I believe the music of a church has a lot to do with its spiritual growth and health. God gave us music for a reason, and we should use it to teach, inspire, and encourage.

Several people have asked about how to get copies of the music I brought to the campfire at Shaver Lake, so here goes.

First, I highly recommend getting a CCLI license. It is the easiest way to make your copies legal and fair to the songwriter, and in some cases, it's the only way to do so.

Technorati Tags: Christianity, Church, Music,

Click to add your tags...,

or Close

Was the Genesis record authored by Moses, or mashed up from unknown sources by unknown editors, as proponents of the Documentary Hypothesis (DH) would like us to believe? Maybe neither, as it turns out. There is an alternative hypothesis that makes a lot of sense and preserves the notion of divine caretaking of the ancient history of mankind.

Technorati Tags: Bible, Theology, Truth,

Click to add your tags...,

or Close

Whenever I feel I’ve been wronged or somehow offended, I try to remember to ask myself how it compares to the wrongs inflicted on Jesus Christ. If we are to be truly Christlike, we have to ask this question, because it puts forgiveness in a whole new perspective.

Has someone hurt my feelings? How much more were the feelings of the Son of God trampled when His own creation rose up against Him and crucified Him? Has someone hurt my pride? Jesus moreso. God’s own Son, the Word made flesh, left his home in heaven and was made a little lower than the angels. Yet he took it honorably and without complaint. What in the world could I possibly have to complain about that compares to that? Not much, I figure.

Technorati Tags: Bible, Christianity, Forgiveness, Gospel, Sin,

Click to add your tags...,

or Close

Some of you may know who Cecil Hook is. For those who don't, I'll introduce him—he's a writer and former preacher. While I've never met him, I've corresponded by e-mail with him on occasion over the past few years. I've found his love for Christ and passion for thinking deeply about the Scriptures to be inspiring.

Technorati Tags: Christianity, Grace, Greatest Commands, Health, Legalism,

Click to add your tags...,

or Close

Probably the most thorough, though in my opinion, misguided defense of the so called Law of Silence, comes from a conservative, non-institutional church of Christ website called Bible.ca.

I have to admire the creativity of the author in presenting these opinions using the traffic sign analogies. They show a semblance of logic, much like a sound bite of a politician. But when you get under the surface, they are a bit simplistic, illogical, and scripturally inconsistent—in my own opinion, of course.

Technorati Tags: Bible, Christianity, Hermeneutics, Music,

Click to add your tags...,

or Close

I look forward to planting a garden every spring. But first, the ground needs to be prepared by clearing out weeds and rocks. It needs to be fertilized to provide the right nutrients for the plants. At last I go to work planting and caring for the plants, watering them, protecting them from the elements until they grow from small seeds and plants to full grown mature plants producing wonderful fruits, vegetables and herbs for my family to enjoy.

Technorati Tags: Christianity,

Click to add your tags...,

or Close

Death has been called the Great Equalizer, but never the Great Motivator. It’s true that all must die, but for some reason, that fact by itself doesn’t seem to motivate many people to change. Since the world’s creation, billions of people have lived and died separated from the God who created them.

Forgiveness, on the other hand, is a different story. When one has been forgiven, either for a wrongdoing, or of a debt, he generally responds in kind. Knowing what it feels like to be forgiven makes it easier to offer that to someone else. It also makes it easier to have compassion on someone in need of forgiveness. That is, unless you're like the unmerciful servant in Jesus' parable:

Technorati Tags: Bible, Christianity, Grace,

Click to add your tags...,

or Close

The time is long overdue for Christians to get serious about their musical downloading ethics (and those of their kids). Music is a copyrighted product that should not be downloaded illegally or shared illegally. Of course, there are gray areas, some of which I've probably crossed from time to time. It's tough to be passionate about Christian music and want to share it with friends without getting into those gray areas, but the only way to do it is to buy the music legitimately.

Steal music, get sued

Technorati Tags: Christianity, Music,

Click to add your tags...,

or Close

Sometimes my kids need a good chat with their dad. They seem to go through some rough periods from time to time where they struggle with their behavior and it soon becomes clear that they need an attitude adjustment. As parents, my husband and I often sit down together when we recognize a problem with one of the children and we decide what the best course of action is. Without fail a good talk with dad is high up on the list.

God is awesome to give us parenthood to teach us so many lessons about our relationship with Him. I find myself going through rough periods where I struggle with my behavior and I am in desperate need of an attitude adjustment.

Technorati Tags: Christianity, Parenting,

Click to add your tags...,

or Close

Sometimes we Christians don't know whether we're coming or going. Is the biggest requirement of Christianity that we come to church, or is it that we go out into a dark world to take some light into it?

Maybe this is just semantics, and I certainly don't want to split hairs with anyone. God knows, splitting is something Christians do far too often!

It's true that "coming" and "going" aren't mutually exclusive. There's a clear need to do the former so that we are charged up and equipped to accomplish the latter.

Technorati Tags: Christianity, Church, Evangelism,

Click to add your tags...,

or Close

“But be doers of the word, and not hearers only, deceiving yourselves.” ~ James 1:22

Think back to your childhood. You’re hiding in the darkness of your closet, as far back in the corner as you can squeeze, pulling clothes and anything else around you to keep yourself hidden from everyone’s view. Do you remember playing Hide and Seek? Why is it that no one ever wanted to be “It”? Children are often seen gathering in a circle before playing this game and we hear them saying, “One, two, three….NOT IT!” When I watch the game being played now as an adult it’s easy to see why no one wants to be “It”. While most of the players are sitting somewhere hiding, poor “It” is doing all the work!

Technorati Tags: Bible, Christianity, Evangelism, Leadership,

Click to add your tags...,

or Close

Rev. 5:8-9, “Be sober, be vigilant; because your adversary the devil walks about like a roaring lion, seeking whom he may devour. Resist him, steadfast in the faith, knowing that the same sufferings are experienced by your brotherhood in the world.”

I heard a sermon recently about a river in Texas that appears to be a retreat from the chaos of life. Outdoor cafes, picnic tables and walking paths surround its borders. But if you take a closer look you will see that the water is an odd color from all the trash and refuse that has been pushed into this river upstream. From a distance it calls to passersby to come and rest awhile but as they approach they begin to notice the stench coming from the river and see it as it truly is.

Technorati Tags: Christianity,

Click to add your tags...,

or Close

Awhile back, I began to suspect that there was a flaw in the theory, sometimes called the Law of Silence, that the Bible's silence on a subject is always prohibitive. I've found cases where it indeed appears to be. But with more study and thought, I've found clear cases where it appears not to be.

Technorati Tags: Bible, Christianity, Hermeneutics,

Click to add your tags...,

or Close

There are some things so ridiculous—and in fact, so evil—that only intellectuals could believe them. Like doomsday University of Texas professor Eric Pianka's intentionally shocking idea that a 90% reduction in the human population is not merely an eventuality (as headlines spin it), but a solution to the "problem" of an overcrowded planet.

Actually, the real problem, as he sees it, is anthropocentrism.