In Defense of the Christian Faith

Recently, I have been going through a hard season in my life. The storms have been raging. But there are several things which have greatly encouraged me. For this week's WFW, I wanted to share some of these with you, in the hope that it will encourage you, too. My friend, Alice, wrote a post last week that seems to sum up my feelings lately; this post has greatly comforted me, and I would encourage everyone who is struggling today to go check it out (Thanks, Alice, for the encouragement!). Another friend said to me recently -- and I am saying this in agreement -- in times like these, I am so glad that I am on the Rock! That is the place where the Anchor holds us and our house does not fall, where we are not moved by all the turmoil around us! There is one thing that came to my mind amidst all the turmoil that was a great source of hope: the words of a song. They are so simple, yet so profound and so true (song posted below lyrics): "Sorrow will last for the night. But hop...

As many of you know, I'm a big fan of CSE ministries. Well, I just found out two things that I think you'll all be excited to hear: 1) The makers of "Expelled: No Intelligence Allowed" are making a film about Dr. Kent Hovind called "Dr. Dino: Where Creation and Evolution Collide"! You can find out all the details here . If it's anything like "Expelled," I am expecting it to be GOOD. I also think it's awesome that the mission statement of Resurrection Pictures, the "film ministry" behind this project, says that its mission is to "produce and distribute Christian movies for theatrical release with the objective of bringing people to salvation in Jesus Christ." And they plan to do just that with this film. Production is set for 2011. 2) Dr. Hovind's blog has been moved to http://www.kenthovindblog.com/ . You can keep up with all the latest about his case there. Currently, he has been moved to a much better location...

"Hold fast the pattern of sound words which you have heard from me, in faith and love which are in Christ Jesus." ~ 2 Timothy 1:13 How do we hold fast? By faith and love. Romans 6:17 states, "But God be thanked that though you were slaves of sin, yet you obeyed from the heart that form of doctrine to which you were delivered." That is how you hold fast; you love God and have faith in him enough to obey from your heart. It is not just a "going through the motions" feeling; it comes from the very center of you. Paul's admonition to Timothy came as a result of false doctrines that were being propagated; hence, Paul constantly refers to the "sound doctrine" of Scripture. This is why Proverbs 4:20-23 says, "My son, attend to my words; incline thine ear unto my sayings. Let them not depart from thine eyes; keep them in the midst of thine heart. For they are life unto those that find them, and health to all their flesh. Keep thy heart with all ...

This week for Something Beautiful , I wanted to talk about something, or rather, someone, who is very special to me. I have previously talked about creationist Dr. Kent Hovind, highlighting what a man of God he is and what a great work that he is doing for the Lord. For those of you who don't know, Dr. Hovind is a young-earth creationist who teaches the truth about creation and exposes the lies of evolution. You can find out more about him and his ministry here . (For those of you who hold a grudge against him, please see my comment policy above and disclaimer here .) My post has gained quite a bit of attention ; so today, I'd like to show you some of the work of Creation Science Evangelism in action. As many of you know, I recently received a comment from Paul Dublin, Dr. Hovind's son-in-law. I wanted to share it, because I believe it reflects the heart behind their ministry, Creation Science Evangelism Good afternoon, my name is Paul Dublin. I am the son in law to...

Welcome to the Inspiring Story link party! If this is your first time participating, be sure to check out the rules and detail for this meme here . To kick off the now bi-weekly meme, I would like to share an amazing story that I found via Mini Missions Magazine . This is a testimony from P.G. Vargis, of Indian Evangelical Team . I found it to be truly inspiring, and it also poses quite a challenge to us as Christians. Be sure to let me know what you think! ------------ THE TRAIN CAME BACK In the early 70’s when we were pioneer missionaries in Katra, in the Himalayan Mountains of Kashmir it was a hard and difficult life, often filled with hunger and poverty. One day I was returning to Katra with an orphan boy. Our train arrived in Delhi railway station at about 3:00 PM and I was to catch the train (Jhelum Express) to Jammu from Delhi at 9:00 PM, and then go by bus from Jammu to Katra, our mission station. After the train arrived in Delhi , I took things easy since there ...

