Advancing His Kingdom

Moving!

2006-03-16T11:22:00.000-06:00

After much prayerful consideration, I have decided to move Advancing His Kingdom to a place that will be a little bit easier for me to access, and write posts.

Advancing His Kingdom is now located at http://advancinghiskingdom.wordpress.com. I have updated all the feeds, and they are available over at the new location, and situated under the "About" page. Be sure to update your feeds! And head on over there and let me know what you think of the new site by commenting over there!

I've the most recent posts, as well as some popular ones of the past on the new site. But it might be a while before the entire past archives are put on the new site. So if you're looking for something from the past, you might have to come back here for a while. I will continue to change over, and the publication dates will remain the same, but I just wanted to let you guys know!

You guys are awesome, and I thank God for you all!

Soli Deo Gloria!

Regenerate Our Culture

2006-03-14T16:27:00.000-06:00

REGENERATE OUR CULTURE!

Four teen bloggers are out to change the mindset that our culture has.
The mission?

Regenerate Our Culture is an organization with the goal of regenerating our nation’s worldview away from the post-modernism holding it and back to the Christian worldview it was first built on. We believe that America is the most Godly nation on the face of the earth, but it can’t be denied that many in our nation have turned away from God in politics, religion, and their everyday lives. Our vision is to help bring about a positive change in these three important areas, and equip others to do the same.

Regenerate Our Culture is going to be an incredible way to impact teens views on issues and other people. I pray that God would bless those that are involved. I strongly recommend that you check it out. It launches tomorrow. I'll be posting here again to remind you!

God bless!

A few odds and ends

2006-03-14T16:05:00.000-06:00

I apologize for being gone for so long. Blogging has kind of taken a back seat recently in light of some other things that God has been asking me to do.

There will be fewer posts in the future, as I get into the thick of the speech and debate season. I spent the past month getting ready and going to two consecutive tournaments in a row. First the Texas State Championship, and then the Tennesee Nation Open Qualifier at Carson-Newman College.

But I'm back now, and trying to get back into the swing of things. I will be heading to Colorado on April 20th for another National Qualifier (God willing), and then the weekend after that I will be going to Regionals.

However, I just wanted to let all of you know that I did not fall off the face of the planet.

God bless!

Marshall Sherman

Frappr!

2006-01-31T12:58:00.000-06:00

Note: You don't have to invite friends to join the Frappr! map, although Advancing His Kingdom certainly encourages you to do so! =P

After getting some e-mails from some of you, and having readers all over the world, I thought I would break down and get a Frappr! map. So join the group, and tell the world that you read Advancing His Kingdom.

My House Shall Be...

2006-01-28T19:25:00.000-06:00

In order to allow the readers to read this post, and comment, I'm going to keep this on top.

What is prayer? That seems like a simple enough question with a simple enough answer. However, if we really look into it, we find that it’s more important and maybe complicated than we think. It involves more than just bowing our heads before every meal, and kneeling by our bed before we get up or go to sleep. How powerful is it? What does it do? How often should we do it?

1 Thessalonians 5:17 KJV instructs us to,

“Pray without ceasing;”

. “Now, come on,” you might say, “I’ve got a lot on my mind sometimes, and I’m sure God would want me to concentrate on what I’m doing, so I can do it with excellence.” Absolutely! This doesn’t mean that we have to continually be talking to God. What we need to do, is look at this scripture in context. So,

14Now we exhort you, brethren, warn them that are unruly, comfort the feebleminded, support the weak, be patient toward all men.
15See that none render evil for evil unto any man; but ever follow that which is good, both among yourselves, and to all men.
16Rejoice evermore

What are these scriptures? They are instructions, in how to live our lives. So going on ahead to verse 17, “Pray without ceasing”, and looking at it in context…it’s a life style. Our lives should be living prayers to God. Princeton’s Wordnet Dictionary defines “prayer” as: “the act of communicating with a deity”. We need to walk (walk as in live our lives) in such a way that we have open communication with the Father, so that we can hear when He’s speaking. For instance, there is a story told, (a true story, happened to a lady at our church), of a woman who was driving home late at night. She was tired, it had been a long day, and she wanted to go home. She was driving by a grocery store that was closed, with a lone car in the parking lot, when she felt the Lord speak to her.

“You’ve got to be kidding, Lord!” But the urge was unmistakable. “I can’t do that! I’ll look like an idiot! I mean, if you had told me to go stand on one foot, that would be different. But I can’t go stand on my head in front of that soda machine!” So she kept on driving, arguing with God. Unfortunately she was so entranced in trying to prove to God that He was wrong, that she missed her turn, and had to go back. As she passed the grocery store once again, she felt the same urge, the same voice, telling her to do the same thing. She gave in.
“Alright Lord. I do NOT understand it, but I’ll do it.” So, she pulled into the parking lot, got out of her car, walked over to the machine, and did a headstand. As she did she wondered how long she was supposed to do this, when a lady jumped out of the car, with a gun in her hand, and tears streaked across her face. She dropped the gun and ran up to the lady on her head and starting sobbing again.
“I’ve had a horrible week. I lost my job, my husband died, and my daughter is in jail. I was going to commit suicide. I told God, that if He was real, and if He existed, to have somebody stand on their head in front of that soda machine. I never would have believed it. Now I have something to live for.”

Something like that wouldn’t have happened, if that lady had not been living in a state of open communication with God. God speaks to us in a still small voice. In this world of busy rushing, and noisy work, do we live our lives so that we can hear when God speaks to us?

As demonstrated by that story above, and by many others, prayer is powerful. It saved that lady’s life. Not only that, but prayer is an effective weapon for tearing down strongholds. Prayer is powerful.

James 5:16 NIV says,

“Therefore confess your sins to each other and pray for each other so that you may be healed. The prayer of a righteous man is powerful and effective.”

The prayer of a righteous man is powerful and effective. It can heal, it can drive out demons, it can do much. Prayer is also important, Jesus said, “It is written: ‘My house shall be a house of prayer.” He didn’t say, “My house shall be a house of worship.” Or a house of missions. Or a house of evangelism. Or a house of Sunday morning instruction classes. He said a house of prayer. And guess what?

“…your body is a temple of the Holy Spirit, who is in you, whom you have received from God…” -1 Corinthians 6:19.

You are to be a house of prayer.

In conclusion, and aside from a specific petition, living our lives as a prayer, is powerful and effective. Because that’s what God’s house is designed to be. And when we strive to make God’s house what it was designed to be, God is in the house.

So go, live your life in a powerful and effective way. Live your life in a state of constant prayer.

God bless!

Problems, problems...

2006-01-28T18:39:00.000-06:00

Due to some problems with the other template displaying correctly (for no apparent reason, and with no changes made, it was throwing a fit), I have decided to go back to this template. It is slightly darker, but it works. So that's what I'm going with. ;)

God bless guys!

An unfortunate fortune...

2006-01-13T20:53:00.000-06:00

Having told you guys in the last post that I was going to post soon, I think I had explain why, unfortunately that's not going to happen. I will be unable to post for about the next week, as I will be out of town, in Houston to be exact, at a speech and debate tournament. I compete in a high school/homeschool speech and debate league called the NCFCA. So I will be preparing for the tournament, getting ready, and all that good stuff, until Tuesday. On Wednesday we head to Houston as the tournament starts on Thursday, and runs Thursday, Friday, and Saturday. We will stay the night and drive back on Sunday. Just to give you all a heads up, make sure to check back after that time! I want to explore prayer, how often we should do it, and things along such lines.

So until then, God Bless!

Soli Deo Gloria!

Marshall

Once again....

2006-01-10T17:44:00.000-06:00

Yes I did change the template again. This one has a little bit more sophisticated feel, and is more slightly uplifting, I think because it's not quite as dark. I don't know, what do you guys think?

Another post is coming soon...

