He's coming again Tomorrow!
Ask fifty people to finish the statement "Live As If" and you are likely to get fifty different answers. For Christians it will mean something different than for non-Christians. Incorporated into the top graphic are the answers given by friends of mine. It is our desire that your answer will be different each time you visit.
-
Celebrate Yourself!
'Inspiration For You' from Randy Mitchell
There’s a wonderful saying, “Go where you’re celebrated, not where you’re tolerated.”
When I think about these words, so many meanings come to mind: the people in your life and their attitudes towards you, the places you frequent socially, your workplace environment and those you meet for the very first time. They also raise the questions: are the people and surroundings you deal with supporting, loving, befriending, even helping you when you need them the most? Or do they pull you down, surround you with negative energy, refuse to acknowledge
-
Bible and Quote - November 16-20
'Bible verse and quote' from Jan Couns
(David) Return, O LORD (Y@hovah), rescue my soul; Save me because of Your lovingkindness. Psalm 6:4
Lost in fear, distrust and regret, my soul pleads for a rekindled cognizance of Your presence and a renewed confidence in Your faithfulness.
(David fearing death) For there is no mention of You in death; In Sheol (eternal place of exile from God) who will give You thanks? Psalm 6:5
It is futile to bargain with God. His wise decisions are based on His character and His promises, not on what we can render to Him.
(David) I am worn out from groaning; all night
-
Love
'God's Words For US' from Cecelia Lester
Love, Mercy, Grace
“But because of his great love for us, God, who is rich in mercy,
made us alive in Christ Even when we were dead in transgressions—
it is by grace you are saved.”
Ephesians 2:4-5 (NIV)
“But because of his great love for us. . . ” We know God has a motivation for all He does. It is a simple one. He loves us.
“. . . God, who is rich in mercy. . . .” When we list the attributes of our heavenly Father one of the ones we mention is mercy-the quality of withholding just punishment for our
-
Popped Corks
'Chip Shots from the Ruff of Life' from Tom Kelley
Ever see a bottle of champaign opened? The cork in a bottle of wine is inserted before the fermentation process is completed. As a result, great pressure builds inside the bottle from the fermentation. The cork, when given a little nudge, pops off the bottle. Sometimes it gets fired across a room, sometimes it just pops up a tad.
Fermentation is the introduction of a living organism to a fruit juice which causes the sugar to change to ethyl alcohol. The process causes carbonation which builds the pressure under the cork. It's kind of like what happens when you shake a bottle
-
Anthropocentric
''Winging It' from Stan Smith
Little children, keep yourselves from idols (1 John 5:21).
A "word of the day" entry: "anthropocentric". We can find a dictionary definition, but let's see if we can figure it out from its roots. "Anthropos" is the Greek word for "man" -- primarily "man" as a group, not a gender. You know ... humans. Then there is the "centric" part. I think most of us can figure that out. So, simply put, "anthropocentric" means "centered on humans".
On one hand, it is fundamental to humans to be anthropocentric.
-
Parent Types
'The Way' from Kevin Pauley
Discipline your children while there is hope. If you don’t, you will ruin their lives. - Proverbs 19:18
Let me ask you a question: What kind of a parent are you?
“Peter Pans” try to be mistaken for their teen’s older sibling. They know the name of the lead drummer of the latest rock band and can actually recite the words of heavy metal songs. They watch MTV and share clothes with their teens.
“Good old boys” try to get along with their kids by sharing beer with their underage friends and lending them a car for their date alone
-
Comfort and Light (12-30-10)
'Today's Little Lift' from Jim Bullington
The greatest story, the story of comfort and light, continues with quotations from Luke 2:
21And when eight days were completed for the circumcision of the Child, His name was called JESUS, the name given by the angel before He was conceived in the womb.
22Now when the days of her purification according to the law of Moses were completed, they brought Him to Jerusalem to present Him to the Lord
23 (as it is written in the law of the Lord, Every male who opens the womb shall be called holy to the LORD),
24 and to offer a sacrifice according to what is said in the law
-
Never Allow the Word of God to Frighten You
'Word from Scotland' from Sandy Shaw
Isaiah 56 - "This is what the Lord says" – might that phrase frighten some people – as with these words Isaiah Chapter 56 opens - and this is one of the main reasons why we come Sunday by Sunday - to hear what the Living God says.
And not just on Sundays –
-
Jesus groaned in the spirit
'Refreshment in Refuge' from Gina Burgess
This Sunday morning we are studying John 11. I never get tired of studying this passage because there are so many volumes spoken in these few words. Jesus illustrates His perfect purposes in this chapter. One of His famous I AM statements is here. He weeps. He is troubled. His glory is illustrated in such magnificent ways I am constantly astounded. He is so amazing!
“A person can cry for multiple reasons.” I have grown up a little since I wrote that last year in a column titled Jesus Wept.
I said that I believed Jesus wept because of a deep compassion
-
Canoe and the Waterfall
'Voice of Inspiration' from Andy Castro
Two men were escaping from their enemy. At one point they made a small make shift raft in a river so it would help pull them down stream. It was working pretty well until they realized there was a waterfall not to far in front of them. They suddenly panicked as the water current got stronger and was pulling them faster and faster to the edge of the deadly waterfall. With the sound of the waterfall haunting them they narrowly escaped as they desperately struggled to swim to the rivers edge.
This is how life is concerning self-development.
Let's clarify the meaning of self-development.
-
Reaping As We Have Sown
''Christ in You...'' from Dale Krebbs
America today...and Tomorrow?? Will there be spiritual revival in America? Are we too far away from God and a from spiritual revival? Is there a way back into God's favor and protection? This judgment comes on nations and churches, when they forget God, and begin to depend upon their own wisdom and resources. America, traditionally has been the bulwark of Christianity. But has it drifted too far from its moorings? Is there hope for America again? There comes a time for individuals and nations when God allows them to simply reap what has been sown. There is deep-seated undefinable
In twenty-seven years of playing golf I have seen people who absolutely did not belong on a golf course. How do I know that? I had to follow them for the day. Someone once said that, "Golf is a good walk spoiled." Well, following people who have enough money to buy golf clubs and pay greens fees but know nothing of the game must be at the very heart of that statement.That is the problem with golf. People can afford
Daily Refractions
Words to Ponder
if you were to rise early every morning, as an instance of self-denial, as a method of renouncing indulgence, as a means of redeeming your time and of fitting your spirit for prayer, you would find mighty advantages from it. This method, though it seem such a small circumstance of life, would in all probability be a means [toward] great piety. It would keep it constantly in your head that softness and idleness were to be avoided and that self-denial was a part of Christianity... It would teach you to exercise power over yourself, and make you able by degrees to renounce other pleasures and tempers that war against the soul. - William Law, A Serious Call to a Devout and Holy Life
'Daily Reading Plan'
from StudyLight.org
Bible-in-a-Year NAS
2 Samuel 14; Daniel 8; Mark 5:21-43:
So Joab sent a messenger to Tekoa and brought a wise woman from there, and said to her, "Please follow mourning rites, and put on mourning garments now, and do not anoint yourself with oil but be like a woman who has been mourning for the dead for many days. Then go to the king and speak to him in this way." So Joab put the words in her mouth. Now when the woman of Tekoa spoke to the king, she fell on her face