MInTheGap

I Have To Experience It In Order to Know It

There is a dangerous philosophy out there that says that in order to know something I have to experience it. It’s part of the abortion debate, part of the Iraq war debate, and it’s also a part of being a Christian. We reward people who have “been there, done that, have the tee-shirt”.

However, as a Christian I feel that this logic is flawed– and downright dangerous.

First, we would never suggest that a child has to go and play in the street so that they can get run over so that they know what it’s like to get run over and therefore they can minister to other people. Adam and Eve experienced sin, but they did not need to– and we would argue that they should have avoided sin. Read the rest of this page »

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If You Can See This On The Homepage…

…then my plan didn’t work, and I have to try again!

New Content Just For RSS Feed Readers

If I did this right, there will be a post going out today that only those of you that have subscribed to my RSS feed will get.

I was recently helping Amanda out with her new theme when I found that the theme had some code in it that prevented a post from showing up on the home page, but it was in the RSS feed and you could get to the single post.

What we found was that you can hide posts that are in a specific category from showing up on the homepage and that gave me an idea.

From time to time I’ve sent e-mails out to people that have subscribed to the blog to tell them a little bit more about what’s going on behind the scenes– what series I have scheduled, what I plan to talk about… those kinds of things.

I may still do that, but I want to also start giving some weekly recaps to those that subscribe to the RSS feed. So, if you haven’t done it yet, what are you waiting for?

If you have, stay tuned to see if my test works. And then come back here to comment if you see the test post in your RSS reader! Or let me know what you think of the idea.

Is God Your Grandfather?

One of the common ways that God is thought of is that of equating him with your Grandfather.

Grandfathers are great– they take you fishing, they tell you stories, they give you candy, but when the day is done you leave them and their wise advice and head home to do whatever it is that you want. Grandfathers don’t punish. Grandfathers are smart. Grandfathers are fun to be around because they do fun things with you.

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What if You Could Turn Back the Clock?

A standard plot device in a lot of films is the idea that time travel is not only possible, but necessary in order to for the protagonist to right some wrong that has happened in the past. Each film either focuses on the tragedy that must be repaired or the sacrifice of those doing the traveling and they blur the lines of reality to make us believe it’s possible. There even have been television shows focused entirely on the concept. Usually, at the end of the show, we find that the wrong has been made right and the guy gets the girl.

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How Big is Your God?

It’s fascinating to me to think about just how great God is and how much we fall short of understanding what He wants from us. I was reading in A. W. Tozer’s book (The Attributes of God: A Journey into the Father’s Heart (aff)) and I was really struck by a passage tonight that talked about how Christians try to find happiness in the wrong place.

You see, God wants us to find happiness– completeness– in Him alone. We have a shrine in our heart that only He can fill, and yet we try to fill it with other things. Tozer has a passage in his book where he talks about what we tend to do in our everyday Christian life.

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Focusing on the Family

Yes, it’s that time again.  Time to look at a few links on the family and get some fast quotes and my comments…

The Myth of the Perfect Family

Stacey McDonald points out the obvious– no family is perfect, and we do ourselves damage when we believe otherwise:

We’re not to serve God by pretending life is easy for us or that we have it all down perfectly, because it’s not and we don’t. The world needs an honest depiction of real down-to-earth people living out real life to the glory of God. Unbelievers will see God in us when we demonstrate contentment wherever He has us, when they see the peace He gives us in trials, and when we give rather than take.

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Damsels in Distress

Here’s another book for that woman in your life that you hold dear. Damsels in Distress: Biblical Solutions for Problems Women Face (aff) promises to be another great book by Martha Peace.

I found out about this book from the Irish Calvanist, who had this to say:

Damsels in Distress is broken into three parts; Biblical solutions for problems with others, with ourselves and with the world. Within these sections chapter titles gossip, idolatry, hurt feeling, vanity, PMS, legalisms, the feminist influence and such are covered making this a real hands on book. And please don’t let my topical list deceive you. This book’s emphasis is on the Scriptures. The depth to which Mrs. Peace goes on each subject makes it a great sharpening tool for even the most mature Christian woman.

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