Ain't Complicated

How to Be Perplexed

Paul admitted to being “perplexed but not in despair” (2 Corinthians 4:8). I am curious about what could perplex a mature believer like Paul to the extent that despair was in the ballpark of contemplatable reactions. He doesn’t go into detail, so we must imagine.

[…]

I would suspect that what perplexed Paul was what has perplexed God’s people of all time—God seeming to act inconsistently with his promises or character. One psalmist asked God: “Why, O LORD, do you stand afar off? Why do you hide yourself in times of trouble?” (Psalm 10:1). That’s my perplexity too. Recently I prayed according to Hebrews 6:11 for “grace to help in time of need”—and I felt no different afterward, no abating of symptoms.

There are two different choices you can make at that point. You can be perplexed in doubt, or you can be perplexed in faith. Francis Schaeffer had said that there are at all times only the two “chairs” in the room: unfaith and faith.

[…]

Here is the other way to be perplexed when your soul is in distress. The first part of the sentence may be the same:

“Lord, I’m perplexed. I came to the throne like You said [but at this point it takes a different turn] and I didn’t feel any differently after I prayed, nor any abating of my distress. I am tempted to think You didn’t hear me. But I will not go there. I know that You require faith. You said in your Word that if anyone would come to You he must believe that You exist and that You reward the one who earnestly seeks You (Hebrews 11:6). So I will believe that You heard me. I believe that as soon as I asked for help, You heard me and You are working something out. I will put my trust in You. Help me to be perplexed without unbelief.”

Really, you would do well to read the whole piece: How to be perplexed.

Egypt: Fasting and Prayer

While many fear the Muslim brotherhood could hijack Egypt’s revolution, one organization says there’s a spirit of hope for Christians in that predominately-Muslim nation.

President of IN Network USA Rody Rodeheaver says, “There is a rejoicing. I think there is a genuine joy on their part that [President] Mubarak has stepped down and that there is some hope for change and maybe some real freedom and a voice in the country.”

[…]

Rodeheaver says Christians have set aside the next three days for fasting and prayer “that the revisions of the constitution will not shut out the Christians.”

[…]

Rodeheaver also says Christians are reaching out to help Egyptians adversely affected by the poor economy caused by the riots. “They used to be poor, and now they’re extremely poor and quite destitute. So our staff is reaching out to these people and trying to provide groceries.”

Source: Egypt: a window for the Gospel

California SB 48: Excluding Mennonites

This bill would require instruction in social sciences to also include a study of the role and contributions of Native Americans, African Americans, Mexican Americans, Asian Americans, Pacific Islanders, European Americans, lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender Americans, and other ethnic and cultural groups, to the development of California and the United States.

Why aren’t Mennonites in the new list? 😯 😆

Existing law prohibits instruction or school sponsored activities that reflect adversely upon persons because of their race, sex, color, creed, handicap, national origin, or ancestry. Existing law prohibits the State Board of Education and the governing board of any school district from adopting textbooks or other instructional materials that contain any matter that reflects adversely upon persons because of their race, sex, color, creed, handicap, national origin, or ancestry.

This bill would revise the list of characteristics included in these provisions to include race or ethnicity, gender, religion, disability, nationality, and sexual orientation, or other characteristic listed as specified.

Source: SB 48 Senate Bill – INTRODUCED

How about slipping in political orientation somewhere just for the generosity and multi-something-or-other of it? 🙄

And that is my news update for you.

Pew on Egypt: Apostates, Beware

Behold a little bit of what the Pew Global Attitudes Project found on the general subject of Muslim Publics Divided on Hamas and Hezbollah

At least three-quarters of Muslims in Egypt and Pakistan say they would favor making each of the following the law in their countries: stoning people who commit adultery, whippings and cutting off of hands for crimes like theft and robbery and the death penalty for those who leave the Muslim religion. Majorities of Muslims in Jordan and Nigeria also favor these harsh punishments.

Well, maybe that 75%+ is accurate or maybe it’s only for polling purposes.

In addition to the above link, you might also be interested in these:

Crazy Behind the Wheel

Or on the sidewalk.

Or in Walmart.

I hope I get pulled over for illegal cell phone usage; then I can tell the officer what I was really doing. Maybe plant a seed.

[…]

My son who lives in the heart of Philly says it’s no good now with everybody packing a cell phone and moving their lips as they walk down the street alone: “You can’t tell who the crazies are anymore.” Personally, I find the whole development liberating. I can talk to God all I want while cruising down Easton Road and nobody cares anymore. Between the tweeters and drunkards and prayers, it’s hard to tell who is crazy.

I like that!

And if you are a Christian, you really ought to read the rest of Andrée Seu’s piece at World Magazine Blog.

Egypt: Away from the Cameras

While no one knows the political result of the unrest in Egypt, Christians are already feeling the effects of riotous distraction.

According to Assist News, the carnage took place in the village of Sharona near Maghagha, Minya province. Two Islamists groups, aided by Muslim neighbors, descended on the roof of houses owned by Christians, killing 11, including children, and seriously injuring four others.

The report stated the massacre has nothing to do with the mayhem in Egypt, but the murderers took advantage of the lack of police protection and thought they could commit their crime and no one would notice.

[…]

So far, the protests have focused on jobs, free speech and democratic elections, not religion, but a few radicals are using this distraction to attack Christians.

Read it all

Your Face in Facebook

Your photo. From your computer. To Facebook. And from there to who knows where for who knows what to be 'enjoyed' by who knows whom. Be wise, Facebook users!

And elsewhere.

From Facebook.

Thanks to you.

CNN: ‘Dating’ site imports 250,000 Facebook profiles without permission

How does an unknown dating site, with the absurd intention of destroying Facebook, launch with 250,000 member profiles on the first day?

Simple.

You scrape data from Facebook.

At least, that’s the approach taken by two provocateurs who launched Lovely-Faces.com this week, with profiles — names, locations and photos — scraped from publicly accessible Facebook pages. The site categorizes these unwitting volunteers into personality types, using a facial recognition algorithm, so you can search for someone in your general area who is “easy going,” “smug” or “sly.”

[…]

“Facebook, an endlessly cool place for so many people, becomes at the same time a goldmine for identity theft and dating — unfortunately, without the user’s control. But that’s the very nature of Facebook and social media in general. If we start to play with the concepts of identity theft and dating, we should be able to unveil how fragile a virtual identity given to a proprietary platform can be.”

Now think about those photos of you.

Which you have put on Facebook.

Can you imagine where they might end up next?