You depend on God? Prove it.

You believe that you're totally dependent on God?  Good.  Then why don't you pray more?

Do you have a "real life" offline?

Sorry, I haven't posted to this blog for a long time. But that's partly because I've been living a "non-virtual" life (which has included very real, non-virtual deaths and reunions). And my face-to-face life gives me more joy than my virtual life.  It's more important.

The apostle John had a similar experience. He was writing the (non face-to-face) letter of 2 John, and in the end of his letter, he wrote, "Though I have much to write to you, I would rather not use paper and ink. Instead I hope to come to you and talk face to face, so that our joy may be complete" (2 John 1:12).

Do you have a "real life" offline?

Philippians rap

I hope you find this video to be creative and encouraging. It's Trip Lee's rapped summary of the book of Philippians!

New Moon: A bad apple?

The new Twilight movie, New Moon, is really popular right now. But should you, err, "sink your teeth" into this one?

Judging from reviews at CT Movies and Plugged In, it sounds like a bad apple. Even if you're not too interested in Twilight, I'd encourage you to read these reviews, since so many people (especially teen females) are engaging with this story nowadays.

"The Greatest Story Ever Told"

shai linne raps "the story of the Bible in four minutes" in his song "The Greatest Story Ever Told."



A chill went down my spine as he got to Jesus' death and resurrection. This video was a (very cool!) blessing to me.

He has four songs up on NoiseTrade.com that you can download for free.

Texting our souls away?

Albert Mohler wonders aloud, How does texting affect our souls? A fascinating article!

Worship Instructional Video

This is one of the funniest things I've seen all week! I watched it right after I showered, and I was having trouble seeing because my glasses were getting all steamed up from my laughter!

An amazing God!

Want to find out what TIGS sponsors talk about at sponsors' meetings?

Well, this is a devo thought that I brought to tonight's meeting. This shows you why in TIGS we're teaching through a series loosely based on J.I. Packer's book Knowing God: we love God, and we want you to be in awe of Him and to love Him and trust Him.

And this leads to a question: When you come to TIGS, what's the main attraction? Is it the games? Is it the wonderful ;) sponsors? Is it the friends?

Or is it God?

I really want my heart to say along with Asaph,

"Whom have I in heaven but You?
And there is nothing on earth that I desire besides you.
My flesh and my heart may fail,
but God is the strength of my heart and my portion forever."

If your treasure isn't God, then ask God for forgiveness, and ask Him to change your heart. That's what I had to do.

Praying for a robber

"But I say to you, Love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you..." (Matthew 5:44)

Here's another cool video about a woman who prayed for a robber.

Internet vs. God

How much time do you spend checking your email, Facebook, etc.? Here's a funny, convicting clip:




HT: Josh Harris

Elderly woman witnessing to a robber

I love this video! And I hope that one day you are as cool as this elderly woman!

My new Bible-reading system!

I started a new Bible reading program (Professor Grant Horner's Bible-Reading System) on Saturday, and I really like it! It might sound intimidating (yes, you're reading 10 chapters per day!), but I've actually been finding Bible reading a lot more rewarding, interesting, and easy.

But even if you don't use this method, I encourage you to keep on reading your Bibles. God has met me in wonderful ways as I prayerfully read the Bible.

For your encouragement, here's a cool interview with a lady who's been using this method.

Google Voice

I recently got Google Voice. It has some pretty cool features! But I don't know how much I'd actually use it, especially since the voicemail transcripts aren't that accurate right now.

Here's a little overview:





And here's one of the test runs that I did with Google Voice:

Free Phil Wickham CD

I think I posted this previously (I can't remember), but Phil Wickham is offering his live CD Singalong as a free download. My brother really likes it. I've heard bits of it, and some of it's really good!

Delirious? is retiring!

Have you heard of a British band called Delirious??

They were pretty big several years ago. They made the song "I Could Sing of Your Love Forever" famous and were pretty influential in making it cool to turn your guitar amp up during Sunday morning worship. And they still have some pretty good-sounding rock music.

My brother fell in love with this band several years ago when he went off to college, and he sent me several of their albums. Since he thought they were cool, I decided that they must be cool, too, and I started using a British accent when I led worship in song. I'm not kidding. And I wasn't kidding back then, either--I wasn't joking around--I just thought it was the cool thing to do. Ai ya.

(On a side note, around this time I also started trying to make my voice gruff like Scott Stapp/Jason Wade when I led worship in song. Ai ya!)

