winds fanned these flames into hundreds of homes and whole towns have been literally wiped off the map.

To make things worse, there are reports of arsonists relighting fires which have been put out, looting of homes which have survived the fires and money collectors pretending to work for a worthy cause only to pocket the proceeds themselves.  A pathetic picture of the vermin of humanity.

In complete and utter contrast are the reports of heroic efforts by professional and volunteer firefighters, paramedics, police and the generosity and outpouring of the human spirit to help out those in need.

I decided to make a short video to capture only but an essence of what has transpired over the last couple of days.  I encourage you to watch it.  To feel it.  To imagine what it was like. And to never forget what these people have just been through.

I also ask you to help pass on this message/post/video – whatever it takes – to others to raise awareness of this incident.  Australians, and the world, are digging deep to help those in need.  Already tens of millions of dollars have been raised to help rebuild lives and communities.

The biggest push is through Australian Red Cross – please visit and make any contribution possible.  The video ends with this website also – so please pass it on to whoever should see it.  Please help make it go viral – as my goal is to make donations to this appeal go viral also.

These people need it.

The spine tingling words of a little girl as her parents packed their belongings when the power went out.  The cause?  Australia’s worst bushfire disaster – ever.

On Saturday 7th February 2009, my home state of Victoria, Australia had it’s hottest day ever.  Melbourne peaked it’s temperature at 46.4 degrees Celsius (115.52 F) and the state recorded 47.3 (117.14) – the hottest temperature since records began.

After years of drought and barely getting over the worst heatwave for 100 years a week ago, our state was dry, grass was dead and brown and the scene was set for a catastrophe come Saturday.  Most people around the world wouldn’t have heard of this as Melbourne and Victoria doesn’t have that much celebrities compared to the Malibu fires in the US – where the “precious” homes of the Hollywood elite were threatened.

Cast Hollywood and the big wigs aside, what we faced here was a disaster – and it came, it saw and it conquered.  As I write this post on Sunday night – the day after – 84 people have died and 700 homes have been lost.  It’s feared that the death toll will be over 100 once authorities finally reach the devastated areas.  You see there are still 26 fires burning and 12 are completely out of control.

National headlines are saying that Victoria experienced “hell on earth” and, although I wasn’t personally affected, my heart goes out to my fellow Victorians as they come to terms of their loss.  There are horrible stories of loss – husbands, wives, children, homes and livestock.  Check out the following video to get but a glimpse of what these people went through.

Click here for some photo’s of this horrible day..

This was a day never to be forgotten here in Victoria.  I pray that those who suffered loss are comforted amidst their tragedy.  My state is hurting as a result of all this – it has been through extremely tought times lately.  And the most sobering thought is that more hot weather is yet to come.  Traditionally Victoria swelters well into March – giving ample time for repeat occurrences of this day.  I hope not but something inside says there is more to come…

I came across this video of him today which showcases his own delusion and how people like him clutch at straws while trying to defend the debunked theory of evolution.  What a joke!  Where’s the science behind any of his assertions?  Lol – I wonder how long the camera had to “cut” as he fabricated his pathetic response. 10 points to you Dawkins for totally deflecting the actual question!  Loser.

Hope you enjoy…

Edit note 30/1/09 – Just found out that the Youtube user mentioned below,  “iamannointed” is a fake atheist fraud.  Makes him even more sick then Pat Condell.  Here’s one to due diligence for next time…

I recently posted a provocative and completely sarcastic video on my YouTube channel called “Boycott Israel.” It’s a tongue in cheek video showcasing just how brilliant Jewish people are when it comes to inventions and business. Suffice to say, I had that many people making comments thinking I was anti-Jewish, that I deleted all comments and disabled this feature.

So now I’m copping personal messages and friend request from all sorts of people.  One was from Pat Condell – an atheist who takes it upon himself to slander all religions – and Christianity seems to take the brunt of his verbal diarrhea.

In his “try hard, look at me, I’m trying to be funny at the expense of religion” Video Blog, he focuses on the stereotypical mindsets people have towards religion and tears them down one by one.  Of course, what this results in is death threats from Muslims (makes for vulgar reading so be warned) and mass evangelism efforts from Christians. And of course Condell plays on this and posts more and more video’s to ridicule both tribes.

So what we have here is an articulate man voicing his opinion on religion, and echoing what many stay silent about – especially when political correctness demands us to shut up.  A lot of what he bags Christianity for,  I actually agree with – a lot of what Christianity is “known for” as opposed to “truly practiced,” is truly stupid and simply religiously bizarre.  But his witty comments and body language give him away as a man who truly hates my King and for this I simply cannot stand the man.  Sorry Jesus.

