Category Archives: Other Stuff

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Do You Know The Real Story Behind Squanto and Thanksgiving? (Audio)

Do you need an encouraging reminder of God’s providential care this thanksgiving? Then look no further than the tragic and redemptive story of Squanto. In this short clip, well known author Eric Metaxas reminds us of God’s care even in the midst of a fallen world. Here is the children book that he wrote about Squanto.

As you celebrate Thanksgiving later this week, perhaps take some time to reflect on this puritan prayer as you and your loved ones give thanks to God. God’s Word reminds us “Give thanks in all circumstances, for this is God’s will for you in Christ Jesus.” – 1 Thess. 5:18

A Prayer of Thanksgiving 

O My God,

Thou fairest, greatest, first of all objects, my heart admires, adores, loves thee, for my little vessel is as full as it can be, and I would pour out all that fullness before thee in ceaseless flow.

When I think upon and converse with thee ten thousand delightful thoughts spring up, ten thousand sources of pleasure are unsealed, ten thousand refreshing joys spread over my heart, crowding into every moment of happiness.

I bless thee for the soul thou hast created, for adorning it, for sanctifying it, though it is fixed in barren soil;

I bless thee for body thou hast given me, for preserving its strength and vigour, for providing senses to enjoy delights, for the ease and freedom of my limbs, for hands, eyes, ears that do thy bidding;

I bless thee for thy royal bounty providing my daily support, for a full table and overflowing cup, for appetite, taste, sweetness;

I bless thee for social joys of relatives and friends, for ability to serve others, for a heart that feels sorrows and necessities, for a mind to care for my fellow-men, for opportunities of spreading happiness around, for loved ones in the joys of heaven, for my own expectation of seeing thee clearly.

I love thee above the powers of language to express, for what thou art to thy creatures. Increase my love, O my God, through time and eternity.

From The Valley of Vision: A Collection of Puritan Prayers, 15.

Happy Thanksgiving from Think Christianly!

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15th Anniversary Edition of Love Your God with All Your Mind by JP Moreland

There are few books that have been more impactful on my Christian life than Love Your God with All Your Mind by J.P. Moreland. I also had the privilege of studying philosophy of religion and ethics under JP (along with the other excellent faculty at Talbot School of Theology / Biola University). He is one of the most thoughtful and encouraging people I have ever met and his passion for Christ is contagious. He has a message that every Christian desperately needs to hear.

Moreland has recently released the 15th anniversary edition (the Amazon Kindle edition is only $2.99!) and the updated portions make a must read even more impressive.

(About the Book) “Love Your God with All Your Mind explains the importance of using your mind not only to win others to Christ but also to experience personal spiritual growth. Author J. P. Moreland challenges you to use logic to further God’s kingdom through evangelism, apologetics, worship, and vocation.

This revised edition includes expanded appendices and three new chapters that outline how to argue for the reality of God and the historicity of Jesus’ life teachings, death, and resurrection.”

Read this book and invite others to do the same. Christians are called to a thoughtful faith and there is no better book out there that models and teaches this as well. Buy. Read. and Grow!

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Resisting the Spirit of the World at Our Cultural Intersection

Paul wrote to the Colossians, “See to it that no one takes you captive through hollow and deceptive philosophy, which depends on human tradition and the elemental spiritual forces of this world rather than on Christ” (Colossians 2:8). This is not a blanket condemnation of philosophy, but rather philosophy based on human reason alone. Ideas can captivate and capture us if we are not careful. Furthermore, we must “no longer be infants, tossed back and forth by the waves, and blown here and there by every wind of teaching and by the cunning and craftiness of people in their deceitful scheming” (Ephesians 4:14). Our adversary is clever, and he brings the battle to us in different ways in different generations. As Francis Schaefer prophetically reminds us, “The Christian must resist the spirit of the world in the form it takes in his own generation.”

There are idea systems today that are neutralizing the effectiveness of the church. Two of the most corrosive idea systems being perpetuated by the world system are naturalism and hedonism. If the physical universe is all there is, there is no room for God. Christianity is then false by definition. If humans exist only to satisfy their desires and live only for their own pleasure, then life with God becomes practically impossible. Who will passionately engage with the gospel if we are conditioned to think that the supernatural is for fairy tales and that all of our time, energy, money, and resources are devoted to the pursuit of more stuff? Our cultural intersection requires a specific response, and Christians need to be equipped to resist the spirit of the world system as we engage the world God loves.

Here is a place to start preparing to engage well:

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Why Are We Still Debating Darwin?

“In his “Socrates in the City” talk in Washington last week, Steve Meyer asked: “Is there a scientific controversy about the theory of evolution?” After quoting many spokesmen for official science who deny the existence of any such controversy, or any reason to doubt evolutionary theory whatsoever, Meyer showed that there are significant reasons to doubt both biological and chemical evolutionary theory.

He first addressed the problems associated with chemical evolutionary theory, which “attempts to explain the origin of the first life from simpler pre-existing chemicals.” Here he explained the critical question of the origin of genetic information. This is the problem he addressed in his bookSignature in the Cell, a problem that has beset all attempts to explain the origin of life by reference to undirected chemical evolutionary processes.

The most important idea for laymen to grasp is that of biological information. It’s difficult to understand “exactly what information is,” Meyer has written. It’s not a physical thing. He quotes the evolutionary biologist George Williams as saying that information “doesn’t have mass or charge or length,” and matter “doesn’t have bytes.” It follows that matter and information belong to “two separate domains.”
Information in biology is best understood as analogous to software code. Recall Bill Gates’s comment: “DNA is like a computer program but far, far more advanced than any software ever created.”
Software is a set of instructions for a new program in a computer. Likewise, DNA contains a set of instructions for the assembly of parts, namely proteins, within a cell. In the 19th century the cell was thought to be simple. Darwin and his contemporaries had no way of knowing just how complex it was. The cell today is sometimes compared to a high-tech factory. (Except it’s much more complex than that — factories can’t replicate themselves.)
Here is the key question: How did the requisite information get into the DNA in the first place? Without it, the first cell would never have been…” (read the rest) 

Think Christianly with Jonathan Morrow