Astronomers released photos today from the Hubble Space Telescope of the Veil Nebula (also known as the Witch’s Broom Nebula) – the distant remains of a star that went supernova some 1,500 light-years away from Earth.

The Hubble close-ups reveal the rope-like filaments of gas in the nebula, which resulted from enormous amounts of dusty debris plowing into gaseous surroundings. Thicker filaments of material result from viewing the supernova’s shock wave edge-on, while more wispy and diffuse views correspond to a face-on view of other parts of the shock wave from Earth. (from space.com )

The winning entries from the Clever Blogging T-Shirt Contest are now available for purchase. You can read about my major award here. Here is a sample of my winning entry on a men’s baseball tee.

Here are some links if you want to see some of the other designs.

• Light-colored products
• Dark-colored products
• Use on your own product

Feel free to purchase if you want, but, no, I do not make any money from the sales.   This is just my own humble contribution to the blogosphere.

Most nights I spend some time with my three sons reading the Bible and praying together. We have done this ever since they were toddlers, and they are now ages 15, 13 and 10. We usually pick a book of the Bible and read it through a section at a time, and then discuss any questions on it. Right now we are reading through the book of Job.

We tried something different this past spring and took a couple months to memorize a chapter of the Bible together instead. We chose James chapter 1. We took it one verse at a time, memorizing the verse and then discussing it together. The next night we would review the verses we had learned and then learn a new verse. If we had been really disciplined at it, I guess we would have finished in 27 days, seeing as there are only 27 verses in James 1. But between nights missed and extra review nights thrown in, it took us a couple months.

The important thing is we kept at it, and all three boys eventually were able to recite James chapter 1 from memory. We also talked about the importance of meditating or reflecting on God’s Word throughout the day. This is really the whole reason to memorize Scripture anyways — that we might store it up in our minds and our hearts and allow God to change us by his Word.

The method we used for memorizing is called the “stacking” method. This is the method taught by Janet Pope in her excellent book, His Word in My Heart: Memorizing Scripture for a Closer Walk with God. You can read more about the stacking method at Lifehack, or you can read John Place’s story of how he used the stacking method to memorize 7 chapters of his psychology textbook, over 23,000 words, when he was in college. Andrew Davis also gives a good explanation and guide in his article: An Approach to Extended Memorization of Scripture.

People are using the stacking method to memorize all sorts of things. What could be more important than memorizing God’s Word and treasuring it in our hearts?

Update: Later we went back and re-memorized this chapter using the first-letter method. Actually, the stacking method and first-letter method work really well together. You can learn more about the first letter method in The Bible Memory Version: A Tool for Treasuring God’s Word in Your Heart.

Yesterday’s message was the last in the Doing Church Together series from the book of 1 Timothy. The message was called, Putting Your Hope in God, taken from 1 Timothy 6:17-21.

1 Timothy 6:17-21 – 17 Command those who are rich in this present world not to be arrogant nor to put their hope in wealth, which is so uncertain, but to put their hope in God, who richly provides us with everything for our enjoyment. 18 Command them to do good, to be rich in good deeds, and to be generous and willing to share. 19 In this way they will lay up treasure for themselves as a firm foundation for the coming age, so that they may take hold of the life that is truly life.
20 Timothy, guard what has been entrusted to your care. Turn away from godless chatter and the opposing ideas of what is falsely called knowledge, 21 which some have professed and in so doing have wandered from the faith.
Grace be with you. (NIV)

The main idea of the message was that you should put your hope in God who will never disappoint you. Here is a brief recap of the message:

1) Put your hope in God not wealth (verse 17)

    - Don’t measure your value by your wealth

The word translated “arrogant” here literally means, “high-minded,” to think that you are somehow above other people because you have more. It is the mistake of measuring your self-worth by your net-worth. You are not more valuable than other people because you have more. You are not less valuable than other people because you have less.

We are so used to measuring things by money. God says, “Don’t do it. You are not valuable because of what you have. You are valuable because I made you and because I love you.” Don’t measure your value by your wealth.

