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How long is forever? Can anyone really understand eternity? We, as Christians, want to live forever, but do we really understand just how long or even what that is? I have talked to many people over the years and the definitions I get of eternity vary from “it’s a very long time” to “it’s forever, man!” Here’s something very interesting, I read in an article from the National Institutes of Health that it is estimated that well over 100 billion people have lived on this planet since it was created. I like to define eternity this way. As a Chr...
Going for a walk in the cool of the day is a very relaxing exercise that is beneficial in so many ways. It gets our heart rate up and running for a certain length of time, which helps our cardiovascular system become healthier. If we have a partner to walk with, it also allows us to converse with that person about the details of our day, week, year and entire life. This sharing of our lives with one another is a very healthy practice that builds trust in others as well as developing our heart and soul’s strength. In the Christian’s life, we...
Imagine the snow falling over the landscape, floating effortlessly as huge flakes make their way to the barren ground. Mother Nature has deposited a dreadful cold this time of the year that makes travel outside the home or business miserable. Imagine that this scenario goes on for a few days and we begin to be chilled all the way to our bones. Our muscles begin to ache, and we try to find warmth anywhere we can, but there is no reprieve, nowhere we can go to escape this dreadful arctic weather. A fire is lit in the fireplace to keep us warm on...
As we talked about last week, we all have our temptations and trials that we go through, and we might ask ourselves, “How am I to escape or overcome them?” In the Holy Scriptures, we know that we are encouraged to overcome our sins and temptations, but how does that work? Last week we discussed that, one way to escape or overcome was to be in the Holy Scriptures of the Lord. By doing this, it brings us closer to Him and strengthens our faith by knowing exactly what the Lord wants us to do, and then living up to His will or teachings. This wee...
We all have our temptations and trials that we go through, and we might ask ourselves, “How am I to escape or overcome?” In the Holy Scriptures, we know that we are encouraged to overcome our sins and temptations, but how does that work? Well, in I Corinthians 10:13 it says, “No temptation has overtaken you except what is common to mankind. And God is faithful; he will not let you be tempted beyond what you can bear. But when you are tempted, he will also provide a way out so that you can endure it.” Have you ever wondered just exactly what th...
Many of us who have been Christians a long time recognize this title to a beautiful hymn sung for many years. The first line goes like this, “Take time to be holy, speak oft with thy Lord.” What a powerful string of words these are, as they call us to be talking, through prayer, to a powerful God who surrounds us with His love, guidance and strength. Spending time alone with the Lord can not only help us in all situations, but it can bring us into a more intimate relationship with our God. That said, spending time with the Lord will ben...
Okay, there are two things that we are taught growing up that should never be talked about at the dinner table or family reunion. Those two subjects are politics and religion, but my question to the reader today is, “can you mix the two?” Is involvement in politics a ministry for the church to be associated with? Let me explain, and then let the reader make up their mind. There are basically two sides to both politics and religion. Politics are basically Republican vs Democrat, and in religion, in this part of the country that we call the “Bi...
Baptism is a subject that was once a given passage into the church. For centuries, the church went all over the world baptizing people as the act of conversion into Christianity. But in the last century, the question has arisen across Christendom as to its necessity. I want to spend the next few weeks studying the history of baptism, its use in the Bible, the mode of baptism, and then let the reader decide whether or not it is necessary to be a Christian. The Greek word for baptism in the New Testament is “baptizo,” which means to immerse or...
We all remember the Parable of the Sower in which Jesus is describing to his Apostles how the kingdom of God is to be preached and the people to whom it is to be preached. This parable is given in three out of the four Gospels but I will be using the account found in Mark 4:1-20. For the next few weeks, I will be exploring the learnings we can gain from such a powerful text of scripture. First, let’s take a look at the Sower who goes out to sow. Like most farmers today, he has a variety of soils and some produce more than others, and some are a...
