David's blog

MD5, hashes, passwords, salts and more

2008-04-08T16:04:30-04:00

1) You need to salt your passwords.

"Assume a user's secret key is stolen and he is known to use one of 200,000 English words as his password. The system uses a 32-bit salt (like md5). Because of this salt, the attacker's pre-calculated hashes are of no value. He/she must calculate the hash of each word with each of 2^32 (4,294,967,296) possible salts appended until a match is found. The total number of possible inputs can be obtained by multiplying the number of words in the dictionary with the number of possible salts:

2^{32} \times 200 000 = 8.58993459 \times 10^{14}

To complete a brute-force attack, the attacker must now compute about 800 trillion hashes, instead of only 200,000. Even though the password itself is known to be simple, the secret salt makes breaking the password radically more difficult." - http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Salt_(cryptography)

2) Now that I got that off my chest I recommend this awesome PHP class http://www.openwall.com/phpass/ as even WORDPRESS has started using it.

3) Plain md5 is just too simple to crack - it is like WEP in WIFI: http://md5.rednoize.com/

4) Rainbow Tables can kill your simple PHP scripts: http://www.antsight.com/zsl/rainbowcrack/
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rainbow_table

So please, I don't want to see anyone still using plain md5() hashes - at least use a salt!

http://www.lightbluetouchpaper.org/2007/11/16/google-as-a-password-cracker/
http://phpsec.org/articles/2005/password-hashing.html

Free AutoDesk Inventor

2007-04-19T18:05:08-04:00

AutoDesk is giving away free copies of its student programs like AutoDesk Inventor. If you are a student you need to take a minute to register for this great offer! (visit Student Autodesk)

As soon as my month-long fight with my computer-box is over (Curse you SATA, Cheap Video Cards, and ECS Mobos), I plan on releasing some Inventor tutorials and because it is a $4000 program (Full Version) this maybe your only chance to grab a copy!

Please note that you must be a student with a college email address(I think they also allow Highschool emails). Also, you will need a decent video card for this program as it is a 3D modeling program. (64MB video card should be fine - but I suggest a 128MB.)

Persecution

2007-03-25T20:03:05-04:00

As I was reading the first chapter of 2 Thessalonians, I started thinking about a few things; particularly - persecution. Having been born and raised in America, I've never really known "persecution". Because I am a Christian, I may have been made fun of, rejected, or disliked - but I wouldn't consider those as "persecution"; more like inconveniences. However, this chapter explains persecution in one of the ways it should be seen, so I’d like to share with you. ;)

Quote:

Dear brothers and sisters, we always thank God for you, as is right, for we are thankful that your faith is flourishing and that you are all growing in love for each other. - 2 Thessalonians 1:3

Two key elements right there! A strong faith, and love for others. I don't think you can have two more powerful weapons than faith and love. I know you certainly can't stand against Satan without them! They are the very core of a Christian. "There are three things that will endure (Forever) - faith, hope, and love - and the greatest of these is love." - 1 Corinthians 13:13

Quote:

We proudly tell God's other churches about your endurance and faithfulness in all the persecutions and hardships you are suffering. But God will use this persecution to show his justice. For He will make you worthy of his kingdom, for which you are suffering, and in His justice He will punish those who persecute you. - 2 Thessalonians 1:4-6

Quote:

And so we keep on praying for you, that our God will make you worthy of the life to which he called you. And we pray that God, by his power, will fulfill all your good intentions and faithful deeds. Then everyone will give honor to the name of our Lord Jesus because of you, and you will be honored along with him. This is made possible because of the undeserved favor of our God and Lord, Jesus Christ. - 2 Thessalonians 1:11-12

Interesting... did you catch it? "For He will make you worthy of his kingdom"

Let me tell you something - armies don't attack something unless it's a threat. Period. The same thing goes for Satan and his fallen angels - they wont attack you unless you’re a threat. If you are going through life, minding your own business and staying away from God, you have nothing to worry about! You pose no threat to Satan and you're walking right down the path he wants you to go - the path to hell. So, why would he bother you?

However, if you're interrupting Satan's plans, if you're doing God's will and sharing God's love with others - you just made yourself a target. You're now fighting on God's side - against Satan. So, you can be sure that Satan will send any kind of persecution he can to hold you back, cause you pain, and get you to stumble. He doesn't want you to keep doing what you're doing - you'll ruin his plans!

