Christianity TodayChristianity TodayDiscussions about the reality of Jesus and the practise of our faith
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Is the Church Dead? Is America Lost?
2010-07-07 18:00:00 No to both questions.We humans have a tendency to take things for granted. It's our nature. If the ground has been there all along, we expect it to be there tomorrow.We tend to do the same with our Church activities. From the outside, it would seem the church is dying.Just as in family. We may squabble among ourselves but let an outsider try to harm one member and watch the whole family stand up.The same thing happens in our churches. We become lazy, skip a few Sundays, let life make us too busy. Something happens on the outside, to make us feel threatened in any way and we come flooding back into the flock.I'm watching the same thing happen to my country. We sat back and let those hard working left wingers take our country right down the sewer before the hair finally stood up on the back of our necks. You will see the true America in action, over the next few years, as we stand up and defend what is ours.Poor left wingers. They always think they've won, when in actuality they'v... More About: Lost , Dead , The Church
Clouds all around me
2010-06-15 17:43:00 It may seem, sometimes, that the Lord is not answering your prayers. When this happens, just hang tight.Really hard to do, I understand that. I've been through it myself. If home is where the ill feelings are then who is bringing that into the household? If you already know and don't see a way out, lean hard on the Lord and wait on His perfect timing. It will come.Sometimes you just aren't sure what the problem is. Is it him/her? Is it me? Until all truth is lying out on the table for all to see, you won't find out what the real problem is. This is when you lean even harder and ask the Lord to open your eyes and ears and to give you discernment in the matter.Eventually that egg will crack and out will come the truth, exposing the underlying sickness that is poisoning your very existence. This is what you want - truth. Without it, you wander in darkness with no real answers and no direction.Sometimes you're amazed at what the truth really was. Sometimes that truth hurts but bett... More About: Clouds
What Is This Thing Called Authority
2010-06-14 17:48:00 f you follow Jesus, and I don’t mean just a confession of Him, I mean falling in love.Before I get into the meat of the subject, I better stop and explain the relationship of a disciple. Jesus’ disciples were deeply in love with Jesus. That’s why they followed Him, regardless of the situation. Why else would a body just up and desert their own families, their daily duties, their entire lives? That’s what a person does, when they are ‘in love’.Think back to when you were first in love with someone. Did they not occupy your every thought? Did you change your daily habits, just because of that person? Were you consumed with a desire to be with that person?The same can happen with you and Jesus. He loves you in that way and when you return that love, wonderful things can happen. If you felt like you were floating on air, when first ‘in love’ with another human being, then what would it be like when you fall in love with Jesus. Talk about floating on air, it has been know... More About: Authority
What To Do When Some People Listen but Do Not Hear
2010-06-12 17:35:00 Have you ever wondered about some people who seem to never get past the pablum stage? As though they will never come to that day when they are ready to take on 'strong meat'.You can spend hours explaining something to them, it seems they've understood and yet when you tell them it's time to take this to the Lord, they don't take the initiative and go to the source, they want to hang onto you, getting you to discuss it further, from different angles, go over it again and coming back to you with something like, ' I understand. If only *** would act differently or treat me better or or or....'You're trying to get this person to see their own relationship with the Lord, how to deal with a problem, how to give it over to the Lord. You spend so much time, detailing for them, what their next move should be only to hear them come back with pointing a finger at 'the enemy' instead of actually grasping what you're trying to tell them.I've personally run into this just recently and... More About: People , Hear , Listen
Omnipresent - What Does That Mean?
2010-06-11 17:31:00 For those who know me, they've heard this story before but now, I will finish the story. You can read my entire life walk with God in my book "He Lives". For this writing, I'll skim over the beginning of this story.I was barely 8 years old, when the Lord called me in a loud voice. It happened to be in a tiny insignificant Baptist church in a tiny insignificant town in the very southern tip of Texas.Hardly a mega-church and hardly a congregation of thousands. This was truly a tiny church for a tiny town and I, at the age of 7 was a part of its beginnings.The scene was a typical, annual revival set up in a small tent, not 50' away from the church building itself. Thank the Lord it was still spring time or we would have been eaten up by mosquitoes, every night.Every night for a week, we met in that tiny tent, with wooden folded chairs and sawdust for a floor.Now, I referred to us as 'good Baptist' because we sat on the very last occupied row. Since my brother and I were the terro...