An extra power: not of this world

2006-01-03T17:15:00.000-06:00

Now in that last post, I was pretty hard on those that aren’t redeeming the time, and I gave a really big challenge that was somewhat, impossible. I mean, to constantly redeem the time, to be a good steward, and not to waste any moment, word, or thought is indeed a rather large challenge. However, my challenge didn’t stop there, it went another step further, calling young Christians to be bold, and witness Christ’s love for us. I’m not talking only about street evangelism, although that is a big part of it. But something along the lines of street evangelism. After leaving you with that huge challenge, and telling you that you were here “for such a time as this”, what do you do now?
I wanted to touch on an issue that is somewhat controversial in the Christian church. The Holy Spirit. But how controversial can that be, right? Very much so. Does He exist? Does He still work today? If not, why not? There are many questions and I want to look at what the Bible says about it.

First, is He real? Of course. As early as Genesis 1:2 we are told that,

“The Spirit of God was hovering over the waters…”

In 1 Samuel 10:10, talking about Saul, we are left with the picture of,

“The Spirit of God came upon Him in power, and he joined in their [the procession of prophets] prophesying.”

Sound like the Holy Spirit? Luke 24:49 says,

“I am going to send you what my Father has promised; but stay in the city until you have been clothed with power from on high.”

And in John 20:22-23 Jesus says,

“Receive the Holy spirit. If you forgive anyone his sins they are forgiven; if you do not forgive them, they are not forgiven.”

How do you receive something that doesn’t exist? You can’t. So we can see from the scriptures that the Holy Spirit is real.
Next, does He still work today? This is where the controversy comes in. Most Christians believe that the Holy Spirit is real, indeed it’s hard to be a Christian and not believe that. And most believe that we have the Holy Spirit. But are His gifts still available? Were they only for the disciples, because they walked with Jesus? That’s inconsistent with scripture however, and I want to look at those scriptures. I’m going to organize this in a fashion that is more Q & A, as though an anonymous person were asking questions. This will be slightly different however, because some of the points from Mr. Anonymous, will be just that. Points, not questions.

1.) The gifts of the Holy Spirit were only for the disciples.
There are two things that I want to point out with this.
First of all is the fact that this has no Biblical backing. Nowhere in scripture are we told that the Holy Spirit left the earth. Nowhere does it say that the Holy Spirit is only for the disciples. Or that His gifts are now null and void because the finite disciples died.
Second, in 1 Thessalonians 5:19-20 we are told,

“Do not put out the Spirits fire. Do not treat prophecies with contempt.”

What Paul means by this is that we should not ignore or toss aside the gifts of the Holy Spirit. In this instance he specifically mentions prophecy. In 1 Corinthians 14:49 he talks about speaking in tongues. Sometimes, spiritual gifts can cause a division in the church. The reason is because they can be so powerful against the enemy; that he tries to do what he can to stifle them. As a result, many Christians try to smother them. I’ll address this in a minute. But this scripture is telling us, not to stifle the Holy Spirit’s work!

2.) We have everything we need in the scriptures. The Holy Spirit lives in us, and all the revelation we need, we can get from the Bible.
Absolutely. We can get all we need from the Bible. But since when does God only want to give us only what we need? God longs to give good gifts to His children, not just what is necessary for them to survive! Ephesians 1:13 says,

“And you also were included in Christ when you heard the word of truth, the gospel of your salvation. Having believed, you were marked in him with a seal, the promised Holy Spirit, who is a deposit guaranteeing our inheritance until the redemption of those who are in God’s possession—to the praise of His glory.”

He is a deposit, that guarantees our inheritance. He’s a sign. He’s given out of love.

3.) Well the letters containing that information were written to the churches specifically.
Once again, two responses.
First, I don’t see that in scripture. Maybe it was a typo or something, but I haven’t read a scripture where it says, “The information contained in this book can only be used and applied by the person or people group it is addressed to.” So if someone could point out where it says that it is only to the church in Corinth, or the church in Ephesus, that’d be appreciated.
Second, then what about the rest of each book? Even if I were to accept that statement as truth, what about the rest of the book? For instance, the book of 1 Corinthians was addressed to the church in Corinth, so does that mean that the definition of love given in 1 Corinthians 13 is only applicable to those in Corinth? Or only to those that were in Corinth? Let me ask another question, how much of the Bible was written to us? None of it was addressed to us specifically. I mean, there is no book of 1 Marshall, or 1 Americans. It was written along time ago, but that doesn’t nullify what it says. God’s word never returns void, and it’s not bounds by time either. So it retains it’s validity through time because it’s not bound by time.

I think one of the main reasons that people in churches nowadays is because a lot of times, it gets messy. It threatens our ideal of what we think church should look like. We want to be in and out of church by 12:00 so we can go out to eat, and then head home in time to watch our favorite football team play. We don’t want people to get offended, and we don’t want anything out of the ordinary. We just want a quiet little church service that follows a schedule, so that everybody is happy. God doesn't always work that way. God takes the ugly stuff out. And on top of that, a lot of times His schedule looks a lot different than ours.
Now, don’t get me wrong, I like football just as much as the next guy, perhaps even more, (GO COLTS!) but I think we need the Holy Spirit. That’s the only way we are going to be able to change the world. It’s not enough to Do Hard Things™, Do New Things, and Redeem the Time. All that is great, but without the power of the Holy Spirit, it won’t have the effect that it could. Yes, the disciples changed the world by doing new and hard things, by redeeming the time, but they also had the power of the Holy Spirit. We’re not any different. If we want to change the world, we can only do that through the power of the Holy Spirit.

For Such A Time As This...

2005-12-21T14:43:00.000-06:00

Be very careful, then, how you live—not as unwise but as wise, making the most of every opportunity, because the days are evil.

The above verse is one that a lot of people glance over. I know I have done that before. Or we read it and say, “Indeed, the days are evil.” However, a lot of times, it seems we miss the admonition, or the exhortation that goes before hand. We often look at the world and say, “Wow. Look how evil it has become!” But we don’t do what the scripture tells us to.

What does that passage tell us? “Be very careful, then, how you live…” Are we careful how we live? In this society of quick fixes, many people live for the moment, not thinking about what is going to come next, because, “Oh. If I mess up I can fix it.”? How about among Christian circles? How often do you hear, “Oh, it’s ok, God will forgive me/them/him/her.”? Yes, God will forgive them, but that doesn’t mean you have a license to sin. God only forgives a repentant heart, and by it’s very definition, repentance means turning around and going the other way. But do we live carefully? Or do we live recklessly?

Next, “…not as unwise but as wise…”. This is right up the alley of what Alex and Brett have been talking about. How do you live as wise? By hanging around the wise. I’m not going to talk about that, that has been covered previously, and that’s not what this post is about, but I thought I’d point it out.

This is where I want to focus, “…Making the most of every opportunity, because the days are evil…”

We all know the days are evil. I don’t think I have to convince any of you of that. What I want to focus on, is redeeming the time. Do we make the most of every opportunity? How many times do we stop and talk to someone on the street about Jesus? Do you ever talk to the Salvation Army bell-ringer when you put in your spare change? Do you know for certain that they are Christians? What do you spend your time doing?
In an excellent post, “My iPod is My Best Friend”, Alex examines how much time most teens spend on technology. “According to a study published by Business Week, the average American spends 9 1/2 hours a day watching TV, going to movies, renting videos, reading magazines, listening to music, and surfing the web. This was in 1998. Since then, Internet use has skyrocketed, DVDs have supplanted VHS, and the iPod has ushered in a new era of isolation from fellow human beings.”

What are we doing online? I have to admit, there are many times when I have spent my computer time doing fun, yet somewhat useless, or idle things. I don’t have an eternal perspective of things. I’m not seeing through God’s eyes. Now, don’t feel condemned. I’m not bashing the instant messenger, I have an account. I’m not bashing technology, I do web design. Nevertheless, what are we focusing on? Are we listening to what God is telling us? Are we doing it?

