tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-57862453414324341292011-08-29T00:28:23.381-07:00For the Enlightenment and Encouragement of Christ-seekersCreative Enginenoreply@blogger.comBlogger1401100tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5786245341432434129.post-37639879717075915242008-12-09T18:15:00.000-08:002008-12-10T16:32:36.322-08:00

Josh Rushing is a retired Marine Lieutenant who appeared in the documentary "Control Room" (2004). He is now employed by Al Jazeera (to the horror of his former employers, the Marine Corps and the Bush Administration). This interview, hosted by Democracy Now!, is powerful because of Josh Rushing's unassuming truthfulness. He's a retired Marine, a veteran of the Iraq War who served for several

Creative Enginenoreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5786245341432434129.post-75891714805905226902008-09-26T09:32:00.000-07:002008-09-26T09:47:19.834-07:00

My main motivation for voting four years ago was religion (President Bush seemed to be Christian, therefore I voted for him). I now realize that this is a misguided way to vote. It has become clear that George W. Bush has been following the trend of his predecessors, taking as much power as he can whenever he can get away with it. This is a fundamental betrayal of the American people. It

Creative Enginenoreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5786245341432434129.post-57318593245429931002008-09-15T11:58:00.000-07:002008-09-15T21:27:58.562-07:00

I picked up 2011: Trendspotting for the Next Decade (by Richard Laermer) while waiting at the airport the other day after glancing through it.  I read a few chapters at the airport and then haven't read anything else since then (three weeks ago).I wouldn't usually buy a book for $25 on impulse, but I've been more concerned lately about trying to "live smart" rather than on impulse so (ironically

Creative Enginenoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5786245341432434129.post-3585412367420103772008-07-22T23:55:00.000-07:002008-07-22T23:56:53.900-07:00

I thought of a good get-to-know-yourself question today:What is the best compliment that anyone could give you?(I'm probably not the first one to think of this, but it's a good question to ask yourself anyway)

Creative Enginenoreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5786245341432434129.post-15196443823394401012008-02-04T09:11:00.000-08:002008-02-11T19:45:09.865-08:00

There is a movement underway all over the world to ban plastic bags forever. Here is an article about it.This "movement" is yet another environmental red herring allowing gas companies to continue their reign over the energy industry. This demonstrates once again the ease with which corporations and their political puppets can distract the public.Plastic is the one thing we should be using oil

Creative Enginenoreply@blogger.com12tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5786245341432434129.post-87982281256116670202008-01-28T10:00:00.000-08:002008-01-28T10:05:14.640-08:00

Corporate brand name building is true worship. A successful company makes its name famous to its employees first, then those employees set out to make this name famous throughout the world. Similarly, anyone consumed by God's Spirit can't resist proclaiming the greatness of Christ throughout the world. Like the zealous CEOs of Fortune 500 companies who give their all to advance their companies,

Creative Enginenoreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5786245341432434129.post-24115233328468735652008-01-20T23:59:00.000-08:002008-01-21T00:05:00.561-08:00

There is no way to become tough except through tough circumstances. Marines are made ready for war by enduring circumstances in bootcamp that are at least as difficult if not more difficult than war. Similarly, Christ grows His followers up as they engage the world. We who follow Christ will get to know Him better as we obey Him in the little things right now. Our capacity for serving increases

Creative Enginenoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5786245341432434129.post-48247714137203853732008-01-19T09:56:00.000-08:002008-01-19T10:12:09.527-08:00

God made men to be assertive. A man who is on the right page with God will be assertively obedient to God.It is not a bad thing to desire a wife. The most healthy way to deal with this desire is to obey God in whatever way He commands right now.If you discover someone you're interested in, your best game plan to marry that person is to keep obeying God.On a related note, if you notice a young

Creative Enginenoreply@blogger.com6tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5786245341432434129.post-74761678511848948312008-01-19T09:42:00.000-08:002008-01-19T09:56:07.771-08:00

If we were all theives, we would all have nothing. If not for honest people, dishonest people would have no one to exploit.Money is useful because of a system of economic trust. When any link of that system is compromised, everyone who depends on that system is compromised. Counterfeiters devalue currency as a whole and thereby shoot both themselves and everyone else in the foot. When the U.S

Creative Enginenoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5786245341432434129.post-27663696455533958052008-01-19T08:39:00.000-08:002008-01-19T08:57:24.827-08:00

The American "Can Do" attitude has its roots in faith. Every form of confidence must take its roots in faith. A godless, self-confident person has faith in something besides God, either himself or some other man-made system. A godly, confident person has faith in God. It is good to believe that something is possible before it actually happens, even despite the doubt of others. For

Creative Enginenoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5786245341432434129.post-38920114491309643202008-01-10T18:09:00.000-08:002008-01-10T18:25:48.236-08:00

The United States demonstrates why capitalism is good. Everyone in the U.S. has the chance to succeed (not equal chance, but at least a chance). The U.S. also demonstrates how even the best of ideas can fall victim to the depravity of man. Capitalism leaves itself open the greedy men, and greedy men are taking advantage of this fact.Sin is destroying the economically average American. A few

Creative Enginenoreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5786245341432434129.post-81008300322041202432007-12-28T00:19:00.001-08:002007-12-28T00:24:53.006-08:00

Both spiritual men and spiritual boys are innocent. They are both God's children; they're natures have been radically altered by God's Spirit.But there is a difference between a spiritual man and a spiritual boy. A spiritual man (a spiritually mature person) takes responsibility for his faith. He battles the world, taking back spiritual ground in Christ's name. It is acceptable for a spiritual

Creative Enginenoreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5786245341432434129.post-81802639703670994652007-12-28T00:17:00.000-08:002007-12-31T08:07:52.752-08:00

Suffering is undesirable for obvious reasons, but it's still necessary because:We are resistant to change. We will only grow up if we're forced.It helps us keep our bearings (it reminds us to pray).Through suffering we can identify with Christ.