    - Don’t measure your security by your wealth

We all tend to do this. The more money we have socked away, the more secure we feel. The less money we have, the less secure we feel. But wealth is uncertain? The lottery winner, the successful stock investor, the Enron employee – all of these feel secure in their wealth until the lottery winnings are quickly spent, the stock market takes a dive, or the retirement plan goes bust. Proverbs 23:5 says, “Cast but a glance at riches, and they are gone, for they will surely sprout wings and fly off to the sky like an eagle.” Money talks. I heard it once. You know what it says? It says, “Goodbye!”

    - Don’t expect enjoyment in life to come from wealth

More money never made anyone happy. If you don’t believe me, go talk to a rich person. Money can buy you lots of things, but it cannot buy you happiness, and it cannot buy you love. It is God who richly provides us with everything for our enjoyment, but you can only enjoy it when you receive it as a gift from God. (Ecclesiastes 5:19-20)

2) Store up treasure in heaven not earth (verses 18-19)

Paul’s next instruction is found in verses 18-19. Store up treasure in heaven, not earth. How do you store up treasure in heaven instead of on earth?

    - Be rich in good deeds.

You are not saved by your good deeds. You are saved by God’s grace when you put your faith in Jesus Christ. But you are still called to good deeds and to serve others with your life. Jesus said, “You are the light of the world . . . Let your light shine before men, that they may see your good deeds and praise your Father in heaven.” (Matthew 5:14-16)

    - Be generous and willing to share.

Just as God is generous to us and richly provides all that we need for enjoyment in life, so God commands you also to be generous and giving. The more you have, the more you should be willing to share what you have with others, especially with those who are in need.

    - Build a firm foundation for the future.

The goal here is to take hold of the life that is truly life, that is, life with God for all of eternity, abundant life with God right now. Jesus said in Luke 12:15, “A man’s life does not consist in the abundance of his possessions.” Life is found not in things but in God.

3) Hold on to the faith of the gospel (verses 20-21)

    - Guard what God has entrusted to you.

This was a common phrase in Paul’s day. “It was used in the ancient world of the high obligation of having in trust another person’s treasured possession, of keeping it safe, and of returning it as it was.” (George Knight; NIGTC; Commentary on the Pastoral Epistles) The gospel is God’s treasured possession with the power to save everyone who believes. God has entrusted you with the gospel to keep it safe and to return it just as it was. Don’t replace it. Don’t change it. Don’t damage it in any way.

    - Turn away from empty discussions and false teaching.

We should turn away from anything that sets itself up against the gospel of Jesus Christ, how loudly it may chatter, no matter how attractive it may sound. Paul warns that some have professed these opposing ideas and in so doing have wandered from the true faith of the gospel and from their own personal faith in Jesus Christ through the gospel.

Paul ends all of his letters with a benediction of grace. And so as we end this series on doing church together, let us especially remember God’s grace. And as we practice doing church together, applying all that we have learned from 1 Timothy, let us do so in constant awareness of the amazing grace that God has given to us in Jesus Christ. That is the gospel. That is our calling as a church.

Note: To read the complete message, go to the Sermons tab at the top of the blog.

This one is for Mission Impossible fans. Ten ways to send a self-destructing email message. (HT: Lifehacker)

WikiHow explains how to share your obituary with your online friends. “You are probably going to want your online friends, who may live all over the world, to know why your postings have suddenly stopped.” (HT: Lifehacker)

Steve Matthewson offers some good advice for male preachers on connecting with their female listeners. “Preachers communicate truth through personality, but sometimes personality gets in the way – especially in the area of gender.”

John Stott retired from public ministry after preaching a final message at the annual Keswick Convention in England on July 17. The message was on the topic: What is God’s purpose for his people? “God wants His people to become like Christ. Christ-likeness is the will of God for the people of God … If we claim to be a Christian, we must be Christ-like.”

Tim Challies reviews Wendy Shalit’s new book, Girls Gone Mild: Young Women Reclaim Self-Respect and Find It’s Not Bad to Be Good. Shalit describes her book as “. . . my search for an alternative to our Girls Gone Wild culture. It’s about finding a way to acknowledge sexuality without having to share it with strangers. It’s about rediscovering our capacity for innocence, for wonder, and for being touched profoundly by others.”

