How Rude Of Me

I just realized how rude of me it was not to post this earlier (for anyone who’s reading), but I’m putting most of my blogging efforts into my church blog for the time-being. I’m not closing down the Musings, just focusing my efforts somewhere else for now. If you’d like to followed there, just head on over to Off The Record.
See ya soon.

Great New Image Source

If you like the image shown here, you’ll want to check out PicApp.  I became aware of this new resource thanks to the kind people at WordPress. These are high quality, searchable images that have been made available without copyright infringement concerns.

You can search for “Editorial” pictures, which are best suited for a journalistic approach to writing. But the real power (to me) becomes available when searching in “Creative” mode. Check it out for yourself at http://picapp.com.

Proof That I (and this blog) Am Still Alive

Sad but true… I’ve just been busy.

Saddleback Video: The Greatness of God

Great message, great music, great video from a service at Saddleback Church (Pastor Rick Warren, The Purpose-Driven Life).  How to keep our eyes on the greatness of God in the middle of our busy lives.

Saddleback Church Online Services

Also great if you’ve never experienced a Saddleback service, to see how they approach it in their main worship venue. I love Rick Muchow too (Saddleback Worship Pastor).

Treasure Christ (Don’t Waste Your Life)

John Piper gets it and teaches it!  As I look at my life and wonder, “What is God doing?”  It’s this.  If there’s one thing to keep in the center of our preaching, teaching and loving one another, it’s this.  If we wonder what it is to be a worshiper, it’s this.

Oh God, please transform us with the message of Your gospel, and this great work You are performing in us.

Obama = God?

I’m not sure if it’s my mood right now, or if it’s an appropriate reaction to say, “What kind of stupidity are we slumping into?”

I realize he’s simply drawing a parallel, but this is the first time I’ve heard the words literally uttered. I wonder if it’s the last.

Therefore God sends them a strong delusion, so that they may believe what is false, in order that all may be condemned who did not believe the truth but had pleasure in unrighteousness.
2 Thessalonians 2:11-12 ESV

Comments?

The Grace I Enjoy

A simple thought today, spawned by a statement made by Mark Driscoll in a post called Enjoying God’s Easter Grace, in which he said,

“The difference between the hell I deserve and the grace I enjoy is Jesus Christ.”

Something in me almost knee-jerked against the word “enjoy,” as though it was somehow irreverent or frivolous.  But immediately I was challenged in my heart.  God’s grace is the thing I am most grateful for. Without grace I would be alone in this world, left to my own defenses and doomed to a horrific eternity in just recompense for my sin, which is great.

I enjoy God’s grace immensely.

Maybe it’s the fleshly-religious side of me that rebels against such wording, as though “Christianity isn’t about having fun,” or some such thinking. And there is a world of validity in realizing we are called to die to ourselves and take up our crosses daily and lay down our lives for each other.  But that’s in view of the grace we have received, not (in any sense) to merit the grace we hope for.  It is precisely because of the grace I’ve been given that I can – that I want to – do all these things.

Jesus is absolutely glorified in Driscoll’s statement. And I suspect it will become a staple in my theological vocabulary to say:

The difference between the hell I deserve and the grace I enjoy is Jesus Christ.

Jesus is the difference.

Pixlr – Excellent Free Online Image Editor & Creator

If you haven’t seen Pixlr yet, you’ve got to take a look. Very friendly interface, Flash-based, lots of tools, great image results. Completely FREE!  Not as extensive as Photoshop (which may seem confusing to some), and doesn’t provide the superfine tweakability, but you can tweak levels, curves, apply filters, use multiple layers, set opacity & blending modes, etc., etc.

Hang-ups:  Can only save as JPG, PNG or BMP, not any kind of source file you can re-open and tweak later.

If you want to create your own graphics for your blog or web site, Facebook, MySpace, ministry, or just cuz it’s cool, Pixlr is worth a look!

Don Miller, The Mentoring Project and The Fatherless

Don Miller, author of Blue Like Jazz and To Own A Dragon, is proving to be a source of encouragement and entertainment for me.  He’s also started The Mentoring Project, an “organization that exists to inspire and equip the faith community to provide positive male role models to boys between the ages of 7 and 14.”  In other words, through TMP, Don Miller is helping the Church to help and serve the fatherless.

I’ve been aware of TMP (formerly The Belmont Foundation) for about a year now, but they recently launched their web site and a fantastic, aggressive initiative to partner with 10,000 mentors, 1,000 churches and 1,000 supporters.

Please look into The Mentoring Project and consider supporting it however you can if you’re able. Notice the fatherless around you.

Or inside you.

Get familiar with Don & The Mentoring Project:

The Mentoring Project

Don Miller’s Web Site

Don Miller’s Blog

Follow Don Miller on Twitter

Become a Fan of Don Miller on Facebook

Matt Chandler’s “Jesus Wants The Rose”

I’ve just started getting familiar with Matt Chandler. So far, I regard him as a guy who really “gets it.”  This is a short, compelling video teaching that highlights not only the “getting it” part, but the kind of ways the Church sometimes “misses it.”

This is also a really fabulous video to watch if you’ve got regrets over your sexual past.