A Day At The Museum

I had the wonderful privilege of attending the grand opening of the Creation Museum yesterday and it was truly spectacular. Designed by a former Universal Studios exhibit director, the museum does a wonderful job of clearly defining the literal view of Genesis, defining what special creation is, why there is suffering on the earth today, and also presents the clear and Biblical plan of salvation. A great point is made throughout as well that there is no such thing as "brute facts", but rather, all facts are interpreted. Since Creationists have a different starting point (God created) than Evolutionists (Atheism/Agnosticism), the same scientific facts are therefore interpreted differently.

On a rather humorous note, we were met at the Museum's entrance by about 100 protester's (see pictures below) "warning" us about going in to the museum. Secular society seems to possess and preach one single virtue, tolerance, and from the looks of things yesterday they aren't doing a very good job of upholding their single virtue. Amidst the hate messages, put downs and profanity that was being spewed by this (in)tolerant group (Note that some signs below equate teaching Creation to children as child abuse, and one calls home schooling child abuse) I decided to pull over to take a few pictures. I planned on saying nothing, but one man called out to me and asked me if I was going to the museum. When I answered in the affirmative he told me to be very critical when I go in there. I asked the man if he'd heard of the Scientific Dissent From Darwinism. He replied that there was no such thing. I kindly told him to Google that phrase and be enlightened. He was speechless. I have since learned that there is also an organization called "Doctors doubting Darwin."

It's amazing, but judging from the signs upheld and some of the ignorant comments, many of these folks have evidently blindly followed the lemmings off of the cliff on this issue. They literally have no idea that there is a mountain of science behind Creationism, nor do they realize that there are many scientists behind Creationism as well. I truly felt sorry for these spiritually blind souls. By the looks of some of their faces they really felt they were doing a service of some sort. Romans 1:21-22 speaks about such people:

"Yes, they knew God, but they wouldn’t worship him as God or even give him thanks. And they began to think up foolish ideas of what God was like. The result was that their minds became dark and confused. Claiming to be wise, they became utter fools instead."

On one final humorous note, as we got out of our van we were noticing the airplane flying overhead (pictured below) with banner in tow that said: "DEFCON Says: Thou shalt not lie!" I looked at my wife and said, "What's DECON?" She informed me that DECON was rat poison and the word was "DEFCON". How oddly appropriate.

See pictures from protest HERE.

Questioning Evolutionary Origins: Abiogenesis

Here is a video similar to what Pastor E was stating in his article titled: A Scientific Dissent From Darwinism. It's very interesting.

John MacArthur Defends The Gospel

Where Father Manning comes up with the idea of calling Simon a Terrorist is beyond me. It's simply not founded in scripture.
Bishop Talbert's words here are also very disheartening. He would rather tickle everyones ear than tell them the truth.

Christ vs Anti-Christ

Christ- came from above (John 6:38)
Anti-Christ- ascends from the Pit (Revelation 11:7)

Christ- came in his Father's name (John 5:43)
Anti-Christ - comes in his OWN name (John 5:41)

Christ - humbled Himself (Phil. 2:8)
Anti-Christ - exalts himself (2 Thessalonians 2:4)

Christ - Despised (Isaiah 53:3; Luke 23:16)
Anti-Christ - Admired (Rev. 13:3,4)

Christ - Exalted (Philippians 2:9)
Anti-Christ - cast down to Hell (Isa. 14:14, 15; Rev. 19:20)

Christ - came to do His Father's will (John 6:38)
Anti-Christ - to do His Own will (Daniel 11:36)

Christ - came to Save (Luke 19:10)
Anti-Christ - comes to Destroy (Daniel 8:24)

Christ - is the Good Shepherd (John 10:4-15)
Anti-Christ - the Idol (evil) Shepherd (Zechariah 11:16, 17)

Christ - is the True Vine (John 15:1)
Anti-Christ - the Vine of the Earth (Revelation 14:18)

Christ - is the Truth (John 14:6)
Anti-Christ - is the Lie (2 Thessalonians 2:11)

Christ - the Holy One (Mark 1:24)
Anti-Christ - is the Lawless One (2 Thessalonians 2:8)

Christ - is the Man of Sorrows (Isaiah 53;3)
Anti-Christ - is the Man of Sin (2 Thessalonians 2:3 A.S.V)

Christ - is the Son of God (Luke 1:35)
Anti-Christ - is the Son of Perdition (2 Thessalonians 2:3)

Christ - is God manifest in the flesh (1 Timothy 3:16)
Anti-Christ - Satan manifest in the flesh (2 Thes. 2:7)

A Scientific Dissent From Darwinism

Public TV programs, educational policy statements, and science textbooks have asserted that Darwin’s theory of evolution fully explains the complexity of living things. The public has been assured, most recently by spokespersons for PBS’s Evolution series, that “all known scientific evidence supports [Darwinian] evolution” as does “virtually every reputable scientist in the world.”

