Twitter

It took me a while to warm up to Twitter. Like many people, I worry about the temptation to use it as daily nutrition to feed the appetite of narcissism. I was absolutely stunned by the power of these paragraphs, written by John Piper in his blog post titled "Why and How I Am Tweeting".

Now what about Twitter? I find Twitter to be a kind of taunt: "Okay, truth-lover, see what you can do with 140 characters! You say your mission is to spread a passion for the supremacy of God in all things! Well, this is one of those ‘all things.’ Can you magnify Christ with this thimble-full of letters?"
To which I respond:

The sovereign Lord of the earth and sky
Puts camels through a needle’s eye.
And if his wisdom see it mete,
He will put worlds inside a tweet.

So I am not inclined to tweet that at 10AM the cat pulled the curtains down. But it might remind me that the Lion of Judah will roll up the heavens like a garment, and blow out the sun like a candle, because he just turned the light on. That tweet might distract someone from pornography and make them look up.


Photo Copyright © 2009, Jon McDermott
Location: Newberg, OR

Choose to be in touch...

Randy Alcorn posted this on his Facebook page today. Brilliant. I can't add anything to it...


My heart and character won’t change until my daily habits change. “Let the Word of Christ dwell in you richly.” Col. 3:16 Holy habits such as meditation, prayer, and church should be determined commitments. Our choices show what we value most. TV, internet, or God’s Word? A fruit of the Spirit is self-control. We already know what the world thinks—do we need to hear more? Choose to be in touch with the mind of God.


Photo Copyright © 2009, Jon McDermott
Location: Lopez Island, WA

Lyrics - Part 2

This is the 2nd installment in my argument that contemporary Christian music, like hymns, can contain some serious theology. This one is from the song "So Long Self" by MercyMe (Coming Up To Breathe Album).

Believe it or not but life is not apparently
about me anyways...
But I have met the One who really is worthy
So let me say

So long, self
Well it's been fun, but I have found somebody else
So long self
There's just no room for two
So you are gonna have to move
So long self
Don't take this wrong but you are wrong for me farewell
Oh well, Goodbye, don't cry
So Long Self

I love this phrase: “believe it or not but life is not apparently about me anyways…”. What if I had learned that when I was 20 years old? I also like the quirky way the phrase is put together (for some reason).

Life is not about me anyways. This is on the short list of ‘things I hope I know now, and wish I had known when I was young’.

Lryics - Part 1

I've heard more than one person say that the old hymns contain some serious doctrine if you listen to them closely. I can't and won't argue with this. I have noticed recently, however, that some contemporary Christian music also contains some profound messages, assuming you are willing to listen closely.

Case in point: "Lose My Soul" by tobyMac (portable sounds album). What makes this song even more amazing is that it is what we in the over 45 crowd would call "Rap Music". Normally I can't turn it off quickly enough, but this song has me hooked.

Anyway, back to my point. "Lose My Soul" has some deep water in it, such as:

"Man I wanna tell you all something, Man.
Man I'm not gonna let these material things, get in my way, you all.
I'm trying to get somewhere.
I'm trying to get somewhere,
That's real and pure and true and eternal."

Amen to that. And another example from the same song:

"Lord forgive us when we get consumed by the things of this world,
That fight for our love, and our passion,
As our eyes are open wide and on You.
Grant us the privilege of Your world view,
And may Your kingdom be, what wakes us up, and lays us down."

Grant us the privilege of Your world view. Yes.... please do.

Ryan on YouTube

A couple of months ago Ryan and the high school group at church performed a drama to the song 'Everything', which was performed live by the Christian group Issakar.

Ryan and the whole group did a fantastic job, and there weren't many dry eyes in the house at the end of the performance. Now the video of their performance is available on YouTube. Thanks to David Fishback for the great video, and for sharing it.

Media

I was going to blog about Dancing with the Stars, but a meeting at Ryan's High School last night changed my plans. I attended a presentation by CJ Hitz of MediaTalk101, who talked about the impact of media on your spiritual life. He put into words some things that I have been anxious about for a while. His presentation on media covered a broad range of media influences, not just TV but also music, the internet, blogs, movies, video games, "social media" like Myspace, etc, etc. Some things I wrote down that I thought were particularly impactful thoughts presented by CJ:

What do your media choice indicate about your relationship with Jesus?

He talked about how we often consume media almost constantly, several hours a day. One possible explanation for 'staying constantly stimulated' by some form of media is that we are avoiding some real issue on our plate. (if I avoid silence, I can avoid hearing what God might say to me)

Another thing he said really hit home with me. "All media has a message, and the message has an impact on your life." (it's not just entertainment)

Finally, he used a great illustration of being in a large, well lit city, and complaining that you can't see many stars at night. The light 'distraction' and 'pollution' keeps you from seeing the stars. The stars are overhead in a big city just as they are in a pitch dark canyon in the middle of the country, the only difference is that the environment that you have immersed yourself in is preventing a clear view. He then asked whether the media influences that we consume every day are preventing a clear view of God. Great question.

I'm not preaching, I found these questions very convicting.

Photo courtesy of dailyinvention, used under the Creative Commons License.

Sanders

I'm taking a spiritual leadership class at church (2nd time around), and we are studying a great book written by J. Oswald Sanders. Sanders has a great way of packing a truckload of wisdom into a small number of words. He also wastes no words in an attempt to be politically correct. Here's my favorite example:

The young man of leadership caliber will work while others waste time, study while others snooze, pray while others daydream. Slothful habits are overcome, whether in thought, deed, or dress. The emerging leader eats right, stands tall, and prepares himself to wage spiritual warfare. He will without reluctance undertake the unpleasant task that others avoid or the hidden duty that others evade because it wins no public applause. As the Spirit fills his life, he learns not to shrink from difficult situations or retreat from hard-edged people. He will kindly and courageously administer rebuke when that is called for, or he will exercise the necessary discipline when the interests of the Lord’s work demand it. He will not procrastinate, but will prefer to dispatch with the hardest tasks first.

Spirtual Leadership, Chapter 8, by J. Oswald Sanders