i love him.

ht – dad

remember positive post tuesday?

do you know about positive post tuesday?

so, i know PPT isn’t really a huge trend anymore, but i still love the idea.

the other day i was working on a study and i found myself needing to use the word ‘committed’ in my notes.

the problem is, i just can’t seem to remember how to spell ‘committed’ the correct way.

ever.

usually when i have this issue i’ll just trust the red squiggles that appear underneath the word in question. but sometimes i want to make sure, so i head over to our good friend google and utilize their handy ‘define: insert word‘ feature.

when i did, here’s what appeared:

i was encouraged by what i saw for 2 reasons.

the first was because, somewhere, someone typed this definition into existence. meaning that somewhere, some Christian (i suspect) took opportunity to share something about a Biblical relationship with the Lord. it’s a small thing, but something that i know God can use to glorify Himself.

the second reason i was encouraged was because it reminded me that i do want to be committed to my Lord. i want Him to be the pursuit of my life, not just a small part of it. i want to follow in the ranks of those before me who decided to follow Jesus, the cross before, the world behind, no turning back.

no turning back.

it’s tuesday and i know that the Lord is with me and His desire is that we move forward together as He does the work He’s always wanted to do in my life.

ps – commit
committed
commitment
committee
…that’s just confusing.

i tell you, beloved, when the Holy Ghost comes upon a man he becomes a spiritual man, and instead of denying his Lord he denies himself, just remember that.

ANDREW MURRAY  //  THE DEEPER CHRISTIAN LIFE

yes, the chilean miner rescue is old news.

but, as i was watching the live stream of the guys being pulled up from the belly of the earth from the comfort of my office and macbook 5,400 miles away, i couldn’t help but think about this:

Revelation 11.7-13  >> 7 When [the two witnesses] finish their testimony, the beast that ascends out of the bottomless pit will make war against them, overcome them, and kill them. 8 And their dead bodies will lie in the street of the great city which spiritually is called Sodom and Egypt, where also our Lord was crucified. 9 Then those from the peoples, tribes, tongues, and nations will see their dead bodies three-and-a-half days, and not allow their dead bodies to be put into graves. 10 And those who dwell on the earth will rejoice over them, make merry, and send gifts to one another, because these two prophets tormented those who dwell on the earth. 11 Now after the three-and-a-half days the breath of life from God entered them, and they stood on their feet, and great fear fell on those who saw them. 12 And they heard a loud voice from heaven saying to them, “Come up here.” And they ascended to heaven in a cloud, and their enemies saw them. 13 In the same hour there was a great earthquake, and a tenth of the city fell. In the earthquake seven thousand people were killed, and the rest were afraid and gave glory to the God of heaven.

the indication is that the whole world will be able to watch as these men are finally killed and then, 3 days later, they will watch them rise again.

it is amazing to think that up until only a few years ago, we wouldn’t really be able to understand how everyone, everywhere, could watch a live event happening all at the same time.

now, i can watch as many church services as i want on a phone, see concerts or funerals or inaugurations live, or even check out what chilean officials are doing to help some trapped miners. even people climbing mount everest could stream it!

for a short moment when i grabbed the screen shot above i thought to myself, “the whole world is watching this.”

it was exciting because it made me think of heaven and it also reminded me that God’s word is faithful and true.

did you watch?

from all of us, to all of you:

enjoy your candy this evening.

i like checking out other church websites.

to me, a church site shouldn’t go years and years without being tweaked, redesigned or just shifted to reflect more of the common practices out there on the wide, wide world of web.

that isn’t to say that you have to have a completely different web presence every 18 months or anything, but i do appreciate it when churches remember to grow their online ministry alongside the others.

part of my job is to maintain calvaryhanford.com. as a colorblind ‘designer’ with no coding or design training, that isn’t always easy.

thus, i often survey other church sites, where more qualified folks can show me how things are done.

the picture above is from cornerstone church in simi valley, ca. i was really impressed today that, in an endless sea of church sites that look and work exactly the same, their design team has decided to emphasize typography and negative space.

i mean, i look at this homepage and i’m drawn in by the big, bold choices i’m presented with. and i don’t feel like i’m missing anything. that’s something that’s hard to do when you have as much necessary information as a church website does.

i’m going to keep this in mind for the next time i tweak calvaryhanford.com.

question for you: what are you looking for in a church website?

it may well be that one of our faults is our desire for novelty. the great saving truths of Christianity do not change; and we cannot hear them too often.

we do not tire of the foods which are the essentials of life. we expect to eat bread and to drink water every day; and we must listen again and again to the truth which is the bread and the water of life.

we may enjoy the ‘fancy things’ at meal times, but it is the basic foods on which we live.

preaching and teaching and studying the side-issues may be attractive, and these have their place, but the fundamental truths can neither be spoken nor heard too often for the safety of our souls.

WILLIAM BARCLAY  /  THE LETTERS TO THE PHILIPPIANS, COLOSSIANS AND THESSALONIANS  /  pg 52-53

you will never be the same.