Christian Carnival

Here ye, here ye here ye! The Christian Carnival for the 18th of May is here and posted. Enjoy these articles from Christians from around the blogsphere —you might even discover a new blog to follow among these entries.

There are billboards, bumper stickers, park bench ads, bus wrap ads etc., all over America, announcing that Judgement Day will occur on May 21, 2011. Most of these announcements are accompanied by the notice that, ‘The Bible Guarantees It.’ The man behind these bold and frightening proclamations is Harold Camping, leader of an Oakland-based “Christian Ministry” called, Family Radio Worldwide. Mr. Camping recently told the Associated Press that the Bible acts as a calendar, by which the dates of the prophesies can be calculated. Mr. Camping apparently has done the necessary calculations, and he has determined that the Day of Judgement will take place on the 21st of May. Unfortunately, Mr. Camping is not the first to brainwash people into these false teachings, here is a list of so called dates predicting Jesus’ return. -No Guarantee for Judgment Day by Inspicks

The Hebrew term for “high priest” is often not present in the Samuel-Kings narrative. Instead there’s often just “the priest” with a context making it clear that this is a priest who is over the other priests. Sometimes the Torah passages that discuss the high priest are therefore thought to be a late addition (the implication being that the Pentatechal narratives are deceptive in presenting a false history to justify a later practice, or else some view gets concocted according to which everyone knew it was presenting a fictional history of Israel so that it only deceived later generations). -High Priest by Parableman

Ichthus77 provides us with a link to a Facebook quiz on the grounding of objective truth —the vote and comments on this should be interesting.

The Bible Archive has an interesting infographic up on Psalm 110 and Christ –it’s well worth looking at!

A reader recently shared these thoughts with me, “My husband and I are from the ‘great depression era’, which always meant if at all possible, don’t go in debt. For the past 10 to 15 years we have watched people as they lived ‘the American Dream’. To us it was watching them as they lived far above their paycheck. Then reality hit and, by the thousands, have lost everything.” This letter challenged me to ask, “What exactly is the American dream?” My ensuing research reveals that this definition has changed over the years — and not for the better. -Has the American Dream Become A Nightmare by Personal Finance by the Book

Anyone raising children know how difficult things can get but also what a blessing the children are. I have put together a good list of Bible verses to help understand what the Bible says about children, the importance of raising and teaching children and some famous children from the Bible. I pray that God speaks to you and touches your heart with these Scritpures. Remember the Bible tells us not to merely listen to the word of God but to do what it says (James 1:22). Take what your read here, write it down and put it into action! -Bible Verses About Children by What Christians Want to Know

The letters below from George Walton and the note from the editor of the Magazine of American History give a vivid picture of the perilous struggle Mr. Walton was in. He writes to his brother on Dec. 24, 1778 saying that enemy ships are closing in. Just a few days later, on Jan. 7, 1779, he writes to his his “dear Girl” while he is a prisoner of war with a broken leg. -George Walton by Historic Words

I’m not one of those people who feels it’s my place to go around telling others their decision to get a tattoo is a bad idea. If you’re an adult, you can make whatever decision you like. It’s your life and your body. I do have an opinion on the matter though. I happen to believe tattoos are incredibly shortsighted, but to each their own. If you want to be a sixty-five year old rocking an emblazoned scripture on your forearm, that’s your bag. Old wrinkly tattoos though? Not a good look. Where I take issue with the tatting trend that seems to be running rampant among young people is when children are being evangelized that tattoos are all the rage. It turns out these days even middle-aged women are getting tattoos. Last month, it was announced that at 50-years-old, Mattel’s Barbie Doll is celebrating by getting a tattoo. -Barbie Gets a Tramp Stamp by You129

One of the most aggravating, painful, confusing, draining and heart breaking aspect of our walk in Christ is our struggle with Sin. As a follower of Jesus Christ, we may find in us this dual nature (almost like a split personality). Our inner being delights in God and ready to do His will. Yet we find another part of us, vulnerable to Sin. We find ourselves constantly in the battlefield. Sin in the life of a believer is one of the major theme in the book of 1st John. It is a fact that we Christian do sin. We cannot deny it, cannot ignore it or live with it. 1st John 1:5 – 2 – 6 specifically deals with the Sin in the life of a believer. -Sin in the Life of Christian Believer by Bibleseo

I’m speaking at Capernwray Hall in the north of England this week, and one of the things that I love about coming to Capernwray is the drive from the Manchester Airport to the hall. Most of it is on the motorway, but the last little bit is through rolling hills past sheep, high hedges, and old barns. It’s a very, very beautiful pastoral setting. There’s one little town you go through where you squeeze through a one-lane road, and when you come out the other side, there’s an old stone barn, and it has a name on it: “Tithe Barn.” It was part of a farm, and it appears that the very first fruits, the first crop that came off of the fields, went to the tithe barn. It was not mixed in with the other crops. It was a separate barn. Knowing that, there was no temptation to shorten what was due the tithe. -Tithe Barn by American Missionary Fellowship

Everyday, I wake up with the best intentions. My goal is always the same. I want to treat every person I meet with love, concern, compassion, and encouragement. I want to be who God intends me to be. I want to be like Jesus. Then I head out the door. I seem to have much better success with complete strangers than with the people I know. Why is that? Why am I so much harder on the people I know than strangers? -The Best Intentions by finding God’s way

I’ve been reading a very interesting book, published this year, entitled, Join the Club by Tina Rosenberg. It’s about social relationships accomplishing things that “campaigns” don’t. In the book, Rosenberg cites examples of No Smoking campaigns put on by adult associations and the health community completely failing with teens. On the other hand, campaigns begun as a teen rebellion succeeds. But since smoking is usually done as a rebellion, then what kind of rebellion would appeal to teens to stop smoking? South Carolina led the charge of teens against smoking by diverting their attention against the tobacco companies. Ads and “cool” clubs cocentrated on letting teens know, in the teens’ media and lingo, that the tobacco companies were trying to kill them AND, the companies knew how dangerous cigarettes were the whole time. In states where these clubs existed, smoking among teens dropped significantly. Although the book is not a Christian book, the author cites Willow Creek Church’s small groups as an example of this social peer pressure and how it helps group members. The last part of the book is devoted to the youth uprising in Serbia. This was the most fascinating part of the book to me because this movement was not only non-violent, but they did silly and creative things. Now remember, they were trying to topple a dictator, Slobodan Milosevic. One wouldn’t think being silly, cool and creative would do that. But it did. Fundamentalist Evangelicals! Let’s Organize and Be Kewl! by Crossroads

Imagine 5 HUGE guys (none of them under 220 pounds) standing on stage and breaking blocks of ice, snapping aluminum baseball bats with their bare hands and even bench pressing a telephone pole. That is what you get when you see Team Impact. Their feats of strength are something that you must see. However, the best part of what they do is to share the Gospel of Jesus Christ with the audience. You see, Team Impact is more than just a group of strong men doing incredible things. -Muscle Bound Ministry at Holy Ghost Revelation

Your mind is a powerful tool because it can think and motivate or discourage you. You have a choice to think positively or negatively and you will act accordingly. If you want to be successful in life, there is no other option but to think of possibilities. How can you harness the power of positive thinking to propel you to success in life? -Think Positive to be Successful by All About Living with Life

“One of the biggest struggles I think for a lot of couples is becoming one in their marriage in all things, even things like money. I think the temptation can be to allow one partner to take the lead on the finances, and the other just defers to the other one, and never gets involved in the money discussions. I think that can be a mistake, and can often lead to mis-communications, and one partner feeling like their input isn’t valued. -Biggest Money Struggles for Married Couples by One Money Design