When you see something out of the ordinary some words that come to mind are – that guy is crazy! Well check this out… This crazy Japanese guy has put Apple symbols on Apples. He does it by putting stickers of certain shapes a month before harvesting. Hey presto you have apples with apples on them.
Source: Gizmodo.com
Photography is cool. It captures a moment in time and tells a story of sorts. Everyone sees something different and when they capture your attention for more than 10 seconds you’ve come across a winner.
Wired.com has photo competitions where people vote on their favourite.
Here’s a few that caught my eye.
The black vs gold, the rock haired man against a bland back, the silhouette’n’light, the close up hands plus effects…
Filed under: Some food for today | Tags: Books, Mark Driscoll, Mars Hill Church, Masturbation, Porn, Sex
Filed under: Some food for today | Tags: Bible, Christianity, Culture, Mars Hill Church, The Resurgence
- Engage culture prayerfully. I’m not suggesting that we should actually bow our heads and recite a prayer before reading a newspaper or book, watching TV or a movie, or going shopping, though that certainly wouldn’t hurt. Instead, we are to live life and engage culture in a spirit of dependence upon God; we are to pray without ceasing (1 Thess. 5:17). We should approach culture just as we should approach all things: prayerfully.
What should we pray? We should thank God for the gift of culture, confessing that all cultures contain truth, beauty, and virtue, asking Him to help us recognize and rejoice in these good gifts, which come down from the Father of lights (
James 1:17). Alternatively, all cultures also disdain truth, beauty, and virtue. Thus, we are dependent upon God to enable us to recognize and reject those things that are harmfully false, ugly, and immoral. By asking God to give us the perspective of His Spirit, “the Spirit who searches out all things, even the depths of God” (1 Cor. 2:10), we can begin to discern between the things which are true, beautiful, and good and the things that are false, ugly, and evil. - Engage culture carefully. When approaching any given issue, from parenting to politics, we all have our biases. In order to engage culture well, we must strive to avoid the paths of both the sectarian and the secularist, of both blind rejection and uncritical acceptance. This will require careful investigation into the issues we face, taking the opposing view seriously and weighing its merits. Make a habit of hearing both sides of an issue before you baptize your opinions. Be slow to speak and quick to listen (James 1:19).
- Engage culture biblically-theologically. Why hyphenate biblical and theological? Why not just say “think biblically”? Well, the plain fact is that the Bible does not explicitly address most cultural issues. It does not tell you who to vote for, which school to go to, what movies to watch, whether or not you should date, whether or not to abort your baby, or how to respond to cloning. Instead, the Bible offers theological principles which we can appropriate in order to form opinions and convictions about cultural issues. For instance, there is no verse in the Bible that reads: “Thou shalt not have an abortion.” However, the Bible does inform us that God is the author of life and that to take human life is murder, which is prohibited by God. The circumstances surrounding abortion can be complex. A mother’s life may be threatened if the life of the baby is not taken. The Bible does not say, “Preserve the mother’s life.” However, there are principles and practices in Scripture that can help us make wise decisions about cultural and ethical dilemmas. The problem, however, is that we often start with cultural assumptions about what is right, beautiful, and good and go to the Bible to prove them. Instead, we need to bring cultural questions about what is true, good, and beautiful to the Bible, reflect on them theologically and then prayerfully, and carefully form our opinions. Don’t begin with cultural convictions and end with biblical proof-texts; end with cultural wisdom by beginning with biblical-theological reflection. Start with the biblical text and reflect theologically on cultural issues. Move from Text to Theology to Culture, not the other way around.