How are we going to know what God wants us to do? By living in a state of constant prayer, I’ll examine that in a future post…For now, I just want to encourage you to make the most of the time. God created your for such a time as this. It reminds me of a song by one of my favorite artists, John G. Elliott.

Each of us was born to hear the holy call,
To find our place in God’s unfolding plan.
When his voice is heard, it’s glorious to obey,
And bear his light and truth to every man.

We’re called to be the generation,
That turns the tide within our nation,
but who will go and who will stand?

For such a time as this:
We were born to speak the truth;
anointed words that move the hearts of men.
If we are silent now, the Lord will send some other men;
Faithful men whose hearts are fully his.
For such a time as this.

Each of us was born, to know the heart of God
His deep desire to love and to forgive
He does not delight in judgement or in wrath
But calls to all to turn to him and live

The words that bring a true repentance
That turn away God’s judgment sentence
Are words that only we can give.
(For Such A Time As This, from the recording "Let All The Thirsty Come", 1990 BMG SOngs {Gospel Division} ASCAP)

Now go into the world making disciples as you go. Redeem the time. Don’t let it slip by you, for our God is worthy of so much more than we can ever give. So do all you can. God bless.

Good discussion

2005-12-18T17:16:00.000-06:00

Click on the banner to take you to the discussion post.

There is a great discussion going on over at Agent Tim's site. Check it out and comment. Kudos to Tim for posting on it...

God Bless!

Template Change

2005-12-17T14:40:00.000-06:00

Hey everyone,
Yes I changed templates again. I was getting too many alignment issues with the different browsers and it was taking too much time to fix. So I decided to go with a standard template.

Just to keep you interested, I'm working on a new post now. I sure hope you guys are interested because I think it's something that a lot of teens need to hear.

Anyway, just wanted to alert you to why I changed. I'll be tweaking this one as I can. If you have any problems, just let me know!

God bless!

Marshall Sherman

VOTE! VOTE! VOTE!

2005-12-09T14:08:00.000-06:00

Well, well, well. Good friends Alex and Brett Harris have been nominated for Weblogs Best Awards. Go to their site, there is a link, and vote for them! You can vote once per computer every twenty-four hours. Don't forget to vote! From what we can tell The Rebelution is the only homeschool blog, and one of only two teen blogs in the entire Weblog Awards .

Visit The Rebelution and vote!

Robots: Worldview or No?

2005-12-01T12:23:00.000-06:00

“You can shine no matter what you’re made of!”

That sounds like a wonderful line, and one that would encourage younger viewers to have faith in themselves and not worry about what others think. Prima facie, that’s what it is. However, when you combine it with other key quotes from the movie, you get the true philosophy behind the movie. “What is that,” you might ask? Well, sit tight, and I’ll tell you.

The story begins with a very proud robot bursting out of his restaurant with glee, exclaiming, “Wahoo! I’m gonna’ be a dad!!” Wonderful way to start a movie! We then watch as the new baby, Rodney Copperbottom, grows through a couple sets of “hand-me-down-parts” and into a young adult. The first set is from his cousin, Jeff, and are slightly too big, and little Rodney is constantly tugging on them to keep them from falling off. The next set of hand-me-downs is from his cousin, Veronica. As the name implies, they are from a girl cousin, and are pink, and shaped like a girl torso. After watching a show on inventing, he aspires to grow up and become an inventor. At his graduation, instead of throwing his hat, he throws the torso up.

The next scene we see is Rodney walking into the fancy restaurant where his dad works as a dishwasher. He begs his dad to let him try out this new invention that he’s created. His dad finally consents, and the new gadget works brilliantly. That is, until Mr. Gunk, Mr. Copperbottom’s boss walks in and has a fit. Rodney’s “Wonderbot” gets nervous and starts going crazy, zig-zagging all through the air, knocking plates and dishes all over the place. Mr. Copperbottom has to pay for the dishes, and as he doesn’t make much, Rodney decides he is going to make his way in the world, and try to help his dad pay back Mr. Gunk. He wants to be something, and he can't be something here in measly Rivettown. He was going to Robot City. Once in the big city, Rodney meets up with a couple of unlikely, and seemingly hopeless, companions as they proceed to stop major corporate corruption and save the known world from being “outmoded”.

The first dubious character that we meet is Fender, a somewhat crazy, definitely eccentric spirit who immediately became my favorite. Perhaps it’s the accents and the atmosphere that Robin Williams lends him, perhaps it’s the funny, although accurate lines, or perhaps it’s both combined. Regardless, he quickly became my favorite character. When we first meet him, he begins taking pictures of Rodney rapidly, much like paparazzi, exclaiming things like, “Work with me! Work with me!” And, “Come on! Inside of you is a fashion model just waiting to throw up!”

We meet up with the rest of Fender’s family in a back alley. And Rodney is taken “home”, to an inn, that is provided by Aunt Fanny, a lovable character, that takes in bots that are “broke” in all three meanings of the word.

Rodney and the gang spend their time fixing the broken bots with anything they can find. And they do fix many bots. However, in a city the size of Robot City, it was drops in the bucket, to borrow the old colloquialism. They had to get to Big Weld, the CEO, the best robot in the world. He would come back and fix the problems.

One of the key quotes I was referring to in my paragraph is, “Follow your dreams…” Another that I think is essential is, “You’ve got greatness in you…” Those are a few of many references and quotes along the same lines. I don’t want to sound pessimistic, but to say that you have all it takes to follow your dreams and achieve them, and that you have greatness in you, is Biblically unsound. The Bible no where tells us that we have greatness in us. What the Bible tells us is that we are sinners, condemned to hell, and that there is not one good, no not one. So if no one is even good, then no one can be great. As a disclaimer, I’m not trying to be pessimistic, and God doesn’t leave us there, to be condemned, and I understand that this was not done by a Christian company, or producer, and so I’m not expecting them to have the message of salvation portrayed. I’m not condemning them, or saying that the movie is heathen and you shouldn’t watch it. Nevertheless, every person has a worldview; every person believes something about God. Either they believe He exists or He doesn’t. If they believe He exists, some don’t believe He cares about us. The list of beliefs is endless. But they believe something, and that will come out in their works. In what they write, what they say, how they act, etc. What I am attempting to do with this review is look into what the author’(s) and/or producer’s worldview was when the movie was created. The worldview that’s present in this movie is one in which you can accomplish anything you set your mind to, that you don’t need any help from a higher power. That anything is possible, as long as you work hard. The Bible teaches differently however. It teaches that all things are possible, through Christ. According to the Bible, man can do nothing apart from God, as He is the very giver of life.

I’m not sure how this all really applies to robots, but then again, robots aren’t that sophisticated. Yet.

Overall the movie had wonderful animation, a somewhat memorable storyline, and many wonderful, brilliant, outstanding, and hilarious lines along the way. On a scale of 1 to 10, Robots gets a 9.

Court Rulings Parental Threaten Rights?

2005-11-21T20:51:00.000-06:00

...there is no fundamental right of parents to be the exclusive provider of information regarding sexual matters to their children, either independent of their right to direct the upbringing and education of their children or encompassed by it.

That's not only a real ruling, that’s scary. And I want to take a look at what the ruling was, and whether or not we should be surprised by it, and whether or not it's right.

CAUTION: While the following post will not necessarily explicit, it does contain material that isn't intended for children.

The 9th Circuit Court of Appeals ruled yesterday against parents who sued their local school district after their elementary-age children were given a sexually charged survey, saying there is "no fundamental right of parents to be the exclusive provider of information regarding sexual matters to their children.">

CAUTION: the following article contains some questions, that kids shouldn’t have to answer, but unfortunately were asked.

You can read the rest of the article here.
Go read that and then come back...

