When I was teaching I had a warm up assignment for my students most days called the 5 minute drill. The idea was taken from one of my art teachers.

Can you create something in 5 minutes... [that is shareable]

The last part is the key. It has to be something that is shareable. I taught a variety of classes so what we created was always unique. I found the exercise fun so I often played along. So what does this have to do with The Minute? That is beauty of the format. Each video/audio will be no more than 1 minute in length. Some will have common themes but not always. I hope that they bring you some value.

They help me to kick my day back into gear.

Eventually this will make itself into the main Life in the Clouds Podcast Feed.

Base Image Credit: The Province. Editing by Me.

The challenge that I have with movies/TV series/media that claim biblical inspiration or themes is that instead of letting the story stand on it focuses on minor details and ignores the major story.  Much like what we do when we focus on secondary issues and make them primary.

There is also the fact that some narrative elements are completely made up or wrong in light of the actual text.  I know that studying the scriptures is not as "exciting" as watching Russell Crowe as Maximus Noah and the Nephilim but don't let this be the only time you think about the text.

We are called to meditate on God's Word day and night.  It really does inform the decisions you make as well as the media you consume.

With all of that said what are my thoughts on the movie?  I don't have any.  I love storytelling and I am "interested" in seeing Darren Aronofsky's vision.  I do not see it as some grand evangelism tool.  I didn't for Passion, Son Of God, or any other movie.   I also do not see it as some grand gesture by Hollywood to reach out to Christians.

If you have seen the movie let me know what you think.  If you are abstaining let me know why.  If you are reading this leave a comment.

Enjoy your weekend,
God's Man

God Gives Salvation

For by grace you have been saved through faith. And this is not your own doing; it is the gift of God, (Ephesians 2:8 ESV)

God Gives Love

and may the Lord make you increase and abound in love for one another and for all, as we do for you, (1 Thessalonians 3:12 ESV)

God Gives Faith

and the grace of our Lord overflowed for me with the faith and love that are in Christ Jesus. (1 Timothy 1:14 ESV)

God Gives Wisdom

that the God of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of glory, may give you a spirit of wisdom and of revelation in the knowledge of him, (Ephesians 1:17 ESV)

*God Gives Joy *

May the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace in believing, so that by the power of the Holy Spirit you may abound in hope. (Romans 15:13 ESV)

Enjoy the gifts He has given you

  Posted with Blogsy

1. Decline of African American Theology - Thabiti A.
2. The Faithful Preacher - Thabiti A.
3. Pastor - Eugene Petersen
4. The Explict Gospel - Matt Chandler
5. Legend of Zelda and Theology
6. The Art of Neighboring - Dave Runyon, Jay Patnak
7. The 4-hour Body - Tim Ferris
8. The 4-hour Chef - Tim Ferris
9. Think and Grow Rich - Napolean Hill
10. Don't Waste Your Life - John Piper
11. The Meaning of Marriage - Tim Keller
12. Decision Making and the Will of God - Gary Friesen
13. The Art of War - Sun Tzu
14. The Yellow Submarine - Beatles
15. Going Public - David and Kelli Pritchard
16. The Hobbit - J. R. Tolkien
17. Thru The Bible - J. Vernon McGee
18. How Christians Should Relate to Government - Wayne Grudem
19. The Essays of Francis Bacon - Francis Bacon
20. The Selected Works of Jonathan Edwards - Jonathan Edwards
21. Family Worship - Joel Beeke
22. How To Be Black - Baratunde Thurston
23. Brothers, We Are Not Professionals - John Piper
24. Never Walk Away - Crawford Loritts
25. Excellence - Andreas Kostenberger
26. The Holiness of God - R.C. Sproul
27. Westminster Shorter Catechism
28. This Momentary Marriage - John Piper
29. Bloodlines - John Piper
30. What He Must Be If He Wants To Marry My Daughter - Voddie Bachman
31. Why Men Hate Going To Church - David Murrow
32. Church Diversity - Scott Williams
33. APE: How To Publish A Book - Guy Kawasaki34. Good News of Great Joy - John Piper
34. The Magician's Nephew - C. S. Lewis
35. Stop Stealing Dreams - Seth Godin
36. The Republic - Plato
37. Tribes - Seth Godin
38. The Power of Story
39. 31 Days to Building a Better Blog - Darren Rowse
40. Mere Christianity - C.S. Lewis
41. Screwtape Letters - C.S. Lewis
42. DC - Trinity
43. Marvel 1602 Happy 2012

Posted with Blogsy

~~~~~~~~~~~

There are moments where I can still hear the voices. Like echoes through time I can still hear the battle raging. I wonder if I will ever get beyond that moment.

The smell of smoke and the clanging of weapons. The shouts of battle reflecting off of the armor of warriors who had seen both their first and last battle. Their young faces seem far to young to have been part of the carnage around them.

The heat of fire still cascade through my mind. We had tapped into something in those days that no one even remembers in this age of peace. Time is short for one such as I and at my age you would think I would have all the answers. However because of my age I know how crazy an assumption that is. For every answer we have found there continues to be even more questions.

I mean I was around when we hit that moment. The moment that should have been out most prized moment. Everything understood, catalogued, and accessible by everyone. We had found a way to link it all together. We had found a way to link all of us together.

No more confusion. No more separation. No more division.

But we had forgotten one thing. One very important lesson. In the run up to building this amazing thing. A group of us had come up with a way to connect our minds. We could live whole lifetimes within. Knowing and being known. Inside there was no limit. Inside there were no boundaries. We could be everywhere, do anything. We even figured out how to to touch the outer world. We could create whole worlds and began to invite others in.

We decided that we would connect our worlds. United as one mind there would be nothing we could not do.

We we so foolish...

We had not idea what we would unleash...

We would come so close to losing it all...

