Share Jesus without fear!
- Created on Wednesday, 24 March 2010 20:49
Perhaps the number one reason believers don’t share the Gospel with others is because of fear. Sometimes we fear rejection. Sometimes we fear embarrassment. Sometimes we just fear that we won’t know enough to answer the important questions that may be asked.
These fears keep us in safe and comfortable places. Instead of sharing Jesus, we just live our “Christian” lives. Maybe if we really understood the plight of the lost, our fears would be less important and we would do more to reach the unsaved. William Fay described our situation this way:
"One night I had a dream. A woman clutched a little girl, struggling to hold her child's head above the water. Nearby, a wave plunged a man into its salty depths. He choked for air as he thrashed his arms against a ceiling of water. All around, the ocean churned with drowning people, gasping for air and desperately trying to push their heads above the surface. Their screams were doused by the roar of the relentless waves. Their cries caught the wind, but only in vain. They were alone in their terror, with no help in sight.
Then a huge rock appeared, and a voice called into the darkness. People began crawling up the rock's craggy sides to safety.
But when they got to safety, something happened that drove me almost goofy. The people who emerged from the waves got busy. They got involved in building rock gardens, rock lives, rock jobs, listening to their rock music, and going to rock meetings where they talked about people who were still drowning in the ocean. But nobody went back to the water's edge to help.
Have you ever tried to run or yell in a dream? In my dreams, I can do neither. Yet I tried to yell at the top of my lungs, "How could you have forgotten you were once in the sea?"
As I watched the "saved" scurry about their rock work as I listened to their rock talk, I realized the rock was the cross of Calvary. The voice they heard was Jesus, calling by the power of the Holy Spirit, inviting them to come join him. He's never high up on the rock where it’s safe; he's calling from the ocean’s edge, where the dead, the diseased, and the lost are found, and as you might recall, that's where he found you.
Did you know that as few as 5 to 10 percent of people in an average church have shared their faith in the past year? That means 90 percent of us have chosen the sin of silence. Just like in my dream, those who were drowning have gotten so busy and involved with the safety of "The Rock," they've forgotten to reach out to those who are still drowning."
Isn’t that sad? We have something that everyone should know about, but at most 10% of believers share their faith in an entire year. Let’s change that statistic! There are lots of great resources out there to better prepare you to share Jesus with unbelievers. One of the best is “Share Jesus Without Fear” by William Fay.
Evil Moving Truck
- Created on Sunday, 28 February 2010 02:55
And lest you think a letter wore off, here's the other side:
Best Android Apps
- Created on Sunday, 20 December 2009 22:06
With more than 12,000 apps in the Android Market, it can be challenging to find the best app for the job. I’ve tested hundreds of these apps in my quest to find the most helpful (and preferably free) tools for my Motorola Droid. If you know of more that should be added to this list send me a comment using the link below.
Touchdown – Microsoft Exchange Email Client
This is by far the best Exchange Client for Android and the only app that cost me money. Touchdown from Nitrodesk syncs email from multiple accounts as well as tasks and calendar items. While the tasks part needs a few usability updates, all of the information and potential is there. I’ve been thrilled with Touchdown’s push email notifications and calendar alerts. The app even lets you choose what folders you sync to your phone. One of my deal makers was the ability to move email to different folders to archive and organize. I use my email inbox as a task list, so this is a vital feature to me.
I mentioned that the task section could use a few updates. I contacted the maker of Touchdown and asked for the following:
1. Add a drop down menu to the task creation/edition page with the categories. This would cut down the steps of pressing the menu button > pressing the categories button >selecting a category.
2. Assign a quick category filter list to a long press on the menu button. I use this in the browser to bring up my history. It would be very simple to switch my categories/contexts using a menu button long press. To be clear, I'm talking about the flush button next to the screen, not the one in the keyboard. Many times I want to quickly switch filters based on my location. That's how GTD users operate. That would take this app way beyond the other GTD task management apps on the market!
Apps Organizer
I use this app to create custom lists of all my apps, and star favorite apps for quick retrieval when I can't remember the exact name. Apps can be tagged to many lists and shortcuts to the lists can be placed on the home screens. I have lists for media, news, work, shopping, tools, internet, games, and a few others.
Pandora – Streaming Music
This app brings you great music to your tastes anywhere you are – even in your car. I have a male-to-male cable in my car that I use to connect my Droid with my sound system and play great quality music. This is way better than radio or satellite! I’ve also used the Pandora app to stream Christmas music for a few hours through a surround sound system and was very impressed with the quality.
Google Listen – Podcast Player
Listen is the best free podcasting app. Other paid programs offer more features, but this has everything I need. I keep track of about 20 podcasts using Listen. I love listening to a podcast in the car over the speakers and taking the show with me after I park. Makes walking more productive.
Advanced Task Killer
There is one thing every Android user should know right away: multitasking kills battery life! A few apps are no problem, but a power user like me could end up with 30 different apps running in the background and not knowing it except for the unusually sluggish response of the phone. A good task killer will show you what is running and let you selectively close or mass close running apps.
Advanced Task Killer is a great free task manager that lets you close specific tasks or several tasks at once. Uncheck the tasks you want to remain open for push email and texting before mass closing tasks. You can also switch to an open app right from the task list.
