Knew Awards 05

Best BBC Blog

I like a lot of BBC Blogs. I could probably make a whole post and give everyone an award for something (best design, funniest, most thought-provoking, etc), but I won't. The award for the best overall BBC blog of 2005 goes too: just your average jo. I find myself clicking on Jo's blog often b/c she is fairly consistent, thought-provoking, open, humorous & versatile. In 2006 I plan on declaring a BBC post of the month throughout the year so more of your fine blogs can be recognized

Best Book

My favorite book this year was, surprisingly, "The Complete Guide to Christian Denominations" by Ron Rhodes. I found this book strangely unifying. I had more understanding and love for the whole body of Christ after I read it. Read my brief review.

Best Movie

The best movie I saw this year was made in 2004. "Eternal Sunshine of a Spotless Mind" is better every time I watch it. One week I think I watched it 5 times. Read my lengthier review.

Best TV Show

The TV show of the year award goes to "Lost" in a tight race with Seinfeld re-runs & Gilmore Girls. I had no interest in Lost until I was bored one night. I then watched the entire 1st season in about a week. It seems to be slowing down quite a bit, but it was just entertaining enough to take the 2005 award.

Best CD

The CD I listened to most this year was "Share the Well" by Caedmon's Call. It came out in the Fall of 2004, but I listened to it all through 2005. It's great music and a missions trip rolled into one!

Most Influential Person

The most influential person in my life this year was probably Steve Gregg of thenarrowpath.com even though I've never met him. He is my favorite Bible teacher and I love his radio show.

Best Comeback

The comeback of the year belongs to the National Hockey League. Hockey is better than it has been in a long time. The year off paid off in a lot of ways. It doesn't hurt that my Sabres are 2nd in the NHL in points right now, but it's just a great year for hockey in general. I can't wait for the Olympics and the playoffs!

Best Wishes

Thus concludes the first full year of
'The Matthew Never Knew'
Best wishes to all readers for 2006

Year in Review

Today I'm just going to post a 'best-of' the Matthew Never Knew

January: Online Dating Series
February: My Testimony
March: Passion Week Devotionals
April: Why I loved China Trip 05
May: Greatest Story Never Told
June: Fun with Footnotes
July: Stupid Kids
August: Pin the Tail on the Antichrist
September: Martyrdom of Polycarp
October: The New Canon
November: Favorite Churches
December: You Might be a Dispensationalist

People to Kill

3 men have joined my people to kill list as a result of their role in my 2nd place finish in the Bethany Fantasy Football League. 1. Ryan Longwell: He missed 2 easy field goals for Green Bay that would have given me 6 more points. 2. Bill Belichick: As coach of the Patriots, he decided to call running plays instead of passing plays. This was a double edged sword as I had the Patriots QB and my opponent had their RB. 3. Matthew Rose: I would have won if I had played my 3rd RB Cadilac Williams instead of my 2nd RB Tiki Barber.

Anyways, Congrats to the BBC fantasy football champion Scott Leighton

Sleep Chart 10

10 is a nice round number so I thought I'd make a nice rectangular chart to showcase my sleeping performance. At each 10 week interval I'll show a different aspect of my sleeping anti-pattern. For the first edition, notice that I get 'enough' sleep. Getting sleep isn't currently my problem. I am seldom tired (unlike at BBC where I was almost always tired).

Christmas Gifts 2

Just like last year, I am posting my christmas gifts here so I can copy/paste when people ask instead of typing them everytime.

Seinfeld Season 5
Seinfeld Season 6
A Leg Shaped Lamp
A Watch
A Few CD's
A Red Sweater
A Red Rider Beebee Gun
A Few Books
A Few Gift Cards
A DVD Player

Birthday Rights

So far in my life, birthday's tend to bring additional 'rights'

13- the right to be a jerk
16- the right to drive
18- the right to vote
21- the right to be a big jerk
65- the right to get cheap breakfast

Well, since Jesus has had roughly 2000 birthdays, He must have pretty much all the rights in the world, eh? Thankfully, it seems He isn't interested in the right to be a jerk. Nevertheless, I better listen to Him. This post brought to you by the strange thoughts that enter my mind.

Favorite Christmas Passage

Job, crying out about God

"He is not a man like me that I might answer him, that we might confront each other in court. If only there were someone to arbitrate between us, to lay his hand upon us both, someone to remove God's rod from me, so that his terror would frighten me no more. Then I would speak up without fear of him, but as it now stands with me, I cannot."

Christmas answers Job's cry

Merry Christmas!

Christmas in Boston

Every night I watch the Gilmore Girls because the Family Channel shows an episode at 5pm each weekday and I told DVR to record it. I'm almost done with the 1st season. Anyways. During the commercials, which I often forget I can fast-forward, there was an ad for a movie called 'Christmas in Boston'. So I told DVR to record that too.

The most unique thing about this movie is that it isn't listed on IMDB. First time I've ever seen a movie that isn't listed on IMDB. I also couldn't find a 'poster' for this movie (probably b/c it's not famous enough) so my review is just text, no pic. How sad. (UPDATE...pic found by Gwyn)

Nevertheless, I enjoyed the movie. I think I liked it b/c I was in a chick flick mood after watching Gilmore Girls, but also b/c the storyline was of interest to me. It's about 2 pen pals that finally meet, only they both send their best friends in their place. Kinda like You've Got Mail except different in many ways.

Plus I couldn't think of anything else to blog about.

Rating: 6.9
Status: Worth the Time

My Christmas Revolution

The sad thing about redeeming Christmas, is you look mean doing it.

I watch people around me buy gifts for, seemingly, everyone they know. But I refuse. I bought a gift for my mother, father, brother & sister. My 2 older sisters don't even get a gift from me b/c we negotiated a 'secret santa' policy and I got my sister's boyfriends name. So 5 gifts. That's all I buy. Others will buy presents for me and I won't be a jerk and refuse them. But I will be a jerk and not reciprocate.

Not Offended

Many Christians are offended by the phrase 'happy holidays' and the abbreviation 'x-mas'. I'm not. As I'm sure many of you know, both of these 'Christmas' alternatives have sacred roots. The word 'holiday' is based on the old english words for 'holy' and 'day' and thus isn't secular at all. 'X-mas' also has sacred roots except that we say 'ex' (as in the english letter) whereas the X in the abbreviation is 'chi' (as in the greek letter) which is the 1st letter in the word for Christ.

Instead of being offended when someone says 'happy-holidays' or writes 'x-mas' perhaps we could use it as a conversation starter to explain the true meaning of the terms. I admit that 'holiday' and 'x-mas' have evolved into secular terms, but we can redeem them. After all, that's probably what Christmas is as a whole, a redeemed version of a secular holiday.