Church - Where Did It Go?
2010-06-09 17:19:00 Some of us are fortunate enough to be a part of a church body that is nourishing and traditional. How many of us are still searching for that perfect church?I've told my children for years, and now I will tell you that church is in your shoes.We are not to look for comfort, we are to provide it.When we first come to know the Lord, there are elders to lend a hand and help you to grow in the right way. Where will we be when those elders die off and we have not picked up the reigns?Everywhere you search in the new testament you find nudges to grow up, not to remain babies. The truth is, you are the church.Some of us yearn for the old days, for the congregation that was not afraid to openly worship. Where did those old days go? If you have memories of them, then it means they are in you. Try raising your hands and worshiping the Lord of Lords and you will instantly discover the old days.Have we been taught to wait for the next evangelist to revive us? Are we told to hold on f... More About: Church
Want to Learn How to Be a Soldier of Christ?
2010-06-08 17:42:00 Listen to Him. People don't listen to the Lord. They can read the gospels and never come out with the impact they should.Jesus was no wimp. He taught His disciples as fast as He could, with the time He had to work with.Note His reaction when the man brought his son to Jesus, because of fits, saying that His disciples tried to heal him with no results. Did Jesus immediately heal the boy? Not until He admonished His disciples and saying 'Vile of faithless generation' and 'how long shall I tarry with you'. That doesn't sound like much patience to me. It sounds like One who was running out of time and trying so hard, to get something across to them.And what were His last Words on this earth? "Go ye therefore...." That, my friends, was a command from our leader and Master.So how can you learn to follow Jesus, the way that He expected? Read the gospels and then read them again. When you are finished, start over and read it again and again and again until at last, your brain opens up... More About: Christ , Soldier , Learn
Let Go and Let God
2010-06-08 17:39:00 One never knows where the next trial will come but come they must and do, and we have to be prepared.Prepared? Yes, you can prepare. You've heard it over and over and you're about to hear it again. Gird yourself up with the armor of God. There's that and building faith.Remember how to build faith? It's no joke, folks, that faith cometh by hearing and hearing by the Word of God.Anybody ever give much thought to the way that's worded? "Hearing by the Word of God" doesn't exactly give you the idea that means reading the Word, although that's the way it's interpreted. It gives you the idea that it's all up to us, that reading is where the hearing happens but I see it in a whole other light.Why 'and hearing, by the Word of God' ? It wasn't a mistake in terms and it wasn't terminology of the times, it really meant 'BY the Word of God'.The Word of God is a living word. Hard to fathom but what I mean is that when you pick up the Word with every intent of loving it, listening ...
They Say God Speaks to Us
2010-06-08 17:28:00 How many times have you tried to explain to folks, what it is you mean when you say 'God speaks'.Here's a true story from some years ago. Actually, 1987.I was going through an especially trying time. Ok, a confession, I was facing divorce. My body was still recovering after a still birth and the doctors had me on medication for high blood pressure.I saw the writing on the wall, trouble was coming my way and there was nothing I could do to stop it. This divorce was necessary for the safety of both myself and my 14 year old daughter. The problem was, we were living out in the sticks, 15 miles from the nearest town and 20 miles from the city where jobs might be possible.I wasn't up to this physically, and knowing I was left with an old car that may or may not make it through the next 100 miles and worn out tires, didn't do a thing to comfort me. Of course, I had been a housewife, not having a job and jobs were scarce where we happened to live.I was worried and daily begging t...
