1 Kings 1:1-4

King David was now very old, and no matter how many blankets covered him, he could not keep warm. So his advisers told him, “Let us find a young virgin to wait on you and look after you, my lord.  She will lie in your arms and keep you warm.”

So they searched throughout the land of Israel for a beautiful girl, and they found Abishag from Shunem and brought her to the king.  The girl was very beautiful, and she looked after the king and took care of him.  But the king had no sexual relations with her.

The one part of my job I love more than anything else is being a part of young lives growing up.  I love to watch as they first “get” God.  I love to walk alongside as they begin their journey with the Holy Spirit.  My heart breaks when they stumble and my spirit struggles to lift them back up.  But I MOST love watching them later, as somewhat more mature disciples, when they make decisions that they wouldn’t have made just a few short years earlier.

That’s what I see here in 1 Kings.  David’s lived a long life, from humble shepherd to giant slayer to king’s servant and eventually to the throne itself.  Early in his kingship, he saw a woman he liked, had an affair, and did everything he could, including murdering her husband, to have her.  As a result, he suffered some serious consequences from his actions and repented before God.

Now, decades later, at the end of his life, he’s laying in bed waiting to die and his advisers have a great idea.  ”Let’s get a beautiful young virgin to sleep with David and keep him warm.”

But David’s learned from his mistake and Scripture tells us, “[he] had no sexual relations with her.”

And, in my heart, I applaud a somewhat more mature David who is making decisions he wouldn’t have made a few years before.

Look around you for the David’s who are maturing and changing right before your eyes.  And applaud them.  Encourage them.  Cherish them.

So last night, we one shot cleared right up to Anub in ToC 25, and then instead of helpfully yelling at us and breaking the floor so we could go and squish a bug, Arthas decided to hang out and take group pictures with us.

This bug can be fixed- you need to soft reset the instance. That involves leaving it alone for 30 minutes. In our case, we kept checking on it too often, so we’ll just have to pwn Anub tomorrow.

On a completely unrelated note, Fimlys (friend of the blog) has started a new podcast called Polygamerous. It’s about all games, not just WOW. They’ll be broadcasting their first episode tonight at 11 eastern time here.

Alkisah pada suatu sore yang biasa saja…..

Seorang OP warnet sedang asyik ngaskus, tapi tiba-tiba datanglah seorang user dengan ragu-ragu. Dan terjadilah dialog berikut:

User : Mas…

OP : Yup

User : Bisa tolong bobol password g?

OP : Hah.. Password apa?

User : Password Login vista

OP : (bengong….. ) hah… Password vista

User : Iyah….

OP : Boleh jg dicoba tuh >:) (bahan percobaan nih) hihihihi…….

User : Lama g? tadi dah pergi ke sebelah gak bisa (

OP : kita cek aja dlu

…………………….proses pengecekan……………..

OP : kita coba pake yg ini

User : SIP!!! yg penting bisa

………………….Proses Uji Coba…………………….

OP :   wah yg ni gak bisa

User : waduh gimana tuh? Coba lagi deh

OP : bisa sih tapi agak lama

User : gpp lah (muka suntuk)

………………….googling ophcrack………………..

OP : wah download dlu 2 jam-an, gpp?

User : gpp kok, sekalian mo sholat dlu

…………………..setelah 2 jam……………………….

………………….oph crack complete……………….

…………………..booting ophcrack…………………

OP : Lho password administratornya kosong

User : Emang kosong, tu yg User yg dikasih password

OP : Hah???? ngapa gak ngomong dari tadi

User : hehehhe

…………………ngaskus bentar…………………..

………………..nemu link ini ………………………

………………..terus download di sini………….

OP : kita coba lagi

User : (muka suntuk bgt)

………………. ini lah caranya……………………

1. ekstrak file yg dah di dunlud tadi(iso nya jg )
2. kopi-in semua file ke flash diks
3. buka Commandpromt (cmdeh)
4. masuk ke falshdisk yg mo dipake
5. jalanini perintah <drive>:syslinux.exe -ma <drive>: (contoh I:syslinux.exe -ma i:)
6. boot usb-nya ke pc yg mo direset passwordnya
7. ikuti instruksi (klo gw sih enter-enter aja)
8. pas dah nyampe di pemilihan user, jgn ampe salah (kaya gw )
9. klo udah clear passwordnya jgn lupa jg (kaya gw jg ) di-save
10. selesai

………………. akhirnya sukses jg………………

OP : Yes!!!!