Now, I'm not going to go into detail, and explain each of the questions, but I honestly don't see what people are surprised about. If you are going to send your kids to public school, you are giving the school the authority to teach your kids, and that is what they do. They don't allow you to stipulate on what they can or can't teach; if you want to do that, then homeschool! So to me, this is just a simple side affect of sending your kids to public school. Don’t get me wrong, I’m not saying that if you go to public school you are any less holy than I am. I have friends who go to public school, and we are still friends even though they go to public school. But if you are going to put yourselves in the world, you can’t be surprised when the world shows up.

I think the whole thing is sick and wrong. And I don’t think that the court rulings are going to help any of the parents that are homeschooling. In fact, I think it’s actually somewhat of a threat, because it shows how far our country has gone. Not in what the schools are teaching, though that’s bad, that’s not the main threat. The main threat is the court ruling. It reflects how far the court will go. And I don’t think, if given the chance, that they’ll stop there. I think they’ll go as far as they can get away with. We as Christians, need to prepare the coming years, so we can Advance God’s Kingdom. We can do that by understanding the Myths of Adolescence, Doing Hard Things, and Doing New Things.

Do what you can to prepare, we have a lot of work to do.

How Great is our God?

2005-11-02T09:29:00.000-06:00

I had the wonderful opportunity to go visit one of my favorite Christian music artists this past Saturday. It was a wonderful concert. But it wasn’t really a concert, and I am extremely thankful for that. I’ll explain here in a minute. But first, it might be helpful if I told you who I’m talking about. I’m sure you’ve all heard of Chris Tomlin. Wonderful song writer who has written many songs including “We Fall Down”, “Enough”, “How Great Is Our God”, among many more. But what impressed me was not Chris’ music, although that was impressive, it was Chris.
For example, he came out and before he started singing, he introduced those on tour with him: Matt Redman, and Louie Giglio. Everyone knows who Matt Redman is, and even if you don’t you’ve probably sung some of his songs in your church. Many songs you may sing in church were probably written by him. He wrote “Better is One Day”, “The Heart of Worship”, “Let Everything That has Breath” to name a few. And Louie Giglio is an incredible speaker. But what impressed me was not who was with Chris, it was what he said, “I introduce these guys to you not to push a name, to promote myself, or make me look good, but so that the Lord will be glorified…"
The entire time was spent worshipping the Lord. And in the middle, they had Mr. Giglio come out and he spoke on how big God is. By simply quoting facts, on the size of the universe, he proved (at least in my opinion) the existence of God. It was amazing.

He said, “Aren’t all those pictures incredible? And they’re far out. I mean some of these pictures are hard to describe they’re so cool. But this last picture I want to show you is beyond words. There are not words to describe it. Here it is.” It was a picture of Jesus on the Cross. (I believe it was from the Passion) There was silence in the building for 2 mins. Literally. We were all amazed. It made us feel so small, but yet so big. Funny how God can do that; make us feel so small, but the fact that He dies for us made us feel so big.

Then he showed us these last two pictures.

He said, “This is the M51 whirlpool galaxy. This is probably the best known galaxy out there because it sits at such a perfect angle to us. They zoomed in on this galaxy, which is one of the most well known galaxies around, they zoomed to the very center of that galaxy which is HUGE compared to ours, and this is what they saw.”

“They call it, ‘the ‘X’ factor’. Call it what you will, I know what it looks like to me.”

It was amazing.

And "X" factor, my foot. It's the "J" factor.

But that wasn’t even the best part. The best part was the last part. At the end, Chris came back on, and after having a little fun, the rest of the band left the stage. Chris was still out there and sang his “How Great Is Our God/How Great Thou Art/How Great Is Our God” medley. The last chorus through How Great Is Our God, the second one, it was acapela and Chris stopped singing. Everyone had their eyes closed and hands raised and were praising God. When we were finished with the chorus, we looked up, and everyone of the band members, including Chris, was gone and the lights were out.

That impressed me. To have that much humility. They didn’t stand out there and bow 372 times while everyone clapped and cheered and sang the band’s praises. They left the spotlight while everyone was singing God’s praises. It was such a wonderful example and for that Chris has moved up many notches in my book.

So thank you Chris, for being an example, and for praising our Lord.

Soli Deo Gloria!

A Special Day...

2005-10-28T11:04:00.000-05:00

Dear readers,
Through the years, there will be few that people will remember in the blogosphere, Alex and Brett Harris will be one of those. The dynamic duo has shocked the blog world the past few months with their unique blend of conservative evangelism, a call to their generation to wake, and “Do Hard Things”, and a reminder that adolescence is not a vacation from responsibility, but a preparation for it.
We have read their blog from the time that there were few viewers, till now where the point that they are the number 2 ranked religious blog on Blog Top Sites. Every one of their posts is intriguing and sometimes exhilarating.
We have followed the short, yet sweet life of their niece, Faith Felicity Harris, as she was born with heart trouble, and I have literally spent hours on my knees for her. “Little Bright Eyes”, as she was affectionately dubbed by all who have seen pictures, went to see her Lord and Master on October 6, 2005. We mourned with them as they endured hardship.
We all rejoiced when they were given the rare opportunity to intern with Chief Justice Tom Parker. And that was wonderful!

But today is a special day.

We all have this day sooner or later…actually, to be more precise, we have it every year. It’s that special day when you turn another year older. Today, Advancing His Kingdom wants to call attention to Project Harris: Happy Birthday to two special guys. They are turning 17 today. Which is a milestone, because they will never be 17 again. So here’s to the Harris twins.

Happy Birthday guys!

We love you, may God bless you, and keep you and may the Lord make his face shine upon you, and give you peace. May you grow in wisdom and stature and in favor with God and man.

Other involved in Project Harris:

Well whatdya' know??

2005-10-27T11:27:00.000-05:00

It's sad. It truly is. And really it just goes to show you the division in the country.

Miers withdrew her nomination for Supreme Court Justice. Read the article and you can see it. Our presidents ratings are in the dumps. And you know what? I don't think it's his fault. Obviously he made the decisions...but really, I think it has more to do with the fact that Satan is mad that we have a Christian President, and so is trying to divide the country.

And though the President made the decisions, how many presidents have had to go through what Bush has? I mean, honestly, he's been through 3 major, record setting hurricanes, a major terrorist attack, 2 wars (are they two? Or are they connected??), and economic crashes and recessions. We can't blame it all on the president. It's not his fault the terrorists attacked, not his fault we had 3 record setting hurricanes.

Another angle I've heard, is that President Bush was put in office by God because of what we'd have to go through. And we needed a Christian in the highest office in the land. I think I agree with that. Because it truly was miraculous that he got in the first time. Which is when 9/11 happened. And then people liked the way he responeded to that, and so elected him a second time. Not only that, but the Bible does say that all governments are God ordained.

Anyway, all this to say, pray for our President. We may not agree with everything he does, but support him. Pray for him. We don't realize the magnitude of the decisions that he has to make. It's easy to sit back here and say, "Well, he should've done this." Or, "If I was in office..." But you're not in office. So support the man that is. God put him there for a reason.

Soli Deo Gloria!

Fellowship of the Unashamed

2005-10-25T15:55:00.000-05:00

Fellowship of the Unashamed
(The last words of an African martyr)

"I am part of the fellowship of the unashamed. The die has been cast. I have stepped over the line. The descision has been made. I am a disciple of Jesus Christ.

I won't look back, let up, slow down, back away, or be still. My past is redeemed, my present makes sense, and my future is secure.

I'm finished and done with low living, sight-walking, small planning, smooth knees, colorless dreams, tame visions, mundane talking, cheap giving, and dwarfed goals. My pace is set, my gait is fast, my goal is heaven, my road is narrow, my way is rough, my companions few, my Guide reliable, my mission clear.

I won't give up, back up, let up, or shut up until I've preached up, prayed up, paid up, stored up, and stayed up for the cause of Christ.