Coincidence?

Monday I posted an online conversation which included the following reference to an online friend of mine I call Syracuse Sarah.

she's syracuse sarah. I mostly like her for the alliteration

I posted this dialogue quite sure that Syracuse Sarah doesn't read my blog. But Monday night when we talked she told the following story:

SyracuseSarah: i inspired a new soup at work today. bbq beef, baked bean and bacon soup
SyracuseSarah: like the alliteration?

Coincidence? Or does she read my blog? Leave a comment and let me know what you think.

Sleep Chart 9

I consider this my best week to date in that I broke the pattern. Only 2 days did I sleep past 9:30am.

Tuesday 5:30-9 (3.5)
Wednesday 4-12 (8)
Thursday NONE (0)
Friday 1-4pm, 12:30-9 (11.5)
Saturday 10:30-1am (3)
Sunday 1-12:30 (11.5)
Monday 5-9:30 (4.5)
Too Little, Too Much, Just Right, Too Late

I'm Quite a Loser

Below is part of a conversation I had with a female friend (who shall remain anonymous). Her words are in BLUE. My words are in GREEN

Hey, how are you? swell, I just finished conversation 111 with the online girl I like but will never meet wow... 111 and still counting them I save the conversations and title them by number. I'm quite a loser! Which one is she? it's been so long since I've asked about your top 5 girls that i don't remember she's syracuse sarah. I mostly like her for the alliteration haha... yeah, i was thinking that that had a nice ring to it.... so syracuse and you'll never meet her? doubtful...I'm just not adventurous enough meh... you're more adventurous than me... i can't even bring myself to talk to random internet ppl she talked to me first even then...and to think I considered those dating websites. I signed up for the free trials on some of them, but i gave up on it pretty fast yeah...they don't really work anyways. eharmony works I think, but it is too expensive. after all, what's a good girl worth? Certainly not 154 bucks!

For more on Online Dating, click HERE

Church History Series

Tonight I will finish my 10 hour church history series. Here are my handouts:

Birth to 70
70 to 311
The Canon & Creeds
311-590
590-1248
1248-1517
1517-1609
Protestant Family Tree
Life of John Wesley
Wesleyan's After Wesley

Accidents

I had a dream that I jokingly pushed an old middle school friend and he hit his head on a hard floor and started having a seizure. I hate accidents. Sins can be avoided, but accidents are inevitable. I woke up feeling horrible, even after realizing it was only a dream.

You Might be a...

I'm the only person I know who finds me really funny, nevertheless

You might be a DISPENSATIONALIST if...

1. You think other Christians are anti-Semitic
2. You’ve never read Hebrews
3. You can justify being 2000 years late for an appointment
4. You’re really bad at math
5. You think Kirk Cameron is a fine actor
6. When the going gets rough, you’re nowhere to be found
7. You sleep nude so your post-rapture bed is tidy
8. You were born after 1830
9. You love Christian television
10. You use your newspaper for morning devotions
11. You’d rather have been outside Noah’s ark
12. You don't think satan really noticed the cross
13. You prefer the shadows
14. Always always means always except sometimes
15. You went to Dallas Theological Seminary
16. Bad news excites you
17. You feel Scofields notes were inspired
18. You can’t speak b/c you are in parenthesis
19. You’ll only be a 2nd class citizen of paradise
20. You found my pin the tail series thought provoking
21. You think THIS means THAT
22. You think NEAR means FAR
23. You thought about naming your kid Darby
24. You decided it’s too late to have kids
25. You’re offended by this list

World Religions

Click on the pics below to see notes from a study I did last year on world religions/cults

Chronicles of Narnia

The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe

I don't read fiction, but I do like C.S. Lewis. I don't like fantasy, but I have read 'The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe'. My interest in this movie, unlike those who grew up reading this series, was mostly pastoral. Could it be a tool?

My answer came before and after the movie. I think the lady behind me was a Sunday School teacher with two of her students. I listened to her connecting with them before the show started and discuss stuff with them on the way out. I also overheard 2 kids asking their father more about Aslan. Two thumbs up.

As for the movie itself, I enjoyed it. The kids did a great job and the special effects were not distracting at all. Very high quality. Narnia places the greatest story ever told in the world of wonder, imagination & awe... right where it should remain.

Rating: 8.8
Status: Must Own

Sleep Chart 8

With weekend exceptions, the amount of sleep/night is stable. The timing of the sleep is the worst it's ever been. I thought I had a winning strategy this week. Saturday night I fell asleep at 11pm, but was unable to go back to sleep before church. I didn't nap Sunday afternoon. I watched the entire Sabres game after night church and then fell asleep. I was assuming I'd STAY asleep, but I woke up at 3am and couldn't go back to sleep again! Then I passionately decided to stay up all night AGAIN so I'd be SUPER tired Monday night, but I accidently fell asleep at 7am and the bad pattern was back in place. Oh wretched man that I am!

Tuesday 6-1pm (7)
Wednesday 6:30-2pm (7.5)
Thursday 7:30-2:30pm (7)
Friday 6:30-2pm (7.5)
Saturday 11-1am (2)
Sunday 10:30-3am, 7-1:30pm (10.5)
Monday 7-3 (8)
Too Little, Too Much, Just Right, Too Late

Looks like tonight I'll be trying to stay up all night again. This is war.

Honey, I Shrunk the Kids

Yes, I'm seriously reviewing the 1989 Disney Film 'Honey, I shrunk the Kids'. Why? Because I woke up at 3am and couldn't go back to sleep at it was the only thing on television. It's hard to say anything negative about this movie. It's your basic plot. A dad invents a machine that shrinks stuff. 4 Kids accidently get shrunk. They spend a couple days journeying through a yard. And then they almost get eaten as cereal. Pretty typical.

All in all, not a bad lil movie if you have low standards and like extra cheese. This was a perfect role for Rick Moranis and Matt Frewer delivered a very Jim Carrey-esque performance. Everyone should see it at least once.

Rating: 7.2
Status: Must See

Wesley One-Liners

Here are some of the more interesting Wesley quotes I have come across (I'm teaching through his life tonight as part of my church history series).

