Consolation for a New Year
A little over a year ago when I first downloaded this song I had it on repeat for a couple of days because of how comforting it was to me for whatever reason at that time in my life. I was pleased to find the original accompaniment track also available for purchase, so I snagged it immediately and began learning it myself. The track above is a live recording of my singing at a memorial service of a young man who died this year in his early 40s of an illness. I never knew this man personally, but I do stand at the threshold of a new year with some sorrow because the new year offers no further promise of the comradely I once enjoyed with my good friend Joshua Hodges, a young man in his 20s that also passed away this year.
Other than the loss of Joshua, many other special friends of mine have suffered the loss this year of very important people in their lives. It is my hope that the message of this song can bring comfort in the new year to those who are entering it with some some sorrow or discouragement. Perhaps one of the most significant (and most observable) benefits of faith in God is the comfort He brings to us during our times of sadness and trouble. “Blessed be… the Father of mercies and God of all comfort, who comforts us in all our tribulation, that we may be able to comfort those who are in trouble, with the comfort with which we are ourselves are comforted by God. For as the sufferings of Christ abounds in us so our consolation also abounds through Christ.” (1 Corinthians 1:3-5)
The original artist who sings this song, David Phelps, has a voice and vocal abilities that perhaps is one of the closest examples we’ll have to angelic singing on this side of eternity.
You can download the original song from iTunes here – http://itunes.apple.com/us/album/the-voice/id290073485
I would also highly recommend you check out his rendition of “No More Night” by watching it here – http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6vX3HHtytDo
Christians Please Stop Bullying Folks – Its Christmas!
Merry Christmas!
Here is a refreshingly frank message from Pastor Shawn Boonstra addressing the rather increasingly violent and intolerant behavior of some Christians toward others who don’t see things the exact same way they do. You can catch more Pastor Boonstra action on TBN (Trinity Broadcasting Network) at 10:30 a.m. every Sunday, or by visiting itiswritten.com.
A Novel Noel
I figured the Christmas season might be the perfect time to put an end to my long blog posting drought this year. For my resurrection post I’ve decided to share a novel idea for Christmas that a coworker shared with me a couple of years ago and would perhaps be particularly handy during a holiday season mired in a tough global recession. This idea is from the folks at Adventist Conspiracy, and what they’re suggesting is this: instead of participating in another round of the bankrupt/break-your-bank-account consumerism X-mas tradition, why not start celebrating CHRISTmas by participating in the tradition that Christ has left for us, i.e. giving to those in need?
“Then Jesus said to His host, ‘When you give a luncheon or dinner, do not invite your friends, your brothers or sisters, your relatives, or your rich neighbors; if you do, they may invite you back and so you will be repaid. But when you give a banquet, invite the poor, the crippled, the lame, the blind, and you will be blessed. Although they cannot repay you, you will be repaid at the resurrection of the righteous.’ ” (Luke 14:12-14)
Although this passage is referring to “banquets” I’m sure you, like I, can see how easily the principle Jesus is teaching here translates into the modern day Christmas gift giving ritual. Here are 3 videos from Advent Conspiracy, the first one is the video I saw for the first time 2 years ago, the second is the 2009 update, and the third provides a snapshot of how rewarding the practice of this idea can be. I’d also consider it a shame for me not to tip my hat to the clever typographic animation and design used in the promo videos; so yah here…
So why not be proactive this Christmas in participating in a cause worthy of our money, especially during a time when we don’t have a lot of it to waste?
A New Bail Out Bill
Last week the temperatures in the portion of Southern California where I live breached the 100 degree mark. I understand that this type of heat attack during the middle of spring was unusual even for Southern Cali. I loved it. But I also experienced the major downfall of this type of climate behavior when I realized that I could no longer cover myself with my fluffy down comforter at night without waking up the next morning in a sweaty mess. As I was pondering a solution to this “dire perplexity”, I considered blasting on the AC at night (despite the additional expense) so that I might once again have cause to reunite with my fluffy warm down comforter. Although I ultimately decided to “sweat it out” for the next couple of nights until the temperature dropped again and just open up my window in the mean time, I shared a chuckle with myself as I realized that despite the reality of living amidst a withering global economy many us will not be giving up our front row seats in the lap of luxury anytime soon.
However do not now brace your self for guilt trip. My purpose here is not at all to knock the pleasantries that accompany postmodern Western hemisphere living that many of us now enjoy. Nevertheless, shouldn’t we fortunate westerners as common members of the human race (and most particularly those of us that consider ourselves followers of Jesus) be ever seeking to relieve the suffering endured by the unfortunate members of our race who have feelings just like us and yet spend much of their existence battling disease while gasping for the basic necessities of survival?