Creative Enginenoreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5786245341432434129.post-57049029044016714442007-12-27T23:20:00.001-08:002007-12-31T08:32:11.605-08:00

I wonder about this, especially after reading Paul's writings (in 1 Corinthians 7 he says, he wishes his readers would stay single as he is, because being married divides a man’s affections between his wife and God) . Whenever I read about radically Godly men they tend to be single. I used to think to myself, “How could I wander off into the wilderness to obey God if I wasn’t single?”It must be

Creative Enginenoreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5786245341432434129.post-63141357295659019162007-12-17T16:45:00.000-08:002007-12-17T16:46:13.102-08:00

The best way to express our trust in God is to obey Him. On the same note, obeying God is the best way to draw near to Him. It is practical for the sake of Godliness to obey God. Obeying the Lord is overwhelmingly practical, even if doing so grinds against the gears of every mainstream machine, whether religious or nonreligious. Then again, it is extremely impractical to obey

Creative Enginenoreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5786245341432434129.post-41051970069824523712007-12-17T08:38:00.000-08:002007-12-17T08:45:30.027-08:00

The futility of evil surfaces at a early age as kids try to impress their friends by their rebelliousness. Many if not most youngsters embrace the lie that it takes courage to rebel. You’re “bad” if you go against the system. But “bad” actually means “good.” You’re “cool” if you’re “bad.” So “bad” is a true adjective, even though now being “bad” is a good thing. But this is backwards. “Bad

Creative Enginenoreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5786245341432434129.post-42129308440120720372007-12-14T00:02:00.000-08:002007-12-14T19:36:41.894-08:00

We Americans have warriors’ blood running through our veins. Violence is programmed into our national DNA. We function by battling. This comes in handy in our military exploits as well as in everyday situations. The United States came into being after the Revolutionary War through blood-soaked steel and flesh-tearing bullets. Then we plowed our way to the Pacific, combating both

Creative Enginenoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5786245341432434129.post-18391660581821066072007-12-12T21:01:00.000-08:002007-12-12T21:09:29.012-08:00

I listened to the song “Arise My Love” by NewSong on my way home today. It made me think about about the ridiculousness of Christ's resurrection. Christ-followers can always fall back on the astounding awesomeness His victory over death. Everything else that could occur in this life is “no big deal” compared with the fact that Christ died and rose again to conquer all evil forever. Some

Creative Enginenoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5786245341432434129.post-39295682778700546342007-12-11T23:03:00.000-08:002007-12-11T23:20:26.689-08:00

Passive income is money that a person collects without having to work for it. This is many people’s dream. I am confident that I will discover such a restful work someday… sometime after I’ve departed from this world. Active men load the internet full of lies about passive income. These same men worked long and hard for their online exposure so they might learn the secret of capitalizing

Creative Enginenoreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5786245341432434129.post-79226845865183974402007-12-11T04:27:00.001-08:002007-12-11T04:28:21.899-08:00

Christ will free us to demonstrate His grace. We needn’t try so hard to make Him evident to the world in ways that make sense to our flesh. When Christ consumes our estimations of success, we will naturally spill out from where we are into the rest of the world. God's Spirit consumes people. He makes us into agents of His kingdom. He transforms us to the extent that we are who we

Creative Enginenoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5786245341432434129.post-71225684132300104622007-12-10T16:24:00.001-08:002007-12-10T17:38:17.118-08:00

Do you desire world-wide exposure, missions expert? If you live in the United States, then you have multitudes from other countries going in and out of your country every day. The U.S. is famous for its fluctuating ethnic diversity. In the case of international college students, they stay for three to ten years soaking up everything they can. These students sometimes stay forever.

Creative Enginenoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5786245341432434129.post-69350516535011354532007-12-10T15:11:00.000-08:002007-12-10T17:27:27.655-08:00

Petroleum exists because of death and decay. Death and decay exist because of sin. Continuing to burn gas destroys life. Sin also continues to destroy life. In the same way that sin drags down and discourages a person's will to improve so also gas represents an unwillingness to improve. There are better alternatives to gas (such as electricity) that have existed for a long time.

Creative Enginenoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5786245341432434129.post-74940906227717156532007-12-10T10:45:00.000-08:002007-12-10T10:49:59.542-08:00

Be encouraged that the Christ was raised amidst the most religiously hindered people in the world, yet He used these same people to spark a worldwide spiritual fire. The Jewish people of the first century where part of a religious tradition so hopelessly engrained in self-centeredness that they reserved the exclusive right to hoard all the answers for themselves. They thought God was

Creative Enginenoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5786245341432434129.post-51475353147790663642007-12-08T00:27:00.001-08:002007-12-08T00:41:08.064-08:00

A revelation came to me tonight as I was looking for some aluminum foil. I remembered that the foil was actually at my friend's house. But wait, that's not the revelation. The revelation was: This exact same thing happened to the believers described in Acts. The more time we spend with each other, the more of our stuff we will leave at each other's houses. Therefore, the more stuff we forget

Creative Enginenoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5786245341432434129.post-49440930226483562812007-12-06T21:13:00.000-08:002007-12-06T21:18:55.772-08:00

It is the lifelong duty of American Christ-followers to bleed and plead in prayer that God might have mercy on these United States. Its not that the U.S. deserves special attention; we’re called to pray and plead for the U.S. because of God's astounding mercy and grace. And Christ will tell us exactly how to pray for this country. It is according to God's design that