Marching head long into the final days
2010-06-08 17:19:00 Anybody out there feeling the way I am? After waiting for a lifetime, to see the events unfold that have now come to fruition, I get excited to know the Lord's coming is so near.At the same time, I'm furious. I don't know, living in America, for some reason I always had the feeling those things were going to happen 'over there'. It still just amazes me to know that our very own government is also pushing us toward that eventful day.The new world order was something we tagged back in the 60's and waited to see how it would happen. Now, not only is it happening, everybody is using the same term we used so long ago, for what was coming in the future. It makes me mad. As an American citizen, of course it infuriates me to know that our leaders are selling us out. At the same time, I realize this is something foretold.Now, in the name of geo-engineering, jets are dumping tons of poison on us, almost every day. That pretty much leaves me in a state of fury. How dare they? What's mor... More About: Final , Days , Head , Long
Beware the User
2010-04-11 19:56:00 Warning. You may not want to read this. There may be harsh words, you don't want polluting your ears.This comes out of my own recent experience that I felt compelled to share with my brethren. This is about a man who seemingly desires the Lord, seemingly reads the Bible, spends lots of time conferencing with the pastor as though seeking personal advice and yet....he is not.I have said for years, that it seems we have among us some who are not quite altogether human at all. This recent experience has me pondering those thoughts again.This is one of those posts I can't take to my site at Calvary Corner blog, on that site, I want to minister to the lost not pollute and confuse. On this blog, I expect there are Christians reading and so I will write about things that takes discernment to understand and learn.This involves a son in law. You don't know my family so I feel I can tell the story without bringing harm to any one particular person. We all belong to the LordI'm a... More About: User , Beware
Deuteronomy 2:24
2010-02-09 01:30:00 Many years ago, when I returned to the Lord and was born again, I had a nagging problem. Some years before that, I had an abortion and it was hanging over my head, causing all sorts of guilt.As time went by and I learned more and more about the workings of the Holy Spirit, I was continually held back from fully experiencing and feeling free, due to that old guilt.One night, I broke down on the alter. My heart was broken and I couldn't seem to get passed that old sin and guilt. I knew the Lord had forgiven me but I couldn't forgive myself. I kept visualizing the age the child would have been and agonizing over it.That same night, I came home from church and after getting my daughter to bed, I sat down with the Bible. I searched and searched for some story similar to mine. Something like the prostitute and Jesus forgiving her. Something that would put my heart at ease. I was searching for justification.As I sat on the couch, I finally closed the Bible, leaned my head back and cried ...
The Dream - Black Void
2010-02-09 01:26:00 A few years ago, my niece had this dream from the Lord. In the dream, she saw nothing more than a patch of grass, a tree and bench. She sat on the bench.Jesus came and sat with her and asked her what she could see behind her. She looked over her shoulder to see nothing, absolutely nothing but a black void. The Jesus told her, that's what her sins are like. When forgiven, they are gone - no longer a part of the picture - nothing but a void.There was a great lesson in this dream and I hope you get the point. Laboring over an old sin that you've brought to the Lord and repented of, is so far off the charts, even Jesus doesn't know what you're talking about. It's as much a sin to feel guilt over that old sin, as it was to commit the sin in the first place.It's gone! A black void. Nothingness. Not even a lingering shadow. No print left behind to tell you it was ever there. So why do you keep bringing it up? More About: Black , Dream
You've accepted Jesus. Now what?
2010-01-30 20:25:00 I was saved at the age of 8 but not born again until age 30. Why is that? How could that happen?We teach others how to come to the Lord but we leave out one huge step and that is how to give ourselves to Him. How many times are we told that we are the Bride of Christ and yet we don't understand that it's a two way street, just as in any relationship.We are told God loves us and we even say it all the time, yet we don't know what that really means. We have to understand that our Lord Jesus feels the same way toward us, as any groom to be.Just imagine a young man winning the hand of a young lady, only to watch her pay attention to anything and everyone except him. Does that sound like a two way relationship?We set goals, we work toward tomorrows riches, we buy things and even polish those things, we adorn ourselves and most times, we are too busy doing these other things to consider our precious Jesus. How loved, do you suppose He feels?You see, the love Jesus feels for you is so a...
Keeping You Up To Date
2010-01-19 20:27:00 Although it seems I'm not around much these days, the fact is I'm very busy online. Most of my writing is at the Crafter'sCorner the&n bsp;Home Site Blog the Trucking blog and my Christian site blogThis in a addition to Squidoo pages and on FacebookI haven't deserted this blog, just been so busy with others.
