Tuesday, December 30, 2008

Can you read this?

Only great minds can read this This is weird, but interesting! fi yuo cna raed tihs, yuo hvae a sgtrane mnid too Cna yuo raed tihs? Olny 55 plepoe out of 100 can. i cdnuolt blveiee taht I cluod aulaclty uesdnatnrd waht I was rdanieg. Thephaonmneal pweor of the hmuan mnid, aoccdrnig to a rscheearch at CmabrigdeUinervtisy, it dseno't mtaetr in waht oerdr the ltteres in a wrod are, theolny iproamtnt tihng is taht the frs it and lsat ltteer be in the rghit pclae.The rset can be a taotl mses and you can sitll raed it whotuit a pboerlm. Tihsis bcuseae the huamn mnid deos not raed ervey lteter by istlef, but the wrod asa wlohe. Azanmig huh? yaeh and I awlyas tghuhot slpeling was ipmorantt! if youcan raed

Saturday, December 27, 2008

Noapte Sfanta

A new music video I quickly put together. I was trying to take advantage of the Christmas rush. Hoping people would watch it and see the gospel message. It hasn't been quite as successful as "La Betleem colo-n jos" but it's a great video either way. The song is really beautiful sung by Andrei Popescu. Also I'm grateful to Pete Copu and Brandon Dodson for the great pics. I hope you enjoy it.

Wednesday, December 17, 2008

La Betleem colo-n jos

This is a traditional Romanian Christmas song, sung by Andrei Popescu. I put together this video from some pictures I took from Unirii around last Christmas. The video contains the gospel and some good evangelistic links. I put it on youtube and the one below, hoping that people will search for it watch it and get the gospel. So far it seems to be succesful. Feel free to pass it on to those you know who understand Romanian. Here's the links: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gR_mtIaiFkY and http://www.godtube.com/view_video.php?viewkey=efea5c2f0a133d52def7

Here it is:

Thursday, December 4, 2008

Feeding Sheep or Amusing Goats?

Feeding Sheep
or Amusing Goats?

by Charles Haddon Spurgeon
1834-1892 (but it could as well be today)




Church
Preparing for Victory
Home
An evil is in the professed camp of the Lord, so gross in its impudence, that the most shortsighted can hardly fail to notice it during the past few years. It has developed at an abnormal rate, even for evil. It has worked like leaven until the whole lump ferments. The devil has seldom done a cleverer thing than hinting to the church that part of their mission is to provide entertainment for the people, with a view to winning them.
From speaking out as the Puritans did, the church has gradually toned down her testimony, then winked at and excused the frivolities of the day. Then she tolerated them in her borders. Now she has adopted them under the plea of reaching the masses.
My first contention is that providing amusement for the people is nowhere spoken of in the Scriptures as a function of the church. If it is a Christian work, why did not Christ speak of it? "Go ye into all the world and preach the gospel to every creature" (Mark 16:15). That is clear enough So it would have been if He had added, "and provide amusement for those who do not relish the gospel." No such words, however, are to be found. It did not seem to occur to him.
Then again, "He gave some, apostles; and some, prophets; and some evangelists; and some pastors and teachers .., for the work of the ministry" (Eph. 4:11-12). Where do entertainers come in? The Holy Spirit is silent concerning them. Were the prophets persecuted because they amused the people or because they refused? The concert has no martyr roll.
Again, providing amusement is in direct antagonism to the teaching and life of Christ and all his apostles. What was the attitude of the church to the world? Ye are the salt" (Matt. 5:13), not the sugar candy---something the world will spit out not swallow. Short and sharp was the utterance, "Let the dead bury their dead" (Matt. 8:22) He was in awful earnestness.
Had Christ introduced more of the bright and pleasant elements into his mission, he would have been more popular when they went back, because of the searching nature of His teaching. I do not hear him say, "Run after these people Peter and tell them we will have a different style of service tomorrow, something short and attractive with little preaching. We will have a pleasant evening for the people. Tell them they will be sure to enjoy it. Be quick Peter, we must get the people somehow." Jesus pitied sinners, sighed and wept over them, but never sought to amuse them.
In vain will the Epistles be searched to find any trace of this gospel of amusement! Their message is, "Come out, keep out, keep clean out!" Anything approaching fooling is conspicuous by its absence. They had boundless confidence in the gospel and employed no other weapon.
After Peter and John were locked up for preaching, the church had a prayer meeting but they did not pray, "Lord grant unto thy servants that by a wise and discriminating use of innocent recreation we may show these people how happy we are." If they ceased not from preaching Christ, they had not time for arranging entertainments. Scattered by persecution, they went everywhere preaching the gospel. They turned the world upside down (Acts 17:6). That is the only difference! Lord, clear the church of all the rot and rubbish the devil has imposed on her, and bring us back to apostolic methods.
Lastly, the mission of amusement fails to effect the end desired. It works havoc among young converts. Let the careless and scoffers, who thank God because the church met them halfway, speak and testify. Let the heavy laden who found peace through the concert not keep silent! Let the drunkard to whom the dramatic entertainment has been God's link in the chain of the conversion, stand up! There are none to answer. The mission of amusement produces no converts. The need of the hour for today's ministry is believing scholarship joined with earnest spirituality, the one springing from the other as fruit from the root. The need is biblical doctrine, so understood and felt, that it sets men on fire.