User : udah bisa

OP : alhamdulilah, udah beres

User : thanks

OP : yup (sambil liatin user, cakep sih :hammer: )

tamat… (hueks…. kaya sinetron aja)

nb: *maap gak da skrinsut nya

*thank buat aris yg dah bantuin, thanks jg buat temen ym yg dah bantu

2 Samuel 23:8-12

These are the names of David’s mighty men:

Josheb-Basshebeth, a Tahkemonite, was chief of the Three; he raised his spear against eight hundred men, whom he killed in one encounter.

Next to him was Eleazar son of Dodai the Ahohite.  As one of the three mighty men, he was with David when they taunted the Philistines gathered at Pas Dammim for battle.  Then the men of Israel retreated, but he stood his ground and struck down the Philistines till his hand grew tired and froze to the sword.  The LORD brought about a great victory that day.  The troops returned to Eleazar, but only to strip the dead.

Next to him was Shammah son of Agee the Hararite.  When the Philistines banded together at a place where there was a field full of lentils, Israel’s troops fled from them.  But Shammah took his stand in the middle of the field.  He defended it and struck the Philistines down, and the LORD brought about a great victory.

These men knew no fear.  Neither did Abishai, who killed 300 men, or Benaiah, who killed a lion.  Neither did David, who killed Goliath.  Neither did Peter, who attempted to defend Jesus at His arrest, or Paul, who faced down kings and emperors.

They knew no fear in the service of the Lord.  The only thing they feared was the result of not serving God with their life.  Trying and failing wasn’t on their radar.  They didn’t hesitate to act because of the possibility of missing the mark.  They saw the goal, made the choice, and committed themselves to the course.

None of those men were perfect.  They all failed at some point.  They all died in the end.  They all bit off more than they could chew.  They all lived.

And they were called “mighty men” in the end.

I ask you…  What will you be called?  At the end of your life, as you are remembered and possibly even written about, will your caption read, “Mighty man who lived for Christ,” or will it say, “Good person who lived a safe life?”

It’s your call.  See the goal, make the choice, commit yourself to the course.

And live.

There is a revealing piece on CBSNews.com today (see here.) During the declining years of the Bush presidency one of the figures in American foreign policy most despised by the mainstream media was John Bolton, UN  Ambassador. With his droopy mustache, quiet voice, he seemed an unlikely villain. But, time after time he would be portrayed as an obsolete cold warrior in a now more cooperative world. It was especially galling, they argued, that someone who clearly did not believe in the UN was there as US representative. To those who supported him it was not that Bolton did not believe in the UN but just that he did believe in the United States and also did believe that other nations often outright told lies to get their way.

Today’s CBS piece argues that in the recent discussions about sending Iranian uranium out of Iran for enrichment, the much vaunted Iranian “agreement” was bogus. The piece analyzes in detail why Bolton’s immediate analysis (Iranian “agreement” was a deception) was spot on. He was a lone voice, CBS continues, especially castigating the New York Time’s response, hailing the agreement as a break-through for America’s new administration and its refreshing new foreign policy.

This brings me to my point. President Obama, CBS reminds us, has used the term “reset” to describe his foreign policy philosophy.

We are all familiar with a “reset button.”

I love the old joke about three friends driving across the desert, a mechanical engineer, a chemical engineer, and a computer programmer. The car breaks down. The mechanical engineer starts talking about “pistons and valves”, perhaps the “transmission,” and how they will be stuck for hours, even days. The chemical engineer disagrees and tells them there is some sort of impurity, maybe sand, in the fuel system and if they only manage to clean the gas all will be well. The computer programmer tells them they are nuts. he insists all they need to do is get outr of the car, close all the doors, wait a minute or so, then get back in and all will be well.

Hit reset.