"Catch on fire with enthusiasm and people will come for miles to watch you burn." "Beware you be not swallowed up in books! An ounce of love is worth a pound of knowledge" "When I have money, I get rid of it quickly, lest it find a way into my heart." "Make all you can, save all you can, give all you can" "The best of it is, God is with us." "The Church recruited people who had been starched and ironed before they were washed." "The longer I live, the larger allowances I make for human infirmities. I exact more from myself and less from others. " "Once in seven years I burn all my sermons; for it is a shame if I cannot write better sermons now than I did seven years ago." "I look on all the world as my parish" "As to matters of dress, I would recommend one never to be first in the fashion nor the last out of it" "I desired as many as could to join together in fasting and prayer, that God would restore the spirit of love and of a sound mind to the poor deluded rebels in America" "You may be as orthodox as the devil and as wicked"

Do you have a favorite Wesley One-liner?

Tail of Two Teams

This Autumn, the city of Buffalo anxiously awaited the start of the NFL season. Expectations were high after a hot finish for last year's squad. The first drive was masterful and ended in a touchdown. But it was downhill from there. 13 weeks later the Buffalo Bills are 4-8 and the fans are breaking out the big brown paper bags.

The NHL also came back this Fall, but WNY fans were not too excited. Some were still steaming at former owners. Others were upset over the lost season. Everyone was angry when the Sabres lost their two most expensive players. A playoff appearance was not predicted. Nevertheless, as of today, the Sabres are one of the hottest teams in hockey.

Don't bet on sports.

Heroes of the Kingdom

My latest goal is to find, for purchase, one of my favorite childhood toys: A David & Goliath action figure set in a series entitled 'Heroes of the Kingdom' made by "Wee Win Toys". I'm surprised I found a pic!

Sleep Chart 7

I forgot to post this Tuesday

Tuesday 5-1 (8)
Wednesday 5-12 (7)
Thursday 5:30-12 (6.5)
Friday 4-9:30 (5.5)
Saturday 1:30-3pm, 4:30-7:30 (4.5)
Sunday 2:30-12:30 (10)
Monday 6:30-1 (6.5)
Too Little, Too Much, Just Right, Too Late

Also, I filled in some days I didn't blog with some recent reviews

Movies: Walk the Line, Wedding Crashers
Books: Disciple, Christian Denominations

My Frenzied Hatred

I am anti-semitic. I just found out. Apparently, my belief that "through the gospel the Gentiles are heirs together with Israel, members together of one body, and sharers together in the promise in Christ Jesus" means that I hate modern day Jews. Here's what was said about me on a message board:

What Matthew94 and his buddies do not realize is that they are living monuments of the fact that God's Word and prophecies are indeed the truth, for it says that anti-Semitism will grow into a frenzied hatred of the Jews in the last days. What concerns me is that Christians are in the front ranks in this hellish spout of hatred against the Jews.

Shame on me for not being aware of my own hellish spouts.

Statement of Faith

The completed (though still open to improvement) 'Statement of Faith' can be found in its entirety at my Kingdom Blog. Actually, it was for this very purpose that I spent a week developing these brief statements (each statement is purposefully b/w 50-56 words). Most ministry sites include a statement of faith and so I wanted one too. But I wanted something freshly worded, not copied and pasted. Thanks for the help.

Click here for the Kingdom Blog's 'Statement of Faith'

End-Times

I believe in the future second coming of Jesus. The dead in Christ will rise, the living church will meet the Lord in the air, and heaven and earth will pass away. Mankind will then be judged and separated by their deeds. The righteous will dwell with God in a new heaven and earth for all eternity.

Salvation

I believe salvation is the process by which God makes broken people whole. Salvation is the work of the Trinity. The love of the Father pursues. The blood of the Son justifies. The presence of the Spirit sanctifies. God wills for all people to be saved, but they must respond in acceptance to God’s grace.

Mankind

I believe that Adam and Eve were formed in the image of God and filled by the breath of God, but later chose to serve self instead of God. I believe this rebellion created a brokenness between God and mankind. Mankind became spiritually dead, no longer willing or able to commune with God.

God

I believe there is one true God. God is both sovereign over creation and actively loving toward creation. God is perfect and purposeful. God's power, wisdom, and goodness are without limit. I believe God is One "What" (being) and three "Who’s" (persons). God eternally exists as Father, Son & Spirit.

The Church

I believe the church is a relational organism made up of all those of whom Jesus calls followers. The church is the people of God. They were the remnant of the Old Testament and the disciples of the New Testament. This church is the vessel through which Christ continues His ministry of reconciliation.

The Bible

I believe the Old Testament writers spoke from God as they were carried along by the Holy Spirit. I believe the New Testament writings are a reliable account of the life and teachings of Jesus since they were handed down to us by those who from the first were eyewitnesses and servants of the word.

Sleep Chart 6

Week 6 saw some slight improvement in wake-up time, but seems to have done so w/o adjusting the fall-asleep time. So I got 8 hours less sleep and did feel pretty tired at times. I taught for an hour and 20 minutes on Sunday night, but I was just going on adrenaline and passed out as soon as I got home.

Tuesday 6-10 (4)
Wednesday 5-11:30 (6.5)
Thursday 5-11 (6)
Friday 6-8:30pm, 6-9:30am (6)
Saturday 4:30-7:30 (3)
Sunday 9pm-11am (13)
Monday 5:30-10:30 (5)
Too Little, Too Much, Just Right
*Too Late

The Good- I improved wake-up time. Last week I woke up AFTER noon 4 times! None this week. The Bad- This failed to impact my fall asleep time! The Ugly- I took a nap! Naps are bad for me.

This weeks healthy habit: Same as last week. I'll keep pluggin-away

Top 10 Churches

For the final installment of my favorite church series, I'll complete my top 10. The series will be retired in the right hand column under the special series' heading.

1. Church of God Anderson
Doctrinal match made in heaven
2. Wesleyan
My happy home
3. Nazarene
Full of great people
4. Mennonite
Gotta love the liberal Ammish
5. Calvary Chapel
Verse by verse Bible churches
6. Salvation Army
Unique, awesome reputation
7. Free Methodist
Their use of 'free' was full of meaning
8. Free Will Baptist
Share my views on 'elect in the Son'
9. Christian Missionary Alliance
Only disagreemnt is with ideas on healing
10. Vineyard Church
Emphasize God's present kingdom

#1 Church of God (Anderson)

A beautiful balance of Wesleyan holiness theology and amillennial kingdom eschatology finds its home in the Church of God (Anderson, Indiana). Slightly bigger than the Wesleyan Church, this Church of God is not directly related to the pentecostal churches sharing its name.

The church stresses pietism, loyalty to the Lord instead of denominations, informal worship services, amillennialism, and does not take membership (which... lets face it... causes more harm than good). I can't find anything in the literature that I'm at odds with. It's as if I'm the founder.

