Thursday, October 23, 2003

9:13 PM This is the best collection of articles on Islam and the Christian faith that I have found. “Much has been said in recent days by politicians and media to the effect that Islam is a peaceful religion, that we all worship the same god (God), and that all religions are basically equal, and that religious beliefs are not the problem, but only a few individuals who are extremists. Is that accurate? What is the real truth?” I highly recommend this website as an excellent jumping off point for Christians who want to know what is really at stake in the spread of Islam around the world. 8:51 PM Glen Graham sent this to me:

A woman was asked by a coworker, “What is it like to be a Christian?” The woman replied, “It is like being a pumpkin. God picks you from the patch, brings you in and washes all the dirt off of you. Then he cuts off the top and scoops out all the yucky stuff. He removes the seeds of doubt, hate, greed, etc., and then He carves you a new smiling face and puts His light inside of you to shine for all the world to see.” This was passed on to me by another pumpkin. Please pass this on to all the pumpkins in your patch at Calvary Memorial.

12:17 PM Spoke this AM at a Pastor’s Appreciation Breakfast sponsored by John’s Christian Stores in Carol Stream. Talked about Moses saying to God, “Show me your glory,” and how God’s glory is generally seen not in the sunlight but in the shadows of life. Made a number of new friends, and was glad to see an old friend, Lou Diaz, pastor of Wheaton Evangelical Free Church. I hadn’t seen Lou in a few years, and I would say that I noticed he has a bit of gray hair, but if I said that, I’d have to say the same thing about myself. Lou gave me a good idea for a Christmas sermon series, which I’m going to pass along to Brian Bill (pastor of Pontiac Bible Church) who e-mailed me earlier this week to ask if I knew what my Christmas series would be this year. I told him no, but I liked Lou’s idea so I’m going to see if Brian will flesh it out, and I can add my own two cents, then maybe Brian will preach it, and maybe I will too, and Lou is going to preach it anyway. Just call me a homiletical middleman. 12:13 PM Kevin McCullough says I have become a blogomaniac. He’s probably right. 6:32 AM From the Calvary prayer calendar: Today we are praying for Ed Enstrom, deacon of finance and facilities. We’re also praying for Tim and Deb Carpenter, missionaries with AIM in Kenya. Our prayer warriors today are Mark Dodgson, Fred and Florence Most, and Patty Saunders. 6:13 AM The flap continues over remarks by General Boykin about radical Islam and the war on terror. The general, who oversees the hunt for Osama bin Laden, is also an evangelical Christian. It is hard to escape the notion that much of the criticism comes because he dared to express his faith publicly. In June 2003, Boykin told a religious group that radical Muslims hate America because “because we’re a Christian nation, because our foundation and our roots are Judeo-Christian … and the enemy is a guy called Satan.” That statement happens to be absolutely correct. Larry Elder has a good analysis of the controversy, as does Ann Coulter. UPDATE: Here are two more articles defending General Boykin—from the Seattle Times and the Washington Times. 6:10 AM Two radio interviews today: TFC Radio Network, Toccoa Falls, GA, 11:15 AM; KNEO, Neosho, MO, 1:40 PM.