I must go until He returns, give until I drop, preach until all know, and work until He comes. And when He comes, He will have no problem recognizing me. My colors will be clear. "For I am not ashamed of the Gospel of Christ."
--Extreme Devotion, Voice of the Martyrs, page 150

May I always live according to those words. Can you imagine if only half of the Christians in the world lived by that? This world would never ever be the same...

Thanks to Hannah for reminding me of this quote...

Soli Deo Gloria...

To the readers...

2005-10-25T13:11:00.000-05:00

Dear Readers,
WOW...I apologize for the long silence between posts! No, I didn't fall of the face of the earth. No, I didn't forget I had a blog. Yes, there are issues and current events going on in the world today. But, wowee, these past few weeks have been hectic! Add that to the fact that my dad is looking for a job (you could keep him in your prayers) and as a result equals a lot less computer time for me, combined with all my school and debate and speech research and preparation (yes Tim, I am in the NCFCA too)...and you get..."Marshall's long absence from the computer..."

Anyway, I will have a post up by the end of the week. So check back Friday, or Saturday.

Until then Soli Deo Gloria!

Problems...

2005-10-10T20:41:00.000-05:00

I'm currently experiencing some commenting problems on with the new design. I'm working on it and hope to have it fixed shortly.

*EDIT* Praise the Lord! They're working again! Big thanks to David Lackey, who helped me decipher the very disorganized mess of Javascript that was the function script of my comments! */EDIT*

Thanks for your patience!

Soli Deo Gloria,

Marshall
><>

Another Lesson From The Vikings: Do New Things

2005-10-05T11:10:00.000-05:00

If you always do what you’ve always done, then you’ll always get what you’ve always had.

That quote rings true not only throughout time, but throughout generations. It applies not only to adults, but to teens. A lot of times teens do the same thing and expect the different results. It doesn’t work that way! You can’t plant an apple seed, and get a pear tree! Every time you put an apple seed in the ground, you’re going to get an apple tree! Every single time. I don’t care if you pray over it, coax it, or yell at it; it will always produce an apple. Whatever you sow, that will you reap.

But another thing I think is often over looked in applying this quote, is going with the flow. Not only is it true that you, personally, will not get different results from the same actions, but you will not get different results if you do the same things as other people. For instance, if you dress the same way as a non-Christian, talk the same way as a non-Christian, go to the same movies as a non-Christian, surf the same websites as a non-Christian, read the same books as a non-Christian, you can’t expect God to move in your life anymore than He does, or is allowed to, in a non-Christians life.

Alex and Brett’s excellent post, “A Lesson From The Vikings: Do Hard Things.” In their series, “World Wide Webelution” created an excellent point. However, in addition to making an excellent point, they also provide an example for mine. The Vikings did hard things, but what they did was also new. Alex and Brett gave the example of the Greeks and the Romans and how they had galley slaves, whereas the Vikings…well…I’m not going to give it away, check out the post, it’s an excellent one and I much anticipate the rest of the series. Nevertheless, the Vikings did a new thing, and in turn, it made them successful.

So here’s the challenge, and it follows right along the same lines as Alex and Brett’s: (Strange how God does that isn’t it? Tells more than one person the same thing…) Do hard things, but don’t do just hard things, do new things. If you are not getting satisfactory results, pray, and then change. God literally changed the world, and the course of history, with 12 men who were willing to do something hard, and something new. I wanna’ be a leader in the next wave…what about you?

The American Idol Syndrome...in action...

2005-10-01T19:01:00.000-05:00

NEW YORK - "American Idol" winner Fantasia Barrino reveals in her memoirs that she is functionally illiterate and had to fake her way through some scripted portions the televised talent show, which she won in 2004.

Read the rest of the article here.

I found this interesting, in fact, it is some what along the lines of what my friend Brett was referring to in his post The American Idol Syndrome. (Correct me if I'm wrong Brett.)

In his post, he didn't have many concrete, modern examples, (through no fault of his own). But as if to prove what he was saying was accurate...*Ta-da!*

The unfortunate circumstances that caused this problem are not Ms. Barrino's fault...100%. Her reaction to it, is her responsibility. That's all in the past, but I thought it followed a lot of what the Rebelution has been discussing.

Soli Deo Gloria!

Here it is! The first audio post!

2005-09-30T15:21:00.000-05:00

This is the first, but hopefully not the last!

New Chief Justice

2005-09-29T12:45:00.000-05:00

Senate Confirms Roberts As Chief Justice
AP - 29 minutes ago

WASHINGTON - John Glover Roberts Jr. won confirmation as the 17th chief justice of the United States on Thursday, charged by the Senate with the responsibility of leading the Supreme Court through turbulent social issues for generations to come.

Read the rest of the article here

Praise God. While he says his personal opinions will have no weight in his decisions, he's still Christian, nonetheless. He gives hope to both sides of the abortion issue, leaving us to wonder which way he will go...but God knows...

Plus, the guy is brilliant. Insanely intelligent. He'll be good for our nation's high court.

Soli Deo Gloria...

The Reason for...the Life...

2005-09-24T13:14:00.000-05:00

This is a post that is going to startle most of you…indeed,I don’t mean to confuse you…but the idea that I am about to present is something that on the face, looks contrary to scripture. But I hope that through a little bit deeper searching and understanding, we can glean some more knowledge.

1.) Jesus did not come to earth to die.

Now I know some of you are thinking..."*gasps* Blasphemy!!!" But before you stone me and throw my body into the nearest lake...hear me out...
For Jesus to have come to die, would have been pointless. Dying is an action, not a reason. Was the Cross a main objective? Absolutely. But that wasn’t his reason for coming.

2.) Jesus came to enable a two way relationship.

Jesus said, "I've come so that you might have life, and that more abundant...and this is life, that you would know the Father as I know Him." Jesus came so that we could have life. And life is: that we may know the Father as He knows Him. Jesus has a two way relationship with His Father. He talks to His Father, and His Father talks to Him. They commune together. They have fellowship. Humans, before Jesus came didn’t have that. In short Jesus came so that we could have a relationship with the Father.

3.) The Cross was important.

Now, does that mean that the cross wasn't important? Does that mean it wasn't a major objective? Absolutely not. It was important. The Bible says, "The wages of sin is death." Without the shedding of blood, there can be no forgiveness of sin. Think on that, that is a vital truth. Someone had to die. God is the only one that could die for the sins of the present but also the past and the future because He's the only one that's omnipresent. That's why He's I AM. The future? He is. The past? He's there. He's infinite.

He was the only sacrifice that would suffice for all. So don't think I'm taking anything away from the cross. I'm not. But that wasn't Jesus main objective in coming to earth.

To summarize: He didn't come to die so that we could live, he came so that we could live, but he had to die. That's an important distinction. Remember, without the shedding of blood there can be no forgiveness of sin. But I believe, if he could have given us life, without dying, then he wouldn't have died. Plain and simple.

In the comment section:

1.) Do you agree with the above post? If not, why not?

2.) What do you think about the omnipresence of God, as presented above? Meaning, Him being at all time periods, at the same time.

Don't feel you can only answer these questions, ask your own, answer any others you feel pressing...just remember to follow the commenting guidelines.

Praise God from whom all blessings flow! Now and forevermore!

Marshall
><>

Downgraded...

2005-09-23T18:04:00.000-05:00

Hurricane Rita was downgraded to a Category 3 hurricane about 5 minutes ago...but is still packing 125 mph winds... *EDIT* The above picture refreshes to show where the hurricane is now...*/EDIT*

Keeping praying. It's working.

Marshall
><>

It's going to get worse before it gets better...

2005-09-23T11:33:00.000-05:00

MICHELLE ROBERTS and BRETT MARTEL, Associated Press Writers 2 minutes ago
NEW ORLEANS - Hurricane Rita's steady rains sent water pouring through breaches in a patched levee Friday, cascading into one of the city's lowest-lying neighborhoods in a devastating repeat of New Orleans' flooding nightmare.

"Our worst fears came true," said Maj. Barry Guidry of the Georgia National Guard.