As you draw closer to God and start following his will for your life more and more, you'll encounter stronger persecution. The bigger a threat you are; the more Satan will work to stop you. Just look at the lives of the Apostles, Paul, Martin Luther, and Jesus. They had lots of trouble from Satan's attacks and traps. They were HUGE threats. But you know what? Their lives and their suffering was a testament to their worthiness of the kingdom of God.

They showed their faith in Christ and their love for others through their sacrifices. And with each new challenge they looked to God, and He gave them the strength and the wisdom to continue doing His will. He made them worthy of His kingdom. "And we pray that God, by his power, will fulfill all your good intentions and faithful deeds. Then everyone will give honor to the name of our Lord Jesus because of you, and you will be honored along with him."

If you are in the game of life - whether on God's side or Satan's side - you're going to get tackled. Someone will see you as a threat and try to take you down. You're playing for the goal - our goal is Christ and a non-stop worship concert in heaven where God reigns. So if you suffer persecution you know that you're making a difference. A difference Satan wants to stop.

Quote:

And God will provide rest for you who are being persecuted and also for us when the Lord Jesus appears from heaven. He will come with his mighty Angels, in flaming fire, bringing judgment on those who don't know God and on those who refused to obey the good news of our Lord Jesus. They will be punished with everlasting destruction, forever separated from the Lord and from his glorious power when he comes to receive glory and praise from his holy people. And you will be among those praising Him on that day, for you believe what we testified about Him. - 2 Thessalonians 1:7-10

Like I said, I can remember the last time I was persecuted. So this really has me thinking about whether or not I'm living my life for God - or for myself. Am I a threat to Satan or not? Because one day everything I do for myself will be burned up - It just plain won't matter. (Not to mention the fact that the life God has for me is 1000000x better.)

So let me ask you this - if you haven't been tackled, if you haven't faced persecution, if you are just sitting on the sidelines never going anywhere - seriously, what is the point of your life?

C2D's Open Search and Razor Blades

2007-02-28T13:04:06-05:00

Time for more (than less) information on the recent updates to Code2Design.

Yes, C2D is now open search compatible. Now you can search all of Code2Design.com right from your browser!

To install the browser plug-in for Firefox, Opera, or Internet Explorer 7 simply visit any page on C2D and click the highlighted search box to add us to your list of favorite search engines!

However, if you are anything like me, you probably never even use that feature. ;) So, now is a great chance to improve your skills, find useful information, and help test-out our new search plug-in. Boy are you efficient!

In other news, the Bookmark System I posted about earlier looks like it has become a simple CMS project! Yes, I have always wanted a CMS that was secure, simple to hack, and didn’t need updates. (Like a baby version of Drupal.) So out of this desire, I will be using the same system I am building for my bookmarks as the spring board for a CMS system (and tutorials) that will be easy to use/hack without the need for 4+ years of PHP experience to follow the code. Yes, I see that smile on your face… ;)

Recently, we have been receiving about 100 unique visitors each day and now that I have posted 8 tutorials and lessons to Pixel2Life - we should get hit hard by some new waves of visitors when the time comes. I love waves. :]

I have not uploaded any new videos lately because I have been waiting for my new Hard Drive to arrive. Once I get it I need to start on the AutoCAD lessons ASAP! Then I will go back to PHP lessons (I am on #9) - unless someone else wants something else… (Hint, Hint)

Also, I would really appreciate it if you could take the time to bookmark us with some of the icons below. Bookmaking helps spread the word about C2D. (The more visitors - the more members, the more members – the more tutorials! Yay! )

Oh, and for those of you who are having a bad day - I have just the thing:
The Razor Blade Movie

Rooted in Christ

2007-02-25T14:02:58-05:00

"My goal is that they will be encouraged and knit together by strong ties of love. I want them to have full confidence because they have complete understanding of God's secret plan, which is Christ himself. In him lie hidden all the treasures of wisdom and knowledge. I'm telling you this so that no one will be able to deceive you with persuasive arguments." - Colossians 2:2-4

I read a great article on The 10 Questions To Ask To Make Sure You're Still Growing. And I realized I was lacking in some areas, actually - I was lacking in all areas. Looking back over the past few months, I see that I'm still the same person I was then. I still do the same things, and I still know the same things... But that's not God's plan for us! He wants to bring us closer to Him, he wants us to grow in our knowledge and love for Him.