Creative Enginenoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5786245341432434129.post-63589246309323375772007-12-06T05:00:00.000-08:002007-12-06T05:38:22.521-08:00

That the United States is unreached by the gospel might sound outrageous to many churchgoers. Most missionionalogical surveys conclude that U.S. is so thoroughly “reached” by the gospel that its Christian fate is sealed forever. There’s no way so many church buildings can exist in one country while the country still remains Godless, right? Ninety-something percent of the population who

Creative Enginenoreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5786245341432434129.post-87569767913980000872007-12-05T20:06:00.000-08:002007-12-05T20:11:15.053-08:00

We shouldn’t claim to know anything that we haven’t put into practice. Christ-followers as well as anyone who sincerely wants to know anything will learn by doing. This is both humbling as well as re-assuring; this means it’s not enough just to say the right answers. As we follow Christ, He will develop our spiritual palate for truthfulness and openness before God. Christ will

Creative Enginenoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5786245341432434129.post-78174856155269414712007-12-05T18:17:00.000-08:002007-12-05T20:36:35.210-08:00

(came to me as i sat in my cubicle today)The salesman works for himself though his paychecks come from his boss. The more the salesman sells the more he makes. The more the salesman sells, the more his boss makes. The salesman adapts and educates himself according to whatever product his boss tells him to sell. But his expertise is not the final deciding factor in his selling success. Confidence

Creative Enginenoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5786245341432434129.post-59798623822237425762007-12-03T16:29:00.000-08:002007-12-03T16:30:11.678-08:00

The nominal church of the west has turned God down so many times that active faith now seems like a myth. Discouragement, pressing in from all sides at once, seems to leave no other option for us than to stop fighting, lay down our weapons and surrender to mediocrity. Many of us have felt disillusioned with our past, our church, or with God Himself, while the more pertinent truth

Creative Enginenoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5786245341432434129.post-79700992879105639082007-12-03T13:43:00.000-08:002007-12-03T14:04:37.662-08:00

The best medicine for the masses who openly reject the westernized church is truth. God’s design is that the straightforward truth about His Son is sufficient to save even the most adamantly lost person. So is this same medicine, the straight truth, any less appropriate for those who are consistent churchgoers? How can I tell those who are openly alienated from God to look at Christ, but

Creative Enginenoreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5786245341432434129.post-80741260092641850722007-11-30T23:31:00.001-08:002007-12-02T08:27:58.137-08:00

Since I live in the city I am assaulted with advertisements from the radio, TV and static billboards. I have to skip through commercials before I can watch the DVD I just bought. I almost throw important mail away in my attempts to sift through mountains of junk mail. I endure up-selling every time I buy a cup of coffee or fill up my car with gas. I don’t answer my phone if it’s a number I don

Creative Enginenoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5786245341432434129.post-12817132620346886982007-11-29T07:01:00.000-08:002007-12-02T21:20:10.902-08:00

Christ will un-train and un-teach us when we open up to the infinite possibilities of God. Undoing our worldly upbringing will be painful, yet our spiritual wellbeing depends on it. We should be encouraged by the fact that losing ourselves in return for gaining Christ is an eternally great deal. If we churchgoers in the west want to make effective strides toward God's kingdom, then

Creative Enginenoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5786245341432434129.post-72860997901642873642007-11-29T04:53:00.000-08:002007-12-06T04:56:22.923-08:00

God is in the business of reducing us to the bare-bone minimum so He can build us up again from scratch. He clears off all our beloved, self-serving construction and then builds us up again on a new Foundation: His Son. Getting to a spiritual ground zero is difficult. Unforeseen hardship is a dependable feature of God’s life-consuming mercy and grace. From the time we open

Creative Enginenoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5786245341432434129.post-15681698193812672782007-11-29T03:46:00.000-08:002007-11-29T03:47:30.040-08:00

Christ-followers are called to die trying. Even if God transplanted us to another place, then we should still maintain the same do-or-die outlook, where living Christ is good and dying for Christ is best. To die striving in prayer and in obedience to Christ is not only the best way to go for the Christ-follower… it is the only way to go. Godless men, in their worldly wisdom,

Creative Enginenoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5786245341432434129.post-19180278543792613762007-11-28T05:26:00.000-08:002007-11-28T05:52:23.604-08:00

Anyone can read the Bible and discover that Christ equips the different members of His church for different purposes. There are even a few lists that the apostle Paul rattles off in his letters, some describing “spiritual gifting” and others describing “spiritual fruiting.” In response to these lists, religious experts have devised a variety of methods for intellectually deducing

Creative Enginenoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5786245341432434129.post-57495330431911564042007-11-28T04:33:00.000-08:002007-11-28T04:42:03.413-08:00

Elijah said, “How long will you hesitate between two opinions? If the Lord is God, follow Him; but if Baal, follow Him.” The same thing goes for Christ-followers: How can we follow Him as Lord unless we know Him as Lord? If we know Him as Lord, it will be irresistible for us to honor Him as Lord. There's no way around it. The most dependable way to confirm that Jesus is Lord is

Creative Enginenoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5786245341432434129.post-22521015499375029152007-11-28T03:16:00.000-08:002007-11-28T03:37:33.050-08:00

It is reasonable shat we should strive toward obedience in a place that is already familiar to us where the task is more fitting for our spiritual infancy before we take on a task that is vastly more difficult (i.e. where there is radically different culture and language and all sorts of hostile governments). Not to say obedience is easy in the United States, on the contrary, it is in many ways

Creative Enginenoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5786245341432434129.post-13244621899379411682007-11-26T09:15:00.000-08:002007-11-26T09:25:04.172-08:00