The following scientists dispute the first claim and stand as living testimony in contradiction to the second. There is scientific dissent to Darwinism. In fact over 600 scientists from Stanford to the Smithsonian have signed this dissent statement. The statement reads as follow:


We are skeptical of claims for the ability of random mutation and natural selection to account for the complexity of life. Careful examination of the evidence for Darwinian theory should be closely examined.

The Old Cross And The New

By A.W. Tozer

ALL UNANNOUNCED AND MOSTLY UNDETECTED there has come in modern times a new cross into popular evangelical circles. It is like the old cross, but different: the likenesses are superficial; the differences, fundamental.

From this new cross has sprung a new philosophy of the Christian life, and from that new philosophy has come a new evangelical technique-a new type of meeting and a new kind of preaching. This new evangelism employs the same language as the old, but its content is not the same and its emphasis not as before.

The old cross would have no truck with the world. For Adam's proud flesh it meant the end of the journey. It carried into effect the sentence imposed by the law of Sinai. The new cross is not opposed to the human race; rather, it is a friendly pal and, if understood aright, it is the source of oceans of good clean fun and innocent enjoyment. It lets Adam live without interference. His life motivation is unchanged; he still lives for his own pleasure, only now he takes delight in singing choruses and watching religious movies instead of singing bawdy songs and drinking hard liquor. The accent is still on enjoyment, though the fun is now on a higher plane morally if not intellectually.

The new cross encourages a new and entirely different evangelistic approach. The evangelist does not demand abnegation of the old life before a new life can be received. He preaches not contrasts but similarities. He seeks to key into public interest by showing that Christianity makes no unpleasant demands; rather, it offers the same thing the world does, only on a higher level. Whatever the sin-mad world happens to be clamoring after at the moment is cleverly shown to be the very thing the gospel offers, only the religious product is better.

The new cross does not slay the sinner, it redirects him. It gears him into a cleaner and jollier way of living and saves his self-respect. To the self-assertive it says, "Come and assert yourself for Christ." To the egotist it says, "Come and do your boasting in the Lord." To the thrill seeker it says, "Come and enjoy the thrill of Christian fellowship." The Christian message is slanted in the direction of the current vogue in order to make it acceptable to the public.

The philosophy back of this kind of thing may be sincere but its sincerity does not save it from being false. It is false because it is blind. It misses completely the whole meaning of the cross.

The old cross is a symbol of death. It stands for the abrupt, violent end of a human being. The man in Roman times who took up his cross and started down the road had already said good-by to his friends. He was not coming back. He was going out to have it ended. The cross made no compromise, modified nothing, spared nothing; it slew all of the man, completely and for good. It did not try to keep on good terms with its victim. It struck cruel and hard, and when it had finished its work, the man was no more.

The race of Adam is under death sentence. There is no commutation and no escape. God cannot approve any of the fruits of sin, however innocent they may appear or beautiful to the eyes of men. God salvages the individual by liquidating him and then raising him again to newness of life.

That evangelism which draws friendly parallels between the ways of God and the ways of men is false to the Bible and cruel to the souls of its hearers. The faith of Christ does not parallel the world, it intersects it. In coming to Christ we do not bring our old life up onto a higher plane; we leave it at the cross. The corn of wheat must fall into the ground and die.

We who preach the gospel must not think of ourselves as public relations agents sent to establish good will between Christ and the world. We must not imagine ourselves commissioned to make Christ acceptable to big business, the press, the world of sports or modern education. We are not diplomats but prophets, and our message is not a compromise but an ultimatum.

God offers life, but not an improved old life. The life He offers is life out of death. It stands always on the far side of the cross. Whoever would possess it must pass under the rod. He must repudiate himself and concur in God's just sentence against him.