No one makes a friend with someone they like, gets to know them a little, and then decides that's as far as they need to go in that friendship. People don't think, "I know enough about them, and they know enough about me so we don't need to do any more together or get to know each other anymore, we will just stay friends like this forever." No, of course not! If you meet someone that you enjoy spending time with, you want to get to know them better and you want to do more and more with them. Making friends isn't about having someone to call a friend, it's about having a friend. It's about finding people that will become a part of your life and that will help you.

That is what your relationship with Christ is. (Only better!) When you accept Jesus as your Lord and Savior, you are inviting Him into your life. You are saying, "I believe what you did for me on the cross, and I want you to be the Lord of my life". (and I want to know you better.)

And now, just as you accepted Christ Jesus as your Lord, you must continue to live in obedience to him. Let your roots grow down deep into him and draw up nourishment from him, so you will grow in faith, strong and vigorous in the truth you were taught. Let your lives overflow with Thanksgiving for all he has done. - Colossians 2:6-7

We need that nourishment from Him to grow - we need to take our walk with Christ to the next level. It's time to stop being a sick little tree, and start drawing from God's wisdom and power to transform us into a mighty oak. Trees with shallow roots are easily killed and blown over by the wind, but a tree with a deep taproot can withstand the wind and pull from the ground the water to survive the scorching heat.

So after thinking about this, I realized the way we can grow to know Him more - communication. Just like with a friend, or loved one, you have to communicate with them to get anywhere. (I don't know about you, but just staring at someone has never really helped me.) God is the same way, you need to talk to Him and hear what he has say. We need to pray and read God's word; the Bible. Through God's word, He speaks to us, so if we never read God's word - how are we supposed to know what he says? And by the same token, we need to talk to Him through prayer. It is not that God doesn't know what you need or what you're thinking - it's just that He is waiting for you to ask Him for it. God wants to bless you, but he won't force something on you without you're asking.

You know, I spend a lot of time on the computer - a LOT - and yet I don't have much to show for most of it. The same thing with TV or movies, what has it really gained me? Is the world a better place now? Do I understand God better? Have I made more friends? Do I have a better portfolio? - No, the only thing I got out of it was temporary enjoyment. Now don't get me wrong, I'm not going to stop watching movies and going on the computer, but as I looked at how I spent my time it occurred to me what I could do better. How much of my day is spent growing my walk with my Creator? 15 minutes, 5 minutes, or even 5 seconds? Really, how am I going to grow without ever planting any roots?

So, I'm sick of being pushed around by the wind; it's time to start growing. Starting today, I'm going to make it my goal to spend time reading God's word before I go on the computer. I'm going to spend that 15 minutes, 1/96th of my day, saying, "God what do you want to show me today?". And I don't care what excuse Satan comes up with as to why something else is more important, or why I can skip reading the Bible today, I'm going to stick with it. Because nothing is more important than my relationship, my eternal relationship, with God. (No, not even that job-offer email you have been waiting for from Bill Gates)

Four in Christ the fullness of God lives in a human body, and you are complete through your union with Christ. He is the lord over every ruler and authority in the universe. - Colossians 2:9-10

By the way, if you are looking for more ways to spend time with God, I recommend listening to the Thru the Bible Mp3's while in the gym, having prayer time on that long drive to work, and finding a weekday Bible Study. Plus, wherever else you could fit something in. Remember, if something is important to you - you'll find the time... ;)

So don't let anyone condemn you for what you eat or drink, or for not celebrating certain holidays or new moon ceremonies or Sabbath's. For these rules were only shadows of the real thing, Christ himself. Don't let anyone condemn you by insisting on self-denial. And don't let anyone say you must worship angels, even though they say they've had visions about this. These people claimed to be so humble but their sinful minds have made them proud. But they are not connected to Christ, the head of the body. For we are joined together in his body by strong sinews, and we grow only as we get our nourishment and strength from God. - Colossians 2:16-19

See to it that no one takes you captive through philosophy and empty deception, according to the tradition of men, according to the elementary principals of the world, rather than according to Christ. - Colossians 2:8

New Projects

2007-02-19T11:10:47-05:00

Lately, as I find myself spending increasing amounts of time online (in research); I end up meeting many exceptional people who more or less are lacking in some area of the web. Now meeting people is a very good thing, however, this ultimately leads to a problem – I love to help people. Wait, that’s a problem?...

Well… It is when you don’t have any time! ;]

I know that I have a long way to go before I can match the skill and talent of today’s top programmers and designers – but if you don’t mind me saying – I still can hold my own to most of the web out there. One of the reasons is the collection of bookmarks, scripts, tools, and such I have found over the course of my web life.

