In Defense of the Christian Faith

When I first heard that October Baby was coming to theaters, I knew it was a movie that I had to see. But if you’re like me, and were unable to make it to the theater to see it, you will be happy to know that release date for the DVD is September 11. Recently, I finally had the chance to watch this highly anticipated film, and here are my thoughts… The story behind October Baby is loosely based on the true story of abortion survivor Gianna Jessen . It is the story of nineteen-year-old Hannah Lawson who finds out that her personal struggles and physical sickness are the result of being an abortion survivor. Here is the film’s synopsis: As the curtain rises, Hannah hesitantly steps onto the stage for her theatrical debut in college. Yet before she can utter her first lines, Hannah—unscripted—collapses in front of the stunned audience. After countless medical tests, all signs point to one underlying factor: Hannah's difficult birth. This revelation is nothin...

I read this story yesterday at the Baptist Press and I just had to share it for today's Inspiring Story. The names have been changed (by the authors) for privacy and protection. Enjoy! --------  No one notices the young Chinese woman silently crying in the back pew. It's the only place she finds solace from her deep depression and fear of death. She's not even sure why she sits in this church every afternoon; her communist education and Buddhist religion teach against a belief in God. Yet something keeps drawing Lily Wang here. She pulls a Bible from the pew. It's not in her native Mandarin, but she flips it open anyway. She learned to read a little Thai after moving to Thailand a few years ago to teach school, but she hasn't learned enough to really understand this. So many questions cloud her mind that she finally musters enough courage to speak to a man carrying the same book. He brushes past the petite woman and goes about his business. The rejection ...

Christians are "traders," not "traitors." BIG difference! A traitor defects to enemy lines, but a "trader" trades in what he wants for something else. Likewise, as Christians, we trade what we want -- our desires -- for God's will. We put aside self and follow Him. That is the subject of this video. Enjoy! "[N]evertheless not My will, but Yours, be done." ~ Luke 22:42

Merry Christmas, everyone! Today, I have a very Inspiring Story to share with y'all... John 1:1,14 states, "In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God.... And the Word was made flesh, and dwelt among us, (and we beheld his glory, the glory as of the only begotten of the Father,) full of grace and truth." In this video, the Word of God comes to a tribe for the first time! How precious it is to them! Do we take the Word of God for granted? The true meaning of Christmas is that He came so that we might have life and have it more abundantly -- so that we might have eternal life! These people get that, and it is so touching and inspiring to see how they respond with love toward the Word of God! Enjoy! Hat tip: The Stand to Reason blog Do you have a favorite inspiring Christmas story that you'd like to share? You can link it up by Clicking here . Don't forget to join me tomorrow for a special Christmas post, as well! From my fa...

It's time for another Inspiring Story everyone! Feel free to share your stories using the linky tool below. I found today's story when I was looking for the story behind a beautiful, yet powerful hymn. Here is what I found: -------------------- "Take My Life": Frances Ridley Havergal   by Amos R. Wells Frances Ridley Havergal wrote so many helpful books, and lived a life so earnest and devoted, that she has had a very deep influence over the hearts of Christians. Of all her poems, the one before us meant the most to her, and has meant the most to the world. Miss Havergal was born in Astley, England, December 14, 1836. Her father was an Episcopal clergyman, a skilful composer of music, and himself a hymn-writer. She was baptized by another hymn writer, Rev. John Cawood, who wrote "Hark! what mean those holy voices?" She became also a brilliant singer and piano-player, and a glittering career in society was open before her. But she considered all he...

Okay, so I know that I'm a bit late in putting this up, but I promised you all that I was going to have a special Inspiring Story for Thanksgiving. I went through many videos, trying to find just the perfect one, and while it isn't specifically "thanksgiving-ish," I wanted to post it for you all because it is very inspiring. It's a testimony by a Latin Soul Artist named Martin Cantu. The quality isn't the greatest, but the story is awesome! Enjoy! The thought that comes to mind when I hear testimonies like these is just how thankful I am to God for all that He is doing around the world. Sometimes, we get stuck in "our own little worlds," and we fail to see that other people have real needs, too. God is filling that need in amazing ways... let's be the tool -- like Joyce was in this case --through which He does it! Happy Thanksgiving! Do you have a story that you'd like to share? Leave me a comment or link up here: Powered by Linky Too...

Welcome to another session of Inspiring Story! If you would like to share a story, you can link up at the bottom of this post. Today, I'd like to share one of my favorite stories with y'all. For a long time, I've been a great admirer of Travel the Road ministries. This is a missionary-based ministry; Tim Scott and Will Decker put their missionary trips into documentaries so the rest of us can see what God is doing around the world! On one of their trips, they trekked through the snow-covered mountains of Siberia. As night approached, they were looking for a place to escape the bitter cold when they came upon a tent. The owners were not around, so they decided to go inside the tent to warm themselves. Sometime later, a father and his son returned to their tent and found some unexpected guests whom they warmly (no pun intended) welcomed! The father later told Tim and Will that he and his son were having a discussion in which he told his son, "If Jesus is real, He will ...