Give It Up
2009-12-03 18:39:00 Give It UpI have walked in that dark cloud where it seems all your life is just heaviness. Strife, struggle, confusion and unrest crams the mind of so many, in this world.I know what it is to worry and fear from sun up to sun down and then all through the night. I know what it is to suffer in pain and not have the means to see a doctor, not have the time to rest. I know what it is to feel like nobody cares, that you are all alone in this world. I know what it is that causes you to feel unworthy to look the cashier, at the grocery store, squarely in the eyes.I was on the run from an abusive ex-husband, having been robbed of everything valuable, stripped of all possibility to grasp my own world in order to survive. I know how that feels. I know how it feels to be grateful for the $11 in your pocket, so that you too can go to the grocery store. I know what it is to fear the unknown.I know what would drive a young mother to thoughts of suicide just for relief from the fatigue due to the... More About: Give
Jesus - Our precious hope.
2009-12-03 18:10:00 We know we are approaching a time of persecution and we know we are running out of time.Regardless of what the future holds, remember to hold on to the one true thing in this existence-Jesus .We may stumble and fall, but we continue to come to Him. We are frail but He is mighty. We get lost but He finds us. He will not forsake you.We have come into the time, I waited so many years to see. It's not only exciting, it keeps me on the constant watch - waiting for the next shoe to drop.I keep a watch on my own family, to make sure they don't stray too far. I remind them and pray for them.This is the time for the church. It will soon be over. If I were 13, I'd be worried about being cheated out of life but I'm not, I'm almost 64 and tired of this world. I'm ready and waiting. I'm anxious to see it all play out and I know I will.Blessed is this last generation. They will see those things spoken of, so many thousands of years ago. More About: Hope
The Holy Spirit Indwells
2009-12-03 17:15:00 The Holy Spirit IndwellsGod's love for His creation runs so deep and is so engrained in our very existence, that to deny His existence is foolish. Our very drives and yearnings all stem from our reflection of the Creator Himself.Love and marriage is a screaming testimony, as it was designed to reflect our relationship with the Lord. Spiritually speaking, Him being the husband and His church lifting Him up and the union producing fruit.Through the Holy Spirit, we beget yet another generation of the church. By the human union, called marriage, we beget yet another generation of mortals.Ever consider where emotions come from? Does it come from a mass of flesh we call a brain? How could that be? Does it come from our heart? Impossible. The heart just pumps blood.Do you realize that when you feel emotion, it centers in a place within our body that has no nerve center nor any organ? It's called the solar plexis, just behind your breast bone. What is there, that could possibly produce e...
Death
2009-12-03 06:00:00 DeathDo you fear it? Have you lost a loved one? Find yourself blaming God and then feeling ashamed? Dealing with such intense feelings, you think you will never get over? Wishing for just one more day? Sorry for things you never said?Would you like someone to throw you a rope? I'd like to share something with you.I am 60 now but I will never quite get over a sickness, I suffered in my late 20's. The fact is, the devil tried once again, to kill me only this time very slowly and with great agony.Without boring you with all the reasons why, I will try to explain this weird thing that overcame me. Five doctors could not find the reasons.When I first became ill, it was sudden and violent. I was sicker than I had ever experienced. The odd thing was that after vomiting, I only felt worse and worse.It's truly hard to explain the sensations, as it was something akin to nothing I can relate to. It was as if every cell in my body was nauseated, constantly, day in and day out for 8 weeks str... More About: Death
What is Salvation? What does it mean?
2009-12-03 05:51:00 I recently read a comment on another blog, asking 'What exactly is salvation?' I was taken aback, realizing there are those who don't understand what that's all about. I decided to try to explain, using terms an unbeliever could understand. What is salvation, why do we need it, what's it all about? While it may be true, you are a good person and do your best to do what is right and not hurt others, it's also true you were born in sin. Born in sin? Yes. Not that you are a sinful person, the second you're born. You see, the fact is, once sin was introduced into this world, the world itself became a sinful nature. For that reason, you are born into sin (world). You didn't do anything wrong. That's not what it's all about. But just living in this world, which happens to BE sin, you take on a sinful nature. It shows up in way, you'd never imagine was a symptom but we don't know any different. As you grew, you were taught 'right from wrong'. What is right from wrong? In who... More About: Salvation
Are We all Ready?
