Pastor Steve shares these links to stimulate some Thursday Thoughts…
This week – some good news for parents and children, some not so good news for anyone (which more likely means everyone) who has a device addiction, and some really weird news for those who love hummingbirds.
Exploring the Bible: A Bible Reading Plan for Kids … Tim Challies at challies.com writes a review of a book parents will find very useful. Tim writes: “A key component of every parent’s task is helping our children form good habits. A key component of every Christian parent’s task is helping our children form the good habit of personal devotions. We are convinced that our children are sinners in need of God’s saving grace, we are convinced that God’s Word is powerful, we are convinced that God is pleased to use his Word to convict our children of their sin and draw them to his Son. There is so much I could say to commend Exploring the Bible, but any praise would pale in comparison to this, the ultimate parental endorsement: I gave all three of my children Exploring the Bible as their very first experience of personal devotions. All three used it, all three enjoyed it, and all three benefited tremendously from using it. I wholeheartedly recommend it for your children, too.” You can read the rest HERE.
Lying to Machines … Tim Bulkeley writing at his blog Don’t Eat the Fruit has some thought provoking words about Apple’s iOS 11. Tim writes: “You might think it’s hyperbolic to say that tapping “I’m Not Driving” while driving is lying. After all, it’s just an inert device and a few hundred million lines of code. But the truth is that none of our actions, however private they seem to us, happen in a vacuum. Tapping that button not only endangers others around us, it also forms our souls in a particularly destructive way. When I choose to act in untruthful ways, even with a machine, I’m developing a pattern and a practice in my life. I am inculcating myself in a world of alternative facts where truth is defined by what I want rather than what truly is.” You can read the rest HERE.
Praying Mantises Are Killing Birds and Eating Their Brains Worldwide … Hillary Hanson writes an article for the Weird News section of the Huffington Post. It begins this way: “Nature is beautiful, but it can be kind of messed up.” There is a short video embedded in this article, but you really must read to get the weirdest details. “The mantises usually ‘pierce the skull to feed on brain tissue … they just hold their prey and they eat them while they are still alive, slowly and slowly until there is nothing left.” This article is not spiritual – – but does illustrate a spiritual threat posed by Satan and his diabolical minions. They too, like the mantis, just hold their prey captive to lies and deceit while they devour their convictions, slowly and slowly, until there is no truth left. You can read the rest HERE.
