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Yesterday’s message in the God’s Good Creation Series was called God’s Good Gift of Creativity, taken from Exodus 31:1-6.

Exodus 31:1-6 -Then the LORD said to Moses, “See, I have chosen Bezalel son of Uri, the son of Hur, of the tribe of Judah, and I have filled him with the Spirit of God, with skill, ability and knowledge in all kinds of crafts — to make artistic designs for work in gold, silver and bronze, to cut and set stones, to work in wood, and to engage in all kinds of craftsmanship. Moreover, I have appointed Oholiab son of Ahisamach, of the tribe of Dan, to help him. Also I have given skill to all the craftsmen to make everything I have commanded you.”

The main idea of the message was that we should use the creative gifts God has given us to bring God glory in all aspects of life. Here is a brief summary of the message:

I. God chooses to whom he gives gifts. (1-2)

God chose what gifts to give Bezalel for the task of building the tabernacle. God is the giver of all gifts, and he chooses which gifts to give to whom. God in his wisdom gave you exactly the creative gifts that he wanted you to have. Your gifts are part of who you are. They are part of the person that God created you to be. And so you should receive those gifts with thanksgiving and use them to the best of your ability.

II. God gives knowledge, skill, ability and craftsmanship. (3)

Bezalel, was a master craftsman. He was filled with the Spirit of God in knowledge, skill and ability to do the work of building the tabernacle. We are not all going to be like a Bezalel. And that’s okay. God not only chooses to whom he gives gifts; he also chooses how much of any gift he gives to each person. But the point is this. Whatever knowledge, skill and ability you have comes from God. God is the giver of all good gifts, and so we should never take a wrongful pride in the talents and gifts that he has given us.

III. God gives a wide variety of creative gifts. (4-5)

God gave Bezalel a wide variety of gifts. And that was all just one person! God in his grace gives a wide variety of gifts to all people everywhere. And so when we think of creative gifts, we should not limit ourselves to just thinking about the creative arts – painting, sculpture, writing, music, dance, design, photography, and so on. All of human endeavor involves creative gifts and abilities, from a simple setting of the table for dinner to the building of a vast cathedral.

Anytime you put part of yourself into a task or project you are being creative. Anytime you organize or decorate something you are being creative. Anytime you solve a problem you are being creative. Anytime you inject humor into a situation you are being creative. Anytime you apply the knowledge, ability and skill that God has given you to the task at hand, you are being creative. And this whole, wide variety of creative gifts comes from God.

IV. God’s gifts have a purpose. (6)

God gave Bezalel, Oholiab and all the other craftsmen the particular skills they needed in order to build the tabernacle. God gives creative gifts for a purpose. Part of that purpose is simply for us to fulfill our role as human beings made in the image of God. A strong, biblically-based creational theology encourages us as Christians to get involved in all areas of life.

Too often we think of Christianity only in terms of the Bible, prayer, and church on Sunday mornings. But as important as all those things are, the Christian life is so much bigger than that. Christianity is all about being human to the glory of God. And so that means taking all that God has created in this world and all of human culture and creativity and then returning it to God in praise. Otherwise, Christian faith becomes divorced from real life, and we lose our real influence as Christians in the world.

Beyond the general overall purpose of reflecting the image of God in society by exercising your creative gifts, God also has specific purposes for the gifts he has given you. Ephesians 2:10 says that “we are God’s workmanship, created in Christ Jesus to do good works, which God prepared in advance for us to do.” (Ephesians 2:10)

Just as Bezalel and Oholiab produced quality workmanship for the tabernacle, you are the workmanship of Almighty God. And God has not only prepared specific works for you to do, but he also created you with the specific gifts necessary to do those good works. God’s gifts have a purpose, and God has a purpose for the creative gifts he has given you.

APPLICATION: What should our response be to all this?

1. Thank God for the creative gifts he has given you. Do not put down your gifts. Do not envy the gifts of others. Do not boast in your gifts. Rather, thank God for the specific gifts he has given you, and do so with a spirit of humility and wonder.
2. Use and develop your creative gifts. Remember the parable of the talents? God does not want you to bury your gifts in the ground. Work hard, and develop the gifts God has given you. Take the gifts that God has given you, develop them to the best of your ability, and then use them in loving service to God and others.
3. Engage all of life for God’s glory. Remember, “Everything God created is good, and nothing is to be rejected if it is received with thanksgiving.” (1 Timothy 4:4) So if you are an artist, then yes, go ahead and paint scenes from the Bible, but also paint portraits and landscapes and snippets of life. If you are a musician, then yes, write praise songs to God, but also write love songs and fun songs and songs about all aspects of life. No matter where your gifts or interests lie, God can use you to bring him glory in this world.

