Nostalgia's not what it was

This thought is completely plagarised from a lecture by Carl Trueman (available from www.theologynetwork.org - great website) but I found it really helpful and wanted to tell someone. (Besides, nothing's orginal, it's all been thought of by God first).

Q. Are we more wicked and sinful now than we were?

A. No. But with modern technology its easier for our sin to express itself. To kill we just have to fire a gun and don't have to put ourself at risk. To access porn we don't have to risk the shame of being caught buying it, we can just access it on the net. Sin has not changed but today our hearts can be more easily seen for what they are.

"What a wretched man I am! Who will rescue me from this body of death? Thanks be to God, who delivers me through Jesus Christ our Lord!" Romans 7v24-25 (TNIV)

The pinnacle of creation

O Lord my God! When I in awesome wonder
Consider all the works Thy hand hath made,
I see the stars, I hear the mighty thunder,
thy power throughout the universe displayed:

Then sings my soul, my Saviour God, to thee,
how great thou art! how great thou art!
Then sings my soul, my Saviour God, to thee,
how great thou art! how great thou art!

When through the woods and forest glades I wander
and hear the birds sing sweetly in the trees;
when I look down from lofty mountain grandeur,
and hear the brook, and feel the gentle breeze;

Its a great song but its striking that when two whole verses are devoted to praising God for his creation, there's no mention of us! In Genesis 1, its human beings that are made in God's image and its after the creation of men and women that God looks at all he has made and declares it very good.

In humanity the destructive and damaging effects of the fall are clearly seen; we're not all we should be and the image of God has been marred. But shouldn't we still praise God for his creation of humanity?

"I praise you because I am fearfully and wonderfully made." Psalm 139v14 (NIV)

To blog or not to blog

I'd been wondering about starting to blog. This article finally persuaded me. I'm no pastor yet but I work for a church and this might be helpful for me as much as anyone else.

"May the words of my mouth [and blog] and the meditation of my heart
be pleasing in your sight,
O LORD, my Rock and my Redeemer." Psalm 19:14 (NIV)