Today, I'd like to share a message by Mark Cahill that I found to be very inspiring, yet challenging to us as Christians. It's called "Lukewarm - NO MORE!" It is an hour long, but I encourage you to at least listen while you do other things if you can't give it your undivided attention; it will be an hour well spent! Special thanks to Alice for pointing me to it! :)

I almost forgot... It's time for another Inspiring Story * . This one comes from Mini Missions Magazine . Enjoy! ----------- During the Mau Mau uprising in Kenya in 1960, missionaries Matt and Lora Higgens were returning one night to Nairobi through the heart of Mau Mau territory, where Kenyans and missionaries alike had been killed and dismembered. Seventeen miles outside of Nairobi their Land Rover stopped. Higgens tried to repair the car in the dark, but could not restart it. They spent the night in the car, but claimed Psalm 4:8: "I will lie down and sleep in peace, for you alone, O Lord, make me dwell in safety." In the morning they were able to repair the car. A few weeks later the Higgenses returned to America on furlough. They reported that the night before they left Nairobi, a local pastor had visited them. He told how a member of the Mau Mau had confessed that he and three others had crept up to the car to kill the Higgenses, but when they saw the sixteen m...

The following is from the Ray Comfort 's newsletter, Living Waters . I wanted to share it with you all because I found it to be both amazing and hilarious... ----------------------- October 12, 2010 We wanted to tell you, but couldn't until today. As you may remember, last year teams passed out more than 220,000 copies of Darwin's Origin of Species, which contained a 50-page Foreword explaining Intelligent Design and presenting the gospel. Approximately 170,000 of these were given to students in 100 of America's top universities. A clearly angered Richard Dawkins, who had encouraged students to tear out the Foreword, called me "an idiot" on CNN when asked for his thoughts on the giveaway. In March of 2010, when the Professor lectured in Australia and New Zealand, teams gave away over 20,000 books at his meetings. On that occasion he called me a "flat-earther." During this past week, professor Dawkins has been speaking in five U.S. universitie...

UPDATE : Something unexpected came up, so I am going to count my WFW as this week's Inspiring Story. I will also be extending the link party through Monday, October 18 this week. This should work out for ALL participants, so if you're thinking that you won't be able to make it, maybe you will! :D Be sure to link up (bottom of post) and then leave me a comment to let me know what you think! -------------- The following is an essay that I wrote after reading The Pastor’s Wife , an inspiring book written by Sabina Wurmbrand, the wife of The Voice of the Martyrs' founder. I am posting it today for the WFW, because I believe it provides a challenge to us as Christians to be set apart for Christ -- to be representative of Him, showing the love of Christ to the world instead of following its ways. As the Scripture says, “Therefore ‘Come out from among them And be separate, says the Lord. Do not touch what is unclean, And I will receive you.’ ‘I will be a Father to you, A...

Well, it's time for another Inspiring Story! If you would like to participate in this meme, check the rules and details , and be sure to link up! This week, I'd like to share another testimony from The Jesus Film Project... God is certainly using that ministry in amazing ways. This one comes from the August newsletter. God Reveals Himself to an Arab man Tameem, as I will call him, sensed that something was deeply wrong. He lived in a closed nation, wasn't satisfied spiritually, and could not find peace. Thus began his search for God. First, he went to his local religous leader, asking: "Who is the true God? How can I find peace?" The leader replied, "I cannot help you. To know the secrets of our religion you must first become a 'monk' like me." Tameem went to his community's house of prayer where he bowed on the floor and prayed earnestly. He felt and experienced nothing. His subsequent attempts to find peace all failed. That's w...

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 ...

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...

Over the last two weeks, I've missed my meme Inspiring Story due to a vacation. But before I share this week's IS, I want to recap the rules and reason for this meme: The purpose of this meme is to encourage you; I believe that each and every thing that the Lord does for us on a daily basis is the biggest evidence for His existence. Therefore, I think we should encourage each other with stories and messages that will keep us uplifted in the Lord, and inspire us to be all that we can for Him. I invite you all to participate in this meme; just keep the content clean and Christian. What has God been doing in your life? I'd love to hear it; if you want to share it on your blog as an inspiriaton to others, just link back here. If you do not have a blog and would still like to share, by all means, comment! I love hearing from you all. So, without further ado, here is the next installment of Inspiring Story on the DCF blog. Enjoy! ---------- Recently, I have had a growing inte...

Fortresses -- they signify royalty, home, and shelter in most fairytales to the rich. The Bible also mentions fortresses in the same light, but in a much better sense. Today, I want to take a brief examination of this topic. My sister was reading a passage of the Bible recently when she asked me upon reflection, "What is a fortress?" (Of course, she knows what it is, but it helps to get a visual picture when we talk about it sometimes!) I don't remember my answer, but I immediately began to think of this Scripture: "The LORD is my strength and my shield; My heart trusted in Him, and I am helped; Therefore my heart greatly rejoices, And with my song I will praise Him." (Psalm 28:7) I thought, "It's no wonder that David could say, 'My heart trusted in Him, and I am helped' -- He was dwelling in the secret place, in the Fortress, of the Most High where He was safe from all harm! Psalm 18:1-3 states, "I will love thee, O LORD, my strength. The...

Yesterday marked two years since I’ve been blogging! My intention was to do a special post to the day, but since my family and I were recently on vacation, my body’s time clock has been way off – I’ve been exhausted; hence, I missed this very special post. But better late than never, right? So here is a very special post in honor of my two-year blogging anniversary! Enjoy, and be sure to celebrate this special occasion with me! ------------------------- On August 23rd, 2008, I launched this blog. I had been reading many great resources on the Bible’s reliability, and I found the material to be quite fascinating. I began to wonder, “How many people out there don’t know about the soundness of the Christian faith?” Sure, there are plenty of skeptics out there who are just waiting to pounce on the unintelligent; and that is just the point: the Bible makes it perfectly clear that we are to know what we believe and why. Thus, I initiated this blog. Five days later, I did my first offici...