…you have been made new!

Unforgettable Characters
     'Inspiration For You' from Randy Mitchell

The recent death of actor, Michael Clarke Duncan at such an early age made me stop, and remember all the memorable roles he played during his short time on the silver screen. For instance, I loved him as accused murderer, John Coffey in The Green Mile. He was a huge, extremely powerful-looking man upon first glance. Then, as the storyline unfolded, you couldn’t help but see him in a completely different light—loving, caring, a gentle giant, a person I found wishing I had as a buddy, friend, or next door neighbor. He was actually an angel living inside an extremely intimidating…

Bible and Quote - May 11-15
     'Bible verse and quote' from Jan Couns

If I take the wings of the dawn, If I dwell in the remotest part of the sea, Even there Your hand will lead me, And Your right hand will lay hold of me. Psalm 139:9-10 Just as the distance between us and God makes no separation and the gulf is one that is bridged over by His love, so distance in time leads to no exhaustion of the divine faithfulness and care, nor any diminution of the resources of His grace. Alexander Maclaren, 1826-1910, British Baptist expository preacher If I say, "Surely the darkness will overwhelm me, And the light around me will be night," But…

Patience; Peace
     'God's Words For US' from Cecelia Lester

Patience, Peace Patience As a society, our nation’s people show a lack of patience. Fast food restaurants and microwave ovens have caused us to be impatient in all areas of life. As we await decisions from courts, we become anxious. If we were honest about it, we grumble to ourselves when our computers do not respond to commands fast enough. Patience is the ability to endure to bear trials without grumbling. 1We often hear of “the patience of Job.” He lost all he had—property, livestock, and children. His wife told him…

Not Mere Coincidence
     'Chip Shots from the Ruff of Life' from Tom Kelley

Coincidence. That wonderful rare turn of events that both surprises and startles us. You've been caught up in them before. Events that happen in just the right way or circumstances that align too perfectly. You know; coincidence. Friday, February 15, I got to experience one of those incredible coincidences. It happened at Central Baptist Hospital in Lexington, Kentucky and it involved one of the young couples in our congregation at Minorsville. And it's a neat one. Gina and Craig Hastings have a little girl named Ellie Morgan who was born on my wife's birthday, February…

Unique
     ''Winging It' from Stan Smith

We live in a "diversity" world, where everything is viewed as "equal". We claim "equal rights" and "equal pay" and "racial equality" and "all genders are equal". We believe that all religions are equal, too. And, as a consequence (just like in the use of the vague "equality of the sexes" concept), people often believe that all religions are equally valid. Now, this can be easily demonstrated as false. That is, without accepting any of the truth claims of any religion, you can simply take their truth claims, lay…

Include Christ in your daily life, Part 2
     'The Way' from Kevin Pauley

Whether, then, you eat or drink or whatever you do, do all to the glory of God. - 1 Corinthians 10:31 We use reminders to help us constantly: calendars, alarm clocks, watches or PDAs. Why do those who are married wear wedding rings? It is not merely to identify our state to others, but also to remind ourselves of our vows! Not all of us need to nail mezuzot to our doorposts. But all of us need to be looking for ways to include our Beloved into our daily lives. It is far more important to incorporate Christ into our day-to-day activities than it is to set aside time…

How God Treats Sinners
     'Today's Little Lift' from Jim Bullington

In considering the question of how God treats sinners, it becomes of paramount importance to know just who is a sinner! If I don’t know anyone who is a sinner, and if I never meet anyone who is a sinner, the scale of importance of the issue drops to virtually zero. However, if I know a sinner or two, or if I am likely to come in contact with a sinner, the degree of importance rises somewhat. In fact, the more sinners I know or am likely to know, the more important the question becomes. I must confess that when I think of sinners, I prefer to think of them in the distance –…

Give Thanks for the Many Warnings Revealed in Scripture
     'Word from Scotland' from Sandy Shaw

We are in Daniel Chapter 5 – and now, for Belshazzar the king, it is too late. He cannot do anything about it. The writing is indeed on the wall. Verse 25. Nebuchadnezzar got 12 months to repent - Belshazzar does not even get 12 hours. For him it is doom and disaster and……

He Upped the Ante
     'Voice of Inspiration' from Andy Castro

Sometimes I think the way Jesus presented His messages was a little unusual, . He would say these wonderful truths, then seemingly change the subject in a moments notice. For instance, the famous sermon on the mount in Matthew 5. Jesus starts out with the “Blessed are they” speech. It’s basically an “everything is beautiful” feel good message. (v3-v11) Then He says, (paraphrased) “Now that you know you are blessed because of God, don’t hide it. Let your light shine.” (v13-v16) After that it turns a little rigid. Jesus makes a…

Sin is leprosy of the soul
     'Refreshment in Refuge' from Gina Burgess

A leper comes up to Jesus and says: Lord, if you are willing, you can make me clean. Not “heal me” or “make me well.” We learn a lot from that Greek word used here. If we look closely at how it is used in a moral sense, we can get an excellent understanding what Jesus’ blood does for believers. The Greek word is katharizō. It means: 1) to make clean, cleanse 1a) from physical stains and dirt 1a1) utensils, food 1a2) a leper, to cleanse by curing 1a3) to remove by cleansing 1b) in a moral sense 1b1) to free from…

Forgiveness
     ''Christ in You...'' from Dale Krebbs

If there could be only two words for our prayers, it would be "forgive me"...if we can think of nothing else to pray about (which in itself needs to be forgiven...), we can all genuinely ask Him to forgive us. For all have sinned and come short of the glory of God This is because all have sinned, and have missed the mark of perfection that is in Jesus Christ only. There is a love song from some years ago, with lyrics that would be almost unbelievable in our world today. The chorus begins with: "Please! Please!! (emphasis twice) forgive me!...for all the wrong that…