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

Bibliography Creator – Enter the ISBNs of all the books you used in a paper; get back a perfectly formatted bibliography ready to cut and paste into your paper’s “Works Cited” page. Choose various formats such as MLA, APA, Chicago/Turabian, etc. (See next entry for more great student resources.)

Lifehack compiles The Ultimate Student Resource List. “It’s back to school time, yet again. In the spirit of the season, I decided to gather together the best tools, websites, and advice I know of to help make you a more effective and relaxed student this semester. Since I know you’re broke, it’s all free!”

Dave Harvey discusses various chapters from his book on Christian marriage, When Sinners Say I Do. Using brief video clips on YouTube, Harvey discusses such issues as conflict, forgiveness, growth in holiness, God’s grace, the gospel and sex, and coping with bereavement.

Tim Challies reviews the book Inside Prince Caspian, by Devin Brown. “As an author and writer, this book revealed to me all kinds of good opportunities to look to Lewis for examples or for illustrations. As a reader it revealed to me just how much I missed in reading the book. As a Christian it revealed the depth of spiritual insight Lewis managed to relay even in what seem to be such simple stories.”

Mary Lofthus reminds her readers of the value of asking people questions. “One time I asked an acquaintance in Sunday school what coffee she was drinking. That led to a discussion about how she roasts her own coffee beans. And now we’re friends. Today I met a woman who said she had a horse stable. I asked if she boarded horses or raised horses. She told me about her dream to provide therapeutic riding for handicapped children. She is well on her way with 17 horses. I wish her well. I’m glad I asked.”

John McArthur offers some good insights on what it means to pray without ceasing. “To ‘pray without ceasing’ means when you are tempted, you hold the temptation before God and ask for His help. When you experience something good and beautiful, you immediately thank the Lord for it. When you see evil around you, you ask God to make it right and to use you toward that end, if that is His will. When you meet someone who does not know Christ, you pray for God to draw that person to Himself and to use you to be a faithful witness. When you encounter trouble, you turn to God as your Deliverer.”

Jon Smith provides pastoral reflections on being comforters to the suffering. This article grew out of his own experience of being comforted by friends when he and his wife lost their infant son. Here are Jon’s main summary points:

• Weep with those who weep.
• Help them run to where their supreme comfort can be found.
• Help them speak with honest emotion.
• Choose your words carefully.
• Let them initiate the doctrinal questions.
• Don’t ignore them or the death.
• Pray for those who are suffering.

I am sure Job wished that he had friends like these!

      (Note: For ebook and audiobook conversions, see Fowler Digital Services.)

Privacy

Note: This is an older review for the Kindle 1.  For more updated information, click here for the article: Top Ten Kindle Features.

My brother, David, works in the book industry, and I got to check out his Amazon Kindle recently. It seemed pretty cool to me, but I am a sucker for any gadget, so I asked him if he would write a guest review for the blog. He graciously agreed, and so here is an in-depth review of the Kindle from a book professional who has used it extensively for over a month. David’s pros and cons list comes first, followed by his full review. So what do you think of the Kindle? (See related post: Kindling a Spark for Electronic Reading)

Amazon Kindle Pros:

• Fast, wireless delivery of books, no need to sync the device with a computer.
• Impressive initial collection of 90,000+ books ranging from New York Times bestsellers to obscure textbooks.
• Online backup; not worried about losing content if device is lost or damaged.
• Great for reading short content such as newspaper or Wikipedia articles.

Amazon Kindle Cons:

• Poor visual appeal: Black text on a dingy grey background instead of white; brief screen blackout for each page turn; device looks like old technology.
• Clunky scroll wheel for navigating; Kindle would benefit from touch-screen technology such as used by Apple.
• Lack of real page numbers limits use for students needing to provide footnotes for quotes.
• Frequent page turns are tiring; difficult to “pre-read” a chapter or know how many pages to go in a chapter; not a great device for reading long books.

Continue Reading »

ANIMAL EDITION.

