Steve Harvey Introduces Jesus Christ

This is just too good not to post. It's from Steve Harvey's
" Don't Trip ... He Ain't Through with Me Yet" DVD

Enjoy,
Tom

Go This Way...

Yesterday’s video post found a place to land in my heart. The paragraph I highlighted in red landed the hardest.

“The top 10 in-demand jobs in 2010 didn’t exist in 2004.
We are currently preparing students for jobs that don’t yet exist . . .
Using technologies that haven’t been invented . . .
In order to solve problems we don’t even know are problems yet.”

If this is true, it ought to impact what we teach our children. I believe that we need to offer them the highest levels of academic and technical training available. However, we shouldn’t stop there. More is need, more than just information.

Proverbs 22:6 says:

“Train a child in the way he should go, and when he is old he will not turn from it.”

This generation needs more than the coordinates of their destination. They need more than directions from a Google map to get from here to there. They need to be trained in the way they should go.

On “the way” consider these questions…

Who are you on the journey?
What values guide you?
What passions propel you?
What beliefs sustain you?

We can only give away what we ourselves possess. I’m committed to giving away what I’ve discovered on my journey.

~ That freedom is contagious and attractive. It’s hard to gain, easy to lose and worth dying for, ask Jesus.

~ That passion though dangerous is essential and when tempered with wisdom, brings extraordinary joy to living.

~ That the supernatural life of the Spirit is much more accessible than previously thought and more amazing than we ever imagined!

~ That knowing God intimately and personally surpasses everything else combined.

If we can impart these essential elements into the next generation, they will be ready for the future even if the future isn’t yet ready for them!

© Tom Zawacki 2007

Photograph by Andy Andrews

Shift Happens

Here is some very meaty food for thought as we consider preparing the next generation for their destinies. (ht: Mike T.)



Text Version: Shift Happens

Did you know . . .

Sometimes size does matter.
If you’re one in a million in China . . .
There are 1,300 people just like you.
In India, there are 1,100 people just like you.
The 25% of the population in China with the highest IQ’s . . .
Is greater than the total population of North America.
In India, it’s the top 28%.
Translation for teachers: They have more honors kids than we have kids.

Did you know . . .

China will soon become the number one English speaking country in the world.
If you took every single job in the U.S. today and shipped it to China . . .
China would still have a labor surplus.
During the course of this 8 minute presentation . . .
60 babies will be born in the U.S.
244 babies will be born in China.
351 babies will be born in India.

The U.S. Department of Labor estimates that today’s learner will have 10-14 jobs . . .
By the age of 38.
According to the U.S. Department of Labor . . .
1 out of 4 workers today is working for a company they have been employed by for less than one year.
More than 1 out of 2 are working for a company they have worked for for less than five years.

According to former Secretary of Education Richard Riley . . .
The top 10 in-demand jobs in 2010 didn’t exist in 2004.
We are currently preparing students for jobs that don’t yet exist . . .
Using technologies that haven’t been invented . . .
In order to solve problems we don’t even know are problems yet.

Name this country . . .

Richest in the World
Largest Military
Center of world business and finance
Strongest education system
World center of innovation and invention
Currency the world standard of value
Highest standard of living

England.
In 1900.

Did you know . . .

The U.S. is 20th in the world in broadband Internet penetration.
Luxembourg just passed us.
In 2002 alone Nintendo invested more than $140 million in research and development.
The U.S. Federal Government spent less than half as much on Research and Innovation in Education.

1 out of every 8 couples married in the U.S. last year met online.
There are over 106 million registered users of MySpace. (August 2006)
If MySpace were a country, it would be the 11th-largest in the world (between Japan and Mexico)
The average MySpace page is visited 30 times a day.

Did you know . . .

We are living in exponential times.
There are over 2.7 billion searches performed on Google each month.
To whom were these questions addressed B.G.? (Before Google)
The number of text messages sent and received every day exceeds the population of the planet.
There are about 540,000 words in the English language . . .
About 5 times as many as during Shakespeare’s time.
More than 3,000 new books are published . . .
Daily.
It’s estimated that a week’s worth of New York Times . . .
Contains more information than a person was likely to come across in a lifetime in the 18th century.

It’s estimated that 1.5 exabytes (that’s 1.5 x 1018) of unique new information will be generated worldwide this year.
That’s estimated to be more than in the previous 5,000 years.
The amount of new technical information is doubling every 2 years.
That means for a student starting a four-year technical or college degree . . .
Half of what they learn in their first year of study will be outdated by their third year of study.
It’s predicted to double every 72 hours by 2010.