Before Christ ascended He told His stragglers that they would be His witnesses in Jerusalem, and then Judea (Acts 1:8). And that’s just what happened, though they in no way planned ahead for this. The earliest church was scattered by uncontrollable circumstances, so that they were turned into an outreaching church whether they wanted to or not.In return for their persistent obedience to God's

Creative Enginenoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5786245341432434129.post-70734987668319328932007-11-26T08:46:00.000-08:002007-11-26T08:59:45.959-08:00

Here are Christ’s words in Acts 1:8 “you will receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you; and you shall be My witnesses both in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and even to the remotest part of the earth.” Jesus describes an expanding circle of influence for His followers. If an expanding circle was an appropriate model for the early church, it must also be

Creative Enginenoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5786245341432434129.post-40319997523827230132007-11-26T07:24:00.000-08:002007-11-26T08:42:43.103-08:00

Up until recently, my plans to become a worldwide missionary were my spiritual security blanket. I comforted myself with the presumption that I had a guaranteed position as “spiritual superstar” anywhere else in the world (as long as it was someplace where people didn’t know me). There seemed to be a gamut of Christian job openings waiting to be filled by a highly qualified church man such

Creative Enginenoreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5786245341432434129.post-32572203995347182282007-11-25T14:37:00.000-08:002007-11-25T14:42:30.461-08:00

Ambitious churchgoers tend to assume too much about their own spirituality as they plan for their far off, unknown destinations. At the same time, they assume too little about the far-reaching effect of Spirit-led obedience right where they already are. I myself cannot go abroad in good faith, because I would be wandering (maybe fleeing) away from an unreconciled home base.

Creative Enginenoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5786245341432434129.post-65171312107202069442007-11-25T10:49:00.000-08:002007-11-25T10:58:18.006-08:00

-- Satan vs. Man: Our battle is with Satan. It isn't Satan vs. God, that would be a joke. -- God uses Satan's opposition to our advantage. Like homemade orange juice, if our lives are not mixed up before they're poured out then our contributions to the world will be watered down, flavorless.-- Suffering sucks, but God is working it out for greater purposes that we cannot comprehend this side

Creative Enginenoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5786245341432434129.post-86191738574103651522007-11-21T14:17:00.000-08:002007-11-24T07:25:22.927-08:00

Typical missions programs are based on the Great Commission (found at the end of Matthew’s gospel) and on the general principle that God desires all men to come to a saving knowledge of the truth. The Bible confirms this over and over, and my soul knows it well, that Christ came into the world to save pitiful sinners, even one as appalling as myself. However, our first priority as

Creative Enginenoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5786245341432434129.post-79644195751413719592007-11-21T08:24:00.000-08:002007-11-21T10:17:54.038-08:00

When we are taught by God’s Spirit, then we will be spiritual. And we will be on our way to becoming a spiritual people when we can joyfully accept those characteristics of God that are designed to remain out of our intellectual reach for the rest of our earth-bound lives. We honor God best when we relate to Him by faith. There is no other way for us little people to

Creative Enginenoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5786245341432434129.post-32813286171066069862007-11-20T23:45:00.000-08:002007-11-21T00:06:14.546-08:00

Jesus likened God's kingdom to a farmer who plants seed in the ground and trusts that the seed will grow even though he doesn’t understand why or how the seed grows. Christ also likens God's kingdom to a mustard seed, which is small, yet it grows into a large plant, big enough for birds to perch in. So also, although Ron Paul is unimpressive by measurable standards, he represents ideas and

Creative Enginenoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5786245341432434129.post-11133915418371223142007-11-20T18:45:00.000-08:002007-11-20T19:18:32.149-08:00

We Americans love our religion because it allows us to pick and choose God's goals for us. The substance of our religion is an infatuation with control, which is also the case for all lovers of religion. We suppose that we’re clever for finding new religious standards against which to measure ourselves. These measurements are easy to understand and they make us feel good about

Creative Enginenoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5786245341432434129.post-34221370722925621582007-11-20T18:26:00.001-08:002007-11-20T23:49:31.678-08:00

Religion reigns in the U.S., both inside and outside of the church. American citizens are religiously American whether they love, hate or don’t even care about America. Ironically, the truest sons and daughters of this American system are those who rail against it most vehemently. What this means first off: We should trust God before we trust any governmental system. According to

Creative Enginenoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5786245341432434129.post-89775462715573257552007-11-20T17:42:00.000-08:002007-11-20T18:19:13.052-08:00

It would be very American of us to take God's kingdom into our own hands. And to assume we have a little more figured out than everyone else would also be very American. But the day we cast aside our ethnocentrism and our need to feel like experts will be the day that we become available for God's use. Casting off our selfish, inward focus is much the same as a ship’s crew casting

Creative Enginenoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5786245341432434129.post-44712547757968487932007-11-20T16:09:00.001-08:002007-11-20T16:15:54.669-08:00

God can save any people, no matter how far fallen they may seem. He continues even these days to show up to unsuspecting people in unexpected ways. As for us, if we know the depth to which Christ went to pull us out of the muck and mire of our own sin, then we should also be confident that He can do the impossible and redeem us for His heavenly purposes. If we have even an inkling of

Creative Enginenoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5786245341432434129.post-46041703456440250942007-11-20T15:48:00.000-08:002007-11-20T15:52:53.992-08:00

The more we surrender our time to God, the less time will seem like an oppressive, systematic partitioning of days, hours and minutes. As God's Spirit consumes our time, the more it will seem like a wonderful mystery, awaiting definition from Him who is our Owner and Manager. And the pace at which He defines our lives is one day at a time. Of course we should be reasonable and

