Open Letter from a Concerned Christian

I am writing this letter as a wake-up call. Christians need to open their eyes to the world that is around them. We have been lulled into a false sense of safety and the world is using that to slowly chip away at everything that we stand for. I can’t think of any other time in recent history when Christian beliefs and values were being attacked as fervently as they are today. We are being attacked from every direction at all times. They attack our beliefs, our morals, our redemption, our God, our intelligence and even our character. What is even more disconcerting is there are wolves within the Christian community that are using their platform to attack Christianity from within and so many people are falling right into the trap without ever realizing they are being led astray.

Open Letter from a Concerned Christian full post

(2187 words, 1 image, estimated 8:45 mins reading time)

LOVE Vs. love

Love is quite possibly one of the most constantly discussed topics in the world. It is one of, if not the most, commonly used theme in entertainment media: music, movies, novels, poems, TV shows, and even games. It is the main theme of the Bible. I consider the Bible to be the greatest love story ever told; the story of how much God loves all of us. However, it is also a topic of much dissension and confusion. Jesus’ final command to us was to love each other; reminding us that people would know we were His followers by how we loved. The world is clearly obsessed with the idea of love; a quick listen to the radio or a study of recent movie releases will quickly confirm that. The post-modern Christian movement even bases their entire belief system on loving and accepting everyone. Love is important to all three groups, so why can’t any of us really seem to agree on much when it comes to love? How can one topic cause so many arguments?

LOVE Vs. love full post

(2500 words, 1 image, estimated 10:00 mins reading time)

Lazarus, Come Forth Why did Jesus wait for Lazarus to die?

The story of Lazarus is one that everyone is pretty familiar with. I would suspect that even non-Christians have at least a basic understanding of the story. I have known that story for what seems like my entire life, but it was only recently I noticed a verse and allowed the implications of that verse to really shine a new light on the whole story for me. So, we all know that Lazarus was a close friend of Jesus. Jesus is informed that Lazarus is sick and He responds, “This sickness will not end in death. No, it is for God’s glory so that God’s Son may be glorified through it” (John 11:4). After hearing Jesus say that, I’m sure the disciples assumed that Jesus meant that Lazarus’ illness wasn’t all that serious and that he would soon get over it. Jesus stayed for two more days before telling His disciples it was time to set out for Judea where Lazarus had died.

Lazarus, Come Forth Why did Jesus wait for Lazarus to die? full post

(3393 words, 1 image, estimated 13:34 mins reading time)

What Makes a Hero?

Who was your childhood hero? Did you want to be like Mike? Perhaps you thought Muhammad Ali was the greatest? Maybe you were wrapped up in Hulkamania?  As kids, we all have people that we consider to be our heroes. When I was a kid my idea of a hero was fleeting at best. Ozzie Smith, Michael Jordan, Joe Montana, Mark McGwire, Wolverine, Batman, Jean-Claude Van Damme, Bruce Lee and the list goes on and on. All of these people/characters were heroes for me at one time or another. Some lasted for years, some for a few months, but I placed each one on a pedestal at some point in my life. As I grew older, my idea of what a hero is changed and then, my grandfather became my hero.

What Makes a Hero? full post

(2479 words, 1 image, estimated 9:55 mins reading time)

Motives and Incentives

Just yesterday, I made a decision to try and lose some weight. If you know my wife and I, or you read my post last week, you know that my wife has been on a health journey for quite some time now. In the last year, she has improved her physical, mental and spiritual health by leaps and bounds. You would probably think that this is the reason that I decided to get healthy. The truth is while my wife’s journey has inspired me in many aspects of my life, it wasn’t her weight loss that caused me to make a decision to lose some myself. Actually, it was a competition offering money and cigars to the person that lost the most weight. I love cigars and I could always use some more money. So the incentives of the top prize urged me to commit to doing something that I have known I should do for quite some time now.

Motives and Incentives full post

(898 words, 1 image, estimated 3:36 mins reading time)

Happy New Year

I hope everyone had an excellent Christmas and was able to spend some time with friends and family. Now, here we are looking at yet another New Year. I’ll be honest this is one holiday that I never really understood the excitement for. I mean it is really just another day. It just so happens that this day starts a new calendar year. I’ve never found that my life changed drastically from December 31st to January 1st. I’ve never been a drinker or a social person so the New Year’s parties were never really any fun for me. I’m a night owl so staying up past midnight isn’t really that special. I’ve never been one to make New Year’s resolutions and I’m certainly not putting on those goofy New Year’s glasses.  I’m not trying to be a downer; I just really don’t get it. All it has ever signified for me is 2 – 3 months of having to scratch out the date whenever I write it because I wrote the wrong year.

Happy New Year full post

(1032 words, 1 image, estimated 4:08 mins reading time)

Christmas: The Most Wonderful Time of the Year

Christmas is almost here and soon, we will all be celebrating it in our own way. Christmas is celebrated all around the world and with many different traditions. Even from family to family, you will find different traditions in celebrating this special day. You may find differences in what food is served, when they open gifts, where it is celebrated and what songs are getting played, but it is all in celebration of Christmas.

Christmas: The Most Wonderful Time of the Year full post

(768 words, 1 image, estimated 3:04 mins reading time)