Credit: Reuters/Andy Paraskos, Hesco/Handout

The owner of the Segway company has died in an apparent accident involving a Segway.  Today’s CNN website reports that the body of James Heselden was taken from the River Wharfe in northern England on Sunday.  The 62-year-old man owned the company which produced the ubiquitous two-wheeled upright vehicles.

In other transportation news, The New York Times tells us today that Southwest Airlines will purchase AirTran Airways.  The announcement constitutes a sharp departure from Southwest’s business model.  Since its founding in 1971, the airline has flown only Boeing 737s and focused on commuter airports and short-haul flights.  Its strategy has made it one of the few profitable airlines in the country.  But “what worked in 1971 or in 2001 is not what they need to grow in 2011,” said an airline analyst.  “Taking on a certain degree of complexity can lead to a stronger business.” Read the rest of this entry »

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a cellphone tower somewhere in the heart of Texas

A man arrived late for an appointment and apologized with the explanation, “I’ve been like an Egyptian mummy–pressed for time.”  Lately I’ve known the feeling–running from speaking events to writing deadlines.  I am on the way to speak at a conference tonight and am writing this blog on the road.  Internet reception is a bit spotty in this part of Texas, so we pulled over under the cell phone tower you can see in the picture at the left.  If I’ll get as close as possible to my transmission source and stay in one place, my connection to the Internet will work.

There’s a sermon in there somewhere, or at least a blog posting. Elijah heard the voice of the Spirit, not in a mighty wind, earthquake or fire, but in a “gentle whisper” (1 Kings 19:12).  Jesus had to get alone with his Father so he could hear his Spirit speak (Mark 1:35).  Our Lord told us that he would whisper in our ear what we are to proclaim from the rooftops (Matthew 10:27).  We must be still to know that he is God (Psalm 46:10).

In the first church I served as a youth minister, I was also responsible for changing the letters on the church sign.  (I have no idea why this was a job for a youth director, but the rest of the staff assured me that it was.)  I’ll always remember one statement our pastor had me post for the world to see: “If you don’t feel close to God, guess who moved.”

I think I know the answer.

original story from: The Wall Street Journal

In Japan you can now find vending machines which predict what kind of drink you want based on your gender, body type, and even the weather outside. They possess a camera which acquires the needed information; then the machine makes a recommendation.  In a market saturated with machines which dispense everything from drinks and fresh fruit to technology, such innovations are one more way to stay ahead of the curve.

Christians must always be willing to adapt our methods, but we must never change our message.  Human nature doesn’t change—we are still tempted to be our own gods (Genesis 3:5).  The remedy for sin doesn’t change—the wages of sin are death but the gift of God is eternal life through Christ Jesus (Romans 6:23).  As we find new ways to dispense the gospel, let us remain vigilant to “contend for the faith that was once for all entrusted to the saints” (Jude 1:3).

original story from: The New York Times

Bing Crosby was part owner of the Pittsburg Pirates when they played the Yankees in the World Series back in 1960. However, he could not bring himself to watch the deciding game of the series due to fears that he would jinx the team.  Instead, he arranged for someone to tape a TV set playing the game while he and his wife listened with friends in Paris, France.  Many consider the game to be the greatest ever played; it ended when the Pirates hit a home run in the ninth inning to win the game and the series. For years it was believed that all tapes of the game had been lost.  Then someone looking through Crosby’s wine cellar found his tape.  It has been given to Major League Baseball, which has transferred the video to DVD and plans a tribute to the game this December.

If Mr. Crosby knew the value of the tapes in his wine cellar, we assume he would have shared them with the world.  Christians can make the same mistake.  We possess the best news in all of human history; our world desperately needs to know what we have to give.  If we found the only cure for cancer, we would want everyone to have it.  We have the only cure for sin—what will you do to share it today?

Joan of Arc's Death at the Stake, by Hermann Stilke (1803–1860).

That’s what 12% of Americans thought when the Barna Group asked the question back in 1997.  But surely we’re better educated today, right?

Not really.  This morning’s USA Today website quotes the president of Barna, who describes the spirituality of young adults as “extremely wide, often shallow and always compelling.”  Consider the “extremely wide” category: 56% of those under the age of 25 believe that “the Bible, Quran and Book of Mormon are the same expression of truth.”  Heading the “often shallow” category, young adults view Paris Hilton more favorably than Billy Graham and think Wicca is patio furniture.  Only 30% believe that the Bible is “accurate in the principles it teaches.” Read the rest of this entry »

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The Miracle of the Loaves and Fishes (La multiplicité des pains) by James Tissot

Janet and I were invited by some dear friends to worship with them this morning at Stonebriar Community Church, led by their pastor, Chuck Swindoll.  I have long admired Dr. Swindoll’s practical Bible teaching and his gracious spirit.  I have read his insightful books with gratitude, and have heard him speak at various conferences over the years, but I had never heard him preach in his own church before today.

