Category: Our Exceptional God

Spiritual Armor

Suiting Up

Do you have a favorite football team?

I’m a New Orleans Saints fan through and through. I get excited when football season starts.

Maybe, just maybe, the Saints will win the Super Bowl again.

the big game

I bet your own favorite team is probably coming to mind right now.

Here’s a question.

Have you ever tried to imagine yourself in their shoes?

Pretend you’re a football player

All 250 pounds-plus of you is getting ready to go into the game.

Now, imagine there’s a rule that says you can’t wear any protective gear.

Helmet of protection

That means no helmet to protect your head.

No shoulder pads to prevent shoulder-to-shoulder collisions.

Nix the gloves too, so your hands are now vulnerable to impact.

Your neck roll is not allowed to prevent whiplash.

You can forget about the mouth guard.

And, finally, all knee, thigh, and hip pads, plus any of the protective wear to cover your privates must go.

Sound a little scary?

Now, your coach says, “Get out there on the field.”

You’d think your coach was crazy, right?

No way coach, give me my gear back!

Spiritual armor

Spiritual Armor

As Bible-believing Christians, how can we, likewise, go into spiritual battles without our spiritual armor?

The whole world now seems like one big spiritual battle – those of us who believe in the one true God, and those who do not.

No doubt, those who mock our faith are very loud and aggressive.

Are we really prepared for this?

It is hard to imagine anyone suiting up for the (football) game without an awareness of the sometimes bloody struggle that is about to ensue. But I have yet to see a player remove his helmet and head for the stadium exit because he finds it all just too rough.
Yet when it comes to Christian living, the field is evacuating quickly because the players have never read the rules nor understood the game plan.

– Alistair Begg, Christian pastor and author, Truth For Life Teaching Ministry.

Questions to ponder:

  • Are we actively reading and studying the Bible?
  • Are we attending a church that teaches the authentic Word of God?

We’ve all seen the apostasy starting to infiltrate churches – the dumbing down of Scripture, false teachers, fake signs and wonders, false conversions, the list goes on.

If you’ve looked into an Apologetics study, but then gave up, please reconsider.

You just never know when you’ll be in a situation where you need to defend your faith in our contentious world.

Two excellent books in my iPad library that I can recommend on the subject are:

1. “God’s Crime Scene” by J. Warner Wallace.

2. “Tactics”” by Gregory Koukl.

Both are highly rated, helpful books, to add to your spiritual armor.

Let’s not forget our identity in Christ

It’s easy to get into heated debates (especially on Facebook).

Our intent to peacefully share the Good News on social media can take a wrong turn when the attacks against our faith get publicly ugly. There’s absolutely no reason to respond in kind. That’s not who we are.

Remember Who we belong to!

This short video emphasizes it well.

 God bless…

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*Alistair Begg quotation, of Truth for Life teaching ministry. Reference: Made For His Pleasure, Moody Press, 1996, p. 108. https://gracequotes.org/author-quote/alistair-begg/

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Stained Glass

The Beauty of Stained Glass

Do you love the look of stained glass?

It’s so beautiful!

stained glass work

Masterfully-crafted and hand-cut, down to the finest detail.

Dancing reflections as the sun shines through.

Stained Glass Art

I remember seeing stained glass windows in churches when I was growing up.

*Artist rendering.

Each piece of glass, from the darker shades to the light, contributes to the uniqueness of each design.

Kind of like the pieces of our lives.

We are all different – with our own distinct challenges and life story.

And, yet in our humanity, we share in something spectacular.

Each one of us is God’s creation, His masterpiece in the making.

Why say, “in the making?”

None of us are truly “good,” in the authentic sense of the word. The Bible is clear that we’re all sinners.

The Father loves us too much to want us to stay the way we are.

How should we respond?

With humility.

Spend time in the Bible, and ask His forgiveness of our sins.

Although we can never achieve “good” in our lifetimes, as Christians, we have a “best” to look forward to – eternal joy with Him.

God’s Masterpiece

Fellow Christian writer, Elizabeth Hexberg, wrote a beautiful poem I thought you might enjoy.

Think of the pieces of your own life and what awaits those who put their trust in Him.

Stained Glass

by Elizabeth Hexberg
10/17/11
Free to Share

Shards of broken glass, and more.
Littering
a concrete floor.
Every color.
Every shade.
Every shape of shattered made.

So cold, so dull and dirty
yet,
so much more,
lest we forget.

The Artist has a bigger view.
The brokenness of me and you.
Files the edges,
one by one.
Holds them up to catch the sun.
Piece by piece with Love and Sear.
Ever precious.
Ever dear.

Gentle rebirth of the soul.
A thousand shards to make us whole.
A lifetimes crafting to get right.
Lifted High to catch the Light.
To Shine with every wonder known,
when all the pieces find their Home.

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* This stained glass rendering design released into the public domain, via pixabay. It is a derivative work of the original, and is licensed under a Creative Commons CC0 License . 

**Poetry shared from article url: https://www.faithwriters.com/article-details.php?id=185177

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Discerning False Teachers

We Should Be Discerning False Teachers

Discerning false teachers

Have you ever heard the howling sounds of a pack of coyotes?

They’re fascinating, but also a little frightening.

Late one night, my husband and I heard some loud, high-pitched, noises outside. They were so loud we could hear them over the television.

We cracked open our back door and realized that we were hearing the yipping and barking of coyotes in the woods nearby.

It was pitch black dark and we couldn’t “see” anything, but we sure heard them, several yards behind our house.

From the sound of them, you could tell they had a fresh kill and were whipped into a frenzy.

