Alpha and Omega Ministries on Phillips, Craig and Dean.
Wow. After posting the previous song, I found this. I didn't know any of these things. I'm reading through this article.
I have to admit I am rather ignorant about some of the artists I listen to.
Phillips Craig & Dean - You are God Alone
From the album Let the Worshippers Arise
You are not a god Created by human hands You are not a god Dependant on any mortal man You are not a god In need of anything we can give By Your plan, that’s just the way it is
You are God alone From before time began You were on Your throne Your are God alone And right now In the good times and bad You are on Your throne You are God alone
You’re the only God Whose power none can contend You’re the only God Whose name and praise will never end You’re the only God Who’s worthy of everything we can give You are God And that’s just the way it is
Unchangeable Unshakable Unstoppable That’s what You are
1God is our refuge and strength, a very present help in trouble.
2Therefore we will not fear though the earth gives way, though the mountains be moved into the heart of the sea,
3though its waters roar and foam, though the mountains tremble at its swelling. Selah
4There is a river whose streams make glad the city of God, the holy habitation of the Most High.
5God is in the midst of her; she shall not be moved; God will help her when morning dawns.
6The nations rage, the kingdoms totter; he utters his voice, the earth melts.
7The LORD of hosts is with us; the God of Jacob is our fortress. Selah
But now that you have come to know God,
or rather to be known by God,
how is it that you turn back again to the weak
and worthless elemental things,
to which you desire to be enslaved all over again?
It was for freedom that Christ set us free;
therefore keep standing firm
and do not be subject again to a yoke of slavery.
For you were called to freedom, brethren;
only do not turn your freedom into an opportunity for the flesh,
but through love serve one another.
But I say, walk by the Spirit,
and you will not carry out the desire of the flesh.
Galatians 4:9; 5:1, 13, 16
Merry Thanksgiving and Happy Christmas!
My Mother made strawberry pie for us today. She is the best!
Dinner was superb as well.
Everyone seemed to have plans, so it was just the five of us today. With Christa back from grad school, it was nice to have the family all gathered around the table together for Thanksgiving.
After dinner Christa, Kyle and I went to the park and threw the football around. It was cold though. It was nice to get out of the house though. I haven't done that in a while.
1Praise the LORD! Praise God in his sanctuary; praise him in his mighty heavens! 2Praise him for his mighty deeds; praise him according to his excellent greatness! 3Praise him with trumpet sound; praise him with lute and harp! 4Praise him with tambourine and dance; praise him with strings and pipe! 5Praise him with sounding cymbals; praise him with loud clashing cymbals! 6Let everything that has breath praise the LORD! Praise the LORD!Psalm 150
Virgin Mobile has done it again with one of their TV commercials. If you haven't seen one of them, count yourself blessed. You can never be sure what you will be subjected to. But now, in what must be the epitome of postmodern America, we are subjected to a silly song that promises us a happy "Chrismahanukwanzakah" by living "without a plan"...a phone contract that is. If that's funny, it is because our society has no idea where Truth can be found. Somehow in this ad, they have mixed and confused religion, tradition, legend and sexuality with blatant commercialism. They ask who knows what religion is right? I praise God that my religion isn't a system. My salvation is in a Person. And He is Truth.
I love stories like this. It makes you wonder if this is a glimpse of what human/creature relations were like before the fall and flood.
WELLINGTON (Reuters) - A pod of dolphins circled protectively round a group of New Zealand swimmers to fend off an attack by a great white shark, media reported on Tuesday.
Lifesavers Rob Howes, his 15-year-old daughter Niccy, Karina Cooper and Helen Slade were swimming 300 feet off Ocean Beach near Whangarei on New Zealand's North Island when the dolphins herded them -- apparently to protect them from a shark.
"They started to herd us up, they pushed all four of us together by doing tight circles around us," Howes told the New Zealand Press Association (NZPA).
Howes tried to drift away from the group, but two of the bigger dolphins herded him back just as he spotted a nine-foot great white shark swimming toward the group.
"I just recoiled. It was only about 2 m away from me, the water was crystal clear and it was as clear as the nose on my face," Howes said, referring to a distance of 6 feet.
"They had corralled us up to protect us," he said.
The lifesavers spent the next 40 minutes surrounded by the dolphins before they could safely swim back to shore. The incident happened on October 30, but the lifesavers kept the story to themselves until now.
Environment group Orca Research said dolphins attacked sharks to protect themselves and their young, so their actions in protecting the lifesavers was understandable.