The worship service was moving and Christ-honoring, led with musical excellence.  Dr. Swindoll’s message was biblical, thought-provoking, and encouraging.  His text was Mark 6:30-44, which records the miracle whereby Jesus fed 5,000 families.  Dr. Swindoll reminded us that God does what humans consider impossible.  If he could turn a boy’s small lunch into a feast for a giant crowd, he can use what we give him for greater good than we can imagine.

Dr. Swindoll asked us to write down this life principle: “Throughout our lives we face magnificent opportunities that are brilliantly disguised as impossible situations.”  But when we put our meager lunch in Jesus’ miraculous hands, he transforms our impossibility for his glory.

I was reminded of a statement made by one of my heroes of the faith, John Haggai.  Dr. Haggai founded the Haggai Institute in 1969 to advance leadership skills and Christian discipleship around the world.  Graduates of his training centers serve in corporate and political leadership positions around the globe.  Dr. Haggai taught me to make his ambition my own: “Let us attempt something so great it is doomed to fail unless God be in it.”

As Dr. Swindoll reminded us this morning, our Father truly is the “impossibility specialist.”  Where do you need his empowering strength today?

Credit: CDC/ Janice Haney Carr

“Don’t let the bedbugs bite,” my mother used to say.  I always wondered what “bedbugs” were and why they would want to bite.  Now we know.

Today’s Time website reports on an unusual two-day event held this week at a Chicago hotel.  A few years ago, a “bedbug summit” would attract your local exterminator and his colleagues.  More than 350 came to this one; the conference sold out five weeks in advance. Read the rest of this entry »

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Pepe's and Mito's Mexican Cafe in Deep Ellum in Dallas TX

If confession is good for the soul, I’ll feel better as soon as this blog is finished.  I just finished eating Mexican food for the third time this week, and it’s only Thursday.  I know this is Texas, where eating Tex-Mex is a requirement for citizenship, but this is getting out of hand.  Some people must have coffee to begin the day–we don’t come out of our rooms at home until Janet’s had her first cup.  Others drink Dr. Pepper or Coca-Cola like it’s water.  A person left my lunch meeting yesterday with chocolate in hand, muttering something about “the nectar of the gods.”

For me, it’s Mexican food.  When our family moved to Atlanta in 1994, I knew I was living in a different culture when we walked into our first Mexican restaurant, opened the menu, and found a glossary on the back defining “taco” and “enchilada.”  When I was in Beijing last May, one of the highlights of the trip was lunch at “Peter’s Tex-Mex.”  The food was surprisingly authentic; the menu warned that the burrito “beeps when it backs up.”  There’s your devotional thought for the day.

Continuing our theme, The New York Times tells us about a doctor who wants to place farmers’ markets outside hospitals to promote healthier eating for patients and doctors.  He claims that doctors can’t help the rest of us eat healthy food unless they do.  Following that logic, after reading this blog you should eat a cheese enchilada now.

There’s only been one Person in history who could say to us all, “Do as I do.”  He is “one who has been tempted in every way, just as we are–yet was without sin” (Hebrews 4:15).  As a result, “Let us then approach the throne of grace with confidence, so that we may receive mercy and find grace to help us in our time of need” (v. 16).

What temptation makes that invitation good news for you today?

original story from: The Wall Street Journal

A recent report by the consumer electronics review website Retrevo, states that “users of Apple’s iPhone tend to be younger and favor the Macintosh, Android smartphone owners tend to be more technical than the average consumer and BlackBerry users are “old-fashioned.” They came to these conclusions and more after surveying 7,500 people between March and July of this year. Whether or not you fall in line with these statistical patterns, it seems that the kind of phone we carry says more about us that we perhaps previously suspected.

What kind of phone you use, what model car you drive, where you live—all of these things are often used as reference points by others to characterize us.  A man once stood at a busy street corner, asking each the hundreds of people who passed by, “Who are you?”  Each person responded by describing what he or she did.  “I’m a teacher,” or “I’m a businessman” or “I’m a student.”  The next time someone asks you who you are, say “I’m the child of God.”  That’s your eternal identity (2 Corinthians 5:17), no matter what phone you are using today.

original story from: The Wall Street Journal

Scientists in Utah recently discovered two new species of dinosaurs related to the triceratops. The first has been named “Kosmoceratops richardsoni.”  It had 10 horns across the rear portion of a body frill located behind its head, weighed roughly 2.5 tons, and was estimated to be around 15 feet long. The second has been named the “Utahceratops gettyi.”  It had a large horn on its nose and two more below sideways-projecting eyes; it also had several small horns on a bony structure behind its head similar to the Kosmoceratops. It weighed 3-4 tons and was around 18-22 feet long.  Both species are estimated to have lived in North America around 76 million years ago, and to have developed from the same lineage.

Paleontology was established as a science around 1800.  For more than two centuries, experts have been seeking and studying dinosaur remains, but new species continue to be discovered.  None are a surprise to their Creator.  He “determines the number of stars and calls them each by name” (Psalm 147:4), and is Maker and Lord even of the sparrows (Matthew 10:29).  If he can create and control everything in the universe, he can direct my life and meet my needs (Philippians 4:19).  And yours.