Links & Quotes

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Some reading I checked out today:

“Do not despair, dear heart, but come to the Lord with all your jagged wounds, black bruises, and running sores. He alone can heal, and He delights to do it. It is our Lord’s office to bind up the brokenhearted, and He is gloriously at home at it.” —Charles Spurgeon

David Wilkerson on hearing God’s voice: To Know His Voice.

[VIDEO] Nearly 60 years after rescuing a baby abandoned in the woods, the rescuer and the rescued are reunited.

“We let our fear of what others think of us keep us from doing God-honoring creative projects. We let our pride and our so called self-image keep us from using our God-given talents and abilities. We care more about bringing honor to ourselves than bringing honor to God.” —Stephen Altrogge, in Create

Former abortion worker admits “it’s all about money.” Read more of Carol Everett’s story.

Lifewalk 2014

LifewalkI am a huge fan of Alpha Family Center! Their ministry to young mothers in the Cedar Springs community is second-to-none, so I am so thrilled to be able to serve on Alpha’s board.

Alpha’s one big fundraiser for the year is coming up on Saturday, June 14, and it’s called Lifewalk. This is a short walk though Cedar Springs (starting and ending at Morley Park), with four stops along the way for prayer. We want to make a visible statement that we are supporting life.

This year we have added Liferun: a 5k run which also starts and ends at Morley Park. Immediately following this there will be a fun run for the younger kids.

How can you help?

  • Get family, friends and coworkers to sponsor you for Lifewalk. Collect those sponsorships and bring them with you on June 14. You can download and print your pledge form here → Lifewalk pledge form [2014]
  • Get some of your runner friends together to participate in Liferun. The registration fee is $30, and trophies will be given out for various age categories. You can download and print your registration form here → Liferun registration [2014]
  • Make a donation to Alpha Family Center.

Registration for Liferun opens at 7:30am, with the 5k race starting at 8:30am. The kids’ fun run will begin after the 5k (approximately 9:30am). Registration for Lifewalk opens at 9am, and the walk begins at 10am.

Please help us support and promote life in Cedar Springs.

But Power!

But PowerIt’s not quite a League Of Justice superhero power … but it’s pretty close! Beginning in the first verse of Proverbs 10, King Solomon introduces a small, but powerful, conjunction—

The wise son brings joy to his father, BUT a foolish son grief to his mother (10:1).

Starting here and in nearly every following verse for the next 12 chapters(!) you will find this powerful little 3-letter word.

Sometimes it’s a “yet” and sometimes the semicolon implies the “but,” but it’s there in all of it’s life-changing strength!

Whatever the scenario, Solomon lists the stark contrast between a life on which God’s blessing can rest, and a foolish life that is immune to God’s blessing.

There’s almost a year’s worth of BUT POWER in these chapters. Why don’t you contemplate just one contrasting statement everyday and see what God begins to reveal to you.

BUT POWER is here to save the day!

Links & Quotes

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Some interesting reading (and watching) from today:

The Center for Reproductive Rights is trying to force the U.N. to use anti-torture treaties to silence the Church, arguing that the pro-life message “tortures women”! Huh? Check out this post—UN To Criminalize The Pro-Life Movement?—and sign the ACLJ petition to stop this.

[VIDEO] Nick Vujicic and John Maxwell talk about making today bigger than yesterday.

A word to pastors: “The prophet must hear the message clearly and deliver it faithfully, and that is indeed a grave responsibility; but it is to God alone, not to men.” —A.W. Tozer

“If I am not today all that I hope to be, yet I see Jesus, and that assures me that I shall one day be like Him.” —Charles Spurgeon

A good reminder about Martin Luther King, Jr’s Letter From A Birmingham Jail in this post: When Waiting Doesn’t Work.

U.S. Supreme Court Justice Louis Brandeis famously wrote that the answer to objectionable speech ’is more speech, not enforced silence.’ This seems a most reasonable proposition. If you are offended by someone’s position, you can counter it with your own arguments and expose their error for the world to see and reject. It is a concept that has served our Republic well in the fight for liberty and freedom.” Read more in We Need More First Amendment Freedom.

The so-called global warming “science” is becoming more and more philosophy and conjecture. The title of the article in the esteemed Nature is Key West Antarctic Glaciers Retreating Unstoppably, but the text of the article is very un-scientific and vague. Please read the article for yourself and note phrases like these (emphasis added):

  • Radar observations suggest
  • …would raise sea levels by 1.2 meters if they melted
  • …glaciers are likely to disappear
  • …melting over the next century will probably cause… 
  • And my favorite: “Global sea levels are currently rising about 3 millimetres per year. Most of that comes from the thermal expansion of the warming oceans; some also comes from melting ice in Greenland and Antarctica.” To which I ask: how do we know this isn’t a part of the normal warming and cooling cycle? 