Creative Enginenoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5786245341432434129.post-22438097919621385072007-11-20T12:10:00.000-08:002007-11-20T12:15:09.659-08:00

Whether we worry about time, or timing, it doesn’t matter. They both belong to God. To worry excessively about how our future might work out is as futile as it is disobedient. Let’s not dwell on what kind of people we might be someday, but rather, let’s live for Christ, in Christ today. It’s easy to imagine ourselves as something impressive sometime later, but it is better to obey

Creative Enginenoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5786245341432434129.post-6322092938515908092007-11-20T11:48:00.001-08:002007-11-20T12:43:42.393-08:00

Letting go of the false security of busyness is a tremendous thing. It is just as difficult to let go of busyness as it is to let go of any other dearly-loved delusion. I’ve reasoned, “Surely, if I’m this busy I must be accomplishing something!” But this is a good example of foolish presumption. Our faith in God is evidently minuscule so long as we try to pack as much as we can into

Creative Enginenoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5786245341432434129.post-39064008735791291302007-11-20T08:17:00.000-08:002007-11-20T11:29:03.692-08:00

As a lively college-ager beginning to follow Christ, I confided in my youthful energy much more than I should have. I was convinced that the bright flame of my own will-power would never burn out. During one particularly traumatic semester, I attended college full time, participated in as many church events as possible, studied various biblical subjects and, all the while, stayed up

Creative Enginenoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5786245341432434129.post-22161585026875910262007-11-19T20:57:00.000-08:002007-11-19T21:29:12.414-08:00

Our relationship with Christ lives and grows like our relationships with other people. At the same time it is divinely unique, overflowing eternal significance. He's a good listener, like any good friend, but He also improves our ability to listen to Him. He sees right through us like any true friend; He also teaches us how to see Him better. We who know Christ hear Him better than

Creative Enginenoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5786245341432434129.post-31824782914097030452007-11-17T13:36:00.000-08:002007-11-17T13:44:54.489-08:00

Be encouraged that Jesus’ preferred learning method is to learn by stepping out and giving things a try. If we are convinced of this, then we will set out in humility and take chances in Christ's name. Christ empowers us wherever we are in life, even if we still lack the Official Certificate of Universal Expertise or if we don’t have a Master’s Degree in Knowing God. Of course God never

Creative Enginenoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5786245341432434129.post-15256210103172448662007-11-17T13:12:00.000-08:002007-11-17T13:36:01.971-08:00

... or so we ought to think. We will learn a God-glorifying outlook on our current situation when when Christ teaches it to us. If we ask the Spirit of Christ what are the best times and places to obey Him, His answer will be: Right now is the best time, right here is the best place. God's Spirit is in the business of freeing people to obey Him wherever they are, whenever they are. He is the

Creative Enginenoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5786245341432434129.post-91055466266581473022007-11-17T12:53:00.001-08:002007-11-17T12:58:07.253-08:00

The lagging spiritual fruit of our religious efforts are glaringly evident. We seek God religiously more than we seek Him by His Spirit. We say “yes” with our mouths but down deep in our soul and convictions (all the things that God really cares about), we are disobediently reserved. We suppose that God doesn’t notice the little compartments in our lives, which we presume to

Creative Enginenoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5786245341432434129.post-53422850923155533132007-11-17T12:25:00.000-08:002007-11-17T12:29:22.461-08:00

The Spirit and the flesh do not go together easily. To the person whose heart is affected by this world, God's heavenly answers seem too inconvenient to accept without at least a little tweaking. But this is the height of unreasonableness, that anyone might scoff at any answer God gives them directly. God demonstrates His blameless grace by answering men’s prayers, even if His

Creative Enginenoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5786245341432434129.post-89286619462844904132007-11-17T11:55:00.000-08:002007-11-17T12:09:38.430-08:00

We cannot help but approach God on His terms. We breathe His air, live by whatever life He provides, and we speak to Him through this thing called “prayer,” which He invented. All things considered, it is to our eternal benefit that God answers prayer on His own terms. Any prayerful person’s game plan must eventually become less self and more Christ. As we continue

Creative Enginenoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5786245341432434129.post-59167216398720977082007-11-17T04:07:00.000-08:002007-11-17T04:13:39.955-08:00

Behold the divine brilliance of God's new Christ-centered standard. He sent His Son to be the Open Door to previously unheard-of freedom to surrender. We couldn't have imagined the astounding riches of grace that God desired for us until He sent His Son to purchase us entirely. At the point where Christ is Everything to us and there is nothing left of us, then we will have

Creative Enginenoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5786245341432434129.post-18235055878434681592007-11-17T03:34:00.000-08:002007-11-17T03:36:57.308-08:00

As we mature into Christ, we will find out more and more what a pleasing, filling, comforting, encouraging, humbling and empowering thing it is to know Him. And when we grow into the living, fiery admiration for Christ that God intended, then we will no longer view getting certain answers to prayers as our motivation for praying. But rather, to simply enjoy His wonderful Presence will be

Creative Enginenoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5786245341432434129.post-23019594876754671812007-11-17T02:00:00.000-08:002007-11-17T02:06:55.229-08:00

As we become familiar with God's mind for us we become increasingly aware of spiritual realities. In particular, we will approach Him more effectively the more we realize that He sees right through us. Spiritually experienced people will pray effectively because they take care of the basic things first, clearing their consciences before God so they can be open and honest with Him.