Star Trek: The Original Series will be released in a 10-disc HD DVD/DVD combo disc set on November 20, 2007. “1960s special effects have been replaced with 21st century computer-generated imagery to give new depth and atmosphere to various elements including the main title sequence, the galaxy shots frequently seen from the Enterprise’s bridge, the battle scenes, planets and alien ships, some of the matte paintings used as backdrops for new worlds, as well as the Enterprise and other Starships, which have been replaced with state-of-the-art CGI-created ships. The new computer-generated Enterprise is based on the exact measurements of the original model, which now rests in the Smithsonian Institution in Washington, D.C.” Is this a case of George Lucas Syndrome? Actually, it all sounds very cool to me.

The organizer of the Jane Austen Festival recently sent thinly disguised copies of Jane Austen’s Pride & Prejudice to 18 different publishers in the form of a “book proposal” called First Impressions. The phony proposal even began with Austen’s famous first sentence: “It is a truth universally acknowledged, that a single man in possession of a good fortune must be in want of a wife.”

Seventeen publishers rejected the manuscript. “Thank you for your recent letter and chapters from your book ‘First Impressions’. It seems like a really original and interesting read,” wrote Penguin.

Only one publisher out of the eighteen actually recognized the book.

“Thank-you for sending us the first two chapters of ‘First Impressions’; my first impression on reading these were ones of disbelief and mild annoyance, along, of course, with a moment’s laughter,” wrote back Alex Bowler of Jonathan Cape. “I suggest you reach for your copy of ‘Pride and Prejudice’, which I’d guess lives in close proximity to your typewriter, and make sure that your opening pages don’t too closely mimic that book’s opening.”

I got a kick out of Dave Zimmerman’s take on Pride & Prejudice over at IVP’s Behind the Books blog.

I am not deriding Pride & Prejudice as a literary work. Trust me, I know whereof I speak: I have dutifully sat through two viewings of the ten-episode production starring Colin Firth as Mr. Darcy. I own (by proxy) that production, which means that before I die I’ll probably sit through it again and, let’s face it, again. I also own (by proxy) the 2005 Keira Knightly film which communicates very effectively in two hours what took the Colin Firth version six hours; I think they trimmed about four hours of dancing and kept the story intact.

I have been there too, Dave. God bless you, bro’. I feel your pain.

HT: Thanks to Marcus Goodyear at Goodword Editing for tipping me off to the story and Dave’s article.

I just heard that Ray Ortlund passed away on Sunday night. He was 84 years old. God used Ray’s book, Lord, Make My Life a Miracle, to help disciple me as a young Christian. Here is an excerpt from a letter his family has posted at Renewal Ministries:

Dear Family and Friends of Ray and Anne:

It’s both our deep sorrow and great joy to share with you the news of the home-going of our father and hero, Ray Ortlund. Like Jacob, Dad went off to heaven early Sunday evening having first admonished, loved on, prayed for and given his final benediction over his children.

For Mother and us it’s an inestimable loss—already we miss him beyond words. But for Dad it’s “Glory!” and finally—after a lifetime of daily service—the sheer joy of meeting our Lord Jesus face to face. Sublime …

P.S. Ray’s final words to us are a blessing for you, too:

“The Lord bless you and keep you.
  The Lord make His face to shine upon you, and be gracious to you.
  The Lord lift up His countenance upon you, and give you peace.
  … Amen and amen!” (quoting from Numbers 6.24-26)

Links:

• ASSIST News post about Ray
• John Piper shares a personal story of how Ray instilled in him a love for the church during John’s seminary days at Ray’s church.

Christian author and apologist Ravi Zacharias speaks about the impact of the Judeo-Christian worldview on the founding of our country in the context of electing the next president.

What we want is a politician who will understand . . . the framework of the value of human life and the moral framework of the Judeo-Christian world view, which is the only moral framework under which this country could have been framed . . . that we are all created equal, that liberty and justice and all of those terms that I’ve given only make sense within the Judeo-Christian world view.

Created? Equal? Naturalism does not tell us we are equal. Naturalism does not tell us we are created. Liberty? Islam does not believe in the total liberty of the individual. Equal? Hinduism believes in the caste system. The Judeo-Christian world view is the only world view that could frame this country. And so I think as we elect, we go before God and see out of the candidates who will be the best one to represent the values and at the same time be a good leader for the country whose first responsibility should be to protect its citizens.