If you’ve paid the slightest bit of attention to the news concerning the boiling economic crisis taking place in our country, you’ve heard and read how our government has felt compelled — even amidst a tight budget (i.e. billions of dollars in debt) — to bail out with billions of tax dollars banks, lenders, investors, and even automobile businesses. Many of the executives who managed these bailout beneficiaries are among the wealthiest in our wealthy nation. They are now in need of government intervention to stay afloat because many of them ran their company and their trade under a policy of greed and excess. It just makes laugh to watch how desperately greedy these cats are, who after having their greed and mismanagement exposed are yet not embarrassed to scramble for undeserving multi-million dollar bonuses despite being under the most intense public scrutiny. Who can say this global economic evil is not rooted in the love of money?
Notwithstanding, I think we (the grassroots citizens) could glean some principles for action from our government’s bailout response to this economic crisis by casting our vote for a new generation of “bailout bills”. While being on a tight “recession budget” we could yet allocate some of our funds to necessary bailout endeavors, but these bailouts will not serve the squandering opulent, but rather the desperately needy population, the majority of whom were dealt a bad hand in life to begin with and live from day to day seeing no way out. This new kind of “legislation” will be in line with the plan that our Divinely elected heavenly Commander-in-Cheif has outlined for lasting change 2,000 years ago. The foundational tenants of His plan reads “love your neighbor as yourself” and “do unto others as you would have them do unto you”.
The video below is the latest proposal I have come across of such a “bill”. I first saw this presentation and met some of the medical students behind this idea a week ago while participation in a small conference on the campus of Loma Linda University. I was moved to say the least. Have a look:
Now more than ever is the admonition of the apostle relevant to us today. “Teach those who are rich in this world not to be proud and not to trust in their money, which is so unreliable. Their trust should be in God, who richly gives us all we need for our enjoyment. Tell them to use their money to do good. They should be rich in good works and generous to those in need, always being ready to share with others. By doing this they will be storing up their treasure as a good foundation for the future so that they may lay hold on eternal life” (1 Timothy 6:17-19). While we witness a weakening dollar, cash strapped banks, and the values of so many investments plummeting let us invest in endeavors which will pay off both in this present age and in the age to come. I hope in the future to continue to bring to our attention other fruitful and worthy projects that could use our help, so stay on the look out.
Click here to visit the LLU Haiti Mission Project website to learn more.
An Original Rendition (…alas)
Once again my blog has seen another drought, this time the reason being that since my last post till this one I have relocated from Spokane, Washington to Simi Valley, California (a 1,200 mile trek), and I am now settled in and starting to make my self at home in my new habitat. Thus once again to make up for my blogging neglect I have sought to share something new in this latest post.
If you’ve visited before you’ve probably noticed one of a continuing series of posts containing great songs that I have sung and have been obtained by way of a “5 finger discount” from another popular artist. I’ve entitled them the “Bootleg Renditions” which is now three parts in. You can learn more about them here – Part 1, Part 2, Part3. While my bootlegging ways have by no means come to an end, I think its about time I shared another one of the 15 songs I have both co-authored and performed during my high school and college years (I wrote about this briefly in my “About” page and in my post “The Last Chapter Files”). The song I’m sharing with you this time is entitled “Grateful For You” and actually has a bit of history behind it. (more…)
Sexual Healing
Part one of three:
Part two of three:
Part three of three:
This past weekend I made my second trip to the Seattle area with a few friends. While my friends and I were traveling back home, we listen to this powerful and insightful series on sex and sexuality by John Nixon. When we had made an end of listening, the cerebral and deeply spiritual words of the minister conjured up in my home-ward bound vehicle several noticeable minutes of silent reflection before we discussed at length for most of the remaining drive how blessed we were by the series. Therefore upon arriving home it became a priority for me to share this blessing with the next few folk who’d holler “Yo Stevo” via the web to learn what’s been poppin’ in my neck of the woods recently.
Pastor Nixon being one of my favorite religious speakers, as I have afore mentioned, certainly exceeded my expectation with this series. For I usually find that when the topic of sex is discussed in religious venues that most of the time is devoted to talking up the hard-line moral commandments on the issue or perhaps mulling over to the ubiquity and dauntingness of the sexual struggle in the young Christian demographic, but while the youth lick their wounds the pervasive problems concerning sex and infidelity in married and older couples only receive a brief after-thought. What I liked about Nixon’s Spirit-led approach was that he sought to provide his listeners with a well rounded and deeper understanding of God’s design and intent for our sexuality while highlighting the practicality and statistical findings that make a case for doing things God’s way when it comes to sex. At the end of the series it is easy to conclude that it makes sense for singles to wait, for married couples to remain faithful while enjoying freely in the gift of sex as a holy sacrament blessed by God, and for all to devote their thoughts and the entirety of their character to be in keeping with the benevolent guidelines which God has given. Nixon emphasizes throughout the need on of divine help, and the message is saturated with hope for those who have floundered in this area and are seeking healing and reform.
Perhaps, though, I could have spared myself some typing, and you the rambling, if I reasoned that it would suffice to just say that I found these sermons to be a very meaningful, and I think they will be to you too if this topic is relevant in your life.
