In Acts – how many miracles vs how many churches planted?

 

This has got me thinking.

How many specific healing miracles are noted in the book of Acts?

According to my count, five. The lame guy at Gate Beautiful (Ch 5), Aeneas (9), Tabitha (14), Lystran man (14) & Eutychus (20).

How many churches planted in the book of Acts?

Well at least fifteen are mentioned. Jerusalem, Samaria, Damascus, Caesarea, Antioch, Pisidian Antioch, Iconium, Lystra, Derbe, Philippi, Thessalonica, Berea, Corinth, Ephesus & Rome.

I wonder why Luke included so few specific miracles. A number of times he states that miracles & healings were occurring but does not give us the details.

Maybe Luke has a subtle message for us about our priorities in church life.

Anyway, it certainly got me thinking.

 

Gracetown is glorious

 

Gracetown is a quiet holiday spot that occasionally breaks out in big surf.

I just love the quiet, restful atmosphere, big skies & the beautiful ocean views.

 

 

 

If you get a chance to ever visit the south-west of Australia make sure you drop into this beautiful part of the globe.

Surfing doggie

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I think this is just plain wrong!

 

Mukesh Ambani, the richest person in India, is building the world's largest & most expensive home in Mumbai with a price-tag nearing two billion dollars.

Forbes magazine reports that the home for the Ambani family will be a 27 story skyscraper & includes a 4 story garden.

Personally I find this story quite sickening.

Whilst I don’t mind wealthy people living in comfort & enjoying the luxurious benefits of their labours, I think this is way over the top. 27 stories! What’s wrong with 3 or 4 or 7 if you want to be extravagant?

Why not spend a cool billion on yourself & earmark the other billion for research into a cure for malaria?

This is just plain wrong!

Amazing use of Twitter

The smart guys at Logos Bible Software have launched 7 new Twitter accounts that are designed to help you take a moment in your day & meditate on God’s word.

You can get verses hourly, 3 hourly, various verses of the day & even a bible reading plan.

Very clever. Check out the details here.

 

Bill Cosby is a funny man!

Bill Cosby is getting to grips with the social media revolution & a certain site he calls “Twit and Tweetie” (he’s@billcosby).

Plus he’s learning the ropes at ‘Twitter for video’ site 12seconds.

Check out the short vid clip here.

 

Interesting read

Dianne bought me Larry King’s autobiography for my birthday.

King has a famous chat show on CNN, Larry King Live.

The book’s an interesting & easy read. I got through it in 2 days.

Two fascinating things came out of the book – King has been married 8 times to 7 different women. Yep that’s right, he even married one of his wives twice!

The second fascinating thing is the lack of background preparation he brings to interviews. He prefers to enter an interview with less rather than more info & allow the interview to progressively unfold. His obvious wealth of experience undoubtedly allows him this style.

Experience is a powerful thing. Gives you perspective, courage & life wisdom. Regardless of how old you are it’s always worth asking a more experienced person their opinion on a matter – can’t hurt!

Angels & Demons guide to Twitter

 

Check out the angels & demons guide to good Twitter etiquette.

It includes tips like linking to useful things, writing interesting tweets, being reader friendly & more.

Worth a read if you use Twitter, check it out here.

Spot the problem

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Holidays provide so many opportunities

The opportunity to …

• ‘burn’ a number of days in a row i.e. no schedules & do nothing! A true Sabbath rest for the body & mind & emotions
• do some photography projects
• head down south & luxuriate in the relaxed pace of country Western Australia
• let our staff lead the church in our absence
• read heaps of different books
• enjoy slow walks with Di
• sleep in
• smash routines

Ah … I love my holidays!

 

My wife is a thrill seeker!

On a recent holiday in Queenstown DI went hang gliding – check her out!

Eclectic blogs

Here’s a list of blogs I like to visit

People Builders – top advice on life, business & relationships from my friend Grant Herbert.