What does this mean to the individual, the condemned man who would find life in Christ Jesus? How can this theology be translated into life? Simply, he must repent and believe. He must forsake his sins and then go on to forsake himself. Let him cover nothing, defend nothing, excuse nothing. Let him not seek to make terms with God, but let him bow his head before the stroke of God's stern displeasure and acknowledge himself worthy to die.

Having done this let him gaze with simple trust upon the risen Saviour, and from Him will come life and rebirth and cleansing and power. The cross that ended the earthly life of Jesus now puts an end to the sinner; and the power that raised Christ from the dead now raises him to a new life along with Christ.

To any who may object to this or count it merely a narrow and private view of truth, let me say God has set His hallmark of approval upon this message from Paul's day to the present. Whether stated in these exact words or not, this has been the content of all preaching that has brought life and power to the world through the centuries. The mystics, the reformers, the revivalists have put their emphasis here, and signs and wonders and mighty operations of the Holy Ghost gave witness to God's approval.

Dare we, the heirs of such a legacy of power, tamper with the truth? Dare we with our stubby pencils erase the lines of the blueprint or alter the pattern shown us in the Mount? May God forbid. Let us preach the old cross and we will know the old power. (A. W. Tozer, Man, the Dwelling Place of God, 1966)

Questioning Darwinian Evolution

This is more or less a video of what Justin had wrote about in The Case for a Creator. Check it out.

Pastor E has a blog

Want to read more from Pastor E? Be sure to check out his blog here.

The 7 Beatitudes

My Dad has started a Bible study on Wednesday night on the book of Revelation and it's very intriguing. Revelation is a book full of blessings for his people, but chaos and eternal torment for those who are not in Christ Jesus. Here are the 7 beatitudes or blessings for his people:

Revelation 1:3 - Blessed is the one who reads the words of this prophecy, and blessed are those who hear it and take to heart what is written in it, because the time is near.

Notice that it states, "hear it and take it to heart". Revelation is a book that has moral instructions that we must obey in our day to day lives and if we apply it, it promises blessings.

Revelation 14:13 - Then I heard a voice from heaven say, "Write: Blessed are the dead who die in the Lord from now on." "Yes", says the Spirit, "they will rest from their labor, for their deeds will follow them."

Here is a verse we all can have peace with knowing that our loved ones who have died and will die in the Lord are and will be at rest in Heaven. Serving the Lord, living for him, and sharing him with others are deeds we must abide by.

Revelation 16-15 - "Behold, I come like a thief! Blessed is he who stays awake and keeps his clothes with him, so that he may not go naked and be shamefully exposed."

Here Jesus is speaking blessings to his people during the tribulation. Never the less it even applies today as we wait, watch and are ready for the Lord to return for his people.

Revelation 19:9 - Then the angel said to me, "Write: 'Blessed are those who are invited to the wedding supper of the Lamb!' " And he added, "These are the true words of God."

It is believed that His saints are already up there in heaven at this time. The Rapture I believe will take place before the Great Tribulation. However the only way to make it to the marriage supper of the Lamb is to be living for Jesus when he returns.

Revelation 20:6 - Blessed and holy are those who have part in the first resurrection. The second death has no power over them, but they will be priests of God and of Christ and will reign with him for a thousand years.

This refers to those who are in Christ Jesus when he returns the first time, or who that have already passed and went on to glory. Now they will reign with Christ for a thousand years on earth.

Revelation 22:7 - "Behold, I am coming soon! Blessed is he who keeps the words of the prophecy in this book."

Jesus here is talking to his saints today and back in the New Testament days. How do you keep the words of Revelation? By obeying it's commands, taking everything in light of eternity, and looking forward to the day that Jesus returns.

Revelation 22:14 - "Blessed are those who wash their robes, that they may have the right to the tree of life and may go through the gates into the city."

Blessed are his people whose sins are forgiven, and can take part of eating of the tree of life for all eternity.

Stay close to Jesus, and may God Bless.
Joshua Smith

Looking Out For The Interests Of Others

Why Should The Father Bother

I awoke this morning with a song in my head, "Why Should the Father Bother?", a song from 1979 by Petra. I haven't heard the song in years, but it played clearly in my mind. Here's the chorus:

Why should the Father
Bother to call us His children?
Why should the Spirit
Hear it when we pray?
Why should the Father
Bother to be concerned with all our needs?

