I love the Christmas season. I enjoy the anticipation. The decorations. The sweet treats and the glow of candles. The hustle and bustle, and the quiet and tender. It seems that my thirst for pondering time is unquenchable during this time of year. Pondering the amazing reality of a baby born to die, that I might live. But my pastor recently preached about … [Read more...]
Finding Assurance of Salvation
"How can I know for sure that I'm saved?" If you've ever asked this question, you're not alone. It's not uncommon for people who have, at one time, made a profession of faith in Christ to need assurance of their salvation at some later point in their lives. After all, we know how high the stakes are, don't we? And we also know there's no margin for error. Jesus … [Read more...]
Building on the Rock
I recently wrote a post challenging the notion of so-called "pro-choice Christians." I was dismayed by one Facebook response to that post. It involved a casual, "This doesn't change my mind." Followed by a *shrug*. I think it was the shrug that hurt the most. Not because I was personally acquainted with this woman. I wasn't. And not because her comment was … [Read more...]
What Does the Bible Say About Peace?
"Let there be peace on earth, and let it begin with me." The song has a lovely, lyrical tune. One of those that tends to stay in your head for a while. It expresses an appealing sentiment, too. One that seems noble. Admirable. Godly, even. Especially in these days of social media (and regular media) gone wild. Too bad it's based on a lie. You see, the lyrics go … [Read more...]
All In: Commitment is Key
We live in a culture where commitment isn't always necessary. Between fishing for better pay by threatening to leave a job, to men & women shacking up together without a commitment of choosing to love one another through thick and thin, the list goes on and on with examples of how noncommittal our society really is. Whoever has the most to gain is where efforts lie until … [Read more...]