Giving Up Socnets For Lent

Mobile Post

Giving Up Socnets For Lent

It's a bit late, maybe, but I decided yesterday (after posting one update to Twitter, Facebook, et. al.) to give up online social networking for Lent. I'm not Catholic, and I don't usually do this Lent thing. But I do want to grow ever closer to my Creator and Savior, and that's what Lent is all about; eliminating a source of distraction in your life and shifting that focus to God.

Twitter, Facebook, and the myriad other social networking sites (including newcomer Google Buzz) can certainly be a source of great distraction. So, other than some already set up automated processes like blog posts being added to my feeds, etc., I will not be updating any of the social media outlets until after Lent (Easter Sunday). I will not be reading the feeds, catching the Tweets, or following the Buzz. I will, instead, be pushing myself to shift the time I would have spent on social networking toward enriching my relationship with the Creator of all things.

Starting now, as I dig back into the book of Job; yet another great man who walked with God. Watch for a new SOAP entry about him here soon.

Send me your thoughts.

Mobile Post

Book Review: Living Life In The Zone by Kyle Rote Jr. and Dr. Joe Pettigrew

It's a New Year, and time for New Years Resolutions. Right? Well, no. Normally, I don't make resolutions. It prevents me from failing to keep them. Instead, I make commitments. Not resolutions. Not things that I will do EVERYDAY, but rather things that I hope to get done during the year. Last year, I committed to read through the Bible, and I did. Sure I missed some days, but I actually finished the reading nearly a week early.

This year, I have committed to expand my Bible study beyond just reading the Bible, into doing something a little more -- involved. Enter Kyle Rote Jr. and Dr. Joe Pettigrew with their 40-day devotional, Living Life in the Zone: A 40-Day Spiritual Gameplan for Men. I received the book from Thomas Nelson Publishers as part of their Book Review Bloggers Program and began it immediately. Like many Christian devotional books, Living Life in the Zone: A 40-Day Spiritual Gameplan for Men follows a 40-day plan, calling on the Biblical significance of a forty day period (see Noah, et. al.). But Rote and Pettigrew do something that I haven't found in many of the devotional guides and Bibles that I've researched -- they tailor their devotional to the life of a man.

Calling on their vast experience of working with the men of professional sports as part of the Fellowship of Christian Athletes, Rote and Pettigrew present the life of a man in terms that men can understand. They cover topics such as living a healthy Christian life at work, loving an imperfect woman, dealing with daily stress, and even the oft-taboo topic of improving your sex life from the perspective of a Christian man. I have tried to carve time out of my day every day to spend a little time in the Word under the tutelage of Rote and Pettigrew, and found deep insight into things that I have just taken for granted for years. By spending just fifteen minutes a day pondering the thoughts and words of such pro sports greats as Roger Staubach, Joe Gibbs, John Wooden, and Coach Tony Dungy, I've found myself trying to live more like the man God wants me to be.

It's only a 40-day devotional, and won't require a major commitment on your part to get through this little book. But it just might cause you to make some major commitments you hadn't considered before.

Send me your comments. Joe

AJA Press

Disclosure(s) of Material Connection:

Some of the links in the post above are “affiliate links.” This means if you click on the link and purchase the item, I will receive an affiliate commission. Regardless, I only recommend products or services I use personally and believe will add value to my readers. I am disclosing this in accordance with the Federal Trade Commission’s 16 CFR, Part 255: “Guides Concerning the Use of Endorsements and Testimonials in Advertising.”

I received one or more of the products or services mentioned above for free in the hope that I would mention it on my blog. Regardless, I only recommend products or services I use personally and believe will be good for my readers. I am disclosing this in accordance with the Federal Trade Commission’s 16 CFR, Part 255: “Guides Concerning the Use of Endorsements and Testimonials in Advertising.”

Merry X-mas!

This time of year there is always great debate (among those who just need a reason to debate) about the meaning of Christmas. Whether you celebrate it as the birth of Christ, or just a time to give gifts, or some other manufactured holiday [see Kwanzaa], Christmas should be a time of great joy and happiness, shared with family and friends, blah, blah, blah. Right?

I say, emphatically, NO!