The last line of the chorus answers the question:

It's all because of what the Son has done

Ultimate Humility

Based on the answer given in the song, one might subsequently ask, "So then why did God's Son do what he did, sacrificing Himself for the salvation of mankind?" We might never know the complete answer this side of heaven, but we do know what John 3:16 says, "For God so loved the world that he sent His only Son...". See that? It was the love which God had for us all! A love so great that Jesus would give up the glory of heaven and in the ultimate display of humility not only become a man but also face the worst insult, betrayal, and cruelty that mankind could muster!

I am reminded of the scripture:

(5)Have this attitude in yourselves which was also in Christ Jesus,(6) who, although He existed in the form of God, did not regard equality with God a thing to be grasped, (7) but emptied Himself, taking the form of a bond-servant, and being made in the likeness of men. (8) Being found in appearance as a man, He humbled Himself by becoming obedient to the point of death, even death on a cross. Philippians 2:5-8 NASB

There's a command given there: "Have this attitude in yourselves which was also in Christ Jesus..." Wow! How can there be *any* room for pride in a Christian? If Christ could humble himself to this extent for the purpose of our salvation, why do we struggle to humble ourselves enough to love those in need around us?

If you back up two more verses in that chapter you'll read:

(3)Do nothing from selfishness or empty conceit, but with humility of mind regard one another as more important than yourselves;(4) do not merely look out for your own personal interests, but also for the interests of others.
Philippians 2:3,4 NASB

I think one important aspect of humility is shown here: love for others. Humility is more than just not thinking highly of oneself, but also includes loving those you can reach around you.

The Universe

If you examine the picture below (a photo taken by the Hubble Space Telescope) closely you will find literally hundreds of galaxy, each of which spans many thousands of light years. The immensity of the Universe cannot be overstated. To think that the creator of this enormous universe actually cares about us individually is amazing. I hope that the realization of the humility shown by Christ encourages you to have "this [same] attitude in yourselves" to stay humble and "look out ... for the interests of others".


- JWS

The Case For A Creator

I recently started reading The Case For A Creator by Lee Strobel. This book is a must-read for any student taking (or planning to take) classes in biology, physics, or any other science.

In a casual conversational style, Strobel explains major problems with current scientific explanations for our Universe. You will be amazed at how much evidence scientists must ignore in order to continue supporting their stance on evolution, the Big-Bang and other scientific "facts"! Naturally, the mounting evidence is all pointing toward the Creator.

Evolution

One topic that the book easily pokes holes in is Evolution. It is amazing to scientists that even with millions of fossils currently found and identified, the "missing links" are still missing. Were evolution a reality, nearly every ancient fossil found should be a "missing link" representing some snapshot of a species in some branch of the evolutionary "tree of life"; each representing a minor modification from its ancestral species. The lack of "transitional forms" (a.k.a "missing links") in the fossil record should be enough evidence alone to disprove evolution. The problem is serious enough that scientists are trying to come up with new hypothesis to explain the data (i.e. "punctuate equilibrium"). There was even an article in Science Daily just this year with a scientist from University of Pittsburgh encouraging others in his community to start questioning their own assumptions about the verity of Evolution:

However, it is not only the current molecular theory that intrigues Schwartz, but the failure of the scientific community to question an idea that is more than 40 years old: "The history of organ life is undemonstrable; we cannot prove a whole lot in evolutionary biology, and our findings will always be hypothesis. There is one true evolutionary history of life, and whether we will actually ever know it is not likely. Most importantly, we have to think about questioning underlying assumptions, whether we are dealing with molecules or anything else," says Schwartz. ["No Missing Link? Evolutionary Changes Occur Suddenly, Professor Says"]

The problem is that Scientists only view the physical world through the lens of Naturalism, and therefore reject any hypothesis that suggests the existence of God or the evidence which points to His existence.

Cambrian Explosion

Another amazing piece of evidence that scientists have been scrambling to explain is the "Cambrian Explosion". This term is referring to the explosion of species that suddenly appear in one stratum of geological rock, with older rock having little to no animal fossils.

The article on Wikipedia states:

The Cambrian explosion has generated extensive scientific debate. Darwin saw it as one of the principal objections that could be lodged against his theory of evolution by natural selection, as have modern-day Creationists ("The fossil record had caused Darwin more grief than joy. Nothing distressed him more than the Cambrian explosion, the coincident appearance of almost all complex organic designs..."). [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cambrian_explosion]

Explosion of animal fossils? Sounds a lot like the sixth day of creation to me...