Tomorrow, I will be kicking off my bi-weekly Inspiring Story link party! In the past, I have posted various Christian stories that I found to be inspiring. I posted these on a weekly basis, and many of them came from portions of books or magazines that I've read. My point in doing this meme is to encourage and build up one another. God does so many good things for us on a daily basis, but sometimes we miss them. However, when we look at the lives of others, or even into our own pasts, it helps us to gain perspective and be encouraged. To make it easier on my readers -- and in particular those of you who wish to participate -- the meme will now be done bi-weekly , starting tomorrow (Friday) and ending Sunday night. All entries must be of the Christian nature. If any submitted story is of the general nature (i.e. does not specifically mention God or Christianity), it must have a godly moral and contain no offensive material. Topics are limitless; among these are: 1) personal testimon...

In the autumn of 2008, I was outside capturing the beauties of nature that God has blessed us with when I spotted a group of geese flying south for the winter. This was one of my first "professional" pictures. Yesterday, I was gazing at this picture when a pertinent Scripture came to mind. Today, I'd like to present it to you as a reminder of just how valuable we are to God. May it inspire and encourage you. Enjoy! For more pictures, see my Photography page . This post is linked to:

I will never forget this day 9 years ago. My mother had gone to the local gas station that morning. I was still in my pajamas when she came home anxiously telling us to flip on the television. "That's the trade towers," she said. At the time, I had no idea what that was or what was happening, but my mother explained that a man at the gas station had told her that a plane had just crashed into one of the World Trade Center buildings! As I watched the live news, I saw the second plane hit the second tower! At first, I thought it was a replay; then I realized that this plane had just struck the second tower! My mouth fell open! Although we live in Upstate NY, my father has had frequent business associations with companies down in NYC; as an international banker, he had also known contacts in the World Trade Center and had even made several trips down to NYC. Needless to say, I was stunned. This was too close to home. How could this be happening? The News told us that some Mu...

"Have you not known? Have you not heard? The everlasting God, the LORD, The Creator of the ends of the earth, Neither faints nor is weary. His understanding is unsearchable. He gives power to the weak, And to those who have no might He increases strength. Even the youths shall faint and be weary, And the young men shall utterly fall, But those who wait on the LORD Shall renew their strength; They shall mount up with wings like eagles, They shall run and not be weary, They shall walk and not faint." ~ Isaiah 40: 28-31 I took the above picture last year when we went to Six Flags. Everytime I see this picture, I think of a song by Francesca Battistelli which says, "I'm letting go of the life I've planned for me/ and my dreams/ I'm loosing control of my destiny/ it feels like I'm falling and that's what it's like to believe/I'm letting go/ I'm giving into Your gravity/ knowing You are holding me." :D All jokes aside, though, this does p...

Hey everybody, I'm back from my short hiatus... I've been conducting a discussion about God's existence with an atheist. I'm thinking about posting it once the conversation is over. Tomorrow, I'll be gone for the day, so I hope this beautiful picture will hold you over until I get back. In the meantime... I'm sharing this picture today in accordance with Renee 's meme, Something Beautiful. Renee, I hope you don't mind that I'm doing this a bit early. I decided to add a Scripture to this photo, but I wasn't sure what would fit it at first. However, I now believe I have found the PERFECT passage, and I wanted to share it with y'all. I don't have any commentaries today, but I think the Scripture/picture combination speaks for itself... One thing that I will say is that I think it's pretty awesome that the sun looks a lot like a cross; this is why I thought the Scripture was quite pertinent -- the cross is the very essence of God's l...

A few weeks ago, we talked about how the Jews of the Dispersion mentioned in 1 Peter 1:1 were Gentiles who had been sanctified; we talked about this in connection with the OSAS doctrine . Today, I'd like to continue on this topic. Let's begin with verse 3 of chapter one: Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who according to His abundant mercy has begotten us again to a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead... We immediately notice from this Scripture that we have a "living hope"; too often, we are full of "wishful" thinking in the worldly sense -- "I wish that could happen," "I hope so," etc. But the Biblical word for hope is "expectancy." It is used everywhere in the Bible in the same sense as it was with Abraham: "being fully persuaded that what He had promised, He was able also to perform." In other words, hope is "knowing" that God will do what He said He wi...