I did find a Church of God, Anderson about 30 minutes away from my home and am trying to arrange a visit (which is quite difficult for a full-time minister). We'll see.

Tomorrow I will post churches 6-10 without much description. I didn't want to drag the series out too badly.

#2 Wesleyan

Loyalty gives my own denomination the slight edge over the Nazarene's for the 2nd spot. The Wesleyan Church has been good to me. I was saved in a Wesleyan church. I was called at a Wesleyan camp. I was educated in a Wesleyan institution. My gifts are employed by a Wesleyan congregation. I am happy with my denomination and love my district.

#3 Nazarene

My 3rd favorite church is the largest holiness denomination: The Church of the Nazarene. This group has its roots in pentecostalism, but dropped the supposed excesses for which that movement came to be defined. Doctrinally the Nazarene Church is pretty much identical with my own denomination.

Bonus points go to the Nazarenes for 3 reasons
1. All the Nazarenes I know well are good friends
2. Their churches seem to have lots of pretty girls
3. I happily attended a Nazarene Church in Canada*

*Reason 3 may have been motivated by reasons 1 & 2

#4 Mennonite

After the reformation, many decided that Luther and Swingli weren't quite radical enough. These 'many' became known as the Anabaptists. I've read some Church history literature which doesn't have much good to say about the Anabaptist movement, but I think they simply took the principles of the reformation to their logical conclusions. In my opinion the Anabaptists have much more in common with contemporary evangelicals than Luther and Swingli do.

One of the leading descendants of the Anabaptist movement is the Mennonite Church. The primary emphasis of the Mennonite church is that our allegiance should be to God's kingdom, not earthly governments or political parties.

#5 Calvary Chapel

My 5th favorite church is the non-denominational Calvary Chapel. With its mother church in Costa Mesa (California), Calvary Chapel has birthed over 500 affiliate churches in the United States. Pastor Chuck Smith (who was a leading figure in the 'Jesus movement') now pastors one of the 10 largest protestant churches in the country.

While there are some things I don't like about Calvary Chapels (they are passionately dispensational), there is much more I do like! I've been edified by a number of their pastors (Chuck Smith, George Bryson, Gayle Erwin, Skip Heitzig) and have heard many good testimonies about Chuck Smith and some of the affiliate churches.

Sleep Chart 5

Week 5 may have been one of my worst weeks of all time. It seems the more I focus on changing sleep schedule, the further away from my goal I get. Even stranger, I find this quite amusing. I have added a new feature in red called too late, perhaps it will add to the 3D affect.

Tuesday 4:30-12:30 (8)
Wednesday 4:30-8, 8:30-9:30 (4.5)
Thursday 5-1 (8)
Friday 5-3 (10)
Saturday 4:30-7:30 (3)
Sunday 12-10 (10)
Monday 6-2 (8)
Too Little, Too Much, Just Right
*Too Late

The Good- I got plenty of sleep. The Bad- I only fell asleep & stayed asleep before 4:30 once! The Ugly- Matter defeats mind every morning when the alarm goes off.

This weeks healthy habit: I pledge to set my alarm for 10am and actually wake up. Gotta start somewhere.

Odds & Ends

~I haven't posted in a few days because I didn't feel like it

~In the past week I was asked about '7th Heaven' and 'Women in Ministry' so I added those ?'s to my kingdom blog.

~Tonight I am planning on going to hear a speaker at Houghton regarding embryonic stem cell research.

~Tonight I will finish Ron Rhodes book about denominational backgrounds/beliefs and will post my top 5 churches countdown the rest of the week (Wed-Sun)

~Tomorrow night I'm going to the Sabres game, my first of the year

Christian Denominations

The Complete Guide to Christian Denominations by Ron Rhodes is a well condensed resource for anyone wanting to know the basic backgrounds & distinctives of over 100 of the largest Christian bodies in the United States. Rhodes did a great job of dividing the content into easy to read categories. I used this extensively in preparation for a church history study and it worked very well. Missing were the Salvation Army and Calvary Chapel movements.

Grade: A-

Walk the Line

I really enjoyed the biopic 'Walk the Line'. I've always been interested in Johnny Cash, but not enough to read about him! This movie was the perfect opportunity to learn in a lazy manner.

This movie was so much like 'Ray' that it was almost scary. If it were fiction I'd hold that against the newer 'Walk the Line' but since they are both biopics that hardly seems fair. Both lives contained serious tragedy, drug-use, failure, and ultimate success. But I liked this film quite a bit better than Ray because the redemption seemed more authentic and complete. Some real good quotes in there too, including:

Record Company Executive: Your fans are gospel folk, Johnny. They're Christians, and they don't wanna hear you singing to a bunch of murderers and rapists, tryin' to cheer 'em up.
Johnny Cash: Then they ain't Christians.

Rating: 8.4
Status: Must Own

OT Grace

I was struck tonight by God's grace as we continued our study through Genesis . One of the most humbling verses in Scripture is Genesis 6:5, "Then the LORD saw that the wickedness of man was great in the earth, and that every intent of the thoughts of his heart was only evil continually." It was for this reason that God judged the world by the flood.

But there is a very similar verse two chapters later, "I will never again curse the ground for man’s sake, although the imagination of man’s heart is evil from his youth; nor will I again destroy every living thing as I have done." The situation was the same. Man was still evil. But God's grace was on the move.

But God demonstrates his own love for us in this: While we were still sinners, Christ died for us.

Adrian Rogers

One of my favorite preachers, Adrian Rogers, has gone home to be with the Lord after being diagnosed with cancer back in March. Rogers had previously pastored the Bellevue Baptist Church for 32 years, leading a congregation that surpassed 29,000. Pastor Rogers is survived by Joyce, his wife of 54 years, 4 children, 9 grandchildren, and 1 great grandchild born the day before his death. For more information click here or listen to one of his sermons here.

Chained to the Past

I watched a movie last night simply because it had Claire Forlani in it. She is my favorite actress (which is the non-superficial way of saying she's the prettiest). But anyways, one of the characters was a famous writer who hadn't written in 20 years because he was afraid he'd never be able to create another worthwhile book.

Maybe that's what happens to us as Christians sometimes. God does something great through/in us, but then we're afraid He will never be that real again so we become attached to His previous work. We stop living day by day and start living in the past. God never stopped being an active God, but we stopped putting the pen to the page.

Sleep Chart 4

Things got worse in week 4 of my study. Well, technically, I don't really care when I sleep. But in terms of provoking change, the no laptop in bedroom policy backfired big time. I abandoned the policy by weeks end.

