I watched this video last night and it completely blew me away. This guy, Ryan Ferguson, has memorized the whole book of Hebrews, but for the Worship God 06 conference, he only recited chapters 9 & 10. I know 11 minutes is kind of long, but take a break and watch it all the way through; God’s Word will powerfully effect you.
Let this also be a challenge to us at how much and how well we memorize Scripture. This guy didn’t just memorize the verses for a quiz, but he has placed the truth within his heart.
This summer two worlds collided. Two elements of my life up to this point which have had a significant impact on my life came precariously close to damaging one another.
As I was listening to John Piper on the subject of worship, I heard him say that he has never been to the Promised Land and I thought, “Oh that’s a bummer, I hope he gets to go sometime, he would love it.” But then my dreams were crushed when he stated that he had no desire to go to the holy land. WHAT!! John Piper, a man and preacher I admire, doesn’t want to go to the best place on earth! Some of you may think that I’m speaking gibberish, but I have provided the evidence for you to hear yourself. Simply click the ‘play’ arrow on the audio player below.
I understand what he is saying. We don’t centralize our worship in a place, but on a person, Jesus Christ. But Israel can be used for enhancement of our knowledge of the Scriptures and understanding of the people and culture of the Bible.
My roommate does not like coffee. Which has been a blessing because that just means more Starbucks goodness for myself. But in his degradation of my love of coffee, he has called it “weasel poo.” I thought that he had just come up with that on his own, but I Googled it and found this story:
The origins of Weasel Poop Coffee is supposed to be from Sumatra, Indonesia. I believe there is a Weasel kind of animal there who is an expert on finding the best of coffee beans. The weasel eats these coffee beans, digests just the outer shell and poops the remaining in the form of threads. The farmers there pick it up (and clean it, of course) and ground it into coffee powder. That’s “Weasel Poop Coffee” for you.
This was sold for $40 per pound a few months ago and once the story hit the media, the price of this coffee started going up. The last I heard was that there was a store in Redwood City (in California) where this coffee was being sold for $695 per pound.
I declare right here, that I will never drink anything that comes from the feces of a weasel. When God created the weasel, something tells me that function was not in the original plan for the purpose of that animal. I can’t say for sure, but I think I would hate coffee that comes from the digestive system of weasel.
This video is basically one guy logically walking through the truth of the gospel. It was created as an evangelistic tool, getting people to “just stop and think.” The guy who speaks in the video is a pastor in Southern California and has spoken in chapel at The Master’s College. He is a solid guy and interesting to listen to. You can find out more about this video and the project behind it by clicking here. If you want to download the video, here’s the link.
All over the world, churches have rejected the Bible as the authoritative Word of God. They do not think that the Scriptures apply to people’s lives today and they follow after secular fads and theories as their source of truth. Many of them would claim that the Bible has instruction for our “spiritual” lives, but not for our “physical or mental” problems or struggles. For example, while they may turn to Scripture for guidance in their prayer life, they would not look there for answers to why their marriage isn’t working out. Instead, they turn to a psychologist who blames the problem on a myriad of things other than the person’s sin.
I naturally asked myself these questions:
Why would Christians, who have been redeemed by Christ’s blood, look to anyone other than God for help? Why would children not turn to their Father for answers and assistance?
I realized that this whole issue stems from a specific view of God the Father. If one has a high view God, then his natural response will be to seek Him for everything. But if one has a low view of God, then he has no immediate need to look to the Lord, except to include Him as one more option. Our view of God is the watershed issue of whether we take the counsel of man or of God.
I contend that we must fight for a high view of God. I see the relationship that we have with our heavenly Father portrayed in my physical father. He reared his little boy and provided for all my needs. Without my father, I would have been lost, abandoned, and rejected, but it is through the love of my father that I, as a child, had life. Growing up, I had such a high view of Daddy and I wanted to be just like him, I wanted to talk with him, I wanted to ask Daddy questions because I fully believed that Dad had the answers. I had a high view of Dad (and I still do).
The children of God should view their father in the same way. They should turn to their heavenly Father for all the answers to life. They should want to talk to Him about everything that is going on in their life. They should want to be like Him. Oh how sad it is to watch the church turn to someone or something other than their heavenly Father. It is just another example of people turning to broken cisterns instead of the Fountain of Living Waters.
"It is impossible for someone who never delights to reflect on the glory of Christ as it is revealed in the Scriptures to truly long for it in heaven." - Kris Lundgaard
"When I take counsel with my own soul about my sin, I both see and know that, to all eternity, I never could forgive myself, or endure myself, but for the all-satisfying and all-obliterating atonement for all my sin that has been made by the Son of God." - Alexander Whyte
origins of Weasel Poop Coffee is supposed to be from Sumatra, Indonesia. I believe there is a Weasel kind of animal there who is an expert on finding the best of coffee beans. The weasel eats these coffee beans, digests just the outer shell and poops the remaining in the form of threads. The farmers there pick it up (and clean it, of course) and ground it into coffee powder. That’s “Weasel Poop Coffee” for you.
This was sold for $40 per pound a few months ago and once the story hit the media, the price of this coffee started going up. The last I heard was that there was a store in Redwood City (in California) where this coffee was being sold for $695 per pound.
All over the world, churches have rejected the Bible as the authoritative Word of God. They do not think that the Scriptures apply to people’s lives today and they follow after secular fads and theories as their source of truth. Many of them would claim that the Bible has instruction for our “spiritual” lives, but not for our “physical or mental” problems or struggles. For example, while they may turn to Scripture for guidance in their prayer life, they would not look there for answers to why their marriage isn’t working out. Instead, they turn to a psychologist who blames the problem on a myriad of things other than the person’s sin.
relationship that we have with our heavenly Father portrayed in my physical father. He reared his little boy and provided for all my needs. Without my father, I would have been lost, abandoned, and rejected, but it is through the love of my father that I, as a child, had life. Growing up, I had such a high view of Daddy and I wanted to be just like him, I wanted to talk with him, I wanted to ask Daddy questions because I fully believed that Dad had the answers. I had a high view of Dad (and I still do).