Christmas is a time of year that we recognize the birth of our Savior. Period. You may give gifts, which is great, as on that first Christmas day we received the greatest gift of all from our Creator God in the birth of His Son, Jesus Christ, sent to take away the sins of the world. But as I mentioned earlier, much of the debate of this time of year centers around the terms "Christmas Tree," or the use of the letter 'X' instead of 'Christ' in the word Christmas. It is that which weighs heavily on my mind today.

Christmas. Xmas. Or X-mas. What is the difference. Is there really any difference? Many people -- including some of my own loved ones -- intentionally use the letter 'X' to replace 'Christ' in Christmas, as if by writing the word differently they can remove the real reason for the season.

But what does the 'X' really represent? Consider this, from Wikipedia:

"The word Christmas originated as a compound meaning 'Christ's Mass'. It is derived from the Middle English Christemasse and Old English Cristes maesse, a phrase first recorded in 1038.[6] 'Cristes' is from Greek Christos and 'maesse' is from Latin missa (the holy mass). In Greek, the letter Χ (chi), is the first letter of Christ, and it, or the similar Roman letter X, has been used as an abbreviation for Christ since the mid-16th century.[12] Hence, Xmas is often used as an abbreviation for Christmas."

But maybe you're one who views Wikipedia as flawed, due to it's social editing structure. In that case, consider this:

From Bill Purdue, an Open University historian:

"I suppose to us it will always look like an abbreviation, but it would first seem to be an abbreviation used by clerics with a good knowledge of ancient languages."

Or this, from About.com:

It is said that when the Emperor Constantine had his great vision that caused him to convert to Christianity, he saw the Greek letters Chi and Rho intertwined. Chi is written as an 'X' and Rho is written as a 'P', but they are the first two letters of the Greek word Christ 'savior'. 'XP' is sometimes used to stand for Christ. Sometimes X is used alone. This is the case in the Chi (X) abbreviation for Christ in Xmas. Thus, Xmas is not directly a way of secularizing the holiday, but since 'X' is not Chi in English, we read the word as X-mas and see no connection with Christ.

Still not convinced? Then maybe you should consider this, from Snopes.com, one of the most reputable sites for debunking urban myths (presented as a screen capture as well as text -- click image to enlarge):

The abbreviation of 'Xmas' for 'Christmas' is neither modern nor disrespectful. The notion that it is a new and vulgar representation of the word 'Christmas' seems to stem from the erroneous belief that the letter 'X' is used to stand for the word 'Christ' because of its resemblance to a cross, or that the abbreviation was deliberately concocted "to take the 'Christ" out of Christmas."

Actually, this usage is nearly as old as Christianity itself, and its origins lie in the fact that the first letter in the Greek word for 'Christ' is 'chi,' and the Greek letter 'chi' is represented by a symbol similar to the letter 'X' in the modern Roman alphabet. Hence, 'Xmas' is indeed perfectly legitimate abbreviation for the word 'Christmas'...

So there you have it. No matter how you slice it -- or spell it -- Christmas is just that, the celebration of the birth of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. Merely substituting 'Christ' with an 'X' does not change that. Am I suggesting that you shouldn't celebrate Christmas if you haven't accepted Christ as your Lord and Savior?

Quite the contrary. Instead, I suggest you continue to celebrate Christmas with your friends and family, giving gifts and singing carols, and all that has come to be a traditional Christmas celebration. Oh, yeah, and I strongly encourage you to come to a personal relationship with Christ, because without that, everything we do on this Earth is for nothing.

Send me your comments. Joe

AJA Press

What Is Good Friday?

