…you are the image of your creator!

Books, Children and The Art of Giving
     'Inspiration For You' from Randy Mitchell

In order for a disadvantaged child to become educated, skilled, resourceful and ready to tackle the world with competitive spirit, the books and developed love of reading they have available to them oftentimes arrive through the love of selfless hearts. And right now, there are literally hundreds of book drives and charities which, through the use of volunteers and determined will, deliver free books and other reading materials to low-income children who otherwise wouldn’t enjoy the world of literature. For children to become strong readers, they need books in their…

Bible and Quote - November 24-28
     'Bible verse and quote' from Jan Couns

You are good and do good; Teach me Your statutes. Psalm 119:68 Let thy unexampled love constrain me into holy obedience, and render my duty my delight. The Valley of Vision, Puritan Prayers and Devotions, 1600/1700s It is good for me that I was afflicted, That I may learn Your statutes. Psalm 119:71 One learns by reading. A few learn by observation. The rest have to wet on the electric fence for themselves. Will Rogers, American, Actor Your hands made me and fashioned me; Give me understanding, that I may learn Your commandments. Psalm 119:73 Man does…

A Litmus Test of Our Faith
     'God's Words For US' from Cecelia Lester

A Litmus Test of Our Faith Grace and Peace “Grace and peace be yours in abundance through the knowledge of God and our Lord Jesus Christ” 2Peter1:2 (NIV) Grace, God’s unmerited love-or receiving something we don’t deserve. It comes to us as a gift when we ask Jesus into our hearts. Peace, the presence and experience of a right relationship, a desire, a goal, and a gift from God. True peace belongs to those who turn away from their sin and ask the Father’s forgiveness. Peter tells us we can have these gifts in abundance…

It's Coming
     'Chip Shots from the Ruff of Life' from Tom Kelley

You won't see them at first. You won't know that they have arrived until their familiar calls start to fill the air. And fill the air they will. They'll set up a cacaphanous din that will be heard for miles around. One of the most amazing biological wonders of all time is coming; Brood X - the seventeen year cicada. The cicadas are an amazing breed of insect. Most insects reproduce very quickly and easily, live a short life and die. A common housefly will reproduce a thousand times compared to one cycle of life for the cicada. Even the elephant, a mammal, is a marvel of…

God Owes Me
     ''Winging It' from Stan Smith

It is not very often that I actually hear anyone, especially a Christian, voice the idea that "God owes me" something. It is, conversely, very rare that I find anyone who doesn't believe it's true. They believe that God owes them something or other even if they would never say it. A non-Christian friend asked me the other day about a "theological dilemma" that was nagging at him. "Isn't it true," he asked me, "that the Bible has lots of places where God destroyed lots of people? You know, like Noah's Flood or Sodom and Gomorrah or the killing…

Wanting to Want
     'The Way' from Kevin Pauley

Even when you do ask, you don’t get it because your whole motive is wrong – you want only what will give you pleasure. James 4:3 One of the toughest areas of prayer is introspection – looking deep into my heart and trying to determine what are my motives. Jeremiah 17:9 says “The human heart is most deceitful and desperately wicked. Who really knows how bad it is?” If you are a Christian wife and are praying for your husband’s salvation, why are you praying? Is it really to see him come to know the Lord, or is it because your life…

Justification XI (2-28-11)
     'Today's Little Lift' from Jim Bullington

Gander sauce is horrible tasting stuff! That's what we are forced to eat when the unfair rules that we impose on others are forced upon us. The idiom goes something like this: What's sauce for the goose is sauce for the gander. Gander sauce, that's what I've been eating a lot of over the past few years. And, to complicate things, it is still a frequent staple in my diet. Gander sauce is closely connected to human ideas of justification, hence today's message. Having been reared, indoctrinated in, and formally educated in the rules of the Churches of Christ, I speak from personal…

In What Ways Is Our Living God Challenging Us Today?
     'Word from Scotland' from Sandy Shaw

When we were reading Habakkuk Chapter 1, we hear Habakkuk challenging God, with many searching questions - how long? - why? And, when God answers - look and see - don't be so limited as to what I am doing in Israel - look around - I am going to raise up the Babylonians. Habakkuk can hardly……

I baptized my phone
     'Refreshment in Refuge' from Gina Burgess

You know you rock along really well for a long time not doing anything stupid. You don't get all puffed up about it, but you feel really responsible because you haven't locked your keys in the car in years, you haven't locked yourself out of the house in months, and you haven't spilled your dinner on your shirt in days. Then you do something really stupid like wash your cell phone... in the washing machine... with bleach. I never took out the insurance on my phone because I've had one for years and years and I've never dropped it in the sink, or on concrete, or in the…

Whatever Happened To Sin?
     ''Christ in You...'' from Dale Krebbs

Its such a small word, this word “sin”, to have such disastrous consequences. A word that has destroyed kingdoms and individuals. It all begins with pernicious thoughts, feelings, and finally escalates to small thoughts, desires, and finally the act that completes the circle of destruction of everything right and valuable. Today it seems to be increasingly the norm. The subject is seldom even mentioned. Immorality has finally been enshrined. The road that was once at least level, has cascaded into a plunge into unspeakable acts. Shame has perished. Now it is Sin City.…

I See Dead People (Updated Version)
     'Voice of Inspiration' from Andy Castro

It's true. I see dead people. It's not a daily occurrence but, on average, every couple of weeks or so. I have to wonder why I am privileged to see them. I didn't ask for this, and I certainly didn't expect it to happen. When it first happened, I was quite shocked and moved emotionally. It took me back to the time when I was a child, and my grandmother died. I wept bitterly. I recalled the last time I held my nineteen-month-old son, who had just been pronounced dead. The pain was so profound; I couldn't cry. I'm at a hospital five days a week. I see these dead people…