We all have, or have had, a best friend at one time or another. Best friends spend time doing things together; they share things with each other, especially secrets, because they know that they can trust them! Best friends will do anything for each other. Proverbs 17:17 says, “A friend loves at all times, and a brother is born for a time of adversity,” and Proverbs 18:24 says, “One who has unreliable friends soon comes to ruin, but there is a friend who sticks closer than a brother.” It seems that God created us with the need to have a friend...
We have spent the last several weeks revealing how God hid his son away in the Ark of the Covenant in the Tabernacle that God had Moses build in the desert. Today we finish revealing a few items that we need to understand God’s reasoning for creating the Tabernacle, which later was transformed into the body of Christ we now know as the church. A few questions that comes to mind are, “why did the priests sprinkle blood on the lid of the Ark and why was it called the ‘Mercy Seat’?” Another question is, “where is the Ark now?” Is it hidden away in...
The last few weeks we have been taking a long look at the Ark of the Covenant in the Old Testament. We have discussed the articles placed inside of it and the power that it wielded. This week, we are going to have a reveal party or celebration of sorts, in that we are going to reveal by scripture the importance of these articles and what they actually signify. The first article we talked about that was placed into the Ark was the Law of Moses. Now, in order to understand what this article was all about, we need to understand what a...
Do you know lazy people? Those people who do absolutely nothing to contribute to the betterment and building up of society? We as Christians can fall into the same rut if we don’t show our faith to God and the world by our actions! We can become lazy if we don’t focus on the work God has for us! In the book of James, the Lord’s brother, James warns us about the lazy condition of our faith. James 2:14-17 says, “14 What good is it, my brothers and sisters, if someone claims to have faith but has no deeds? Can such faith save them? 15 Suppose...
It seems that we have a lot of division going on in America. We have divisions based on race, religion, gender, socio-economic status (rich vs. poor), etc. We also seem to place blame on one group or another for these situations. The truth is that we do have divisions among us, but the blame game is what’s keeping us separated. We need to take a deep look into who is actually creating this environment of division and hate. It is not man who is doing this, but the Evil One we call “Satan!” He loves to keep us hating each other and dividing us in...
Have you ever had a bad day, a bad week, a bad month or even a bad year? The man Job in the Old Testament had it much worse. He not only lost his wealth, he lost his children, and he lost the support from his friends who tried to convince him that he had sinned somehow and needed to repent, along with his wife who wanted him to curse God and die. We’ve all had times of trouble and for differing lengths of time, and we’ve spent time with friends and spouses trying to figure out why these things are happening and how to overcome these dif...
How many of us go camping, tent or trailer, it doesn’t matter? We enjoy the outdoors and love sitting around a campfire roasting hot dogs and marshmallows, telling tall-tale fishing stories, and talking with friends and family. If you’re like me, you could sit and watch the flames of the fire all night long as they seem to dance for you, and the feeling of pure peace comes over your soul. Strange thing about a fire, though: it continually needs more wood to produce the brilliant flames that we enjoy watching. If we don’t keep the fire stoke...
In our lives, there are people with whom we become really close, a friendship that seems almost unbreakable. We spend time together talking and sharing our innermost thoughts and ideas. We play games together, we share meals together, we keep secrets for each other and develop a bond that is so strong that nothing we feel, could ever break that bond. We call these people our best friends, and these relationships usually last a very long time, possibly till death finally parts us. In Proverbs 18:24 it says, “One who has unreliable friends s...
It is usually easier to stay strong when good things are happening, but our faith is tested when bad things happen to us. There has always been the question, “why do bad things happen to good people?” Well, to answer that we must go to God’s word where it says in Matthew 5:44-46, “44 But I tell you, love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you, that you may be children of your Father in heaven. He causes his sun to rise on the evil and the good, and sends rain on the righteous and the unrighteous. If you love those who love you, what...
What does it mean to be a mother? Is it defined by just giving birth to a child? Is it defined by just being called “Mom” by that child? Is it defined by just having the same last name as that child? No, it’s way more than all that! It’s holding that newborn in her arms, talking goo goo, ga ga, unintelligible language to them that only they can understand as the greatest love language in the world! It is the constant shopping trips to Wal-Mart every three weeks to buy new outfits because they have already outgrown the ones she bought three w...
