Aug 02
Our old blogs are now open again, for 3 days only, to allow former bloggers the chance to recover their old content.
HISTORY:
As a God honoring site, we had to close the old blogs when they were overrun by porn and drug spammers, etc. The abuse was too rampant and concerted for us to overcome. [...] [...more]
Posted: under Help, Site News.
Tags: Blog, christian blogs, free
Our old blogs are now open again, for 3 days only, to allow former bloggers the chance to recover their old content.
HISTORY:
As a God honoring site, we had to close the old blogs when they were overrun by porn and drug spammers, etc. The abuse was too rampant and concerted for us to overcome. And so we laid down our “web life” here as free Christian blog hosting providers in favor of purity and not giving the devil a foothold.
As you now know, we started a new blog with WORDPRESS standard version instead of WORDPRESS MU.
The blog you are reading now is our new blog. It is easier to maintain as far as keeping spammers out - but the downside is that it does not allow each member to register their very own own blog name, or create and customize their own theme.
Going Forward, former blog owners have two basic options.
OPTION ONE - MOVE YOUR OLD CONTENT TO ANOTHER BLOG PROVIDER
Login to your old control panel, at the same web address you used to have for your old blog. In the control panel (SITE ADMIN) find a link for EXPORT or BACKUP. Save the resulting file to your computer. Later, you can upload this export to a fresh install of Wordpress, or another blog that can import a wordpress backup.
Any wordpress hosting provider will do, but some are better than others - faster, more reliable, won’t run objectionable ads on your blog… so do some research!
OPTION TWO - WE CAN START OVER WITH NEW WORDPRESS MU TO PRESERVE YOUR OLD BLOG ADDRESS
We can install a fresh version of Wordpress MU - the software that ran our old blogs - at the same URL as before, so that you can keep your domain / URL / Web Address as before…
If you have lots of links out there pointing to your old blog, this would be a good solution.
If we gave you a week to backup - then closed the old blogs, it would shut down thousands of blog spammers. Once we launch the new installation, you could then upload your backup. The new installation would probably have a few dozen to a hundred or so of our best old blogs (instead of thousands of spam blogs) thus accomplishing our goal of purity.
The new site would be easier to maintain on a day to day basis, as far as eliminating spammers. We would not have to sort through 5000+ blogs nor look at all the smut to do it.
However, we must at the same time have a volunteer staff of moderators to prevent porn and drug site spammers from overrunning the new site.
Comments? Any volunteers?
Please respond by posting a comment. Include your old blog address if you had one here.
Jul 26
Fair warning. This one will probably shake you a bit. At least it will shake many who think they know what it means to live their faith.
There is a big difference between knowing ABOUT something and knowing HOW TO DO something. I can know everything ABOUT a sport, but not be able to play the [...] [...more]
Posted: under Teaching.
Tags: Blog, Christ, christian, God, Jesus, Mystery, Power, Teaching
Fair warning. This one will probably shake you a bit. At least it will shake many who think they know what it means to live their faith.
There is a big difference between knowing ABOUT something and knowing HOW TO DO something. I can know everything ABOUT a sport, but not be able to play the sport. Big Difference!
So… I ask before the teaching…. Do you know ABOUT God? Do you know ABOUT Christianity? That’s Too Bad. Christianity is not a spectator sport. Learning ABOUT God and the Christian Life show that you have begun something. But there is so much more power available to you.
The better question is, do you know “HOW TO”… HOW TO BE God ? How to DO God?
What, you ask? That sounds like heresy! A Blasphemy? Maybe a misguided New Age False Prophet Message? Hmmmm……. Not so fast. Let’s dig a little deeper.
Using a little legal language for sake of an example….. Christians are called to be the agents of God in this world. An “agent” can act for the one who sent him - or his “principal”. An agent has the legal rights of the principal, and should both act as the principal (to represent and safeguard reputation) and should be treated as the principal when the principal is not present. The Agent can sign contracts on behalf of the principal - thereby BINDING the principal to PERFORM a contract.
Now… where do we get the commission or charge to be an AGENT of God? First, an example, and then the appointment of Christians to DO God instead of just know about Him.
The Example: Jesus said, “If you have seen me, you have seen the Father”. Jesus often said he and the Father were “ONE”. Being one is more than being an Agent. It is a mystery of the Faith. I propose that the best way we might understand this from earthly experience seems to be the concept of Agency. However, I fully realize that this is more than agency that Jesus speaks about.
The Charge: Before Christ left this earth, he prayed for us - that we would be ONE in Him, just as He is ONE in the FATHER. He also gave us the “Keys to the Kingdom” saying whatever we BIND on earth would be BOUND in heaven, and whatever we LOOSED on earth would be LOOSED in heaven. Do you know the verses for these quotations? Maybe somebody will post a comment with the bible addresses?