Read the rest of the article here.

It's ain't over till it's over, and it's not over yet...

Pray for the coast...New Orleans isn't going to have a good time of it...

Marshall
><>

What is it with hurricanes this year?

2005-09-21T10:14:00.000-05:00

Why do they all have to be so big? God help us! Hurricane, after hurricane is hitting us. And it wouldn't be so bad...but the storms are huge and causing a lot of damage. Below is an associated press article...with information about the storm.

Residents of this island city packed up mementoes and pets and started evacuating Wednesday as Hurricane Rita intensified into a Category 4 storm with 135 mph winds and threatened to devastate the Texas coast or already-battered Louisiana by week's end.
Mandatory evacuations were ordered for Galveston and New Orleans, one day after Rita sideswiped the Florida Keys as a Category 2 storm, causing relatively minor damage. Having seen what Katrina did, many residents decided not to take any chances.
"After this killer in New Orleans, Katrina, I just cannot fathom staying," 59-year-old Ldyyan Jean Jocque said before sunrise Wednesday as she waited for an evacuation bus outside the Galveston Community Center. She had packed her Bible, some music and clothes into plastic bags and loaded her dog into a pet carrier.
The federal government was eager to show it, too, had learned its lesson, after getting pounded for its sluggish reponse to Katrina. It rushed hundreds of truckloads of water, ice and ready-made meals to the Gulf Coast and put rescue and medical teams on standby.

Homeland Security Secretary

Michael Chertoff urged residents to heed calls to evacuate. "The lesson is that when the storm hits, the best place to be is to be out of the path of the storm," he said on ABC's "Good Morning America."
At 8 a.m. EDT, Rita was centered about 195 miles west of Key West and 700 miles southeast of Galveston, moving west at 14 mph. Forecasters predicted it would come ashore Saturday somewhere between northern Mexico and western Louisiana, most likely in Texas.
Meteorologist Chris Landsea of the

National Hurricane Center in Miami said Rita could strengthen to a Category 5 with wind over 155 mph as it moves over the warm waters of the gulf, or it could ease to a Category 3, with wind of less than 130 mph.
In New Orleans, the Army Corps of Engineers raced to patch the city's fractured levee system for fear the additional rain could swamp the walls and flood the city all over again. The Corps said New Orleans' levees can only handle up to 6 inches of rain and a storm surge of 10 to 12 feet.
"The protection is very tenuous at best," said Dave Wurtzel, a Corps official handling some of the repairs.
Engineers and contractors drove a massive metal barrier across the 17th Street Canal bed to prevent a storm surge from Lake Pontchartrain from swamping New Orleans again, and worked around the clock to repair the damaged pumps, concrete floodwalls, earthen berms and waterways that protect the below-sea-level city.
In addition, the corps had 800 giant sandbags weighing 6,000 to 15,000 pounds on hand, and ordered 2,500 more to shore up low spots and plug any new breaches.
The federal government's top official in the city, Coast Guard Vice Adm. Thad Allen, said the preparations in and around New Orleans included 500 buses for evacuation, and enough water and military meals for 500,000 people. Some 400 to 500 residents were left in the city, Mayor Ray Nagin said Tuesday.
Many New Orleans residents were forced one again to decide whether to stay or go. The mayor and the governor strongly people in the storm's path to get out.
"We are praying that the hurricane dissipates or that it weakens," said Louisiana Gov. Kathleen Blanco, who declared a state of emergency. "This state can barely stand what happened to it."
In Galveston, about 80 buses were set to leave town beginning at midmorning Wednesday, bound for shelters 100 miles north in Huntsville. The buses were part of a mandatory evacuation ordered by officials of Galveston County, which has a population of 267,000.
"The real lesson (from Katrina) that I think the citizens learned is that the people in Alabama, Louisiana and Mississippi did not leave in time," said Galveston Mayor Lyda Ann Thomas. "We've always asked people to leave earlier, but because of Katrina, they are now listening to us and they're leaving as we say."
No evacuation had been ordered north of Galveston in Harris County, which includes Houston, the state's largest city, but officials urged residents to prepare for flooding. Houston is about 50 miles northwest of Galveston, but the area includes low-lying bayous that flow into Galveston Bay.
Crude oil prices rose again on concern that Rita would smash into key oil facilities in Texas and the Gulf of Mexico. Hundreds of workers were evacuated from offshore oil rigs, less than a month after Katrina damaged some installations.
Texas, the heart of U.S. crude production, accounts for 25 percent of the nation's total oil output.
As Rita stormed away from Florida, thousands of residents who evacuated the Keys were expected to begin returning on Wednesday.
There were reports of flooding and power outages, but U.S. 1, the highway that connects the islands, was passable, the Florida Highway Patrol said.
"It was fairly nothing," said Gary Wood, who owns a bar in Marathon, about 45 miles northeast of Key West. "It came through and had a good stiff wind, but that was about it."
Rita is the 17th named storm of the Atlantic hurricane season, making this the fourth-busiest season since record-keeping started in 1851. The record is 21 tropical storms in 1933. And with Rita, seven hurricanes have hit or passed near Florida in the last 13 1/2 months.
The hurricane season is not over until Nov. 30.

Quick update...Rita is now a category 5 hurricane, with winds in excess of 155 mph...

Pray for the coast...

Marshall
><>

"Unquenchable Appetite"

2005-09-13T19:04:00.000-05:00

This is not the afore promised post, but while reading my most recent copy of WORLD magazine (September 17^th), I ran across this article written by Joel Belz, Founder and Chairman of WORLD magazine. It really struck me as true…

Why did we ever think it would work? Whatever possessed us to look for the ultimate in disaster relief from a governmental system that had dreamed up public education, the agricultural subsidy system, Medicare, and Social Security? Why did we think they would get this one right?
Truth be told, all the whining about the supposedly insensitive and slow response to Hurricane Katrina is off the mark. When anything along that is bigger and badder than anything that has come before—and maybe bigger and badder by a factor of two or three—it’s pretty hard to look around and say that somebody should have been ready for this. Sometimes,

even in the midst of tragedy and horror, we have to suck it in and collectively plead for mercy. There might be time for prudent second-guessing down the road, but not quite yet. Finger pointing while corpses are still bobbing in the murky waters is unseemly there will almost always be enough guilt to go around when the time comes.
But let’s grant, for the moment, that President George Bush, FEMA, Homeland Security, and all the rest of the federal apparatus should have taken a few hours off three weeks ago to rehearse several times over just what they might do in the specific event that any one of the dozens of possible permutations began to unfold as Katrina approached from the Gulf of Mexico. Then let’s assume as well that all these plans had been carried out perfectly. What on earth prompts us to suppose Americans would have been happier with the results?
Happiness with the results of any big government effort, of course, is almost an oxymoron. The reason is simply that when people start putting their trust in big government, they’ve attached themselves to a false god. And false gods can’t produce the goods.
What we saw in New Orleans last week was the pathetic picture of people whose false expectations in a false god had been so enhanced that when the false god stumbled for a day or two, some of his worshippers flew into a rage. They’d been betrayed, the said. Not only had their god fail to tend to their obvious physical needs in a prompt style; he had made them look weak and foolish in the process.
Note this well: A people who cannot, even while in dire distress, minister to the weakest and the dying among them; a people who do not, even while waiting hungrily for the help they desperately need, respectfully and reverently take care of the bodies of those who do die; such a people will be known to history as frighteningly farther down the road to decadence than most of us want to admit. And then remember this: That such a people will in the days to come develop a bigger appetite for gods who promise them everything. And then they wills show a lower and lower tolerance for gods who do not perform. The smug pretense—exhibited over the last few days by politicians, by media writers and broadcasters, by religious leaders, and by entertainers—claimed repeatedly that if the government had just been prepared, much of the horror left by Hurricane Katrina might have been precluded. But the suggestion is false on it’s face, for it is difficult to conceive of any organization of human capacities that might have responded to the needs of half a million people much better than what you’ve watched since Aug. 30. News reports have suggested repeatedly that even in a Third World, things would have gone faster than they did in the Gulf states. Don’t believe it. In the Third World, hunger is perpetual. What you saw for a week or two was painful, but exceptional. What you see so many other places is chronic.
According to the Bible, deliberately shortchanging the poor, or even carelessly ignoring their needs is wicked behavior. But raising false expectations is also a cruel game. And that includes constantly dividing the people and feeding the illusion that we’d just had some other president, or some other governor, or some other mayor, we could all be content. If government can’t make us all happy even when there isn’t an emergency, why should we make it our god when the next Katrina comes blowing through?

