…you are the image of your creator!

Victory in Innocence
     'Chip Shots from the Ruff of Life' from Tom Kelley

While we were working in Upstate New York with Empire State Evangelizing Association we had the opportunity to develop friendships with people in churches all up and down the Eastern Seaboard states. This included Pennsylvania. One couple, who ministered in a small community in Western Pennsylvania, had us come and speak to their congregation about our work in New York. While with them, we got to know their young son. Our friends were unable to have children of their own through birth so they had adopted a beautiful little boy and were raising him in the Lord. The little fella…

Self-Sufficient
     ''Winging It' from Stan Smith

All parents aim to bring their kids up to be responsible adults. Some better than others, sure, but there has to be something of that in every parent-child relationship. We want them to learn to "stand on your own two feet", to be brave and strong and ... you know, all those good things. We would like them to be self-sufficient. It is, after all, the American Dream, isn't it? I wonder how much the "American Dream" has messed up American Christianity. That kind of thinking, at least. We seek to "stand on your own two feet", to "live the dream",…

Courting Christ: Trust Him, Part 1
     'The Way' from Kevin Pauley

They rose early in the morning and went out to the wilderness of Tekoa; and when they went out, Jehoshaphat stood and said, “Listen to me, O Judah and inhabitants of Jerusalem, put your trust in the Lord your God and you will be established. Put your trust in His prophets and succeed.” - 2 Chronicles 20:20 (NASB) We understand the need for trust between Marines, between police officers or between firemen. Yet we often forget the need for trust in d’vekut (the mystical relationship between God and man). But trust betrayed will founder any relationship.…

Justification XXI (3-22-11)
     'Today's Little Lift' from Jim Bullington

“For Judgment I Have Come” The blind man was no longer blind thanks to the miraculous intervention of Jesus Christ. But, there were plenty of other “blind men” in the area who also needed healing! They, however, were suffering from a significantly more dangerous kind of blindness, one which Jesus could also heal but only under certain conditions. One condition was that they admit their spiritual blindness and stop claiming otherwise. We will continue our thoughts along this line after dispensing with an alleged contradiction today. The following is…

Powerful Nebuchadnezzars Terrifying Nightmare
     'Word from Scotland' from Sandy Shaw

In Daniel Chapter 2, we come to Nebuchadnezzar's dream. Most of us dream at night - and most of the dreams we forget. We are told there are various reasons as to why we remember some dreams and forget others. But - now and gain - a dream can be wonderfully supernatural - and through the dream……

This Is Going To Hurt
     'Voice of Inspiration' from Andy Castro

Psalm 42:7 (AMP) [Roaring] deep calls to [roaring] deep at the thunder of Your waterspouts; all Your breakers and Your rolling waves have gone over me. This is not a description of a gentle God. It sounds like God is trying to drown the writer with a mighty vengeance. I love this description and I need it to be true in my life. Let me try to explain why. The apostle Paul prayed for the Ephesians to know the depth of God’s love. I’m sure I will never completely know this because God is Love. It’s too deep to comprehend. I can’t comprehend the depth…

Prejudice vilifying prejudice
     'Refreshment in Refuge' from Gina Burgess

Prejudice vilifying prejudice is the same as the pot calling the kettle black. A man, former fire chief of Atlanta Kelvin Cochran, was fired from his job. He's black. He's a Christian. He wrote a book. Which one of those things do you think prompted the mayor to fire him? Here in Mississippi a person can be fired for absolutely no reason at all. I know because I experienced that. Only God knows what the real reason was. I think it was because I was perceived as a threat to the passage of the sale of alcohol within the city limits (our county is a dry county). I stood…

Forget The Past?
     ''Christ in You...'' from Dale Krebbs

You can't....without crippling your mind, and destroying your sense of being. Without a past, we would have no frame of reference, and no context and sense of continuity by which to gage our growth in Christ. Paul's statement is struggled with by Christians constantly, and is difficult to accept as being possible for them. Although it can be agonizing and heartbreaking, we can learn to handle the past. But it has often been our "schoolmaster" to lead us to Christ, by revealing where we are now. The past is a benchmark for understanding the present. The past teaches us…

The Connection between Love and Infatuation
     'Inspiration For You' from Randy Mitchell

The question above is one we’ve all asked ourselves while making that occasional, sizzling eye contact. And it’s also the oldest both men and women have contemplated every time their heart skips that irreversible beat. God made us equipped to love another, to share that certain bond we feel with no one else. But is it love we have while stroking the others hand, or simply an infatuation, a physical response that goes no further than living in the moment when it happens? Let’s start with some definitions: Love is a strong feeling for another which lasts…

Bible and Quote - May 3-7
     'Bible verse and quote' from Jan Couns

You will cause Your ear to hear, To do justice to the fatherless and the oppressed, That the man of the earth may oppress no more. Psalm 10:17c,18 Passionate and satirical invectives (mocking abusive words) against bad men do more hurt than good; let it be to God in prayer, for he alone can make them better. Matthew Henry, 1662-1714, was a Welsh-born, English nonconformist minister and Bible commentator In the Lord I put my trust; How can you say to my soul, "Flee as a bird to your mountain"? Psalm 11:1 Realize the danger of being an amateur providence, that…

Seeking God in our Time
     'God's Words For US' from Cecelia Lester

“But seek ye first the kingdom of God and his righteousness and all these things shall be added unto you.” Matthew 6:33 (KJV) Seek First Seek. Look for, search diligently for. We don’t have to search for things in the same way as our pioneer forebears. We go to the grocery stores and purchase our food. We don’t have to hunt for our meat, unless we want to. Seek first. We must make our search for God a priority in our lives. If I don’t read my Bible and devotional source just after I awaken, I might forget. The…