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Showing posts from December, 2009

WFW: Knowing God

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(Note: I apologize, AGAIN, for the formatting. I will attempt to fix it later, but we shall see...) Jeremiah 9:23-24 Thus says the LORD: "Let not the wise man glory in his wisdom, Let not the mighty man glory in his might, Nor let the rich man glory in his riches; But let him who glories glory in this, That he understands and knows Me, That I am the LORD, exercising lovingkindness, judgment, and righteousness in the earth. For in these I delight," says the LORD. Today, I just wanted to share a few Scritures that talk about knowing God. With the new year approaching, everyone starts making all their resolutions; but I think that we should make it a priority every year to draw closer to God each and every day. If we think about it, do we REALLY know God? Or do we just THINK that we know Him? The deciding factor is if He knows us -- Does He know us? So that is what I wanted to talk about today. Luke 13: 23-27 Then one said to Him, "Lord, are there few who are saved?...

“‘Twas The Night After Christmas”

... no, not today; that was Saturday. The Christmas season is officially over... but my good friend, Alice, was bemoaning the fact that no has written a poem about the day after Christmas. I wasn't planning on it, but I decided to take up the challenge. I'm not a professional poet, but I thought I'd give it a try. For many of us, the day after Christmas is either filled with returns or deal hunting. (Although I normally brave the crowds, this year I preferred to stay home.) We call it the day after Christmas, but our calandars label it "Boxing Day." This is the day when the Canadians (and some others) open all the boxed gifts (Christmas). Comedian Brad Stein joked that the day gets its name because "'I'd like to return the fruitcake.' 'We don't take it!' POW! Happy Boxing Day!" :D Anyway, that should be enough of an introduction to my poem. So here is one last taste of the season before it goes into hybernation for another year. ...

'Twas the night before Christmas...

I have a few Christmas songs that I'd like to share with you all. The first one is "In the First Light" by Todd Agnew. (Someone created the video to go along with the song, but I like it anyway.) Enjoy!    Next, I wanted to share a song by Casting Crowns entitled "While You Were Sleeping." This is one of my favorite songs. Enjoy!  "For unto us a Child is born, Unto us a Son is given; And the government will be upon His shoulder. And His name will be called Wonderful, Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace. Of the increase of His government and peace There will be no end, Upon the throne of David and over His kingdom, To order it and establish it with judgment and justice From that time forward, even forever. The zeal of the LORD of hosts will perform this." ~ Isaiah 9:6-7 MERRY CHRISTMAS!

Inspiring Story: A Classic

So, I accidentally missed my own meme last week... shame on me! ;p To make up for it, I wanted to introduce a classic. Christmas is just around the corner, and if you're like many Americans, after all the food has been eaten, you sit around a watch TV -- perferably, the classic Christmas shows, such as White Christmas. Well, there is one show that I'm not even sure is a Christmas favorite for most, but it definately could be classified as such. I'm talking about the motion picture Ben-Hur (which is one my favorites). This story sheds so much light on just what Christ did for us, by taking a character and walking him through the life of Christ. But there is another side to the story, that not every one is familar with, and I wanted to share it today, in honor of Christmas. Hope you all enjoy! Merry Christmas ------------- Inspiration for Wallace’s next project, what would become Ben-Hur, came from an unlikely source: his own ignorance. Wallace often told the story of how i...

WFW: Why Jesus Came

"And you, being dead in your trespasses and the uncircumcision of your flesh, He has made alive together with Him, having forgiven you all trespasses, having wiped out the handwriting of requirements that was against us, which was contrary to us. And He has taken it out of the way, having nailed it to the cross." ~ Colossians 2:13-14 "Nailed to the top of Jesus’ cross is a “certificate of debt” to Caesar, a public display of Jesus’ crime: “King of the Jews.” When punishment is complete, Caesar’s court will cancel the debt with a single Greek word stamped upon the parchment’s face: “tetelestai.” Finished. Paid in full. Being king of the Jews is not the crime Jesus pays for, however. Hidden to all but the Father is another certificate nailed to that cross: ours. In the darkness that shrouds Calvary from the sixth to the ninth hour, God the Father unleashes His fury upon His sinless Son who has taken upon Himself the crimes of the world as if guilty of all. At the last, it ...

Story Challenge Teaser...

Last week, I joined my good friend, the Brickster , in a challenge to write a short story. (My apologizes that it's taken this long for an update, Brickster!) Those of you who don't know me that well might be thinking, "You? Write a story?" Well, let me tell you a little secret: I love to write short stories. When I was younger, my siblings and I were sitting around the house out of sheer boredom when one said, "Hey, let's write a story!" Everyone thought that this was such a good idea, and we proceeded to busily scribble on our papers whatever our imaginations so desired! Soon, everyone else was bored again, but not me! I kept on writing until I had finished the story. Over the next few years, I wrote sequals to that original story. Now, mind you, the stories that I wrote are nothing professional, but I learned that day that my talent lay in writing stories. All of that said to say that I have come out with my first teaser for the Brickster's challe...

