gdp's Comments

Stuff Christians Like - Jon Acuff : Putting the wrong Bible verse on things.

Tue, 9 Nov 2010 15:12:09 +0000

Is it just me or is today's SCL akin to an episode of Man vs. Food? I think that Adam Richman should have to eat an entire bowl full of congealed Mexican cheese with insanely hot salsa in it in one bite! Go Adam, Go! http://wp.me/pKVC6-6e -- A Jealous Spirit

Stuff Christians Like - Jon Acuff : Leaving church before it's over.

Mon, 8 Nov 2010 14:08:58 +0000

It's really hard not to wonder, while preaching, "Why are they leaving early?" I appreciate the people who tell me ahead of time, "Don't go too long today. We've got to get to the north side of Chicago for a birthday party." It's very important to me because my self-worth is overly tied up in people staying for the duration of my sermon. Sometimes I really hate how self-absorbed I am. Fail. http://wp.me/pKVC6-6e -- A Jealous Spirit

Stuff Christians Like - Jon Acuff : Listening to devil music.

Fri, 5 Nov 2010 14:56:54 +0000

I would LOVE to hear Tomlin cover Rawkfist by Thousand Foot Krutch! How great would that be? Go to a Tomlin concert and the crowd is swaying with their eyes closed and hands raised to I Will Rise. The tears are flowing as he closes the song and then, in the hushed moments of tender worship Tomlin screams, "Throw up your rawkfist if you're feelin it when I drop this!" Pyro fills the stage and the crowd, in total confusion, collectively passes out. YES! http://wp.me/pKVC6-6a -- The Heavy Burden of Guilt

Stuff Christians Like - Jon Acuff : Having 2 Gods.

Wed, 3 Nov 2010 13:28:22 +0000

I love what Steve Brown says. (Paraphrasing) There is no more wrath for you because God already poured out all of His wrath on Christ on the cross. There is no smite button on His computer -- http://bit.ly/cIMVlU . He is not out to get us. We confuse the God of grace and love with the Greek mythological god of lightning bolts. God disciplines those He loves and He does discipline us. We wouldn't learn and grow if He did not. He punished His Son on our behalf. There is a difference between punishment and discipline. Praise Jesus for taking our punishment! http://wp.me/pKVC6-67 -- It Starts In The Mind

Stuff Christians Like - Jon Acuff : Finding out Justin Bieber is a Christian.

Tue, 2 Nov 2010 14:16:30 +0000

I love how the blood of Christ unites us as His followers. We tend to get so preoccupied with celebrity and we do forget that we are all normal people. Our churches (Christian Church/Church of Christ) take Communion every Sunday. Sometimes I think about the worldwide remembrance going on on some Sundays (whether you take it weekly, monthly, quarterly or twice a year). There is at least one Sunday each year that all of the followers of Jesus take a few moments and celebrate through remembrance. Regardless of income, social status, gender, age or past indiscretions, we all remember the One in the manner by which He commanded us to remember Him -- the bread and the cup.

Stuff Christians Like - Jon Acuff : The person who starts a coughing chain reaction in church.

Mon, 1 Nov 2010 13:26:08 +0000

“I’m the champion of puking.” I'm your huckleberry. My 3 year old once sang Laurie Berkner's "I'm Not Perfect" after throwing up. "I'm not perfect, no I'm not." Heaved up his guts and had the physical and mental fortitude to SING! ON KEY! It was mighty hard to keep a straight face on that day, my friends. Good times, good times. http://wp.me/pKVC6-64 -- Knowledge Versus Love

Stuff Christians Like - Jon Acuff : Phoning in dinner on Sunday night.

Fri, 29 Oct 2010 14:03:42 +0000

I LOVE breakfast supper. I remember being a kid and what a treat it was to have waffles for dinner. Nothing like getting your kids hopped up on carbs and syrup 2 hours before bedtime. We were bouncing off the walls and mom and dad wondered what had gotten into us. Good times. Good times. http://wp.me/pKVC6-5Y -- Our Plans and God's Purposes

Stuff Christians Like - Jon Acuff : Ignoring the soundtrack.