So it came as kind of a shock to me this weekend to find that Delirious? is retiring. It just comes to me as another reminder of Isaiah 40:6-8 (ESV):

A voice says, “Cry!”
And I said, “What shall I cry?”
All flesh is grass,
and all its beauty is like the flower of the field.
The grass withers, the flower fades
when the breath of the Lord blows on it;
surely the people are grass.
The grass withers, the flower fades,
but the word of our God will stand forever.

Life is short. Fame is short. God's Word stands forever. Fear Him.

Missed Gospel Opportunities!

A few months ago in TIGS, I was encouraging everyone to pray for and grab opportunities to share the gospel.

Well, on Monday when I was at work, God gave me two opportunities to bring the gospel into conversation, but I didn't take advantage of these opportunities as fully as I could have if I'd been more alert and more courageous. I wanted to share these with you to inspire you, to show you that even I don't do it perfectly, and to give you some ideas for how you can share the gospel more where you are.

--

1. "Why are some people really bad?"
One of my friends asked me why the universe is set up so that some people are really bad. I told my friend that we're all bent and that we all rebel against God (Romans 3:10-12). But afterward, I was kicking myself because I left it at that; instead, I could have added something like this:

"And that's bad news for all of us. Because God is a good judge, and He punishes all of our rebellion. That's what the Bible calls God's wrath. And so we're all in trouble, since that means God will punish all of us.

But the good news is that God sent Jesus to take the punishment that people like us deserve..."

(Do you see how I'm using the Two Ways to Live gospel framework?) The conversation in real life might not have gone quite like that, but it would have been helpful for my friend if I'd tried to point her to Christ and not just leave it at "we're all sinners."


2. "What difference will my life make in 100 years?"
Later, as I was leaving work, I got into conversation with one of my other co-workers. I remarked that I was getting old but that I was okay with that--everyone gets old and ugly and dies (I had in mind Isaiah 40:6-8 when I said this).

And I said, "You know, I think about that a lot."

"Really? That's unusual for someone your age," she told me.

"Yeah. And lately I've been thinking more about what difference the things I'm doing will make in 100 years. Or even in eternity." I told her that I'd been thinking about TIGS and YWW and what difference they'll have made in 100 years. The conversation wandered from this focus after this.

But afterwards, I was kicking myself for not telling my friend the words that keep recurring in my mind when I think about the "100 years" question:

Only one life,
'Twill soon be past;
Only what's done
for Christ will last.

And then I could have told her that I live for Jesus like this because He died for me and bought me. So that's why I think about things like what difference will TIGS and YWW make in 100 years or eternity, instead of just thinking about how to make myself rich and comfortable.

--

So I didn't do it perfectly. But I'm grateful that God still loves me and completely has forgiven me because Jesus took all my sins. And I'm grateful that God used these conversations to wake me up to be a more alert, courageous, and loving witness for Him. May He use these stories to help you, too!

Taking Care of the Ladies

Have you heard the voice of God?

Have you ever gotten frustrated because you wanted to hear from God, but He seemed silent?

This article was very helpful for me! And how precious is the Bible!

Rate your cough!

I recently became sick, and so I took today off work so that I can get better and limit germ spread (Christina would be proud of me! :D). I'll probably take tomorrow off, too.

But good thing I watched this video first before I got sick! It's pretty funny, and it's also educational. After we watched this video, my co-workers and I started rating each others' coughs and sneezes. :D

Eighth grade poems--"Yes, Jesus Loves You"

On Friday I had the great pleasure of presenting poems that I wrote for the outgoing eighth graders to these eighth graders. It's something that my youth pastor did for me when I was graduating from high school, and it meant a lot to me, so I decided to pass it on.

This video that my friends and I made in college was also an inspiration:



I wrote the last verse several years ago, and it still rings true, especially now as the outgoing eighth graders are moving up to CY very soon:

It's God's grace that brought our friends, and He takes away
And He is still good, and He has never changed.
He saved us from wrath and works all for our good
And at the end look back-- by His grace you've always stood.

Yes, my friends, Jesus loves you. Rest in that.

Sleeping Bag Wrestling: The Final Showdown

Review of The Shack

Tonight at TIGS we mentioned The Shack, which is currently a new bestselling novel among Christians. And that's too bad, since it seems to have some pretty iffy theology (packaged in an emotionally moving story).

Anyways, you may find Tim Challies' review helpful. This is the review that I give people who are interested in the book.

And all I have to say is...

BOK CHOI!!!!

Interview about devotions

I just read a helpful interview with my hero JP (yes, that JP) with tips on doing devotions.

Math 911!