THE POINT IS: If Christ asked the Father, and He and the Father are one…. Then the prayer is answered in the affirmative. It’s not so strange, really. It would be like you asking yourself to do something for your child.
SO HERE IS WHERE IT GETS POWERFUL: If we are one in Christ, and Christ is one in the Father, then if you have seen me - you have seen THEM. By the power of the Holy Spirit - we are ONE. What I do here, He ratifies or performs from there. Hmmm…. What I condemn, He condemns. What I forgive, He forgives. What I promise or contract for, He will perform. Can you say “OMG”.
Rather than filling me with Pride or Arrogance, this concept is humbling. I aspire to DO God rather than know ABOUT God. I have reached this pinnacle of the faith on occasion, but being an imperfect vessel, this certainly does not happen as often as I wish. Nor does the experience last as long as I wish. However, I strive as Paul did to press onward, finish the race, attain the prize of my Holy Calling.
BTW: If a prize is worth attaining, it might be ok to enjoy the attainment. It’s OK to enjoy the prize of our calling to BE God instead of just know ABOUT God. So don’t give me a load about False Humility. God is worshipped when I enjoy the attainment of the mystery of DOING His work here on earth.
And so…. I ask again….
Do you know ABOUT God or do you know HOW TO DO God?
What difference does this make in your life? Comments? Examples? Criticisms? Let’s hear!
Jul 22
Christians should…… Christians shouldn’t…. What about smoking and drinking?
Are these serious problems, or will they fold as meaningless criticisms the same way card playing, dancing, or mixed gender swimming once did?
[...more]
Posted: under Society and Culture, Teaching.
Tags: Blog, Cards, christian, Dancing, Drinking, Smoking
Christians should…… Christians shouldn’t…. What about smoking and drinking?
Are these serious problems, or will they fold as meaningless criticisms the same way card playing, dancing, or mixed gender swimming once did?
Jul 21
The Church is alive in America, but is it well?
Small churches die. Large churches get larger. Many people attend and worship and feel good.
But is the world being transformed? Or is it teaching for itching ears?
Is the church relevant in our world? Well? Is it relevant in yours?
Let’s hear about [...] [...more]
Posted: under Society and Culture.
Tags: Blog, christian, Church
The Church is alive in America, but is it well?
Small churches die. Large churches get larger. Many people attend and worship and feel good.
But is the world being transformed? Or is it teaching for itching ears?
Is the church relevant in our world? Well? Is it relevant in yours?
Let’s hear about it.
Jun 10
The best kind of Christian Blogs are Testimonies.
As believers, we are supposed to be IN the world, but not OF the world.
What does this mean? It means we should not be far away in monasteries or removed from the day to day struggles of life. We should have the same issues other people have.
BUT… We should [...] [...more]
Posted: under Testimonies.
Tags: Blog, christian, Testimony
The best kind of Christian Blogs are Testimonies.
As believers, we are supposed to be IN the world, but not OF the world.
What does this mean? It means we should not be far away in monasteries or removed from the day to day struggles of life. We should have the same issues other people have.
BUT… We should look different, act different, handle our challenges in a different way.
Sharing 0ur own story, our process, about who we are, what we have gone through, and how we respond to it is the most powerful thing we can do. This is our testimony. As Christ lives in us, we become the WAY, the TRUTH and the LIGHT for others. We become gates into the new city. Others come to faith first through being attracted to us. Then, they want to know what we have that others don’t. We point them to Christ and the Holy Spirit does the rest….
Yes, we need to know the word, and we need to be ready in season and out to share with others about the Lord. BUT FIRST - we need to BE REAL.
Christ was a person who was AMONG the PEOPLE. And he lived out loud. The apostles learned to tell first person stories about who they used to be, and who they became in the LORD.
ORDINARY MEN AND WOMEN, transformed by the living Christ, telling our stories, will do more for the kingdom than any streetcorner preaching or great sermons or memorized verses.
Along those lines, I recently met a blogger who has a fantastic testimony and a heart that follows hard after Jesus.
Please allow me to introduce you to Will McCullough. Will is a man’s man who is now the Lord’s man. As a Marine, he learned about fighting and winning. Now he is fighting and winning a new battle. He is being trained up by the Holy Spirit and fashioned into a new kind of warrior.
Please read his story at http://pulledthroughthenarrowdoor.blogspot.com and drop him a word of encouragement. BUT… no platitiudes… The WORD Gives LIFE and so we want to give life to Will and not empty recitations of verses that “ShouldaCouldAughta” mean something.