In Defense of the Christian Faith

If you've ever had a pet, you know that they depend on you. You are the one who gives them food, water, shelter, affection, etc. If they are afraid, your reassurance that everything is okay is all that they need to hear to calm them down. So it is with God; He is our shelter, our Provider. So why do we worry? Matthew 6:25-26 states, "Therefore I say to you, do not worry about your life, what you will eat or what you will drink; nor about your body, what you will put on. Is not life more than food and the body more than clothing? Look at the birds of the air, for they neither sow nor reap nor gather into barns; yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not of more value than they?" Jesus admonishes us to look at the birds and notice how they depend on Him for food. When you take a walk outside, you hear all the beautiful singing of the birds. They don't seem to have a care in the world; they're just these happy, little singing birds. Why is that? I have a brig...

Acts 9:7-8 And the men which journeyed with him stood speechless, hearing a voice, but seeing no man . And Saul arose from the earth; and when his eyes were opened, he saw no man: but they led him by the hand, and brought him into Damascus. Acts 22:9 And they that were with me saw indeed the light , and were afraid; but they heard not the voice of him that spake to me. Have you ever read these passages and thought, "Why does Paul say in one place that the men heard a voice but saw no one, and then in the next, he turned around and said that they saw a light but did not hear a voice?" Well, there is really a very simple reconciliation for these two passages: The men with Paul saw a light but did not see Jesus, "the one who spoke" with him. That the men did see the light is rather obvious, because Paul says in Acts 23:13, "At midday, O king, I saw in the way a light from heaven, above the brightness of the sun, shining round about me and them which journeyed w...

I've been thinking a lot lately about all the missionary "greats," of late, such as Nate Saint and Amy Carmichael, to name a few. All of these paid a high price for obeying God, and this reminded me of some other, perhaps less heard of, Christians who are missionaries to their own countries. I am referring to those persecuted Christians who lay down their lives for Christ every single day. They suffer because they choose to follow Christ rather than obey the world and its customs. Most of these Christians live in countries where religions other than Christianity are allowed, and converting from these "state" religions to Christianity is strictly forbidden. Converting could mean imprisonment, horrendous torture (both mental and physical), or worse -- maybe even death. They are pressured to renounce their faith; but how can they deny the One who paid the ultimate price by dying for them? They are very daring Christians, but they "know whom [they] have believe...

Today, I'm posting a study that I've been conducting over the past week... It's rather LOOOOONG , but I was challenged as well as encouraged, and I hope you will be, too. It's a continuation of last weeks WFW about seeking God with a pure heart. Today, we focus on hardening our hearts... Ps 81:12 So I gave them up unto their own hearts' lust: and they walked in their own counsels. {unto...: or, to the hardness of their hearts, or, imagination} Rom 1:24 Wherefore God also gave them up to uncleanness through the lusts of their own hearts, to dishonour their own bodies between themselves We can see that one way to harden one's heart is to follow our lusts -- to do things our own way, instead of God's, and this makes us unclean. In this case, God, who is merciful and "not willing that any should perish, but that all should repent and come to the knowledge of the truth," will loose us to our own choice; it's always our choice what we will do with ...

Matthew 17:27 "Nevertheless, lest we offend them, go to the sea, cast in a hook, and take the fish that comes up first. And when you have opened its mouth, you will find a piece of money; take that and give it to them for Me and you." I learned something interesting about this Scripture... thought it was interesting, so I decided to share it with you all... Grant Jeffrey gives some interesting information about this type of fish: This species of fish belongs to the Cichlidae family and flourishes in this warm freshwater sea. St. Peter's Fish is occasionally called the "mouth breeder." It is found naturally in only three places, all of which lie along the geological zone extending from the Sea of Galilee thousands of miles to the south in Lake Victoria, Uganda.... Dr. Jim Fleming, a professor of archaeology and historical geography at Hebrew University in Jerusalem, has taught about the unusual nature of this fish in connection with Matthew 17:24­27. The femal...

Today’s Inspiring Story is an essay I wrote recently about Between Two Tigers, a book published by the Voice of the Martyrs. I am aware that to a skeptic this might not be enough “proof” that there is a God. However, it goes along so well with what I was talking about on Wednesday (and plan to continue next WFW): that only when our hearts are pure will we see the Lord. Some people think they’re sincere when they say, “If God exists, prove it to me!” And then when you show them, they shoot down everything you say with their own arguments. This, to me, says that they have the wrong heart attitude. I also believe that the things that God does for us in our daily lives, proves God's existence. Hence, this is what inspired today’s story… Enjoy! ------------------ In this world today, it is often said, “If God truly existed, He would reveal Himself to me.” They say, “God doesn’t exist! You can’t prove He does; I would have experienced some kind of miracle if He did!” It’s really a mat...

