Agabus (mark adams)

The horrific destruction and human suffering in Haiti exert an almost irresistible pull on U.S. Christian missionaries eager to help. But as the jailing last week of 10 missionaries from a small Baptist church in Idaho illustrates, best intentions don’t always translate into good deeds in the chaotic aftermath of the monster earthquake.

Many mission groups provide essential services for Haitians — indeed some have evolved into key service providers, working alongside nonprofit groups and the U.N. to fill gaps that the Haitian government can’t fill.

But other missions, even when well-meaning, risk running afoul of Haiti’s culture and laws.

via Haiti awash in Christian aid, evangelism

Reading about the Haitian earthquake, I yearned to go and help. This yearning came mostly from my own need of fulfillment, and I found it necessary to remind myself that I did have a work to do, one given to me by Christ. I could not abandon that work for a flight of fancy.

(For those unacquainted with my work, I am a youth pastor, Christian musician and summer volunteer at Bible camps. Learn about my latest endeavor at RockontheMount.com.)

Each Christian must find his or her calling, and commit to it. That is how we will reach Haiti and the rest of the world, by building God’s church, one brick at a time, so to speak. We can change the world, but not on the spur of the moment.

© 2010, Mark Adams. All rights reserved. For inquiries press here.

Some time ago, it was decided people shouldn’t talk about religion, politics or abortion in polite company. Given that we live in a democracy where the right of free expression must be exercised in order for that democracy to survive, this is a strange social restriction. Abortion-rights groups work around the issue, talking about “choice” instead. They decry any effort to refocus the issue on life. That college football star Tim Tebow should tackle the issue in a Superbowl commercial was especially egregious to them, and they called upon CBS to pull the ad. Fortunately, the network did not. Here’s the commercial:

Visit msnbc.com for breaking news, world news, and news about the economy

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© 2010, admin. All rights reserved. For inquiries press here.

It’s got a processor, but it can’t compute. This isn’t a limitation of the hardware, but a marketing strategy.

I’m not buying it.

It seems Apple wants everyone to own three devices — a computer, an in-between “media” device, and a smartphone. That’s cynical. Starting at $499, the iPad could serve as a laptop replacement, but Apple doesn’t want the iPad to be a laptop replacement (MacBooks, mind you, start at $999). So they’ve created an “in-between” device. I call it the iCan’t.

The iPad can’t…

1. Record video (no camera)
2. Browse all websites (no Flash plugin)
3. Connect to external devices (no USB connecter)
4. Play DVDs, CDs, etc. (no drive)
5. Install third-party software from non-Apple vendors
6. Multi-task (an Apple can’t multi-task? — what’s that all about?)

Considering that the iPad can run games, video, music, etc., it’s not as if the iPad couldn’t run versions of MS Office, OpenOffice or any other piece of software. Only consumers will have to buy programs from their app store. There, consumers will be limited to a “tablet” version of iWork; they won’t have access to MS Office or OpenOffice. This is a built-in limitation, not a technological limitation.

It’s not as if the iPad is a strike-out — it’s a remarkable device, really — but it’s not a home-run. For any tablet computer to succeed, it will have to hit one out of the park, but the iPad can’t.

© 2010, Mark Adams. All rights reserved. For inquiries press here.

From Tortured for Christ, by Richard Wurmbrand,

Once I saw a Russian lady officer on the street. I approached her and apologized, “I know that it is impolite to accost an unknown lady on the street, but I am a pastor and my intentions are earnest. I wish to speak to you about Christ.”

She asked me, “Do you love Christ?” I said, “Yes! From all my heart.” She fell into my arms and kissed me again and again. It was a very embarrassing situation for a pastor, so I kissed her back, hoping people would think we were relatives. She exclaimed to me, “I love Christ, too!” I took her to our home. I discovered to my amazement that she nothing about Christ – absolutely nothing – except the name. And yet she loved Him. She did not know that He is the Saviour, nor what salvation means. She did not know where and how He lived and died. She did not know His teachings, His life or ministry. She was for me a psychological curiosity. How can you love somebody if you know only his name?

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© 2010, Mark Adams. All rights reserved. For inquiries press here.

Originally posted 2008-10-29 23:13:39.

The headlining act at last year’s Rock on the Mount has a new double-album, and it rocks. The Idols Among Us is Johannes’ latest release, containing a few of my favorites: “Redemption,” “Beautiful,” and “Sins Death.” It’s available everywhere, including iTunes and Amazon, and is worth putting in your collection.

Johannes will appear again at Rock on the Mount, May 15. The band has gained some success touring California and playing at Bible camps. This latest release showcases the band’s finer moments. They’ve also had some success with “the donkey song,” which is quite popular at camps. It’s playful, not indicative of the band’s edgier side, but quite original.

Here are some samples (be sure to scroll through the various albums):

© 2010, Mark Adams. All rights reserved. For inquiries press here.

President Barack Obama is endorsing nuclear energy like never before, trying to win over Republicans and moderate Democrats on climate and energy legislation.

Obama singled out nuclear power in his State of the Union address, and his spending plan for the next budget year is expected to include billions of more dollars in federal guarantees for new nuclear reactors. This emphasis reflects both the political difficulties of passing a climate bill in an election year and a shift from his once cautious embrace of nuclear energy.

He’s now calling for a new generation of nuclear power plants.

via Obama’s new climate card: nuclear power – Climate Change- msnbc.com.

It’s plentiful. It’s clean. And, more importantly, it’s ready. Nuclear energy can make America energy independent. No other form of alternative energy can help us achieve energy independence. If there was ever a cause for bipartisanship, nuclear energy is it.

© 2010, Mark Adams. All rights reserved. For inquiries press here.

How can I know all the sins lurking in my heart?
Cleanse me from these hidden faults.
Keep your servant from deliberate sins!
Don’t let them control me.
Then I will be free of guilt
and innocent of great sin. — Psalm 19:12-13

The psalmist speaks of “hidden faults,” acknowledging there are unknown sins lurking in his heart. These are not external faults, but his actual self. He is not a basically good person who occasionally does bad things, but an evil person who works evil continuously in his heart. To what extent he is sinful, he is unaware, but he is not ignorant. He knows his heart.

Thus, he confesses.

The purpose of confession is not self-deprecation. Man does not glorify God by admitting sin; in other words, he does not make God more holy by making himself less holy (he cannot elevate God). He confesses because God is holy. This knowledge, divinely revealed, empowers a man to confess, for he is no longer ignorant of God’s will.

He “to whom God counts righteousness apart from works” is he who seeks forgiveness from from Him who is gracious (Rom. 4:6). A man cannot confess without acknowledging God’s forgiveness, for then that man would be denying God’s will, which to forgive. That is the holiness of God. It is the acknowledgement that sin is so utterly sinful that no remedy exists except absolute pardon, pardon entirely apart from works.

Absent forgiveness, confession is meaningless.

John Newton, who wrote “Amazing Grace,” declared, “My memory is nearly gone; but I remember two things; that I am a great sinner, and that Christ is a great Saviour.” This is the sum of salvation. Man is sinful, God is forgiving. No part exists separately. Thus David writes: “I said, ‘I will confess my transgressions to the Lord,’ and you forgave the iniquity of my sin” (Psalm 32:5).

This is the mystery that Paul touches upon in the fourth chapter of his letter to the Romans. “To the one who does not work but believes in him who justifies the ungodly, his faith is counted as righteousness” (Rom. 4:5). This is the word which is able to save souls, which is able to justify sinners. This is the word to which the world is called.

© 2010, Mark Adams. All rights reserved. For inquiries press here.