Here is an example of what I’m talking about…

In the other corner are many well meaning Christians who probably pray for Condell’’s darkened soul – which is a beautiful thing – especially when compared to what the Muslims would want to do to him.  But this is what gets me.  Enter the weirdo Christian – the likes of which help set the mindset that Condell bags and dissects.

One such character is YouTube user “iamannointed” – check out his cliched and, what seemingly looks like drunk response to what Randell said above.

I’m sure Condell said the “sinners prayer” after watching that response.  And just in case he didn’t, iamannointed follows up with a song he personally wrote, and infused with “the gift of tongues” between versus and at the end of the song as he stairs down the camera for effect the TBN would be proud of…

And finally in case his song was a flop on Condell’s iPod, iamannointed “prays” for him “in the spirit”…

OK, if you’re not a christian and have watched all this, take a chill pill and realise that not all of us are like this.  In fact many Christians would see this as totally bizarre.  To my Pentecostal and Charismatic friends reading this, I am not a cessationalist either – I do believe in the gifts of the Spirit – but I also believe they are to be exercised in the right way.  So what’s my take on this?  My response could probably best be summarised by the following Proverb:

“O simple ones, learn prudence; O fools, learn sense.” Proverbs 8:5

Let’s start with the fool – sorry Condell but the Scriptures you bag actually label you as a fool.  (Ps14:1 et al) Hey, you have your beliefs which apparently make me out to be an ignorant idiot but my beliefs label you as a fool – but enough of the name calling already.  To people such as Condell, scriptures paint as having no sense, wise in their own ways, puffed up, arrogant.  Sure, we should pray for such people but also remember the words of our King when He spoke about them – you know the pearls to swine, walking all over you and attack you bit?  See Mat 7:6 if you don’t know what I mean.  And Condell does just this.

Mat 10:14 even suggests to walk away from people not wanting to listen to what we have to say about them.  By all means, engage.  But if rejected and ridiculed, walk away – there may be others our King wants us to engage.  If God wants Condell saved, He will accomplish it with His Spirit – and not by our antics.

To the simple one -  iamannointed, I’m afraid I’m talking about you (in case you asked, “who’s that?”), Scripture suggests learning prudence which is defined as:

“The exercise of good judgment or common sense in practical matters.”

I appreciate your concern over Condell’s situation, but you seriously lack good judgement or common sense in your dealing with him and, in doing so, make the rest of us look pretty silly.  In addition, you’ve probably just supplied the material for Condell’s next video message bagging those who love Jesus.

When you speak in tongues, the following Scriptures offer great advice.

“Now, brothers, if I come to you speaking in tongues, how will I benefit you unless I bring you some revelation or knowledge or prophecy or teaching?” 1 Cor 14:6

“So with yourselves, if with your tongue you utter speech that is not intelligible, how will anyone know what is said? For you will be speaking into the air.” 1 Cor 14:9

“If, therefore, the whole church comes together and all speak in tongues, and outsiders or unbelievers enter, will they not say that you are out of your minds?” 1 Cor 14:23

None of the above was shown in your video’s and this is my point.  Christians are seen as strange by an unbelieving world.  But we bring this down on ourselves and we amplify this when we do “religion” and pursue this with a selfish and egotistical “look at me” motive.

This world hates us for what we stand for – and it will find any reason to ridicule.  But let’s stand for what we believe in with our heads held high knowing that we are observing Scripture and seeking God’s glory – seriously – it’s all about His glory and should have nothing to do with us.  That way, the likes of Condell can ridicule all they want – what a waste of a life.

But I urge you to push aside what you see on TV and get to know the real battle.

Fact: Hamas are cowards and they hide behind women and children and deliberately position themselves in areas populated by the innocent in order to orchestrate their terror.

Fact: Hamas headquarters are located under the largest hospital in Gaza

Fact:  Hamas are losers.

Fact:  The media has helped fuel an anti Israel hate message to the world as Israel only seeks to defend its citizens.

Don’t believe me?  Well check out the following video from the IDF and proof that Hamas use places where innocent children play and learn to launch their terror.

As a parent, I am sickened by the way Hamas exploit children.  Don’t get me wrong, I hate seeing innocent children suffer and die.  But the Palestinian children have become “throw away items” in the depravity of the Hamas and this sickens me.

And in case you don’t believe me when I talk about the “throw away” mentality many Palestinians have towards their kids, check out the following video:

The Middle East will see no peace until the Prince of Peace returns.  I’ve discussed this before.  No US or EU envoy will ever achieve peace.  So it’s best that they just pack up and go home.  Jesus needs to return and until He does, this kind of crap will reign supreme.

