Christian Carnival is Here Again

Lots of posts this week. Here they are in no particular order of importance. :) Listed for your reading pleasure.

Your Wife is God's Gift of you was given to us by Nick at Ignite her Passion.

So if you are wondering why your wife may not be as sexual, romantic and passionate as when you first met, consider how you have changed. Have you become more or less selfish? Trust me: I was a pretty selfish person before I got married. Of course I was, it was just me - everything I did was in my best interest. The old "look out for number one" attitude. Yes, I did nice things for others, but at the end of the day, it was about me. Most men are in the same boat.

Michael claims this post The Los Lunas Decalogue Stone.

The Los Lunas Decalogue Stone is a huge boulder on the side of Hidden Mountain, near Los Lunas, New Mexico, approximately 35 miles south of Albuquerque. This stone shows the Ten Commandments written in ancient paleo-Hebrew script.

From Ched we get this post, the image of God and personhood of the unborn as foundation for thinking about abortion.

Abortion is one the most controversial and highly charged moral/political issues of the last quarter century, and still remains a hotly debated topic in the public square and even in the church. Since that day in 1973, when the U.S. Supreme Court struck down state abortion laws (Roe v. Wade), over 48 million lives have been stolen in the womb. Because this is literally an issue of life and death, a biblical understanding of the concepts that inform the abortion debate is imperative.

Counter Culture dips into gender issues with Gender Roles in Genesis.

The substance of Ware’s address consists of ten reasons “why we should affirm that God designed there to be male headship” in the original created order. In essence, Dr. Ware explains how Genesis 1-3 teaches male headship as a part of God’s pre-fall creation.

Helping the Poor Biblically was presented to us by Homeward Bound.

If we want to be faithful followers of Jesus, we have to let our faith inform every aspect of our lives – not just what we do on Sunday. Nowhere is this more important than how we, as citizens of a republic, let our faith shape how we vote and otherwise influence our government.

The Baglady shows up with How a Man Retired Early on $565 Per Month.

Today I read a rather refreshing article called “Casting off life’s cares” on the LA Times. Basically it tells the story of an ordained pastor named Dave Dixon who gave away pretty much all of his possessions and started to live on a boat and sing songs in a restaurant a few hours a week. His expenses are $565 per month, and he says that “time, not money, is the real commodity in life”. He says that his lifestyle is divinely inspired and “sees himself living out God’s message that faith and people, not possessions, are what is of true value.”

FreeMoneyFinance gives us Stay Low Key for Financial Success.

The temptation is to try and keep up with the Joneses. But by doing this, you're simply "pretending to be somebody" yet you "have no food." As for me and my house, we'll stay low key and keep watching our net worth grow!

David from Boomer in the Pew stops in with Justification: A mind blowing, intelligence warping, tear generating, praise inducing, simply incredible Gift from God.

Justification, though not without contemporary controversy, is one of the greatest gifts of God to us as His children. God's message to this woman, if she is truly a Christian, is that not only are you forgiven, my dear child, but you are righteous in my sight.

Kay over at Thrive Christians engages us in Half Baked.

Reading in Hosea I found a wonderful verse: "Ephraim is a cake unturned." Hosea 7:8. The only way to fully cook a "cake" in a pan over a flame is to turn it so that heat gets all the way through.

I've got to admit I have been "half-baked" more than I want to admit. If I were a "cake" I'd probably be burned on one side and raw on the other. I can get so caught up in one area of my life and totally disregard another. In seeking to thrive in the Lord I am finding the need to seek God's leading so that I am balanced and He is the center of all of my life.

Albert Schweitzer: reverence for life is presented to us by Change Therapy.

albert schweitzer vowed never to kill an animal again, unless he needed to. and i, seeing this, was in awe, touched deeply by the magic of the transformation that took place for that little boy.

Standing Straight claims What is that Smell?

I may be off base, but don't you think that the Church's use of the Greek word "Christ", instead of the Hebrew "Messiah", has needlessly put an additional barrier in the way of Jewish acceptance of him? We know there is a veil, but this extra covering might well be taken away, and anything which contributes to sight promoted.

Jennifer at Diary of One submits America: the good, the bad and the ugly.

This next weekend ushers in the birthday of the United States of America! Here are a few word pictures from this past week from me, in small town America, 232 years and still going. I’ve included the good, the bad, and the ugly, but as you’ll see, in America, we take the good with the bad and roll with it, and even the ugly - well, it’s a free country and we can call ugly if we want.

Richard Anderson shows up with this thoughtful post on Blindness in Luke-Acts.

Lack of understanding is an important theme in Luke-Acts. It provides an interpretative guide to the work from the beginning to the end.

Allan from Journey Across the Sky makes his presence known with Is there a Doctor in the house? Here's a tidbit from his post, read on to see where he takes it.

Inside this miserable excuse for a human being lies a true doctor. Although addicted to pain killers and dealing with his own demons, “House” remains focused on the patient before him and tirelessly works to find a cure. It is his “inside doctor” that redeems an otherwise hopeless individual. Many who did not know the doctor inside Gregory House might easily dismiss him as just a rude, nasty person. Even those who think House is totally out of control have to stop and marvel at his unsurpassed ability to cure what seems to be the incurable.

