Moses and Paul: A Common Heart for Prophecy

Posted on March 10, 2013 by jim0211

Ran across a verse in Numbers recently that I don’t remember having seen before, regarding prophecy. It gave Moses’ perspective, but also reminded me of a Pauline quote that I’ve often pondered. Taken together, they show a common desire for prophecy to be among the people. I wonder if this has application today.

And a young man ran and told Moses, “Eldad and Medad are prophesying in the camp.” And Joshua the son of Nun, the assistant of Moses from his youth, said, “My lord Moses, stop them.” But Moses said to him, “Are you jealous for my sake? Would that all the LORD’s people were prophets, that the LORD would put his Spirit on them!” Numbers 11:27–29 Continue reading →

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How to Coordinate PC Work Between Home and Church

Posted on February 23, 2013 by jim0211

Anyone who uses a PC in two different locations knows how frustrating it can be to constantly transfer files back and forth between them when working on something in both places. This kind of thing is very common in church life as pastors, youth leaders, church secretaries, AV and sound technicians, teachers, and other ministers work both at home and at the physical church. In many cases, the need to take files back and forth is ongoing, because the regular cycle repeats each week.

USB thumb drives are handy, but run the risk of being forgotten. A laptop can be carried between locations, and although that’s very common, it doesn’t work for everyone. Sometimes laptops are shared, and sometimes people just don’t have a laptop at home.

But today, there is a new class of solution that is becoming very popular: cloud storage. Cloud storage can make working from multiple locations very easy. Although there are a number of such solutions, I’m going to describe Dropbox in this post because it is one of the most popular, and the one I’m most familiar with. (It’s also free. 🙂 ) Continue reading →

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Creation Revelation

Posted on February 10, 2013 by jim0211

Recently, a few Scripture passages came together for me that highlight an interesting perspective about the Genesis creation account. First, a verse in Hebrews made me think about the nature of revelation, and then it connected with a couple other Old Testament verses that relate to the Genesis account. Taken together, these truths raise an interesting question about how we received the account.

“Where were you when I laid the foundation of the earth? Tell me, if you have understanding.” Job 38:4

Long ago, at many times and in many ways, God spoke to our fathers by the prophets, Hebrews 1:1

And he said, “Hear my words: If there is a prophet among you, I the LORD make myself known to him in a vision; I speak with him in a dream.” Numbers 12:6 Continue reading →

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PowerPoint Tips for Group Scripture Discussions

Posted on January 28, 2013 by jim0211

Teaching adult Sunday School and other classes for ten years, while also designing projectors and AV systems at work, gave me the chance to try out techniques for teaching the Bible more effectively using technology. In particular, there are some nice PowerPoint features that can be used when a projector is driven as an extended desktop. These relatively simple tricks can make presentation and discussion of Scripture more effective and engaging. Although these techniques are useful, they are not commonly known. I work with a variety of technical professionals who regularly present materials, and generally find that these basic techniques are not familiar.

The goal is to move from just presenting to interacting, in order to get students to engage more actively with the Word. These techniques can be used for other materials as well, but consideration of Scripture in a group is a special circumstance. Anything that causes people to look more closely at the Word is a really good thing. Continue reading →

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Confirming God’s Voice

Posted on January 12, 2013 by jim0211

Part of the Christian walk is living in relationship with God, and this includes listening to Him. Unfortunately, we often find it easier to listen to ourselves or, even worse, to an enemy who deceives us. As a result, it’s important to learn discernment, to learn to recognize when God is leading us instead of some alternative. A practical and Biblical way to do this comes from recognizing that God’s will can be manifest in multiple ways, and as we see these different ways, they can provide confirmation. As I began to learn this, I saw a pattern repeated in my own life, in some Christian writings, and in Scripture.

The thing I had noticed in my own walk was the number of times I would have some leading in the Spirit that would later be reflected in circumstances or in Scripture, or in both. This isn’t the idea of looking for signs; in most cases they would come about spontaneously, as if God was taking the initiative to bring clarity. The result was often multiple expressions of God’s leading, in an almost Trinitarian combination of the Spirit’s voice, God’s actions, and the Word. Continue reading →

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Open Eyes and the Voice of God

Posted on December 29, 2012 by jim0211

A few months back, I walked a nearby trail that went through forests, along meadows, and near creeks. Using my good camera, I planned to take pictures along the walk. This isn’t a regular activity for me, since my serious photography is mostly technical (VR), so I was struck by how differently I looked at things this time. I paid a lot more attention to everything, constantly evaluating scenes for photographic potential. The experience of being so deliberate really stood out. While pondering that, I was reminded of a spiritual observation I shared at church a few years earlier about staying open to spiritual things as we go through our daily activities. The photo walk really gave that observation new depth.

At a church we used to attend, I was once strongly led to present a series of spiritual insights to the fellowship. After sharing with the Pastor, he completely supported me. One of the items that introduced the whole series was an observation from Exodus 3 that spoke of the importance of staying spiritually aware and open. The passage was when Moses encountered the burning bush, and a couple verses had really jumped out. Continue reading →

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An Answered Prayer in Acts (part 2): Signs and Wonders

Posted on December 16, 2012 by jim0211

In my previous post, I discussed the reality and significance of God answering the early church’s prayer for boldness. In this post, we will look at another aspect of their answered prayer: their request for signs and miracles. We will see a strong relationship between God’s actions in providing such miracles, and the spiritual response of those who see them. But this is also an example of the “reflections” mentioned in an earlier post, in which the church today acts in a way reversed from the early church. Today, while we often pray for miracles within the church for our comfort, the picture in Acts is predominantly that of miracles occurring outside the church resulting in salvations. Is this significant? By looking at the passages in Acts, we can gain some insight into God’s heart for working miracles. Continue reading →

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An Answered Prayer in Acts

Posted on December 2, 2012 by jim0211

It’s great when different passages of Scripture come together in a way that teaches us something about God. While reading Acts recently, I noticed such a connection about the way God answers prayer when we ask for His help to accomplish something. At one point, the disciples call out to the Lord, and both the reality and the nature of His response illustrate some things about His heart for reaching the lost. Continue reading →

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DVDs for Use in Worship

Posted on November 17, 2012 by jim0211

In a previous post, I described the idea of a church’s AV system being the “instrument” that the AV technician plays for the glory of God during the worship service. Here’s another idea of something technical that can be thought of that way. Continue reading →

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Encouragement for the Church AV Technician

Posted on November 5, 2012 by jim0211

For some time, I was privileged to serve as the “AV Tech” in our church. During this time, I sought the Lord for a spiritual understanding of the role. At one point, I noticed Psalm 150, and pondered it. Upon reading that Psalm in the context of helping to put on a worship service, I came to a new understanding of that work. I’d like to share it as an encouragement for others who serve God in this manner. Continue reading →

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