Creative Enginenoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5786245341432434129.post-60059563102405794162007-11-17T01:14:00.000-08:002007-11-17T01:39:04.789-08:00

Christ is pointing us toward a spiritual goal that hits much closer to home than we might expect. He is guiding all willing followers toward a heavenly quality of reconciliation. Much to the dismay of our flesh, this reconciliation is extremely thorough. God answers all our prayers in some way or another. In particular, for those who dare to listen, He is continually revealing all

Creative Enginenoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5786245341432434129.post-90886097800956752472007-11-16T13:37:00.000-08:002007-11-16T13:47:01.658-08:00

God invests in people whose hope is no longer in worldly riches, but rather only in Christ. Such people are righteous in God's sight. As far as God is concerned, righteous people are righteous because their Foundation is Christ. Therefore, in God's estimation, such people will also be a solid investment. This is why God imparts the riches of His Presence as well as a

Creative Enginenoreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5786245341432434129.post-18944450229367098462007-11-16T13:09:00.000-08:002007-11-16T13:16:10.096-08:00

If you are just beginning to seek out Christ, then keep on seeking and praying faithfully. This is, in itself, vital obedience. Don’t get down on yourself too much about the “unspiritual” things that occupy your mind. You are obeying God by presenting to Him all the genuine concerns of your heart. Keep on asking for whatever you want (if you really want it) and see if God doesn’t

Creative Enginenoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5786245341432434129.post-31464824407300026192007-11-16T11:51:00.000-08:002007-11-16T11:55:03.165-08:00

Seeking Christ in any way possible, especially through prayerfully spending time with Him, is the most basic obedience I can imagine. On the same note, failing to seek Him through prayer is the most blatant disobedience I can imagine. How to pray is also important. This must be true if the Spirit of God Himself goes out of His way to intercede on our behalf with His own

Creative Enginenoreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5786245341432434129.post-38608778942490722682007-11-15T19:55:00.000-08:002007-11-15T19:56:13.993-08:00

Wars captivate and mobilize whole nations, especially if a nation’s fate depended on winning a particular war. Though the ultimate fruits of war are horrifying, yet nothing of this world so dramatically spurs on people’s creativity and diligent productivity. In much the same way, Christ calls His people to wage war daily in the spiritual places by any and all means. Those who are

Creative Enginenoreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5786245341432434129.post-36948707146824996042007-11-15T14:37:00.000-08:002007-11-15T14:48:30.310-08:00

We can get by with less stuff. This will help us to spend more time and energy on God's kingdom goals. Much of God's kingdom is made up of the relationships we share with one another. We live out heaven on earth as we pray and grow together in His Spirit. This requires time and energy. Let's give all-out obedience a try. If God fails to show up we can always go back our

Creative Enginenoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5786245341432434129.post-36336479059898315382007-11-15T14:15:00.001-08:002007-11-15T14:21:07.078-08:00

Here is the progression of events that will lead to saving the environment forever:1. Jesus saves everyone in the world.2. Jesus teaches everyone in the world why they should care.3. Jesus teaches everyone in the world how to care.4. Everyone will be equipped to live conscientiously.the end.

Creative Enginenoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5786245341432434129.post-41322133356713243142007-11-15T12:52:00.000-08:002007-11-15T13:48:16.929-08:00

Jesus says that worldly wealth makes it nearly impossible for a man to keep his mind set on God but, with God anything is possible. Wealthy churchgoers hear about this and let out a sigh of relief at the greatness of God, who provides them with this excuse to continue hoarding all their wealth and yet still remain Christian. In this way, rich churchgoers presume to strain the dirt and grit from

Creative Enginenoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5786245341432434129.post-56748098251553386132007-11-15T11:36:00.000-08:002007-11-15T12:51:30.096-08:00

Suppose there were two men, Man #1 and Man #2, who live in separate locations and have never heard of each other. The main things they have in common are that they are American, they are the same age, they have the same level of intelligence, and, most importantly, each one has secretly vowed to seek out more of God's Presence and listen to His counsel in everything. Man #1 gets it

Creative Enginenoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5786245341432434129.post-24558647081394355362007-11-15T10:29:00.000-08:002007-12-26T21:22:25.302-08:00

Can a healthy relationship exist between material goods and God's kingdom? What does plastic, metal and glass have to do with accomplishing God’s goals? Is it possible to possess things and yet not be drunk with love for them? Many will go so far as to admit that God does not need man-made devises, no matter how much they facilitate our daily functionality. But how is this knowledge

Creative Enginenoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5786245341432434129.post-47636001594977066482007-11-13T21:25:00.000-08:002007-11-15T11:30:59.621-08:00

Christ will teach us to move past the supposition that giving money is, all by itself, a spiritual accomplishment. Giving money does not necessarily accomplish anything in God's kingdom… oftentimes, it’s even a hindrance to God's spiritual goals. Since we are unable to accomplish anything spiritual by ourselves, we depend on Christ to work out every spiritual accomplishment on our

Creative Enginenoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5786245341432434129.post-26182681141274850062007-11-13T20:47:00.000-08:002007-11-28T05:19:34.126-08:00

If money is an issue in western Christendom, then it is a heart issue. It would be best for us to seek Christ, learn His will for us in this area, obey, and move on. As we pursue reconciliation in our money management, Christ will give us something more satisfying than weekly, religious numbing. He takes us as we are, walks alongside us and makes us into His own heavenly creations. Christ’s

Creative Enginenoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5786245341432434129.post-2358212220028048472007-11-13T20:00:00.000-08:002007-11-13T20:01:53.609-08:00

If you’re thinking about getting into the domain parking industry then I’ll let you in on a little secret: The odds are stacked against you. This business has been dominated by a few big players for a while. If you’re starting from scratch, then you have as much chance to succeed in this game as a Tibetan monk with violent garlic allergies has at establishing himself as a dominant player in the