Generation iY (one more chapter)

Generation iYThree years ago I posted this—

I’m going to make a statement about Dr. Tim Elmore’s book Generation iY that I rarely make: This book is a MUST READ for parents and anyone who works with youth!

Yes, a must read. The subtitle of this book is not over-dramatized, but really is an understated truth: Our last chance to save their future.

Recently Tim Elmore released in ebook format a final chapter to Generation iY. After reading this I was just as convinced that anyone who works with our youth must read this book (read my full book review by clicking here). Here are a few quotes from this chapter.

“Historical trends suggest that every time there is a population explosion among the youth (between 15-29 years old), violence follows. Sociologist Gunnar Heinson reported that countries are vulnerable when the youth population is 30 percent or higher.” 

“Our assessment of 8,500 high school and college students clearly reveals a drop in:

  • Resilience—we removed the ability to bounce back after a failure.
  • Empathy—we have pushed them toward self-expansion.
  • Work ethic—their short attention spans make the daily grind a turn-off.
  • Stamina—sticking with the task when the novelty’s going is difficult.
  • Ambition—the internal drive to succeed is replaced by external stimuli.
  • Self-awareness—few adults have been honest about their blind spots.”

“Condoleezza Rice and Joel Klein released a report recently saying that the state of our youth is now an issue of national security. Seventy-five percent of America’s youth are not even fit for the military due to obesity, criminal records or failure to graduate high school.”

  1. As technology goes up, empathy goes down. We can find a direct parallel between screen time and the lack of empathy in adolescence. It makes sense, doesn’t it? A text that says ‘I am having a bad day’ doesn’t elicit the same empathy as being face to face with a person in tears, in the midst of a crisis. It seems virtual, so our empathy is virtual. Kids often laugh at what they cried about a decade ago.
  2. As information expands, attention spans diminish. Resilience, patience, and attention spans have dropped thanks to today’s quick, convenient, and saturated world. When overwhelmed, we surrender readily. Herbert Simon said it best: “A wealth of information creates a poverty of attention.”
  3. As options broaden, long-term commitment shrinks.
  4. As life speeds up, patience and personal discipline drop.
  5. As external stimulation increases, internal motivation decreases. Experiments among students show that external rewards actually reduce internal drive and ambition. Kids work for the reward, not the satisfaction of the work. The external (and possibly artificial and superficial) reduces incentive and, consequently, self-sufficiency.
  6. As consequences for failure diminish, so does the value of success.
  7. As virtual connections climb, emotional intelligence declines.
  8. As free content swells, so does our sense of entitlement.

 

High Adventure In Tibet (book review)

High Adventure In TibetA book about dedication, perseverance, adventure, near misses and escapes, intrigue, triumphs and tragedies. Yep, High Adventure In Tibet by David Plymire has all of that. But this isn’t a novel; it’s a true story!

High Adventure recounts the life of Victor Plymire (David’s father) who was a pioneer missionary in taking the message of Jesus Christ into the interior of Tibet in the early 1900s. Persevering through language barriers, religious strongholds, political intrigues, civil wars, the advance of Communism, and the difficulty of travel through mountainous regions and deserts, Victor would not rest until all Tibetans had an opportunity to hear the biblical account of Jesus.

David spent his childhood in Tibet, so he knows both the man, the terrain, and the people about which he writes. He also includes direct quotations from his father’s diary to give a real-time feel to the events in the book. One of the most amazing recurring themes for me was the miraculous way God provided for Victor time and time again, usually at a moment in which it appeared all was lost.

For young and old alike, High Adventure is a book that will keep you interested from the opening pages. For you, as it did for me, I pray this book (re)awakens the importance of praying for and financially supporting missionaries. And perhaps God will even use this book to call some readers to a mission field. I know that response would please God, and Victor Plymire.

Links & Quotes

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Some good reading (and watching) I found today.

“Humility is strong—not bold; quiet—not speechless; sure—not arrogant.” —Estelle Smith

[VIDEO] Ken Davis always cracks me up! When the doctor says, “Don’t drive” … don’t drive!

Feeling beat-up? Max Lucado reminds us to rest in Christ’s finished work.

[VIDEO] Greg Koukl answers the question: What Is Marriage Anyway?

Tim Elmore discusses communicating with youth using pictures, stories and steps.

Fierce Momma Bears

Fierce momsThe battle cry of this pragmatic generation boils down to this: “Don’t judge me! Let me live my life my way!” To the pragmatist there is no objective right or wrong, but right or wrong is determined by whatever seems right/wrong to each individual.

But what if your decision adversely impacts my world? Or what if my decision adversely impacts your world?

There is a time to speak up. There is a time to say, “There is an objective right and wrong, and your decision is wrong.” I think that time to speak up is when lives and livelihoods are involved. 

