Christian Carnival 318

christian_carnival_lion.jpgThe carnival is back in town and we’ve had another great response this week.

The weekly Christian Carnival is an opportunity for Christian blog writers to share their best posts from the previous week. The topic of the post doesn’t necessarily have to focus on Christianity but it must reflect a Christian worldview, and the writer must be Christian to qualify.

As always it’s a real honour to be able to present such a diverse range of great posts.

Please take the time to read through each post … it’s worth it. You might also like to link to this week’s carnival so that your blog readers can enjoy the variety of styles and thought. Another way to spread the word about the Christian Carnival is to click any of the buttons below this post to share the carnival on Facebook, Twitter, StumbleUpon or any of the other sites represented.

Jason Koeppe from Live2Worship starts things off this week saying, “I’ve become convinced that we often ask God to lay out the entire plan of something and He in His infinite wisdom knows we either can’t comprehend or take it all in and so I believe He revealed to me in my life a simple strategy for difficult times when we are crying out for the full answer or full plan and He doesn’t seem to be complying. I believe sometimes He just wants us to focus on the next step.” Jason, I couldn’t agree more. Check out the post How To Hear From God – Hearing the Voice Of God at Live2Worship.

Amanda Hunt tackles a couple of issues that I’m sure we all struggle with from time to time. Her excellent post Trust and Patience is at her blog Amanda’s Musings,

Can you name all twelve disciples of Jesus Christ? We may know Peter, John, James, Matthew and off-course Judas, but what about others? Find out more about the twelve disciples of Jesus Christ, their Greek names and meaning and their occupations. Bible SEO presents Jesus’ Disciples Names: List, Meaning and Occupation at Bible Study Exposition Online.

I’m sure you’ve never forwarded those cheesey ‘chain emails’ but obviously many people can’t get enough of them. Jeff tells it as it is in his post If You Love Jesus… Forward Another Brainless Email at ReturningKing.com.

What if we could create millions of dollars only to give it away? How many missionaries could be supported? How many evangelistic outreaches could be funded? How many God glorifying books could be published? How many hungry could be fed? How many lost could be reached? BWL presents My Strategy for Giving Away Millions posted at Christian Personal Finance.

Trent Cotton says, “Trying to explain the doctrine of justification can be, in itself, a weighty subject and often confusing. If you are anything like me, I often do better with analogies or metaphors. With this in mind, let me use an analogy I think best describes the basic, rudimentary differences in the understanding of justification.” Check out Trent’s use of analogy in the pos Confessions of a Converted Catholic: Justification at Christian Men-Christian Warriors.

God can choose to work in our lives in way he wants. Joe Plemon’s post Seven Ways God Works Through Our Finances at Personal Finance By The Book helps us discover some of the ways that he works through finances.

Anthony Delgado presents an interesting look at Fruits of the Holy Spirit—Joy, Peace, Patience & Goodness at eInquisitive. In his post he suggests a very sound reason that we may not be exhibiting the fruits that we should.

Jim Edwards says, “My friend Marlin Bates was an 80+-year-old former World War II Infantry Sergeant under General Collins in conjunction with General Patton. He learned some of the following details only after the War was over. While we were out working on his land near the Mississippi River, he unveiled this fascinating true story about ‘the War to End All Wars.’ It taught me volumes about Satan. I wrote this so we don’t forget.” What did Jim discover? Find out by reading The Yalta Agreement posted at EverydayChristianFamily.com.

Do you struggle at times and wonder ‘where is God in all this’? When God doesn’t seem to be at work, perhaps he has a greater plan. Perhaps he wants you to focus on him and know that he is at work. Compassionate Action posted at Chasing the Wind may be the comfort you need if you’re facing life’s difficulties today.

Looking for help studying God’s word? Bible SEO presents a review of the top four New American Standard (NASB) study bibles available. Find out more in the post NASB Study Bible – Most Popular NASB Study Bibles posted at BibleSEO Blog.

While many of the posts in the carnival give us great instruction and food for thought, Sarah is throwing out the challenge with a very interesting theological question in her post Calling All Theoblogians #8 at This is what Sed said.

In Luke 14:33 Jesus says, “So therefore, any one of you who does not renounce all that he has cannot be my disciple.” It’s not always a ‘popular’ scripture but it’s certainly one that demands our attention. Are we prepared to take those words seriously? Barry Wallace presents Paying the Price (Discipleship, Part 4) at who am i?.

