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June 15, 2012  David Murray   2 comments

That awkward moment when we speak the Gospel
“I’ve done a little research and can confirm to you that there is not one documented case of someone dying, or even being severely injured, by awkwardness.”

Scorn profits the blogger, but costs the Kingdom
Timothy Dalrymple: “We may profit from writing scorn, but the kingdom pays the cost.  Scorn is corrosive.  It cuts us off from fellow believers who could teach us many things.  And it hardens the world’s caricatures of Christians.”

Does the Psalmist believe in the afterlife?
Excellent pocket-size Old Testament theology from Denny Burk.

Reflections from a prolific blogger
Thoroughly enjoyable piece of writing from Sarah Bessey: “Blogging has changed my life, my spirituality, my opinions, my relationships, my heart, my mind, and I make no apologies for that (even if “blogging” is an excessively ugly word.) God has used this medium to profoundly change me, yes, but somehow, weirdly, he’s also managed to include a few other people in that, and now I feel like I’m part of a bigger story.”

Hack your introversion and visit someone in hospital
Eric McKiddie: “Nothing felt more wrong to me than visiting someone in the hospital that I didn’t know, and sensing the pressure to make them feel better in 15 minutes or less.”

Church History and Israel’s Future
I’m one of the decreasing numbers of non-premillennialists (I’m an optimistic amillenial) who believe that ethnic Israel still has a major future place in God’s plans. Nathan Busenitz makes me feel a bit less lonely with a great selection of quotes from others in church history.

Captivated: The Movie

June 14, 2012  David Murray   13 comments

If you’re reading this blog, and you probably are, you need to watch this movie. Even if you’re not reading this blog, you need to watch this movie. Runner-up for “Best Documentary” at the recent San Antonio Independent Christian Film Festival, Captivated is all about “finding freedom in a media captive culture.”

Mediatalk 101 leader, Philip Telfer, takes us on a nationwide tour of experts, families, and individuals, to demonstrate not only the problems of techno-media slavery, but also how God’s Word addresses the unique challenges we face today.

Visit the website for more information and some nice discount offers on purchases of two or more DVDs. Why not buy a batch for your church or school, or arrange a showing? What will you get for your money?

  1. Expert commentary: wide range of insightful commentary from scientists, doctors, theologians, journalists
  2. Hope-filled testimonies: numerous inspiring stories of how individuals and families have been delivered from techno-media slavery
  3. Diversity of contributors: lots of gender, age, and racial variety in both the commentary and the testimonials
  4. Professional filming: high standards of photography and audio that make it a real pleasure to watch and listen
  5. Wide suitablity: I watched it with my wife, two daughters (8 & 10), and two teenage sons (14 & 15) and we were all “captivated” from beginning to end
  6. Gospel focus: the film progressively moves towards the Gospel and sets forth Christ as the ultimate deliverer of all captives.

I have no financial interest in this film and I was not asked or paid to write this review. I just think it’s a tremendous resource for churches and families who need all the help they can get to produce Christ-captivated lives.

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June 14, 2012  David Murray   0 comments

Ditch the Diploma
Why college graduates are questioning their education.

Black and white and red all over
Russell Moore on why racial justice is a Gospel issue.

3 Reflections on leading your family well
“All of us know tragic stories of wives and children of pastors, church planters, and missionaries who grow up to hate the church. These stories could have been avoided, in many cases, if the leader in the home had not neglected his family.”

3 Signs of repentance every church leader should learn
Phil Monroe helps church leaders how to know when it is appropriate to encourage a victim of abuse to allow an offender back into their home or life.

The abuse of full-time Christian service
Kim Shay: “It disturbs me that today that we don’t encourage our young people that employment is indeed a godly pursuit.  A young man with $30,000 worth of student debt, instead of choosing to pay that debt down, stands up and asks his congregation for support to go on a short term missions trip.  We give it to him.   Why do we let him think the “higher calling” is to stay in debt, ask for more money, and go on a missions trip?  Because it’s seen as full time service, which is viewed as just a little cut above the rest.  Isn’t it a godly thing to pay back what the government has loaned you for your schooling?  Is it not building responsibility and godly manhood to pay the loan back?  No, we send them off.  I find it perplexing.”

Eugenics, Past and Future
Ross Douthat: “Having left behind pseudoscientific racial theories, it’s easy for us to look back and pass judgment on yesterday’s eugenicists. It’s harder to acknowledge what we have in common with them. First, a relentless desire for mastery and control, not only over our own lives but over the very marrow and sinew of generations yet unborn. And second, a belief in our own fundamental goodness, no matter to what ends our mastery is turned.”

God and pepperoni pizza

June 13, 2012  David Murray   0 comments

In A Divine Way to Resist Temptation, Jonah Lehrer tells of how he was raised to observe kosher rules that included a ban on cheeseburgers and pepperoni pizza. Though an impulsive and unrestrained eater in general, he found it easy to observe the pepperoni and cheeseburger ban, even at friends’ parties.

Of course Lehrer’s not alone; lots of usually indisciplined people manage to obey incredibly strict food rules during Ramadan or Lent. As Rabbi David Wolpe told Lehrer: “The world is full of people who are fastidious about Biblical rules but can’t say no to fast food.” The Rabbi’s conclusion? “There’s something about rules from God that make them easier to follow.”

The science of temptation
And the scientists back him up. In a series of experiments Psychologist Kevin Rounding found that, “People are better able to resist their desires when thinking about God.” Even triggering subconscious thoughts of faith increased self-control and the ability to delay self-gratification. In fact, even atheists or agnostics in the studies were influenced in a similar way by subconscious thoughts of God!

Why should this be so? Well, here’s the scientific explanation:

The scientists describe thoughts of God as providing the mind with “important psychological nutrients” that “refuel” our inner resources, much like Gatorade replenishes the body after a long run. The scientists think that faith-based thoughts may increase “self-monitoring” by evoking the idea of an all-knowing, omnipresent God. If God is always watching, we better not misbehave—he knows about the pepperoni.

Three takeaways (pardon the pun!).
First, this is encouraging for Christian parents who have trained up their children in the way they should go, and are not yet seeing any visible fruit for all their prayers and teaching. Be assured, your labor has had an impact, it is impinging on the conscience, and it is affecting choices, even though your son or daughter may not admit it or even be conscious of it.

Second, Proverbs 16:6 is confirmed: “By the fear of the Lord, one departs from evil.” As the Rabbi said, “Thinking about God makes it easier to do the right thing.” When facing temptation, use the divinely provided “Gatorade” of thinking about God to refuel your resistance.

Third, although the Rabbi says, “We need a system of rules to live by,” we actually need much more than that. Yes, let’s use all the external rules and internal helps we can to do the right thing. But we don’t always do it, do we? What then?

Thankfully as the other half of Proverbs 16:6 tells us, God in His love has also provided an atonement to purge away our sins. Christ’s blood is the most powerful sin-resisting fuel in the world.

You can read Lehrer’s article here. He’s also authored a fascinating book Imagine: How Creativity Works.