Richard Nixon was famous for his football terminology as descriptions of what he was up to, or, as we would learn to know better, what he wanted us to think he was up to. We were constantly being told that such and such a problem was being “quarterbacked.” (I hate it when nouns are used as verbs! What should this appalling trend be called? “Verbed?” Oops!)

Language can be used to clarify or confuse. Bolton suggests that when the Iranians says “we agree” they mean” we disagree.” CBS is suggesting this morning that he is right. CBS also seems to be suggesting that when the US administration says “reset” it means “cave in” to give up without receiving in return.

I have no idea whether all this on CBS’s part is an accurate analysis of what is going on out there in the big, bad world. What I do have an idea about is language and how it should be used. Years ago I recall reading about China (which we always were to refer to in those days as “Red China”) exploding a nuclear weapon in their first test. However, to decrease the alarm in this, I suppose, the report stated that the “Red Chines have successfully detonated a nuclear device.” A nuclear device? They call that a “bomb” where I come from.

This all is a theme I often return too in  these posts: language used to make things murky, to mask intentions, to deflect perception.  On this Sunday millions of Christian faithful will flock to sanctuaries all across the world. Millions upon millions.  Staggering numbers of them really. In the USA there will be far more Christians in church this morning than spectators in attendance at NFL football games. You wouldn’t think so by the levels of media coverage, but I guess church doesn’t sell advertising.  These faithful are of many convictions, but of them a central and defining one is their conviction that God’s Word is clear, that it says what it sounds like and means what it says. I am not by any means advocating a narrow  fundamentalism here nor even referring to the Bible and its words alone, but rather an understanding that the summons to the way of faith and hope and love as the actual, practical way to a better world means just that!

Do the faithful need to reset their convictions? If so, hit that button today.

2 Samuel 6:6-7

When they came to the threshing floor of Nacon, Uzzah reached out and took hold of the ark of God, because the oxen stumbled.  The LORD’s anger burned against Uzzah because of his irreverent act; therefore God struck him down and he died there beside the ark of God.

Some parts of the Bible just don’t make sense to me at all.  This is one of them…  In verse 6, Uzzah is in perfect health, serving the Lord.  By the end of verse 7, he’s dead as an example to Israel.  And why?

Because he…  Did his job?  Kept the Ark out of the mud?  Did the logical thing?

Seriously, why did Uzzah have to die?  I think the answer is, at once, incredibly simple and equally condemning.

Uzzah had to die because he did something that I do everyday.  (You probably do too.)

Uzzah saw a situation and he immediately reacted. In one moment of rash action, Uzzah sealed his fate.

It’s “simple” because you and I do it all the time.  It’s “condemning” because if Uzzah’s punishment was death, what is mine?

To avoid the situation (and the resulting condemnation), I rationalize it to the point of actually being a strength.  In fact, I often brag about my ability to “see a problem and fix a problem.”  But in seeing and fixing a “problem,” I am often creating an even bigger problem.  I might solve the present situation but by not taking God’s eternal perspective into consideration, I inadvertently remove myself from His Will.

When Uzzah saw the Ark teetering, the most pressing problem was the symbol of God’s glory falling into the mud.  He saw the problem and fixed the problem by reaching out a hand and lifting it up.  The bigger problem came in that Uzzah failed to consider God’s law against touching the Ark.  He saw the problem and fixed the problem but he fixed it with a human solution.  And was punished.

By the way, Uzzah’s “situation” was caused because the prior problem of how to transport the ark was solved with a human solution.  Putting the Ark on a cart seemed like a great idea but it wasn’t God’s idea.  If the men moving the Ark had considered God, the Ark would have been mounted on poles on the shoulders of Levites and Uzzah would have never had a problem to solve.

Poorly solved problems multiply. And eventually men die.  Maybe physically.  Probably spiritually.

In your ministry, what problems have you solved poorly?  What “solutions” have grown into bigger problems than the original?

If “see a problem, fix a problem” is your mantra, I would suggest a change.  Try this on for size…  ”See a problem, pray about a problem, fix a problem.”  I’m finding that it works much better.