The Bureau of Labor Statistics, the Social Security Administration, the Guttmacher Institute, and the National Center for Health Statistics all agree on this—there is a way for us to add revenue to our economy and our future without raising taxes a single penny. There is a way for us to add:

  • $400 billion of revenue to our economy
  • $11 billion to Medicare
  • $47 billion to Social Security

Oops, I take that back. This is actually revenue for the economy and a boost for the Medicare and Social Security programs that we would be seeing now if nearly 57 million babies hadn’t been aborted in the United States since 1973. The additional workers which have been lost before they were even born would have easily added this to our economy.

The Bible challenges us to: “Speak up for those who cannot speak for themselves; ensure justice for those being crushed” (Proverbs 31:8).

I believe the time to say, “Enough!” has come. I also believe this call to action needs to come from our moms. Several places in the Scripture the fierceness of warriors is actually compared to the fierceness of moms. Like when talking about King David and his warriors—You know your father and his men; they are fighters, and as fierce as a wild bear robbed of HER cubs (2 Samuel 17:8).

Did you catch that? David’s fierceness wasn’t described in masculine terms, but in terms of a Momma Bear that lost her cubs! 

Moms, we need you. It’s time for you to say, “Enough destruction of innocent life.” It’s time for you to speak up for those who cannot speak for themselves. It’s time for you to ensure justice for those pre-born babies being crushed. It’s time for your momma bear instincts to cause you to growl, which will finally motivate other warriors to step into the battle.

C’mon, Momma Bears, we need you to growl fiercely! 

Happy Mother’s Day

We Love MomsHere are a dozen of my favorite Mother’s Day quotes…

“All I am, or can be, I owe to my angel mother.” —Abraham Lincoln

“A mother is a person who, seeing there are only four pieces of pie for five people, promptly announces she never did care for pie.” —Tenneva Jordan

“I love my mother as the trees love water and sunshine—she helps me grow, prosper, and reach great heights.” —Adabella Radici

“My mom is a never-ending song in my heart of comfort, happiness, and being. I may sometimes forget the words but I always remember the tune.” —Graycie Harmon

“Making the decision to have a child is momentous. It is to decide forever to have your heart go walking around outside your body.” —Elizabeth Stone

Augustine wrote in Confessions that his mother Monica “wept to God for me, shedding more tears for my spiritual death than other mothers shed for the bodily death of a son.” In the midst of her prayers, Monica shared her concerns with Ambrose, bishop of Milan, and he said, “It cannot be that the son of those tears be lost.”

“I remember my mother’s prayers and they have always followed me. They have clung to me all my life.” —Abraham Lincoln

“My mother was the most beautiful woman I ever saw. All I am I owe to my mother. I attribute all my success in life to the moral, intellectual and physical education I received from her.” —George Washington

“The devil never reckons a man to be lost so long as he has a good mother alive. O woman, great is thy power!” ―Charles Spurgeon

“I learned more about Christianity from my mother than from all the theologians in England.” —John Wesley

“Your motherhood is in God’s sight holier and more blessed than you realize.” —Andrew Murray 

“To be a mother is the greatest vocation in the world. No being has a position of such great power and influence. She holds in her hands the destiny of nations, for to her is necessarily committed the making of the nation’s citizens.” —Hannah Whitall Smith

Links & Quotes

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Some readable reading from today.

I find the science driving “global warming” or “climate change” to be more philosophy than science. A new report notes, “Even if we were to stop emitting greenhouse gas emissions entirely, we would not moderate the Earth’s temperature more than a few tenths of a degree Celsius by the end of the century.” Read more in this post: Obama Hasn’t Healed The Planet.

I love the Bible Overview Project. Here is a cool infographic on the least popular book of the Bible.

“How could it [the Bible], assailed so strongly from every side, have resisted if it had relied upon human protection alone? Rather, by this very fact it is proved to be from God, because, with all human efforts striving against it, still it has of its own power thus far prevailed. Besides this, it is not one state, not one people, that has agreed to receive and embrace it; but, as far and as wide as the earth extends, it has obtained its authority by the holy concord of divers peoples, who otherwise had nothing in common among themselves. Such agreement of minds, so disparate and otherwise disagreeing in everything among themselves, ought to move us greatly, since it is clear that this agreement is brought about by nothing else than the divine will.” —John Calvin

I don’t agree with everything in this post ‘The Idol Of Church Growth,’ but I definitely agree with this statement: “The question churches should be asking is not ‘How do we grow our church?’ but ‘How do we grow His kingdom?’ Sadly, those interests are often kingdoms apart.” 

Ask to summarize his theology, Karl Barth said, “Jesus loves me this I know, for the Bible tells me so.”

“There must be illumination before revelation can get to a person’s soul. It is not enough that I hold an inspired Book in my hands. I must have an inspired heart.” —A.W. Tozer