Raw File – photography blog

Twitip – tips for users of twitter

Venice Daily Photo – why not?!?!

Wall Street Journal Management Blog – intermittent posts but interesting

Logos Bible Software – keeps me in touch on any developments with my favourite bible software

Rodney Olsen – announcer on local Christian radio, Sonshine FM.

So what blogs do you read … besides mine?

 

Tech blogs I enjoy

Love my gadgets! So here’s a few tech blogs I like to peruse.

Lifehacker – composite blog about all things tech.

Techpastor – doesn’t post often but always worth a read when he does

Michael Aulia – covers a variety of tech topics

Mashable – tech blogging on steriods!

So what tech blogs would you recommend?

Tomorrow, an assortment of other blogs I like to visit.

 

More blogs I like to read

Here’s few more blogs written by Christian leaders that I like to read

Ben Witherington – this guy is a scholar & he’s smart! He’s written a brilliant commentary on Corinthians plus numerous other books. His blog is worth a look.

Mark Sayers – Melbourne based commentator on social issues especially in regards to young adults – thoughtful, analytical, always interesting.

Mark Batterson – fresh voice in the US church. I like his innovative, simple & honest approach.

Michael Hyatt – CEO of Thomas Nelson Publishers. Excellent blog. Addresses practical leadership issues & as you’d expect it is very well written!

There are more but that will do for now!

Tomorrow – tech blogs I read.

 

Blogs I like to read

 

Here’s a few of blogs written by Christian leaders that I visit regularly

Phil Pringle – very different blog focussed on biblical meditations. Often contains some left field thoughts. Phil is a great friend & inspiring leader of C3.

Mark Conner – practical, helpful insights on wide range of topics by another pastor friend of mine

Mark Edwards – eclectic blog by Inglewood Community Church pastor who is a mad keen Dockers fan & a top bloke

Rob Shepherd – Rob is a US pastor who I started reading during my early blogging days & haven’t stopped reading! He’s refreshing, funny, left field & not as self serving as a bundle of the US pastor bloggers I’ve read & given up on! Seriously, who wants to read a post Sunday download from a mega church pastor who raves on & on & on & on!!!

I’ll give you a few more tomorrow.

More dead fly art

Work site lazy boys

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Why should we experience the localised, manifest the presence of God?

When reading 2 Peter recently I came across this familiar passage of scripture.

^For we did not follow cleverly devised stories when we told you about the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ in power,^ but we were eyewitnesses of his majesty.^{ }He received honor

and glory from God the Father when the voice came to him from the Majestic Glory, saying, “This is my Son, whom I love; with him I am well pleased.” ^TNIV

^Interestingly Peter’s epistles contain no reference to his walking on water, Lazarus’s resurrection or 5000 being fed. He does however recount this impacting event when  Jesus was transfigured & God spoke.

Twice in this retelling he uses a word related to royalty, writing of his majesty & the Majestic Glory.

Whilst I believe in God’s omnipresence I firmly believe that Christians should experience the localised, manifest presence of God. And these manifestations of God’s presence are designed to impact us with His royalty, His Kingship, His Dominion.

In other words God turns up to remind us who is in charge, who’s calling the shots, who issuing the commands –I’m God, you’re not!

Get into His presence!

 

One of my favourite cafes

Yelo is a funky cafe a short bike ride down the coast from where we live.

I will be biking down here quite a few times over the next few months, grabbing The Australian newspaper, a soy flat white (yes I’m a soy boy, definitely no dairy fairy here!) whilst enjoying the stunning views of the glorious Indian Ocean.

It’s a treat to live in this part of the globe.

 

If you like magazines you will like this

Again the webs astounds me.

Check out this latest thing from Google called Google fast flip.

Whilst limited to US magazines it gives you a glimpse of the future in publishing.

Simply astonishing that this is available free of charge!