18 diciembre 2009

FALSA ALARMA

pseudonimo y momo

SALA RESET

10 euros anticipada / 12 euros taquilla

• Un dibattito (pdf da scaricare) sulle questioni sollevate da Castells (su Reset 101).
• Resoconto di una lezione di Castells alla Bocconi.

2 Samuel 1:1-16

After the death of Saul, David returned from defeating the Amalekites and stayed in Ziklag two days.  On the third day a man arrived from Saul’s camp, with his clothes torn and with dust on his head.  When he came to David, he fell to the ground to pay him honor.

“Where have you come from?” David asked him.  He answered, “I have escaped from the Israelite camp.”

“What happened?” David asked.  ”Tell me.”  He said, “The men fled from the battle.  Many of them fell and died.  And Saul and his son Jonathan are dead.”

Then David said to the young man who brought him the report, “How do you know that Saul and his son Jonathan are dead?”

“I happened to be on Mount Gilboa,” the young man said, “and there was Saul, leaning on his spear, with the chariots and riders almost upon him.  When he turned around and saw me, he called out to me, and I said, ‘What can I do?’

“He asked me, ‘Who are you?’  An Amalekite, I answered.  Then he said to me, ‘Stand over me and kill me!  I am in the throes of death, but I’m still alive.’  So I stood over him and killed him, because I knew that after he had fallen he could not survive.  And I took the crown that was on his head and the band on his arm and have brought them here to my lord.”

Then David and all the men with him took hold of their clothes and tore them.  They mourned and wept and fasted till evening for Saul and his son Jonathan, and for the army of the LORD and the house of Israel, because they had fallen by the sword.

David said to the young man who brought him the report, “Where are you from?”  “I am the son of an alien, an Amalekite,” he answered.

David asked him, “Why were you not afraid to lift your hand to destroy the LORD’s anointed?”  Then David called one of his men and said, “Go, strike him down!”  So he struck him down, and he died.  For David had said to him, “Your blood be on your own head.  Your own mouth testified against you when you said, ‘I killed the LORD’s anointed.’ “

I am thankful for David’s respect and honor for Saul, God’s Anointed.

Saul hated David and hunted him mercilessly and it would have been natural for David to let that hatred seep into his own heart.

It would have been understandable for David to kill Saul in the wilderness when he was able to sneak up on him in his sleep.  It would have been appropriate for David to celebrate when he learned of Saul’s death.  It would have been expected for David to breathe a sigh of relief when he was told his life wasn’t in danger anymore.

It would have been unthinkable for David to mourn for his enemy.  It would have been unfathomable for David to enforce justice on the man who essentially ended the death sentence on his head.  But that’s just what he did.

David’s respect for the man God had chosen was more powerful than his need for revenge and vindication.

I can say with relative surety that that wouldn’t have been me.  If I’d been running for my life and a man came and showed me proof that my pursuer was dead, I would have thrown a party and rewarded him with whatever he wanted.

David knew something I struggle to realize.  David knew that when God enters the equation, you can’t solve it with human answers.

What divine equations are you trying to solve with human answers?

Dan kisah pun dimulai dengan datang-nya temen gw.

tmngw1 : wah lupa lock code hp neh, tlg reset-in

gw: ha…., gw gak tau

tmngw2 : bawa ke conter hp ja, paling sepuluh ribu

gw: ya dah biar gw googling bentar

setelah beberapa menit…….

tmngw1+tmngw2+gw : wah gak bisa jg

tapi tunggu dulu ada….

om google : ya dah kesini aja anak muda

gw: okeh, kita coba

caranya:

1. download file yg di-attach dari link diatas
2. ekstrak n copy-in file THC-NOKIA-UNLOCK.MDL ke mmc (E:\system\recogs)
3. masukin mmc ke hp yg mo direset, tunggu bentar ampe da notifikasi
4. cabut batre + mmc-nya
5. nyalain hp trus cek lock code, klo sukses lock code-nya jadi 12345

notifikasi klo hp-nya dah sukses direset

gw(lagi): yes!!! bisa

nb: klo dah sukses nge-reset lock code-nya jgn lupa hapus file THC-NOKIA-UNLOCK.MDL yg dah dimasukkan tadi

