a better hope

This is something I'm working on. Adding to my faith. Lots of things come after believing. I don't want to stop where I am and say, "This is good enough." Jesus didn't do that. He went all the way. I intend to do the same. God made me a warrior, but what sets Christians apart from others is love. We are to love in the same way Jesus did, which is hard to imagine. Sometimes, in my daily battles, I forget to love. Lord, please remind me love is what changes hearts and minds, and also that You were exceedingly gentle. You are gentle with me, and I need to be gentle with others. I need to set myself aside and tend to their needs, for this is what you've called us to do. Cause me to seek out the poor and the sad and the needy and present to them the thing they need most: You. Amen.  Thank you for reading. And God bless. My Tumblr .  And my other blog, None Dare Call It Treason.

I'm just going to put this here and not say a whole lot. Maybe it's for me; maybe it's for someone else. Maybe it's not for anyone! Maybe it's for someone someday. I have no idea. I just liked it. Too often we measure ourselves with other Christians. I constantly fall short when I do that, much less when I measure myself against an apostle or Jesus Christ Himself. This is just a reminder God is a God Who loves individuals. He wants a personal relationship and walk with each of us. I don't define my religion as a set of rules but, rather, as a relationship. You may do things differently. Just a reminder God will meet you where you are. Amen?  Thank you for reading. And God bless. My Tumblr .  And my other blog, None Dare Call It Treason.

This is quite a lot to unpack. In case you have a hard time reading it, here's what it says:  "Norah Vincent, the author of Self Made Man, has died by assisted suicide.  Norah was a radical feminist who believed men lived on easy mode, and  tried to prove it by disguising herself as a man for two years.  Instead, what she found out is men actually have it harder, and wrote a book about her experience,  In fact the experience was so bad she had to stop at 18 months because  she was starting to hate women, due to how bad all of them treated her  when they believed she was a man, and was left with psychological scars  that accompanied her all of her life." ( The link is actually here .)  I don't doubt she was treated poorly as a man. I have no doubt how she was treated contributed to her decision to end her life at 53. But, that's not why she ended her life. Read about her life and you'll see she wasn't happy no matter what and that she tried to...

  The story of the woman with the alabaster box has been preached around the world in every country, just as Jesus said it would. It is a very important depiction of a believer's relationship with Jesus, as I will try to reveal. It is a special story I hope to do justice. Below is the excerpt from Luke (Luke 7:36-50), though it is found in each of the gospel accounts. It appears there are two similar, separate accounts of two different women.  One involves Mary , brother of Lazarus. She is named. This woman is not named, though she is designated a sinner (aren't we all?). This particular account occurred about a year before Jesus was crucified. It could be she knew Jesus would die for her sins. We don't know. What we do know is she knew Jesus was the Savior. She was genuinely repentant and full of love for Jesus. But, there is more to the story. Let's begin. *** 36  And one of the Pharisees desired him that he would eat with him. And he went into the Pharisee's hous...

  I love the story of Jesus and Lazarus. I relate the story below so we're all on the same page. This story lends so much insight into the mind of God and His attitude toward human beings, His tremendous, out-of-this-world kindness, and grace. And, it contains the shortest sentence in the King James Bible: "Jesus wept." For those who think men cannot or should not cry, look at our Savior crying over His friend Lazarus, even though he was about to raise him from the dead. So, let's get started. ***  11 Now a certain man was sick, named Lazarus, of Bethany, the town of Mary and her sister Martha. 2  (It was that Mary which anointed the Lord with ointment, and wiped his feet with her hair, whose brother Lazarus was sick.) 3  Therefore his sisters sent unto him, saying, Lord, behold, he whom thou lovest is sick. 4  When Jesus heard that, he said, This sickness is not unto death, but for the glory of God, that the Son of God might be glorified thereby. 5  Now Je...

  The story of Jesus and the rich man is a goldmine of truth, of which I can only scratch the surface. The Bible is a multilayered book that can be studied a lifetime and still so much is left un-gleaned. And, yes, I’m going to be doing a little bit of preaching (but when am I not?) on this post.  The story of Jesus and the rich man is related three times in the New Testament (Matthew 19:16–30, Mark 10:17–31, and Luke 18:18–30 (Where were you, John?)), and three is a very important number of completeness. If you find the number three coming into play, pay attention. A good example of the use of three is how Jesus was dead for three days and after that was resurrected. In Jewish tradition at the time, if someone rose from the dead after only one or two days, they were not really dead. So because Jesus was dead for three days and came back to life, he was truly dead and defeated death for all of us by rising from the dead. As a side note, when Lazarus was raised from the dead, h...

  Recently I felt God convicted me of something. I'll mention that in a little bit. But first, I want to talk about the names of God. During these strange and troubling times, it is important to keep our eyes on God because "Thou wilt keep him in perfect peace, whose mind is stayed on thee: because he trusteth in thee." (Isaiah 26:3)  For those who are sick (or afraid they will get sick), claim this promise: " Bless the  Lord , O my soul, and forget not all His benefits:   Who forgiveth all thine iniquities;  who healeth all thy diseases;   Who redeemeth thy life from destruction; who crowneth thee with lovingkindness and tender mercies;   Who satisfieth thy mouth with good things; so that thy youth is renewed like the eagle's." (Psalm 103:2-5) Recently, I came across the photo below which lists 17 names of God.  Names are very important to God. How many times did he dictate what His people should name something or someone? I don't know, but it's ...