Old Envy Quote

"How much of hell is there in the temper of an envious man! The happiness of another is his misery, the god of another is his affliction. He looks upon the virtue of another with an evil eye, and is as sorry at the praise of another as if that praise were taken away from himself. Envy makes him a hater of his neighbor, ad his own tormentor."

-Nathaniel Vincent

HT: bubbleglory

"There is nothing you can do to harm me"

Wow, this is cool!

http://christisdeeperstill.blogspot.com/2009/08/i-defy-you.html

At death, beyond the grave He'll love

At death, beyond the grave, He’ll love;
In endless bliss, His own shall prove
The blazing glory of that love
Which never could from them remove.

-from "The Love of Christ Is Rich and Free" by William Gadsby

Happy birthday, Byron!

This video makes me smile. :D The TIGS committee people who were available at the last minute. :D

"Young" video

Cool song, huh? :)

Easily edified?

Are you easily edified?

This post by Justin Taylor and a follow-up post from Brett Harris were very helpful for me on this.

(Don't know what the word "edified" means? Check it out!)

Free Crazy Love audiobook

I've heard good things about Francis Chan's new book Crazy Love. I think Pastor Joe read an excerpt from it during a sermon a few months ago, too.

Anyway, I just found out that the audiobook version of this book is free this month!

You can find out more and watch his videos at http://crazylovebook.com/

Re:Sound's Rain City Hymnal

Re:Sound recently uploaded the new album Rain City Hymnal for free download at Noisetrade.com, if you tell five friends about it. I've heard good things about it, though I haven't actually listened through it myself.

Treasuring Him

Gossip devo

Here's the Gossip devo that I printed out and for which I wrote questions for the TIGS lock in.

Death Is Not Dying

I haven't watched it myself, but I hear that Rachel Barkley's story is amazing and powerful.

If you have the time, please watch/listen to her testimony at http://deathisnotdying.com/

Leviticus, bus rides, and evangelism

Every day on the bus to and from work, I have my quiet times, reading the Bible and praying. Yesterday, the guy sitting next to me on the bus saw me reading Leviticus and started asking me all kinds of questions about Christianity. Well, I made a new friend, and we had a pretty fun conversation about the Bible and church and stuff. Pretty exciting, huh? I'm glad that God gives me chances like these to make new friends and tell others about Jesus.

Pray for opportunities like these in your own life! God may give them to you. And please pray for my new friend and my friendship with him. I'm hoping that God helps him to trust and treasure Jesus Christ above all earthly things, and that we become good friends!

The Great Silly Little TIGS Lunch Contest deadline

The Great Silly Little TIGS Lunch Contest will close on Friday, May 22, 2009, at 11:59 PM PST.

No, Mr. President

The Great Silly Little TIGS Lunch Contest

Update, 5/20/09:
This contest will close on Friday, May 22, 2009, at 11:59 PM PST (California time). So get your entries in!

--

On Saturday night I spent about 80 minutes on the phone chatting about random things and catching up with a former sponsor. It was a great encouragement for both of us! And this sponsor and I came up with an idea: The Great Silly Little TIGS Lunch Contest!

Contest Rules
Here's how you can win a free lunch (! :DDD) with 1) you, 2) a friend of your choice, 3) the mystery sponsor, and 4) me (you must follow ALL of these rules):

• Leave a comment on this blog post.
• This comment must be in the form of a four-line poem.
• This comment must correctly identify the mystery sponsor and mention his/her name.
• You can only mention/guess one sponsor's name.
• This comment must also describe why you want to go to lunch with Mike and the mystery sponsor.

The first comment that correctly identifies the mystery sponsor (and conforms to all the other rules) wins! Only one entry per person! Start writing! :D

Discernment in Media links

In the spirit of our current series, one of the TIGS parents recently emailed me with some "Discernment in Media" resources that you may find helpful. This parent gave me permission to quote, so here it is, with some slight edits:

Just wanted to pass on a great resource and article. Focus on the Family has a great website and especially their entertainment section features reviews of current movies and hundreds of DVDs accessible by alphabetical order and genre. We often check these out before seeing or renting a film. They cover good and bad, and detail about violence, language, sexual and spiritual content.

Also, there is a link to the article "'Just a Little Bad' in Movies Can Be Harmful."

I echo this parents' words: Focus on the Family's entertainment section (namely, Plugged In Online) has been very helpful for me personally (I also often look at Plugged In before seeing a film so I can see what kind of content issues there are), so I also encourage you to check it out!

Is atheism "probably" wrong?

Nope! This new tract explains why it's "definitely wrong!"

Hark! Spring Celebration 2009 approacheth!

