Archive for March, 2008

Good ground

Tuesday, March 18th, 2008
“Now the ones that fell among thorns are those who, when they have heard, go out and are choked with cares, riches, and pleasures of life, and bring no fruit to maturity.

“But the ones that fell on the good ground are those who, having heard the word with a noble and good heart, keep it and bear fruit with patience.” — Luke 8:14-15

This is the famous parable of the sower and the seed, and we read about it in the Bible study today. The “ones” are seeds; some seeds fell among thorns and some fell on good ground.

This passage made me think: what kind of ground am I? What do I do with the Word of God? Am I so distracted following after other treasures, that I miss out on His Word in my heart?

Read Psalm 1, or Psalm 119, and see the passion that David had for the Lord’s word. (Psalm 119 isn’t that long, incidentally; it takes less than 5 minutes to read it all the way through.) That’s the kind of passion that a specialist has in his field. Think of the tireless hours that doctors pour into their profession. Think of the computer nerds that get home from their computer job and spend the rest of the evening on the computer.

The most passionate, the most successful, are so busy, so taken up with what they do, that they simply don’t have time for much of anything else. It’s much easier to avoid the cares and concerns of this life if we are wholly dedicated to the Lord. They say too much of anything is never good; but what about the Lord? Could it be that we, as Christians, have been given the freedom to whole-heartedly and unabashedly abandon ourselves to a pursuit of Jesus Christ?

I’ve reached a decision: I will never have enough of the Lord. No matter how well I get to know Him, no matter how close I get, I will always want more of Him. This is my new dedication, my new passion.

“You shall not be afraid of the terror by night,
Nor of the arrow that flies by day,
Nor of the pestilence that walks in darkness,
Nor of the destruction that lays waste at noonday.
A thousand may fall at your side,
And ten thousand at your right hand;
But it shall not come near you.
Only with your eyes shall you look,
And see the reward of the wicked.
Because you have made the LORD, who is my refuge,
Even the Most High, your dwelling place,”
– Psalm 91:5-9

Say what you will; I intend to walk away from life with the highest possible take. If you want to get something, you have to give something, and the Lord offers security, success, honor, long life, and that He will always be there for you when you are in trouble.

“Because he has set his love upon Me, therefore I will deliver him;
I will set him on high, because he has known My name.
He shall call upon Me, and I will answer him;
I will be with him in trouble;
I will deliver him and honor him.
With long life I will satisfy him,
And show him My salvation.”
– Psalm 91:14-16

The righteous shall flourish like a palm tree,
He shall grow like a cedar in Lebanon.
Those who are planted in the house of the LORD
Shall flourish in the courts of our God.
They shall still bear fruit in old age;
They shall be fresh and flourishing,
To declare that the LORD is upright;
He is my rock, and there is no unrighteousness in Him.
– Psalm 92:12-15

And this is just a taste, just a dash of flavor to whet your appetite. Eye has not seen, nor has the ear heard, the things that the Lord has in store for those who love Him.

Think about it.

Luke 7

Tuesday, March 11th, 2008

Outline

1-10  The Lord heals the centurion’s servant.
11-15 The Lord raises commands a hurting woman’s son to rise up from the dead.
16-17 The Word is out; the Lord is here.
18-22 The Lord is the one who fixes what we can’t fix.
23       Who would be offended by someone who heals and brings good news?? Anyone with a worldly perspective.
24-28 The Lord confirms John’s testimony and identifies Himself as the Messiah.
29-30 Two different reactions: justifying God and rejecting His counsel.
31-35 The Lord Jesus has given us every opportunity to turn to Him.
36-39 A sinner pours out her heart to the Lord.
40-48 The Lord has forgiven us much; how much do we love Him?
49-50 The Lord sends the woman away in peace.

Question
What does verse 35 mean by, “But wisdom is justified of all her children.”

Meaning
The Lord spends the whole chapter fixing things that we can’t fix. He gives sight to the blind. He delivers people from the bondage of the enemy. He gives hope and new life to the poor. And He even raises the dead. Anything that we think is irreversible or irreparable the Lord restores in this chapter.

At the end of the chapter, we see the ultimate example of this: The Sinner. The Pharisees know all about this woman; she is an incurable case. There is no hope for her. She has been abandoned by the religious leaders and the society. But not by the Lord. It is here that He performs the greatest miracle of all: he gives her her life back.

Application
The Lord said to the sinner, “thy faith hath saved thee.” My application is to believe the Lord for forgiveness of sin and mercy in my own life.

Found this quote on a forum

Monday, March 10th, 2008

Knowledge is Power.
Power Corrupts.
Study Hard.
Be Evil!

New Homepage

Thursday, March 6th, 2008

If you will take a moment to notice the address bar, you will discover that this page is no longer “teknohazard.blogspot.com,” but, “www.teknohazard.com.”

That’s right; since I am now “employed,” I have decided to celebrate by building my own website, using an assortment of tools from Google, such as Blogger and Google Sites. My address is now abrahams@teknohazard.com, and I will soon be uploading source code, documents, and other files to this site, so that you can download them.

Also notice the new addition to my sidebar: a ‘Documents’ list, which currently includes only one document, my resume. Feel free to take a look at all of the new features, leave me a comment, and drop me a line at my new address.

What can I do with 800 million shiny things?

Tuesday, March 4th, 2008

I’m reading Robert Harris’ book, “Introduction to Creative Thinking.” It’s a good book. I recommend it.

Psalm 27:13 & 14

Saturday, March 1st, 2008

I would have lost heart, unless I had believed
That I would see the goodness of the Lord
In the land of the living.

Wait on the Lord;
Be of good courage,
And He shall strengthen your heart;
Wait, I say, on the Lord!