So, because of the desire to help others, I have discovered the need to share my bookmarks and learning sources. I originally thought about posting my Firefox bookmarks online for people to download. But, because there are personal items (and because I have them spread out over different computers) I decided to skip that approach in favor of a more useful one.

So, as we speak I am working on my first online bookmark list that I will publish soon. However, if you can’t wait you can visit the Learning on Steroids page for a small glimpse of what I am aiming for. I am hopping to finish the system within 3 weeks or more.

Other than that, the rest of my time has gone to my work, taking care of horses, ponies, and dogs, BOC, Jesus Freak, and trying to remember what sleep was like...

P.S. This week we have had about 500 Unique Visitors.

Link Trading Gone Wrong

2007-02-13T21:03:34-05:00

Now-a-days, most WebMaster's understand the importance of trading links with other sites. Afterall, besides the obvious logic of "The more roads to the site - the more visitors" - trading links has great Search Engine Ranking benefits. Which have been proven many times before, so I will skip going into any long "Statistics prove...." talk. (If you want more info see our good friend Google.)

Anyway, so what is the title all about? Well... me being over-zealous in my link trading. ;)

Back when LearnPHPFree.com was only a couple months old I found a site called Photoshop Freaks. I liked there content and so I searched the site trying to find someone's email... hmmm.... well, maybe over here.........nope. Ok, well, lets try google! So I CTRL+Copy'ed "Photoshop Freaks" (yep, I'm not to big on typing...) into google along with a couple other terms like "email" and tried some other things. After six sets of the famous "470,000 results in .32 seconds", I gave up. So lets try the less-used "whois" search. Now, for those of you who don't know - a whois looks up the data about the owner of a domain name - which in this case was PhotoshopFreaks[DOT]com.

So I checked out a couple of sites and I found the details of the email...hmmm.. and a phone - cool! So why wait for an email when you can call them?

"Hey, ummm... you don't know me but my name is David and I would like to trade links with your site PhotoshopFreaks.com."

Uh, Ya... how would you feel to have someone YOU DIDN'T KNOW call you up and ask that? Well, needless to say, he wasn't to excited about someone calling to ask about trading a link. (Now that I look back I kind of feel embarrassed) However, I still got it and you can see it on the left side of the page.

But this provoked two thoughts:

First I discovered the importance of "Private Domain Registration".

Quote:

For antiquated reasons, ICANN rules require that whois data, the data that describes the owner of a domain (like pcmag.com) and the contact information for that owner, be valid. This database has become a feeding ground for spam harvesting and outright stalking. - PCmag

hehehe... I am a link trading stalker. :P
I know where you ~~live~~ register...

The other thought belonged to Mr. Thomas. lol.

So learn the lesson of protecting your privacy.
(or you might get a call from me one day...)

Do we really have any reason to be unhappy?

2007-02-12T16:19:48-05:00

By Craig R. Smith (New York Times Reporter)

The other day I was reading Newsweek magazine and came across some poll data I found rather hard to believe. It must be true given the source, right? The same magazine that employs Michael (Qurans in the toilets at Gitmo) Isikoff. Here I promised myself this week I would be nice and I start off in this way.

The Newsweek poll alleges that 67 percent of Americans are unhappy with the direction the country is headed and 69 percent of the country is unhappy with the performance of the president. In essence 2/3s of the citizenry just ain't happy and want a change.

So being the knuckle dragger I am, I starting thinking, "What we are so unhappy about?"

Is it that we have electricity and running water 24 hours a day, 7 days a week? Is our unhappiness the result of having air conditioning in the summer and heating in the winter? Could it be that 95.4 percent of these unhappy folks have a job? Maybe it is the ability to walk into a grocery store at any time and see more food in moments than Darfur has seen in the last year?

Maybe it is the ability to drive from the Pacific Ocean to the Atlantic Ocean without having to present identification papers as we move through each state? Or possibly the hundreds of clean and safe motels we would find along the way that can provide temporary shelter? I guess having thousands of restaurants with varying cuisine from around the world is just not good enough. Or could it be that when we wreck our car, emergency workers show up and provide services to help all involved . Whether you are rich or poor they treat your wounds and even, if necessary, send a helicopter to take you to the hospital.