Start praying and thinking about whom to invite to Spring Celebration 2009 on May 8 (about 1.5 weeks away)! This looks like a great opportunity to invite friends to hear about Jesus and how He saves people.

"Don't Waste Your Live" lyrics

Did some of those lyrics go by too quickly for you in Lecrae's "Don't Waste Your Life" music video (which is related to John Piper's book Don't Waste Your Life, which Desiring God has online for you to read for free)?

Well, Desiring God (John Piper's ministry) which produced the music video, has the lyrics up online.

More about Don't Waste Your Life at dontwasteyourlife.com.

Big Truths for Young Hearts

Parents, Bruce Ware's new book Big Truths for Young Hearts: Teaching and Learning the Greatness of God looks like a very helpful resource to help you explain theology to your children.

Justin Taylor interviewed Bruce Ware about the book.

"Imagine a respected theologian devoting himself to training a new generation of pastors and scholars in the seminary classroom. Now imagine him driving home at night to teach that profound theology in simple terms to his children at their bedsides. Now imagine this father compiling those bedside conversations into a book available to all pastors, parents, and children alike. Imagine no more. My friend Dr. Bruce Ware has done it."
- C. J. Mahaney, Sovereign Grace Ministries

Church camp sign-ups

Church camp this year should be a lot of fun! I look forward to hearing Dr. George Fox open up the Word of God, jamming with the worship band, going to Greg's session, and playing TIGers in volleyball. And the youth will get Gavin as a break-out speaker--that should be interesting.

Anyways, the deadline to sign up at the lower price is this Sunday. Scholarships are available!

"Don't Waste Your Life" music video

Check out this awesome new new music video from Lecrae: "Don't Waste Your Life."

I love the message: don't waste your life! Instead, live for Christ!

VBS informational meeting tomorrow (and next Sunday)

There's an informational meeting about helping with VBS
tomorrow and next Sunday (I think they're the same thing both weeks)
at 1 pm
in the CY room.

I'm heading up the worship band this year, and I might have a hand in some other things as well. I hope to serve alongside many of you!

John Piper's conversation with Death

is here.

Jesus Paid It All

The cross means the world to me. No hope without it! That's why I love to belt this out from the bottom of my heart:

Jesus paid it all
All to Him I owe
Sin had left a crimson stain
He washed it white as snow

(A free mp3 of this song is available from Sovereign Grace Music at its Together for the Gospel Live page.)

And they call it "Good" Friday...

It was a Friday of absolute horror and evil. So why do we call it "good"?

Isaiah tells us:

He was despised and rejected by men;
a man of sorrows, and acquainted with grief;
and as one from whom men hide their faces
he was despised, and we esteemed him not.

Surely he has borne our griefs
and carried our sorrows;
yet we esteemed him stricken,
smitten by God, and afflicted.
But he was wounded for our transgressions;
he was crushed for our iniquities;
upon him was the chastisement that brought us peace,
and with his stripes we are healed.
All we like sheep have gone astray;
we have turned—every one—to his own way;
and the Lord has laid on him
the iniquity of us all.

(Isaiah 53:3-6, ESV)

Biblical manhood and womanhood links

While I'm talking about Biblical manhood and womanhood, let me include a few other links:

For both guys and girls:
The Council on Biblical Manhood and Womanhood (This is a big site, which means that it has a lot of helpful things and interesting things, but it's easy to get lost in.)

For guys (I already linked to this before):
How does a boy become a man?

For girls (I already linked to these sites before):
Girl Talk (There's a lot of interesting stuff here. Look in the Categoreis on the left-hand side of the page.)
Radical Womanhood (There's a lot of interesting stuff here, too. Look in the Categories on the left-hand side of the page.)

How does a boy become a man?

I'll be teaching at Singspiration on Friday, and in preparing for my message, I remembered a fascinating magazine issue of The TIE from Southern Seminary. It talks about how to prepare to become a man.

You can read and print it online.

Featured articles:

• "Show yourself a man" by Randy Stinson
• "When does a boy become a man?" by Albert Mohler
• "The marks of a godly husband" by Jaye Martin

My favorite article: "When does a boy become a man?"

Seeds Family Worship

I have a new hero! Seeds Family Worship! I just discovered it via my friend Janette (see her enthusiastic take on Seeds).

Seeds Family Music puts Scripture to catchy, winsome songs. You can stream full songs at their MySpace and at their website.

Scripture memory wallpapers

Tim Challies is creating Scripture memory (computer) wallpapers. The first one is nicely designed, and this series of wallpapers could be helpful.