The Answer

I have a hypothesis which is supported by all of the evidence: "In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth...". The first chapter of Genesis is very simple to understand, some would say too simple. But the truth is clear: God created the universe over a period of 7 days. Some might dispute the meaning of a "day" in Genesis 1, or try to find deeper meaning in the description of man being "created" in the first chapter but not "formed" until the second chapter of Genesis, but the truth of God's Word always prevails! His Word has been proven right again and again, much to the dismay of those looking for faults.

I'll finish with this scripture:

For since the creation of the world His invisible attributes, His eternal power and divine nature, have been clearly seen, being understood through what has been made, so that they are without excuse. Romans 1:20 NASB

Have you ever examined a photo taken by the Hubble Space Telescope? Oh, how clearly the divine majesty and eternal power of God can be seen through those images! And His majesty is seen equally clearly in the beauty of the Earth and Nature.

I'll try to post on other topics from this book again as I have time...

- JWS

A Single Common Denominator

Paul tells us under the inspiration of the Holy Spirit in Philippians 3:16, "...to the degree that we have already attained, let us walk by the same rule, let us be of the same mind." In other words whatever has been causing you to grow spiritually - Paul is saying stay on that program.

Growing spiritually is a many faceted stone and certainly begins with daily Bible reading and prayer times. But spiritual growth isn't just a two-faceted stone - there are other important aspects to growing in the Lord.

In a recent church board meeting, as an exercise, we brainstormed whom at our church was growing spiritually and what were the observable reasons why. Those who were growing spiritually had many things in common, but as we pared the list down we discovered that there was one single common denominator: involvement in some type of small group at the church. In Acts 2:42-47 where we find our model for a New Testament church, the aspect of small group fellowship is referred to no less than five times.

The empirical evidence shows that for Christians to be spiritually healthy, they must be on a program that involves small group fellowship and interaction with other believers. This fact is not only consistent with Scripture, but can be observed in the lives of believers today.


This rather answers the age old "can someone be a Christian, yet never attend a church" question. Merely attending church appears to be the bare minimum for a believer - and if someone is a Christian and never attends, they won't be one for long.

A Letter To Pastors

This letter was an open letter written from Dr. Opal Reddin shortly before her passing in 2005. Her hope was that Assembly of God ministers would heed her warning. I had Dr. Reddin when I attended Central Bible College and I can say not only was she easily the best professor I ever had - she was a lady who KNEW the Lord.


Friday, October 21, 2005 10:31 PM:

From Dr. Opal Reddin:

"As you have opportunity, please tell any and of our all of our A/G churches that I for one see Rick Warren and his deceptive "Purpose Driven books and practices" to be the gradual downfall to each church becoming involved. Some of my reasons:

1. His SHAPE, Jung-oriented spiritual gifts tests destroy the very meaning of "spiritual gifts", and hence all Pentecostal churches will become redundant. Those taking them as having any degree of value will find (too late) they were grieving the Holy Spirit. This is one of the main hindrances today to people receiving the baptism in the Holy Spirit.

2. His "Gospel" excludes repentance as a necessary step toward salvation, and it IS necessary, according to Jesus. Warren's "Gospel" is "another gospel" of works," No wonder the Catholics and homosexuals feel at home in his pastor's conferences!

3. Every one who signs the covenant of membership is in the process of disobeying our Lord's commands to swear not .

4. Every A/G minister and memory should read Who's Driving the Purpose Driven Church? by James Sundquist and Deceived on Purpose by Warren Smith.

For these and other well-considered reasons, I plead with every A/G church and member to avoid Rick Warren's beliefs and practices in every way possible. We must get back to the things that brought the manifest presence of God into our midst, when gifts of the Spirit convinced unbelievers of their need to repent and get right with God. The Full Gospel will still bring sinners to salvation, and saints to full obedience as we anticipate our Lord's return in Glory.