- Engage culture redemptively. Strive to connect your theological reflections regarding culture to redemption. We can redemptively engage culture in two ways: practically and positionally. To practically redeem, identify what is broken, what is in need of redemption, and take restorative action. Ask yourself questions like “How can I bring the gospel to bear on this issue?” or “How can I restore, forgive, or reconcile in this situation?” For example, if you come to the conviction that abortion is ugly and immoral, think about how you can help those who are suffering from the devastating affects of abortion. Don’t just debate others. Volunteer at a crisis pregnancy center. Learn how to counsel mothers. Don’t become self-righteous and inactive; practice your cultural convictions. Live them out redemptively. Our practice should flow from our position in Christ. Our actions ought to reveal our redeemed identity, not form our identity. Consider the danger of mistaking your newly-formed habits for who you are. For instance, do you think of yourself now as an environmentalist or as a citizen of Zion with an environmental conscience? Do you draw significance from being a “pro-lifer” or from being new creation in Christ Jesus? Ask yourself, “Am I confusing my practice with my position?” or “Am I finding my significance in what I do instead of who I am in Christ?” Guard yourself from subtly allowing cultural convictions to take the place of your identity in Christ. Ground your identity in the gospel and your practice will be more redemptive and more honoring to the Lord.
- Engage culture humbly. Recognize that you have much to learn from a given culture. Read, converse, and reflect on cultural issues with a teachable heart. Ask God to shape your convictions through whomever or whatever He wills. Avoid proud dogmatism and cultivate humble conviction. Don’t put others down who believe differently from you. Consider others more important than yourself without surrendering your convictions. Yet, be willing to revise your opinions through a process of Text-Theology-Culture.
- Engage culture selectively. Realize and embrace the limitations of your own time, experience, and interests. Spend your time wisely. Don’t sacrifice time with God, church, or family in order to become more culturally savvy. Everyone has been created differently, to live a unique life. Make the most of your experience by redemptively engaging culture, but try to avoid making the experience of others your own. There are too many issues in the world for you to become an overnight expert on Christ and culture. Be selective about what you engage.
Filed under: Some food for today | Tags: Humpfest, Mark Driscoll, Mars Hill Church
Yes it sounds as bad as it looks. Apparently in Seattle (USA) they have a film festival named Humpfest. Now you can put two and two together but for those who are thinking NO WAY it can’t be, YES it is! Its an amateur porn movie making bonanza. So people make a “home movie”, then a bunch of people sit in a theatre and vote on which one they think is the best. I know it sounds bad doesn’t it! To make sure they are made for this film festival they have a common theme and this year it is “Mark Driscoll” from Mars Hill Church (www.marshillchurch.org). The reason why I know this is because I was listening to a sermon of Mark’s and he mentioned this event. Apparently people are going church premises and filming sex scenes. That is just indecent and quite wrong I think. I mean its funny to laugh about for about a fifth of a second but then you realise that its sad.
So straight from the Beatitudes
“Blessed are those who are persecuted because of righteousness, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven”
If you are this way inclined you should pray for Mark and Humpfest.
Now when you watch this I wonder what its doing when you put your phone in your pocket? Is this even possible?
One rule in life: Don’t laugh at other people’s misfortunes.
If the other person ends up being “ok” is it ok to laugh?
Filed under: Some food for today | Tags: 40 days, Bible, Books, Purpose Driven Life
The number 40. It might not be significant in your day to day life unless of course you’re turning 40 or it’s your lucky number etc… I was read this book Purpose Driven Life by Rick Warren and at the beginning it talks about 40 days being a spiritually significant time period. He lists all these examples where God wanted to prepare someone for His purposes:
- Noah’s life was transformed by 40 days of rain
- Moses was transformed by 40 days on Mount Sinai
- The spies were transformed by 40 days in the Promised Land
- David was transformed by Goliath’s 40 day challenge
- Elijah was transformed when God gave him 40 days of strength from a single meal
- The entire city of Nineveh was transformed when God gave the people 40 days to change
- Jesus was empowered by 40 days in the wilderness
- The disciples were transformed by 40 days with Jesus after his resurrection
So the thought popped into my head – Does 40 days play any significance now? Do other symbols in the Bible play any significance now? The number 3, 7, I wonder.
I don’t even know if they need approval for building but Dubai is known for their crazy structures, places, buildings and the like. Maybe they have very lax rules on building?
Found this... 