WINDOWS XP
Mengatasi masalah NTLDR Missing di windows XP sedikit lebih mudah karena Win XP memiliki opsi repair dalam bootable installer CD nya jadi gak perlu bikin-bikin boot disket. Yang harus anda lakukan adalah

• Set bios komputer anda supaya first boot nya adalah CD drive.
• Masukan CD Installer Windows XP anda, Kemana??? tentu saja ke CDROM/DVDROM Drive bukan ke tempat yang lain.
• Boot komputer anda
• Ketika pilihan press anykey to boot from CD silahkan pijit tombol apa saja, tapi ingat tombol yang ada di keyboard ya bukan tombol kamera digital anda apalagi tombol HP.
• Setelah masuk ke setup menu, nanti ada pilihan untuk tekan R untuk repair, anda tekan huruf R di keyboard anda untuk masuk ke Repair command line.
• Ketika masuk tunggu sebentar jangan langsung enter kecuali kalau anda ingin reboot
• Apabila ditanyakan system mana yang mau anda perbaiki biasanya ada pilihan nomor 1 C:\Windows seperti itu pilih 1 dan enter.
• Nanti anda akan ditanyakan password Administrator komputer anda silahkan di isi dan enter
• Setelah berhasil login silahkan copy NTLDR dan NTDETECT.COM dari CD installer anda. Sebelumnya pastikan dulu apa nama drive CD/DVD anda. Saya contohkan disini bernama E:

      copy e:\i386\ntldr c:\
      copy e:\i386\ntdetect.com c:\

• Apabila sudah selesai silahkan keluar dari editor dan restart komputer anda
• Jangan lupa untuk set boot order anda menjadi Harddisk pertama.
• Selesai.

Gracias al amigo @gabrimen en su blog GABRIMEN nos enteramos que el reconocido programa Quickpull ya tiene.una version compatible con los Sistemas Operativos 5.0.

El QuickPull es una aplicacion que nos permitira emular un “battery pull” o “Sacar la bateria” proceso que realizamos los users & abusers de los dispositivos Blackberry con regularidad, con el fin de recobrar memoria perdida, errores, lentitud etc… Aprovecho este post para recordarle a los usuarios de dispositivos con teclado “QWERTY” que tambien pueden hacerlo presionando al mismo tiempo las teclas alt+aA(derecha)+del, proceso que es algo mas rapido pero no tan vistoso como tener una aplicacion que lo haga por nosotros (je…je).

Debo aclarar que apenas descargue la aplicacion la probe y como sus versiones anteriores no sirvio, pero reinicie manual (alt+aA(derecha)+del) y le di todos los permisos en (opciones-aplicaciones) y ahora si esta funcionando!

DESCARGALO: AQUI

If you want to perform a hard reset or wipe out the entire data in your BlackBerry Pearl, perform the steps as provided in the following section. However, before you perform those steps, please note that hard resetting your BlackBerry Pearl will erase all data in your device and revert it to factory settings. Make sure you performe a full backup before or you will lose your data.

Now that you are aware of what you will be performing, here are the steps:

1. On your BlackBerry Pearl, go to Options

2. Select Security Options

3. Select General Settings

4. Press the button located left of the trackball

5. Finally, select Wipe Handheld

Here is the source of article.

1 Samuel 22:11-19

The king sent for the priest Ahimelek son of Ahitub and all the men of his family, who were the priests at Nob, and they all came to the king.  Saul said, “Listen now, son of Ahitub.”

“Yes, my lord,” he answered.

Saul said to him, “Why have you conspired against me, you and the son of Jesse, giving him bread and a sword and inquiring of God for him, so that he has rebelled against me and lies in wait for me, as he does today?”

Ahimelek answered the king, “Who of all your servants is as loyal as David, the king’s son-in-law, captain of your bodyguard and highly respected in your household? Was that day the first time I inquired of God for him?  Of course not!  Let not the king accuse your servant or any of his father’s family, for your servant knows nothing at all about this whole affair.”

But the king said, “You will surely die, Ahimelek, you and your whole family.”

Then the king ordered the guards at his side:  ”Turn and kill the priests of the LORD, because they too have sided with David.  They knew he was fleeing, yet they did not tell me.”  But the king’s officials were unwilling to raise a hand to strike the priests of the LORD.

