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Coffee Break – 04.08.2019

Your Monday Dose Of Inspiration

On this day in history: In 1513, Explorer Juan Ponce de Leon claimed Florida for Spain. But did he ever find the Fountain of Youth? In 1873, Alfred Paraf patented the first successful oleomargarine (I’m certain that’s important to someone). And in 1974, Hank Aaron hits his 715th home run, breaking Babe Ruth’s record.

Coffee Break

Today Is National Empanada Day!
Don’t know what an empanada is? Today is your day to find out!

Cowboy Coffee Recipe – Campfire coffee is a nice change every now and then, especially when I’m out on the trail hiking or camping. Here’s a great recipe for making some of your own. Why not over a campfire pit in your own backyard?

10 Simple Life Hacks For The Sharp Dressed Man – Need a few tips to stay looking sharp? Here are ten simple things you can do to look the best you can, without a ton of money or effort.

A Generation In Japan Faces A Lonely Death – This is a sobering article that should cause you to stop and think. There may not be a whole lot you or I can do for these lonely people in Japan, but maybe we can see if there is a lonely neighbor on our own street, or in our own community that we can help.

Russia’s Geography Problem – After watching a few other videos in this series, I have one more to share. This one is about Russia.

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Memorize Scripture: Psalm 119:105-108

Hiding God’s Word In Our Hearts

In this new stanza of Psalm 119, titled Nun, the psalmist declares his delight in and love for God’s Law. This passage contains one of the most familiar portions of Psalm 119. You can see it for yourself in Psalm 119:105-108:

Psalm 119:105-108

Do you recall the story of the Exodus from Egypt? God led the Israelites out from under the harsh rule of the Egyptian Pharaoh, and protected the nation of Israel as they crossed the Red Sea. From there, he guided them though the wilderness, leading them with a pillar of cloud by day, and a column of fire by night, illuminating the way forward.

That is the image the psalmist gives us in this stanza, declaring that God’s Word lights our way. Of course, the psalmist uses the image of a lamp lighting the path, but the symbolism is clear: God’s Word provides the light and clarity that we need to see how to follow him clearly.

Clarity is something that we still need in our lives, no differently than in the days of the writer of these words. Our world is confused and clouded, darkness seems to pervade, and we need light shed on our way. We long for it, and it can be found in God’s Word.

In these verses, the psalmist gives us a few example of how God’s Word gives us the clarity we need to live for him in this world.

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The Wiersbe Study Bible

A Book Review for The Randleman Review

The Wiersbe Study BibleThe first time I was introduced to the writing of Warren W. Wiersbe was when I was a student at Ozark Christian College, in a preaching class. One of our assigned readings was a small book called Elements Of Preaching. It was simple and yet profound, and formed some of the basis upon which I still craft my sermons and lessons twenty-five years later.

It didn’t take me long to track down a few other books by Wiersbe to add to my library, each as helpful as that first one. When I saw that there was a new Wiersbe Study Bible, I was immediately interested in looking it over. And I was not disappointed.

Of course, the text of the Bible is not what is on review here; it is the study notes that accompany the text itself. And these notes are phenomenal. Warren Wiersbe has a very intellectual mind, and that is very apparent in any of his books that I have read over the years. But these notes, while containing much that is challenging to the thought process, also remain very approachable and are not above the head of the average Bible reader.

The Wiersbe Study Bible has several great features that can help anyone striving to learn more about the Bible. Each book has a detailed introduction and an outline. Along with the overview, each book contains a section called “Be Transformed,” which is a practical application section, outlining several key aspects of each book for daily growth. Add to this the study notes, special notes, and cross references, and you have an excellent tool for spiritual growth.

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The Baggage Handler by David Rawlings

A Book Review for The Randleman Review

The Baggage HandlerFiction is fun to read, but when fiction has a point to it, that seems to make it even better. Some of my favorite examples of this are novels written by Andy Andrews, such as The Traveler’s Gift, The Noticer, and The Heart Mender. In that vein, David Rawlings has written a fictional novel with a solid point in his book The Baggage Handler.

The premise is simple. Three different people have their baggage mixed up by an airline. Each of them are struggling with significant issues in their immediate lives. As they arrive at the location where they can receive the correct baggage, they each meet the Baggage Handler. This young man speaks some pointed truths into each of their lives that they may not have wanted to hear, but they needed to hear.

The Baggage Handler is a quick and easy book to read, but as the pages turned, I realized that Rawlings holds some deep insights into more lives than just the three fictional lives presented in his book. The truths he presents are simple, yet profound, and the impacted my thoughts in a way that was fresh and gave some new perspective to some of the baggage that I find myself carrying in my own life.

Knowledge of biblical doctrine is to the soul as an anchor to the ship, that holds it steady in the midst of the rolling waves of error, or the violent winds of persecution.

Thomas Watson
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Digital Minimalism

Takeaways From The March LeaderBooks Selection

I recently joined a book club designed for leadership building called LeaderBooks. The book selected for March was Digital Minimalism, by Cal Newport. Here are a few of my thoughts concerning the book, and my reactions to it.

Digital Minimalism

Our culture is noisy, and a voice of reason in the midst of that noise is needed. Cal Newport strives to be that voice with his book Digital Minimalism. The subtitle seems highly appropriate for the culture we live in: Choosing A Focused Life In A Noisy World.

The premise Newport begins with is that we have been hooked by the digital conglomerates that operate in our world, and we are no longer the user being targeted with need to fulfill. No, we are the product being sold, and our consistent tapping, clicking and swiping is an addictive habit that is designed to keep our attention focused in on the apps we use. Because, the longer we use them, the more money they make.

In response to this, Newport calls for a heavily moderated digital detox. His approach is simple. First, remove all optional digital use from your life for thirty days. After that time, as you allow certain products back in, evaluate just how effective they are at meeting your needs, and if there is a better tool, use it instead. Then, finally, you set the parameters that it can operate under. The digital product no longer has mastery; you do.