Monkey business. Well I’ll be a monkey’s uncle. Austria’s Supreme Court ruled last week that a chimpanzee is not a person. An animal rights group was trying to have the chimp declared a person in hopes of gaining guardianship of the animal. Did we really need a Supreme Court to settle this one? I am thinking you could have gotten the same answer just asking a bunch of preschoolers. 🙂

Sneaky squirrels. A new study reveals that squirrels actually pretend to bury nuts and seeds in order to protect their winter food stocks from potential thieves. Scientists say the fake burials are designed to confuse any rival squirrels, birds or humans who might be watching. Dr Michael Steele reports: “To our knowledge, this is the first study to show evidence of behavioural deception by a rodent.” For some reason, I just love that ending quote.

Stowaway kitty. Imagine Rob Carter’s surprise when he opened up his luggage after flying home to Texas and found a kitten inside! It turns out Carter had picked up the wrong suitcase. It gets stranger. The cat’s owners, Seth and Kelly Levy, live in Palm Beach Gardens, Florida. Apparently the kitten, named Gracie Mae, had snuck into Seth’s suitcase before he left for the airport. The bags got switched, and Gracie flew 1300 miles to Fort Worth. Meanwhile, back at home Kelly Levy was searching all over for the missing pet, when she got the call from Carter in Texas telling her he had found Gracie in the suitcase.

Video bonus. Alaska really doesn’t want to go inside. (HT: Neatorama)

(Video length: 1:53)

Here is a great quote from O. Hallesby on praying for your children:

See to it, night and day, that you pray for your children. Then you will leave them a great legacy of answers to prayer, which will follow them all the days of their life. Then you may calmly and with a good conscience depart from them, even though you may not leave them a great deal of material wealth. (O. Hallesby)

“Striking an ancient chord” from Haaretz:

Sounds, archaeological finds and scientific hypotheses all play major roles in an exhibition entitled “Sounds of Ancient Music,” which opened last week at the Bible Lands Museum in Jerusalem. Focusing on musical developments in ancient Sumeria, Babylon, Assyria and other cultures of the Ancient Near East, through the periods of the Kingdom of Judea, Greece and the Roman Empire, the exhibition features 137 objects – among them, rare musical instruments that have been preserved from antiquity, as well as full-sized replicas of instruments from those early eras …

Visitors to the exhibition are invited to listen to a trumpet being blown the way the researchers believe it sounded in the courtyard of the Temple. There are also earlier finds on hand – for example, a flute from the Chalcolithic period (the Copper Age, 4,300-3,300 B.C.E.), one of the oldest wind instruments discovered in all of the Near East …

Multimedia stations have been set up in the museum so as to enable visitors to virtually “play” such ancient instruments as the lyre, the flute and drums. Dozens of digital music players provide an audio guide in Hebrew and English with a highlight tour of the exhibition, peppered with the musical interludes based on the sounds of ancient instruments.

HT: BiblePlaces Blog

In light of Fred Thompson’s withdrawal from the 2008 Presidential race, something Glenn Reynolds said earlier this week sums up nicely what I had been thinking about the Thompson campaign:

“Weirdly, a lot of people are unhappy that Fred Thompson isn’t running well, but not a lot of people seem to have, you know, actually voted for, or donated to, Fred.” (Instapundit)

Ahh well, I still thought Fred was the best candidate. Now, it’s back to the drawing board! Meanwhile, Patrick Cox provides a good overview of Fred’s campaign over at Pajamas Media.

Related posts:

• Thompson Bloggers Contacted By Romney Campaign
• Fred Thompson Drops out of Presidential Race
• Still Leaning Towards Fred

Wow! Within hours of Fred Thompson’s announcement that he was withdrawing his candidacy for President, I received the following email from the Mitt Romney campaign.

Ray,

Since you’ve been blogging for Senator Thompson, I wanted to reach out after your candidate’s decision today.

With Senator Thompson’s departure, I believe that Governor Romney is the only candidate capable of maintaining the unity of the conservative coalition. And I believe that only Governor Romney can stop Senator McCain in Florida and beyond.

Please let me know if I can be of assistance as our party moves forward.

Thanks,
Stephen B. Smith
Director of Online Communications
Romney for President, Inc.
www.MittRomney.com

I don’t know. For some FredHeads this may be akin to a funeral home passing out business cards at an accident scene. But whether you like Romney’s campaign or not, they are certainly well organized.