In the comment section…

Following the successful example of Alex and Brett,

1.) Do you think that the government responded to the Hurricane the best they could? If not, what could they have done better?

2.) Do you think that things would have gone faster in a Third World country?

3.) Do you agree with Mr. Belz’s theory that people make a big government another god? Why or why not?

Soli deo Gloria! Now and forever more...

Marshall
><>

Apology

2005-09-13T10:07:00.000-05:00

Hey readers!
Sorry about the delay in posting...things have been really busy around here. I'm working on another post now, and it will definately be interesting. I can't tell you what it is...but I hope it'll be worth reading.

Until then soli Deo gloria!

Marshall
><>

Patience is a virtue… so is diligence

2005-09-01T11:17:00.000-05:00

Unfortunately, a lot of Christians, especially teens, don’t seem to remember that until it comes to someone else. I heard an interesting example the other day. Bible copying.

Imagine for a moment, a room full of scribes, spending hours copying scripture. The methods that were used were so meticulous, and so precise, that as an example let’s look at the book of Isaiah.

In comparison between two ancient manuscripts from different time periods, “…Isaiah 53 shows that only 17 letters differ from the Massoretic text [when compared to the Qumranian text]. Ten of these are mere differences in spelling (like our "honor" and the English "honour") and produce no change in the meaning at all. Four more are very minor differences, such as the presence of a conjunction (and) which are stylistic rather than substantive. The other three letters are the Hebrew word for "light." This word was added to the text by someone after "they shall see" in verse 11. Out of 166 words in this chapter, only this one word is really in question, and it does not at all change the meaning of the passage. We are told by biblical scholars that this is typical of the whole manuscript of Isaiah." ¹

¹R. Laird Harris, Can I Trust My Bible? (Chicago: Moody Press, 1963)

What an example of meticulousness these scribes set! They wiped their pen every time they came to the Lord’s name, they copied one letter at a time, and when they were finished with a chapter, they would count the total number of words and make sure they were all the same. It took so much time. And if they made a mistake, they started ALL OVER.

Now, I ask you to imagine a room full of modern teenagers,
told to copy scripture. Would they take the same meticulous care?

First, let’s look at what they’re taught. Are they taught to take meticulous care in anything but their hair, nails, clothing or make-up? What does the world teach? Does it teach you to be diligent? Or to get the job done? What kind of example is set for kids? One of hard working, diligent, honest work? Or an Enron type of job? Kids are not taught, by the world around them to be diligent. They’re taught as long as you finish, you’re good. What do all the get-rich-quick schemes teach kids, teens, even adults? Now, what do you think?

This is not meant to be a condemnation of teens today, indeed, “there is no condemnation in Christ.” But it’s meant to be a wake up call. Wake up! Work with diligence! ¹³Therefore put on the full armor of God, so that when the day of evil comes, you may be able to stand your ground, and after you have done everything, to stand.”

Perseverance, and diligence are dying traits here in America. “We’ll just hire the Chinese to do it, or the Mexicans to do it.” No! Don’t be adverse to hard work. Because if you are, that is the very thing that God will give you! I would highly recommend you reference my good friend Alex's series, "The Myth Of Adolescence Part 1" and "The Myth Of Adolescence Part 2" . It delves a little bit deeper into the topic. "We face a crisis and an opportunity. A crisis, in the sense that we can no longer afford to slowly drift towards adulthood, viewing the teen years as a vacation from responsibility..." And Brett’s post, or series, “The World is Flat”, looks at the results of this way of thinking. This is sort of a branch off. They are absolutely 100% correct. But I’m going a little deeper into why that’s the way Americans are. We go for the trivial jobs, because others require too much work.

So I leave my readers, and the youth of America this challenge: don’t settle for just getting the job done. Get it done right, work hard, and with diligence. When trials come, work harder, and then you watch what God will do with that. If we had a generation of people, that did everything as if doing unto the Lord…we just might change the world…

Marshall

><>

Star Wars Theology

2005-08-28T16:54:00.000-05:00

“Go, and may the Force be with you."

That line throughout the years has become one of the milestones of a time era. Not only does it mark a time period, it also stands as a beacon to the spiritual climate that the USA finds itself in. What am I talking about? Heh…Star Wars.

The way this post will be organized is this: first of all, I will make some claims; next, I will back them up(underneath each claim); and then thirdly, I will bring it all back to a Christian perspective.

Now, to get to those claims.

1.) Star Wars is a religious movie.

The theology has been called New Age, Eastern Mythology, Eastern Mysticism, among others. Call it what you will, but there are definite fundamental beliefs. I’ll get to those in a minute.

First let’s back up this outrageous claim. In an interview in TIME magazine George Lucas said, “With Star Wars I consciously set about to re-create myths and the classic mythological motifs.” And also, “I put the Force into the movie in order to try to awaken a certain kind of spirituality in young people—more a belief in God than a belief in any particular religious system.” Sound good? Let’s find out.

2.) Fundamental Beliefs in Star Wars.

Belief A.) God is not a personal God. God is merely some mysterious cosmic “Force”. To back this up, one only needs to watch the movies. Or the old ones, where Obi Won Kenobi introduces us to the Force. Everything in the universe, combined, is god. Look at it this way, God is the ocean, we’re all drops of water in that ocean. All of us together are God. The Jedi are those who have mastered the use of the Force, it flows through them. The Bible does not teach that there is a cosmic energy that flows through objects and individuals. Throughout their training, Jedi are taught to let go of the conscious mind and reach out with their feelings. (sounds a little bit like channeling to me…) Christians are taught to love God “with all your heart, with all your soul and with all your mind” (Matthew 22:37). (As a side note: Some Christians have mistakenly equated the Force with the Holy Spirit, however there are a couple major differences. First, the Force is an impersonal being, whereas the Holy Spirit is not, he is a personal being, part of the Trinity, with a personality, intelligence and a will. Second, the Force is contained in the universe, or is made up of all living things in the universe. The Holy Spirit is not contained in the universe, but rather, played an active part in creating the universe out of nothing, and exists apart from all living things. And third, the Force can be manipulated by the Jedi to do their will. The Holy Spirit however does only the Father’s will, he cannot, and will not be manipulated.)

Belief B.) Emotions are more important than reason. To win life’s battles one must not think, one must only feel. And good will not win in the end, because good and evil are locked into an eternal battle of balance, or a perpetual war. However much good there is, there must be an equal amount of evil, to balance the good out. That’s not what my Bible tells me. Jesus said, “It is finished!” It’s over. Then He rose from the dead, conquering the grave and evil once and for all. My Bible says God is all powerful, that he created everything, even Satan, and can, and has, defeated him. The battles rage, but the war is over.

So now I’m left with a question: Should we as Christians spend our time, thinking on, being caught up in the Star Wars craze? Now, I’m not saying that you shouldn’t watch it, although you might think about what you’re supporting, but mainly, should we spend too much time thinking about something that is completely opposed to Christianity?

