http://www.rmcrob.com/ A weblog by Randy McRoberts en-us Wednesday, 06 Jul 2005 14:50:00 EST http://backend.userland.com/rss092 rmcrob@rmcrob.com (Randy McRoberts) rmcrob@rmcrob.com (Randy McRoberts) 12 Not that I have already obtained this or am already perfect, but I press on to make it my own, because Christ Jesus has made me his own. 13 Brothers, I do not consider that I have made it my own. But one thing I do: forgetting what lies behind and straining forward to what lies ahead, 14 I press on toward the goal for the prize of the upward call of God in Christ Jesus. 15 Let those of us who are mature think this way, and if in anything you think otherwise, God will reveal that also to you. 16 Only let us hold true to what we have attained. (Philippians 3:12-16, ESV) We've a lot of work left to do. It isn't so much in getting our doctrine straightened out as it is in living up to it. Let's get to it. http://www.rmcrob.com/archives/00001929.html by Jared http://www.rmcrob.com/archives/00001928.html I saw a meme going around the other day about books on the desktop. What books do you have on your desktop right now? Not your computer desktop--your real desktop. I took a couple minutes this morning to write my list, which I am now transcribing to this post. Night Sky Observer's Guide, volumes 1 and 2 (both massive) Moulton/Milligan, The Vocabulary of the New Testament (a survey of Greek usage in the body of common everyday papyri) Aland, Synopsis of the Four Gospels Aland, Synopsis Quattuor Evangeliorum (same as above, but in Greek and including the Gospel of Thomas) Blass/Debrunner, A Greek Grammar of the New Testament (a standard) Brown, Dictionary of New Testament Theology, 4 volumes Pratico/VanPelt, Basics of Biblical Hebrew Grammar (don't ask me. I've never actually learned Hebrew but the book keeps reminding me that I really should do.) Schmoller, Konkordanz (of the Greek NT, not used much anymore because of searching in Logos) Max and Mary, actually Zerwick/Grosvenor, A Grammatical Analysis of the Greek New Testament Nestle-Aland 26 (also not used much since I have NA27 in Logos) To this point, the books are lined up in bookends for ready reference. After this, not so orderly. FF Bruce, The Acts of the Apostles: Greek Text with Introduction and Commentary (for my current daily Bible study) My journal (the last, but not final (I hope), volume in a long line of daily comments on the Bible and life, along with a diary of our family ... http://www.rmcrob.com/archives/00001927.html This is hypmo tizin'. http://www.rmcrob.com/archives/00001926.html Michael Spencer: General Joyce Conquers The World! (Impressions from my bookstore visit.) iMonk reflects on his (rare) trip to a Christian bookstore. I can't say I find much to disagree with, and I have good friends in the biz. As is often the case, iMonk is generating a buzz. I think part of the solution is for Christian bookstores to admit openly and honestly that they are not a ministry; they are a business. They are a business trying to appeal to a certain segment of folks. To call it a ministry is wrong. You can tolerate losing money in a ministry, but not in a business. If Christian music groups would make the same admission, things would be a lot better. Now that I think about it, we have it backwards: too many churches try to operate as a business, and too many businesses claim to be a ministry. I think it may not be possible to be both/and. Anyway, we were discussing among friends (some of whom are actually in the Christian book business) the other day that the era of the local Christian retailer is coming to an end. They are about to go over the falls of the Amazon. If a few splinters survive the fall and manage to wash up on shore, they may eek out a living selling things to the web non-enabled. Or maybe they will become Christian web cafes. http://www.rmcrob.com/archives/00001925.html I'm thinking of migrating from GreyMatter to WordPress for my weblog content management. Any words of advice or caution? http://www.rmcrob.com/archives/00001924.html This keyboard looks like ours used to look after a weeks of my wife typing 120 wpm with long fingernails. That's why she has her own computer now. Not really. http://www.rmcrob.com/archives/00001923.html Bebeaux writes love letter to North Carolina Barbeque. It's making my mouth water. Included in this post is a summary of different barbeque styles. I'm partial to pulled pork with a sweet and smoky Kansas City-style sauce. What is your favorite 'que? http://www.rmcrob.com/archives/00001922.html Brian McLaren says that one can affiliate with Jesus outside of affiliation with the church of Jesus. While I can understand that this is theoretically true, I have always been taught that to come to Jesus without coming to his church is a practical impossibility. I also am realizing that a lot of what I have been taught is questionable, and that this point may be another in a long line of points, so I am open to the truth, whatever it may be. I guess it boils down to this: does faith in Jesus require association with the church? McLaren states that Jesus had little to say about the church, but much to say about the kingdom of God. Being part of God's rule is what is important, not being part of the church organization. Of course, McLaren does not say we should disassociate from the church either, just that not all Christ-followers are Christians. I am becoming a little disoriented as I take in this new point of view. McLaren is really challenging me. I like being challenged. I am find a lot that helps me, but sometimes it hurts to get help, if you know what I mean. http://www.rmcrob.com/archives/00001921.html Church sign sparks debate Sometimes I'm embarrassed to be associated with other "Christians". How generous does my orthodoxy need to be? http://www.rmcrob.com/archives/00001920.html Saw it. It was ok. I think the political part was blatantly so. It won't make sense in ten years. Like references to popular songs, current events shouldn't be in timeless movies. There were some gruesome parts. Don't take the kids. http://www.rmcrob.com/archives/00001919.html bloggedy blog is back. Welcome back, Andrew. We've missed you. http://www.rmcrob.com/archives/00001918.html Bryan McAnally and I seem to have a lot in common. As a writer he is way out of my league, but we do share certain similarities in what we think is funny. Furthermore, his Kelli and my Carol seem to have a similar opinion regarding any discussions of such humorous items. But don't read Bryan's post just for the humor. He has some serious advice, too, for those of us who are afflicted. http://www.rmcrob.com/archives/00001917.html Richard Hall has, at long last, moved me from his "Right Believers" blogroll category to his "Middle Ground" category. Although my name is now buried amidst many more names, I think Richard and I both know it was the right thing to do. This is my proudest blogging moment. Thank you, Richard. Now, if I could just get linked by Jordon Cooper, I would be somebody. http://www.rmcrob.com/archives/00001916.html I was unable to receive email during the night hours last night, due to my server exceeding the allowed hard drive quota. The problem has been fixed, but if you sent me email last night I will not receive it. Please send it again. Thanks. http://www.rmcrob.com/archives/00001915.html