Guest Post About Charging at Giants
Kevin Martineau just asked a few people to write guest posts on his blog, so I offered one and Kevin published it today. It’s all about charging at giants, and I love the image Kevin chose to represent the idea!…
Life or Death… I’m Good
The Best-Coded Wordpress Blogging Theme… Ever!
If you’re not familiar with the technical side of blogging, some of this may not make much sense, but I’ve just finished rolling out the newest re-design of this blog’s theme. If you’ve been here before, you’ll notice some differences. Most of the changes took place on the backend. This blog runs as a self-hosted Wordpress-powered blog and I host it myself on a server I lease from Hostgator (aff link).
I recently had the privilege of being a beta tester for the new Standard Wordpress Theme (aff link) and decided to use it as the code base for Life Here and There. I’ve used plenty of other premium Wordpress themes before, I’ve released some of my own free themes, and most of the websites I design for others are built on Wordpress… so it’s an interest. I know a thing or two.
Cool Stuff for the Weekend – 1st Edition
I wish everyone knew of the power of using Google Reader to subscribe to RSS feeds from blogs. I subscribe to the content of about 300 good websites without having it all pile into my inbox. I skip most of the content, passing right over it, but it’s my way of creating a miniature internet where I can consume great stuff.
One of the things I’d like to start doing is passing along a few of the best articles I’ve read this week. They’ve captivated my attention for one reason or another. It’s my way of showing you what I think are good and useful websites and passing along what may be informational or inspirational in nature. So here’s week one…
Jesus + Rick Warren + Technology = Transformation
I Like J. C. Ryle’s Thoughts on Redemption
One of the issues I struggled with deeply in the past is Calvinism… election… predestination, pick your term (but two are biblical for sure). I love the way Spurgeon addressed the question once about how he reconciled election and free will, simply stating that he didn’t have to reconcile friends.
Today I stumbled on a new post on the J. C. Ryle Quotes website and I’ve fallen in love with his viewpoint on the issue as well…
The plain truth is, that God’s scheme of salvation is like a ladder let down from heaven to earth, to bring together the holy God, and the sinful creature, man. God is at the top of the ladder and man is at the bottom. The top of the ladder is far above, out of our sight, and we have no eyes to see it. There, at the top of that ladder, are God’s eternal purposes, – His everlasting covenant, His Election, His predestination of a people to be saved by Christ. From the top of that ladder comes down that full and rich provision of mercy for sinners which is revealed to us in the Gospel.
The bottom of that ladder is close to sinful man on earth, and consists of the simple steps of repentance and faith. By them he must begin to climb upwards. In the humble use of them he shall mount higher and higher every year, and get clearer glimpses of good things yet to come.
~ J.C. Ryle
via J. C. Ryle Quotes
The one clarification I would make is that we shouldn’t mistake Ryle’s words as meaning that salvation is a long-term process. Ryle, Spurgeon, Calvin and I would all agree that conversion is the miracle of a moment while sanctification is the process of a lifetime.
Nineteen Reasons Baptists Should Stop Voting on Stuff
Our church votes on things. I’m not seriously calling for the abolition of voting among churches, just a severe reduction in the practice. I’m a strong believer in the autonomy of the local church, but I’m the first to admit, I don’t like Baptist “business.”
I was once the Pastor of a church in central Arkansas that had battled years of political scheming and the resulting resentment. We once moved an old metal desk out of the auditorium into a side room and I got in huge trouble because the moving of the desk wasn’t voted on! On the basis of this and dozens of other frustrating experiences, here are some reasons I think we should vote not to vote on so much stuff…
Slingshots Don’t Hurt People… People Hurt People
Yesterday at Bethel, we kicked off a four-part sermon series on the story of David and Goliath called Killing Giants. I took a slingshot to church and picked up five smooth stones along the way. We had fun. Nobody argued with the sermon… no one dared!
This morning, I woke up with a semi-profound thought on my mind… slingshots don’t hurt people, people hurt people. David used his slingshot to bring down a giant. Goliath was a 9 foot, 3 inch mountain of a man, covered in brass, carrying steel, and guarded by a shieldsman. David slung a rock an hit a target the size of a post-it note, thereby putting all of the Philistines to flight. Awesome story! We’re learning a lot from it already.
Here’s the thought that hit me, however. How often do we take our slingshots and aim them at the wrong target? In fact, do we sometimes aim our slingshot back at our own army? It occurs to me that it wasn’t the weapon that really mattered to the story, it was the aim of David. And if his smooth stone took down a giant wielding an iron spear, what do our words do to those at whom we sling them?
You might say that all of us have a tendency to reach for stones when we feel defensive. David was defending the honor and glory of God, but I wouldn’t dare presume that my motives are always that pure when I’m slinging words around.
I know that this post, even by its very title, might offend the crowd in favor of slingshot control, but maybe we just need better tongue control?… or maybe we just need better aim!
Killing Giants
About Brandon Cox
Brandon is first and foremost a follower of Jesus Christ. He's a husband to Angie and a Dad to Ella Grace and Samuel David. He's a Pastor to Bethel Baptist Church, Editor of Fuel Your Blogging and also a logo and web designer.
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