Creative Enginenoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5786245341432434129.post-16581161729828242132007-11-12T17:30:00.001-08:002007-11-12T17:34:45.329-08:00

If we are Christ's people, then we are driven by a pure as well as purifying thirst to know Him more. We are in the business of establishing God's kingdom on earth, the one cause which, the world over, we can pursue with clear consciences, because God's Spirit cleanses us and our consciences as we go.With this in mind, Christ-saturated saints live well in Him and spend well for Him apart from

Creative Enginenoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5786245341432434129.post-69897000235022338712007-11-12T14:31:00.000-08:002007-11-12T14:43:31.109-08:00

Is excessive wealth only making you neglect straightforward, wholehearted dependence on God? Then get rid of it. The same thing goes for any sin or stumbling block or anything else that was your idea and not God’s. No need to overcomplicate your situation or make excuses for yourself. Nor is there any need to try and impress anyone. Are you so possessed by a career that you are

Creative Enginenoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5786245341432434129.post-69903464091890366922007-11-12T12:04:00.000-08:002007-12-26T21:15:42.565-08:00

Do you have money? Then spend it for God’s kingdom. Even if you’re just paying the bills you should do so to the glory of God. While we’re at it, let’s use our brains, time and energy and whatever other resources we can muster in order to advance the kingdom of heaven. Suppose I am a book publisher, and my objective is to utilize every last resource for God's kingdom. I wake up according to the

Creative Enginenoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5786245341432434129.post-45571887444468523692007-11-12T11:31:00.001-08:002007-11-26T12:20:13.380-08:00

Christ will teach us how to honor God in Spirit and in truth as He causes us to leave our old selves behind.We are so enamored with ourselves that forgetting about ourselves might seem impossible at first. Yet we trust in the Lord to accomplish every impossible thing on our behalf.The conviction that with God anything is possible is meant to lead us into valiant action. No one can know this truth

Creative Enginenoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5786245341432434129.post-81392992048947681132007-11-12T11:06:00.000-08:002007-11-26T10:44:43.037-08:00

God is determined to accomplish His otherworldly goals. Practically speaking, this means we can fall back on His unshakable holiness (set-apartness) as our a fundamental, daily source of hope as we continue to live in this sinful world.God must be independent from the world in order to save a people such as us, because we are naturally enthralled with sin. And it is a daily miracle that Christ

Creative Enginenoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5786245341432434129.post-3549812207468674052007-11-12T08:52:00.001-08:002008-12-19T22:09:38.013-08:00

A plant needs water, sunshine and a good soil to live and grow. A gardener who spray-paints his dying plants to make them look alive is a fool. That gardener, being a gardener, should know better. Such a man isn't fit to be called a gardener if he considers a plastic, pseudo-healthy appearance acceptable over the real, living thing. So it is with all meaningful relationships: God designed them to

Creative Enginenoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5786245341432434129.post-11015238735552041852007-11-11T12:42:00.001-08:002007-11-11T13:03:37.259-08:00

God, in His wisdom, requires a soul-deep quality of character from us rather than anything we can manufacture on our own. This is reflected in His simple command for us, which is to work diligently with whatever grace He sees fit to give us. As we work with the grace He allots us right now, we will demonstrate our belief that He knows what He is doing. This is authentic, God-honoring

Creative Enginenoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5786245341432434129.post-74157007190464896792007-11-11T11:53:00.000-08:002007-11-11T11:54:15.697-08:00

Worshipping God and loving God are similar in that neither one can be excessively premeditated. And we love and worship best when we do not claim to have the Object of our admiration all figured out. To love Christ is to delight in the genuine reality of His greatness. He is who He is, purely, unassumingly, all the time. If we try to imagine Him as someone other than who He is,

Creative Enginenoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5786245341432434129.post-77549532737739963862007-11-11T09:55:00.000-08:002007-11-11T09:58:37.978-08:00

Coerced joy is as disappointing as an all-you-can-eat buffet. At a buffet, there is a lesser quality of every kind of food at the same time, so that the customer need not worry about missing out on anything, all in one sitting! Thanks to the miracle of all-you-can-eat buffets, it is possible to breathe in twenty or thirty clashing aromas and taste an unlimited mixture of opposing flavors

Creative Enginenoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5786245341432434129.post-35011176110978693632007-11-10T06:13:00.001-08:002007-11-10T06:48:45.239-08:00

Let’s embrace the wisdom of children, who see fields for running, swings for swinging, and beds for jumping. We did not plan this breathtaking little moment, but that is exactly why it is breathtaking! We must be inspired by something other than God's Spirit to expect God at the same place, in the same way on a certain day of the week. We are driven by something other than

Creative Enginenoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5786245341432434129.post-72488407363424404992007-11-08T18:21:00.000-08:002007-11-08T18:22:26.478-08:00

Apart from God, people’s ability to love is governed by the fear that their investments of love might not return to them. They are frightened that their secret, prized possessions won’t be right where they left them if they don’t continually cling. But far superior and eternally freeing is the nature of Christ in us. Such is God's divine brilliance that He creates free thinkers,

Creative Enginenoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5786245341432434129.post-77515487719581186802007-11-06T20:59:00.000-08:002007-11-06T21:36:20.560-08:00

Unexpected joy is the most pleasing kind of joy. Spontaneous people might appreciate unexpected joy in Christ because the best kind of joy is seasoned with at least a dash of spontaneity. We can’t see it coming, but that’s what makes it great. Joy is also similar to spontaneity because, the point at which a person tries too hard to be spontaneous is the point that this

