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Oh my goodness. Thankfully, it seems that no one got seriously hurt.
(Thus, I now have a huge urge to make some Starfield-song related joke, but I don’t think that’s a good idea. There might be some ppl moderately hurt, which is not fun.)
[Updated April 27 2007] – It turns out that some people were seriously injured, and two remain in serious condition in hospital at this time. I think it would be good to pray for those injured, that God would comfort them and continue to work in their lives through this time; and that the Church that just lost their floor will be able to still be fruitful, too.
http://www.canada.com/vancouversun/story.html?id=c4122bf6-63df-4060-bd12-affa6e517347&k=46105
[photo] from two years ago
(title taken from John Piper’s Don’t Waste Your Life )
I was just reading “When Death Is Not a Threat” off the Desiring God blog. What a short little inspiring personal story.
P.S. Stringing 4 adjectives together is like writing a title for a scientific/engineering paper.
So I’m finally done moving out of residence and in with Johnson (it’s more like we moved together). Took pretty much an entire weekend.
And I’m ‘this’ close to finishing my STEP application. Then I get to work on my thesis (whoops – no I don’t. I’ve got to review a paper with my research partner. But once that’s done…).
And the summer. Hmm… I wasn’t supposed to be around in Vancouver this summer.
[Random photo] UBC Campus for Christ – Year End Banquet (last week)
Please pray that it goes smoothly and quickly, because I would like to go to MPD lite and give my references enough time before they leave for project (should have printed off reference forms for them ahead of time; didn’t know you could do that) and maybe crash a bit of MET if they let me (who’s done that before as an intern?).
Anyways, if you have no idea what those acronyms are, I’m sorry. But if you do, then please pray for me and/or talk to me! 
Oh man. Introducing the new ESV Study Bible.
And by dangerous, I mean AWESOME. As in, good.
- the above image is linked from http://www.esvstudybible.org
(stay tuned for a follow up post some day soon)
I wanted to write this before I forget. I was just sorting through the floor on my room (don’t ask), and I found some printed sermons from the Stanford Memorial Church (in Stanford University, my alma mater of two tourist trips). This is a “church” that features three rotating speakers, I think… something like that. Anyways, if I remember correctly, one is Jewish rabbi, one’s a United Church minister, and one’s an Episcopalian (that’s “Anglican”, but in the U.S.) reverend who is a woman (and also a lesbian and a feminist, as she stated in her sermon I read).
Anyways, the point of this blog post is NOT to call anybody a heretic, or denounce specific people. I think there is often times a place for that, but this post is not it. What I DO want to blast, though, is “preaching” that claims to be Christian, but isn’t really. As I was reading from the two sermons, some common themes emerged. Or rather, it became apparent to me that something was always missing.
It was the Gospel.
Basically, the two sermons I read could have been written by a non-Christian, or a person from a different religion, or perhaps by an atheist (if God was taken out of the sermon, but the same principles were being preached). Doesn’t that strike you as a red flag? Secondly, and most important, things were being said that were in OPPOSITION to the Gospel. This is a big deal because the Gospel is a big deal – it is big deal GOOD NEWS. That’s what “Gospel” means: “good news”.
And this is the Good News: that Jesus, Son of God and fully God, came to die and bear the punishment/justice deserved for OUR SIN.
This is good news because we all deserve to be judged, condemned for our moral guilt. And just because you’re a human being, doesn’t mean that God will automatically save you. Rather, by default, everyone is condemned. And apart from faith in Jesus and what He accomplished, you can’t be forgiven. So that’s why JESUS is the good news. Because Christianity is not about accepting a set of moral values. It is not, at it’s core, about believing certain things, even (although that’s part of it). It’s about God grabbing us, and saving us, and that’s why He’s awesome and worthy to be praised. So, really, the Good News centers around God, not me.
Anyways, I’m going to stop now for fear of rambling. Feel free to leave a comment! It’s not fun when people are reading but don’t talk to me!