Honor on the basketball court

This is an amazing short little video from ESPN. I want you all to be as honorable and loving as these athletes! You don't have to wait until you're in high school to be like this.

An avowed atheist who wants us to evangelize

One avowed atheist says that he doesn't respect people who don't evangelize. The Briefing has more in this interesting tidbit.

Romans 6 songs

Kami Mueller is my hero! She set all of Romans 6 to five different songs [hyperlink fixed]. How cool is that? I want to be just like her when I grow up! :)

(By the way, not only is the content really good, but her voice is beautiful, and the melodies and textures are great. I can't wait to hear what else this young lady puts out!)

Facebook privacy advice

Along with Mohler's Facebook advice, here is some Facebook privacy advice I saw recently. (Honestly, I haven't read through these yet, but they look like good ideas.)

Coldplay being (unintentionally?) Biblical

Curious about how Coldplay reflected Biblical principles last week on 60 minutes?

Facebook advice

Facebook recently turned five years old! Albert Mohler gives some tips for parents and students about how to (and how not to) use Facebook to the glory of God.

Your sponsors (still) love you!

On Friday, we distributed Valentine's Day cards to all our beloved TIGers who were present.

Below is the inside of the card. Click on the picture for the full-sized version.



(Also, for those of you who are interested, here's last year's Valentine's Day picture.)

Dating/Marriage Panel

In honor of Valentine's Day, here is some dating/marriage advice from a panel that one of my college friends attended at her church this past Friday. Some of this material is a bit early for most junior highers, but it doesn't hurt to start thinking about it. And there's a lot of good advice in here.

Self-inflicted torture... (haha)

I'm still reading Twilight. The going's been pretty slow on it recently, though. I tore through two other 600-700 page novels in the past two weeks, but, to put it mildly, Twilight is a bit harder for me to get through. It's not that it's difficult reading, but it's just that some details (e.g. about how Edward's nose touches Bella's hair) are supposed to be fascinating, so Meyer piles them on, but...wow. I don't think I'm the target audience. Haha.

Apologetics websites

When he spoke to us on January 23 about defending the gospel, my friend Jef said that he'd leave us with some handy websites. Here they are:


Frontline Ministries
Answers in Genesis
Apologetics Index
Stand to Reason
The Christian Apologetics and Research Ministry

UNDERSTAND THIS

I was wearing my UNDERSTAND THIS t-shirt on Friday night, and it elicited many questions, including the question, "What was that website on the back of your shirt?"

Well, it's understandthis.net, but that address no longer directs you to the site that Jef and I (well, mostly Jef) made. But the site is still up!!

So if you wander there, you can still see how much we loved our friend Vince (who was also our college pastor). And if you wander to the "Media" section, you might hear a familiar voice rapping (err, trying to) in the "MP3" section. :) (These are some songs we wrote for our friends.)

Anyway, enjoy. Let me know what you think.

Started reading Twilight...

Since I minister to teens, I thought it would be prudent for me to familiarize myself a little more with teen culture...

...all this to say, I just started reading Twilight. As I mentioned before, it doesn't seem like the healthiest book for teen girls to be reading.

When I finish it, I may have the distinction of being the only male to have ever read it! :) At least, that's how I feel. Well, good thing that at the library, I just used the automated check-out system and didn't have to face a real, live person and admit that I'm reading the book. :)

I may post a few comments on the book as I read it. All I've got to say for now is, wow, Meyer really likes emphasizing how "beautiful" Edward is! And she finds different ways to say it! Every few pages or so! This is definitely not written to appeal to teen boys. :)

Join a Bible reading plan with me!

Want to try something hard but rewarding? (No, it's not climbing a tall mountain and then watching the sunrise. Well, it's sort of like that.)

Start following a Bible reading plan this year! This is helpful for me, because if I didn't try to follow a plan, I'd end up just reading random parts of the Bible. And/or reading Romans over and over again. (Not that there's anything wrong with that, but there's also a lot more that God has given us.) Here are a few different Bible reading plans you can choose from and/or modify.

You can't get "brownie points" with God by doing this--Jesus died and rose so that we would be completely accepted by God, even though we don't deserve it. So we don't need "brownie points," and you can't get them by following a Bible reading plan. But you can get a lot of blessing through this. You can get to know God better through this.

Want to follow along with me? I'm doing Year 1 of this plan (which, for those of you keeping track, is the M'Cheyne plan cut in half). If I follow this plan for two years, I'll have read through the New Testament twice, the Psalms twice, and the rest of the Old Testament twice. Follow along with me, and we can talk together about what we're learning!