Perhaps you are one of the 70 percent of Americans who own a home, you may be upset with knowing that in the unfortunate case of having a fire, a group of trained firefighters will appear in moments and use top notch equipment to extinguish the flames thus saving you, your family and your belongings. Or if, while at home watching one of your many flat screen TVs, a burglar or prowler intrudes; an officer equipped with a gun and a bullet-proof vest will come to defend you and your family against attack or loss. This all in the backdrop of a neighborhood free of bombs or militias raping and pillaging the residents. Neighborhoods where 90 percent of teenagers own cell phones and computers.

How about the complete religious, social and political freedoms we enjoy that are the envy of everyone in the world? Maybe that is what has 67 percent of you folks unhappy.

Fact is, we are the largest group of ungrateful, spoiled brats the world has ever seen. No wonder the world loves the US , yet has a great disdain for its citizens. They see us for what we are. The most blessed people in the world who do nothing but complain about what we don't have and what we hate about the country instead of thanking the good Lord we live here.

I know, I know. What about the president who took us into war and has no plan to get us out? The president who has a measly 31 percent approval rating? Is this the same president who guided the nation in the dark days after 9/11? The president that cut taxes to bring an economy out of recession? Could this be the same guy who has been called every name in the book for succeeding in keeping all the spoiled brats safe from terrorist attacks? The commander-in-chief of an all-volunteer army that is out there defending you and me?

Make no mistake about it. The troops in Iraq and Afghanistan have volunteered to serve, and in many cases have died for your freedom. There is currently no draft in this country. They didn't have to go. They are able to refuse to go and end up with either a "general" discharge, an "other than honorable" discharge or, worst case scenario, a "dishonorable" discharge after a few days in the brig.

So why then the flat out discontentment in the minds of 69 percent of Americans? Say what you want but I blame it on the media. If it bleeds it leads and they specialize in bad news. Everybody will watch a car crash with blood and guts. How many will watch kids selling lemonade at the corner?

The media knows this and media outlets are for-profit corporations. They offer what sells. Just ask why they are going to allow a murderer like O.J. Simpson to write a book and do a TV special about how he didn't kill his wife but if he did he was insane!

Stop buying the negative venom you are fed everyday by the media. Shut off the TV, burn Newsweek and use the New York Times for the bottom of your bird cage. Then start being grateful for all we have as a country.

There is exponentially more good than bad.

I close with one of my favorite quotes from B.C. Forbes in 1953:

"What have Americans to be thankful for? More than any other people on the earth, we enjoy complete religious freedom, political freedom, social freedom. Our liberties are sacredly safeguarded by the Constitution of the United States, 'the most wonderful work ever struck off at a given time by the brain and purpose of man.' Yes, we Americans of today have been bequeathed a noble heritage. Let us pray that we may hand it down unsullied to our children and theirs."

I suggest we sit back and count our blessings for all we have. If we don't, what we have will be taken away. Then we will have to explain to future generations why we squandered such blessing and abundance. If we are not careful this generation will be known as the "greediest and
most ungrateful generation." A far cry from the proud Americans of the "greatest generation" who left us an untarnished legacy.

February News

2007-02-09T22:39:37-05:00

Well, as quite as it has been around here there have been a lot of additions, updates, and even some new movies! Yes, Code2Design is still under a very active development.

Keeping a site up-to-date is a big problem in today's world. Every code-kitty out there is looking for a site to hack – supposedly, to gain the respect of others (which is probably the same type of respect one could earn from toilet-papering someone's house). Plus you have the bots out there always on the lookout for a place to plant some spam. So, security alone keeps me busy as I strive to keep C2D a friendly, spam-free, environment! :)

After all, this is about us enjoying our time and learning something. Hopefully, we can get some haXor (excuse me, "craker") to help with php security lessons. ;)

I am hoping to start on some lessons for AutoCAD LT soon. I am taking a class on it right now and I convinced the teacher to let me swap the "homework" (aka "What is a floppy?" and "Draw a line…") for making some video lessons which I will post here. Cool huh?

Also, the PHP lessons 1-8 now have videos and I fixed the display problem. I am hoping to also work on the CSS lessons next so that I can help some of the new XHTML people, or should I focus on the HTML? (comment hint-hint)

In other news, Alxandr found a problem with the left navigation menu in Opera on XP. However, I was not able to duplicate it. So if you see the menus moving up and down when you hover over them – please drop me a line and let me know your OS and browser. (Or better yet - send me the CSS fix!)

So, that is it for now. If you want to see anything in particular here let me know – otherwise I will see you around! :)

A Slave to Which Master?

