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Check out The Bible Memory Version for the Kindle here.

The Amazon Kindle e-reader device allows you to highlight specific passages for viewing later. Amazon just rolled out a software upgrade (version 2.5) which expands this feature in a whole new way. Not only can you view your own highlights for a particular book, but now you can view the combined highlights of all other Kindle users as well. (Kindle users not wanting to share highlights can deactivate this feature.)

Using this feature I was able to find the most popular Bible highlights on the Kindle. Amazon lists six Bible translations in their top 100 most highlighted books: NIV (ranked #2), NASB (#19), TNIV (#32), NLT (#33), ESV (#35) and KJV (#76). I took the top highlights for each translation and put them together in the chart below. So, here are the most popular passages in the Bible as highlighted by Kindle users around the world:

                      Amazon Kindle’s Most Popular Bible Highlights
      (Hover your mouse over the Bible reference to view the passage.)

I found it interesting how many of these highlights focus on trusting God and not worrying. What stands out to you? (Click here for the most popular Kindle highlights for the Koran.)

Related posts:
    • The Bible Memory Version for the Kindle
    • New Amazon Kindle Goes Wi-Fi!
    • Top 10 Kindle Features
    • My Kindle Got Run Over by a Car

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

Pastor Paul Thompson was one of the ten Baptist volunteers arrested in Haiti on kidnapping charges this past January. Laura Silsby, the last volunteer still in prison, was released yesterday after more than 100 days in jail. Now that all ten volunteers have been released, Pastor Thompson finally feels free to share his side of the story. From the Baptist Press:

Paul Thompson reads the media accounts describing the journey of him and nine other jailed Baptist volunteers in Haiti who are all now free, and scratches his head. He was there. What he reads is not what he experienced … “It’s radically different,” Thompson said. For instance:

– The 10 Americans did not, as has been alleged in some accounts, go through the streets of Port-au-Prince passing out flyers and going door-to-door looking for children, Thompson said. Instead, the 33 children they were trying to take across the border in a medium-sized bus came from two orphanages, and orphanage workers told them that none of the children had parents.

– The group was told multiple times before they got to the border that their documentation and paperwork — the source of the controversy — was sufficient, Thompson said. A Haitian child services official said as much, as did a Haitian policeman and an orphanage director who has extensive experience transferring orphans from Haiti to the Dominican Republic.

– The 10 Baptists were arrested in Port-au-Prince, and not at the border. They thought they would go free until UNICEF — a United Nations agency — got involved and pressed charges, Thompson says.

– They were arrested on Jan. 30, and not Jan. 29 as has been reported repeatedly.

Visit the Baptist Press website for the full story with many fascinating details.

Download some great music from Jars of Clay for a dollar and help flood victims in Tennessee. In other words, everyone wins! Here are the details from the Jars of Clay website:

Dear Friends,

On May 1st and 2nd of 2010, our hometown of Nashville and its surrounding areas suffered a devastating flood. The impact of this extremely rare event was felt by us and countless others in our community, resulting in loss of life and billions of dollars in damage to property and infrastructure.

In an effort to help those who have lost everything, we have put together an EP with five different versions of our song, “Flood.” This 5-song EP is available for download for only $1 at jarsofclay.com. 100% of the proceeds from your purchase will go directly to charities aiding in flood relief efforts in the Nashville community, administered by MusiCares Nashville Flood Relief.

Our goal is to raise $100,000 and we need your help!

– Jars of Clay

The 5-song EP includes: 1) Savage Flavor Remix, 2) New Rain, 3) iTunes Originals Version, 4) Sara Groves Version, and 5) Original Album Version. I have always liked this song, and these are some nice versions. The iTunes Originals Version and the Sara Groves Version are especially good. And it is also good to know you are helping people in need at the same time. Way to go Jars of Clay on a great benefit!

I have been encouraged to share with you my ordination vows. I was ordained by Plantation Community Church on October 9, 1994. Plantation Community is a non-denominational church, and so in lieu of denominational vows, I wrote my own vows drawing from various Scriptures relating to pastoral ministry. I take these promises as seriously as my marriage vows, which means, very seriously! Here are the promises I made before God and his people that day.
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ORDINATION VOWS

Before God and by his grace I covenant the following:

• I covenant to keep watch over my own life, seeking to live in a manner pleasing to God and worthy of his calling. (Acts 20:28; Ephesians 4:1)
• I covenant to watch over and pray for the flock of God entrusted to my care as one who must give an account. (Acts 20:28; Hebrews 13:17)
• I covenant to love, guide, and care for God’s people — not by constraint, but from a willing spirit; not motivated by personal gain, but eager to serve; not lording it over those entrusted to me, but rather being an example to the flock. (1 Peter 5:2-3)
• I covenant to set an example for other believers in speech, in life, in love, in faith and in purity. (1 Timothy 4:12)
• I covenant to love my family, to raise my children in the training and instruction of the Lord, to manage my own household well, and to maintain a good reputation in the community. (Ephesians 5:25, 6:2; 1 Timothy 3:4,7)
• I covenant to study the Scriptures that I may teach what is in accord with sound doctrine and handle God’s Word correctly to the best of my ability. (2 Timothy 2:15; Titus 2:1)
• I covenant in my teaching to show integrity, seriousness and soundness of speech befitting the Word of God. (Titus 2:7)
• I covenant to preach God’s Word, to be prepared in season and out of season, to correct, rebuke and encourage — with patience and careful instruction. (2 Timothy 4:2)
• I covenant to proclaim the whole counsel of God from the Scriptures without fear or hesitation. (Acts 20:27)
• I covenant to discharge faithfully all the duties of my ministry in a manner that is honorable to both God and man. (2 Timothy 4:5)

These things I covenant before God, asking his grace that I may fulfill them and his forgiveness where I may fail or fall short.

“Now may the words of my mouth and the meditation of my heart be acceptable in your sight, O Lord, my Strength and my Redeemer.” (Psalm 19:14)

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Related post: Tim Challies was ordained as an elder/pastor at Grace Fellowship Church yesterday. See his post Ordination for the excellent set of promises Tim made at his ordination. Congratulations, Tim!

Here is a striking quote from Charles Spurgeon that conveys both his strong burden for evangelism and his great heart for the lost. May God give us grace to grow in these areas.

Oh, my brothers and sisters in Christ, if sinners will be damned, at least let them leap to hell over our bodies; and if they will perish, let them perish with our arms about their knees, imploring them to stay, and not madly to destroy themselves. If hell must be filled, at least let it be filled in the teeth of our exertions, and let not one go there unwarned and unprayed for.

– C. H. Spurgeon: “The Wailing of Risca” (Sermon No. 349; Delivered on Sabbath Morning, December 9th, 1860, at Exeter Hall, Strand)

Check out Charles Spurgeon’s Election for the Kindle/iPad/Nook here.

Time for a Saturday cartoon.

Coyote Catches Roadrunner (Video length: 1:41)

So, did you know the coyote ever caught the road runner?

HT: Althouse

… then you probably won’t care much for heaven!

Then I looked and heard the voice of many angels, numbering thousands upon thousands, and ten thousand times ten thousand. They encircled the throne and the living creatures and the elders. In a loud voice they sang: “Worthy is the Lamb, who was slain, to receive power and wealth and wisdom and strength and honor and glory and praise!” (Revelation 5:11-12)

From Thomas Watson’s A Body of Divinity:

Creatures below us, and above us, bring glory to God; and do we think to sit rent free? Shall everything glorify God but man? It is a pity then that man was ever made.

– Thomas Watson, A Body of Divinity, p. 9 (from the section on Man’s Chief End )

The 2010 baseball season is off to a great start with these two amazing plays. First up, here is pitcher Mark Buehrle’s “between-the-legs” play against the Indians on opening day.

MLB Mark Buehrle (Video length: 1:04)

 

Next, moving from the Major Leagues to College Ball, check out Fordham’s Brian Kownacki and his diving flip to home plate over Iona’s catcher.

Fordham’s Flip (Video length: 0:21)

 

Makes you wonder what the rest of the season might hold!

From The New York Times:

At midnight on May 15, an estimated one-fifth to one-quarter of some 1.6 million charities, trade associations and membership groups will lose their tax exemptions, thanks to a provision buried in a 2006 federal bill aimed at pension reform.

“It’s going to be an unholy mess once these organizations realize what’s happened to them,” said Diana Aviv, president of the Independent Sector, a nonprofit trade group.

The federal legislation passed in 2006 required all nonprofits to file tax forms the following year. Previously, only organizations with revenues of $25,000 or more — or the vast majority of nonprofit groups — had to file.

The new law, embedded in the 393 pages of the Pension Protection Act of 2006, also directed the Internal Revenue Service to revoke the tax exemptions of groups that failed to file for three consecutive years. Three years have passed, and thus the deadline looms.

Wow. This sounds huge. Does anyone know how this affects churches?

Update (4/28/2010): I just got an email from a friend (who is a CPA and church treasurer) informing me that this does not apply to churches. He referred me to the Instructions for Form 990 which states the following:

For annual tax periods beginning after 2006, the law requires most tax-exempt organizations, other than churches, to file an annual Form 990, 990-EZ, or 990-PF with the IRS, or to submit a Form 990-N e-Postcard to the IRS. If an organization fails to file an annual return or notice as required for 3 consecutive years, it will automatically lose its tax-exempt status. (Instructions for Form 990, page 1; under the section What’s New: New Penalty Provisions for Nonfiling)

That’s good news. I’m glad to know this won’t be catching any churches by surprise. Now, hopefully the other nonprofits can catch up on time.