Do our beliefs about end time prophecy affect how we interact with one another in the here and now? And, how does it affect our financial decisions? Steven and Debra will challenge your thinking with the post One World Government and a One World Currency: Is This a “Sign” of the END Times? at The END TIMES Hoax.

Steven Demmler presents some brief remarks from T.F. Torrance which are put in dialogue with the methodology of the “Jesus Seminar”. You’ll find T.F. Torrance on “Historical Jesus Quests” posted at You Can’t Mean That!.

In an age where we’re more likely to do as much as is needed to get by, Weekend Fisher challenges us with “How much more” — going the extra mile at Heart, Mind, Soul, and Strength, saying, “Learning more from “Going the extra mile” than how to help ancient Roman soldiers.”

We’ve all heard it so many times and very often it can simply be an excuse to attack the ‘actions’ of others, but is it really possible to hate the sin while loving the sinner? Chris Brooks presents Hate the Sin… posted at Homeward Bound. This short, insighful post goes right to the heart of the issue and is a great challenge to us all.

Brian Marchionni believes that when looking at the manner in which the early church carried out their mission we may find some guidance as to how we can approach church planting in difficult economic times. Head to Where and Why of Church Planting posted at Boston Bible Geeks for some ancient wisdom on a modern problem.

If you’ve ever tried to explain deep theological concepts to children you may appreciate the post Blood Sacrifice which Violet N. posted at Bible Drive-Thru. It’s an explanation of the atonment that even a kid can understand from a blog of daily devotions for 8-12 year old kids

Jeremy Pierce looks at a problematic definition of the word ‘heterosexism’ in a post simply titles Heterosexism over at Parableman. I must admit that I’d never even heard the term before so I really appreciated Jeremy’s very comprehensive thoughts.

Parenting can be tough at the best of times and it can sometimes be difficult to choose a parenting style that will not only work but will honour God. Rey Reynoso presents an examination of Michael and Debi Pearl’s method of child rearing found in To Train Up A Child in the post To Train Up A Child: An Examination of the Pearl Method at The Bible Archive. The examination is extensive and sounds several warnings.

They sometimes make us smile and other times make us groan, but do ‘witty church signs’ always convey the truth? Henry Neufeld asks if a sign he’s spotted is really quoting a text in context. See what you think after you’ve read Church Sign: An Eye for an Eye posted at Participatory Bible Study Blog.

The final post for this week’s carnival comes from Jody Neufeld and it’s ‘great’ …. or is it? Jody’s post Jesus Defines ‘Great’ at Jody’s Devotionals, explores whether the definition Jesus gives of ‘great’ is same as ours.

If you’re a Christian and you missed out this week, how about choosing something to contribute for next week’s edition? It doesn’t have to be a masterpiece, just a post that outlines your point of view or is designed to get others thinking. Being part of the carnival could be a great way to gain a little extra traffic at your blog.

The easiest way to get involved is to submit your article through the Blog Carnival Submission Form. Otherwise, you can email the submission address.

Thanks for reading. Don’t forget to spread the word. Feel free to click any of the buttons below to share the carnival on Facebook, Twitter, StumbleUpon or any of the other sites represented.



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The Carnival is Coming Back

christian_carnival_lion.jpgI’m having some friends drop in next week. They’ll be visiting from all over the world and you’re invited to join us. The next Christian Carnival is being hosted here at RodneyOlsen.Net.

The weekly Christian Carnival is an opportunity for Christian blog writers to share their best posts from the previous week. The topic of the post doesn’t necessarily have to focus on Christianity but it must reflect a Christian worldview, and the writer must be Christian to qualify. You may wish to consider that the readership of the Christian Carnival will be more varied than your usual readership, and you might do better contributing a post with broad appeal.

I’ve already received a number of contributions and I’m looking forward to offering readers of this blog some great links when the carnival is published.

If you’re a Christian and you’ve never contributed before, or if it’s been a while since you have, how about having a look through your posts for this week and choosing something to contribute. It doesn’t have to be a masterpiece, just a post that outlines your point of view or is designed to get others thinking. Being part of the carnival could be a great way to gain a little extra traffic at your blog.

The easiest way to get involved is to submit your article through the Blog Carnival Submission Form. Otherwise, you can email the submission address.