WFW: Using Our Gifts

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The other day, I was listening to an audio Bible when something in the following passage jumped out at me, so I'd like to share it for today's WFW. Matthew 25:13-30 "Watch therefore, for you know neither the day nor the hour in which the Son of Man is coming. For the kingdom of heaven is like a man traveling to a far country, who called his own servants and delivered his goods to them. And to one he gave five talents, to another two, and to another one, to each according to his own ability; and immediately he went on a journey. Then he who had received the five talents went and traded with them, and made another five talents. And likewise he who had received two gained two more also. But he who had received one went and dug in the ground, and hid his lord's money. After a long time the lord of those servants came and settled accounts with them. So he who had received five talents came and brought five other talents, saying, 'Lord, you delivered to me five talent...

Inspiring Story: Have Faith In God...

God is so good! I tend to have a difficult time posting inspiring stories for this meme, not because it is hard to find stories, but because I don't always have the time to edit them or write them up in my own words. Every time that I am running late or I think that I might not have a story for the week, I just happen to find one. And you know that I try to post only the best of the best. ;) Here's one that I found on Dawn's blog , and I think it's amazing. It just goes to show that when ordinary people have "the God kind of faith," great things will happen as God moves. So without further ado, here is today's Inspiring Story... (Note: I apologize for the formatting; I have tried to space it, but it won't budge... GRRRR!) ---------------------- Approximately 10 years ago, on a freezing July night, the cold, hard, truth hit me like a freight train. NO ONE WAS COMING TO MY RESCUE. On our bedroom floor, my wife was giving birth to our son, he’d come so ...

WFW: By Their Fruits You Shall Know Them

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I almost didn't post anything today, but Jay's Word For Wednesday reminded me of something that I wrote recently, and I decided to share it with you all. I know I may sound like a broken record, as I've mentioned much of this before, but this is from a different angle that I found very interesting. Hope you enjoy it... ----------- Mankind is comparable to a fruit tree; he can either produce good fruit and flourish or produce bad fruit and wither. There are many Scriptures on this subject; however, in order to gain a better understanding of them, it is helpful to understand some of the ways in which fruit trees are cultivated so that they can grow. Let’s take a look at some of the spiritual and physical aspects of caring for a fruit tree that apply to us as Christians. For a fruit tree, cultivation is a necessity. As with any plant, the soil must be just right before planting. Once planted, some fruit trees actually require more attention than others to make sure they ...

Inspiring Story: A Personal Testimony

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photo by Lel4nd (busy) I'm sorry that I'm so late with my Inspiring Story this week, everyone... it's been a crazy week. Today, I feel inspired to write about something that happened to me about a year ago. I mentioned once before that I sometimes like to visit Christian messageboards. My objective has always been to encourage people and to give them hope. Whenever I would find someone who needed prayer, my heart would just go out to them; I wanted to share the love of Christ with them, and a wave of compassion would come over me. At the time that this story that I am about to share with you took place, I was visiting the messageboard quite frequently. I was really seeing God's blessing as I continued to seek His direction in order to know what to say to people. One day, I came across a person who was looking for evidence of God's existence; she was as skeptical as some of the atheists that I had seen on the boards. As I read on, I realized that there was more t...

Christianity is...

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I've been eyeing this shirt for a while, and I totally want one! I guess it's not surprising, considering the fact that I like anything to do with apologetics. I found this shirt at a Christian book store ; we get flyers from them quite often. There are a few more shirts that are of interest to me, but I will post them at a later time. For now, take a look at this one, and tell me what you think. The back reads: The bottom paragraph is John 3:16 -- "For God so loved the world, that He gave His only begotten Son, that whosoever believes in Him should not perish, but have everlasting life." Talk about a great conversation starter!

WFW: He Cares...

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In previous WFWs, we've been talking about fearing the Lord and what that involves. One thing that I have noticed is that trust goes hand-in-hand with fearing the Lord. Hence, today, I'd like to focus on one of my favorite Scriptures... 1 Peter 5:7, “Casting all your anxieties on Him for He cares for YOU.” Sometimes, a situation may seem too small to bother God with, but we should always remember that God cares about the little things, too. He said that He cares about the sparrows, so how much more does He care for us? At other times a situation may be too big for us, but with God nothing is impossible. When things go wrong or seem too overwhelming, this Scripture reminds us to give it to God, and let Him take care of it; He will work it out because He cares for YOU. Romans 8:37 states, "Yet in all these things, we are more than conquerors through Him who loved us." Therefore, if a situation seems overwhelming, we "overwhelmingly conquer" through Him, as ...