Month: June 2013

Morning Reading: Acts 5. 17-32 NLT – courageously obeying God

Reading: Acts 5:17-32 NLT

The high priest and his officials, who were Sadducees, were filled with jealousy. They arrested the apostles and put them in the public jail.

Liberation of St. Peter Bartolomé Esteban Murillo (1667) Hermitage Museum
Liberation of St. Peter
Bartolomé Esteban Murillo (1667)
Hermitage Museum

But an angel of the Lord came at night, opened the gates of the jail, and brought them out. Then he told them, “Go to the Temple and give the people this message of life!” So at daybreak the apostles entered the Temple, as they were told, and immediately began teaching.

When the high priest and his officials arrived, they convened the high council — the full assembly of the elders of Israel. Then they sent for the apostles to be brought from the jail for trial.

But when the Temple guards went to the jail, the men were gone. So they returned to the council and reported, “The jail was securely locked, with the guards standing outside, but when we opened the gates, no one was there!” When the captain of the Temple guard and the leading priests heard this, they were perplexed, wondering where it would all end.

Then someone arrived with startling news: “The men you put in jail are standing in the Temple, teaching the people!” The captain went with his Temple guards and arrested the apostles, but without violence, for they were afraid the people would stone them.

Then they brought the apostles before the high council, where the high priest confronted them. “Didn’t we tell you never again to teach in this man’s name?” he demanded. “Instead, you have filled all Jerusalem with your teaching about him, and you want to make us responsible for his death!”

But Peter and the apostles replied, “We must obey God rather than any human authority. The God of our ancestors raised Jesus from the dead after you killed him by hanging him on a cross.  Then God put him in the place of honor at his right hand as Prince and Savior. He did this so the people of Israel would repent of their sins and be forgiven. We are witnesses of these things and so is the Holy Spirit, who is given by God to those who obey him.”

Prayer: Heavenly Father – Help me to listen to you and obey you… to share with others the “message of life” through your Son Jesus Christ. Lord Jesus – Keep my eyes on you… my beginning and end. Holy Spirit – Shut out all the din and chatter that would distract me from my primary purpose… to glorify and enjoy God. Amen.

Hymn: “Trust and Obey” – John H. Sammis (1887)
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“Where’s the stuff?”

John Wimber
John Wimber

Peanut Gallery: John Wimber asked a simple question after reading through the New Testament – “Where’s the stuff?”

Why aren’t the “signs and wonders” prevalent in the Gospels, and particularly in the Book of Acts, evident in the Church today?

That was in the ’70s and ’80s and not much has changed. Our theological constructs, organizational development skills, and fear of the unknown (or loss of control) have pretty much squeezed the Holy Spirit out of the normal daily life of the Church.

The video below is a short introduction to John Wimber and the topic of “signs and wonders.”

YouTube contains numerous conference videos dating back to the 80’s when Wimber was teaching MC510 – Signs, Wonders and Church Growth – at Fuller Theological Seminary… click here for more videos on YouTube.

More video teaching resources by John Wimber can be purchased at Vineyard Resources – click here.

As you might imagine, John Wimber and the topic itself were not without controversy. Nevertheless, significant numbers of people were healed, and many more lives were changed, as ordinary Christians learned to live and act… as led by the Holy Spirit.

So… the question still remains to be answered today – “Where’s the stuff?”

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Morning Reading: Acts 5.12-16 NLT – signs and wonders

Reading: Acts 5:12-16 NLT

The apostles were performing many miraculous signs and wonders among the people.

image
Apostles Peter and John
Pieter Aertsen, 1575

And all the believers were meeting regularly at the Temple in the area known as Solomon’s Colonnade. But no one else dared to join them, even though all the people had high regard for them.

Yet more and more people believed and were brought to the Lord—crowds of both men and women.

As a result of the apostles’ work, sick people were brought out into the streets on beds and mats so that Peter’s shadow might fall across some of them as he went by.

Crowds came from the villages around Jerusalem, bringing their sick and those possessed by evil spirits, and they were all healed.

Prayer: Lord Jesus – Advance your Kingdom purposes in our time. Fill your people with your Spirit… heal the sick and demonized… and expand /and enlarge your family into every tribe and nation throughout the world. To you be all the honor and glory. Amen.

Spiritual Song: “Spirit Song” – John Wimber

Duke Grad Student Secretly Lived In A Van To Escape Loan Debt [Photos] – Business Insider

Mandi Woodruff | Jun. 7, 2013 | Business Insider

Ken Ilgunas at Duke
Ken Ilgunas at Duke

By the time Ken Ilgunas was wrapping up his last year of undergraduate studies at the University of Buffalo in 2005, he had no idea what kind of debt hole he’d dug himself into.

