Ray Fowler .org

Welcome Digg users! A number of you are looking for the picture of Quentin Smith’s desk. Click on the following link to go to the post you are looking for: A Messy Desk is the Sign of an Orderly Mind.

By the way, if you like the post feel free to go ahead and Digg it. I don’t think it has been Dugg before.

28 years ago on July 28th, Christian musician Keith Green went home to be with the Lord. He was only 28 years old. Tonight at 7:30 p.m. (EST) Last Days Ministries will present a free live web event remembering Keith. Tune in tonight at www.keithgeen.com for this free event hosted by Melody Green, John Dawson and Loren & Darlene Cunningham.

Keith Green 28|28|28 (Video length: 3:36)

Video includes live performance clips of “Soften Your Heart” and “My Eyes are Dry.”

Related posts:
    • New Keith Green Live CD/DVD
    • New Keith Green Music Coming

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I am excited to announce the release of what I hope is the first book in a series: The Bible Memory Version: A Tool for Treasuring God’s Word in Your Heart.  Bible memory has long been a passion in my life, and I hope The Bible Memory Version will help others catch a vision for Bible memory in their lives too.

The Bible Memory Version is an interactive book that helps you memorize and review whole sections of the Bible. Click on any verse or passage of Scripture, and it instantly switches to first-letter view. (Click here for an example of how this works.) The first-letter method is based on memory research which shows that recalling information is a far more effective way to memorize than merely repeating information.

The Bible Memory Version includes:

• the entire text of the Bible in both full-verse and first-letter view
• an introductory chapter with helps and hints for Bible memory
• a quick-start guide with list of recommended passages
• a topical section with 100 key verses arranged according to 20 topics
• five popular gospel presentations with accompanying Bible verses
• a helpful Bible Memory Resource guide

    Available in ePub, Kindle, and Mobipocket formats
    Works with all standard e-readers including iPad, iPhone, Amazon Kindle, and Nook

I am excited about this project and hope to work with publishers to produce Bible Memory Versions in various translations. If you would like The Bible Memory Version released in a specific translation, please email me at digital-books@rayfowler.org. If you don’t have an e-reader, you can download a free e-reader here for your computer or portable device.

So what do you think of this project? Let me know in the comments section below!

Click here to purchase The Bible Memory Version now.
Click here to see all the titles available at Fowler Digital Books.

Related posts:
    • Bible Memory Version Available at Barnes & Noble and Amazon
    • The Bible Memory Version Poll

As many of you know I am currently in between churches and looking for work. This is a tough economy to be looking for work in, and there is not a lot of movement in churches either. Pastors that might normally have been open to move are staying put, while older pastors who had been looking at retirement suddenly find they need to keep working. This is actually a good thing for many churches who can use the stability, but it makes it tough when you are trying to transition into a church.

So, in the meantime I am trying not to waste my unemployment. This is a time to grow in my faith and dependence on the Lord and an opportunity to give testimony to his faithfulness. I am extra conscious of the fact that I need God’s daily provision, and the prayer, “Give us this day our daily bread,” has taken on new meaning for me.

The truth is, we are always daily dependent on God. Even when we have steady employment, we need to recognize that God is the one who provides and look to him, not our job, for security. “Everything I have today, I have because of God.” God has been faithful, and he has provided for all our needs.

Of course, I am also working hard at being productive during this time. In between job searches and resumes, I have been able to make good use of these extra hours God has given me each day. I have taught myself some new skills and worked on some larger projects. The end result so far is the birth of a new business and the completion of a book project. I will be sharing about both of these with you in the coming days, so stay tuned. In the meantime, thank you for your prayers for me and my family during this time of transition.

Related posts:
    • Ebook Formatting for the Ipad, Kindle and Nook
    • The Bible Memory Version
    • Church Search
    • Pastoral Profile

Here’s a fun clip of Darth Vader recording driving directions for the TomTom GPS.

Darth Vader GPS – behind the scenes (Video length: 2:27)

 
HT: Kevin DeYoung

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• Darth Vader Plays a Mean Harmonica
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Sorry if you had any troubles with the blog this weekend. I ran into some problems and had to restore a backup version of the database. The backup was a week old, so that also meant rebuilding the posts and comments from the past week. I apologize if you got a number of repeat posts in your email or RSS feed. It seems to be fixed now, so hopefully things are back to normal (or for what passes for normal around here!).

As a believer in God who enjoys science and music, I found the following analogy interesting. This is from Professor Colin Humphreys’ lecture at Trinity College, Cambridge on the topic, “Can Scientists Believe in Miracles?” In this part of the lecture Dr. Humphreys seeks to balance the consistency of God in maintaining an orderly universe with the ability of God to intervene miraculously in the natural order.