Until Christ returns, all glory and honor are His, now and into everlasting,

Marshall

><>

Blog Commenting protocol

2005-08-28T16:32:00.000-05:00

Commenting for "Newbies"
(A "Reminder" for the Rest of Us)You Have Entered “The Comment Zone”
It is crucial to a vibrant and healthy comment section for participants to understand the purpose of discussion, and to possess a proper respect for their fellow contributors. Whether you maintain your own blog, comment on other blogger’s posts, or both, you have most likely been frustrated by the lack of proper argumentation and the seeming epidemic of disrespect, primarily among your opponents (Insight #1: They feel the same way towards you).

The truth is that we all can use a helpful reminder every so often as to how we should conduct ourselves in the high-intensity role of “the commentator’s commenter.”

For that reason we present, “Commenting For ‘Newbies’ (A ‘Reminder’ For The Rest of Us),” as an invaluable resource for bloggers and their readers; an aide-mémoire, if you will. Yes, logic, evidence, and respect still exist and can be realized—even in your comment section.

The Purpose of Argumentation
Critical to proper argumentation is an understanding of why we argue; we argue in hopes of persuading dissenting opinions to conform to our own. If we disagree, it is because we think we are right and others are wrong. We take the time to discuss our disagreements in hopes of proving the validity of our views. It is frustrating, therefore, when we find ourselves perpetually clashing with our opponents, while making seemingly no headway towards our goal of changing their minds.

In fact, at times it can feel as if, were we to publicly claim that rabbits exist, our opponents would deny it; even if one hopped up, said, “What’s up, Doc?” and starting burrowing into their heads. How do we get past these confounding doldrums and arrive at a place from which the discussion can progress in an intelligent manner?

Here are three steps to improve your skills of argumentation:

Step One: Remember that your opponents have come to their conclusions using more or less the same rational process you have. The difference is not necessarily their intellect, but rather the information they had at their disposal and the values they hold.

Step Two: Understand that this means your opponent feels just as confident about the accuracy of his or her position as you do about yours, and will only be persuaded otherwise if you prove that their information or values are out of line.

Step Three: Realize that successful argumentation will only take place when you make it your goal to inform and persuade, by supplying additional bits (or chunks) of information and by addressing the values behind your opponent’s conclusions.

8 Principles For Logical & Respectful Discussion

The key to respectful, profitable argumentation is to respect others and to be respected. You respect others by acting civilly and arguing reasonably. You cause others to respect you by not acting like a fool in your manner or in your argumentation. Here are eight principles that allow you to do both:

NUMBER ONE: Understand the ‘classical’ view of tolerance.
The classical view of tolerance lends itself much more readily to intelligent argumentation than does the modern view. It teaches that, while we may strongly disagree with dissenting opinions, we still treat the person behind those opinions with respect.

DO feel free to disagree, even strongly, with other people, and say so!
DO feel free to permanently demolish opposing viewpoints. (Good luck!)
DO NOT attempt to demolish opposing “people.”

NUMBER TWO: “No ‘ad hominem’ attacks, you moron!”
Nothing more quickly degenerates a discussion than when people start attacking those making the arguments rather than refuting the arguments themselves. Remember that the character, circumstances, or political ideology of the person has nothing to do with the truth or falsity of the proposition being defended.

DO NOT stoop to name-calling (moron, idiot, etc.)
DO NOT imply negative monikers onto people simply because they disagree. (i.e. “Anyone who’s even slightly intelligent will believe that cows are people too.”)

NUMBER THREE: Eschew Obscenity & Prohibit Profanity
The use of inappropriate language and shocking statements is a sure sign that the author lacks the ability to communicate their position in a calm and reasonable manner. It shows tremendous disdain for others and will not be allowed on respectable blogs.

DO NOT be upset when your comment is deleted for inappropriate language.
DO NOT be upset when you IP address is banned for multiple offenses.

NUMBER FOUR: He who asserts must prove.
This is one of the most critical aspects of proper argumentation and requires that you carefully guard yourself from making groundless statements. Every proposition should be supported by either logic or evidence.

Logic includes everything from complex syllogisms to plain ol’ cause-and-effect. Evidence can take the form of examples, statistics, and/or quotations from authorities in the field. Supported arguments stand until refuted. Unsupported arguments do not deserve a response and might as well not exist.

DO feel free to confirm other people’s points without providing additional support.
DO NOT make additional arguments or publicize your disagreement with someone else’s position without providing adequate support.

NUMBER FIVE: Respond to the argument, not to the spelling.
There is no surer sign of inadequacy on the part of a debater than when they take issue with some small “error” on the part of their opponent, while ignoring the main point/s their adversary is trying to make.

If you are unable to refute your opponent’s position, don’t insult his or her spelling, grammar, or insignificant deviations from fact. Your opponent is most likely correct, and their small errors have nothing to do with the overall truth or falsity of the proposition they defend. Don’t make a fool of yourself by being a sore loser.

DO feel free to point out significant errors that impact the validity of a claim.
DO NOT point out errors solely for the purpose of embarrassing your opponent.

NUMBER SIX: Debating When Less Is More.
A common tactic adopted by inexperienced debaters is to ask a long series of questions that place an enormous burden on their opposition, without actually making any particular point. Such an approach is not only unfair to your opponent, but it really isn’t argumentation at all. These kinds of “question avalanches” can hardly be responded to in the confines of a comment section, but will often foster animosity.

The same is true of those with too much time on their hands (or a gift for speed writing) who present far too many arguments at one time in hopes of “burying” their opponent under the supposed “empirical” weight. Both of these abuses inhibit true argumentation and inevitably degrade the quality of a discussion. Respect yourself and your opponents at all times by using moderation in your argumentation and questioning.

DO feel free to ask pertinent and probing questions about your opponent’s position.
DO NOT expect answers for loaded questions.
DO NOT ask loaded questions.
DO feel free to make powerful and relevant arguments against your opponent’s position.
DO NOT expect answers to your 5 page tome.
DO NOT write 5 page tomes.

NUMBER SEVEN: Do your own research.
Remember that your opponents are busy people who are taking time out of their day to discuss relevant issues with you. Do not place an excessive burden on them by requiring them to go “off-site” to read lengthy articles or study ancient philosophers, scientists, etc. If Aristotle makes “your” point then “you” should be able to make the argument. Your opponent certainly will not (and shouldn’t have to) make it for you.

DO feel free to provide links to outside sources for your opponent’s consideration.
DO NOT expect your opponent to read them unless you make them want to. (i.e. “If you go read Maxwell’s five-foot bookshelf, then you’d agree with me!” never works)
DO feel free to support your arguments with outside resources. Just make sure you summarize what the resource says. Otherwise your opponents will consider your argument unsupported until they go read/see the support. Which they most likely never will.

NUMBER EIGHT: The fallacy of the majority.
When the majority of participants in a discussion hold your position, it is common to start acting as if the last seven principles no longer apply to you. You feel you can destroy the dissenter, along with their position, since you have so many like-minded chums. However, the majority has no more right to silence the opinion of a minority through disrespectful, improper argumentation, than the minority would have, if it were able, to silence the opinion of the majority using the same methods. Victory by means of respectful, logical argumentation is true victory. Victory by any other means is no victory at all.

DO feel free to destroy dissenting opinions using respectful, logical argumentation.
DO NOT silence dissenting opinions by majority “piranha attacks.”

About the Authors: Alex & Brett Harris have competed for four years in high school speech & debate, including policy and value debate, persuasive platform speaking, limited preparation categories, and even interpretative events. Over the past two years they have combined for 5 national titles, making it into final rounds over 18 times. They have been contributing authors to several debate sourcebooks and have coached high school speech and debate clubs in Oregon, Washington, and Maryland. They currently co-author the blog 'The Rebelution’.

Thanks Alex and Brett for coming up with such awesome commenting guidelines!

Marshall
><>

Coming Soon!

2005-08-17T17:47:00.000-05:00

A Post is coming soon! I working on the writing, right now....

To see what this is all about, visit

The Rebelution (Brett's Blog)

and

Conscientious Contemplation (Alex's Blog)

All glory and honor unto the Lamb, now and forever more....

Marshall
><>