Tuesday 4:30-11:30 (7)
Wednesday 4:30-6:30 (2)
Thursday 1-1 (12)
Friday 7:30-12:30 (5)
Saturday 4:30-7:30 (3)
Sunday 9-11, 5:30-1 (8.5)
Monday 5-1 (8)
Too Little, Too Much, Just Right

The Good- I really never felt tired during the day. In fact, I haven't felt tired in a long time. The Bad- I only fell asleep & stayed asleep before 4:30 once! The Ugly- Apparently, the laptop was helping, not hurting!

This weeks healthy habit: I pledge to utilize my laptop every night until I pass out

20 Questions

Today is my brother's 20th birthday so I'll ask him 20 short questions.
Who/what is your favorite...

Sport FOOTBALL Team THE FLIPPIN BILLS Singer/band KANYE WEST Song LITTLE SISTER QUEEN'S OF THE STONE AGE Movie FIGHT CLUB Actor TOM CRUISE Actress JESSICA BIEL Channel ESPN Website JROFOSHO.COM Letter R Number 21 Color BLUE Season SEASON 5 OF FRIENDS State TENNESSEE Country USA Party REPUBLICAN Politician KARL ROVE Meal CHICKEN FRIED RICE NO ONIONS Desert ICE CREAM CAKE Drink BLUE POWERADE

Disciple

I recently read the 1st section of Juan Carlos Ortiz's 'Disciple' upon recommendation from Steve Gregg. Based on this book, I'll read other Gregg recommended resources. Pastor Ortiz describes discipleship blunty and, in my estimation, accurately. I think this is a good book to read over and over again to remind us of the simplicity of following Christ with all we are.

Grade: A-

The Box

The latest inductee into the National Toy Hall of Fame is...

The cardboard box joins an impressive list of famous toys pictured below and found at this link.

No Internet

Well, the 'no laptop in bedroom' rule I made on Tuesday has been quite easy to obey since the internet has been down at home since that time. In exchange, I have been playing XBOX hockey. I'm almost done with my first season. My Sabres are the clear favorites to win it all, but I'm only playing at the medium level. When I win, I'll switch to the toughest level.

Raising the Bar

Only two candy-bars meet my standars for excellence. My little sister recently gave me a pumpkin bag full of mini snickers, twix & butterfingers. I spent 2 days eating all the snickers just so I'd only have great candy-bars to look forward to. What are your favorites?

Tough Questions

In the interest of stewardship I just started a new section on my Kingdom Blog entitled Tough Questions. If I find myself answering the same question 2 or more times, I might as well type up a thorough answer so that the next time I'm asked I can direct the person to my site instead of trying to give them a 1 minute reply as they're on their way out of the sanctuary. The other major advantage is that, since it's not a hard copy answer, it can be updated with new information and further insights from commenters. The first Tough Question I've dealt with is 'What were the Nephilim'.

Sleep Chart 3

I continue to observe the pattern (I'm not yet truly attempting to change anything, simply experimenting) of my sleep. One more week and I'll have enough data to analyze.

Tuesday 1:30-12:30 (11)
Wednesday 6-8, 9-11 (4)
Thursday 3-8, 9-11:30 (7.5)
Friday 3-11 (8)
Saturday 2-8 (6)
Sunday 3-12 (9)
Monday 3:30-11:30 (7)
Too Little, Too Much, Just Right

The Good- The sleep wasn't all broken up in small pieces like last week. The Bad- I only fell asleep before 3 twice The Ugly- I pledged to exercise 3 times and failed to exercise at all.

This weeks healthy habit: I pledge to not bring my laptop into my bedroom.

NBA Predictions

My 2005 NBA Predictions

EASTERN CONFERENCE

A Miami
A Detroit
B+Indiana
B+Washington
B Cleveland
B Boston
C+New Jersey
C+Chicago
......
C+Milwaukee
C+Philadelphia
C Orlando
C Toronto
D Charlotte
F New York
F Atlanta

WESTERN CONFERENCE

A San Antonio
B+Denver
B+Phoenix
B+Houston
B Dallas
B-LA Clippers
B-Memphis
B-Sacremento
......
B-LA Lakers
B-Seattle
C Portland
C Minnesota
D Utah
F New Orleans
F Golden State

NBA FINALS
Phoenix over Miami

Wedding Crashers

Wedding Crashers is a fast paced comedy that, if it were cleaner, would probably be one of my favorite comedies in recent memory. The idea is fresh and clever. The dialogue is not cliche. There wasn't a dull moment, some funny one's though!

I haven't liked Owen Wilson before, and I don't think I've even seen Vince Vaugn in anything...but they both made me laugh on numerable occassions. And Rachel McAdams was, simply put, beautiful. Her character had one of the best personality/pretty combinations in recent Hollywood memory. It's a little purity short of a classic.

Rating: 8.2
Status: Must Own

Cartoon Apostasy

I've got proof that you can lose your salvation. Dozens of cartoons are no longer worshipping God. Fred, Scooby & the smurfs have walked away from the faith. Okay, so technically Chris Rice has just stopped performing the Cartoon Halleluja Song after years of receiving the following complaints from Gargamellion Christians:

1) “Hallelujah” is a Hebrew word that means “Praise the Lord”, Chris was misusing the Lord’s name by changing the phrase, and using it in such a flippant and silly way.

2) By not letting Beavis and “that other guy” get saved, Chris was giving the wrong message to people, that God only loved certain types of people.

3) Chris should not refer to Beavis and "that other guy" in a Christian song, for "obvious reasons."

4) Chris should not refer to the Smurfs in a Christian song, because they do magic, and are therefore demonic.

Rice concludes that it's

"just a satirical song about the modern Christian tendency to 'Christianize' everything. I was hoping everyone would get the satire, but they missed the satire, and embraced the song as legit."

I'm just so happy that the church has eliminated this evil song from the worship airwaves. I hated seeing all those kids have fun in the sanctuary (hopefully people will understand my sarcasm better than they understood Rice's satire).

People are Talking

starbucks says:
i should read your blog
www.matthew94.blogspot.com says:
why?
starbucks says:
might as well

Cassie- your blog is the highlight of my day

SabreJeff- Much better than Jordan's site

Study of Job

I've continued transferring my Bible studies to my kingdom blog. Yesterday I posted all my Job handouts (see below). There are now over 100 posts there. Once I get completely caught up, perhaps I'll make them more attractive/useful.