You can find more of Pastor Nixon’s stuff here: http://www.collegedalechurch.com/?id=121
*Update – You can access the podcast from iTunes that includes this series by clicking this link: http://itunes.apple.com/WebObjects/MZStore.woa/wa/viewPodcast?id=211678825
God “[Re:]ally” Exists
The Adventist brigade is on the move again with yet another effort to counter the skeptical claims of the today’s postmodern society concerning the existence of God, and to be honest I can’t begin to tell you how well-pleased and excited I am about what I’ve seen and read so far concerning this particular production. From what I gather from the producer’s website, this trailer is promoting the first in “a series of powerful shorts called [Re:], or The Reply, breaking down the God debate”. The host in this production is David Asscherick, one of my favorite speakers among Adventists and Evangelicals alike partly because of his gift of animation and articulation, but also because of his dedication to addressing secular and postmodern minds in a few of his evangelistic efforts.
Another thing I noticed from the trailer and the website is that product features great cinematography and design. This plays a huge role in my satisfaction because I am really big on seeing Christian productions packaged in the best aesthetic form possible, and from what I see they seem to be on the right track.
My copy of the first installment of this DVD series is already on order.
Find out more about it at this website: http://theenzyme.com
You can order the DVD directly here: http://theenzyme.com/Store.aspx
Since Adam
The battle concerning our origins rages on. Skeptics and promulgators of evolution are ever lifting their forceful and uncompromising voices against intelligent design with increasing intensity. Yet with all the hoopla, many still remain unconvinced that the beauty and genius that we see all around is the result of chance. They see in nature the handy work of a designer of titanic intellect. Many of us (a few billion) who share this world view have found in the Bible a sensible and reliable account of the origins of the human race and the races’ interaction with this great Designer. But few who share this world view have any idea of what the chronological and historical landscape since Adam (the first human to live) actually looks like according to the Bible.
My buddy from college, Dustin, has created an elegantly designed Flash application that visually depicts the life spans of Old Testament characters on a virtual timeline that begins at the year zero with Adam, and ends with Jesus.
One of my favorite features of this app is the ability to copy a snippet of the timeline and embed into your website or blog like a Youtube video (as I have done above). When selecting an area that you want embed from the timeline the app lets you choose and in and out point, and when the timeline loads into your website it will animate from that start point to the out point that you have set. Another cool aspect of this application is that it is tied to a blog where select users have entered their thoughts and observations relevant to the timeline and the characters therein. When you click on name in the timeline a window appears that lets you see all of the posts relevant to that person.
Now enough of all this talk. Go see it for yourself at once: http://sinceadam.com
What Adventists Teach About Salvation
This sermon was taken from here: http://www.collegedalechurch.com/?id=121. The speaker in this recording is John Nixion, the head pastor at Southern University’s campus church. Six years ago Pastor Nixion was the head pastor at the Oakwood College church, it was my freshman year in college. During my first semester he preached a week of sermons that opened my eyes to the reality of the Savior’s deep love for me. Just before the week was over I asked Christ into my heart.
Six years later am as still, by the grace of God, a Christian Seventh-day Adventist (SDA). At times I have heard and read others say that SDA’s teach a doctrine of salvation by works. I am convicted by the scripture, “Let not then your good be evil spoken of” Romans 14:16. Hence I have posted this sermon here as voice on the web as to what SDA teach and hold to be true on the all important topic of Salvation in Christ.
Today as I heard this sermon (a recent one by Nixion) I felt rejuvenated to seek and serve my God with all He has given me, and I am certain you will in like manner be blessed. This is just about 30 minutes in length.
A Better Way to Live
A couple of months ago It Is Written launched a new web initiative called A Better Way to Live. This microsite provides a new video devotional by Shawn Boonstra each of the 5 work days every week (that equals approximately 240 morning devotionals every year). These devotions are on average only 3 minutes long, and are designed to give busy people an added “spiritual boost”.What makes this website extra special to me is that I given the task of designing and developing the custom player on the website (The overall site design and css was developed by my co-worker, while most of the back-end functionality was handled by our programmer using the Drupal content management system). While building a custom Flash video player wasn’t something new for me coming into this project, like my previous Flash project for It Is Written, the vision for A Better Way to Live demanded me to cover some uncharted territory.
The new custom player features the ability to provide users with code to embed a particular devotion into their website (as I have done above), the ability to email a devotion to a friend, and (my personal favorite) the ability to watch the devotion fullscreen (this feature is only available at the home website: www.itiswritten.com/betterway). All these features are made available within the Flash video player via the option button on the bottom left. While these features are old news in today’s web, I thought this undertaking was special since not too many Christian ministries have yet taken advantage of some these new and powerful Flash-based features.
All the same, my hope is that you (the reader of this post) do find an opportunity to take advantage of this devotional site. I myself have already found some these simple devotions to be enriching and encouraging. In the “midst of a crooked and perverse” world we can use all the help we can get to turn our minds heavenward. “You will keep him in perfect peace, whose mind is stayed on You, because he trusts in You” Isaiah 6:3 nkjv.