The deadline for submissions is Tuesday evening at midnight, Eastern (US) Standard Time. That means it’s midday Wednesday here in Perth, Western Australia.



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The Spirituality of Avatar

AvatarI’m probably the only person on the planet who is yet to see Avatar. I was at the cinema to see Old Dogs on Sunday afternoon and the queue for Avatar went half way across the city. Well maybe not … but it was a very long queue.

I don’t know if I’ll get around to seeing Avatar but I’ve certainly heard conflicting reports about the spirituality presented in the movie. Some say that there is a strong messianic theme to the movie while others talk about the strong pantheistic themes.

We need to keep in mind that the movie is the work of James Cameron who not only brought us the blockbuster Titanic, but also the documentary The Lost Tomb of Jesus, claiming that a tomb containing the bodies of Jesus and other members of his family had been discovered. Cameron is certainly a spiritual person who is critical of the beliefs of Christianity, leaning more towards a belief of universal energy.

My regular Wednesday morning guest on 98.5 Sonshine FM is Ross Clifford who is the Principal of Morling College in New South Wales and Vice President elect of the Baptist World Alliance. Each week we chat about a range of issues relating to spirituality and belief.

We discussed the spirituality of Avatar today, highlighting the various themes it presents.

If you’d like to hear what Ross had to say, simply click the play button on the audio player at the bottom of this post.

[audio:http://mpegmedia.sonshinefm.ws/feeds/SPI020310_1033.mp3]

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Christian Carnival 274

christian_carnival_lion.jpgThe carnival is back in town and we’ve had another great response this week. It’s always wonderful to see some first timers joining the carnival as well as some of the regulars at their thought provoking best.

The weekly Christian Carnival is an opportunity for Christian blog writers to share their best posts from the previous week. The topic of the post doesn’t necessarily have to focus on Christianity but it must reflect a Christian worldview, and the writer must be Christian to qualify.

As always it’s a real honour to be able to present such a diverse range of great posts.

Please take the time to read through each post … it’s worth it. You might also like to link to this week’s carnival so that your blog readers can enjoy the variety of styles and thought.

andriel was first in this week posting A Coming One-World Religious System over at ReturningKing.com.

Annette at Fish and Cans presents a post titled True Woman – a lasting kindness.

Have you wondered about how God does and doesn’t use money? Read what FMF has to say in the post How God Uses and Doesn’t Use Money posted at Free Money Finance.

Yvette Nietzen posted about Having a ready mind at her blog Fresh Wind Ministries.

What’s on at the movies? Shot presents Conservative Movie Reviews | Conunderground.com at Conunderground.com.

Head over to at Fathom Deep: Sounding the Depths of God to read Tiffany Partin‘s post Ladybug and the Great Doodlebug Relocation Project.

According to the Parable of the Talents, we have a responsibility to wisely use the money with which we have been entrusted. With that in mind, ChristianPF asks a tough question. Are you a good steward of God’s money? That post is at Money in the Bible | Christian Personal Finance Blog.

april rose presents like a scarlet letter posted at little april rose.

Dave Quinn wants to article is to encourage Christians with the surety that we carry the same story and power that Peter and John displayed in Acts 4. We carry the story and the power is a powerful read at The PASSION Blog.

Gabe Lopez has written GabeLopezBlog.com: Potential Essentials and posted it at GabeLopezBlog.com.

“I think Solzhenitsyn’s editors have read him carelessly, and have convicted him of a superficial and satanic defense of war and government that he was mocking in the mouth of one of his characters, an Orthodox priest.” That’s what David Gross has to say in his post, Reading Solzhenitsyn at The Picket Line.

Martin Roth presents an exclusive interview with a prominent online Christian dating service that is completely free. ChristianDatingForFree.com – interview with Christian Counseling Services is posted at Christian Counseling Services.

Ken Brown has been, “Thinking about my “terrible two” year old daughter, Jesus’ parables, and justice.” Find out how it all fits together at A Gracious Father or an Unjust Judge? posted at C. Orthodoxy.

Diane R presents a very short post on what Jesus would really do if He walked the earth today asking, What Would Jesus Really Do? over at Crossroads: Where Faith and Inquiry Meet.
Barry Wallace’s pastor’s wife participated in a panel interview on the topic of infertility and adoption. Barry has written Adoption and Infertility: An interview with my pastor’s wife posted at who am i?.

