Here are some of the 'jewels' I have pulled from reading and listening this summer.
"We are persuaded that Jesus was a historic person possessing two distinct and perfect natures, Godhead and manhood, and in this to be absolutely and forever unique. Only so could He be worthy not just of our admiration but of our worship." Basic Christianity by John Stott pg. 6
"If to believe in [Christ] was man's first duty, not to believe in Him was his cheif sin." Basic Christianity pg. 25
"This utter disregard of self in the service of God and man is what the Bible calls love. There is no self-interest in love. The essence of love is self-sacrifice. The worst of man is adorned by an occasional flash of such nobility, but the life of Jesus irradiated it with a never-fading incandescent glow.
Jesus was sinless because He was selfless. Such selflessness is love. And God is love." Basic Christianity pg. 44-45
"Sin is fundamentally the exaltation of man at the expense of God. What someone wrote of the Englishman is true of every man: 'He is a self-made man who worships his creator.'" Basic Christianity pg. 65
"Sin does not only estrange; it enslaves. If it alientates us from God, it also brings us into captivity." Basic Christianity pg. 75
"I have seen many men make it through tough times. I have seen very few endure prosperity." Pastor Charles Swindoll
"Because the confession of sin is the act of a sinner, it can be sinful. God is not deceived, but the sinner may deceive himself." Interpretation: Psalms by James L. Mays pg. 147
"Wealth...is a powerful seducer. However, as E.J. Dillon noted, experience shows that the pains endured in [wealth's] accumulation, 'and the anxiety suffered in preserving it, effectually destroy our capacity for enjoying the bliss which it is supposed to insure, long before misfortune or death snatches it form our grasp.'" Above All Earthly Pow'rs by David Wells pg. 196
"The worst sin of pride consists in its breathtaking dishonesty: construcing a view of oneself in light of the facts. Pride, as [Thomas] Aquinas put it, is an offense against right reason. Or as Mother Teresa once said, 'I am always very glad that my slanderers should tell a trifling lie about me rather than the whole terrible truth." Pride and Humility by Rober S. Rayburn from Tabletalk magazine May 2008 pg.64
Monday, July 21, 2008
Wednesday, July 2, 2008
Cable TV
i come today with a prayer request. A prayer request for a generation that is being influenced more and more each day by all kinds of different mediums.
The most significant thing that seems to bothers me and needs the work of God to be changed is cable television. Cable tv has gone from a broadcast news medium to broadcasting whatever gets them ratings. By watching tv shows that are on today i can see that a these things seem to be a major driving force in ratings. Lust, alcohol, lieing, and greed. Now how great do those four things sounds? Sounds like tv hasn't really gone in a Godly direction since its exception. Now yes there are still several shows that broadcast morally positve ideas, but for the most part cable tv is preying on us as sinners and feeding empty desires that are driven by sin.
Here are some examples of shows.
Swingers...well here is an easy one huh...it is a show about a family that enjoys having sex with other couples around the neighborhood. They don't call it infedility because all the partners are ok with it, but come on lets be serious. Other minor storylines include drug addicted and alcoholic parents, and a girl that is trying to seduce her teacher. There truly is not to much you can positivelysay about this show.
Moment of Truth...this is another show that is very easy to pick at. It is about a person who is asked questions about their life, and if they answer truthfully than they get money. Questions like "Have you cheated on your wife" "Do you love your parents" "Have you slept with your wifes sister"...and all this for money.
CSI: Las Vegas...CSI over recent years and throught the diminshing amount of material has been forced to make their episodes more and more racey. Now we see episdodes about mobsters and strippers that are murdered. And yes that the premise is them putting the criminal in jail, but my question is "why do they always have to bring the camera into those spots?" Why do they always have a second or two when the show some guy gambling or in a strip club? It seems like they are showing these images just to keep the viewer interested, and i say they are unwarranted.
House...This show is about a drug addicted doctor who will do a wrong or immoral thing as long as it saves the patients life. House is all the time saying people don't change. People lie. People are bad and shouldn't be trusted in anyway. What terrible storylines. Here is a guy who is putting survival as the most important thing in life. House is an open atheist as well as most of his staff. Anytime anyperson is written in as Christian they are constanlty chastized and told that their religion is meaningless and is untruthful because people can't change.