Overriding natural laws not only give scientists a problem but also theologians, and the reason for this is that the picture of God given in the Bible is of a consistent God. There are many biblical passages where the consistency of God comes through strongly. So theologically, if God created the Universe and is constantly upholding it, and if God is a consistent God, then would he override the laws he has established?

Let me give you a musical analogy which may be helpful. Imagine you are standing behind a pianist who is playing without music and you are watching the pianist’s fingers. Every time the pianist goes to play the note “F” he plays “F sharp”. You can deduce from this the key signature of the music. The key signature is the rule the composer establishes for playing that piece of music. If you keep watching you may observe that, on occasion, when the pianist should play “F sharp” he plays “F”, or he may play black notes when you expect him to play white ones. These are what musicians call “accidentals” which the composer has deliberately put in the music.

The composer, of course, is free to put accidentals in the music – he is the composer – and although he’s set up a key signature which signifies the way the music should normally be played, he is free to say that it should be played differently on occasions. If he is a great composer, the accidentals will never be used capriciously, they will always make better music. It is the accidentals which contribute to making the piece of music great. The analogy with how God operates is clear. God created and upholds the universe but, like the great composer, he is free to override his own rules. However, if he is a consistent God, it must make more sense than less for him to override his rules.

Dr. Ligon Duncan offers ministry leaders the following six wise suggestions on how to help your people grow in Bible study and prayer.

1. Be patient.
2. Preach the word from the pulpit with fervency, clarity and power, and let the prime means of grace do its work.
3. Emphasize the importance of a weekly prayer meeting.
4. Invite a core group of potential leaders in the congregation to study the Bible and pray with you, weekly and personally. Meet as a small group and do a Bible survey, and lead them in prayer. Model for them how to do it. Make them take part and be active participants. Watch the contagion spread among them for the study of God’s word and prayer in the church, homes and their personal lives. Let them become recruiters and encouragers of others to study the word and pray for themselves.
5. In the course of your teaching/preaching the Bible in the local church, spend time explicitly and specifically on explaining why it is important for Christians to study the word and to pray, and how one ought to do it.
6. Get your people to read good books about Bible study and prayer (John Blanchard, “How to Enjoy Your Bible,” Don Carson, “A Call to Spiritual Reformation,” Matthew Henry, “Method For Prayer,” “Ryken’s Bible Handbook,” etc).

Amazon is offering free Amazon Prime memberships to college and seminary students with a student.edu email address. Amazon Prime gives you unlimited free two-day shipping on most orders or overnight shipping for just $3.99. The cost of an annual membership is usually $79 so this is a great deal for students. If you are looking for textbooks, you can visit their textbook page here.

This is helpful information for teens, parents, youth groups and youth leaders. The Center for Parent/Youth Understanding (CPYU) interviewed a number of college students as part of their College Transition Initiative. They asked them the following questions:

• What was the biggest adjustment you faced transitioning to college?
• Were you able to get connected to a church or campus ministry fellowship? If so, how did you get connected? If not, why was it difficult to get connected? Or, why did you choose not to get connected?
• As you reflect on your church youth group experience, what are some things you wish your youth group would have done more of to prepare you for college?
• Understanding the challenges that college life brings, what are some things you wish your youth group would have done less of?
• What advice would you give college bound high school students who are thinking about the college transition?

You can read their answers at the Student Interviews page. Or, you could interview your own Christian college students and have them share their answers with the youth at your church.

HT: Stand to Reason

Saturday, December 31, 2005
San Diego Chargers vs. Denver Broncos
Eight seconds was all it took to change my life forever. Eight seconds at the end of the second quarter, in the middle of a meaningless game. (Drew Brees, Coming Back Stronger)

Drew Brees is the starting quarterback for the New Orleans Saints and a Christian with a strong testimony. Drew’s new book, Coming Back Stronger, was just released today. Drew shares his life story — from his parents’ divorce when he was a child, to his coming to Christ in high school, to his devastating shoulder injury with the San Diego Chargers in 2005, to his amazing comeback and the Saints’ Super Bowl win over the Indianopolis Colts in 2010.

Set against the backdrop of New Orleans, the book tells two stories: the story of Drew’s comeback from his injury and the continuing comeback of New Orleans from the devastation of Hurricane Katrina. Drew has an amazing story to share, and through it all he points to the Lord who uses adversity in our lives to help us not only come back, but come back stronger.

Why people may have their eyes closed during the sermon:

Do you ever close your eyes during the sermon? I like the pastor who said, “Once I dreamed I was preaching, when all of a sudden I woke up and found that I was!”

HT: The Cartoon Blog

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