Wed, 27 Oct 2010 13:47:55 +0000

Romans 8:31 (NIV) -- "If God is for us, who can be against us?" Matthew 21:21-22 (NIV) -- "I tell you the truth, if you have faith and do not doubt, not only can you do what was done to the fig tree, but also you can say to this mountain, `Go, throw yourself into the sea,' and it will be done. If you believe, you will receive whatever you ask for in prayer." If we could only have mustard seed faith. That's all Jesus asks of us. Faith the size of a mustard seed. That's the kind of faith that can move mountains. Too often we think we have to have this ginormous faith to get God to move an inch. If we have genuine faith, God will move mountains. http://wp.me/pKVC6-5V -- The Lavished Pauper (ARRRR! It's me blog!)

Stuff Christians Like - Jon Acuff : Josh Hamilton

Mon, 25 Oct 2010 14:24:32 +0000

Fantastic post today, Jon! You knocked it out of the park! HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA! Get it? Josh Hamilton hits home runs on the baseball field and you hit a home run with this post! You're so awesome! *side hug* http://wp.me/pKVC6-5S -- The Reality Of Hell

Stuff Christians Like - Jon Acuff : Packing.

Wed, 20 Oct 2010 16:19:05 +0000

I wonder how many times his father wanted to say to him as he walked by his room as he packed, "You don't have to go, ya know? You can stay here." The father LET him go. The young son thought that he knew best. He knew what he was doing. He knew where he was going and what he was going to do when he got there. The father knew, too. And yet the father let him pack and go. God doesn't force us to stay. He doesn't hide the suitcases. He allows us to go our own way and squander our lives. While we are out doing just that, He waits. He looks. He longs. For what? Our return home. Tomlin's song, "Come Home Running" captures it so well. "Come home running His arms are open wide His name is Jesus He understands He is the answer that you are looking for So come home running Just as you are" Thanks for the good word today, Jon. Love the Serious Wednesdays. http://wp.me/pKVC6-5M -- The Lavished Pauper (it's me blog)

Stuff Christians Like - Jon Acuff : Awkward Prayer Request Moments.

Mon, 18 Oct 2010 15:10:46 +0000

Or Cut the Rope for that matter. As one who has neither iPhone or time for games, I must assume that this is some iPhone game/app. I was lost for a moment, though. I was wondering if time had passed me by and that this was some sort of 2010 code/euphemism for cutting something else (fromage, anyone?). Both are equally wrong, I believe. Floating an air biscuit during prayer requests has to be on the same level as not paying attention by playing games on your iPhone. Right? http://wp.me/pKVC6-5J

Stuff Christians Like - Jon Acuff : Three more words.

Wed, 13 Oct 2010 17:48:32 +0000

Just what I need to hear. Every day. I have wanted to be big for so long that my name might as well be Josh and I'm standing in front of a Zoltar machine (did you know you can buy them for $5,000?). I want to be HUGE! I have wanted fame and fortune for over half of my lifetime. I was determined to be the next big thing in the world of acting. Then God stepped in and now I am in ministry (a far cry from Hollywood). But I still want to be big! I want a book deal. I want thousands of people to read MY blog (http://wp.me/pKVC6-5G). I want to be on TV. One problem. This isn't about me. I'm small. I need to be small. I need to remain small. I need to decrease so that Christ can increase (John 3:30). Besides, I am already pretty big in Someone's eyes. My Savior's. Thanks, Jon!

Stuff Christians Like - Jon Acuff : Having our ideas stolen by pop culture. (Finally!)

Tue, 12 Oct 2010 13:05:26 +0000

Chris Boblin's 2nd hit could be "Holier Is The Lord" followed up by "Famouser One". http://shawncornett.wordpress.com

Stuff Christians Like - Jon Acuff : Loving or hating Glee.