Related posts:

• A Fred Thompson Irony
• 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
• Ravi Zacharias on Electing the Next President
• Should Christians Call Mormonism a Cult?
• Rudy, John, Mitt . . . and Fred?

It’s official. Fred Thompson has withdrawn from the 2008 Presidential Race.

“Today I have withdrawn my candidacy for President of the United States. I hope that my country and my party have benefited from our having made this effort. Jeri and I will always be grateful for the encouragement and friendship of so many wonderful people.” (Press Release from Fred08)

Related posts:

• A Fred Thompson Irony
• Thompson Bloggers Contacted By Romney Campaign
• Still Leaning Towards Fred

Over 46 million children have been lost to abortion in the United States since the passing of Roe v. Wade on January 22, 1973. Of course, it is hard to picture a number that big. This link provides a helpful way of visualizing the number 46 million all on one page. Make sure you click on the blue dot at the very end.

HT: Mirror of Justice

Click here for more abortion related posts.

(Note: Today is the 35th anniversary of the Roe v. Wade decision which invalidated state laws prohibiting or restricting abortion.)

Justin Taylor recently interviewed Scott Klusendorf, author of the upcoming book: Equipped to Engage: Pro-Life Christians in the Brave New World. During the interview, Klusendorf shared what he believes are the top 5 pro-life books available today.

1. For newcomers to the debate, Randy Alcorn’s Pro-Life Answers to Pro-Choice Questions (Multnomah, 1992; revised 1999) is terrific. Randy’s work is a valuable reference guide for lay people, highly readable, and meticulously organized so that the reader can pick and choose those parts of the book needed for the immediate pro-abortion challenge at hand …

2. For more seasoned readers, Francis J. Beckwith’s Defending Life: A Moral and Legal Case Against Abortion-Choice (Cambridge University Press, 2007) is absolutely stellar. Indeed, this outstanding book is a favorite of advanced pro-life apologists everywhere. The arguments presented are lucid and hard-hitting, but the style is clearly more academic than Alcorn’s book. It’s one of the finest (if not the finest) systematic defenses of the pro-life position to date …

3. The third title is Ramesh Ponnuru’s excellent book The Party of Death: The Democrats, the Media, the Courts, and the Disregard for Human Life (Regency, 2006). Ramesh’s strengths lie in outlining the political implications of the debates over abortion and embryo research and how those debates have been hijacked within the Democratic Party, the Federal Courts, and the Media. His survey of the cultural and political landscape is breathtaking and second to none …

4. Fourth, there is Hadley Arke’s Natural Rights and the Right to Choose (Cambridge University Press, rev. ed., 2004). Hadley’s thesis is simple: If we can arbitrarily alter the definition of “man” to suit our preferences, and if nature provides no definition of a human being that we are obliged to respect, then we remove all claim to natural rights, including the right to an abortion. That’s key, because as you know, secular liberals insist that abortion is a fundamental human right the State should not infringe upon. Arkes simply wants to know where this alleged right to an abortion comes from. In other words, is it a natural right that springs from our nature as human beings or is it a positive (legal) right granted by government? If the latter, the abortion advocate cannot really complain that she is wronged if the State does not permit her to abort … In short, the defenders of abortion cannot tell us where rights come from or why anyone should have them. By advocating an alleged right to choose, they have talked themselves out of the very natural rights upon which their own freedoms are built.

5. Finally, we shouldn’t overlook Wesley J. Smith’s A Consumer’s Guide to a Brave New World (Encounter Books, 2004). The debate over human value has moved way beyond the abortion controversy. We’re now contending with human cloning, genetic engineering, and the creation of human-animal hybrids. As I said before, the very definition of what it means to be human is up for grabs. But how many churchgoers block out time to think seriously about what makes humans valuable in the first place? That, coupled with a deafening silence from our pulpits, and it’s no wonder many believers are ill-equipped to sift through the lies and deceptions coming out of big-biotech. Smith’s book gives Christians the tools they need to think clearly on these biotech issues.

Be sure to read the whole interview for more insights from Scott Klusendorf. Justin also interviews Robert P. George on the anniversary of Roe v. Wade.

Click here for more abortion related posts.

There is some fresh discussion on an earlier post about Christianity and Mormonism. Feel free to click on the post and join the discussion!

• Should Christians Call Mormonism a Cult?

Related post:

• Beliefnet Debate: Are Mormons Christian?