He had majored in the least marketable fields of study possible –– English and History –– and had zero job prospects after getting turned down for no fewer than 25 paid internships.

“That was a wake-up call,” he told Business Insider. “I had this huge $32,000 student debt and at the time I was pushing carts at Home Depot, making $8 an hour. I was just getting kind of frantic.”

Back then, student loans had yet to become the front page news they are today. Ilgunas could have simply deferred his loans or declared forbearance. He also could have asked his parents (who were more than willing to help) for a leg up. He could have thrown up his hands and gone to grad school until the job market bounced back.

Instead, he moved to Alaska and spent two years paying back every dime. And when he enrolled at Duke University for graduate school later, he lived out of his van to be sure he wouldn’t have to take out loans again.

“I had no idea what I was getting into at the time. I didn’t even know what interest was when I was 17,” he said. “I just think that’s awfully indicative of the incredibly poor personal finance education young people have at that time in their lives.”

In his book, “Walden on Wheels: On the Open Road from Debt to Freedom,“ Ken chronicles his journey out of debt.

He was kind enough to share his story with us this week.

Career Opportunities: Naval Academy Launches Cyber Ops Major – Business Insider Re-Blog

Peanut Gallery: The U.S. Naval Academy is giving new meaning to the slogan – “Join the Navy and see the world!” 

New careers for the new world order. See the full and related articles at businessinsider.com
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Mike Hoffman, Military.com / Jun 11th 2013 9:44 AM

Photo by: AP/Brennan Linsley
Photo by: AP/Brennan Linsley

ANNAPOLIS, Md. — This fall, the Naval Academy will become the first service academy — or university for that matter — to offer their undergraduate students the chance to major in Cyber Operations.

Pentagon leaders have established cyber security as an urgent priority to develop within the military with a focus on training leaders. The Defense Department is quick to admit it’s still trying to determine its place in protecting the nation from cyber attacks.

However, military brass has said repeatedly that the officers who will define the Pentagon’s future within cyber security will likely be the youngest set of officers to include those still in training. Cue the Naval Academy’s Class of 2016, which will be the first to have graduates with a Cyber Operations degree.

Leaders at the Naval Academy have spent five years developing the cyber classes since former Commandant Adm. Gary Roughead, who later became the chief of naval operations, challenged the academy to provide cyber classes beyond its computer science offerings.

The academy started by establishing a mandatory class that all midshipmen must take their plebe (freshman) year called Cyber 1. In their third year, midshipmen must take another mandatory course called Cyber 2, which provides more in depth instruction to include cyber policy and economics.

Naval Academy Dean and Provost Andrew T. Phillips said the goal has always been to offer a Cyber Security Studies program that went beyond writing code.“We wanted to make sure we covered the basics as well as the policies, law and economics that are associated with cyber,” Phillips said.

The Naval Academy faced a challenge in creating its Cyber Operations major at the same time the Defense Department has struggled to define its role within the realm, Phillips said.

“The services are still trying to figure out where they fit in right now so that it did make it a little harder,” Phillips said.

The service researched the many graduate-level cyber security programs that exist at university such as the University of Maryland. However, the Naval Academy’s program will be the first major at the undergraduate level.

Naval Academy leaders designed the major to continue to adapt over time much like the technology will develop and dictate changes. Many fundamentals will remain the same, but the program is also designed to ensure students stay up to date with the latest technologies, Phillips said.

“We know 30 years from now that the technology will likely be completely different but our hope is that the fundamentals remain the same and these midshipmen can fall back on those,” he said.

Students majoring in Cyber Operations will have the opportunity to complete internships over the summer with civilian software and internet companies as well as the federal agencies such as the National Security Agency, which is a 30-minute drive from the Naval Academy.

So far, about 30 students have signed up for the major. Midshipman 4th Class Molly McNamara is one such student who chose the major after taking Cyber 1 her plebe year.

McNamaara didn’t arrive at the Naval Academy completing a host of computer science classes in high school. Instead she planned to major in chemistry or pre-med.

Her familiarity with computers didn’t go too far beyond Microsoft and Facebook, she admitted. However, McNamara chose to major in Cyber Operations after learning about the wide ranging impact cyber can have on networks throughout the military and society.

Midshipman 4th Class Zachary Dannelly has a more traditional background for a student you’d expect to pick Cyber Operations as a major. He took Advanced Placement computer science in high school as well as web design classes.

He chose the major because he wants to be a part of a military field that is still being defined.

“It’s exciting to be a part of a new field. It’s almost like being the first people on submarines,” Dannelly said.