Ashes of Star Trek's 'Scotty' fired into space - CNN.com

Ashes of Star Trek's 'Scotty' fired into space - CNN.com

I just thought you would want to know... MISSION ACCOMPLISHED!

The Second Generation Scandal

I was involved in a long conversation with a second generation Christian the other day – a man that had “grown up” in the church. During our talk, he consistently disparaged what he called, “my tradition;” a reference to the denomination of churches of which he was a part.

He spoke quite plainly as to how he considered them to be very incorrect in a matter of doctrine... and with a kind of nudge and wink told me of how he endured their condemnation of his views. In other words, he had no intention of leaving that church or denomination, even though he disagreed with a very important doctrine which they taught.

You might consider that admirable.

I thought it was pathetic.

If a man believes something to be true, then he ought to live like it is so! If my church began to assert that belief in the deity of Jesus was optional, I am duty bound to stand up and stand for the Truth: Jesus is God!

This man’s dismissal of the “uneducated” and “simple” members of his church manifested the all too frequent Second Generation Scandal. The second generation does not believe what the first generation was willing to die for, but they are too bound by familial obligation and social pressure to admit it. They will wait for the first generation to die off, then quietly move the church away from its secure foundation.

This brought to mind the words of John Reisinger as he happily pontificated (in the best sense of that word!) for a bunch of seminary students in my living room a few years ago. “You must indoctrinate the next generation of Christians, that is how the Truth passes down through the ages. And part of that indoctrination is teaching them to indoctrinate those who follow.”

Should you find that theory odd, I suggest you consult 2 Timothy 2.



It reminds me of one of my favorite poems:

THE BOY WE WANT
A boy that is truthful and honest
And faithful and willing to work;
But we have not a place that we care to disgrace
with a boy that is ready to shirk.

Wanted--a boy you can tie to,
A boy that is trusty and true,
A boy that is good to old people,
And kind to the little ones too.

A boy that is nice to the home folks,
And pleasant to sister and brother,
A boy who will try when things go awry
To be helpful to father and mother.

These are the boys we depend on--
Our hope for the future, and then
Grave problems of state and the world's work await
Such boys when they grow to be men.

Evil and Me

I recently watched a documentary on the Canadian liberation of Holland near the end of WWII. What the Nazi’s did to Dutch citizens was repulsive at best.

It made me wonder what evil might befall this generation, yes, even here in Canada.

We are fools to think we have outsmarted evil.

No one thought Hitler could do what he did. When the evil of Auschwitz and such was exposed, men thought genocide was over. Darfur demonstrates it has only been refined.

Like a man moves from the outright lies of a child to the twist and spin of an adult Press Officer, so evil seems to always find new ways to manifest itself, whether in me or my country. Evil might be the one thing in this world that really does “evolve.”

Which means we are fools if we think this world is going to get better – less evil.

“This is an evil in all that is done under the sun, that the same event happens to all. Also, the hearts of the children of man are full of evil, and madness is in their hearts while they live, and after that they go to the dead.”

That is why it is vital we preach Christ and Him crucified, to every sinner and to our own hearts. And the goal here is conversion! And such conversion will lead to sanctification! And all the while Christian men are growingly sanctified, evil will be present.

Until.

Until that Great Day. That Day of the Lord!

“For I consider that the sufferings of this present time are not worth comparing with the glory that is to be revealed to us.”

On that day, evil will be finally and forever vanquished. In me. In the world.

Even so, come quickly Lord Jesus!

Clark Raycroft, the Great Canadian Hockey Goalie

I tried posting this the day the Leafs fell out of playoff contention, but YouTube was giving me grief. Now that it seems to be back to working, I thought I would let all my fellow Leaf fans see what our pal Andrew "Sieve" Raycroft (using the pseudonym, "Clark" here) is up to for the summer.
No golf for this boy!

Friday Photo - Weird Sky

This is a strange photo. I took it a few minutes after one of the worst storms I have ever lived through passed over the cottage. It was one of those late afternoon, wobble the walls with wicked wind, water weeping through the windows storms. Very cool. And a little frightening.

As the storm subsided, the northwest horizon split open with the fierce orange of the evening sun. The sky later turned that strange greenish-brown colour. It was rather memorable!

The first really warm days of 2007 are here in Toronto and it got me a'thinking about the lake!

Swedish hospital may ban Crocs clogs due to static electricity

Swedish hospital may ban Crocs clogs due to static electricity

Finally somebody sees the light!

My whole family wears these things (sans moi!)... my son even has the army camaflouge variety. Or course, they just wear the cheap knock-offs since I am too cheap to buy the real things!

(What do nurses do in the rain, anyway?)

Live Blogging the reFocus 2007 Conference

Spud Files

A major shout out (still dancing to that last post, sorry) to my buddy Dan who is live-blogging the Canadian reFocus Conference out in B.C.

Speakers include John Piper, J.I. Packer, Bruce Ware, and Mark Driscoll.

Things like this generally never happen in Canada! (The "conference" that is. We, of course, own the world's most famous uber-live-blogger-dude of all. It is just that he is not at this conference... just all the other ones in the world.)

Gospel Aerobics

My man Paul knows what to do!

Thanks to Josh for this sweet hit!

Now, get that heart pumping!!

Attention TBS Students

This note to all my Pastoral Theology II students...

We will be meeting, as scheduled, at Thistletown Baptist Church.

Carpool will leave from TBS immediately after chapel.

Lunch will be provided.

Class will end around 5PM or later... please budget your time appropriately.

P.S. Don't forget your suit and towel. And for the rest of you, don't ask!

Ten Great Christian Biographies

Ten Great Christian Biographies:

Al Mohler lists 10 great biographies worth reading. It was a delight to see Arnold Dallimore's, George Whitefield: The Life and Times of the Great Evangelist of the Eighteenth-Century Revival, 2 volumes (Carlisle, Pennsylvania: Banner of Truth Trust, 1970) on the list.

Mohler comments: "Dallimore's biography of Whitefield is among the greatest in terms of sheer inspiration and the urgency of Whitefield's example. Lessons from Whitefield are worth this two-volume biography and more, and Dallimore takes his readers into the heart of Whitefield's life and ministry."

All I can say is that these books changed my life and made me love the Gospel and the preaching of it more than I can say. And Jason, who I referenced in the previous post, was blessed so much as to snag Dallimore's granddaughter!