Annette over at Fish and Cans (hey! that's here) :) lends us this post God Doesn't Lie.

Think about this... God cannot lie.
No white lies. No lies at all. None of this.....lest shade the truth a bit so that this person doesn't get hurt feelings, or get angry or whatever.
God does not lie.

Ken from C. Orthodoxy graces us with this post on Inclusivism and Injustice.

One the one hand, I don't think God is as much concerned with our particular beliefs as he is with our trust in him, with our love for God and neighbor (see, for instance, Matthew 22:37-40).

Unashamed to Follow is shared with us by Inner Fulfillment.

This year the theme at our church has been ‘unashamed to follow’ with an emphasis on discipleship and the importance of not being scared to share our faith outside of the walls of our church.

This used to be such a challenge for me. I have loved Jesus since my early teens but until a few years ago I was not very open about my beliefs, only answering questions or saying something once I knew where the other person stood in their life.

This week at Light Along the Journey John thinks about what makes for a really worthwhile read in his post Four Words in Every Great Book.

I had just finished reading a really great book, Crazy Love (here is my review of it). It was one of those books that really blew me away, made me think, made me cry. I was thinking, “What was it about this book that was so great? What made it worth reading?”

Four words came to my mind, four words that summed up what I most appreciated about that book. And as I thought about it, I realized those four words were the standards that I wanted to use to judge any book.

Brian Russell of the Real Meal blog wrote Divine Presence and Mission.

We all laughed about this change of perspective. But she learned a key lesson. You can overcome fear when the right person accompanies you. Such lessons make it easier to act boldly from the outset in the future.

In the Scriptures, God repeatedly promises “I will be with you” to those whom He calls to serve in his mission:

Lisa hands us A Time to Cry and a Time to Laugh.

A breakthrough was made and the owners were utterly amazed to see a turn-around in the dogs behavior.

Everyday Liturgy shows up with Why one Abandons Christian

Radio.What is so destructive about Christian radio and TV is the wall built between congregation and individual. The whole media of worship as radio or TV disconnects one from the body. Paul has written that we are tied together as one body in community, and these ties should be made of hand-shakes, holy kisses, hugs, tears, singing, prayer, silence, and communion. None of those things happen over the radio or TV.

Have to admit, this post on Immunosurveillance seemed a bit beyond me. The title threw me. :) Written for us by Glado Mentis, it was a good read none-the-less. :)

Not only do believers have no reason for complacency, we have no right to it. An immune system that helplessly watches the cancer spread is worthless. The immune system doesn’t just grumble about the constant influx of tiny cancers, it obliterates them. Philosophically, intellectually, and culturally, we ought to be waging war on cancerous ideas, while they’re manageable. To do otherwise invites catastrophe.

Commentaries on Genesis can be found over at Jeremy's blog Parableman.

This is part of a larger project reviewing commentaries on each book of the Bible. Follow the links from that post for more information on the series, including explanations of what I mean by some of the terms and abbreviations in this post. This is not an exhaustive list, just the commentaries that I think are most worth paying attention to.

This post name gave me borg flashbacks. :) Prepare to be Assimilated by Tiffany.

First of all, allow me to mention that my husband has exposed me to inordinately large quantities of Star Trek of late. Thus, the title of this post. However, I am not talking about the Borg, here. I do want to broach the subject of being assimilated into religious Christianity. What does that mean? Well, let's explore it together.

Participatory Bible Study Blog lends to us this post on Romans 8:1.

So there is now no condemnation to those who are in Christ Jesus. — Romans 8:1

Oh how we long to get to this verse in studying the Bible. If we’re reading through, we may be tempted to rush it. It’s like working forward through a tragic book to the point at which we know there will be a happy ending.

Tom gives us Ehrlich Was Wrong.

World population growth is leveling off. We are not birthing enough children to replace ourselves as we age and die. The health revolution hides this trend for now: increased lifespans mean that total population is not falling yet. It is aging instead. The social and economic results appear dangerous if not catastrophic.

Jody Neufeld hands us God: Mystery.

What is it about a ‘mystery’ that makes most of us feel the need to solve it? Mystery novels, movies with a mystery (some special effects and an alien or two – and don’t forget a love story!), and TV CSI shows are very popular! Why? Mysteries keep our interest. They give us a sense of adventure as we run to see what is around this turn or behind a door. We like to see how the characters around the mystery will respond and react.

God is a mystery. There are many, many facets of God that have challenged and confounded theological detectives for centuries.

All I need is a Miracle by Rodney Olsen.

If we’re to believe the hype, we live in an increasingly secular society that is losing its religion. Atheism is on the rise and less and less people have a belief in God. But is that really what’s going on?

Wickle gives us Listening to Each Other.

If we really want to learn anything, then we need to do two main things:

(1) Listen to what the other side is really saying, not just what we can pretend that they’re saying to attack them.

(2) Look to Scripture for the right answers.

Thanks all for your contributions. I don't think I missed anyone. Two posts weren't included because they either weren't blogs or contained no obvious Christian influence. Talk with me if somehow I missed you.

For a late arrival: 75 Gas saving tips from ChristianPF.