Job 1:1-12
Job 1:13-2:10
Job 2:11-3:26
Job 4-7
Job 8-10
Job 11-14
Job 15-17
Job 18-19
Job 20-21
Job 22-24
Job 25-31
Job 32-37
Job 38-41
Job 42

Reducing the Risk

Yesterday I went to a seminar by Dr. James Cobble, an expert on church & law issues. We discussed weighty subjects such as child sexual molestation, church negligence, screening processes, insurance, and counseling practices. I really appreciated his pastoral approach to these issues. It seemed many pastors were afraid he'd come at the issues from only a legal perspective, but he had great balance.

Many churches have written, are writing, or will write policies. The motivation has often been for legal protection against liability, but we must make our primary motivation love and safety. We can't prevent everything, but we should be focused on making church properties safe places for babies, children, teens, adults & seniors.

For Dr. Cobble's website, click HERE

Sleep Chart 2

Feel free to yell at me as I try to reach my goal of sleeping from about 1:30-8:30 each night. This week, I'll explain my failure by saying I had to wake up and put my nephew on the bus and stay home to get him off. In between there was nothing better to do than sleep.

Tuesday 4-8, 8:30-11 (6.5)
Wednesday 6:30-8, 8:30-11, 12:30-2pm (5.5)
Thursday 3:30-8:30, 9-11:30 (7.5)
Friday 4-1:30 (8.5)
Saturday 3-7:30 (4.5)
Sunday 3:30-4:30pm, 1:30-10:30am (9)
Monday 3-6:30 (3.5)
Too Little, Too Much, Just Right

The Good- I had 3 days with the right amount of sleep. The Bad- I only fell asleep before 3 once The Ugly- I basically took a ton of naps and only had 1 unbroken/full sleep cycle.

This weeks healthy habit: I pledge to jog the block 3 times.

Legalism

No ISM's death brings me more joy than this one: Legalism.

Anyone who knows me knows I am not a rigid person. I'm very laid-back and carefree to a fault. Legalism is very strict and troubled. One of the best qualities of the younger generation is its grace. I think we have more grace than the previous generation. We let things go. We forgive. We aren't upset by different opinions. I am excited to see how ministry changes as legalism dies. What new things will we accomplish? What new struggles will we have?

In my experience, most of the annoying times in ministry are the result of legalists demanding the un-necessary. They slow down momentum. They stifle the Spirit. Their preferences aren't the problem, it's the fact that they demand them. I wish I could say 'rest in peace' but legalists know no peace. They are always at war.

Racism

I have not met very many young racists. Racism is being defeated. A couple generations ago, many people hated those with a different skin color. The last generation didn't adhere the ugliest form of racism. The majority still categorized people by skin color, but only a minority guaged value by it. My generation doesn't even tend to make a distinction based on skin color. This is good news.

There are still racist people, but racism is becoming less and less of a problem in North America. I'm sure it's still more of a problem in certain areas, but with each passing year more racists will pass away. Racism is dying with them.

Calvinism

The 2nd giant ISM that has seen its glory days is Calvinism. For better or for worse, the protestant marriage with Calvinism is over. It's getting harder and harder to find someone who actually thinks of God like John Calvin did. And even those preachers and theologians who maintain their faith in the tulip, their followers are practical arminians (Drury pointed that out HERE).

I remember when I was at Bethany, I was kind of ashamed that none of my favorite Bible teachers were Arminian. All the people in ministry that I looked up to were calvinists. But that's simply not the case anymore. I now know many fine biblical thinkers who think calvinism is kinda crazy. Calvinism has been replaced by a 'moderate calvinism' that is practically identical with classical arminianism.

Dispensationalism

Over the next few days I want to declare the demise of 4 powerful ISMs. The first 'ism' that isn't going hold its sway over the population is dispensationalism. Born in the early 1800's, dispensationalism is the eschatological view made popular by John Nelson Darby, the Scofield Reference Bible, Hal Lindsay, and the Left Behind Series. But my prediction is that it will soon lose its grip on evangelicalism.

Ironically, the death of dispensationalism may be caused by its leading advocates. They have made it so popular that thinkers have started thinking again about eschatology. I predict you'll see more and more leading evangelicals jump off the bandwagon. RC Sproul already did. Then Hank Hanegraaff followed his lead. In fact, this past Tuesday & Wednesday, Hank had Steve Gregg on the Bible Answer Man program to discuss Gregg's book Revelation: 4 Views and dispensationalism was dealt a significant slap heard by millions of listeners.

RIP Dispensationalism (1820-20??)

New Stuff

They don't build things to last anymore. In my observation the newer something is the more likely it is to malfunction. Cars. Laptops. Microwaves. Dryers. TV's. Christmas lights. Lamps. Remotes. These are all fairly new things around me that haven't worked properly in the past month.

The pessimistic part of me wonders if manufacturers make things crappy on purpose just to maintain a buyers market. Or maybe they made some behind the scenes deals with repair men. Who knows?

March of the Penguins

March of the Penguins is a documentary about... well... penguins. It is a documentary of the highest quality. The footage is amazing. I learned a ton about penguins. They are awesome creatures. All throughout the film I was reminded of God's great care over creation. It's amazing how he gives His creatures the know-how to overcome whatever the environment throws at them. Morgan Freeman narrates, but the Penguins tell the story.

Rating: 7.9
Status: Must See

Sleep Chart 1

Each Tuesday I'll be posting and examining my sleep statistics. Feel free to join in as I try to reach my goal of sleeping from about 1:30-8:30 each night. This week, I'll explain my failure by saying I had to record the problem so I know what I'm working against.

Tuesday 7-12 (5)
Wednesday 1-6:30 (5.5)
Thursday 2:30-11:30 (9)
Friday 3-5pm, 3:30-11 (9.5)
Saturday 3:30-7:30 (4)
Sunday 2:00-12:00 (10)
Monday 4:00-10 (6.0)

Too Little, Too Much, Just Right

The Good- Averaged 7 hours/night, exactly what I have in mind. The Bad- The norm seems to be something in the 3-11 range. The Ugly- I'd imagine it's healthy to keep all nights b/w 6.5 and 8.5, but I had ZERO nights like that.

Each week I'll add a healthy habit and see how much it impacts the stats. This week I pledge to not eat after 10pm.

Time Capsule

Sunday was my sister's 15th birthday. One cool thing about her is she asks me for the same present every year...that I take her to a Sabres game. Can do Lauren. Can do. I thought it'd be cool to interview her and in a year or ten she can come back and read the interview to see how much she's changed (or not changed):

How old are you? 15 What's your boyfriend's first name? I don't have a boyfriend What are your favorite foods/drinks? Hmmm..umm...let me think. I really like french fries and red bull and cappuccino. What do you want to be when you're grown up? Elementary Teacher Where do you think you'll live? Out of state or probably the southern tier of New York Who are your best friends Oooo..heh heh. Amanda, Sarah, Brittany, Clark. Those are my best one's. What kind of music do you like? Alternative & Rock & Punk and some Emo. I like every kind, but those are my favorite. I like music that I can sing to. What are your religious beliefs? Christian. But a denomination that will let me drink wine. Any closing words? Amanda, you're awesome and I can't wait till my next birthday. I'm gonna try to stay out of trouble this year.

