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  • Exhorter Matching Challenge made easier

    YES on 85 has agreed to keep track of donations that mention "Exhorter," so you don't have to send me proof of your donation.  Just make sure you mention the Exhorter Matching Challenge if you want your donation matched.  If you donate by credit card, you can probably mention it in the "Occupation" blank.

    I sent them $1,000 yesterday as a deposit, so that your donations can be matched as soon as you make them.

  • HELP SAVE LIVES.

    In California, a girl under 18
    can't get a flu shot,
    can't get an aspirin from the school nurse,
    can't get a tooth pulled, and
    can't go on a school field trip
    without parental consent.

    But an older boyfriend or school employee can take her to get a surgical or chemical abortion without her parents even knowing about it.

    Proposition 85 will require a doctor to notify at least one parent 48 hours before performing an abortion on a minor, and will prohibit anyone from forcing a minor to get an abortion.

    In California, all other surgeries on minors require written parental permission.

    If you can vote in California, vote YES on Proposition 85.  Make sure you are registered to vote by the October 23rd deadline.

    Even if you can't vote, or don't live in California, you can donate.  Why donate if you don't live in California?  Besides that California has the most abortions in the U.S., California laws influence the laws of other states.

    EXHORTER MATCHING CHALLENGE

    I will match
    100% of every dollar that a person gives to www.yeson85.net up $100,
    50% of every dollar that a person gives from $101 to $500,
    10% of every dollar that a person gives from $501 to $5,000, and
    1% of every dollar that a person gives from $5,001 to $30,000 (If you give more than $30,000, you don't need my matching!)
    up to a total of $1,000.  (If you have the spiritual gift of giving, help me to expand this match!)

    Please make sure you mention "Exhorter Matching Challenge" when you donate, so that your donation will be matched.  You can give until November 7, 2006 (there are still expenses after the election).  If you can pay by check, it will save them credit card processing fees.  CONTRIBUTIONS ARE NOT TAX DEDUCTIBLE.  (If you want to make a tax deductible donation to promote prolife laws, try the American Center for Law and Justice (ACLJ).

    Even, if you can't vote or donate, you can volunteer, tell someone else, or post on your blog or website.  Whatever you do, PRAY that Proposition 85 will pass.

    Planned Parenthood, the largest operator of abortion clinics in the country, has raised $3,822,638.56 from January to September to oppose Proposition 85.  They have profits at stake.  How much more should we do, with lives (of both girls and babies) at stake?

    "If thou forbear to deliver them that are drawn unto death, and those that are ready to be slain;  If thou sayest, Behold, we knew it not; doth not he that pondereth the heart consider it? and he that keepeth thy soul, doth not he know it? and shall not he render to every man according to his works?" -Proverbs 24:11-12

  • Hymns

    I prefer hymns over "praise songs."  Hymns are generally more substantial in doctrine and denser in thought, whereas praise songs tend to be more "fluffy."  A pet peeve I have is repeating the same words and music over and over again ad nauseum (e.g. "I could sing of Your love forever...").  (Taken to an extreme, it can become a mantra used to enter an altered state of consciousness, where nonsense can be gullibly accepted as profound insight.)  If you're going to sing the same words over and over, you could at least have some musical variation.  Most hymns can be sung in 4-part harmony; most praise songs cannot.

    On the other hand, if you're going to sing the same music over and over, you need variation in the words.  The Cyber Hymnal lists the stanzas that won't fit in your regular hymnal.  Fortunately, you can have as many stanzas as you want on a projection screen, as long as people know the melody.

    The unfortunate trend in many of today's churches is we are forgetting and losing great old hymns.  They're being replaced by songs that have become the "new hymns," of which sometimes only the chorus is sung.  With the passage of time, the new hymns become "old hymns," which are then replaced by newer, shallower sentimental songs that are popular at the time.  Taken to the logical conclusion, we could eventually chant a mantra that's devoid of meaning over and over, but feel really spiritual about it.

    I'm not saying praise songs are necessarily bad or hymns are perfect.  Unlike the Psalms in the Bible, hymns aren't guaranteed to be free from doctrinal error.  Whatever we sing should be examined under the light of Scripture.

    "Let the word of Christ dwell in you richly in all wisdom; teaching and admonishing one another in psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, singing with grace in your hearts to the Lord." -Colossians 3:16

  • My name is Timothy.

    I prefer to be called "Timothy" instead of "Tim."  The name "Timothy" is Greek (Τιμόθεος or Timotheos, pronounced "tee-moth-eh-os"), which comes from the words τιμή (time, pronounced "tee-may") and θέος (theos, pronounced "theh-os").  Time means "value" or "honor."  Theos means "God," as in "theology" or "monotheism."  "Timothy" means "dear to God" (Strong's Greek Lexicon) or "honoring God" (Thayer's Greek Lexicon).  If you say just "Tim," you have only "honor" without "God."  My hope is to live up to the full name "Timothy" by honoring God.

    "Now unto the King eternal, immortal, invisible, the only wise God, be honor and glory forever and ever.  Amen." 1 Timothy 1:17

  • The Da Vinci Code

    Last week, I learned that some students at my church have been assigned to read The Da Vinci Code.  I want to encourage them that it is not a complete waste.

    I had received an MP3 from my cousin May 15, before the movie came out.  The speaker is Dr. Jim Garlow, senior pastor of Skyline Wesleyan Church (where John Maxwell used to be senior pastor), and coauthor of Cracking Da Vinci's Code.  He talks about how The Da Vinci Code can be used as a ministry opportunity.  Instead of e-mailing the 10 megabyte file (it's 1:09 hours long), I've decided to upload it here on Xanga:.  I had thought of starting an exhortation Xanga before, but never did anything until now.

    Pastor Adam Co, our Young Adult Pastor, had given a special Sunday School lesson on The Da Vinci Code, but I don't remember if he went so far as to recommend reading it.  As he was preparing for the lesson, I gave him links to the equip.org, probe.org, and tektonics.org for him to use as resources.  These are the sites I go to when I come across a foolish and vain philosophy/ religion/ worldview.  They save me a lot of time in the neutralizing of mental poison.

    Equip.org is the website of the Christian Research Institute, home of Hank Hanegraaff, the Bible Answer Man.  Probe.org is the website of Probe Ministries, which examines different worldviews and how they apply to different areas of life.  Tektonics.org is the website of Tekton Apologetics Ministries, which makes scholarly (yet sometimes irreverent) responses to all kinds of critics.

    "Redeeming the time, because the days are evil." -Ephesians 5:16

  • What does "exhorter" mean?

    No, it doesn't involve casting out evil spirits.  "Exhortation" or "encouraging" is a spiritual gift listed in Romans 12:8.  Webster's 1828 Dictionary defines "exhort" as "1. to incite by words or advice; to animate or urge by arguments to a good deed or to any laudable conduct or course of action.  2. To advise; to warn; to caution.  3. To incite or stimulate to exertion." 

    The Greek word is "παρακαλέω," which can be defined as one who is called alongside to help.  Since I don't always have time to stay alongside someone to exhort one-on-one as much as I'd like, I hope this Xanga will enable more exhortation than possible individually.

    "And let us consider one another to provoke unto love and to good works:" -Hebrews 10:24