Star-fish

      My friend and I just went to the movie, Do You Believe? This was an amazing and life changing film! I later read reviews on the movie and it made me sad to see how blind our world has become. The characters in the film were searching, preaching, living, dying, doing all that people do and they did it with a message of hope.       As a believer, the movie challenged me to do more good with the time God has given me to live. I pray that those who are so opposed to the movie, one day, have the same hope I get to feel each day knowing that Jesus Christ died for my sins and rose again, overcoming death so that all those who do believe will live eternally in heaven. Do I believe? Yes. Now what am I going to do about it? Matthew 16:13-17 13  When Jesus came to the region of Caesarea Philippi, he asked his disciples,  “Who do people say the Son of Man is?” 14  They replied, “Some say John the Baptist;  others say Elijah; and s...

      I'm in a Bible study at church and in it, we were asked to review our church belief system. So I did and came across the following statement about eternal security. I thought the scriptures they included were insightful. All who have received Jesus Christ as their personal Savior are eternally secure and cannot lose their salvation. (John 3:16; 5:24; 10:28-30; 1 Corinthians 5:1-5; 1 John 5:4-5) John 3:16 New International Version (NIV) 16  For God so loved  the world that he gave  his one and only Son,  that whoever believes  in him shall not perish but have eternal life. John 5:24 New International Version (NIV) 24  “Very truly I tell you, whoever hears my word and believes him who sent me  has eternal life  and will not be judged  but has crossed over from death to life. John 10:28-30 New International Version (NIV) 28  I give them eternal life,  and they shall never peris...

     In today's world, we say that children should be given a sense of pride inside, greater self-esteems, and stronger senses of self-accomplishment. Yet the Bible tells us in Proverbs 16:17-19 the following: 17 The highway of the upright is to depart from evil; he who keeps his way preserves his soul.  18 Pride goes before destruction, and a haughty spirit before a fall. 19 Better to be of a humble spirit with the lowly, than to divide the spoil with the proud.      So if this is what the Word of God tells us about pride and lack of humility, should we reconsider the idea that we actually need pride inside? It seems that if it comes naturally with our fallen human nature, maybe what we need more is a bit of humbling before we fall.

     Benjamin Franklin once said, "In this world nothing can be said to be certain, except death and taxes." Well, for days I've been putting together all my paperwork for our taxes. I finally put the envelope in the mail today and couldn't be more relieved. I also completed some extensive paperwork for an insurance claim, went to the dentist, and spent over an hour on the phone to my credit card company. These are all some of my least favorite things to do! But, God…I prayed before engaging in each and even though they didn't all go as smoothly as they could, my attitude toward them and trust in Him made the day go quickly and I feel so free of the niggling that's been going on in my head.      I generally spend more time worry about how badly it's going to go and the horrible outcomes that could occur that I'm exhausted and defeated before I start. But, God…in a recent Dr. David Jeremiah sermon on television reminded me of the the feet of peace as p...

     As we get closer to Easter the decorations using eggs are everywhere! My thought was I didn't want to encourage this pagan take on such a holy Christian celebration. Jesus going through the horrific event of Easter that led to Him overcoming death and being resurrected is what gives us the ultimate hope. Yet, in a way the egg is a good symbol of giving up life to give life.      My heart can be hard, some days harder than others. When I remember what Christ suffered so that I can have eternal life, it causes my heart to soften and my hardened "shell to crack." How can I not love others when He gave up his life to give life? Just as the yolk of an egg can potentially become a chick, it is given up to feed the hungry.      Am I letting life's trials make my heart hard or am I trusting Christ to take my trials and reform them into something new? Am I being reborn in the image of Christ each day or building up my shell? The choice is compl...