2007-02-09T22:36:43-05:00

"For you been called to live in freedom - not freedom to satisfy your sinful nature, but freedom to serve one another in love." - Galatians 5:13

"So I advise you to live according to your new life in the Holy Spirit. Then you won't be doing what your sinful nature craves. The old sinful nature loves to do evil, which is just opposite from what the Holy Spirit wants. And the Holy Spirit gives us desires that opposite from what this sinful nature designers. These two forces are constantly fighting each other, and your choices are never free from this conflict. - Galatians 5:16-17

I don't think we humans will ever be 100% free. We are going to be a slave to one thing or another; to Sin or to Christ. We really only have two choices. In some of Paul's other letters he writes about how he's a slave to Christ. So what about you? Who have you giving your allegiance too? To life or to death, to love or to hate, to Christ or to sin. Would you rather be a slave of our loving God, or to Sin that wants to destroy you? Some people may think this is a little drastic... but it's not me that says this - God's word tells us this. And personally if God's word says it, that's good enough for me. After all, he is the Almighty, Perfect Creator of the Universe, not me.

"When you follow the desires of your sinful nature, your lives will produce these evil results: sexual immorality, impure thoughts, eagerness for lustful pleasure, idolatry, participation in demonic activities, hostility, quarreling, jealousy, outbursts of anger, selfish ambition, divisions, the feeling that everyone is wrong except those in your own little group, envy, drunkenness, wild parties, and other kinds of sin. Let me tell you again, as I have before, that anyone living that sort of life will not inherit the kingdom of God.
But when the Holy Spirit controls our lives, he will produce this kind of fruit in us: love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control. Here and there is no conflict with the law.
Those who belong to Christ Jesus had nailed the passions and desires of their sinful nature to his cross and crucified them there. If we are living now by the Holy Spirit, let us follow the Holy Spirit's leading in every part of our lives." - Galatians 5:19-25

"What kind of person to you most appreciate and like to be around? What kind of person to you want to become? Most likely, the person who exhibits these qualities found in Galatians 5. Wouldn't it be great to be known as a loving, joyful, peaceful, patient, kind, good, faithful, gentle, and self-control person? God wants to transform you into that kind of person. What holds you back from giving God complete control of your life and allowing the Holy Spirit to work in you?" - Author Unknown

Remember, "No man can serve two masters; for either he will hate the one, and love the other; or else he will hold to one, and despise the other." - Luke 16:13

Laziness

2007-02-09T22:08:41-05:00

"Be sure to do what you should, for then you will enjoy the personal satisfaction of having done your work well, and you won't need to compare yourself to anyone else. For we are each responsible for own conduct." - Galatians 6:4-5

Sometimes I have to try to remember not to be lazy. This scripture is so true - when I don't do the job correctly I don't feel as good as when I've done it right. When I gave in to the thoughts that say, "that's good enough; you don't need to do any more" or "don't worry about it" I still feel kind of guilty in my conscience. I know that I didn't do what I was supposed to. That's when the second part of this scripture sets in - "then you won't need to compare yourself to anyone else".

That's exactly how it happens! Man, can God see-through us or what! :P

When I don't do the job correctly I feel guilty about it, so then Satan comes back with another solution, "Look around.... see! Don't feel bad - look no one else did it!" He tells us that it's perfectly fine for us to be lazy - and were totally justified because no one else is doing it (no wonder he's called the father of lies). So we try to find justification for our laziness by comparing ourselves to others.

God's word says, "Work hard and cheerfully at whatever you do, as though you were working for the Lord rather than for people." - Colossians 3:23. And that's the truth, not Satan's baloney. Whether were taking out the trash, or finishing that report our boss asked for (even though it's time to go home), we need to remember that God's watching us - and so is everyone else. If we're lazy, or poor workers, we will be dishonoring our loving Father in heaven, and giving others yet another reason to think Christianity's bad. I don't know about you, but that's not what I want; I want to be a light!

God Bless!

The Next Step In Your Walk

2007-02-09T21:59:48-05:00

"Ever since I first heard of your strong faith in the Lord Jesus and your love for Christians everywhere, I have never stopped thanking God for you. I pray for you constantly, asking God, the glorious father of our Lord Jesus Christ, to give you spiritual wisdom and understanding, so that you might grow in your knowledge of God. I pray that your hearts will be flooded with light so that you can understand the wonderful future he has promised to those he called. I want you to realize what a rich and glorious inheritance he has given to his people." - Ephesians 1:15-18

This passage is a perfect example of "the next step" in a Christian's walk with the Lord. The church in Ephesus had a strong faith in Jesus and was full of God's love, but Paul knew their walk with the Lord shouldn't stop there - no Christian's walk should.