Question: "What is Good Friday?" Answer: Good Friday is the Friday immediately preceding Easter Sunday. It is celebrated traditionally as the day on which Jesus was crucified. If you are interested in a study of the issue, please see this article that discusses the various views on which day Jesus was crucified. Assuming that Jesus was crucified and died on a Friday, should Christians remember Jesus' death by celebrating Good Friday? The Bible does not instruct Christians to remember Christ's death by honoring a certain day. The Bible does give us freedom in these matters, however. Romans 14:5 tells us, "One man considers one day more sacred than another; another man considers every day alike. Each one should be fully convinced in his own mind." Rather than remembering Christ's death on a certain day, once a year, the Bible instructs us to remember Christ's death by observing the Lord's Supper. First Corinthians 11:24-26 declares, "...do this in remembrance of me...for whenever you eat this bread and drink this cup, you proclaim the Lord's death until he comes." Why is Good Friday referred to as "good"? What the Jewish authorities and Romans did to Jesus was definitely not good (see Matthew chapters 26-27 ). However, the results of Christ's death are very good! Romans 5:8 , "But God demonstrates his own love for us in this: While we were still sinners, Christ died for us." First Peter 3:18 tells us, "For Christ died for sins once for all, the righteous for the unrighteous, to bring you to God. He was put to death in the body but made alive by the Spirit." Many Christian churches celebrate Good Friday with a subdued service, usually in the evening, in which Christ's death is remembered with solemn hymns, prayers of thanksgiving, a message centered on Christ suffering for our sakes, and observance of the Lord's Supper. Whether or not Christians choose to "celebrate" Good Friday, the events of that day should be ever on our minds because the death of Christ on the cross is the paramount event of the Christian faith. If you would like to learn more about why Jesus' death on the cross was so "good," please read the following article: What does it mean to accept Jesus as your personal Savior? Recommended Resource: The Case for the Resurrection of Jesus by Gary Habermas. What's new on GotQuestions.org? GotQuestions.org seeks to glorify the Lord Jesus Christ by providing Biblical answers to spiritually-related questions. To continue in this mission, we need your support! For more information, please visit https://www.gotquestions.org/support.html Got Questions? The Bible has Answers! We'll find them for you! www.GotQuestions.org This message was sent from GotQuestions.org . It was sent from: Got Questions Ministries, 6050 Stetson Hills Blvd., #254, Colorado Springs, CO 80923.

The Best Life Ever

SOAP {Scripture, Observation, Application, Prayer}:

FOR TODAY'S FULL READING, CLICK THE TITLE LINK ABOVE | ABOUT SOAP

SCRIPTURE
13-14 "Don't look for shortcuts to God. The market is flooded with surefire, easygoing formulas for a successful life that can be practiced in your spare time. Don't fall for that stuff, even though crowds of people do. The way to life—to God!—is vigorous and requires total attention.

15-20 "Be wary of false preachers who smile a lot, dripping with practiced sincerity. Chances are they are out to rip you off some way or other. Don't be impressed with charisma; look for character. Who preachers are is the main thing, not what they say. A genuine leader will never exploit your emotions or your pocketbook. These diseased trees with their bad apples are going to be chopped down and burned.

MATTHEW 7:13-20 [MSG]

OBSERVATION
There is no get out of jail free card.

APPLICATION
Mega-churches. Celebrity preachers. So-called faith healers. The airwaves are crowded with those who claim to know the way to get the most out of life now.

But Jesus said no, there are no surefire formulas to fame and fortune. Living right requires work and attention. The gift of salvation is ours for the receiving, but getting the most ouf of life from reading a book or giving to a church?

Read the Bible -- that's the only book we need to learn how to get the most -- God -- out of life. Then give prayerfully and faithfully as God would have you give. That's the only way to real life. That's how to have your best life now -- or ever.

PRAYER
Father, thank You for this reminder of what really matters in life. Thank You for showing the way -- for paving the way -- to life everlasting.

Your comments?

Joe

podsafe music network | ioda promonet | magnatune | airplay direct
ariel publicity | kennedy resource development | populuxe records | indie heaven
miles high productions | iris distribution | chavis records | after hours music

Religion Is Bad

Today's Daily Soap {Scripture | Observation | Application | Prayer}

• S: Isaiah 1:11-17 [MSG]
  
• O: Religion for the sake of religion is bad. To put on a show of being religious, having special gatherings for the sake of appearing religious, and giving prayer "performances" are all bad.
  
• A: It's so easy today with the popularity of mega-churches and -- despite the so-called separation of church and state -- with political candidates touting their faith, to become phony. It can be too easy to do, do, do what we want our fellow man to see so that they will think we are religious. In so doing, we forget what God asks of us. God sees our heart. God knows our faith. Short of using that faith to bring others to a relationship with God through Christ, our faith should be between us and God. Our prayers are heard louder when they come from the heart than when they come from our lips.
  
• P: Father, teach me to be more Christ-like and less religious; to use my faith for Your will and not my own; to shut my mouth and open my heart.
  

Send feedback to Joe by email, or by calling 317-644-6129.

Your comments?

Joe

podsafe music network | ioda promonet | magnatune | airplay direct
ariel publicity | kennedy resource development | populuxe records | indie heaven
miles high productions | iris distribution