Today is Earth Day with an emphasis on the environment. I prefer to think of environmental concerns as care for creation. God gave human beings both rulership over creation and responsibility for creation. Both are necessary to keep a proper perspective on “green” living and stewardship of the planet.

Here is an excerpt from a sermon on Psalm 8 that discusses these issues more fully. You can read the full text of the message here: Our Place in Creation.

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God made man ruler over all creation. As David writes in Psalm 8: “You made him ruler over the works of your hands; you put everything under his feet: all flocks and herds, and the beasts of the field, the birds of the air, and the fish of the sea, all that swim the paths of the seas.” (Psalm 8:6-8) God made man the ruler over all creation – over all the animals on the ground, over all the birds in the air, over all the fish of the sea.

Does that mean that man can do whatever he wants with creation? The answer is no, because as image bearers of God, our rule over the created world should reflect God’s wise rule over his creation.

We read in Genesis 2:15: “The LORD God took the man and put him in the Garden of Eden to work it and take care of it.” The verbs here are very significant. The word translated “work” is the Hebrew word for “serve.” The word translated “take care” is a word that means “to keep, to guard, to watch over and protect.” In other words, man is not to be a tyrant ruler over creation, but a servant leader over creation. God gave man the stewardship of the earth, to serve the land and take care of it under God’s care. God gave man both rulership and responsibility.

This is where so many groups get it wrong concerning the environment today. When it comes to the creation, God gave man both rulership and responsibility. If you leave out one or the other, you are going to be out of balance. If you leave out responsibility, you get the view that the world is ours to do with as we please and so it is okay if we trash it. That is not a biblical view of the environment. If you leave out rulership, then you get the view that man is on the same level as the rest of creation. This is not a biblical view of the environment either. This view gives just as much importance to a spotted frog as to a new-born baby. And that’s just not right.

An even more extreme version of this view would be the type of environmentalism that worships the planet instead of God who created the planet. In this extreme, the planet actually rules over man, instead of man ruling over the planet. Notice we are not to worship the earth but to take care of it. The Christian cares for the earth because God created it, and because God gave us the responsibility to take care of it. And that is where Christian environmentalism is so radically different from much environmentalism today

It is important to note that these final verses in Psalm 8 are applied specifically to Jesus in the New Testament. (see 1 Corinthians 15:24-27; Hebrews 2:5-9) We have been crippled in our attempts to fulfill our rightful place in the world because of sin. But Jesus came as the perfect Son of God and perfect son of man to deliver us from sin and to lead us one day to our rightful place as rulers over all creation. Jesus came to restore the creation to its original glory and then give it all back to us. This time we will do it right. This time we will be faithful stewards of God’s creation, rejoicing in the gifts of creation and returning those gifts in thanksgiving and praise back to God. That in fact is your individual place in this world – using the gifts that God has given you to serve God in this world and to bring him glory.

Related posts:
    • The Size of the Earth Compared to Other Objects in Space
    • God’s Good Creation Series

Here is a video of the meteor spotted over the midwest on Wednesday. What an amazing sight!

Midwest Meteor (Video length: 0:43)

From Chicago Breaking News:

A fiery ball of light witnessed by thousands as it swept over the upper Midwest Wednesday night was almost certainly a large meteor that probably left a trail of debris across southern Wisconsin, asteroid experts say. The path of the meteor was tracked by Doppler radar at two National Weather Service stations, in the Quad Cities and at LaCrosse, Wis.

“It has the appearance that is completely consistent with being a bright meteor,” said Mark Hammergren, an Adler Planetarium astronomer who specializes in asteroids, after viewing the Doppler images. The object, which lit up the sky shortly after 10 p.m. Wednesday across parts of Missouri, Iowa, Minnesota, Illinois and Wisconsin, was very likely a piece of an asteroid, a rocky planetoid formation that orbits the sun, he said. Almost all meteors come from asteroids.

It almost certainly was not from debris trailing a comet or part of a meteor shower associated with a comet, as earlier reports have speculated, Hammergren said. “We won’t know for sure until we get specimens” of whatever the object was, if pieces of it survived the fiery plunge through the Earth’s atmosphere, he said. But it was so large, he said he was fairly certain some may be found. Technically, if pieces of a meteor survive the impact, they are known as “meteorites.”

Update: And here is the video of a similar sighting a couple years ago over Edmonton, Canada.

Meteor over Edmonton, Canada (Video length: 0:16)

Related post: The Size of the Earth Compared to Other Objects in Space