Surpassing Worth

BCon

2006-03-20T20:31:00.000-05:00

I will be at Bob Jones University this week from Tuesday through Saturday for Bible Conference. After I get back I'll try to find time to post on the week.

How Deep the Father's Love for Us cont.

2006-03-13T18:21:00.000-05:00

Last summer I made a post about the song "How Deep the Father's Love for Us", and was reminded by an anonymous poster that I should have given credit to Stuart Townend for his work. Sorry for the confusion.

Also, recently as I've been listening to this song, I've been wondering if the song could be improved by making the following change to the text:

How deep the Father's love for us,

How vast beyond all measure

That He should give His only Son

To show (instead of make) a wretch His treasure

How great the pain of searing loss,

The Father turns His face away

As wounds which mar the chosen One,

Bring many sons to glory

Behold the Man upon a cross,

My sin upon His shoulders

Ashamed I hear my mocing voice,

Call out among the scoffers

It was my sin that helf Him there

Until it was accomplished

His dying breath has brought me life

I knoww that it is finished

I will not boast in anything

No gifts, no power, no wisdom

But I will boast inJesus Christ

His death and resurrection

Why should I gain from His reward?

I cannot give an answer

But this I know with all my heart

His wounds have paid my ransom.

While it is somewhat true that God makes us his treasure, isn't that somewhat man-centered; instead, why can't we say that God shows us his treasure. Is not this the main reason for our salvation, that we would be able treasure God above all things and glorify God (or in the words of the Westminster Catechism, The chief end of man is glorify God and (or maybe better by) enjoy(ing) Him forever)?

I'm interested in your thoughts on this!

Hacking the Netgear MR814v2

2005-12-31T20:11:00.000-05:00

I've been upgrading a network to WPA encryption, and found that the Netgear MR814v2 (also called the MR814NA) doesn't support WPA encryption. The MR814v3, however, does. These routers are virtually identical, albeit with a different color case, and I confirmed that on they use almost the same hardware by taking both apart. On many other routers with similar hardware, people have been able to interchange firmwares by modding the firmwares to fool the routers into thinking that the modded firmware is for that router. I searched the internet for the right things to mod in the firmware from the v3 to enable it to be used on the v2, but I couldn't anything except one small reference to be able to interchange the firmwares. Finally, at the risk of bricking the router, I decided to just try uploading the v3 firmware to the v2 hardware, and after a hardware reset, I was left with a... router running the v3 firmware with full WPA support! It seems that despite dire warnings of incompatibility on the Netgear website, v3 firmware is fully compatible with the v2 (however, v1 does not use the same hardware, so do not attempt to put the v2 or v3 firmware on it).

Verse of the day...

2005-12-26T09:04:00.000-05:00

Delight yourself in the LORD,
and he will give you the desires of your heart.

Psalm 37:4 (ESV)

Quote of the day...

2005-12-23T15:00:00.000-05:00

I want to thank monergism.com for reminding of this part of John Piper's Desiring God.

"The task of all Christian scholarship—not just biblical studies—is
to study reality as a manifestation of God's glory, to speak and write
about it with accuracy, and to savor the beauty of God in it. It is a
massive abdication of scholarship that so many Christians do academic
work with so little reference to God."

(John Piper, The Pleasures of God, p. 298)

Verse of the day...

2005-12-23T14:46:00.000-05:00

But for me it is good to be near God;

I have made the Lord God my refuge,

that I may tell of all your works.

Psalm 73:28 (ESV)

I'm back...

2005-12-23T14:44:00.000-05:00

It has definitely been a long time since I've posted. However, now that we are on Christmas break from school, I finally have time again to post.

Verse of the day...

2005-10-07T18:36:00.000-05:00

The heavens are telling the glory of God,
And their expanse is declaring the work of his hands.

-Psalm 19:1 (NASB)

Firefox Update...

2005-10-07T15:41:00.000-05:00

Mozilla Firefox 1.5 beta 2 has just been released !

Verse of the day...

2005-10-04T06:02:00.000-05:00

As for me, I shall behold your face in righteousness;
when I awake, I shall be satisfied with your likeness.

-Psalm 17:15 (ESV)

Verse of the day...

2005-09-25T12:09:00.000-05:00

Lord, how manifold are your works!
In wisdom have you made them all;
the earth is full of your creatures.

Psalm 104:24 (ESV)

Comment spam...

2005-09-06T21:00:00.000-05:00

Due to some recent random comments (automated spam) posted on this blog, I have turned on word verification in order to post. Sorry for any inconvenience this causes.

Meditating on God...