Oh yeah, and the whole reason I wanted to write this post is because I care a lot about “fighting” these sorts of misleading, destructive ideas that point to things that ultimately won’t satisfy. So it grieves me when I see myself being “taken out of the fight” by my own lack of discipline, my disorganization, and my (recent) lack of motivation and drive. So please pray for me. God is faithful!
Heresy is often fun, which is why we must always be on our guard!
- Paulman (quote from Halifax Project 2007)
As posted on Desiring God:
http://www.desiringgod.org/Blog/1170_5_tips_for_clear_writing_and_talking/
Such good points! I like how 2 of the tips are about dumbing down your language. It’s so true.
(P.S. Notice how I’m continuing my tradition of ripping off wisdom from other people who have ripped it off from somewhere else? Sweet…)
My friend Lydia just wrote a wonderful blog post on how we try to do what only the Spirit can do, and I think it applies so much to how we view spiritual growth, or success in ministry, or even how we set goals for evangelism.
Side point: because it’s already a miracle for someone to be even able to choose to believe in Jesus. I think.
Anyways, we all want – or should want – to become all that God has in mind for us to be. You know, to be fruitful, and effective, and a light to the world, and a great lover (as Mike Woodard puts it). That’s a really tall order, and one that we will continually fall short of until we see Jesus face-to-face (i.e. we die / Jesus comes back).
But the solution isn’t to try harder to be a “good person”, or even a “good Christian”, if that means relying on what you DO being good enough to CHANGE YOU into the person you want to be. Neither will it work if you just pray, “Dear God, take the wheel!”, and then go on living like the Devil. Rather, the solution is to repent (change our mind/will) back to God, and tell Him, “I can’t do it! Change me please, God!”, while backing it up by obeying Him one step at a time, as He enables you.
So the two concepts go hand-in-hand: our (paltry) obedience, and God’s person-changing power. I’ll end with a couple thoughts:
Do you see God as someone who expects more from you, and is severely disappointed?
Or, do you approach God as a humble, little kid who asks the Father for help to grow up?
P.S. This post was written assuming the reader is a Christian
137 chilrden removed from polygamist ranch
(CNN story regarding the FLDS/Warren Jeffs compound)
Yes! Rescue the women and children, and bring the bad guys to justice.
In all seriousness.
So, I was talking to my friend Jill and a couple others today about Windows Vista, and how I don’t want to switch to it, and how I’m hoping that I’ll be able to make do with Windows XP for now, even though Microsoft says it will stop supporting (updating) it…
Anyways, lo and behold, look at what news story I find! Apparently, Windows 7 (the new version of Windows to succeed Vista) could be “released” as soon as late 2009! Now, it’s fairly ambiguous to me whether Bill Gates is talking about just a beta release, or a release candidate, or w/e… but this article from Jan 2008 indicates a “release to manufacturing” date of the second half of 2009 (this news was from a “roadmap” that Microsoft released). I’m guessing that means they aim to release a final version of Windows 7 to manufacturers to produce (onto CD/DVD), which doesn’t necessarily mean that we will be able to buy a copy right away. Or that they’ll even meet that goal to begin with.
But anyways, I’m excited, because Windows 7 is pegged to be RADICALLY different from Windows Vista (which is a very, very good thing). In fact, it’s going to be radically different from all Windows versions before it, while still allowing for some backwards compatibility (with old programs). One problem with Windows Vista is that it maintained backwards compatibility by being really, really bloated. That’s what you get for trying to please everybody on their own terms, instead of doing your own thing and setting boundaries (such as, you can still work with me, but on my terms, and it’s too bad if you’re a little slower). I’m not sure if that’s an accurate description of what’s really going on, but it does make a good object lesson for real life, though
Anyways, in summary: I just need to hold out with my Melly for 1-2 years! We can do that! She still runs like a dream (ok, not really). I will say this, though:
A good laptop is like a good woman:
I don’t know where I’d be without her.
(To those who are offended:) It’s just an analogy, ok? The analogy is from lesser to greater, and I’m not saying a laptop can be compared in worth to a human being 