Signed,
Rev. Opal Reddin, D. Min. Distinguished Prof. in Biblical Studies
Central Bible College

The Great Deceived

I love America, I believe it is the greatest country in the world, but have we been deceived? As I was at church I couldn't help but to look out the windows and see all the people driving by on the highway. I began wondering if we are really a Christian nation that many of us may claim. I heard a poll on the news a couple of weeks back and it stated that over 80% of Americas claim to be a Christian. In this county that I live in there are over 40 thousand people but only approximately 12 thousand attend church regularly like the Bible says we must. That's only 33%!! Where are the other 47% of the people!? At home? In bed? At Wal-Mart, Lowes, or Best Buy? Have they all been deceived into thinking that it's alright to totally skip out on church? Deceived into thinking they can make it to heaven in these last days without a shepherd of Gods Word? In Deuteronomy 11:16 it says; Take heed to yourselves, that your heart be not deceived, and turn aside, and serve other gods, and worship them. I'm afraid that is happening to many Americans. Americans have placed other things or Idols in front of Gods Word. People are looking for the latest trends, buying the latest and greatest, laying aside the things of God just to fulfill their hearts desire. They have been deceived by their very own Idol; themselves. America must wake up before it is too late. We must cast aside every burden, cast away our desires for our initial desires are not the Lords. Put God priority #1, and nothing else behind and I promise the Lord will take you places you never thought possible through Him. Now the God of peace, that brought again from the dead our Lord Jesus, that great shepherd of the sheep, through the blood of the everlasting covenant, Make you perfect in every good work to do his will, working in you that which is well pleasing in his sight, through Jesus Christ; to whom be glory for ever and ever. Amen.

May God Bless,
Joshua Smith

More Authors Added

I have invited two more authors to my site. My brother Justin Smith who is a computer programmer and my Uncle Eric Smith who is a pastor/church planter in Huber Heights OH. I hope you enjoy hearing from them. May God bless.

Ubuntu Linux

The other day I wrote a blog entitled "The Firewall is Dead" a quote from Google's security specialist Niels Provos. I stated that many viruses are attacking computers from supposedly safe websites and how that anti-virus companies seem to be losing. If you are looking for any alternative OS (Operating System) that will work with your current computer then I recommend Ubuntu Linux. I have it and it's great. I boot into either Windows or Ubuntu upon startup. The only reason I still have Windows is because there are still a few applications that I need. However there are applications that come with Ubuntu that can easily take the place of many Windows applications that we pay for. Ubuntu comes with Firefox web browser, E-mail client, a free advanced office client called Open Office which I believe is just as good as Microsoft Office. Everything a normal computer user needs is there. The Desktop and the user interface is very user friendly. I recommend anyone and everyone to give it a try. Just select a server that is closest to you then burn it to a CD. You can just run it as a live CD without even installing it to your hard drive. Just be sure to go into your BIOS (by pressing f1 or delete when turning your computer on) and select your CD drive as your first boot device. I have some pictures of my desktop with some Beryl effects running: Desktop: pic 1, pic 2, and pic 3. Dell is even starting to sell it as an option as an OS along with Windows Vista. There are only 30 known viruses that have affected Linux computers so it's a very secure OS. Windows on the other hand has over 140,000 known viruses and more and more everyday. (source) Be sure to check it out.

The Great Commission

We must fulfill the great commission to tell the world about Jesus.

Sustaining Spiritual Passion w/ John MacArthur

What John MacArthur says here is powerful. I find many people claiming to be Christians, but when I ask where they go to church they seem to choke on their tongue. I've even had some people tell me they don't go anywhere because their church is everywhere.

Future of the Church

I find it hard not to agree with John MacArthur. My parents went to CBC back some 30 years ago and there were over 1,200 students and now from what I've heard there are only around 800. I've been watching some videos of him on Youtube. He has had some wonderful things to say. He defends the faith of a true believer and God's word.

A possible decapitating attack on the government

Looks like Washington D.C. is preparing for a possible nuclear attack.

"After the 2001 attacks, Bush assigned about 100 senior civilian managers to rotate secretly to locations outside of Washington for weeks or months at a time to ensure the nation's survival, a shadow government that evolved based on long-standing "continuity of operations plans."

Please be praying for our country and our government.

Click here for the full story.