The king then ordered Doeg, “You turn and strike down the priests.”  So Doeg the Edomite turned and struck them down.  That day he killed eighty-five men who wore the linen ephod.   He also put to the sword Nob, the town of the priests, with its men and women, its children and infants, and its cattle, donkeys and sheep.

When life goes south and it seems like everyone is against you, who stands beside you?  When your family comes under attack and your ministry is under scrutiny, who will defy the king for you?

Saul went rogue and his hatred of David led him to a wild life-and-death chase across the country.  Saul was literally willing to risk anything and pay any price if it meant David’s death.  Siding with David on anything was a death sentence but Ahimelek didn’t hesitate.  David had done no wrong so Ahimelek stood before Saul, looked hatred in the eyes and answered the call.

No long after, Ahimelek died for his actions.  Actually, Ahimelek’s words so enraged Saul that 85 priests and an entire town died.

Who’s your Ahimelek?  Who will stand for you and who will die for you?

Life is cutthroat and ministry can be worse.  You need someone at your back.  You need someone who will die for you and for whom you will die.

It might not be today, but someday you will need Ahimelek beside you.

Find him.

Three thoughts on today’s reading…

1 Samuel 16:7 — “The Lord said to Samuel, ‘Do not consider his appearance or his height, for I have rejected him.  The Lord does not look at the things human beings look at.  People look at the outward appearance, but the Lord looks at the heart.’”

No matter how many times I read it, I love this verse.  In the middle of a world where much is decided based upon your social status or last name, I love the reminder that God looks at the heart.  We get so wrapped up in keeping “key people” happy that we forget who the “key people” are in God’s eyes…

Through Scripture, God seems to bless people who are humble, compassionate, committed and motivated by love.  So why do we tend to “honor and respect” people who are wealthy, influential, outspoken and motivated by politics?  It’s time for our actions to reflect God’s vision.

1 Samuel 19:11-13 — “Saul sent men to David’s house to watch it and to kill him in the morning.  But Michal, David’s wife, warned him, ‘If you don’t run for your life tonight, tomorrow you’ll be killed.’  So Michal let David down through a window, and he fled and escaped.  Then Michal took an idol and laid it on the bed, covering it with a garment and putting some goats’ hair at the head.”

As I’ve been reading through Scripture, I’ve seen a lot that reaffirms what I already “knew.”  But I’ve also had moments when I’ve had to stop, think, flip back a page or two and re-read just to wrap my mind around a tough thought.  1 Samuel 19 was one of those moments…

I about choked when I read the “the man after God’s own heart” owned an idol.  And I was reminded again that no one is perfect.

1 Ssmuel 28:6-7 — “[Saul] inquired of the Lord, but the Lord did not answer him by dreams or Urim or prophets.  Saul then said to his attendants, “Find me a woman who is a medium, so I may go and inquire of her.”

We’re all searching for something.  God turned against Saul but Saul was still looking for something.  He couldn’t find it in Yahweh so he turned to a medium to bring Samuel back to talk to him.

Remember this:  Your neighbor is looking for something.  Your friend is looking for something.  Your teacher is looking for something.  Your boss is looking for something.

Give them God or they’ll search somewhere else.

Final Fantasy VII, in my opinion, is one of the best games ever made.  For its time, the graphics rocked.  The storyline kept you hunting for answers with great twists.  I’m sad to admit, however, that the game became an obsession for me.  Looking back, I can see how it helped me escape reality and how that became addictive.  It came at a time where I needed to face reality and God and make my faith real.  I was participating in the first in-depth Bible study of my life.  There were times where I had to consciously make the decision to go read my Bible.  At the time, reading the Old Testament in my study seemed rather dull and boring compared to the vivid storyline of FFVII, which I’d consider to be more of a visual and interactive book rather than a video game.  The plot of FFVII has its redemptive value which I hope to write about more at a later time.  Video games are not bad in and of themselves, but in my specific case, they took a negative turn because it took God’s place in my priorities, thoughts, and heart.

