So Encouraging

I love John Piper.....enjoy!

God's Reasons

John Piper:

One of the reasons God rarely gives micro reasons for his painful providences, but regularly gives magnificent macro reasons, is that there are too many micro reasons for us to manage, namely, millions and millions and millions and millions and millions.

God says things like:

• These bad things happened to you because I intend to work it together for your good (Romans 8).
• These happened to that you would rely more on God who raises the dead (2 Corinthians 1).
• This happened so that the gold and silver of your faith would be refined (1 Peter 1).
• This thorn is so that the power of Christ would be magnified in your weakness (2 Corinthians 12).

But we can always object that there are other easier ways for God to accomplish those things. We want to know more specifics: Why now? Why this much? Why this often? Why this way? Why these people?

The problem is, we would have to be God to grasp all that God is doing in our problems. In fact, pushing too hard for more detailed explanations from God is a kind of demand that we be God.

Read the rest of this very helpful article.

Pretty Amazing

Couldn't resist this clip. For all of the musicians who work with loops,this is good stuff. All done in one take.

Enjoy!

The Only Way

American Idol.....a bright side and on the other hand..

Bob Kauflin with his usual wisdom on all the "American Idol sings Shout to the Lord" hype. Read his post here.

Shout To The Lord on American Idol

I was shocked when I heard the praise and worship song Shout To The Lord on American Idol last night. Read below......

T-Wax reports:

Last night, at the end of the American Idol charity special “Idol Gives Back,” the Top 8 Finalists closed the show by singing “Shout to the Lord.”

What are we to make of this?

Why did they change “my Jesus” to “my Shepherd” at the beginning of the song, especially when other artists had no qualms about singing songs that explicitly mentioned Jesus?

Has “Shout to the Lord” arrived in the collective consciousness of our civil religion, much like “Amazing Grace” and other well-known hymns?

Are there Christians behind the scenes of American Idol who are promoting Christian songs?

What does it say to see Christians singing this song together with a Mormon as one of the contestants?

Let the discussion begin!

Bullies

The NY Times has a very sad story here called, A Boy the Bullies Love to Beat Up, Repeatedly.

Public school or not, as a parent, I know I will have to deal with this type of thing at some point.

I pray that my son would know and be secure in the love of God. May he not fear man, for what can man do to us? May he only fear the One who is worthy to be feared: God alone. May his confidence be in the truth of God's word concerning himself and not what some horribly insecure kid says to him on the playground. May he have the confidence to stand up for what is right and the courage to support those who are oppressed and abused. May he defend the weak and be clothed with mercy for the marginalized. May he know that no matter what, that his Mom and Dad love him and our home will always be a place of security and refuge.

Owen Strachan has a good commentary on this article here. He writes:

We should remember, perhaps, our own histories, and run our minds over our own scars. As parents, we should be prepared to stand up with great force and courage for our children. I'm thankful that my own parents were always there for me. We've got to teach our children to defend themselves, even as we teach them to, when possible, suffer reproach for the gospel. Most of all, we need simply to think--to think about our children's souls and the way they will be shaped by the childhood years in which we shepherd them. Education is important, after all, but at what price does it come?