TasKiller
This is similar to Advanced Task Killer but comes with a great widget to quickly kill select tasks or mass kill all open apps.
BibleReader
Olive Tree released this great free Bible app. Many Android Bibles require internet access to read the text and jump from chapter to chapter. BibleReader downloads the entire text to your SD card so you have the Scriptures available whenever you want! More versions and notes are available for purchase, but the free versions are sufficient for me.
Gmote – Wireless Computer Interface and Media Server
This amazing little app is paired with a computer based server that connects the PC to your phone. Gmote lets you browse your computer’s media library and choose a song or video to play right on your PC. Another great feature lets you stream music or video from your PC to your phone. Gmote can also turn your phone into a wireless touchpad and keyboard for your computer!
Photoshop Mobile – Photo Editor
Ever wish you could crop or touch up a photo taken with your camera phone? Now you can – right on the phone! Photoshop Mobile has some powerful tools and effects to make sure your photos are perfect before you share them.
NewsRob – RSS Reader
There are many free and paid RSS readers in the market but this is the best I have found for usability and features. NewsRob does everything I need and is very quick to use.
Twidroid – Twitter Client
With a great set of features Twidroid has proven a stable and quick Twitter client. Tweet, check other’s tweets to you, direct messages, search Twitter, and even upload pics right from your phone. Paid version allows uploading video, but I wouldn’t use that anyway.
Dock Runner – Media Player and Clock
This app lets you access the built in but hidden media/clock app meant to activate with the $30 dock. I prefer using Digital Clock as it lets me set MP3's as my alarm.
Digital Clock – Alarm Clock
This great clock app lets you choose MP3’s as your alarm sound!
3D Level
This is a very cool level app with two bubble levels and a spherical level.
Bubble – Level
This is a great bubble level that beeps at the right angle.
Aldiko - Reader
E-readers are plenty for android, but none are prettier than Aldiko. Read free books or paid with a great user interface.
Astro – File Browser
Multi-select and search make this my favorite file browser for Android.
AndFTP – FTP Client
I’ve used this app to upload files to my web servers. It gets the job done.
Barcode Scanner
Does what it says but also reads the QR codes that can contain urls, business card information, and links to other Market apps. If you have wondered what those strange looking blocks of white and black are on some Android web pages, this app will let you find out.
Shop Savvy
This app is similar to Barcode scanner but with many more features. I’ve saved quite a bit of money by double checking what I’m buying against Amazon’s online store. I have not been able to get ShopSavvy to read QR codes like Barcode Scanner.
Flashlight
This app turns your screen to white and cranks up the brightness. I’ve used it quite a few times but I prefer MotoTorch.
MotoTorch - Flashlight
The Flashlight app uses the screen but MotoTorch uses the dual LED flash of the Motorola Droid! This produces an incredibly bright light for several feet. MotoTorch includes a widget for one-touch access to this very handy light source.
Dead Pixel Detect
A few phones sell with dead pixels in the screen. To test yours, use Dead Pixel Detect. Some have had Best Buy replace their phones after showing this app.
Corporate Directory
While Android syncs with my Exchange contacts it does not let me search through the Exchange directory. Corporate Directory saves the day by letting me search or browse all of the employees in our directory.
Metal Detector
This app lets you customize the text that appears when your phone detects metal nearby. My detection screen says “Detecting crappy phones…” and my detected screen says “Detected!” Now when I compare my Droid with my friends’ iPhones I just load up that app and wave their phone over mine. Detected!
Tricorder – Star Trek Themed Instrument Panel
I’m not a Trekkie, but I am familiar with Star Trek, Next Gen, Voyager, and all the movies. Ok, maybe I am a light Trekkie. Either way, I think the Tricorder app is really cool. The best part is, the readings are real! Display acceleration, magnetism, sounds, geocodes, and even real solar flare data.
Qik – Live Video Stream
I don’t really have much use for this app but the potential is great. I know that Robert Scoble has been using this with his Nokia N95 for some time to do live interviews from tech conferences. I used and tested Qik successfully but I don’t think I’ll do much more with the app.
Ustream – Live Video Stream
Similar to Qik, this app lets you send live video to the well populated Ustream website.
Ringdroid – Ringtone Editing
This app can edit MP3’s for use as ringtones.
Screencrack – Joke App
For a funny practical joke, run screen crack, hand the phone to your friend, and act like he broke your phone!
Screens – Backgrounds
Never run out of great backgrounds with this great app. Choose from several categories to keep your phone looking fresh.
Backgrounds
This is similar to Screens but lets you see three backgrounds at once. Multiple categories let you narrow down your tastes.
Speed Forge 3D – Racing Game
I’m not much of a mobile gamer but this app really shows off the graphics processor in the Droid.
GPS Tracker
As long as GPS is activated on your phone, this little app can show you in a web browser where it is located.
Where's My Droid – Phone Locator
Send a text message to your phone with a special code and this app will crank up the volume and blast a noise. GPS Tracker and Where’s My Droid could work together to locate and pinpoint your phone virtually anywhere.
Xtremelabs Speedtest – Internet Speed Test
This app checks your phones download and upload speeds. This is a great way to check your connection and annoy people with DSL when your 3G is faster than their internet.
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