~~~~~~~~~

Chasing after His Glory...

Posted with Blogsy

Transliteration: chazown

Pronunciation: khä·zōn'

Part of Speech: masculine noun

Root Word (Etymology): from chazah

Outline of Biblical Usage:

1) vision

a) vision (in ecstatic state)

b) vision (in night)

c) vision, oracle, prophecy (divine communication)

d) vision (as title of book of prophecy)  

What are you doing with God's vision for your life? Jump into finding it out!

• God's Man

Comfort, comfort my people, says your God. Speak tenderly to Jerusalem, and proclaim to her that her hard service has been completed, that her sin has been paid for, that she has received from the Lord's hand double for all her sins.

A voice of one calling: “In the desert prepare the way for the Lord; make straight in the wilderness a highway for our God. Every valley shall be raised up, every mountain and hill made low; the rough ground shall become level, the rugged places a plain.

And the glory of the Lord will be revealed, and all mankind together will see it. For the mouth of the Lord has spoken.” A voice says, “Cry out.” And I said, “What shall I cry?”

“All men are like grass, and all their glory is like the flowers of the field. The grass withers and the flowers fall, because the breath of the Lord blows on them. Surely the people are grass. The grass withers and the flowers fall, but the word of our God stands forever.”

You who bring good tidings to Zion, go up on a high mountain. You who bring good tidings to Jerusalem,lift up your voice with a shout, lift it up, do not be afraid; say to the towns of Judah, “Here is your God!”

See, the Sovereign Lord comes with power,and his arm rules for him. See, his reward is with him, and his recompense accompanies him. He tends his flock like a shepherd: He gathers the lambs in his arms and carries them close to his heart; he gently leads those that have young.

Who has measured the waters in the hollow of his hand, or with the breadth of his hand marked off the heavens? Who has held the dust of the earth in a basket, or weighed the mountains on the scales and the hills in a balance?

Who has understood the mind of the Lord, or instructed him as his counselor? Whom did the Lord consult to enlighten him, and who taught him the right way? Who was it that taught him knowledge or showed him the path of understanding?

Surely the nations are like a drop in a bucket; they are regarded as dust on the scales; he weighs the islands as though they were fine dust. Lebanon is not sufficient for altar fires, nor its animals enough for burnt offerings.

Before him all the nations are as nothing; they are regarded by him as worthless and less than nothing. To whom, then, will you compare God? What image will you compare him to? As for an idol, a craftsman casts it, and a goldsmith overlays it with gold and fashions silver chains for it.

A man too poor to present such an offeringselects wood that will not rot. He looks for a skilled craftsman to set up an idol that will not topple. Do you not know? Have you not heard? Has it not been told you from the beginning? Have you not understood since the earth was founded?

He sits enthroned above the circle of the earth, and its people are like grasshoppers. He stretches out the heavens like a canopy, and spreads them out like a tent to live in.

He brings princes to naught and reduces the rulers of this world to nothing. No sooner are they planted, no sooner are they sown, no sooner do they take root in the ground, than he blows on them and they wither, and a whirlwind sweeps them away like chaff.

“To whom will you compare me? Or who is my equal?” says the Holy One. Lift your eyes and look to the heavens: Who created all these? He who brings out the starry host one by one, and calls them each by name. Because of his great power and mighty strength, not one of them is missing.

Why do you say, O Jacob, and complain, O Israel, “My way is hidden from the Lord; my cause is disregarded by my God”? Do you not know? Have you not heard? The Lord is the everlasting God, the Creator of the ends of the earth. He will not grow tired or weary, and his understanding no one can fathom.

He gives strength to the weary and increases the power of the weak. Even youths grow tired and weary, and young men stumble and fall; but those who hope in the Lord will renew their strength. They will soar on wings like eagles; they will run and not grow weary, they will walk and not be faint. (Isaiah 40:1-31 NIV84) As we continue to Jump this month I want you to know that no matter where you are or the circumstances of your life there is a God in heaven that is real and who desire all He has called.

• God's Man

Deontology Deontological ethics or deontology (from Greek deon, "obligation, duty"; and -logia) is the normative ethical position that judges the morality of an action based on the action's adherence to a rule or rules.^[1] It is sometimes described as "duty" or "obligation" or "rule" -based ethics, because rules "bind you to your duty".^[2] Deontological ethics is commonly contrasted to consequentialism.^[3] Deontological ethics is also contrasted to pragmatic ethics.

Teleology A teleology is any philosophical account which holds that final causes exist in nature, meaning that design and purpose analogous to that found in human actions are inherent also in the rest of nature. The word comes from the Greek τέλος, telos; root: τελε-, "end, purpose". The adjective "teleological" has a broader usage, for example in discussions where particular ethical theories or types of computer programs are sometimes described as teleological because they involve aiming at goals.
Teleology was explored by Plato and Aristotle, by Saint Anselm around 1000 AD, and later by Immanuel Kant in his Critique of Judgment. It was fundamental to the speculative philosophy of Hegel.
A thing, process or action is teleological when it is for the sake of an end, i.e., a telos or final cause. In general it may be said that there are two types of final causes, which may be called intrinsic finality and extrinsic finality.^[1]

I did not know that these 2 words existed before today and while they bear greater study I am richer for finding them.  That is one of the best Birthday Gift I could have been given.

This is another great gift for me in case anyone is feeling generous.

 Continuing to Jump in June...

-God's Man

I shared this a few Fridays back but since I am talking about words today this seems appropriate.  Stephen Fry on Language.

Enjoy,

-God's Man