Richard H. Anderson presents The Word of God in Song posted at dokeo kago grapho soi kratistos Theophilos. Richard is wondering if Luther was the first person to use music as a teaching device for religious instruction and/or the first person to use music as a teaching device for any purpose. Richard would appreciate your knowledge or thoughts on the matter.

A Sower presents Anticipation posted at A Sower’s Heart, asking, “Are we like children?”

Shannon Christman has written a post that is not specifically about Christianity, but which raises some questions that Christians should consider in A Child’s Best Friends: The Wonderpets? at The Minority Thinker.

How should we think about parenting responsibilities in terms of the principles that underlie the biblical Sabbath? Jeremy Pierce asks the question and provides some guidance in Parental Responsibilities and the Sabbath posted at Parableman.

At Light Along the Journey John has penned a parable about disappointment, acceptance, & walking with God in his post A Road Trip With Jesus.
michelle presents Joel 2:25-26 posted at Thoughts and Confessions of a Girl Who Loves Jesus….

And finally, Rey presents You Believe That ‘Cause… posted at The Bible Archive, saying the post goes over the genetic fallacy and offering some examples of how it’s been used.

If you’re a Christian and you missed out this week, how about choosing something to contribute for next week’s edition? It doesn’t have to be a masterpiece, just a post that outlines your point of view or is designed to get others thinking. Being part of the carnival could be a great way to gain a little extra traffic at your blog.

The easiest way to get involved is to submit your article through the Blog Carnival Submission Form. Otherwise, you can email the submission address.

Thanks for reading. Don’t forget to spread the word.



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Who is the guy with the beard?

christ.jpgI’ve posted this before but in light of the Easter season I thought it was worth reflecting on again.

I wrote this a few years ago when I’d been thinking about a few lines from the good book. They come from Luke’s account of what Jesus got up to when he was here a couple of thousand years ago.

Once when Jesus was praying in private and his disciples were with him, he asked them, “Who do the crowds say I am?”

They replied, “Some say John the Baptist; others say Elijah; and still others, that one of the prophets of long ago has come back to life.”

“But what about you?” he asked. “Who do you say I am?” Peter answered, “The Christ of God.”

I suppose that if we reset the scene in modern times it might look more like:

Once when Jesus was praying in private and his disciples were with him, he asked them, “Who do the crowds say I am?”

They replied, “Some say you’re a good man; others say a teacher; others say a religious leader; others say a misunderstood man; others say a fictional character; others say an irrelevant historical figure; others say a prophet; others say a bigot; and still others, that you’re a guy who made Mel Gibson a truck load of money.”

Then comes the question that should be directed to each one of us.

“But what about you? Who do you say I am?”

Jesus was very wise in the way he asked his question. (After all, he is Jesus.) He says to his disciples, “Firstly let’s clear up what everyone else is saying about me.” It can be very easy for us to parrot someone else’s idea of who Jesus was or is. There are so many options that we can easily pick one that sounds reasonable to us.

But Jesus doesn’t give the disciples that option. After clearing up the range of things that others were saying, he focuses in on the individuals in front of him and says, “But What about you? Who do you say I am?”

I believe he’s doing the same today. We need to be aware that there are many ideas of who Jesus is but in the end we need to answer that second question for ourselves.

Jesus looks at us all saying “But What about you? Who do you say I am?” Not who do your parents say I am; not who do your workmates say I am; not who do your philosophy books say I am; not who does your pastor say I am; not who does your church say I am, but “Who do you say I am?”

Whether we say we believe the Bible’s idea of who Jesus is or not, we can’t afford to just grab someone else’s ideas on this one. We need to be open enough to have our views challenged. We need to look at how we came to hold the views we do and decide if that’s a good enough reason to think that way.

All the arguments about what people believe about Christians and their views are secondary and irrelevant until we decide what Jesus is about.

If we truly look at the evidence for ourselves and decide that Jesus was just a man we’ve got nothing to lose but if he was who the Bible claims and we don’t acknowledge it, our life could be at stake.

I’m siding with Peter on this one when he answered, “Who do you say I am?” with “The Christ of God.” Exactly what that means for me and the way I live my life is something that I will continue to grapple with for the rest of my life.

Who do you say Jesus is?



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