Gameshows...everyone is what will you do for money... what will you do for this...etc. Now i don't think all gameshows are evil, but i wish most would stop broadcasting selfish and greedy motifs..deal
Love Shows...wow...these are easy. I love New York 1-2, Bachelor (how ever many), Who wants to Marry a Millionaire, Flavor of Love (1-3), Tila Tequila (1-2), etc...i mean the list goes on. these shows promote sex and alcohol. Thats it. They are about how much you can drink, how much you can party, how much you can attract the other guy or girl, and how likely you are to have sex with them. Now yes some out there are a little bit more reserved than others, but the storylines of sex and other things are still there.
Now i'll get off my soap box for now because these lists could go on and on. Todays tv has changed is the point. Less and Less is being censored everyday. And i'll be honest i catch myself watching some of these same shows every week. I get caught up in them too. But you just have to pray that God can shape the ways of your heart. God can show you something more worth your time on earth. All things should be used to glorify God, and i feel to many times that watching these shows i am not Glorifying God. So I pray to you God, for other people out there struggling, and for me...because you are the maker of all thinds and the Lord of all.
Paul said in Ephesians..."those who have been stealing must steal no longer. but must work so that they have something useful to do with their own hands." So by saying that don't shut yourself away from the media or the outside world, but put your life and mind toward something worthwhile.
The most significant thing that seems to bothers me and needs the work of God to be changed is cable television. Cable tv has gone from a broadcast news medium to broadcasting whatever gets them ratings. By watching tv shows that are on today i can see that a these things seem to be a major driving force in ratings. Lust, alcohol, lieing, and greed. Now how great do those four things sounds? Sounds like tv hasn't really gone in a Godly direction since its exception. Now yes there are still several shows that broadcast morally positve ideas, but for the most part cable tv is preying on us as sinners and feeding empty desires that are driven by sin.
Here are some examples of shows.
Swingers...well here is an easy one huh...it is a show about a family that enjoys having sex with other couples around the neighborhood. They don't call it infedility because all the partners are ok with it, but come on lets be serious. Other minor storylines include drug addicted and alcoholic parents, and a girl that is trying to seduce her teacher. There truly is not to much you can positivelysay about this show.
Moment of Truth...this is another show that is very easy to pick at. It is about a person who is asked questions about their life, and if they answer truthfully than they get money. Questions like "Have you cheated on your wife" "Do you love your parents" "Have you slept with your wifes sister"...and all this for money.
CSI: Las Vegas...CSI over recent years and throught the diminshing amount of material has been forced to make their episodes more and more racey. Now we see episdodes about mobsters and strippers that are murdered. And yes that the premise is them putting the criminal in jail, but my question is "why do they always have to bring the camera into those spots?" Why do they always have a second or two when the show some guy gambling or in a strip club? It seems like they are showing these images just to keep the viewer interested, and i say they are unwarranted.
House...This show is about a drug addicted doctor who will do a wrong or immoral thing as long as it saves the patients life. House is all the time saying people don't change. People lie. People are bad and shouldn't be trusted in anyway. What terrible storylines. Here is a guy who is putting survival as the most important thing in life. House is an open atheist as well as most of his staff. Anytime anyperson is written in as Christian they are constanlty chastized and told that their religion is meaningless and is untruthful because people can't change.
Gameshows...everyone is what will you do for money... what will you do for this...etc. Now i don't think all gameshows are evil, but i wish most would stop broadcasting selfish and greedy motifs..deal
Love Shows...wow...these are easy. I love New York 1-2, Bachelor (how ever many), Who wants to Marry a Millionaire, Flavor of Love (1-3), Tila Tequila (1-2), etc...i mean the list goes on. these shows promote sex and alcohol. Thats it. They are about how much you can drink, how much you can party, how much you can attract the other guy or girl, and how likely you are to have sex with them. Now yes some out there are a little bit more reserved than others, but the storylines of sex and other things are still there.
Now i'll get off my soap box for now because these lists could go on and on. Todays tv has changed is the point. Less and Less is being censored everyday. And i'll be honest i catch myself watching some of these same shows every week. I get caught up in them too. But you just have to pray that God can shape the ways of your heart. God can show you something more worth your time on earth. All things should be used to glorify God, and i feel to many times that watching these shows i am not Glorifying God. So I pray to you God, for other people out there struggling, and for me...because you are the maker of all thinds and the Lord of all.
Paul said in Ephesians..."those who have been stealing must steal no longer. but must work so that they have something useful to do with their own hands." So by saying that don't shut yourself away from the media or the outside world, but put your life and mind toward something worthwhile.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)