I remember when there were commercials on tv for FFVII.  My entire focus became immediately glued to the tv screen every time I as much as thought I heard the music.  I still remember it pretty well.  An announcer described the daring feats, brutal combat, insurmountable odds, “a love that could never be” (that always got me!), and dashing honor you will encounter as you play.  He said something about how you must save the world!  Everyone is counting on you!  And if you fail…  “you can always hit the reset button.”

Wouldn’t it be great if we had one of those?  Ah, to have a reset button!

“Oh man, I shouldn’t have said that!  Let’s reset.”

“Wow!  I can’t believe I did THAT!  I’ll just reset.”

“Now things will never be the same …unless I don’t save today.”

Nope.  We have no such option.  This life is the only shot we have.  We can’t go back even a few seconds to undo anything.  In fact, you’d be surprised to realize how little control you have over your life.  The only control you have is over what you say and do at this exact moment in time.  Sure, you can plan, promise, and make provisions for the future.  Those endeavors can even be wise, keeping in mind that God’s plans stand more firm.  The fact is that the only thing you can change is now.

What shall this sobering reality mean for us then?  That we have to make sure we do everything perfectly and in perfect timing?  No.  Like I said, you’d be surprised at how much you can’t control.  We live in a fallen world and we’ll be blindsided by circumstances we never could have prevented.  I don’t mean for us to become obsessed about every second on the clock, but I do mean for us to consider how much we are allowing ourselves to be taken by mediocrity.  How many Godly things have we put off to do later?  How many times have we tried to do something to better ourselves but haven’t taken the time to complete them?  How much time do we waste doing things that will count for nothing when this life is over?  In essence, how many times have we said to the Lord, “not now.”

Perhaps we fool ourselves thinking our “not now” approach isn’t so bad because it’s not telling the Lord “no.”  We have the intention to do what He’s asked of us.  After all, doesn’t He look at the heart anyway?  If we’re going to lean on that idea, we better take a good, hard look at our hearts.  Do we really want to do that thing for the Lord?  Do we truly desire that as deeply as God desires it?  If not, this message is for you.  Stop putting God off.  No more of this “I can’t do that now, Lord” attitude!  Even if you know you’re not ready for the tasks, He knows your faults and His power is made perfect in weakness.  He will do amazing things with your surrendered heart if you desire Him above all other things.

If your heart is indeed in line with God’s desires and His plan, please don’t let this message freak you out and make you rush God’s timing. Perhaps He is asking you to wait.  But if He’s waiting on you, you may have a problem.  I just ask that we take the time to question ourselves to see if He’s pushing us and whether or not we’re budging.

Consider today.  This is the only today you have.  What have you not done that you need to do?  Be advised – you have no reset button.

1 Samuel 15:22-23 — “Does the Lord delight in burnt offerings and sacrifices as much as in obeying the Lord?  To obey is better than sacrifice, and to heed is better than the fat of rams.  For rebellion is like the sin of divination, and arrogance like the evil of idolatry.  Because you have rejected the word of the Lord, he has rejected you as king.”

Saul led Israel in a battle and won, but broke God’s command to destroy everything completely.  They kept the best sheep and cattle for themselves.  When Samuel confronts him, Saul cooks up an excuse that they didn’t destroy it all because they wanted to sacrifice the spared animals for God.

Samuel looks Saul in the eye and tells him that God would rather Saul obey than do what he thinks is best.  God loves sacrifice – literal sacrificed animals in the OT, figurative sacrificed lives in the NT – but He loves obedience even more.

How often are we – and our churches – guilty of ignoring what God commands and doing what we would rather do (and hoping it pleases God in the process)?  How often do we skip the command to live transformed lives of constant worship in favor of setting up and pursuing “laws” that we like better?

I talk to people all the time who get much more consumed with what can and can’t happen in the “church building” than they are with what will or won’t happen in “God’s house.”  By “God’s house,” I’m referring to your body, where the Spirit of God dwells, of course.

It is so stinkin’ easy to get worked up about all that other stuff because it takes the pressure and focus off what I am supposed to do.  Saul and his army spent significant time and resources to set up a situation that other people could look at and say, “Wow!  That’s great!” when they could have spent much more quality time simply doing what God told them to do in the first place.