"They could have sensed the danger to the swimmers and taken action to protect them," Orca's Ingrid Visser told NZPA.
Yahoo! News - Dolphins Protect New Zealand Swimmers from Shark
I was thinking of Matt Peacock a little after I saw Gwen's blog after getting home from Duke.
Matt was quite a character. Here are some pictures of our little group back in 2000.
Left to Right:
Back Row: Ben Y., Aaron B., Julie L.
Middle Row: Bevin R., Simon B., Tim D., Micah B., Steve, Gabe E.
Front Row: Desiree B., Tracy D., Joanna T., Torey F., Megan F., Matt P.
I'm off to Duke again today. It has been a while, I know. Please pray for these three things to be according to God's will:
- My medicine would be straightened out.*
- The procedure would be scheduled today or very soon.
- And that my insurance wouldn't give any more resistance.
Also please pray that mother and I would have a safe trip there and back. It takes about three and a half hours to get to Duke from Virginia Beach.
* I've been having more deleterious effects from the medications.
Ephesians 2:8-10
(ESV)
8For by grace you have been saved through faith. And this is not your own doing; it is the gift of God, 9not a result of works, so that no one may boast. 10For we are his workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand, that we should walk in them.
I sit here thinking through Ephesians 2. My leg hurts. It is a burning, searing pain that can't be completely ignored. My printer is humming. I have Mercy Me playing quietly in the background.
I am thinking about being God's workmanship, his Ποίημα, (the word from which we get "poem").
This work he is doing in my life: I know it won't stop. He begun the good work. He's going to finish it (Philippians 1:6). I am so thankful for that. Forgive me for my little Greek rants. I am new to studying it, and I find it fascinating.
Here's a tidbit. In the verse, His is first. It's like he is saying, "His workmanship we are." God's. I am God's work. I was thinking wow, I have work to do, but God's work is me. He sits in the highest heaven and works on me through his Word and the Spirit.
And the work he has for me to do...he prepared it for me. I didn't have to find stuff to do on my own. The sovereign Lord of the universe prepared good works for me to put my faith into practice.
For those of you who upgraded to Fire Fox 1.0, the Bible Toolbar extention is updated. Follow this link to the author's site and check the left sidebar. The link is there.
Now if someone would only update the Qute theme, I would be very happy.
I feel like every atom of creativity has oozed out of me. I can't write any music. I have hardly blogged. I haven't worked on any of my stories. I hardly practice/play the piano. I haven't sculpted or painted recently. Oh wait, I don't do those last few things.
I have no energy. The sun will come out tomorrow, right?
Authentic Christianity must be presented without fear or compromise, and without "dumbing down" the faith so that its intellectual content and theological core disappear.
I already have an Interlinear KJV Parallel NT with the Textus Receptus. I have Nestle-Aland 27th ed. but only on my computer. It is pretty difficult to search, and I have had to print various passages to study. I think an interlinear translation will help me too. This is Nestle's 21st ed. but I think this will do fine for now. If you have thoughts or suggestions though, I'd be glad to hear them.
And I am seriously thinking about this. Although David and I talked briefly about my getting the introductory Greek books from Bob Jones.
Update: I just looked at the Campus Store and it looks like they offer BJU's Greek book right over the Internet. Pretty cool.
I miss my friends from Greenville (and from Michigan) very much. But I love having our blog community at Bensfriends because I can go and read and see what is going on in their lives and know that they are well and that God is good. But to my shame, sometimes am envious. I think, “Why can’t I be there where all of these good, godly friends are?” And from there it is easy for my wicked heart to say, God is holding out on me. I should have friends here and fireplaces and brownies too.
But God gently reminds me that He is good.
For a day in your courts is better than a thousand elsewhere. I would rather be a doorkeeper in the house of my God than dwell in the tents of wickedness. For the LORD God is a sun and shield; the LORD bestows favor and honor. No good thing does he withhold from those who walk uprightly. O LORD of hosts, blessed is the one who trusts in you!(Psalms 84:10-12 ESV)
My entire family just voted. We went in order too. Dad, Mom, Christa, Me, and Kyle. The workers were laughing. But happy that we were all out to vote and in order too. The good thing about voting at a 7 am. No lines.
Blessed be the name of God
forever and ever,
to whom belong wisdom
and might.
He changes times and seasons;
he removes kings and sets
up kings;
he gives wisdom to the wise
and knowledge to those
who have understanding.
Daniel 2:20-21