Mon, 11 Oct 2010 13:36:50 +0000

Not a big Glee fan. I've only watched about 4 minutes of the show. But it was probably the best 4 minutes of TV I've seen in a long time. It was when they sang "Imagine" by John Lennon with the kids from the deaf school. WOW! Fan-freaking-tastic! Someone mentioned Modern Family. 2nd funniest show on TV right behind The Big Bang Theory. I literally LOL and ROFL and any other acronym for guffaws you can think of. I won't try to justify it. I just laugh. I find it funny, though, that we'll accept a lot more violence, swearing and other types of immorality from movies than we will from TV. Just sayin'. My blog, The Lavished Pauper: http://wp.me/pKVC6-5C -- Worshiping at Karaoke Night

Stuff Christians Like - Jon Acuff : Leaving a church, 2.0

Fri, 8 Oct 2010 12:58:40 +0000

I read about the opposite this week. A pastor was let go by a church and wrote a SCATHING response on his blog. YIKES! And it was in the form of a prayer for the congregation! Um...yeah. No trail of grace behind him. Leaving a church is rarely an easy decision (my family did it back in the early 90's). Friendships are broken and memories are dashed. You try to hang on as long as you can, but when push comes to shove, you know that for your own soul's sake and the sake of those around you, you have to go. Sadly, in one form or another, many of the things listed above do happen. People gossip about the pastor and each other. People make snide remarks about the church and those who still attend there. I've heard it said that the Christian army is the only army in the world that shoots its own wounded. We need much more grace, mercy and forgiveness, don't ya think? Great guest post today! Newest post at my blog: The Lavished Pauper -- http://wp.me/pKVC6-5z

Stuff Christians Like - Jon Acuff : The guy who tries to fix your problems when you make a prayer request.

Thu, 7 Oct 2010 18:57:07 +0000

"Tell them you’ve been blessed with the gift of “water balloons” and then hit them with one." Is there a water balloon ministry that I could be a part of? I do believe that I just might have this gift. Can I sign up in the foyer or can I just bring a garbage bag full of 'em and start chucking them as my other gift of discernment tells me to? My newest post at The Lavished Pauper: http://wp.me/pKVC6-5w

Stuff Christians Like - Jon Acuff : Fall retreats.

Mon, 4 Oct 2010 13:37:36 +0000

So let me get this straight. No one should get The Hangover reference, but Pulp Fiction is OK? Hmmmm...sounds like a future SCL if you ask me. "Shhhh. This is my favorite part coming up right now!" http://wp.me/pKVC6-5t

Stuff Christians Like - Jon Acuff : Letting go of the barns.

Wed, 29 Sep 2010 12:52:57 +0000

Nail. Meet hammer. You hit it right on the head, Jon. When someone criticizes my ministry, I run to the little old ladies in my church. According to them, I can do no wrong. My sermons are ALWAYS great. I am the best minister they can remember. They LOOOOOOOVE me. But I need balance, too. I need criticism of the constructive variety. Too much affirmation and I get a big head. Too much criticism and I get down on myself. Either way, it's pride. One way and I'm puffed up. The other and I'm full of self-pity. I need to let Christ be my source of affirmation and not worry so much about His flawed people building me up or tearing me down. The Amish will often have a barn raising. I think we Christians need a barn razing from time to time. http://wp.me/pKVC6-5n

Stuff Christians Like - Jon Acuff : Reacting to church scandals.

Mon, 27 Sep 2010 18:57:52 +0000

Jesus' reaction to the woman caught in adultery is the one we need to remember the most. "When they kept on questioning him, he straightened up and said to them, 'If any one of you is without sin, let him be the first to throw a stone at her.'" -- John 8:7 (NIV) http://wp.me/pKVC6-5j

Stuff Christians Like - Jon Acuff : Getting abandoned by the worship leader.

Mon, 27 Sep 2010 13:16:09 +0000

Our worship leaders tend to drop the mic down to about belly button level and close their eyes and get lost in the moment. I'm hoping that they're worshipping and not praying silently, "Dear God, please don't let the sermon run long today. The Bears are on at noon. Amen." http://wp.me/pKVC6-5j