2009-11-17 01:00:00 The message of the day is 'prepare'. Just as the wise brides maids, we need to keep oil in our lamps.One reason, of course, is our great hope of the 'Rapture', the other is keeping ourselves girded up for persecution.It's coming. In fact, it's already here, as I'm sure you already know. Everything around me is telling me to be prepared.So how do we stay prepared? Reading and prayer. Natch. Faith cometh by hearing and hearing by the Word of God. And it's so true. Stay well fed.Pray each day for the strength to get through another day. Pray that you will be prepared, girded up, sitting on the rock, when the onslaught comes. Persecution is headed for all of us.First the 10 commandments, then the nativity sets, then any mention of Christmas, then the crosses. Now will they come for our language? Will it become illegal to say 'Jesus' out loud? Will the churches pull down all mention of Christ or the Temple or the Mount of Olives, to keep from having their building burned down?W...
Forgiveness is sometimes the hardest thing
2009-10-17 19:38:00 I learned the value of forgiveness, many years ago. That doesn't mean I'm accomplished in it.New trials pop up every day, tempting one to harbor contempt and some of them are really hard to overcome. Nobody on this earth, is perfect. Not by a long shot. We run up against people who seem to think themselves perfect, looking down their noses at anyone they view as 'under' them. I'd have to say that when this attitude is directed at you, it becomes the hardest temptation to overcome.Don't do as I do, do as I say? :) I guarantee, if there's anyone who understands, it's me.Remember who you are and remember who is important. Your Lord's opinion of you counts a whole lot more than that of your neighbor. Hang in there and remember your reward has nothing to do with this world. More About: Forgiveness
One Accord
2009-09-13 16:33:00 Moving in one accord. Have you ever watched a field of tall grass or wheat, in the wind? It's mesmerizing, to watch what almost looks like waves of the ocean. As the wind blows, so goes the graceful, gentle stems as they all sway together, in the same direction.This is what 'one accord' means. A church moving in one accord, is a thing of beauty. From God's point of view, very much like watching that field.When one or two cause discourse, it would be like watching a clump of that grass, suddenly working against the wind and causing entanglement. That's what a grumbling, complaining, gossip does for a church.If only every member would actually read and follow the Word, and all that it says about the believer. How lovely that would be.
The Condition of the Church
2009-09-04 19:03:00 To talk about the present day condition of the church, I suppose I ought to draw the distinction between the body of Christ, and the church congregations.The body of Christ is doing just fine. :) It is, however, getting harder and harder to find them in church congregations.The true believer is keen to little 'off tracks' around them and sometimes it gets alarming. Remember, you can read descriptions of today's churches in Revelations. Things really haven't changed that much.There is, however, a new stage before us. The one world church. Many of us see it happening right before our eyes.Read what Paul said about these things. It truly is, up to us to speak up. If they won't listen, we are to leave. It's that cut and dried.You see, Christians get things confused. They confuse spreading the gospel and letting their light shine, with begging and striving with un-believers. Check out those things Jesus told us to do. Striving isn't in the orders, at all.It has always been a hard... More About: Church , Condition , The Church
Hanging in There
2009-08-21 17:21:00 The closer we get, to going home, the harder it's getting to just hang in there. Temptation to stray from the foundations, is in our very churches.This is not the time to rest, it's the time to sharpen the discernment and watch every word and action. Our adversary attacks constantly, from within and without.More and more, we find ourselves not going through the valleys and back to the mountain top but rather in a constant, none stop battle. It's surely not going to let up now.Carefully watch that spirit of gossip, as it spreads into and blends with so many other evil spirits, keeping our eyes on the ground instead of in the air.It's time to rely on the Lord, absolutely and totally. It's time to gird yourself up and learn what it is to run the good race.The church age, what was once a mystery to the Israelites, is coming to a close and as the bridesmaids, we need to keep ready.God bless you all.