Bottom line for us:  God says, “Love God with everything you’ve got – heart, soul, strength, time, resources, thoughts.  And love every other human being as much as you love yourself.”

If I’m loving God with all I’ve got, I don’t have time to worry about making my job or my church building or my worship service into something that makes me happy.  I don’t have energy to pour into making sure no one else breaks one of my favorite “rules” and messes up my experience.

If I’m loving every other human being as much as I love myself, then my neighbors have the same (or better) standard of living that I have.  Their house is as nice as mine.  Their car runs as good as mine.  Their kids have as good a Christmas as mine does.  Their clothes are as “in style” as mine.

Ask yourself this question:  If Samuel were here to look you in the eye, what would God say?

1 Samuel 4:17-22

[A Benjamite ran from battle and came to Eli and said,] “Israel fled before the Philistines, and the army has suffered heavy losses.  Also your two sons, Hophni and Phinehas, are dead, and the ark of God has been captured.”

When he mentioned the ark of God, Eli fell backward off his chair by the side of the gate.  His neck was broken and he died, for he was an old man, and he was heavy.  He had led Israel forty years.

His daughter-in-law, the wife of Phinehas, was pregnant and near the time of delivery.  When she heard the news that the ark of God had been capturedd adn that her father-in-law and her husband were dead, she went into labor and gave birth, but was overcome by her labor pains.  As she was dying, the women attending her said, “Don’t despair; you have given birth to a son.”  But she did not respond or pay any attention.

She named the boy Ichabod, saying, “The Glory has departed from Israel” – because of the capture of the ark of God and the deaths of her father-in-law and her husband.  She said, “The Glory has departed from Israel, for the ark of God has been captured.”

Follow the chain of events here…  A war is fought and lost.  Two corrupt priests are killed.  The Ark of the Covenant is captured.  A nation is thrown into despair.  The leader is stunned enough to fall out of a chair and break his neck.  His daughter-in-law is stunned enough to go into labor and die as a result.  But just before she dies, she names her son and makes him a living memorial to the tragedy of God’s Ark being captured.

When the shock of God’s glory “leaving your country” is enough to cause the shocked death of leaders amid a grief stricken nation, you know that nation has put quite a bit of stock in the presence of the Lord.

As I think about the world I live in, I can’t help but be confronted with the truth that God is being pushed farther and farther away.  I’ll admit, I’ve never been one to claim America as a “Christian nation,” but the steady removal of all things “God” from our culture is unmistakable.  And I wonder…  Why is our shock and grief so much less than Eli’s?

When our churches are more concerned with the horror of a potential coffee cup in a room labeled the “Sanctuary” than they are about the increasing distance between the Creator and the Creation, we’ve got a problem.  And I ask this question…  ”Why are we so much less dependent on God than the ancient Israelites were?”  Where have we gone wrong?  What gives us the idea that we can live life in any way BUT total dependance on the Creator?

Church, it’s time to repent of pointless arguments.  It’s time to grieve the loss of souls.  It’s time to discover what life completely dependent on God could resemble.

今週末は大掃除！

「年末大掃除」なんて言っても、例年ギリギリまで仕事が終わるかどうかの瀬戸際。そして、12月に入れば慌しくなるだろう。だから、今。

まずは、不要な物は思い切って捨てる。・・・これが簡単そうで難しい。

正直、今、色々な事が複雑化していて、仕事以外の事があまり順調に進んでいないような気がする。だから、一度リセットして、新たな気持ちでまたスタートしたい。その為の環境作りも、必要だと思う。

もっと、すっきり、シンプルに。

ついでに、体もデトックスしよう。

Today’s film:

Je M’appelle Elisabeth (2006/France/Jean-Pierre Ameris)　●●●●○

สวัสดีเพื่อนๆทุกคนที่เข้ามาชม Blog ของเรา  Blog  นี้ได้รวบรวมเนื้อหาที่หลากหลาย และรวบรวมปัญหาที่เกิดจาก การใช้งานปริ้นเตอร์ต่าง มาให้เพื่อนๆ ได้ศึกษาและแก้ไขกันไป