Elizabethtown

Once again I served as chauffeur for my sister and her friends as they went to see a scary movie. I, however, hate scary movies (b/c they are dumb and not scary) so I picked Elizabethtown b/c I find Kirsten Dunst uniquely appealing. This movie was a lot like Garden State. But I'm going to give it a lower grade for a few reasons: 1. It wasn't as funny. 2. Dunst is not quite as cute as Portman. 3. It didn't flow as well. It seemed like patchwork, a bunch of decent ideas crammed together lazily.

Rating: 5.9
Status: Average

Right Behind

The Upturned Table Parody Series has turned in another solid effort with 'Right Behind', a parody of last days goofiness. Much like the Mantra of Jabez, this book does a jiffy job of humorously pointing out the shallowness of North American pop-Eschatology. The characters (Buford, Buff & Cleo) brought many smirks to my overly malleable face as they conversed about the 'rapture' and their part of the story (yes, in this book, the characters are aware of their roles). I enjoyed the story thoroughly, even the lackluster ending. Perhaps there will be a sequel or eleven.

Telamachus

The early church impacted the entertainment industry. They considered the Coliseum Games and Gladitorial Contests immoral. A monk named Telamachus, for example, was so appalled by them that he actually walked in the 'playing area' to break up the fight. The crowd wasn't impressed by his peacemaking nature. They stoned him to death.* Emperor Constantine, however, was so moved by the passion of Telemachus that he put an end to the games by law.

Do you think there are forms of 'entertainment' in our culture that are appalling? Are you appalled by them? Are you willing to put yourself at risk to point out their appalling nature? Am I?

Footnotes
*The version of the story that includes Telemachus being killed by the gladiators and the crowd leaving in shame (never to return to the games), doesn't seem to be true. The actual account of the event can be found HERE

White Sox vs. Astros

Growing up, I had a favorite baseball player: Jeff Bagwell of the Astros. My brother also had a favorite player: Frank Thomas of the White Sox. Coincidentally, it turned out they had the same exact DOB (5/27/68).

Fortunately for my brother and I, both players have had excellent careers. Unfortunately, we never got to see them play against each other. Fortunately, they have yet to retire and their teams are about to face each other in the world series. Unfortunately, both of them are injured. Thomas won't play at all. Bagwell might play a little.

Sometimes things just don't work out.

One Last Try

I have decided to make one last attempt to change my sleeping habits. My goal is to sleep from 1-8am on average. I am currently sleeping from 4-11am on average. If this final attempt is not successful, I'll consider it a lost cause.

For the time being, I'll post my sleeping statistics each Tuesday. Your job is to find some way to punish me for bad stats. For some of you that means not talking to me, for others that means the opposite. Hehe.

Stupid Pujols

I had a post all typed out, but stupid Albert Pujols ruined it. So I'll do one of those hip new point form posts.

a. This past weekend we moved my grandma into a new house. I actually like moving furniture and boxes. b. I got to preach Sunday morning b/c my boss was on a quartet tour. c. notes from my sermon can be found HERE. d. I wanted to take a nap in the afternoon, but I was too tired to move all the stuff off of the couch in pastor Joe's office. e. Essentially, then, I was too tired to sleep. f. I had a deep 10 hour sleep sunday night. g. the light-bulb in my room blew. h. we don't have any more light-bulbs. i. I put up Christmas lights instead.

Good, this post begins and ends with me ("I"). Just the way it should.

Rural Racer

Click To Add A Game To Your Blog!

The New Canon

Part of the criteria for identifying the Canon of Scripture was popular usage. This caused me to question, what if that same criteria was used to form a contemporary 'canon' for the church. What books/media would be selected as 'Scripture' on these grounds?

Here's my best guess:

Genesis- This book still gets read quite a bit for 2 reasons. First, the creation/evolution debate. Second, most people who decide to read through the Bible in a year make it this far. The Prince of Egypt- In the spirit of Costanza, the 'through the Bible' crew rents the movie instead. Joshua 'A modern day parable- Hey, it's got the same name as a book in the old Bible, so we'll take it. 23rd Psalm- That should cover it. 150 hardly seems necessary. New Proverbs- This would be a collection of quotes from Bright, Hybels, Dobson, Warren, Graham, Lewis, etc. Heck, we'll even retain a few from Solomon. Daniel- I think people still read this one because it's full of excitement, but short on chapters. Plus, we've gotta read at least 1 of the prophets so we understand the genre. The Jesus Film- Why read 4 books when you can watch 1 movie? The Passion- The most important week in history is worthy of Hollywood treatment! Romans- Just in case theology is important. The Purpose Driven Life- This could replace the rest of those Epistle things. Each chapter is like a letter to contemporary Christians. Mere Christianity- For those who finish 40 days of purpose wanting more! The Left Behind Series- We love our eschatology. And what better place to get it?

This gives us 12 books for the New Bible. Just like the tribes of Israel or the number of disciples! Surely this is an inspired list!

The Canon of Scripture

The Canon of Scripture by F.F. Bruce is certainly one of the best books I've completed in the past year. This highly informative 350 page resource sheds plenty of light on the oft-cloudy questions of how we arrived at 66 books/letters instead of, for example, 65 or 67. Bruce deals at length with both the Old and New Testaments. He balances academic information with practical thoughtfulness extremely well. I learned a ton from this book and have a better appreciation for the Bible to show for it. Highly recommended.

Blog Birthday

Today my blog turns 1 year old. If you're 'knew'... here's some of what you missed:

First Post
Prison Cell Phones
Red Sox Win LIVE
Songs You Never Knew
A Series of Unfortunate Events
Online Dating Series
Essential Christian Doctrine
Knew Movie Reviews
Ask and it Shall be Given
Passion Week Devotional Series
Why I loved China Trip 05
Greatest Story Never Told
When NOT to tell the truth
Fun with Footnotes
Why We Still Disagree
Stupid Kids
Pin the Tail on the Antichrist
Martyrdom of Polycarp
Saved Muslims?

326 Posts
45,090 Hits

Shootouts

I have to disagree with most of the serious hockey fans I talk to. They think the shootout is stupid and ridiculous. I think it's not only necessary, but also an improvement.