2005-09-06T18:44:00.000-05:00

Thanks to Unsearchable Riches (Andy Efting) for this quote:

And man needs some good that shall be a suitable object of his understanding for him to contemplate, wherein he may have full and sufficient exercise for his capacious faculties, in their utmost extent. Here is an object that is great and noble, and worthy of the exercise of the noblest faculties of the rational soul - God himself should be theirs, for them forever to behold and contemplate.

Jonathan Edwards, 1733

Free Ipods...

2005-09-05T15:44:00.000-05:00

Help me to get a free Ipod - all you have to do is sign up at http://ipods.freepay.com/?r=15941477 and complete one offer (such as a credit card offer, etc.). You need 5 people to sign up referred by you and you will get a free Ipod.

I have already had one person sign up, so I need 4 more... Please help.

Also, this site is not a scam, many news organizations have researched the offers and they are legit. For each person who completes an offer, the site running this receive $50-90, thus they are able to still make a profit. (press info can be found at: http://info.freepay.com/pressroom.html )

Thanks,

Back to school...

2005-08-27T10:27:00.000-05:00

It has been a while since my last post... hm.

Oh well. Anyways, soccer practice started a week ago, and school begins this Monday. Between work, soccer, and school I will try to find time to post, but no promises on the frequency of posting.

Later,

Verse of the day...

2005-08-17T21:08:00.000-05:00

Turn my eyes from looking at worthless things;
and give me life in your ways.

-Psalm 119:37 (ESV)

Holy, Holy!

2005-08-15T21:59:00.000-05:00

The theme chorus at the Wilds went as follows:

He is holy,holy,
The earth is full of His glory,
Holy, holy,
Is the Lord God of Hosts.

What a great message just in those few words. Meditate on the awesome God we serve!

I'm back...

2005-08-13T20:53:00.000-05:00

Previously I had mention that I would be on vacation for just over a week. Well, this morning I got back home after a great week. I especially enjoyed the part of our trip that was spent at The Wilds and will hopefully be blogging several times about the week.

However, it is late, and I am extremely tired, so,

Until later,

On vacation...

2005-08-05T21:19:00.000-05:00

I am posting this from a hotel in South Carolina. On Monday, we will be meeting up with our youth group to spend a week at the Wilds.

Thus, this region of the blogosphere will be silent again for several days.

Until later...

Quote for the day...

2005-08-04T06:58:00.000-05:00

Our hearts are restless,
till they find rest in Thee.

-Saint Augustine

Verse of the day...

2005-07-30T09:53:00.000-05:00

... to the praise of his glory.

Ephesians 1:14 (ESV)

This is in a nutshell what our ultimate purpose is in life. It is our duty to glorify God.

Do it gladly!

Verse of the Day...

2005-07-27T21:48:00.000-05:00

You make known to me the path of life;
in your presence there is fullness of joy;
at your right hand are pleasures forevermore.

Psalm 16:11 (ESV)

IQ Test...

2005-07-22T21:30:00.000-05:00

I just took an IQ test,

and here are the results:

Congratulations, James! Your IQ score is 133

This number is based on a scientific formula that compares how many questions you answered correctly on the Classic IQ Test relative to others.

Your Intellectual Type is Visual Mathematician. This means you are gifted at spotting patterns both in pictures and in numbers. These talents combined with your overall high intelligence make you good at understanding the big picture, which is why people trust your instincts and turn to you for direction especially in the workplace. And that's just some of what we know about you from your test results.

What does your score mean?
In general:
A score below 70 indicates that you performed way below the population average.
A score between 70 and 84 means that your performance on this test was significantly below the population average.
A score between 85 and 99 would put you slightly below the population average, but it's in the normal range.
A score of 100 represents the population average.
A score between 101 and 115 puts you above population average but is in the normal range.
A score between 116 and 130 means that your IQ is significantly above average.
Scores of 130 and above mean that according to this test, you are absolutely brilliant.

Its arrived!

2005-07-21T20:21:00.000-05:00

My free ESV has arrived as of this morning.

:-})

Firefox Update...

2005-07-20T10:46:00.000-05:00

For all of you still stuck with the standard consumer build of Firefox, version 1.0.6 has been released. Meanwhile, all of the enlightened will continue to merely open the Options dialog, click Check for Updates (*the new update system has landed on the trunk nightly as of ~7/04), and have the most recent nightly build installed. (I am currently running the Deer Park Alpha 2 Build 2005-07-19)

How Deep the Father's Love for Us

2005-07-16T22:57:00.000-05:00

Hymn text for meditation:

How deep the Father's love for us! How vast beyond all measure!
That He should give His only Son to make a wretch His treasure!
How great the pain of searing loss! The Father turns His face away
As wounds which mar the Chosen One bring many sons to glory.