Third generation fiber optics has recently been separately tested by NEC and Alcatel . . .
That pushes 10 trillion bits per second down one strand of fiber.
That’s 1,900 CDs or 150 million simultaneous phone calls every second.
It’s currently tripling about every 6 months and is expected to do so for at least the next 20 years.
The fiber is already there, they’re just improving the switches on the ends. Which means the marginal cost of these improvements is effectively $0.
Predictions are that e-paper will be cheaper than real paper.

47 million laptops were shipped worldwide last year.
The $100 laptop project is expecting to ship between 50 and 100 million laptops a year to children in underdeveloped countries.
Predictions are that by 2013 a supercomputer will be built that exceeds the computation capability of the Human Brain . . .
By 2023, a $1,000 computer will exceed the capabilities of the Human Brain . . .
First grader Abby will be just 23 years old and beginning her (first) career . . .
And while technical predictions farther out than about 15 years are hard to do . . .
Predictions are that by 2049 a $1,000 computer will exceed the computational capabilities of the human race.

What does it all mean?

Shift Happens.

Now you know . . .

By Karl Fisch & Scott Mcleod

Faith & Science

On July 1st, 2006 I had a supernatural encounter with the Spirit of Wisdom and the Spirit of Revelation. They were assigned to me so that I might know the Lord better.

In chapter one of his letter to the Ephesians Saint Paul prayed:

“I keep asking that the God of our Lord Jesus Christ, the glorious Father, may give you the Spirit of wisdom and revelation, so that you may know him better. I pray also that the eyes of your heart may be enlightened in order that you may know the hope to which he has called you, the riches of his glorious inheritance in the saints, and his incomparably great power for us who believe”.

During this encounter The Spirit of Wisdom told me that “All time and space is established and sustained by the Almighty’s word”. Then the Spirit of Revelation added that “All time and space are advanced by His word". A subsequent experience on July 15th, 2006 convinced me that it is possible to move through time in the Spirit.

Yesterday my son sent me a video by Rob Bryanton. This animation illustrates the concepts presented in chapter one of his book titled "Imagining the Tenth Dimension". His concepts reminded me of my July 15th encounter. I encourage you to watch this two part, 12 minute video and allow it to inspire you to think outside the box.

© 2007 Tom Zawacki





About Rob Bryanton
Imagining the Tenth Dimension Blog
Imagining the Tenth Dimension Website
Imagining the Tenth Dimension Video
Imagining the Tenth Dimension Text Based Version
Buy Imagining the Tenth Dimension here

Which Superhero Are You?

Here's a fun, light-hearted way to start your week. Which super hero are you most like?

Here are myresults: You are Superman "You are mild-mannered, good, strong and you love to help others"

Superman - 80%
Spider-Man - 60%
Green Lantern - 55%
Iron Man - 55%
Hulk - 50%
Supergirl - 45%
Batman - 40%
Robin - 37%
Wonder Woman - 35%
The Flash - 30%
Catwoman - 25%

Click here to take the "Which Superhero are you?" quiz...

Anything?

A few verses have been on my heart lately and I want to share them with you…

Luke 9:25
“What good is it for a man to gain the whole world, and yet lose or forfeit his very self?”

1 Corinthians 6:19-20
“…You are not your own; you were bought at a price…”

Romans 12:1-2
“Therefore, I urge you, brothers, in view of God's mercy, to offer your bodies as living sacrifices, holy and pleasing to God—this is your spiritual act of worship. Do not conform any longer to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind. Then you will be able to test and approve what God's will is—his good, pleasing and perfect will.”

Luke 9:24
“For whoever wants to save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for me will save it”

Hebrews 12:1-2
“Therefore, since we are surrounded by such a great cloud of witnesses, let us throw off everything that hinders and the sin that so easily entangles, and let us run with perseverance the race marked out for us. Let us fix our eyes on Jesus, the author and perfecter of our faith…”

Isaiah 55:8-9
“For my thoughts are not your thoughts, neither are your ways my ways," declares the Lord. "As the heavens are higher than the earth, so are my ways higher than your ways and my thoughts than your thoughts. “

Hebrews 11:1
“Now faith is being sure of what we hope for and certain of what we do not see.”

More and more lately I have been gripped by the reality that my life is no longer my own, it’s His and He can do anything He wants with it. The questions I ask myself are…

Do I trust God?

