How can you be Jesus to me?

Gotta Catch ‘em All

internet memes - Pokémemes: Noah's Dex

Even if you’re not a fan of Pokémon, you have to admit that this is pretty awesome.

Genesis 6:19, 20, “You are to bring into the ark two of all living creatures, male and female, to keep them alive with you.  Two of every kind of bird, of every kind of animal and of every kind of creature that moves along the ground will come to you to be kept alive.”

Read the entire story.

Calvin & Hobbes Christmas

Who doesn’t love Calvin & Hobbes?  Especially Calvin’s snowmen.

Enjoy.

:)

8 Ways To Be a Help To Your Church

HEAR YE, HEAR YE!!!  Everyone needs to read this.  Do it!  Do it now!

Many church folk want to help their church.  Here are eight ways how to do just that.

In my honest opinion, everyone needs follow these tips and take them to heart.

For a summary, here are the eight ways to help your church:

  1. Be faithful to attend and participate
  2. Commit yourself to love the Lord and your brethren
  3. Pray for your church, its pastors and leaders
  4. Get to know your spiritual leaders and cooperate with them
  5. Help shoulder the load of responsibility
  6. Apply the teaching and ministry to your life
  7. Seek out and use your gifts
  8. Contribute to solutions and not to problems

Amazing Video: Vader Did You Know

Note: If you’re a fan of the song Mary Did You Know then you may want to bypass this post.

Amazing!

:)

Christmas 2011

I love Bridgett, but I hate taking pictures.  Why?  Because I’m a man.  I guess that’s why God laughs at me since I married a photographer.

Anyway.  Being that it’s Christmas, we took some pictures yesterday.  Here are two of our best ones (according to what I’m told).

Us with our boxer, Lucy

Us with our boxer, Lucy

In front of our tree

In front of our tree

Release Day

Today is release day at work.  It is the day we release the latest version of our product to the world.  We’ve held it long enough, worked out as many kinks as possible, and want to share it with everyone.  Mostly because its awesome.

Isn’t this the same with any product/idea/project/etc.?  Eventually it must be released…it must be shared with the world.

Take a church planter.  He/she works for days, weeks, months, or even years to rally a team, raise funds, and organize a ministry that will make a difference, but eventually the church must officially launch for it be mean anything.

A public speaker.  He/she formulates an outline, jots notes, and creates a Powerpoint presentation, but eventually the time will come for the speech to be given.  Whether it is perfect or not.

One last example.  An event organizer like a wedding planner.  He/she deals with the wedding couple (especially the bride) to make everything as perfect as possible, but the wedding day will finally come to put a stop to all the planning, organizing, and decorating.  It’s time to share it with the world and unite the hopefully happy couple.

Here’s the kicker.  Too many people are afraid to release their “thing” to the world.  They have an awesome idea for a product or business, but are too afraid if it may fail.  A songwriter doesn’t want to let anyone sing his/her songs because he/she doesn’t think that they are good (the same can go for a singer).  A writer writes a manuscript for a book, but doesn’t think anyone will read it so he/she doesn’t let it go.

Get this: In order for your “thing” to make a difference you must give it to the world.  Let other people read it, sing it, listen to it, play with it, do what must be done.  Otherwise, stop doing it, because it’s all wasted time.

Even if it isn’t perfect.  It still must be released.

But…but…but

Too many people have big “BUTS”.

Just do it.  Get it out there.  Let the world see it.  Work out as many kinks as you can find.  Get others to criticize it to get out the kinks you couldn’t find.  All of this will make your “thing” better.  Then, when it seems that everything is good, then let it go.  If more problems are found later or if feedback it given, then make it better later.

Listen.  Your idea could be the purpose that God intends for you to do.  Your product may change the world.  Your project may help millions (or *gasp* billions), but you’ll never know if you don’t release it.

Bohemian Rhapsody by the Muppets

This is awesome completely and totally amazing.

Muppets will always be cool.

How Do You Read the Bible?

I follow a really cool guy on Twitter named Greg Simmons.  On his blog, he conducted a survey asking how his participants preferred to read the Bible, and he got some interesting results.

My two favorite questions on his survey asked people to name their preferred translation, and how they used that translation.

When asked to give their #1 preferred Bible translation, people responded:

  1. English Standard Version (25%)
  2. The Message (16.7%)
    New International Version (16.7%) <- my translation of choice
    New Living Translation (16.7%)
  3. Holman Christian Standard (12.5%)
  4. New American Standard (4.5%)
  5. New King James Version (4.2%)

Hmm…I like it.

I’d have to agree with Greg’s statements that: 1) I thought the NIV would be the most preferred, and 2) that the King James Version would’ve been on the list.

Here’s what I find really interesting.  When asked how they used their preferred translation, the answers were:

  1. Mobile device (37.5%) <- my choice
  2. Traditional Paper (29.2%)
  3. Laptop or PC (20.8%)
  4. Tablet (iPad, Xoom, etc) (12.5%) <- my soon-to-be #1 choice

The question now becomes, “How do we use this knowledge to help build disciples?”

If you didn’t take part in the survey, then what is your preferred Bible translation and how do you use it?

You Can’t Do It Alone

Reading through Psalm 33 last night I came across these 2 verses.

Verse 11:

“But the plans of the Lord stand firm forever, the purposes of his heart through all generations”

Verse 16:

“No king is saved by the size of his army; no warrior escapes by his great strength.”

In other words, you’re powerless without God.  It doesn’t matter if you want to do good and to help people and to make a difference in the world.  Without God’s guidance and help, you’ll never do much.

And to be a bit real this morning, try this on for size.  People do good things and make good choices without God’s help all the time, but that’s not the point.  In the end, without God, all those good actions and choices are meaningless.

Happy Terrific Tuesday!

8-)

Christianity Basics

Here’s a nice little reminder for all believers.  A walk through of the first 10 verses of Ephesians 2 explains the basics of our faith:

Verses 1-3 – Sinners By Nature

As for you, you were dead in your transgressions and sins, in which you used to live when you followed the ways of this world and of the ruler of the kingdom of the air, the spirit who is now at work in those who are disobedient. All of us also lived among them at one time, gratifying the cravings of our sinful nature and following its desires and thoughts.  Like the rest, we were by nature objects of wrath.

You were once a sinner and dead inside.  Your sins killed your inner man and woman (your spirit).  There was no real hope and no real life.  You were, for all intensive purposes, the walking dead; a zombie.

Verses 4-9 – Saved By the Grace of God

But because of his great love for us, God, who is rich in mercy, made us alive with Christ even when we were dead in transgressions–it is by grace you have been saved.  And God raised us up with Christ and seated us with him in the heavenly realms in Christ Jesus, in order that in the coming ages he might show the incomparable riches of his grace, expressed in his kindness to us in Christ Jesus.  For it is by grace you have been saved, through faith–and this not from yourselves, it is the gift of God–not by works, so that no one can boast.

But through Jesus’ sacrifice and resurrection and through your confessions of sins you are no longer dead inside, but ALIVE.  You have the freedom that comes with this salvation, and the grace of God that will follow you as long as you keep a relationship with God.

Verse 10 – Created With a Purpose By God

For we are God’s workmanship, created in Christ Jesus to do good works, which God prepared in advance for us to do.

And through this salvation freely given to you God has set aside a special purpose for you to complete with his direction and assistance.  He created you just for this, and as a believer, you’re on your way to doing that very thing you were created to do.

AMAZING!!!

:)