Last week in her WFW, the_other_alice talked about 2 Corinthians 3:14-18 and how we should be loving the Lord with all of our hearts instead of looking at ourselves. I did some further study on this topic; I studied the Greek words, and her is what I came up with: 2 Cor 3:14, 16-18 14 But their minds were petrified/hardened: for until this day the same covering to conceal and keep secret remains unlifted in the reading of the old testament, which covering is loosed, abolished, made void, and destroyed and you are delivered from it in Christ... 16 Nevertheless when one converts [to the Lord], turns quite around, and does a self-about [or an about face] the covering to conceal the secrets shall be removed all around [as a circuit], carried away, pardoned, burned, and expiated [to suffer for wrongdoing] so that you can be a green tree which bears more fruit. 17 Now the Lord is that Spirit: and where the Spirit of the Lord is, there is freedom, not slavery. 18 But we all, with uncovered ...

The Inspiring Story that I originally wanted to post today wasn't ready soon enough, so I was searching around trying to find one, and this one just "grabbed me" it is so good... Enjoy! --------------- "The effective, fervent prayer of a righteous man avails much" (James 5:16). James Rutz, author of MegaShift, tells a wonderful story of God's supernatural hand in answering prayer. "I have a good friend named Barclay Tait who sells vacation real estate in Niceville, Florida. Back in 1977, he was a 36-yeard-old Florida basketball coach. That summer, he decided to hitch-hike to a Christian conference in Front Royal, Virginia. Arriving four days early, he went to a nearby forest and pitched his tent by a stream. On the last day, a tall, thin hiker with a notebook under his arm suddenly appeared, startling him as he read his Bible. Barclay explained that he came out there to fast and meditate. Dave, the hiker, replied, "Well, I'm an intercessor. W...

Col 3: 2-3 "Set your mind on things above, not on things on the earth. For you died, and your life is hidden with Christ in God." What does it mean to "Set our minds on things above"? I believe that Luke 19 has a great example: 1 Then Jesus entered and passed through Jericho. 2 Now behold, there was a man named Zacchaeus who was a chief tax collector, and he was rich. 3 And he sought to see who Jesus was, but could not because of the crowd, for he was of short stature. 4 So he ran ahead and climbed up into a sycamore tree to see Him, for He was going to pass that way. 5 And when Jesus came to the place, He looked up and saw him, and said to him, "Zacchaeus, make haste and come down, for today I must stay at your house." Zacchaeus had set his mind on one fact: He would see Jesus. But he had some setbacks. His biggest problem was that he was short. He may have tried to get someone to hold him up, but he was a hated tax-collector. Those two things were aga...

Creation Science Evangelism is on the verge of property seizure by the government if they do not pay a non-tax related fine by September 15 ! The property to be seized includes the homes of three families who work at the ministry. This ministry has helped many to step out of evolution by exposing the lies in the textbooks and by providing scientific facts to support Creation. Many lives have been touched, encouraged, and impacted through this ministry (myself included) which "evangelizes using Creation Science." Watch this video to learn more about the ministry and how you can support them. You can also check out Eric Hovind's blog . Disclaimer: Please note that I never endorse giving to any organization/ministry unless I firmly believe in it's (in this case, jeopardized) cause. If you are unable to give, please pray for this ministry.

Today's Inspiring Story comes from The Voice of the Martyrs' recent magazine (Sept 2009). In the interest of keeping this post from growing too large, I have edited it, so I encourage you to read the full story for yourself. "I could tell that I was touching death. I realized, 'I am going to die.'" ... "I swim so well that when I shower I drown," Hussein says now, chuckling. He'd never learned to swim. Still Hussein waded, ankle deep, into the water. The waves looked small. He moved a bit further until he was knee deep. And then... nothing, the sandy floor had disappeared. Hussein was out too far, sinking in the waves, touching death. He was thrashing now, panicking. Then he began praying. "I said, 'Christ give me one more chance. I never ministered for you. I will minister for you if you do this. Just give me one more chance!'" Hussein had sensed a call to ministry, but had not answered. Answering a call to ministry in ...

Titus 1: 15 To the pure all things are pure, but to those who are defiled and unbelieving nothing is pure; but even their mind and conscience are defiled. 16 They profess to know God, but in works they deny Him, being abominable, disobedient, and disqualified for every good work. Today, we continue our study on good works -- that is, the works that are "done in God." I would like to accomplish this by looking at John chapter 15. Here, Jesus is talking to His disciples shortly before His death. This chapter speaks of much of what we've already covered in previous WFW studies, but it also sheds some more light on what these "good works" are that we should be accomplishing. John 15 1 I am the true vine, and My Father is the vinedresser. 2 Every branch in Me that does not bear fruit He takes away; and every branch that bears fruit He prunes, that it may bear more fruit. Upon closer examination, it becomes clear that this verse is speaking of the chastening of the...