HT: Hugh Hewitt

Related posts:

• Still Leaning Towards Fred
• Mike Huckabee’s Sunday Sermon at Prestonwood
• The Cluster Approach to the GOP Nomination
• The MPR Select a Candidate Quiz
• Memo to Evangelical Leaders on Romney
• Rasmussen Reports Daily Presidential Tracking Poll
• Should Christians Call Mormonism a Cult?
• Rudy, John, Mitt . . . and Fred?

The Jonathan Edwards Center has posted a (temporary?) digital exhibit called Billy Graham & Sinners in the Hands of an Angry God. In the fall of 1949 during his historic 8-week “Canvas Cathedral” Crusade in Los Angeles, Billy Graham preached Jonathan Edwards’ famous sermon, “Sinners in the Hands of an Angry God.”

In retrospect, it was a fascinating set of circumstances: the man who would become the most famous preacher of the 20th century preaching America’s most famous sermon to a new audience many generations later.

There are numerous interesting theological, rhetorical, and stylistic questions that arise from this preaching event. For the first time since its preaching, we are able to make audio portions of this sermon available to the general public on our website for a limited time. Please join us in exploring this fascinating piece of American religious history.

The exhibit includes a historical background to the 1949 Los Angeles Crusade, audio clips from the message, as well as various transcripts. Here is a link to a full transcript of Edwards’ message marked up with Graham’s omissions and additions for purposes of comparison.

Jonathan Edwards and Billy Graham are two of my heroes, so I found this a fascinating exhibit.

HT: Jonathan Edwards Center Blog

Keep the change (1). Thieves in Arkansas stole a two-ton vault containing $113,000 from a bank using a fork lift, then ditched it several miles north of the city — with $2 left inside. “We feel like that was a statement to mock us,” said Van Buren police Detective Keith Lindley.

Don’t rock the boat. Chinese police tracking a suspicious vessel on a border river in southwest China got a shock when they found 270 crocodiles on board. Apparently crocodile smuggling is big in China.

Spy squirrels. Fourteen squirrels have been accused of spying on Iran. According to the Islamic Republic News Agency, the undercover rodents were found near the Iranian border, supposedly equipped with eavesdropping devices. I wonder if it was these squirrels here?

Keep the change (2). Jessica Osborne, a Pizza Hut waitress in Indiana, got a $10,000 tip from a family who ate regularly at the restaurant. The family gave her the check because they heard that she could not afford college.

Here is a blast from the past! After Sunday’s message on Looking for Christ’s Appearing, and Monday’s quick historical post on the false Messiah, Shabbetai Zevi, I thought I would dust off an old message from December 1999 and add it to the Sermons page.

December 26, 1999 was the Sunday before Y2K, and I preached a message that morning called Millennial Madness, Millennial Peace. The sermon text was from 1 Thessalonians 2:1-2. The message combines a study of the text with material from church history, teaching on the millennium in Scripture, as well as material relating to Y2K at the time. I hope you enjoy it!

Welcome to the blog! I invite you to check out my book, The Bible Memory Version.

Here is an interesting map of the world’s religions. (Click map for larger view.)

                Source: The Atlas of Faiths; Encyclopedia Britannica (2003)

Each colored section on the map corresponds to the majority religion by population for that region. Here are some of the colors and the religions they represent:

• Blue = Muslims
• Yellow = Roman Catholics
• Orange = Protestants
• Red = Christians from various churches
• Purple = Indigenous religions
• Dark red = Orthodox Christians
• Light blue = Mormons

I thought this was an interesting overview of how the different religions are concentrated in various parts of the world. As a Christian it is also a good reminder of the importance of world missions and our responsibility in spreading the good news about Jesus Christ.

“For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life.” (John 3:16)

“And we have seen and testify that the Father has sent his Son to be the Savior of the world.” (1 John 4:14)

Recommended Books on World Religions:

HT: Brad Wright

See related posts:

• I Survived the Digg Effect (And So Can You!)
• Maps of the World’s Religious and Imperial History