IgNiTinG tHe DarKneSS

You have probably wondered why I named my site with such an eerie theme. Ignite and darkness are two totally opposite words. When you look up ignite in the dictionary you read this: To begin to glow. When you look up darkness in the dictionary you get this: absence or deficiency of light. There are many dark places we come across in life, whether it's an ally, closet, room, the night etc. etc. We always feel at ease upon seeing a light ignite in those dark areas. If you have ever been down to Mammoth Caverns in Tennessee when they turn off the lights you have an idea how eerie it is not seeing your hand in front of your face. More importantly you remember that they turned the lights back on so you can get out. So how much more important that in this dark internet we have a light. I'm not saying that my blog here is the light, but I do want it to be a place where you Christians can share your views, opinions, of stories that maybe you can relate to. That is why I'm making my blog open ended and not following a line of code. Your more than welcome to e-mail me at josh1413@gmail.com to ask questions or make comments. If you have something you would like to share with everyone please leave a comment below one of the blogs by clicking on the word "comments".

May the Lord Bless!

"The Firewall is DEAD"

I consider myself a computer savvy individual. I pretty much know what needs to be done to keep a computer safe. I just recently updated my anti-virus/firewall software (Trend Micro Internet security 2007) for another year, but after reading stuff like this I don't get a feeling of invincibility. So far I've had some good luck not getting many viruses. Now I'm not saying I've never had any, because I have. Many of them were out of my control. A couple of weeks back I read somewhere that www.asus.com had an .ani virus. So I went ahead and went there because Microsoft released a patch to protect against that certain .ani virus. I was wrong, I got hit by the virus and my hard drive started thrashing, I could hardly do anything at all. I was able to get rid of it after a virus scan and a system restore, but it wasn't easy. The problem wasn't that my computer wasn't up to date, because it was. It turned out to be a Zero-Day attack which takes advantage of computer security holes when there is no security solution available. After reading this article I have more of an understanding of what went on. We all should know not go to stupid places on the internet and expect it to be safe. After reading that article I see that many of our known "safe" websites can end up being dangerous much like that Asus website. The internet is becoming more and more uncontrollable which is a very destructive nature. Be sure to keep your computer patched and your AV up to date as often as possible and switch to Firefox. May the Lord Bless!

Bill Wiese 23 Minutes in Hell

A gentleman in our church let my dad borrow this book titled "23 Minutes in Hell". So one morning I got out of the shower and went into my parent's room and saw the book sitting on my dad's nightstand. So out of curiosity I started to read it. I read the first two chapters and I can honestly say it is the most freighting 2 chapters I have ever read. Whether or not you believe his story is true, which I personally believe it is, is up to you. Either way it gives you a realization that Hell is real and real people are going there every moment. It's our responsibility as Christians to make sure nobody else goes there. Towards the end of the second chapter and into the 3rd it showed me how much love that Jesus has for me. I went down and told my dad about it, and we started to cry for the lost. It is so important in these last days that we share the good news about Jesus and what he has saved us from. So don't hesitate, spread the gospel now!

Instead of reading the book you can watch the video(s) 1-8 here.
Don't right it off from the start as false. Watch the whole thing before making a judgment.
This website here has more information and downloads.
Please leave comments to tell me what you thought.

Great memory for the Price

When I was building this computer 7 months ago I spent around $240 for this memory. Here it is now for $85. Goes to show how fast the computer market changes just over a short period of time. I would highly recommend this memory to anyone whether you plan on overclocking or not. I have had no issues at all.

Google 411

Sick of being charged for dialing 411? Well Google has set out to change that. Starting now you can call 1-800-GOOG-411 and get connected to any restaurant or business for FREE. I've tried it and it works great here in my small town of Bellefontaine.

More information here:
http://labs.google.com/goog411/

King Herod's grave found

To my amazement they believe they have found the grave of King Herod.

"Yesterday, on the powdery grey flank of an artificial mountain overlooking the Arab villages and Jewish settlements scattered across the Judean Wilderness, Israeli scholars presented their answer to one of the great mysteries of biblical archaeology: the tomb of Herod the Great, a Roman client king who ruled the Jews with the ruthless paranoia of a Stalin or Saddam Hussein from 37BC until his death in 4BC."

Click this link for more information.

About this Blog

Over the past fews months I've been thinking and praying about starting a blog. Blogging has become a revolutionary way for people to share their thoughts and opinions of the world around each and everyone of us. I've been thinking about what this blog would be about and I would have liked to narrow it down to one topic, or one interest pertaining to certain portfolio, but I just couldn't. There are so many things happening around the world around us that interests me and many Christians around the world. I hope you enjoy reading my blog, and may God Bless.