 

3 reasons why we don’t have a pet

We have had various pets throughout our 30+ years of marriage & family life – dogs, cats & goldfish. But in our current season we don’t have a pet & here’s why …

1. Who looks after it when we travel?

2. We just can’t be bothered with the mess!

3. We have each other for company.

Why do you have or not have a pet?

 

Holidays start tomorrow!

Yep annual holidays kick off tomorrow!

Every year Di & I take time out to recharge the batteries with holiday time.

Holidays are a time of r & r. We rarely travel overseas on our holidays, preferring to spend time at home & down south, as we call it in Western Australia.

During my holidays I tend to read, exercise, sleep, body board, watch DVD’s, vegetate, engage with some photo projects & ride my bike to a local cafe for a daily dose of the newspaper with coffee.

I try to do as little as possible!

The mobile goes off, email gets the cold shoulder, twitter is abandoned & blog comments are completely ignored!

And I do absolutely no work!

Glorious!!!

However, the Blog will roll on cos technology allows me to prep in advance so keep visiting!

 

 

Dead fly art

Speaking at REAL MEN Gold Coast today

 

Yep I’m on the Gold Coast this weekend, speaking at the Gold Coast REAL MEN Conference.

Might be slightly intimidated about my sporting skills – AFL legend Shaun Hart & rugby legend Mat Rogers are also speaking! I might skip any references to my sporting prowess!

Please take a moment to pray for the conference.

 

Help me discover some new music

 

I have over $40 in iTunes credit & would like to try some new music.

So what would you recommend?

Tell me about your favourite bands, tracks or albums & make me a recommendation!!

To give you an idea of what I prefer here’s some of the music on my iPod …

 

Brothers in Arms Dire Straits

Chasing Cars Snow Patrol

Homesick Thirsty Merc

Viva La Vida Coldplay

Help John Farnham

Run Leona Lewis

Dare You to Move Switchfoot

Unwell Matchbox Twenty

Feeling Good Michael Buble

Our God Reigns Delirious

Ok go to it – please comment now!

 

Pastor – here’s 4 reasons why you should blog

1. You are already producing fresh content on a weekly basis so why not blog it as well as preach it? A weekly blog post is not time consuming & will widen your audience.

2. Blogging opens a window into your world & helps break down the barriers between pulpit & pew.

3. Your flock can easily & immediately access your take on any critical issue. They are listening to other voices but they really need to hear your voice. And they may have missed the Sunday you spoke on that oh so important topic but they can find your views on your blog.

4. There’s not much competition! Very few Australian pastors are blogging so you will attract an ever increasing following.

Worried about the tech side? Find a young person or tech guru in your church to set it up for you & train you to post – it’s not as hard it may appear.

Want to read some more? Problogger has a comprehensive post of blogging tips for beginners.

 

6 reasons why pastors should blog

 

Abraham Piper’s post outlines 6 valid reasons why pastors should blog.

He states that pastors should blog to …

• write
• teach
• recommend
• interact
• develop an eye for what is meaningful
• be known

He has some good thoughts & though over wordy I think the post is worth a browse.

Tomorrow I’ll tell you why I think every pastor should blog.

 

Radio interview Pt 2

 

Yesterday’s post was part 1 of an interview Rodney Olsen from Sonshine Radio conducted with me about my journey with prostate cancer.

Hope you enjoy the second half (7m40s).

 

Radio interview about my cancer journey

 

Rodney Olsen from Sonshine Radio recently interviewed me about my journey with prostate cancer. This interview was in conjunction with a bike ride for cancer research funds that Rodney was doing.

The operation to remove my prostate happened exactly 2 years ago yesterday so I thought this would be a timely way to celebrate my ongoing health!

This is part one (9m30s) & you can hear part two tomorrow.

I’m thinking of buying a Kindle

I’m seriously thinking of buying a Kindle, the electronic book reader from Amazon.

They’ve just been released in Australia & I love the look of it. One of the guys in my church is bringing his along this morning for me to check it out.

So do you use an electronic book reader & what’s been your experience?

I’d be interested to hear.