Creative Enginenoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5786245341432434129.post-2312148079334268222007-11-05T16:35:00.001-08:002007-11-05T16:35:47.284-08:00

Anyone who accepts good things from God, must accept them as free, undeserved gifts. It is only by His grace that we have any good thing. Consequently, we can only have good things according to God's gracious terms. We have joy, for example, either His Way or no way. For some incomprehensible reason, sinful men would spend their lives striving vainly on their own terms

Creative Enginenoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5786245341432434129.post-21996411338355477112007-11-05T16:33:00.001-08:002007-11-05T16:34:45.225-08:00

Christ shows Himself to be God by surprising us with joy. The joy that sneaks up and surprises us is the truest kind of joy. Joy is a universally sacred thing. All of us naturally desire it, whether or not our intentions are pure. And it is our spiritual uncleanness that ruins our chances of having joy. Because our tainted natures are incompatible with God's pure,

Creative Enginenoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5786245341432434129.post-11536411722831580282007-11-05T10:37:00.000-08:002007-11-05T10:39:19.807-08:00

With liberality we churchgoers throw around the phrase, “God’s ways are higher than men’s ways.” Because this saying is so uncomplicated and, especially after we have repeated it so many times, it seems unbelievable that we still fail to understand it. One indication that we do not understand this saying, “God's ways are higher than men’s ways,” is our inability to live it as everyday,

Creative Enginenoreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5786245341432434129.post-87836453246278261732007-11-05T09:46:00.000-08:002007-11-05T09:47:38.942-08:00

See the hordes as they go, planning ever more savage exploits, though they esteem themselves civilized. They heed not spiritual words because they are mere flesh and bone. The masses are comfortable in their wandering, lost by preference, delightfully trapped in their skin. They accept every new idea so long as it leads them back to their familiar, hopeless ends. They

Creative Enginenoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5786245341432434129.post-15234365111863239742007-11-05T01:26:00.000-08:002007-11-05T01:27:09.838-08:00

If I continue to resist my current situation rather than deal with it, I am like a child who gets a piece of candy only to throw it away because it wasn’t exactly the kind of candy I wanted. Keep in mind that I’m not advocating complacency; no, I should improve myself and the world around me wherever possible. But now that I am in Christ, I have run out of excuses to be anything less than

Creative Enginenoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5786245341432434129.post-28529984598721424262007-11-04T11:04:00.000-08:002007-12-26T21:04:06.917-08:00

Success apart from the Spirit of Christ must be impossible for me, or else I am not a Christ-follower. If I wrote and printed 10,000,000 copies of the most encouraging book of all time and yet all of them were lost because of a political overthrow, in which all books everywhere were burned, except for one corner of a page from one of my millions of books, which had just enough room for

Creative Enginenoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5786245341432434129.post-12646344406933392902007-11-04T10:12:00.001-08:002007-11-15T12:54:34.582-08:00

A true scientist is taught by the results of his experimentation, or experience. In this way let us who seek Christ seek Him experimentally. All Christ-followers are called to maintain this as their experiment: To actively seek God's will until the day they die. A sincere lover of truth lets his mind and convictions be conformed to the evident truth, which remains true apart

Creative Enginenoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5786245341432434129.post-58714583161529646402007-11-02T18:49:00.000-07:002007-11-02T18:51:26.656-07:00

The Giver of all lifeThe Restorer of life lostThe Recharger of life drainedThe Originator of every good thingThe Inventor of creativityThe Source for Restoration

Creative Enginenoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5786245341432434129.post-35564836999154985262007-11-01T08:18:00.001-07:002007-11-01T08:18:51.022-07:00

Though our fleshly minds scream in protest, actively and progressively surrendering to Christ is the greatest accomplishment to which we or anybody else could ever attain. No part of us is worth anything apart from God. However the parts of our identities that belong to and spring forth from Christ contain eternal, heavenly value. Whatever we cling to in opposition to Christ

Creative Enginenoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5786245341432434129.post-15482890852341707122007-11-01T00:01:00.001-07:002007-11-01T00:06:02.737-07:00

Be Encouraged! Self-Publishing is a great thing, an industry that opens you up to a world of possibilities. Just watch out for a few things. You may be searching for a self-publishing company right now. Good. Now take a few moments to understand this industry: Self-publishing companies make money off of you, the author, not from selling books. They'd be glad to never sell a single copy of your

Creative Enginenoreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5786245341432434129.post-32929749447100520242007-10-30T23:04:00.000-07:002007-10-31T22:38:49.132-07:00

Young churchgoers are seeing and embracing the fact that this thing called “faith,” which their parents handed down to them, doesn’t work. In response, they do what any reasonable person would do: They drop it so they can move onto more useful things. Is there not wisdom in this? They are wise for wanting to make the most of the few days they have on this earth. Young people

Creative Enginenoreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5786245341432434129.post-82081142383697053032007-10-30T22:58:00.000-07:002007-11-01T08:18:10.358-07:00

Christ Himself is the overarching First Rule. He envelops our lives in the workplace, marriage, familiar relations and (especially) in the way we do church. The Son of man is the singular Focus of our lives, working Himself out day after day as He patiently teaches us how to deal with every secondary concern. It is only fitting that Christ should receive credit for every spiritual

Creative Enginenoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5786245341432434129.post-46726165185921196512007-10-30T22:20:00.000-07:002007-10-30T22:59:57.260-07:00

Putting the axe to our deep-rooted cravings for special buildings and paid professionals sounds painful, I know. But these things are already inflicting a heavy toll upon those who would like to know Christ. Eliminating all religious ornamentation isn’t lopping off a useful limb, it is removing a painful, life-threatening cancer.

Creative Enginenoreply@blogger.com0