I know the above comment will place me on one of those “conspiracy theory whacko lists” but I don’t care.  The fact that Bush mentioned that there have been no terrorist attacks for 7 years is almost laughable seeing as he allowed 911 to happen and his neocon friends have prospered through subsequent actions.

So goodbye Bush.  Nice to see the end of you – although you did provide us with some awesome laughs.  Good on you for tricking the “Religious Right” into thinking that you actually give a toss about God – you did a swell job.

But in you honour, I will post your farewell speech as, although I don’t like you, I do kind of have a soft spot for you.

That just sounded so gay. So here is Bush’s farewell speech…. bye bye Bush.

But the one area I still struggle with is Calvinism – Driscoll’s belief system.  So much of me gets it and believes in the teaching of Calvinism, but the opposite belief of Arminianism also resonates with me in a huge way.  In a very basic nutshell to those of you who don’t understand the difference:

• Calvinists say that God chose you to be saved
• Armenians say that we accept Christ and are then saved

So the fight is about “who chooses who?”  There are a tonne of scriptures to back both views and this topic is HOTLY debated amongst the best and brightest Christian leaders and teachers – both past and present.  Me? I’m kind of stuck in the middle – slightly leaning to the Calvinist side.  But Driscoll is a full on Calvinist.

And in the New York Post article, amongst other things, the topic of Calvinism was discussed at length – especially in contrast to the “seeker sensitive” movement and the pathetic “bling” gospel of the biggest loser, Joel Osteen.

But it was interesting to see how the article focused on Calvinism and below are a couple of quotes:

“God has predestined every human being’s actions, yet we are still to blame for our sins; we are totally depraved, yet held to the impossible standard of divine law.” authors take on Calvinism.

Elsewhere the author writes…

“(Calvinistic theology)… strike[s] many modern evangelicals as nonsensical and even un-Christian. …and some babies who die in infancy — if God placed them among the reprobate — go straight to hell with the rest of the damned, to “glorify his name by their own destruction,” as Calvin wrote.

Although I lean towards Calvinism, this line of thinking makes Calvinism look very harsh indeed.  However I feel it’s a bit unfair only to focus on this aspect of Calvinism and not on the grace shown to mankind also.

In regards to Arminianism, again I think the author got it completely wrong.  The article says:

“Since the early 19th century, most evangelicals have preferred a theology that stresses the believer’s free decision to accept God’s grace. To be born again is a choice God wants you to make; if you so choose, Jesus will be your personal friend.”

Makes it sound so pussy and week!

But at the end of the day, like I said, the battle is about “who chooses who?”

Enter the atheists.  In the climate described above and the misuse of faith (aka religion) and all the stupid things done in God’s Name like wars and causes, the atheists are fighting back – and they’re doing it in a mass market kind of way.  Have a look at the following clip to see what I mean:

This is happening in many countries and in an increasing trend.  But good ‘ol Australia bucks against the trend – for how long is any one’s guess.  Sure flies in the face of Christianity doesn’t it?  Especially against Calvinists.

So it got me wondering.  With the growing popularity of Calvinistic theology amongst many churches, is this atheistic activity only the beginning of a new power struggle?  Is there a spiritual battle brewing as the mindset of man is once again being influenced by two opposite extremes?

I know which side I’m taking but I’m sure there are many people out there about to be duped “Da Vinci Code” style with this new advertising trend.  What they are doing is great advertising – only for a stupid cause.  Maybe we should copy their idea and adapt to a Calvinistic worldview and have massive billboards saying:

“God chose you to be saved.  Now live it out!”

Or  – a more tongue in cheek slogan for our atheist friends could read:

“April Fools Day – International Day of the Atheist”

“The fool says in his heart, “There is no God” Ps 53:1

Yeah I know that last one has been done to death – doesn’t mean it’s not true though!

Final words, click here for a detailed article regarding Calvinist V Arminian debate and click here for Driscoll on GodTube – another error from the author of the article as it stated Driscoll is to rough for GodTube.

At the end of the day, it’s now totally cliche to say, “remember the reason for the season.” But…who cares. Here goes. Christmas – although totally pagan in it’s history and celebration, is a time for the masses of the world to be exposed to the story of the birth of Jesus.

This man achieved more in his last 3.5 years of his 33 year old life then anyone could ever imagine. No other person has more books written, more songs sung, more pictures printed or more poetry composed than Jesus. In 3.5 years, this man changed the course of history.

His life, death, burial and resurrection simply stunned mankind and 2000 years later, we are still basking in His brilliance. And 2000 years later, His message and His ability to change people and transform lives is still as strong as when He walked the arid paths of Israel.

Below is a simple but great video to emphasise the ability of this humble carpenter to totally turn the logic of this world, upside down.

Upside Down from Pace Hartfield on Vimeo.