The shootout is necessary because the NHL needs to grow to survive. The league must let go of some of its sacred traditions. Sports fans want excitement. They want scoring. They have to be crowd-pleasers. It's a business. If you can't stand it, don't watch the NHL. The NHL doesn't have a monopoly on hockey.

The shootout is an improvement because it isn't quite as stupid as having dozens and dozens of games without winners. The NHL was the only major sports league that routinely took up hours of peoples time and loads of peoples cash and failed to let the celebrate or complain.

2 Ministry Fears

That people just don't care- I sometimes am afraid that despite the passion of the preaching & the seriousness of the sermons, a large percentage of church people just don't care. They're content to remain unchanged... content to be church-people, but not God's people.

That I'll blame myself- I sometimes fear that if that's true, I'll blame my ministry. I've heard it said (especially in church growth circles) that if people don't listen, it's the speakers fault. I disagree, but if you hear something enough it's hard not to believe.

Contacts or Glasses

I can't decide which I like better.

COMFORT Glasses are kind of annoying to wear sometimes, but contacts make my eyes itch (b/c I refuse to take them out at night).
LOOK Popular opinion says it's best not to have glasses, but they do tend to make me look older (which is a good thing).
RISK Since I am too stubborn to take contacts out at night, there's always the risk of damaging my eyes. On the other hand, I have broken my fair share of glasses.
COST Both are pretty expensive. If your prescription doesn't change you can keep glasses forever, but they can go out of style too.

What do you think?

Nephilim Debate

Relevant Passage: Genesis 6:1-4
Current Debate: Bibleforums.org

Theory #1 Fallen Angels
This interpretation equates the 'sons of God' with angels that fell and (or possibly so that) they could have sexual relationships with human women. The offspring of these unions were giants. Strengths: This phrase 'sons of God' refers to angels elsewhere (3 times in Job*), but isn't used of humans in the Old Testament. The book of Enoch takes this interpretation and Jude quotes Enoch as, apparently, a valid source. The Hebrew term 'nephilim' comes from the root 'to fall' possibly referring to 'fallen' angels. Weaknesses: Humans are also called called God's children thoughout Scripture, even in the Old Testament (Hosea 1:10, for example). The book of Enoch was almost certainly not written by Enoch, but seems to have originated in the last century before Christ as part of the apocalyptic genre. Matthew seems to indicate that angels aren't capable of sexual relationships. This view is usually held by those attracted to mystical interpretations.
*Job 1:6, Job 2:1, Job 38:7

Theory #2 Seth's Line
This interpretation equates the 'sons of God' with God's people. The problem was that men from God's holy line mixed (sexually) with worldly women. The fruit of these unholy matrimonies was negative. Strengths: This view seems to fit the context of God's displeasure with mankind (no mention is made of displeasure with angels). The term 'giant' can also refer to one of great carnality. If this view is correct, it is very similar to the problems faced in Canaan when the Israelites made the same mistake. This is the majority view today among scholars. Weaknesses: This view discounts the interpretation of the book of Enoch. It seems to have been the minority view in ancient times. This view is usually held by those who avoid all mysterious interpretations.

So what do you think?

Pic from Ordination

NHL Predictions

My 2005 NHL Predictions

EASTERN CONFERENCE

A+Ottawa
A+Philadelphia
B+New Jersey
B+Boston
B Toronto
B Tampa Bay
C+Florida
C+Pittsburgh
......
C+Buffalo
C+NY Islanders
C Montreal
C Atlanta
D Carolina
F Washington
F NY Rangers

WESTERN CONFERENCE

A Calgary
B+ Vancouver
B Colorado
B Detroit
B Dallas
B Anaheim
B Chicago
B San Jose
......
B Phoenix
C+St. Louis
C LA Kings
C Edmonton
C Nashville
C Minnesota
C Columbus

Stanley Cup
Ottawa over Calgary

Jericho, Jericho

I wrote this song yesterday based on recent readings in Joshua. For more songs you never knew, click here



Marching around this city
How could it fall so simply?
Not a thing that I have done
Could have made this battle won
The enemy was in great fear
Before I was even near
Walls went down without a fight
The battle won was not by might

Jericho, Jericho
I have had my Jericho
And my victory has been won
By what I could not have done
Jericho, Jericho
And now I will always know
Though in the future I may fight
Victory will never be by might

Marching through that city
And all the things so pretty
Oh the treasures of this earth
Could a little plunder hurt?
The command you made was clear
There were still things I held dear
Oh, the price of selfish eyes
Oh, the price of hidden lies

Repeat Chorus

Marching from that city
Toward the land that's for me
All the kingdoms that must fall
For you to be my all in all
Town to town I'll always go
But I'll remember Jericho
I will have to fight the fight
But I'll never fight by might

Repeat Chorus

And all the ground that I can claim
Is through the power of your name
And though the battles may be rough
It's your power that's enough

Repeat Chorus

Life after Jericho

About 7 years ago when I asked God to change me, He changed some things about me right away. My bad temper was replaced by peace. Other things, however, took time. My fear of public interaction, for example, was defeated slowly and with exercise.

Reading through Joshua, I find it interesting that God gave them Jericho without a fight. He wanted to show them that victory came by His might, not theirs. But after Jericho there were many other kingdoms that needed to fall. And Israel had to get bloody & dirty. The victories were still from God, but they needed the battle.

I had my Jericho when God took my bad temper. But as I continue to claim all the ground God has paid for, I know I must fight the good fight of faith. And when I come across another kingdom of this world still residing in my heart, I must remember Jericho during the bloody battle.

I just finished a first draft for a song on these thoughts. I'll post it tomorrow.

War of the Worlds

Steven Spielberg. Tom Cruise. A classic story. All the potential in the world. Zero results.

I expected a lot out of War of the Worlds and was unpleasantly surprised. It seemed like Spielberg was out to prove he could make an alien invasion film without focusing on the alien invasion. Instead he focused on the characters. The problem? The characters weren't interesting. It was basically the same 20 minute movie six times, which was five times too many.

The acting was fine. The special affects were fine. The movie was boring.

Rating: 5.1
Status: Average

Lost

Okay Okay. People kept telling me to watch the show Lost. But I hate getting into something once it's already started. So I decided to watch the very first episode 2 nights ago. It was interesting enough to motivate a viewing of episode 2. Then 3, 4 & 5. Then I fell asleep at 6am. Last night I watched episodes 6-12 from 2-8am. Needless to say, I'm quite captivated.

If my boss is reading this, I am sorry to report I've joined the 'Lost' cult.