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 - Endorsed - Indifferent - Contested
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| The Nashville Statement
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Name:Daniel
Home: Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada
About Me: I used to believe that evolution was reasonable, that homosexuality was genetic, and that people became Christians because they couldn't deal with the 'reality' that this life was all there was. I used to believe, that if there was a heaven - I could get there by being good - and I used to think I was more or less a good person. I was wrong on all counts. One day I finally had my eyes opened and I saw that I was not going to go to heaven, but that I was certainly going to suffer the wrath of God for all my sin. I saw myself as a treasonous rebel at heart - I hated God for creating me just to send me to Hell - and I was wretched beyond my own comprehension. Into this spiritual vacuum Jesus Christ came and he opened my understanding - delivering me from God's wrath into God's grace. I was "saved" as an adult, and now my life is hid in Christ. I am by no means sinless, but by God's grace I am a repenting believer - a born again Christian.
My complete profile...
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Daniel's posts are almost always pastoral and God centered. I appreciate and am challenged by them frequently. He has a great sense of humor as well.
- Marc Heinrich
His posts are either funny or challenging. He is very friendly and nice.
- Rose Cole
[He has] good posts, both the serious like this one, and the humorous like yesterday. [He is] the reason that I have restrained myself from making Canadian jokes in my posts.
- C-Train
This post contains nothing that is of any use to me. What were you thinking? Anyway, it's probably the best I've read all day.
- David Kjos
Daniel, nicely done and much more original than Frank the Turk.
- Jonathan Moorhead
There are some people who are smart, deep, or funny. There are not very many people that are all 3. Daniel is one of those people. His opinion, insight and humor have kept me coming back to his blog since I first visited earlier this year.
- Carla Rolfe
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email
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| Prestidigitation. |
 Now that I have a logo I can commence with the blatant Pyromaniacs-style, "branded" images rip offs. What? Imitation is the highest form of flattery!
But onto a serious subject, prestidigitation.
Some of you who, like myself, played Advanced Dungeon's and Dragons in your past, will no doubt already be familiar with the term prestidigitation because the level title for a "level one Magic User" was "Prestidigitator - and being a geek, you had to know what that word meant in order to sleep one night - and so you went to your dictionary and discovered that a prestidigitator was one who practiced sleight of hand (prestidigitation).
As I woke this morning I had a sweet moment in prayer - just sharing openly with God on a level of intimacy that was deeper than I am used to. I wasn't trying to manufacture it or anything, I was just so at rest and contented in the Lord's love for me that I fell into it quite effortlessly and naturally. As I was so engaged I was thinking about how -this- is what some professing believers miss - they miss the relationship with God.
Every good illusionist knows that the key to successful prestidigitation is to redirect focus from what is really going on to something that only seems to be going on. Splayed fingers point here or there or large circular gestures catch your attention for a moment: These gestures are not emtpy showmanship; these are done so that your eyes follow the movement and not the "magic." You need only be distracted for a split second and the illusion is complete.
It seems to me that there is some manner of subconscious prestidigitation going on in the pursuit of the Lord for some people.
They study books, they read, they attend - they talk a good talk - but they don't know God, they just know about God. It isn't that study and whatnot isn't good - it is critical for all believers to be filled with as much truth as they are able to take in - but it is that some mistake the pursuit of knowledge for the pursuit of God. That was the error of the Gnostics (though admittedly - they took it to an extreme.)
While it is true of some far more than most - all of us stand in danger of sometimes pursuing knowledge about God instead of pursuing God personally. He is a person, not an idea. Sometimes just remembering that God is not an impersonal force, but a living, feeling, loving Father who desires our company can do wonders for a dry prayer life.
Think about how great you feel when you meet someone who has a genuine interest in you - you married people, that was your spouse. There is something about a person who sincerely wants to be with us that makes them attractive - no?
Talk to God today - He is listening. |
posted by Daniel @
2:35 PM
 
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| 6 Comments: |
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Very good reminder Daniel. I tend to "study" too much, myself.
Also, I like your new crest. :)
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Gayla! Good to see you around these parts again!
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Daniel, that is so true brother. May the Lord remind us to seek Him.
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Good points, and a very good reminder. I've been similarly convicted lately.
Much less importantly, as much as I admire your artwork, I sincerely hope you're not going to turn Doulogos into a comic book!
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David - For a long time, long before this blog even, I played around with various ways to make images more personal - what we would call "branding" nowadays. I used to (though not on -this- blog) logo them with a simple dodging/burning of a logo into the image - but I really liked the way Phil made a Pyromaniacs logo, then began branding every image with it - it was quite inventive, and better than anything I had ever thought of. Comics don't really work for me - though I am considering moving to the beta blogger, and considering polishing the look and feel of the blog.
Hey - are you going to the pastors conference in February?
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Good post Daniel. BTW, Beta blogger is not Beta any longer. It hasn't been for a while now. I would suggest you move as it is quite nice.
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Very good reminder Daniel. I tend to "study" too much, myself.
Also, I like your new crest. :)