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Almost 1/2 of all Americans have donated to help Haiti recover. But Haiti needs something more fundamental than relief from the present situation; they need jobs that they can count on for years ahead.

According to this article in the NYTimes, Haiti is full of possible sources of export including Mangoes, Coffee, light manufacturing, and possibly tourism but needs basic infrastructure like roads, electrical grids and ports.

Found this link through Harvard Econ Prof. Greg Mankiw’s blog.

Still news of aftershocks and estimated 150-200k dead. Please continue to pray for Haiti and her people as well as for the relief efforts that are still under way.

If you have time, please watch this report from Mars Hill Church and Churches helping churches.

I was fortunate/blessed to have heard a talk from International Justice Mission last week. They work in countries and try to get governments to stop human trafficking, sex slave, and other types of human rights violations. They have a new movie coming out and they said it would be a great educational tool as well as a starting point for dialog on some of the ongoing injustices in the world.

See the movie. Build a movement. Change the world.

At The End Of Slavery – Extended Trailer from International Justice Mission on Vimeo.

I’m filing this under prayer because I know there are so many factors involved when dealing with this topic… it truly is mind boggling…

Was reading through my old blog entries… this one still gets to me… though I don’t remember the context in which i was writing back then. Who are you, the fallow or the plowed?

“There are two kinds of ground: fallow ground and ground that has been broken up by the plow.

“The fallow field is smug, contented, protected from the shock of the plow and the agitation of the harrow. Such a field, as it lies year after year, becomes a familiar landmark to the crow and the blue jay. . . . Safe and undisturbed, it sprawls lazily in the sunshine, the picture of sleepy contentment. . . . Fruit it can never know because it is afraid of the plow and the harrow.

“In direct opposite to this, the cultivated field has yielded itself to the adventure of living. The protecting fence has opened to admit the plow, and the plow has come as plows always come, practical, cruel, business-like, and in a hurry. Peace has been shattered by the shouting farmer and the rattle of machinery. The field ? has been upset, turned over, bruised, and broken, but its rewards come hard upon its labors. The seed shoots up into the daylight, its miracle of life, curious, exploring the new world above it. Nature’s wonders follow the plow.

“There are two kinds of lives also ? the fallow and the plowed.

“The man of fallow life is contented with himself and the fruit he once bore. He does not want to be disturbed. He smiles in silent superiority at revivals, fastings, self-searchings, and all the travail of fruit bearing and the anguish of advance. The spirit of adventure is dead within him . . . he has fenced himself in, and by the same act he has fenced out God and the miracle.

“The plowed life is the life that has . . . thrown down the protecting fences and sent the plow of confession into the soul . . . Such a life has put away defense and has forsaken the safety of death for the peril of life. Discontent, yearning, contrition, courageous obedience to the will of God these have bruised and broken the soil till it is ready again for the seed. And as always fruit follows the plow.”

– A.W. Tozer in Paths of Power

Just listening to some of the mp3s based on Luke 15:11-32 from Tim Keller entitled the Prodigal God. Very good stuff.

I know this is another marketing ploy to get churches and christians to spend money on a new bible, but it does have its merit in that it encourages people to read the Word of God.

After listening to Bryan Chappell’s talk in the Gospel Coalition on , I decided that it would be good to re-read the bible again.

Like a marathon runner wanting to improve his personal best through running and strength training… we can’t hear God or even know God unless we hear the preaching and reading of his Word. So if anyone is interested in joining us, we will begin June 1 and read through August 31… That comes out to be about 12 pages a day depending on your bible or about 30 minutes a day.

You can follow on this RSS Feed or follow this 90 day bible bookmark Schedule.

Been listening to some of the messages from TGC. Tim Keller expounded on Acts 19:21-41 and looked at the Gospel and Idolatry. He points out many of the idolatries in life… stuff we don’t even realize we are worshipping.

You can listen to the MP3 here.

This is much hyped around the blogosphere… Mark Driscoll and Annie Lobert debates Deepak Chopra and Carlton Pearson on the existence of the devil.

It’s tonight at 11:35 on ABC on Nightline.

Note: the actual debate was 2hours long that was recorded last friday… so this 20 minute feature has been editted considerably due to time constraints.

Update: For the Full debate click here.

Washington Post
Washington post wrote an article saying that 15 percent of Americans have no religion.

The survey reflects a key question that demographers, sociologists and political scientists have been asking in recent years: Who makes up this growing group of evangelicals? Forty-four percent of America’s 77 million Christian adults say they are born again or evangelical. Meanwhile, 18 percent of Catholics also chose that label, as did 40 percent of mainline Christians.

“If people call themselves ‘evangelical,’ it doesn’t tell you as much as you think it tells you about what kind of church they go to,” Silk said. “It deepens the conundrum about who evangelicals are.”

Who are you?
That’s quite surprising, since I thought it was much higher than that. It was noted that terms people call themselves are being more and more vague. People no longer want to be called protestant, but rather evangelical. Even vaguer still, non-denominational. And the number of non-religious or irreligious is up as well.
Continue reading

This is a list compiled by John Piper gathered from the New Testament on what to pray for. A lot of times we get into a rut so this can be a good guide on how to pray. Check out the link here.

This was compiled for the new year in 1995. Let this continue to encourage you to pray this coming year.