Behold the Man upon the cross, my sin upon His shoulders.
Ashamed I hear my mocking voice call out among the scoffers.
It was my sin that held Him there until it was accomplished.
His dying breath has brought me life; I know that it is finished.

I will not boast in anything; no gifts, no power no wisdom.
But I will boast in Jesus Christ, His death and ressurection.
Why should I gain from His reward? I cannot give an answer.
But this I know with all my heart: His wounds have paid my ransom.

Psalm 63 cont.

2005-07-16T09:30:00.000-05:00

I wanted to post a followup on my previous post. First we find that we need to earnestly seek God (vs. 1). David then tells us to behold God power and glory - we are to be awed at the incredible divine grandeur of our God! Finally, in the last two verses, the psalmist states "the steadfast love of the Lord is better than life" (rephrased). To be loved by God is cause for praise indeed (vs. 3-4)!

Psalm 63:1-4 (ESV)

2005-07-15T14:36:00.000-05:00

My Soul Thirsts for You
A Psalm of David, when he was in the wilderness of Judah.

63:1 O God, you are my God; earnestly I seek you;
      my soul thirsts for you;
my flesh faints for you,
      as in a dry and weary land where there is no water.
2 So I have looked upon you in the sanctuary,
      beholding your power and glory.
3 Because your steadfast love is better than life,
      my lips will praise you.
4 So I will bless you as long as I live;
      in your name I will lift up my hands.

Food for thought...

Linux...

2005-07-15T12:52:00.000-05:00

As this blog is owned solely by ..yours truly.., I have the privilege of posting shameless plugs.

The first of these:

Everyone should run a dual boot machine with Linux and Windows, both are great, but I have had a great time running Fedora Core 4 on a P3 500 (384 mb ram), and have especially liked skipping KDE (too heavy), Gnome (annoying interface and too heavy) in favor of XFCE. I can say that I heartily reccomend this combination.

Until later,
James

Secret no more...

2005-07-14T21:42:00.000-05:00

Adrian Warnock has discovered my blog. No more secrecy in my weak attempts to create a blog. Oh well.

Adrian, you really should work for the intelligence office for internet activity.

The English Standard Version Verse of the Day

2005-07-14T11:51:00.000-05:00

Psalm 46:1-3
God Is Our Fortress

46:1 God is our refuge and strength,
a very present [or well proved] help in trouble.
2 Therefore we will not fear though the earth gives way,
though the mountains be moved into the heart of the sea,
3 though its waters roar and foam,
though the mountains tremble at its swelling.

The Verse of the Day RSS Feed can be found here.

Bloggar...

2005-07-13T13:51:00.000-05:00

I'm transitioning from the Blogspot Dashboard posting to:

Quote of the day...

2005-07-13T10:55:00.000-05:00

If I find in myself a desire
which no experience in the world can satisfy,
the most probable explanation
is that I was made for another world.

- C.S. Lewis

Naming...

2005-07-13T10:50:00.000-05:00

I've finally decided on a good name for this home.

"Surpassing Worth"

Paul says in Philippians 3:

7 But whatever gain I had, I counted as loss for the sake of Christ. 8 Indeed, I count everything as loss because of the surpassing worth of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord. For his sake I have suffered the loss of all things and count them as rubbish, in order that I may gain Christ 9 and be found in him, not having a righteousness of my own that comes from the law, but that which comes through faith in Christ, the righteousness from God that depends on faith— 10 that I may know him and the power of his resurrection, and may share his sufferings, becoming like him in his death, 11 that by any means possible I may attain the resurrection from the dead.

Knowing Christ and finding our entire satisfaction in Christ holds surpassing worth (value in the NASB) over any other of the trivialities in our life.

I won!

2005-07-12T19:16:00.000-05:00

I've just been notified that I was one of six who won a free ESV up to $100 for posting comments on the ESV Questions for the Translators at Adrian's blog.

I chose the Classic Thinline Genuine Leather Black (Red letter edition). I would have loved the Premium Cordovan leather, but, alas, it is $150... Oh well, the time I have that to spare, the Newly Revised ESV will have arrived (NRESV ;-) )

ESV Translation Committee Questions

2005-05-26T06:14:00.000-05:00

Adrian Warnock has posted his ten question for the ESV Committee at http://www.adrian.warnock.info/2005/05/10-questions-for-esv-translators.htm

He will be posting over the next weeks in his blog.

English Standard Version

2005-04-30T17:26:00.000-05:00

Read the official blog at:
www.esv.org/blog

Firefox - The Number One Browser

2005-04-30T17:22:00.000-05:00

Mozilla Foundation

MozillaZine

Making tech work for us

2005-04-30T17:20:00.000-05:00

I-Hacked

Fundi Discussion Blog...

2005-04-30T08:56:00.000-05:00

SharperIron