Glad we didn’t go for a late-night walk.
They’re so close!

These coyotes creep in and devour their unsuspecting prey.

Kind of reminds me of what has happened in some churches across the United States.

If you do the research, you hear sad news such as this church or that church is compromising the Bible and teaching instead a counterfeit gospel.

These teachings slowly eat away at Scripture piece by piece so that His Word hardly resembles what God originally inspired.

Honoring God’s Word

Since when does God’s Word need to conform to the world because a majority don’t want to hear about sin anymore and their need for a Savior?

“Unfortunately, preachers who distort God’s Word are all too common today. Sometimes this springs from a sincere desire to soften hard hearts, but hearts aren’t changed by compromise.”

 

– Alistair Begg, Christian pastor, Truth For Life Teaching Ministry, and Author.

A Healthy Balance

Is your church still teaching about Sin, God’s forgiveness, grace, mercy, Heaven, Hell and the End Times?

If not, why not?

Is the emphasis in your church “only” on the love of God?

That may sound good initially, but there are important fundamental truths missing if the consequences of sin are never discussed.

Christianity-Lite bothers me because eternal lives are at stake.

God is a Loving Father and He is also our Righteous Judge.

The last thing churches need to do is compromise God’s Word and leave out the message that we desperately need Salvation through Jesus Christ.

Real Issues

need to be discerning

Do any of these concerning statements sound familiar?

The Bible is offensive.

 The Bible is too hard.

 God is Love. He will not judge unrepentant sinners.

 If a person just believes hard enough, God will make them rich and prosperous.

 Rich people don’t deserve God’s grace and mercy like the rest of us.

 There are many paths to God, Christianity is too exclusive.

 Universalism is the key to peace and unity in this world.

I heard a popular Christian artist say a few days ago at a concert that he believes “a revival is coming.”

We need a holy revival where people aren’t afraid to stand up for their faith, have the courage to love and care for others, but also teach people about their need for the Savior.

The apostle Paul never compromised the truths of the gospel to make them more palatable to the masses. He laid out the pure gospel message. A beautiful thing happened, churches spread throughout the Roman Empire.

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*Pastor Alistair Begg quotation, as quoted from Christian quotes.info

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Andrew Peterson Music

A Good Surprise

Do you like surprises?

I sure do!  

When they’re good surprises, of course.

That’s why I was so thrilled to stumble across the music of Christian songwriter, Andrew Peterson.

Since I’m a huge fan of faith-based movies and music, I frequently search online to read about the latest-greatest.

Several days ago, I was checking out a popular Christian music website which gave a five-star rating to Andrew Peterson.

Five stars!

 Andrew Peterson Is He Worthy

 As you probably know, YouTube comes in handy sometimes.

It’s an easy way to “dip your toe” into a new album and decide if you want to take the plunge and buy it or not.

 

A five star artist is worth a look, right?

 

I searched Andrew Peterson and the first song that came up was the very moving, “Is He Worthy?”

 

Trust me, crank this one up and play it when you need a dose of blessed assurance and hope.

 

Doctor’s orders!

Andrew Peterson Music

“Is He Worthy” appears on Peterson’s “Resurrection Letters, Volume 1” album.

After playing it several times, I knew I had to buy it.

I’ve been listening to it ever since.

Peterson’s tender vocal stylings, complimented by a stirring piano melody and beautiful choral harmonies, completely won me over.

Still Dancing

My husband and I recently celebrated our wedding anniversary.

It seems like just yesterday we were holding hands and saying, “I do!”

Looking at all the old wedding pictures and reminiscing brought up some very happy memories for us. Memories of the challenging times came up too. Prayer and God’s grace sustained us through them all.

When I first heard the song, “Dancing Through The Minefields” – I was stunned at how beautiful it was and that the title of the song went straight to my heart.

After all these years, my husband and I are still dancing, knowing that God keeps His promises.

Andrew Peterson Tour

Would you like to see Andrew Peterson in concert?

You can find information about his tour dates here: https://www.andrew-peterson.com/tour.

My hope is that these songs kindle a new longing not only in hearts, but down to our very bones and sinews—a tangible longing that we were made for this, for this coming redemption, for God dwelling with his people in a more profound way than he did even in the garden. – Andrew Peterson, Christian musician and author.

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*Andrew Peterson quotation, [website]. Retrieved from https://www.andrew-peterson.com/about., n.d., para. 19.

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Patience With Others

The Spiritual Battle Rages On

Is there someone in your life who denies the existence of God?

It’s sad, isn’t it?

You want so desperately to reach them, but nothing seems to get through.

They may even shut you out by using some choice words.

“Keep your God to yourself.”

Sadly, isn’t that what society as a whole is trying to do right now?

In the spiritual battle going on in this world, just below the surface, it appears the Adversary is gaining ground.

Christians here in the United States are feeling the stirrings of persecution.

It breaks my heart.

Learning To Have Patience With Others

 

trust in God

Are the atheists and agnostics whom we know hopeless in the eyes of God?

No.

As long as there is breath in their bodies, there’s still time.

And their willingness to turn to Christ may not even start with you.

The Holy Spirit can use someone else in the life of a lost person.

The timing is our Sovereign God’s alone.

He gets the glory, and only He knows who will be saved.

I saw this quote from Dr. Woodrow Kroll that applies perfectly.

patience with others

Please be patient with your loved ones who are lost.

Keep praying for them.

You never know when you may get that joy-filled phone call that they’ve turned their lives to Christ.

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*Quotation from Dr. Woodrow Kroll, Bible teacher and preacher, as quoted, from Christianquotes.info.

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