What are the limits of that trust?

Do I trust Him with my life? My family? My church?

Does "anything" really mean... anything?

Today it does.

Lord, I trust you; have your way with me. No matter what it costs, no matter what it takes, have your full way with me. Anything, yes Lord, anything you want, it’s all yours, amen.

Art: “Walking with Him” by Cornelis Monsma

Cowardice, Compromise and the Sin of Eli

by J. Lee Grady

Part of a leader’s job description involves confronting sin. In this era of moral failure we can’t run from that responsibility.

No biblical character is more pitiful than Eli, the Levite priest who compromised his ministry and defiled God’s house because he couldn’t bring himself to discipline his two wayward sons.

The Bible says Hophni and Phinehas were “worthless men” (see 1 Sam. 2:12). That was putting it mildly. These rascals, dressed up in their sweet-smelling priestly garb, were responsible for one of the first religious sex scandals in history. They became Eli’s greatest shame.

Not only did these guys prey on vulnerable women (and engage in sex with them right in the doorway of the house of God), but they also were involved in the worst kind of financial exploitation. They cunningly manipulated people while taking offerings; then they misused the gifts for their own sordid gain.

Does slick-talking preachers with zipper problems and big expense accounts sound familiar?

Eli’s fatal flaw reminds me of a problem we face today. He was timid about confronting sin. He tip-toed around the real problems. He lived in denial—at a time when the church was in moral crisis.

Even though Eli questioned his sons’ behavior and warned them of the consequences, he did not remove them from their positions. Even though the people in the pews were shocked by Hophni and Phinehas’ sexual escapades and financial shenanigans, Eli let his privileged boys go right on taking offerings and raping parishioners. Year after year he allowed his sons to mock God and infect people with their corruption.

The story does not end well. Because sin had entered the camp of God’s people, the ark of God’s presence was captured by the Philistines, and Hophni and Phinehas were killed in the raid. The Bible paints an ugly picture of the scene when Eli hears the news of his son’s deaths: “Eli fell off the seat backward beside the gate, and his neck was broken and he died, for he was old and heavy” (1 Sam. 4:18).

That’s not a flattering obituary, especially with the mention of Eli’s obesity. Perhaps the Bible uses such graphically honest language to drive home the point that this pathetic priest was not only timid but also selfish and undisciplined in his personal life.

What does Eli have to do with us? After all, he was in the Old Testament, right?

There are plenty of people today who have adopted a theology of greasy grace and sloppy holiness. Their mantra is “mercy”. They say there is no longer any need for church discipline or moral standards in leadership.

In fact, when I wrote last week about the need for tough new policies for restoring fallen leaders, a chorus of critics on the Charisma forum claimed that I am the judgmental Pharisee.

“All have sinned, so who are we to judge if a leader has an affair,” some declared.

“If a leader is involved in some kind of sexual sin, God forgives him instantly and he can be in the pulpit the next day,” others ranted.

“Leaders in the New Testament church never stepped down from their positions because of sin,” another one claimed.

Among independent charismatic churches in America, we’ve developed a lovey-dovey culture that shies away from hard-line discipline and makes it easy for disgraced leaders to find new jobs fast. But I don’t see this lax attitude in the apostle Paul, who set high standards of character for all his leaders, blacklisted false teachers and even excommunicated people who continued in immorality.

Paul even went so far as to turn certain wayward leaders over to Satan so they would learn their lesson (see 1 Tim. 1:20). Sounds kind of extreme, but extreme sin requires extreme measures.

The bottom line: Godly leaders draw lines and enforce moral standards—without becoming self-righteous and unkind. Ungodly leaders, on the other hand, may appear to be nice and compassionate, but they actually are unfaithful to God if they refuse to require their spiritual sons and daughters to follow biblical standards of behavior.

We are in a moment of serious leadership crisis in the American church, and part of our problem is the sin of Eli. I am making an appeal: Will the fathers and mothers of the church please do your job? We need your rebuke and your rod of correction.

Please go to those who are exploiting God’s people financially and make them stop. Please confront those who are robbing the church for personal gain. Please go to those who are abusing others, sexually or in any other way, remove them from leadership and get them healed.

Please don’t let the Hophnis and Phinehases of today have airtime on Christian TV. Please don’t showcase them in your conferences. Please stop looking the other way when you hear about their blunders. Please restore discipline to the body of Christ.

J. Lee Grady is editor of Charisma.