You see, our God is an awesome God; his power and wisdom go on forever. Therefore, neither in this life, or in the life to come, Will we ever know everything there is to know about him. There will always be something new to learn about the glory of God. So Paul prayed for God to give the church "spiritual wisdom and understanding, so that you might grow in your knowledge of God". He didn't want them to stop where they were, to stop growing and learning about God. And I don't believe any Christian ever should.

Personally, I'm horrified at the thought of ever reaching a place in my walk where I say, "This is good, I think I'll stop here." That would be terrible! "I think I've made it to point where I'm good enough. Ya... I'm pretty sure there is nothing else that God in teach me. After all, I'm a great Christian already"

I love God, and just like anything I love, I would never want to stop learning and enjoying all he has to bless us with. That would be like me going all the way up through grade school, middle school, high school, college, and then finally when I reach graduate school (and I almost have that degree I have worked my whole life for) suddenly saying, "This is good, I think I'll stop here." and dropping out. Yet it seems that a lot of Christians do this; and I can't figure out why...

Paul wanted the church to receive everything that they should; "I pray that your hearts will be flooded with light so that you can understand the wonderful future he has promised to those he called. I want you to realize what a rich and glorious inheritance he has given to his people." He wanted them to get that degree; to understand the inheritance they would receive. So he asked God to continue to give them wisdom and understanding so that they would keep growing.

I don't know about you, but I want my life to be one long adventure where I never stop learning and discovering new things about our Awesome Creator. So I'm going to start asking God to give me spiritual wisdom and understanding so that I can grow in the knowledge of Him.

What about you?

Helping a Brother or Sister with Their Sin

2007-02-09T21:53:21-05:00

"Dear brothers and sisters, if another Christian is overcome by some sin, you who are godly should gently and humbly help that person back into the right path. And be careful not to fall into this same temptation yourself. Shared each others' troubles and problems, and in this way obey the law of Christ. If you think you are too important to help someone in need, your only fooling yourself. You're really a nobody." - Galatians 6:1-3

As I was reading this I thought of two examples that I think some this passage up well; pornography and alcohol. These are both problems that some people can think they're too spiritual for. They don't want to help or even talk to people with these issues. It's sad, because it's just another one of Satan's lies that plays on our pride.

However there are some people that Satan can't stop with this baloney. Some Christians see a struggling brother and want to help them. So Satan comes after them from a different angle. I'm sure you can imagine this: someone goes down to a bar to witness to alcoholics but... somehow end's up getting a *small drink, but just one. Until next time when he gets two... Or, someone witnesses to their friend at work everyday, who has pornographic images all over their cubicle, and overtime they kind of start liking to see those images...

I'm so glad we have God's word to help us stay on the right path. I think this is an important scripture for helping other Christians. It also serves as a good warning to help us stand strong against Satan's tactics. We need to remember to help others in love and to share their problems, but at the same time we have to remember to guard ourselves from Satan's lies.

If you're ever unsure how to handle something just ask God about it. That is why he is our father. We should ask him to help us in everything we do and remember to read His word so that we will know what we should and shouldn't be doing.

The Things God has Planned For Us

2007-02-09T21:45:46-05:00

"For we are God's masterpiece. He has created us anew in Christ Jesus, so that we can do the good things he planned for us long ago." - Ephesians 2:10

"For we are his workmanship, created in Christ Jesus unto good works, which God hath before ordained that we should walk in them." - Ephesians 2:10

Every father has a plan for their children, whether it's to follow in their footsteps and take up their position, or to grow up and start a business or become a pilot - a father wants to see his children make it in life.

In the same way; God has a plan for us too, but it is not a fouled plan, there are no errors in it (as every human plan has). It is a perfect plan, a plan that will give you the most out of eternity and your relationship with God. He is our Awesome Omnipotent Creator, He knows the past, the future, and the present. For every choice you make in your life, he knows what the other choice would have led you too. For every fork in the road you come too, he knows where either path will take you. He knows everything, and he has a perfect plan for your life.

Like I said before, often our plans are full of errors - I know mine are. I don't even know what the weather will be like tomorrow, so how can I expect to layout the plans for my life? On my way to the store, I could have an accident that would disable me for the rest of my life; but how could I know? You see we us humans just need to trust God, he loves is more than we will ever understand, and his wisdom goes on forever, so just makes sense to listen for his direction.