The Writing is on the Wall
2008-04-28 19:26:00 For those watching from the wall, do you realize you're watching it unfold?I have finally come to realize where and how, the anti-christ will gain his sudden power and fame. I've also come to realize that saying 'he will come from the 7 hills' doesn't mean he had to be born there-just that the seed originated there.Just the fact that we have a man named Obama, actually setting his eyes on the Whitehouse, was enough to turn my head. Have you read the information that is beginning to circulate around the internet about this man? He is Muslim.........Thanks for sending out an alert about Obama. We are living and working in Kenya for almost twelve years now and know his family (tribe) well. They are the ones who were behind the recent Presidential election chaos here. Thousands of people have been displaced by election violence(over 350,000) and I don't know the last count of the dead. Obama under "friends of Obama" gave almost a million dollars to the opposition cam... More About: Writing , Wall , The wall
Why Fear Doubt?
2008-03-24 19:53:00 Our relationship with God is demonstrated through marriage and family.The Lord opened a door, for me recently, into a deeper understanding of many things. One of which is the fear of doubt.The other day, I heard yet another saying, "I've been struggling with doubt" and I blurted out this new revelation from the Lord. I thought I'd share it here.When a man choses a woman for marriage, and she accepts, that man does not yet possess her heart. It's AFTER she accepts, she will go through a trial of doubt. Every human being goes through this, whether or not they admit it.There comes a time, before the wedding when each one will wonder if they have made the right decision. "Is this truly the right thing to do?"Once these doubts are dealt with, only then do each other truly possess the other.The same with the Lord. Jesus calls us His Bride. He knows you will go through the valley of doubt and He cherishes this time in our lives. Why? Because it means that when you come to the final deci... More About: Fear , Doubt
Christianity is not Pride
2007-11-09 06:44:00 What is Christianity ?A true explanation for those that wonder and for those that think they know.Christianity comes from the word christian, which means the same as it would if talking about where you are from. A Texan is someone from Texas.A christian is someone 'of Christ'. Meaning, they are followers of Christ. That's all the word means.To be a follower of Christ, one must totally and absolutely believe IN and ON Jesus. To believe IN Him, is to say He did exist, He did walk this earth, He was a good man. To believe ON Him, is to say He is the only truth and all of the truth. Which, of course, also means one believes everything that came out of His mouth and everything God says about Him.If you're born in Texas, you speak as a Texan, you act like a Texan, you ARE a Texan. If you are born again, in Christ, you speak as a Christian, you act like a Christian, you ARE a Christian.It's not an honor bestowed on someone, it's what you are. For others to bash and insult a Christian ... More About: Pride
My New E-Book
2007-08-27 07:33:00 A little off topic but I thought that anyone who enjoys my writing would also enjoy reading a true story.This is the story of my little love affair with Winnie, the unknown grand-daughter of Man O'War, the greatest of race horses.The story takes place when I was only 14, back in the 50's. I know you'll enjoy the e-book, as well as your own children and grand-children. It's a heart warming story.Judy's" new e-book is out. More About: Book , E-book , E Book
Remember Johah
More articles from this author:2007-05-01 17:12:00 Watch our for pride. Pride is (pretty much) seeing yourself or your opinions as more worthy than anothers.When we get right down to it, which of us knows which is more worthy? So you have the Bible to tell you when God is in agreement with you but how many times is your right hand doing the work of God while your left hand is an advocate of the devil?Why would God give us the story of Johah? I mean, doesn't it make God sound harsh and unfair? Was it to show us what pride does? Was it a story to demonstrate the results?God's prophets never got on their knees and begged to be made a prophet. There are things far beyond our understanding going on in the heavens. We see the results here without knowing where the beginning was. A prophet is a prophet for reasons we don't understand but not without the consent of the human himself. They can say, "I didn't ask for this" but somewhere down the line there was an agreement.Jonah knew the score, he knew God was much bigger than himself and... 1, 2 |



