My web host, Bluehost.com, has just increased the storage limit from 4 GB to 10 GB and the bandwidth limit from 100 to 250 GB. And they charge only $6.95/month when you pre-pay for 2 years. That’s quite a deal, considering that they have phone tech support, not only email support like many cheap web hosting companies. I just thought I’d mention it in case anyone is looking for a web host.

As we prepare to celebrate Thanksgiving it is interesting to look at the Thanksgiving Day proclamation by our first president. The first electoral college unanimously elected George Washington as President of the United States. He was inaugurated on April 30, 1789, in New York City. Washington’s very first proclamation, issued on Oct. 3, 1789, declared a national Thanksgiving Day.
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I have made a few improvements to the site:

• added a “Most Popular” post section in the right sidebar
• put in new feed links for those who want to use RSS to subscribe
• added a link to subscribe by email
• installed a new Bible text tool tip plugin that shows the passage when you move the mouse over a Scripture reference such as John 3:16

The Bible text plugin uses the ESV (English Standard Version), which is a new more literal translation somewhat like the NASB. Read about their translation philosophy. Thanks for Chris Roberts, another Christian Wordpress blogger, for a great plugin, and for his help in resolving a conflict with another plugin I was using.

Update: The Bible text plugin only works part of the time. I’m not sure why…

Those who read the cross-post on my Xanga will need to come to the main site to see these improvments. (The Bible text plugin won’t function on Xanga.)

This week lots of people are talking about the new Harry Potter movie. Some parents at church asked me if I thought it was alright for their kids to see the movie. Since I haven’t seen the movie yet, I can’t really comment on the content. But I will provide a few links to reviews of the movie by Christians:

• Review by Focus on the Family
• Review in Christianity Today
• Review on Crosswalk.com

Many of the comments in these reviews are addressed specifically to the parents of younger children.

There has been considerable debate among Christians about these movies, and it will probably continue with this new movie. My suggestion is that for any movie you watch you go in with your mind egaged. Try to understand the world view behind the movie, and how it compares with the Christian world view. Look at the values portrayed in the movie and compare them with Christian values. If you have children, watch a movie together and then discuss what you have seen.

There is much more that I could say about the watching of movies, but this will have to do for now.

As we approach the Thanksgiving Holiday this week we hear many voices calling us to “be thankful” and to “count our blessings.” But it seems a bit awkward for those who wish to make Thanksgiving into a secular holiday. Exactly whom are they thanking? What is the source of our “blessings?” We do not give thanks to inanimate objects. When I drive to my office I do not thank my car for getting me there safely and reliably. When it rains I do not thank the clouds for caring for me. The giving of thanks only makes sense in context of a personal relationship. We can only properly thank a personal being who has acted on our behalf. Being thankful “in general” doesn’t work very well.

At the first Thanksgiving in 1621 they didn’t have this problem. They came seeking religious freedom and a place to establish a community founded on biblical principles. After arriving at Cape Cod on November 11, 1620, they faced a harsh winter in which nearly half of their group died. Yet in the Spring when the Mayflower returned to England not a single one of them chose to return. They tenaciously clung to their faith and in the Fall of 1621 celebrated a feast to thank God for His blessings.

To be honest, I sometimes find it irritating to hear people spouting pious platitudes about being “thankful” without acknowledging God’s place in their lives. Thanksgiving isn’t about a vague feeling of thankfulness—it is about giving thanks and praise to our gracious heavenly Father and sovereign Lord.

Today I saw a very interesting editorial from the LA Times: Five questions non-Muslims would like answered. Two of the questions are “Why are you so quiet?” and “Why are so many atrocities committed and threatened by Muslims in the name of Islam?”

These are some very good questions. Time and time again we are told that the majority of Muslims are peace loving people, and I really want to believe that that is true. Perhaps it is. But where are the massive protests by peace loving Muslims who object to their religion being hijacked by terrorists?

If there was a Christian group that preached that we should become suicide bombers to destroy “infidels” we would label it a “cult.” Churches across the country would preach messages against this aberration of the Christian faith. So where is the voice of the “moderate Muslims?”

As the editorial writer says, “We await your response.”