And more important than becoming a pilot, or starting a business - God has mighty tasks for those who will just follow his plan. People who realize that God is bigger than anything they could imagine and that he will lead them down the perfect path for their life. People like Moses, Simon Peter (Paul), Peter, King David, Abraham, and many others. The great people of the Bible who realized that all the world wanted them to have and was temporary success and pleasure - which is far from everything God wants us to have. God does want to bless our life here on Earth, but more importantly, he wants to give us an eternity of glory and blessings.

"...so that we can do the good things he planned for us long ago". He has great plans for us, the perfect path for our lives if we just ask him for direction. If we stop trying to steer our own car blindfolded, and ask God for direction he will give us a life we could never imagine.

So the next time you pray, ask God to show you what he wants you to do, to show you what his plans are for you.
Then prepared to be amazed :D

Psalm 119:105

Psalm 25:4-5

"For I know the plans I have for you," says the LORD. "They are plans for good and not for disaster, to give you a future and a hope. 12In those days when you pray, I will listen." - Jeremiah 29:11-12

The Body of Christ

2007-02-09T21:26:32-05:00

"Therefore I, a prisoner for serving the Lord, beg you to lead a life worthy of your calling, for you have been called by God. Be humble and gentle. Be patient with each other, making allowance for each others' faults because of your love. Always keep yourselves united in the Holy Spirit, and bind yourselves together with peace." - Ephesians 4:1-3

"We are all one body, we have the same spirit, and we have all been called to the same glorious future. There is only one Lord, one faith, one baptism, and there's only one God the Father, who is over us all and in us all and living through us all." - Ephesians 4:4-6

"He is the one who gave these gifts to the church: the apostles, the prophets, the evangelists, and the pastors and teachers. Their responsibility is to equip God's people to do his work and build up the church, the body of Christ, until we can to such unity in our faith and knowledge of God's son that we will be mature and full-grown in the Lord, measuring up to the full stature Christ." - Ephesians 4:11-13

"Under his direction [Christ], the whole body is fitted together perfectly. As each part does its own special work, it helps the other parts grow, so that the whole body is healthy and growing and full of love." - Ephesians 4:16

"So put away all falsehood and "tell your brother the truth" because we all belong to each other." - Ephesians 4:25

"If you are a thief, stop stealing. Begin using your hands for honest work, and then give generously to others in need. Don't use foul or abusive language. Let everything you say be good and helpful so the words will be an encouragement to those who hear them." - Ephesians 4:28-29

"Get rid of all bitterness, rage, anger, harsh words, and slander, as well as all types of malicious behavior. Instead, the kind to each other, tender hearted, forgiving one another, just as God through Christ has forgiven you." - Ephesians 4:31

We are the body of Christ (Corinthians 12:12-14). I am just as much a part of that brother that struggles with drinking as I am a part of the pastor. We are all one and we are all there for each other. I am not worth more than the lowest sinner and I am not worth less than the pastor. Like Philippians 2:5-6 tells us, we need to have a mind set of a servant knowing that we are all part of the body of Christ. Despite what Satan tells us, we need to die to ourselves daily, take up the cross and follow Christ. Our job is to take care of each other and to love each other, just like Christ loves us.

"...And all of you, serve each other in humility, for "God sets himself against the proud, but he shows favor to the humble." - 1 Peter 5:5

I know that the only good in my life is a direct result of Christ shining through me. So, I need to stop believing Satan's lie that I'm too good to help someone who doesn't seem to have it as together is me, or that I'm better than doing some lowly job.

No, my example needs to be Christ! He came from riches and glory and power beyond what any of us can imagine, so that he could save us. He didn't have his disciples do his work for him - he didn't choose a wealthy ruler for his parents so that he would live in comfort. No, He spent his life serving the lowest and the wickedest people in the world. He humbled himself as low as he could and showed an amazing love to his creation. A love like that is something I only wish I had. It's so incredible it doesn't make any sense to our flesh - which only desires to focus on our self. But now that we are part of God's body, God's love flows through us, and he asks us to use that love to serve each other and build up the body of Christ. (John 15:5 and John 15:9-12)

"There are three things that will endure -faith, hope, and love -and the greatest of these is love." - 1 Corinthians 13-13

1 Corinthians 13:4-8
1 John 4:16-20